CHAPTER 11:

THE TRAITOR

The 2nd of September was a Saturday, and Stoker had suggested that Schrödinger see Sir Integra and Alucard's main body, with Seras along with them. Schrödinger agreed, but on the condition that nobody else was there. When pressed for why, he had said, "You have a traitor in Hellsing."

In her office, Integra glared at the catboy, now dressed in Hogwarts robes. "You have my attention, Schrödinger. Do not waste my time. What did you wish to discuss?"

"The identities of key personnel of Millennium," Schrödinger said. "You already know of the Major and the Doctor. Alucard, through his alter-ego of Stoker, already knows of the Captain and Lieutenant Rip van Winkle. But there are a few others you should know about. Going back to Rip van Winkle, she now uses an enchanted musket that can fire a musket ball that can penetrate armour plate, as well as shift position at her command. Then, there is Lieutenant Zorin Blitz. Impulsive and sadistic, she uses mystical powers to ensnare her foes in illusions. She also wields a scythe in combat. There are also other, lesser agents of Millennium who are waiting to be activated both here in England, and abroad. I am not privy to all of them, but I can tell you who to look out for."

"Continue," Integra said.

"In Brazil, there is Tubalcain Alhambra, aka 'the Dandy Man'. He is a former magical assassin who uses razor-sharp playing cards to attack, enchanted in a way that makes the resulting wounds hard to heal. In England, they have sent over Luke and Jan Valentine, former American hitmen whom they have turned into vampires. And, of course, there is Millennium's spy within Hellsing itself."

"And his name?"

Schrödinger knew that the name would provoke outrage and anger. Hesitantly, he said, "Walter C Dornez."

Predictably, Integra leapt to her feet, slamming her gloved hands on the desk. "WHAT?! Walter, a Millennium spy?! How dare you?!"

Curiously, Alucard's reaction was quieter, his eyes narrowing slightly. "Elucidate."

"During your attack on the facilities in Warsaw, the Major and the Doctor made an offer to Walter. Walter was jealous of you, Alucard. For a time, he acted as our spy in Hellsing, diverting your investigations away while what would become Millennium set up shop in Brazil, helped partly by elements within the Vatican. But then, he ceased reporting for a time, and eventually, you were sealed away. Millennium then suborned your uncle, Sir Integra."

Integra paled as the implications hit her, tears glistening in her eyes. "My little Fraulein, he called me when he was trying to kill me, and I never realised why. Are you saying…Walter's vacation during that time was no coincidence?"

"Jawohl. Walter had been persuaded by your uncle to re-establish contact with Millennium," Schrödinger admitted. "I believe part of the reason why Walter ceased sending us reports was because he gained a form of paternal affection for you, Sir Integra. But Millennium played on his desire to become Alucard's equal, if not his superior. Sir Integra, I am sorry to tell you these things. But this is the reality of the situation."

"And why would you help us, then? What do you hope to gain?" Integra asked.

"A life. One free from the masterplan set out for me by an obsessed old man with a fixation on killing an immortal monster. I was to sacrifice myself to try and ensure Alucard's defeat. Even if Millennium perished during its assault on England, as long as Alucard ceased to be, the Major would have died happy. And make no mistake, they intend to wage war on this country still. My defection is only a setback to defeating Alucard. I would not be surprised if they try to invade England anyway. They're fanatics." Schrödinger looked pensive. "Luna was my first friend outside Millennium. Now, she's my only friend. She is the reason I left Millennium, because if I went through with the plan, I would never see her again. Sir Integra, I know you have little reason to trust me. I cannot offer you any concrete reason to do so. Even I do not know the full timetable of the Major's plans, as he dances along to his own tune." Schrödinger chuckled. "Actually, the men call him an Acting Führer, and it pisses off the Old Men of the Opera House no end."

"Old Men of the Opera House?" Seras asked.

"Nominally our superior officers, but they do little but dream about the glory of creating the Fourth Reich, and bitch and moan about how the Major seems to be doing little, especially to giving them immortality. They are bitter and twisted old men, and while the Major is an evil little man, he is at least more interesting than those old relics are."

"I'm curious, actually," Alucard said. "How did the Major live this long? I doubt it was virtuous living."

"You would be correct, Alucard. The Major and the Doctor are no longer human. They are not vampires, though, they have this insistence on 'retaining their humanity', which is laughable, considering that they had little to begin with. They are cyborgs, almost completely machine now. Even so, the Major insists that he is still a human being enough to defeat a monster such as yourself, Alucard."

Alucard chuckled darkly. "I am sure that one day, I can engage in a debate with him on the matter. I will debate him to pieces."

Integra frowned. "There may be one way to establish your bona fides, Schrödinger. Would you be willing to undergo questioning under the influence of Veritaserum?"

"If it would put your mind at ease, I would be more than willing. I am not sure what effect it may have on me, though. I am not wholly human, remember?"

"I could always drink Walter's blood, Master," Alucard said. "I'd be able to tell whether he is treacherous or not."

"We'll subject Schrödinger to Veritaserum first. I believe Professor Snape has some in his personal stock, correct?"

Alucard nodded. "He used some on Barty Crouch Junior after the Tri-Wizard Tournament fiasco, according to Harry. Apropos of nothing, Albus is talking to me about something very interesting…"


Dumbledore soothed an agitated Fawkes (who hated being in the same room as an ancient vampire), his lips pursed in thought, as Stoker looked on. After a while, Dumbledore managed to gather his reserves of courage, and asked, "How good is your Occlumency?"

"Superlative. Given that I have consumed many souls and many lives, as you know, any Legilimency would be hard pressed to tell one set of memories from another," Stoker said. She was perversely pleased to see Dumbledore shudder at the reminder that she, or rather, Alucard, was very much a monster.

"Then I need to speak to you on a matter of vital importance. It is only because you share with me a vested interest in Harry's survival and Voldemort's downfall that I am even speaking to you of this. Tell me, Stoker, what do you know of Horcruxes?"

Stoker frowned, before getting up from her seat, and pacing pensively. The term was a familiar one, and going through the memories of those she had consumed, she soon realised why. "A truly dark magical ritual," she muttered. "I obtained immortality, as you know, through the consumption of the souls of those I feed on for blood, which bolsters the immortality vampirism grants. But a Horcrux goes about things a different way: namely by splitting the soul of a person, and placing part of the split soul into a physical object. It is basically a variation of the concept of a phylactery. In order to split the soul, a certain ritual should be performed beforehand, and then, the would-be Horcrux-maker must commit an act of cold-blooded murder. That way, should their physical body perish, their soul will be anchored to the mortal plane. Of course, dividing one's soul is an imbecilic thing to do. Can I assume that Voldemort had done so?"

Dumbledore nodded. "I believe he has made several. During Harry's Second Year, one of the students was being controlled by a Horcrux within a diary once belonging to Voldemort. At the time Voldemort had that diary, he was known to the world at large as Tom Marvolo Riddle, and he created the name 'Voldemort' based on an anagram of his full name. Thankfully, the diary was destroyed, and the student, Ginny Weasley, was saved before the Horcrux took her over entirely."

"And how was it destroyed?"

"A Basilisk fang. Harry used it to stab the book."

"Classy. Any others you suspect?"

"I suspect, but I do not know, save for one," Dumbledore said. His usually-twinkling blue eyes were now as hard as stone when he looked at Stoker. "I am certain that there is a Horcrux in Harry."

Stoker blinked, before she scowled. "What? There is a fragment…of Voldemort's soul…in my grandson?" she growled.

"I have subjected him to covert testing via discreet spells. There is a Horcrux within him. I have suspected it since his survival at the age of one, and I confirmed it when he first arrived at Hogwarts. I believe that Voldemort made so many Horcruxes, his soul was rendered unstable, and when he attempted to kill Harry, preparing to use Harry's death to create his next Horcrux, the backlash shattered his soul, causing a fragment to enter Harry's scar. And to my knowledge, the only means of removing it would end in his death, at least until recently," Dumbledore said. "I have enough on my conscience as it is. I am at my wit's end trying to find a means of removing the Horcrux from Harry that will not end in his death. That is why, albeit with the utmost reluctance, I am asking for your help. You are known for your extensive knowledge of the Dark Arts, even more than perhaps anyone alive today."

Stoker walked over to a cabinet filled with all sorts of instruments, whirling away. Eventually, she said, "There are a few ways to remove the Horcrux without killing Harry…permanently, at least. The first is that you use a lethal curse, and then, I convert him into a vampire." Stoker chuckled darkly at the shocked expression on Dumbledore's face, before holding up a finger. "However, I do know that the Goblins have rituals that could remove the Horcrux. I ate a cursebreaker who happened to be travelling on the Demeter when I was travelling to England during that whole affair that Bram Stoker wrote about. He had been travelling back from an expedition to my home country, and had to deal with a Horcrux in a valuable artifact. The Goblins, apparently, had a ritual to purge the Horcrux without damaging the artifact. They come across Horcruxes on rare occasions at Gringotts, what with their expeditions to tombs and to repossess artifacts from debtors. Whether it will harm Harry, I don't know. But if he dies, I can convert him into a full vampire. That is perhaps our best option. The other techniques have far less guarantee of success."

"Can the Goblins be counted on to be discreet?" Dumbledore asked.

"I'm sure they'd enjoy sticking it sideways to Voldemort, and enough Galleons will ensure their discretion," Stoker said. "Besides, the only other person I think might know anything better, well, we haven't talked for years…"


It is a truism that knowledge is power, although it is more how one uses the knowledge that grants power. And one of those who used that information to the utmost owned, amongst other things, a horror-themed museum in London known as the Blood Bath Gallery of Horrors. From the fictional Sweeney Todd to the very real and elusive Jack the Ripper, from John George Haigh to the tortures and executions in the Tower of London. London, like many a large city, has a bloody and messy past many would sooner wish to forget.

And yet, in this gathering place for the ghoulish and macabre, there was a hidden dark side, a darkness that cast a shadow on darkness itself. Behind hidden doors, the proprietor was currently listening to a wizard of rather dubious repute known as Mundungus 'Dung' Fletcher. The proprietor knew the man's sort: during the Blitz, she had had dealings with the 'spivs', the black marketeers who sold items the rationing-affected Londoners couldn't get normally. Fletcher was a spiv in Magical Britain. What was more, he was a reliable source of information. She paid in coin, or in kind, giving him information for him to use, sometimes for use by the Order of the Phoenix, that amusing little vigilante group Dumbledore set up to combat Voldemort.

"So, this information is accurate?" the woman asked. She was known in most circles as Crimson. Few knew her real name.

Fletcher nodded. "Well, Dumbledore told us about it, didn't he? That Potter lad was at Hellsing until he went to Hogwarts. And he went to that hearing with that bloody vampire, Alucard."

Crimson nodded. Her masses of crimson, curly hair framed a face that was beautiful, but had the air of a predator about it, like some elegant jungle cat, as did her green eyes. Her lithe, sensuous body was something models would kill to have. She was dressed in an elegant suit that nonetheless managed to show quite a bit of her abundant cleavage.

Crimson knew about what happened at the hearing. In truth, she wanted to see if Fletcher had anything further to add. And when she prompted him, he said, "Well, that Sirius Black bloke and Remus Lupin went to Hellsing as well. They're staying there. That's what I heard."

Useful information, in the right hands. "Thank you, Mr Fletcher." She handed him a wallet filled with Galleons. "You may go. Remember to keep silent."

As the frankly disgusting little man scurried out, Crimson stood, and walked over to a mirror, gazing at herself in it. As she did so, she thought, Ah, Vlad. You never could stay out of trouble, could you? Even when Abraham van Helsing put you on a leash, made you his family's vicious little attack dog, you can't help it? Even so, you're still interesting, to say the least. And so too is your progeny, OUR progeny. I wonder if you know yet, Vlad. You're not stupid, but there are times when you fail to see what is obvious. Like charms hiding my identity, as well as a memory spell to remove your memories of what was, admittedly, a pretty damn good night. Seriously, I actually felt more alive that night than I had in centuries. A shame I had to Obliviate you. It's tricky to do to a master vampire, but I managed.

With a gentle sigh, Crimson walked through the wall, and into her private chambers. She stripped off her clothing, and then entered the bathroom, cancelling the stasis charm on the bath as she did so. To many, the smell of so much blood would have been disgusting, nauseating, sickening. But to her, it was enticing. She lowered herself into its warm, comforting embrace, soaking in the blood. She was more careful nowadays how she obtained her blood, even when she wanted it fresh and warm. The world may be more careful about how they investigated crimes, but, for the most part, they had dismissed the supernatural.

She carefully sunk herself into the crimson liquid, allowing it to enter her lungs and gullet, her body convulsing in ecstasy rather than from lack of oxygen. Any human would have drowned. But it had been a long time since Crimson, born under the name of Countess Elizabeth Bathory de Ecsed, had been human…

CHAPTER 11 ANNOTATIONS:

What a chapter, huh? Besides Walter getting exposed, we have a new player. Although she has never appeared in either the manga or both anime versions, Elizabeth Bathory has been associated with vampirism in fiction. I actually originally intended, when I thought about it, to have Lucy Westenra as Harry's mysterious grandmother. But a lot of you clamoured for Elizabeth Bathory, and I'll be frank, it was a better idea than trying to figure out how Lucy survived being staked by van Helsing and his merry band. For those of you who are wondering, I had this notion that Bathory, in this fic at least, resembles a younger Polly Walker, as she appears in Patriot Games, but with the curls she has as Atia in Rome.

And yes, it looks like poor Walter (well, not really poor) is going to get a rude awakening. I've decided what is going to happen to him, too: he's going to be forced to become one of Alucard's familiars.

And yes, I've gone down the clichéd route of the Goblins having a ritual that can get rid of a Horcrux. I know it's fanon, but it's plausible fanon. You don't like it? Bite me.

…Wait, that's an unfortunate turn of phrase for a fanfic involving vampires, innit?

Review-answering time! tamagat: Sadly, you'll be disappointed, though Alucard may bring out Walter (as a familiar) to train Harry.

paladin3030: Stoker will be wearing the hat, but she will refrain from using firearms for the most part. While she'd love to scare the students, she's also going to avoid giving Umbridge ammo for firing her. When I saw the comment about the Tommy Gun, though, I realised Harry may be getting an heirloom weapon from his grandfather. It will make its first appearance in the Badrick mission…

Gabriel Herrol: See above. The Horcrux won't be a familiar…but who says that Voldemort won't be?

No numbered annotations this time.