Chapter 13: Secret's Out
It was two hours later that everyone was at Grimwauld Place and were seated in the dining room while Mrs. Weasley, Tonks, and Lupin were working on stopping the injury Alex had received taking the killing curse for Harry and Hermione. He had been brought in by Lupin, soaked in blood, breathing hard, and to disorient to respond to the frightened words of the others. None of them were able to move, speak, or look at each other as they sat there listening to the small screams that would come lose every so often as they worked on trying to heal Alex's wounds.
Finally they came out and looked at the teenagers that were seated in different spots in the room. They were going to start instantly asking question, but they couldn't do it. Mrs. Weasley looked uncomfortable, and Lupin ill with the things that had happened. Sena was looking at the woman with worry now that she was awake and feeling better. Tonks sat down next to her and the others froze stiff.
"Is he…is he dead?" asked Ron.
"No, in fact he's very much alive. Which is something we don't understand. And for Merlin's sake someone put that corpse where we can't see it!" Sirius dragged the body of Avery into another room and laid it on a table with a cloth over it before coming back out and shutting the door.
"Because he's not a normal person Molly, and I can tell you exactly what he is if of course the others don't mind it," Lupin stated.
"We can't hide this after what happened. Alex knew that something was going to happen, he felt it and that's why Lupin and Tonks were there because he warned Dumbledore."
"Very well, Alex told Harry, Ron, and Hermione that he was an Amiartus, but the thing is – Alex is more than that," he said.
"What is he?" there was a creak of wood.
"I'm a vampire," they all looked to see Alex standing there with a tired, but calm look to him even though he was wrapped up in bandages and gauze.
"A vampire? What on earth is a vampire doing at a school full of witches and wizards?" questioned Arthur.
"Dumbledore knew that the Order of the Rose could handle the Netiesus and Nata that Voldemort got from Queen Hanzel, and asked me and the others to come in and help keep an eye on Harry and the other two. I'm concerned though that they have Seracet with them."
"Who's Seracet?" asked Molly.
"She's one of the last few royals of our world. Morian, Arcane, Morrishian, and Seldoria families are the starters for a lot of noble blooded vampires – that includes the Salvador and Rouge families."
"What does the Salvador family have to do with you?" asked Hermione.
"My mother was Sinclair Salvador and my father was Roukan Rouge – which if you're as smart as you say you are then you know exactly what I am." Her jaw dropped.
"You're a hybrid, an illegal one at that! Do you have any idea what that means for people who are involved?" she questioned.
"Hermione, I've been alive for five hundred and thirty-three years. I'm not afraid, and I know good and well what's been at stake once before…I've been wanted by the Councils for years but they can't touch me because their scared. I'm a hybrid and that's my defense…as well as other things."
"What I want to know is why you just up and agreed to it when you're kind is known for being dangerous to ours," Lupin asked.
"We agreed because we knew the danger that was present. The Order of the Rose was created to make sure there was a balance between the worlds – Voldemort threatens that peace, and…none of us want to see him kill Harry or win the war. For this moment we're here to help."
"Why would you…you lied to us for months! Especially when you're a vampire…why?" Hermione asked.
"We had reasons, and I'm sorry for having to lie."
"How can we trust you then?" Ron questioned.
"Despite all that's happened…I haven't harmed anyone have I? We've protected all of you during these last few months, and to top it off from the start we've been going head to head with Umbridge just to keep the Minister at bay. He won't touch me because of what I am, and the others are safe because of the Order, but the rest of you? All of you are in danger of being tossed out to Azkaban."
"Why would he…." Alex sighed.
"He brought a Dementor with him after the Tri-Wizard Tournament last year – keeping Barty Crouch quiet. He knew what was happening, and he did his best to prevent Harry or Dumbledore from opening their mouths. That plan failed, so now he's trying to turn the public on all of you…if he gets wind of the Order of the Phoenix, or the D.A we're in trouble."
"The D.A?" asked Molly.
"Dumbledore's Army – a Defense against the Dark Arts club that Alex and Harry started. Umbridge won't even let us use magic, and now we have to resort to this to learn anything. Alex is teaching some of us combat without magic, and Harry is taking care of the magical part." The red haired woman looked shocked.
"NO! ABSOLUTELY NOT! I forbid this! You'll all be in great trou…" Alex smirked.
"We did this knowing the risks Mrs. Weasley. And even though I wouldn't want to put your loved ones in danger they also willingly agreed to this. The D.A. is all there is standing up against Umbridge – what if Voldemort decides to attack? What then?" Molly narrowed her eyes.
"I forbid this to continue. You might think your above my orders boy but believe me I will not let children put themselves in danger! Especially for no reason!" Molly snapped.
"Now Molly I think…" she shook her head.
"No! You will not defend this situation! They're all in over their heads – your still children despite the reason that Dumbledore brought you in, and that also goes for you Alex!" she waved her finger at him in a scolding motion which caused him to roll his eyes.
"Don't try and control me…my mother did that for three hundred years, and only after she stopped trying to make me back into something I wasn't did I forgive her for what she did to me. And I think that's why you're scared now Mrs. Weasley – it's not because you're worried, or the least bit concerned over me or my comrades but because I'm standing here in front of you and you know you can't control me." he leaned against the wall as the others took in the words.
"What? Excuse me? Just who do you think you are talking to me like that?" she questioned in a harsh tone. Ron and the others knew with that simple statement that the woman was angry, but by the faintly wicked look in the white haired boy's eyes they also knew that he was winning.
"For one I only had to speak that way to you because of what you are thinking in your own mind. I don't want to harm anyone, and I don't want to put people in danger because there was something I could do and didn't. The D.A needs to stand until Umbridge is gone, and once she's out of our hair and a better teacher is in her place we'll be okay. Besides we have things set up in case something happens." Sena came over to Alex and tugged his arm gently to get his attention before she placed a hand on the blood stained bandages on his chest.
"We need to change the bandages. You need to rest to – getting hit with a killing curse is dangerous enough, and you going about getting into any kind of fight: verbal or otherwise isn't good for your current condition. Come on, I'll change them for you." Without a single fight the girl led him away before shooting a glare at the group behind her.
Sena was protective of him in the way he was her – Rain and the others knew that, but it seemed that the witches and wizards around them were just starting to get the gist of it. Molly sighed in irritation as she went to start dinner while the others sat there for a moment. It was when Harry got up the others followed to the room where Sena was with Alex. Ron, Hermione, George, Fred, and Ginny followed with Arthur, Remus and Sirius to see what they were doing and had remained silent until they opened the door.
Alex was sitting on the bed letting Sena check the wounds he'd gotten. It wasn't until a moment later that she looked back at them and tilted her head stating that they were allowed to enter the room as she set to wrapping the wounds back up and finished before putting up the medical kit. Alex let her finish and the girl instantly came and curled up against him which remarkably reminded Hermione of a cat.
They wanted to ask more about hybrid vampires – about the Order of the Rose, and what the next step in the plan was, but for a moment they just watched the two of them. Sena's brown eyes looked extremely concerned despite the fact that Alex appeared perfectly fine. Despite the wounds, and the evident discomfort Alex let her remain curled against him while he kept an eye on them.
"You might as well ask something – it'll do you little good to just sit there and stare at us." They straightened up as Alex grabbed his shirt and slipped it on before Sena latched back onto him – resting her head against his shoulder.
"Hybrid vampires…I thought that they were wiped out ages ago," Hermione said.
"Nope, but we are highly uncommon. We're normally created for the purpose of making bloodlines stronger. My family didn't like the Councils ideas so they kept me away from them…ultimately it lead to me becoming an orphan."
"So, the Councils killed your parents just because they didn't get you? How is that fair?" asked Ron.
"It's not fair, but at the same time I don't think I would have ever met any of you or learned about who I am as a person if it hadn't happened. Anyways, it's entirely up to the lot of you on whether or not you want to trust me, but just understand that if you choose to not trust me that it will only cause a strain on the situation – it will not change my mind on what I or the others do here."
"In other words even if we said we hated you it wouldn't change the fact that you're here?" asked Sirius.
"Right, so it's up to all of you at the Order of the Phoenix, as well as the other Gryffindor's on whether or not to trust me – you can take my hand and let me help you willingly, or you can push me back and want me gone and put a strain on the ones backing you against Voldemort."
"So you'll leave it up to us?" Arthur asked.
"Like I said – it's your choice, just make sure you make the right one." Sena snuggled closer to him and he looked down noticing that the girl was asleep already. He sighed and laid her down before tossing a throw blanket over her.
"You know I was wondering something…"Alex looked to Hermione.
"And that would be?" she glanced down.
"You said that your different – a hybrid is technically a rare breed of vampire crossed with another bloodline or more. But how are you different?" Alex sighed.
"I'm not your average hybrid. I have abilities, and other things that are similar to that which are not normal for vampires. Since the day I was born I've been the odd one out. See it's kind of funny huh Harry? We're quite a bit alike." The dark haired teen nodded.
"Yea, that might be why we're linking up mentally all the time. The similarities in us are drawing Voldemort to you as well," he said.
"Well I think he'll be in for a real kick if I have anything to say about it. If I see him at some point I hope you won't hate me if I fire a rather painful attack at him before you do." Harry raised an eyebrow.
"I don't think anyone would really mind, but what are you talking about?" he asked.
"Let's….just say I have a few tricks up my sleeves that should leave the others rather interested. Besides with how things are going I have a sneaking suspicion we'll be seeing the Minister's perfect little world crumble soon enough. And I won't have to go after him, if anything I'd rather get my claws into Umbridge."
"Claws?" Alex let his nails lengthen out causing most of them to turn pale.
"I don't need a weapon to kill someone – a vampire is designed for killing. Claws, fangs, venoms, powerful, strong, dangerous bodies and sharp senses. We're the top predators in the world. It's kind of depressing isn't it?" Alex sat down at the end of the bed to lean against the foot board's poll that held up the canopy.
"You're just a killer then?" Ron asked.
"I've killed a lot of people, but…I also have done all I can in my power to stop worse things from happening. I don't want to be a monster, and I don't want to be a killer, but I also am aware that I cannot deny my nature." Lupin nodded.
"I know how that can be. You know what I am surely so I don't need to explain, but I understand where you're coming from. Vampires need to feed on blood – it's not just a want to, it's a need to. You seem to be the kind that has a sadistic streak in them…would I be correct?" Alex closed his eyes just faintly as he thought over the words.
"Yea….I've killed just because I could before. Slaughtered people without a second thought, and then I began to mellow out – I began to come down from that rage I had built up in me. Despite all of that though I still realize that being what I am means that I will always take a life in some way."
"So Lupin was right? You have a darker side to you that used to be the only thing?" asked Harry.
"That whole thing about a sadistic streak? Yea, it's true I used to think that humans were all monsters and deserved to die and finally I took a good look in the mirror and found out that all along I had been staring a monster in the face because it was me that was that wicked thing I was trying to get rid of. I let my anger and fear overcome me so much that I lost who I was along the way and became some kind of horrible thing when I was trying to get rid of them."
"How long did you smother yourself in that guilt?" Alex glanced to Hermione. His bangs were slightly in his eyes which truthfully brought out the brightness of those beautiful scarlet orbs. He sighed and looked at the floor.
"Centuries. I kept my distance from humans – I was kind to them, but I didn't get too involved with them if I could help it. Yet it seemed the further along people went and history came down further and further into the twenty-first century more people forgot about vampires and monsters. My kind were fairy-tails and fictions now, and I didn't worry about a person looking at me and screaming that I was a devil's child, that I was a monster, some freak of nature that deserved death. They welcomed me like a normal person…people thought that I was a strange kid, and didn't ask questions. But in the eighteen hundreds I ended up breaking my own rules." The others raised an eyebrow.
Arthur had left the room a mere second later when he heard Molly calling for him. He excused himself and left Lupin and Sirius in there with the children as Alex remained in his position at the end of the bed thinking about where this conversation was going. He saw them waiting and huffed.
"I fell in love with a girl. She was something that enamored me to no extent. I felt loved, I felt at peace, joy, excitement, fear – emotions I thought didn't exist inside me anymore. That girl saved me from my own darkness, she opened my eyes to the world's beauty and its darkness and ugliness. She didn't see the monster I still did if I looked into a mirror, she just saw a person…Elizabeth saw me for myself," he said.
"This girl, Elizabeth – did she really do all that for you?" he nodded.
"I loved her, and I became so enwrapped in that warmth and light she had that I forgot something important…" he felt his chest clench at the words.
"And what was that?" Alex seemed to pause for a moment before looking back at them.
"I forgot that mortal lives are fragile, and because of that mistake I lost her," Alex explained.
"You lost her…so…she died? How?" both the adults seemed content with listening to the story, as were the teenagers which left him with an audience that needed answers. He cast a faintly grim look to the side before leaning his head back to rest against the pillar of the bed post.
"When I was released from a mental hospital at age thirteen I got very ill, and became a carrier for a virus called tuberculosis which didn't have a cure back in the nineteenth century, and therefore she died within a short period of time," he informed them.
"How horrible. So…that's your story huh?" he nodded.
"So far it is…with us coming here to Hogwarts I'm beginning to wonder just what's going to happen now that we're fighting this war too," he stated.
"This war too? Oh…that's right – the Order has been in a war for a long time right?" Alex nodded.
"Since about ten years after I joined. Forty-seven years ago."
"Forty… whoa…say? If you're so old then what about your fangs and stuff?" asked Ron.
"Why are you interested in that?" the boy shrugged.
"I've never met a vampire – my interest is peaked. Right Hermione? Harry?" the other two nodded.
Alex sighed and walked over to Ron before pulling his lips back just enough to display the double row fangs – the eye teeth were elongated, and the ones behind them sharpened. Ron stared in shock before Alex closed his mouth and looked at the clock on the wall – it was late, but apparently there were still interests to be quelled, and for that reason alone he knew it would be a long night.
"Bloody Hell – I bet those things hurt!" said Fred.
"I've been told they do…mostly because of the fact that normally I'm the one doing the biting. Not that I haven't been bitten by another vampire before, but…that's another story for another time."
"Hmmhm, well – you most certainly have gotten our attention. I find it fascinating that you have lived this long and no one has pointed you out easily," said Sirius.
"Five hundred years of practice does some good I can admit to that." he gave a small laugh and looked to Sena.
"You care about her a lot don't you?" asked Lupin.
"Yes, she's the only other person in the long life I've lived that has actually cared about me surviving as myself and not a heartless monster."
When morning came the next day Alex was met with a small rattling noise from the hallway. He opened the door to see a cat streaking past while a tiny owl flew after it. He looked to Trick who was flapping around with an angry face while some of the others were standing in their doors looking at the scene of the three animals racing down the staircase. Alex stretched feeling much better than he had before he looked at the others coming out. He sighed and shut the door before looking at Sena who was still fast asleep. He closed the curtains around the bed and locked the door before getting dressed quickly and then went over to the door again. Once it was unlocked he went over to the bed and slowly climbed onto it to wake Sena up.
The girl was exhausted right then which he realized was from staying up late worrying about the wounds he had, and of course forcing him to feed off her when her body was already exhausted. He sighed and rolled off the bed before slipping on his socks and boots once they were laced up he headed out the bedroom door and was met face to face with Harry, Ron, and Hermione. The three looked at him in questioning before he frowned and rolled his eyes as the trio watched him walk past them and down the staircase. They followed and walked behind him into the kitchen where everyone else except a few of the slayers were seated drinking cups of coffee or tea and reading the newspaper.
Naturally the first thing Alex saw was a photo of Hogsmead and the death eaters that were taking aim at none other but them on the front cover. He sighed and looked to Trick who nodded as he put his arms on the table and rested his head atop them in frustration. It was time for intervention whether he liked it or not.
"Trick? Go to Rowan…it's time for damage control." The bat nodded and flew over to the fireplace and took a small wing full of floo powder before looking at the people in the room.
"Order of the rose!" he disappeared in a flash of green fire and the others looked to Alex who smiled.
"He's perfectly fine." They raised their eyebrows.
"I wasn't aware that he…could do that," said Ginny.
"Several other things as well. As for myself…there are some things I'd rather keep to myself."
"Where's Sena?" asked Hermione.
"Sleeping, she was up all night fretting over me. Sometimes people forget that a little thing like a killing curse won't kill me…nothing can…" the adults looked flabbergasted by the statement.
"A little thing? Alex the only person who's ever survived a killing curse is Harry! That's nothing to laugh about!" the boy looked unamused by Sirius's statement.
"I'm not laughing…and in case you were wondering…I am not interested in you telling me all about Harry's past when you wouldn't even let him know what's going on because he's a child which if I recall I am as well…Hmmh…comically enough he's the only one who can actually stop Voldemort…oh for merlin's sake stop flinching! You people are yellow bellied cowards!" Alex rose his head up when Lupin grabbed Sirius's jacket sleeve to stop him from advancing.
"Sirius don't…." Lupin was glowered at.
"I am not being talked to like that by a kid who doesn't know his own place!" Alex laughed.
"Please, spare me the drama! I am not a kid…I am several times your age and then some and to top it off you're the ones keeping Harry in the dark! Plus I don't think you realize how dangerous this is! You are in a war for the lives of the world muggle or not! And what are you doing? Playing chicken with Voldemort and…." Several of them flinched and he glared.
"Don't say the name would you? We don't…" Alex gave them a deadpanned look.
"Get used to hearing it – freaking chant it if you have to but get over it! The damn thing is a name! it's not a curse!" the boy's red eyes locked onto the adults.
"It's just…" he shook his head.
"No excuses…you should be brave enough to do it! Harry isn't afraid of saying the creeps name and I am not either if anyone should be afraid to say his damn name it should be us we're the ones with him running a freaking slideshow in our heads!" Harry nodded.
"Last night did you dream about it to?" Alex looked to the black haired boy.
"Yea….it wasn't pretty." The others looked confused.
"What are you two talking about?" Alex looked at Harry again and the boy sighed.
"We've been having the same dreams for months now and last nights was the…." Alex looked at them.
"It was the end of Hogwarts."
Well that was interesting. The secret is out! Alex is a vampire and they know it. He was on the attack earlier huh? Well I would be tired of someone flinching over a stupid name to! But at the end there was something interesting right? Alex and Harry saw the battle of Hogwarts! (Insert dramatic music) what does that mean? Well you'll have to wait and find out. Oh, by the way I would like to apologize for not updating in over a year…hehe….some things happened! I started college! And my dad passed away last Christmas, so my last two years have been hellish! Well, REVIEW! Or….uh…
Alex: Really? That's the best you've got?
Me: Ok I know I'm working on it!
Alex: Nice to know.
Me: Anyways Review!