Astaron woke to his bedroom door being banged on; The locks rattled violently as pale fists beat on the door. A shrill voice shrieked, "Get up, boy! Breakfast needs to be made by the time your uncle and cousin are in the dining area!" Growling, he got out of his bed, flexing when he felt far less pain than he had yesterday. 'Must be the rapid healing.' He thought. 'Very useful.' He dressed into the normal rags and made mental note to get muggle clothes with Amaya. Stomping his feet on the stairs to purposely make a ruckus, he stopped at the final steps and stared at the silver band on his wrist. Shrugging, he slipped it off and stuffed it into his pocket before going to the kitchen.
Moving at speeds that shouldn't have been possible, he began cooking breakfast, desperately trying to ignore the disgusting smell of the muggle's blood. He had gotten a few whiffs of wizard blood and it smelled delicious. He managed to use wandless magic on a few of the simpler tasks, his body still needing to be trained on how to develop, tame, and get used to his new powers. They had to be mixed properly with the rest of his powers, not just introduced. If they weren't mixed properly, then they would clash and fight, which would cause more bad than good and also cause a severe amount of damage to his core.
Placing the plates on the table, he heard the heavy footsteps of his Uncle and contemplated putting his band back on but decided against it. He wanted to see the looks on their faces. Ducking back into the kitchen, he began pouring the drinks when he heard a chair squeak in protest as his uncle sat down. 'Poor chair. It didn't deserve this torture. I'll get it some new upholster and give it a good cleaning, I'll do it to Whale Jr's chair too.' Snatching some raw meat, he slurped up a piece and marveled at the taste of it. He knew it wasn't as good as wizard's blood, but it would suffice for now.
He heard another chair groan, and he knew Dudley had sat down. Aunt Petunia would be the one who called for the drinks. As if she heard him, a screech came from the dining area. "Where are the drinks?!"
Adding fake panic to his voice, he called out, "Coming Aunt Petunia!" Astaron snatched up the drinks and leaned back on the door to open it, walking into the dining area.
Ignoring, the pale look on her face, he set the drinks down at the table, only for Dudley to cry out. "Why do you look like that?! What'd you do?" He turned toward his cousin and gave him a sharp grin, happily exposing his fangs.
He knew something must've happened to his face for Dudley to look at him fear mixing into his face. Flicking his eyes to a nearby glass, he saw his pupils had turned to vertical slits and looked as though they were glowing. His head snapped to his Uncle Vernon when he saw him move from his peripheral vision. "You like my new look, sir? I think it's rather nice. I look like my real father now."
Petunia clenched her fist. "Real father?"
He shrugged. "Yeah. James Potter isn't my real father."
A harsh laugh came from her lips. "I knew it! I knew she was a slut! Goes around sleeping with men while married, can't keep her legs closed for anybody! She cou- humph!"
Astaron growled and moved before his mind could catch up. His hand clamped around her mouth, his nails growing to claws and digging into her skin, beads of blood swelling up. "I want you to understand this and I'm not going to explain it more than once. James Potter was not my mother's husband, my mother was married to my father, and if you insult her one more time, I will torture you slowly and painfully." He smirked at the look of fear on her face before taking his hand off of her mouth. Blood dripped from his fingertips and from the sides of her mouth. Flicking his wrist in her direction, the wounds of the side of her mouth healed and he cleaned his hand.
"Boy… Get out of my house…" Turning to his Uncle, he raised a single dark eyebrow.
"Why?"
Uncle Vernon stood wildly and slammed his hands down onto the table. He breathed heavily; his face turning from red to violet, his beady pig eyes glaring into Astaron's green ones. "Get. Out."
"And I repeat myself, why?"
Astaron barely concealed a smirk as his uncle exploded. "I REFUSE TO DEAL WITH THIS ANYMORE! I WON'T STAND FOR THIS, FOR YOU-YOUR FREAKISHNESS! FIRST THE MAGIC NOW THIS-THIS CREATURE THING! GET OUT GET OUT GET OUT! PACK YOUR BAGS AND LIVE THIS PROPERTY YOU FREAK!"
Astaron stared back at him. "No."
His uncle stared him down. "What did you just say?"
Astaron shrugged. "I said no. No, because I still have to keep the profile of the boy who lived, the boy still under Dumbledore's thumb, the boy who lives at Number 4 Privet Drive. Because I still have to keep my cover. Now, about my creature thing, you're actually correct for once. And for your information, I'm a vampire. But… if you even try to tell anybody about this, your blood will boil, your skin will peel, your organs will liquify, and your bones will break and remove themselves from your body." He made a show of waves his wand around and muttering stuff under his breath, though it was actually just the recipe for pancakes in Gaelic. Thank you Seamus for teaching me. He made a mental note to thank him once again.
Fear and horror made itself known of his relatives faces and he smiled happily. "Now, I have to go shopping and when I come back, I expect that all my school supplies will be put back in my room, unharmed. If any owls come, feed them some food and put the letters on my bed, Do. Not. Read. Them. Understand?" He didn't wait for an answer. "Good." With that, he turned on his heel and marched up the stairs and too his room.
Grabbing his robes, he slipped them over his head, as well as putting his band back on his wrist. After looking in the mirror to ensure his glamours were back on, Astaron walked back down the stairs, gratified when he heard the scared silence in the kitchen. "Be back later!" Slamming the door shut, he pulled out his wand and gave it a discreet wave. "Knight Bus." Immediately, 3 seconds later there was a loud bang and a tall purple double decker bus pulled up.
Giving Stan a nod, who smiled back at him, he take a seat in the back of the bus, gripping tightly to the rails. "The Leaky Cauldron please."
"Alrighty! Let's go.. NOW!" Immediately, the bus lurched forward and Astaron dug his heels into the floor, even thought it was smooth and there was nothing to catch his feet on. Curses swirled through his mind as he hit his head on the window, gripping tightly to his chair. Never again, he thought, never ever doing this again.
The bus stopped with another bang and Stan yelled, "The Leaky Cauldron!" Stumbling forward, he dug 11 sickles out of his pockets before sighing and just giving Stan a single galleon. He exited without a second glance and went inside the Leaky Cauldron.
He nodded at Tom and walked to the back, stopping at the brick wall. "Rubbish bin.. right. Three up, two across… there." Giving it a single tap with his wand, the brick glowed before pulling back and the archway began to open, the rest of the bricks pulling back and disappearing. Walking through, his ears heard the familiar hustle and bustle of Diagon alley.
Astaron began walking through the crowd, raking his eyes through the crowd, determined to either find a head of bushy hair or a head of wavy black hair. His green eyes brightened when he saw a head of brown hair coming toward him. "Harry!"
"Mia! There you are. Where would you like to start?"
"Well, we need to get some books from Flourish and Blotts, go to Knockturn to get some other stuff, Madame Malkin's for some new robes, maybe even go to Twilfitt and Tattings for some pureblood robes and dragonhide, maybe Borgin and Burkes and see what they have. I'm near positive we are going to need it, sometime in the future. We can also go shopping in Muggle London for some clothing. Anything in particular you want?"
Astaron tapped his chin. "A new wand from Knockturn, without the trace of course. Some new school robes for Astaron, I know what I'm doing Mia. Don't worry. And some books. Nothing more. But we can go shopping. Did you already get a pouch?"
She nodded. "Yup. Let's go. Robes first since we can shop while they are being made. Take off your glamours." He ducked into a little crevice and slipped his band off before falling back into step with Amaya, who had also taken off her band. Stepping into Madam Malkin's, his eye caught on a familiar family. The Parkinson's. Amaya's eyes twinkled. "Good chance to make some allies. They are a neutral family though they lean closer to the dark side. Not that they make it known."
He shrugged. "Why not? Come on." Taking a deep breath, he straightened his back, placed a calm look on his face, and walked over, a confident air surrounding him. Amaya smiled.
"Lord Parkinson, Lady Parkinson, Heiress Parkinson." Astaron gave a charming smile and kissed both females' hands, shaking the hand of the present male.
"Hello. May I ask your names?" Lady Parkinson gave a delicate smile.
Amaya smiled. "I am… Lady Le Fay."
Astaron gave a friendly nod. "I am her twin, Lord Peverell."
The Parkinsons' drew a quick sharp breath and they stood up straighter if that was possible. "May I ask how you have different titles."
Amaya shrugged. "We split the titles. I claim decided to claim Le Fay and my twin chose to claim Peverell. I do have some questions if I may?"
"Of course love. Please call me Celeste."
"Well Celeste, I was wondering where one might find books of dark magic, and a few… other things?"
"Perhaps you should try Cărțile tuturor, or Books Of All. It's in Knockturn. You should be able to find it, or I could escort you if you wish."
Astaron raised an eyebrow. "No thank you. We should be able to find it on our own. But I do thank you for the offer."
"Hello Dearies. Hogwarts?"
The twins turned to face the older lady. "No ma'am. We simply need some robes."
"Of course. Come stand here and let me take your measurements." Astaron stepped up first, stretching his arms out and staying still as Madama Malkin began to take her measurements. "Anything specific?"
"Acromantula silk please, finest you have. Underneath the collar, please embroider a silver snake. Put a skull behind it as well. On all my robes preferably. I need 10 of them, all hopefully by August 31st, if you can. We can pay now if that is what you wish for this order as I know this is rather significant and expensive." Astaron stepped off the platform, the moment Madam was done.
Madam looked a little surprised by nodded. "Please. And for you, love?"
Amaya sighed as she stepped on the platform. "Same please. But instead of silver, make mine green please. Also, inside the sleeves please put the name, Thana. And on his, do Emilion. Now how much will it be?"
"Let me finish and then I will have a total." Amaya stood still, Astaron kept his eyes on his sister, almost as though he was trying to read her mind. He wasn't, just trying to decipher something in his mind.
Why was he told that his father had tried to kill him? where was his mother hiding? how was she even alive and declared dead? Why did people think she was muggleborn, despite the fact that the Canva lordship came through her? Was she really a pureblood or half-blood? (He though pureblood most likely) What things would he discover this year? How really did what he did to his father, as he was still a fraction of his true soul? This was too much.
"Alright, the total will be 18 galleon, 23 knuts, and 7 sickles." Amaya reached into their pouch and pulled out the required amount. "Thank you lovies. The robes will be ready in a week."
"Thank you. Do enjoy the rest of your day." He gave a curt nod before leading his twin out. Taking a large breath, he exhaled calmly. "Where to next?"
"Flourish and Blotts for books, then we head over to Knockturn. Come along now." They raced through Diagon, expertly weaving through the crowd. Astaron collected himself as he walked into the shop. Books…. He examined the shelves, stroking his fingers along the spines of the books. Some were leather, others paper, the occasional books had a very hard cover. He began pulling books on pureblood etiquette, neutral spells, magical creatures, and others on magic basics, theory, and types. Amaya was plucking book after book from the shelves, her eyes bright with excitement. He chuckled. Somethings will never change.
Once he had the books he wanted, Astaron went up to the counter and slammed the books down, effectively getting the sleeping clerks' attention. "Thank you for waking. I need you to ring these up while I grab my sister." With that he left and went to Amaya's current location. Grabbing his sister's arm, despite her (very loud) protests of still needing more, he dragged her up to the counter and stacked her books atop his. "No more books. We have enough now."
Amaya pouted but didn't move. The clerk scowled at the stack of books and began, very slowly to Astaron's irritation, ringing up the books they had chosen. "If you could go faster, that would be very appreciated. It would be a shame if my hand were to slip, and I accidentally shot a curse your way." The clerk paled before going faster. "Thank you."
"Um, your total is 48 galleons and 27 sickles please." Astaron gestured for his sister, who piled the money up neatly.
"If you could bag them please. Feather-weight charm as well please." The clerk did as he said and they left, heading down to Knockturn.
Astaron hefted his bag over his shoulder as he watched the Weasley's pile in front of the house. He stood next to his sister, watching the way the Weasley's interacted. He was trying to see who was loyal to them and who was loyal to Dumbledore. If they were loyal to his father, which he found hard to imagine but it was possible, he would accept that as well. Arthur clapped his hands. "Alright, so it's just up this hill, or rather a few hills and we'll be there."
They began trudging to wherever they were supposed to be. Astaron let his eyes wander, twisting his Peverell ring with this thumb. Amaya had taken off her rings and only left her piercings on, which were hidden by her hair. He heard 2 other voices coming up the hill on the other side and tensed, slipping his hand into his pocket with his wand. His senses were heightened thanks to being a vampire; he had yet to see what came with being half-siren.
"Arthur! There you are. I was beginning to worry." Relaxing the slightest bit, he saw someone he recognized from Hogwarts. Cedric Diggory, he realized.
"Amos! Yes well we just got a late start."
Arthur picked up an old boot. "Everybody come round. Just a finger will do." He stared at the old boot before rolling his eyes. He had to play the part of idiot Harry Potter.
"What is that?"
"A port key. It'll take us to the grounds. Come on now." Sighing, he placed a finger on it, and he felt a harsh tug on his navel. The world began spinning and he felt himself being shoved into a tiny tub, before being spat out. Tumbling to the ground, he groaned before shakily standing up.
They arrived at a campground. "Hullo! My name is Mr. Roberts. Name?"
"Weasley."
"Right. Okay, here you are. Arthur Weasley, spot 422. That'll be 18 pounds and 49 pence."
(A/N: Never been to England. I'm not familiar with the prices. I apologize if it isn't realistic)
Arthur went through his stack of cash, looking rather confused. Sighing, Astaron took pity on him before stepping forward and plucking the bills from his hand. Going through it, he took out 20 pounds and handed it to the man. "Keep the remaining. Here you are Mr. Weasley."
Arthur gave him a relieved look before the went through the grounds. Tents of all sorts were put up, some looking like muggles others with chimneys, bells, and different types of accessories. Children ran around with toys, adults chasing after them. They passed a 4-year-old poking a mushroom with a wand and causing it to explode. He couldn't help but smile at the peals of laughter that came after. The wizarding community was far more expansive than he thought, as he passed different people from different regions.
He watched as Arthur began putting up the tent, it was simple and muggle looking; very practical for this. Knowing the inside was magically expanded, he knew there would be space for all of them, but it would be rather cramped. Going through his bag, he took out the little foldable tent from Gringotts. Apparently there was a tent in one of the vaults and they decided to use the simplest one there was. Astaron tapped Arthur on the shoulder. "Mr. Weasley? You want to use mine?"
He looked at him, confusion clear on his face. "I got one when I heard we were going to the Cup. Since you got me tickets, I decided I would repay you by getting a tent for us.. I didn't want to be ungrateful." Forcing a sheepish look on his face, he was gratified by Mr. Weasley's actions of not being suspicious and was happy that he played his part well enough.
"You didn't have to Harry. I'm perfectly fine with using our tent."
"I insist Mr. Weasley." 1 beseeching look later, and he gave in.
"Oh alright. How does it work?"
He smiled brightly and took the little tab, which was no bigger than a stick of gum. "Just unfold it and it should pop up by itself. It's the simplest Potter tent I could find."
Chuckling, Arthur unfolded the tab. It formed a large blanket which he laid down on the ground. Instantly, it popped upwards, and 4 pegs with ropes moved of it's own accord, forming a perfectly made muggle looking tent. It was rather tiny looking and slightly smaller than the Weasley's, but Astaron knew it was big on the inside. "Alright everyone! Inside, Fred, George, don't ruin anything inside the tent. Alright after you Harry."
Going inside, Astaron found himself in the entrance of a Manor. Two stairways led to the sides; the left side leading to the bedrooms, studies, and library; the right side led to the kitchen, the dining areas, formal and informal, a sitting room, a few other study rooms and a dueling room. Apparently, the Potter's were just as arrogant as some of the other pureblood families when it came to this sort of stuff. This was the simplest of the tents. Some of the others had indoor pools, greenhouse rooms, full blown rooms of magic and endless mazes of stuff. Surprised sounds came from behind him, and he turned, smirking slightly when he saw all the awed looks on the Weasley's faces.
"Goodness dad. How an Earth did you manage to afford this?"
"Yes Arthur. I as well would like to know the answer to that as well. I know for a fact the inside of our tent should not look like this." Mrs. Weasley had her hands on her hips and was looking very demandingly at Arthur.
"It was me, Mrs. Weasley," he interjected, Arthur was not going to get in trouble for him; even if he had no clue of his loyalties. "I asked Mr. Weasley to use the tent I got from my vault at Gringotts. I felt like I had to repay you because you got me tickets so, I wanted to repay you somehow. I decided that I could get a tent for us all to stay in."
Her face softened but he picked some well hidden suspicion hidden in her eyes. "How did you even know to get a tent, Harry? I didn't think Ron would tell you about that."
Why was she so suspicious about that? He would've thought she'd be more grateful for it. "Well, my robes got ripped a while back and I needed some new ones for Hogwarts. While I was in Diagon, people where chattering all about the Cup and I remembered Ron's letter so I decided that I could repay you by letting you stay in my own tent."
The suspicion cleared and a smile spread across her face. "Well thank you Harry."
One of the twins, Fred, piped up. "Blimey Harry. How much did all this cost you?"
He gave a one-shoulder shrug. "Nothing. This was the simplest tent in my vault. Not exactly what I was hoping but I do hope it suits you well enough."
Ginny smiled, though it looked a little too sweet and more than a bit predatory. "It's plenty Harry."
He shook his head. "It's no problem. Come on, bedrooms are this way." Leading them up the stairway, he began showing them the rooms.
There were apparently 3 study rooms with large desks, a bookshelf filled with books, some older than others but all taken care of and meticulously arranged; parchment rolls filled a tiny stand pushed to a side wall, some filed with stylish calligraphy that was a pain to read; an assortment of quills were tucked into the singular drawer of the stand; Shelves were on the back wall, filled with artifacts he that had no desire of finding out what they could do. (He made a mental note to set some wards around them. He wasn't ready for the Weasley twins chaos this early)
2 libraries that made his sister's eyes shine with awe and a thirst for knowledge; the walls of the libraries seemed endless, books filling every crevice of the shelves; a singular staircase spiraling upwards, leading to every level of the library; a single book finding guide was in the middle of the room; it was a long book with wings and a quill floating alongside it; Astaron was certain his sister would be found there in the morning.
The bedrooms varied in size, all with four-poster beds, lavish sheets ranging from grey, navy, white, and black were tucked skillfully on the beds; nightstands stood next to all the beds in all the bedrooms; a single candle plate was on the nightstand, an unlit candle on all of them and a lighter next to all of them; (smart considering that underage wizards could've been staying, and they couldn't use magic); walk-in closets empty with only a few formal robes with attractive embroidery in the boy rooms and expensive dresses with intricate detail in the girls rooms; desks with drawers filled with stuff which Arthur promptly charmed shut at the mischievous looks on the twins faces.
After assigning bedrooms, he led them to the other side of the house, sighing as he went with how maze-like the tent was. The kitchen was filled with pots, pans that hung on the walls; utensils were effectively arranged in the drawers, 2 drawers were specified for utensils; food was packed and stored in the pantry, the cupboards and multiple containers that had been kept cool with various types of charms; the counters were clean and spotless; cupboards were filled with towels and clothes.
The dining rooms were both actually formal, only one was overly extravagant; The informal dining room had a long wooden table with the Potter family crest carved elegantly in the middle of the table; 12 chairs neatly tucked under the table, all of them upholstered with elaborate fabric; the white silk napkins folded neatly over ornate silver utensils; The formal dining room was the same as the informal one, but with simple ornamental touches to give it a more graceful air; vases sat atop little side tables, filled with colorful dainty flowers that were charmingly arranged; a fine table cover was laid over the table, fine details sewn prettily on the cloth; the napkins were branded in the corner with the Potter crest; the utensils branded with little gems on the end; the walls of the room had paintings put into the walls, only shining when looked at from a certain angle. So perhaps not simple but it only took a few smart details to make the room look fancier.
The sitting room was nice; it had a fireplace with wood strategically stacked inside, also stacked outside to the side; sofas were placed smartly through out the room; little side tables and coffee tables in front or to the side of them as well; fluffy rugs were on the floor, feeling softer than anything he had ever felt; chairs were placed near the sofas, only 3 in the entire room; a table was pushed to the back of the room' charts, parchment, and maps, laid out, notes scribbled along the edges of the them; quills littered the table; ink containers were empty or half-full; Arthur looked mildly interested in them.
The dueling was by far the favorite of the Weasley twins and Ron. Dummies lined the back wall; fake practice wands were all stacked in a chest; real practice wands were in another chest, all for the dummies that shot spells at you; the walls were warded to not be damaged by spells or bodies hitting them; Weapons were hung on a side wall, swords, daggers, darts, bows and arrows; targets were also hung on the opposite wall, most likely for the darts, daggers, and arrows; Mrs. Weasley glanced worriedly around the room and ushered them out as soon as she could.
Leading everybody back to their rooms, Astaron made his way to his room last before locking the door, casting a few spells and flopping onto his bed. Snuggling into his sheets, he laid there for almost a minute before a knock sounded on his door. Groaning in protest, he went over to his door and opened it. It was Ron.
Ron looked slightly nervous, judging by the way he was biting his lip and tugging on the bottom of his robes. "H-hey mate. Um, can I talk to you really quick? I had something I wanted to say… erm, to both you and Hermione."
"Sure. Do you want me to her Mia?"
"Nah. I already told her that I wanted to tell both of you at the same time."
"Right. Come on in." Gesturing for Ron to come in, he did so and tentatively sat down on the bed. Amaya came in a few seconds later, plopping down across from Ron. Sitting next to her, they both stared at Ron.
"Um, so I don't want this to affect us in anyway, but I uh, wanted to tell you that uh…." Ron looked ready to collapse with how pale he was. "I'm gay and erm, I'm seeing somebody."
Astaron blinked in surprise. He wasn't expecting that. His sister was the one to break the silence.
"Who?"
Ron looked startled. "What?"
She huffed in annoyance. "Ronald Weasley, who the bloody hell are you seeing?"
He flushed a bright red and murmured something under his breath.
"Come again?"
"A Slytherin… Blaise Zabini…"
A strangled sound came from Astaron's throat as he stared at Ron in shock. "Excuse me? Don't you hate Slytherins?"
A sour looked passed through Ron's face. "I should but I found out a few things…"
With that, Ron launched into an explanation that sounded scarily like what happened to them. Minus the creature inheritance of course. A murderous look was on both of the twins faces as Ron continued.
"So your mother and Ginny are gold-diggers, your father has been subjected to love potions since his 3rd year at Hogwarts, all of your older siblings subjected to blocks and compulsions of sorts, as well as memory blocks and obliviates? I swear to Merlin, I'm going to kill Dumbledore." His sister nodded, agreeing with his statement.
"So you guys aren't mad?"
He shrugged. "No. Besides, I'm gay too, so that would be very hypocritical of me."
"Really? Huh. Hadn't noticed though you were very uh… observant about certain things when it came to blokes so I really shouldn't be surprised."
He threw his hands up. "I NOTICE things! I don't ogle at them!"
Ron simply raised an eyebrow and shrugged. "Whatever you say mate."
Ron simply raised an eyebrow and shrugged. "Whatever you say mate. Now we leave for the game tomorrow morning. Mum has already started lunch. Speaking of which, um, Harry, just remembered, you should get your vaults checked because Ginny has been talking about getting a real expensive dress and all and since we really don't have the money, I wouldn't be surprised if they have been taking money from your vaults."
Anger tore through him and Astaron forced himself to take a deep breath. "Right thanks Ron. I'll definitely check it out."
"Not a problem. Now, are you gonna tell me why you reek of creature magic? Both of you?"
The twins exchanged look.
Wonderous, how long it took me to write this. I had tried to get it out on Thrusday but you know, social outings, family annoyance, and everything else in between.
This chapter is 6,393 words and probably the longest chapter I will ever write for this book. Actually that'll polly be proven false in a few chapters because that's just how I work. I've decided to stop trying to limit how many words I write in 1 chapter because they end up being crappy if I do, but I draw the line if I get more than 8,000 words. That's just too much.
Much love to everybody!