The purpose, part 2

Chapter 5

On the first day of school, Seth had taken the train with all the other students. Seth had an amazing memory of faces and he had already recognized at least around 30 kids he saw on his shopping day. He could tell who was poor or not. He could smell all of them and their different auras thanks to Perenelle's tutoring. Most of them were all blue hues, showing calm and light excitement. Some had seemed yellow showing nervousness and apprehension and he could tell it was new students. He took a deep breath and calmed his magical senses to not get overwhelmed from everywhere and everyone. One compartment was occupied by a single boy so he decided to join him. The boy eyed Seth a second before looking at the window again.

Seth sat and the train started to leave. He appreciated already the boy who remained silent. During the long travelling hours, Seth had read his transfiguration book and thought that would be his most useful one for his first year considering the charm on his eyes and ears. While growing up, he managed to control his hearing, so he did not have to wear his headband anymore, so there was that. He also put out a wizard robe out of his trunk and simply put it over his current clothes. The boy already had his robe on since the start.

Arriving at destination, the teachers showed them the way. They had to take the boats across the lake and others could take horse carriages, wait, no, thestrals! How stupid, why did some students have to take boats and others, not? Seth grumbled, he hated cold water.

The castle was beautiful and even bigger than his home. Seth tried to calm down upon seeing the overloading magic everywhere. God that was so annoying. Upon arriving, the teachers showed them the entrance hall and they made their way to the dining room. Beautiful candles floated all around the tables. The headmaster stood up and welcomed the new students. After a short speech, the students had to put a sorting hat on their head who then chose a house for them. Each time the sorting hat screamed a house, the designated house students cheered and clapped loudly. Seth's name was called last. *SETH VULKEN* said Headmaster Dippet. A very few whispers were heard among the slithering table. Seth's ears wriggled. He had heard the word vampire coming from an older student. He had forgotten about his family name and he would have to come up with a lie soon enough because he had a feeling he would be in that slytherin house. He sat on the chair and the headmaster put the hat on his head.

*No… that is not possible.* The hat said in Seth's mind. *This must be a mistake, although that is not my purpose here, I see only one home for you. I'm hearing your screams, you can calm down, I am bound by the school laws and cannot say anything to anyone… SLYTHERIN!* finished the hat. The slytherin table cheered and Seth made a weird face before joining the green team.

*Let's eat!* stated Dippet and wonderful meals of all countries appeared on all the tables. Seth looked at the food before him and took some fried chicken and mashed potatoes, his favorite. An older student made a nudge to his friend beside him. *I'm telling you, it is just a name, see? He eats food, come on. Hey! Vulken! Where do you come from?* Asked the boy. He was tall, blond hair and had aristocratic features. His robes had encrusted crests and emblems. Probably a very wealthy family.

Seth put down his fork and looked around. The immediate students around him all stopped eating and looked intently at him. Seth couldn't help but blush at the attention. He knew that only ministry officials knew about vampires and their true whereabouts. He decided not to lie, but neither tell the truth. *On an island beside Ireland. I'm Irish* Seth answered simply. Some girls stopped talking and looked at the new student and giggled. Seth blushed even more, did he say something wrong? The blond frowned. *You do not sound Irish, anyway, welcome to Hogwarts and slytherin. The name's Malfoy, Abraxas Malfoy, I am in my last year though and I'm the prefect, so if you need help around, just ask me.* Said the blond. They went back to eating and discussing their summer. Not too far was the boy, Riddle he heard from the headmaster when he called his name. He was looking at Seth with eyes narrowed. Seth sighed and went back to eating his food. Great.

Chapter 6

His first transfiguration class was with Gryffindor and the teacher was Albus dumbledore. Flamel had told Seth about Dumbledore, how he might be the first one to know what he was if he wasn't careful, being one of the most powerful wizards of all time. Seth respected that and concentrated on the first task asked of them : Turning a rat into a cup. Seth looked at the book and read again the instructions. He pet the rat, whispering calming words to it. The rat squeaked happily. He pointed at the rat and said the required transfiguration spell at it. The rat instantly changed into a metallic wine cup. Dumbledore's eyes beamed in delight. *A natural! 10 points to Slytherin.* the professor said.

Tom had been beside Seth. Upon the success of Seth, he tried too and succeeded, which awarded Slytherin another 10 points and praise from the class. *Nice.* Seth said to Tom, who smirked.

Then it hit him, as If a giant rock had fell on him. He sat down and began sweating, his hands trembled so he crossed his arms and looked at the clock above the board. There was still about 25 minutes left before class was done. He mumbled an excuse to Dumbledore and went for a bathroom outside the class. Tom's eyes had followed Seth until he had closed the door.

Seth tried to breath slowly. Flamel had also thought something like that could have happened… many guesses were made, no one could know about his unique situation. He walked towards the nearest bathroom with great difficulty, as if he was drunk. He could hear the heartbeats from his classmates not too far. He felt his fangs grow and as he looked in the mirror, his eyes had turned black and so had his ears, pointed like an elf. With one trembling hand, he took a vial of muggle blood he always had in his pocket, should this situation happen, and it did. He gulped it down and instantly felt better. All his vampiric features disappeared, and the transfiguration spells got back on his eyes and ears. Seth breathed in heavily before putting the empty vial back in his pocket. That… is going to be a major problem. He thought about sending an owl to Flamel shortly after class. When he got back, Tom had a questioning look at Seth who simply shrugged back at him. For the remaining minutes of class, Seth continued to read his book. Several students had managed to get their rat into a cup but the fur and tail still was there.

Chapter 7

Every time a class demanded from Seth to perform magic, he got nervous and purposely failed. The teachers only then thought he needed more help than others and suggested he takes extra courses or help from his peers after classes. Seth excelled in history, astronomy, herbology and potions. He knew every answer to every question asked and had only E's in his exams. He hoped Flamel could come with a solution soon. He had developed certain friendship with Tom, Yaxley and Ronan. Tom always disappeared in the library or exploring the castle in his free time. Seth had done the same, but especially at night since he only needed about 3 hours of sleep, every night. He discovered he almost disappeared in the shadows and was never noticed, even by-passing professors in the middle of the night.

He loved that ability and went outside a lot, passing time in the forbidden forest with all the unique animals there. He had an affinity with the thestrals, maybe part of reason of his wand core or because he was himself, half-dead. As he wandered in the forest, he had seen centaurs, moving trees and even unicorns. In the forest, Seth was free, he could have his tail dandle behind him. He would sometimes run as fast as he could, feeling the grass and earth underneath his bare feet. He followed several magic traces that usually lead to centaurs or a unicorn family. He had not spoken to centaurs, since he didn't know how they would react to a dark creature like him. But he had approached unicorns and gently pet their purest white hair. When he touched them, he could feel their pure essence and he knew why wand makers would use their tail for wand cores.

While out in the forest, he would easily do the demanded spells he learned in class but each time it left him on the ground, shaking of exhaustion. He thought it would get better in time, that he would be stronger with practice, but to no avail. He had to keep several vials of blood with him every night. The unicorns would look at him weirdly while he performed at their clearing. The place was so beautiful with a very small lake that seemed to sparkle from beneath.

Snow slowly made his way on the castle. The first Christmas at school was arriving soon. Seth returned to his family with apprehension. When he got out of the train, he spotted his maiden Kathleen and they went to the floo network back home.

As soon as he left the fireplace, he untucked his tail and removed the charms on his eyes and ears. So good to be home! He was greeted by his parents and servants. Flamel was also very happy to see him. *We are very happy to see you, son, we hope you have enjoyed time at school.* Said his mother. Seth nodded and started speaking about all he learned, all he saw, the forest, his friends, the teachers, the castle secrets and his stealth power.

In one of the longest living room they had erected a giant Christmas tree and you could see hundreds of gifts underneath. The view was amazing. A magnificent star at the top of the tree lit the whole room and projected thousands of little stars on the walls and floor. Every year, Flamel would make this the most wonderful holiday of all. He wished for a second his new friends could see this one day.

Chapter 8

On Christmas day, it was custom for Seth to give the gifts to everyone, and every servant had a gift too. He would tell the name on the gift and hand it to the concerned person. He jumped in excitement when it was Kathleen's turn. When she opened the gift, she pulled out a dark green scarf with the slytherin logo on it. *I made it Kathleen! Just for you, and guess what? I put a heating charm on it too! You will never be cold with it outside anymore!* Said the prince excitedly. Kathleen beamed of joy and thanked the prince.

Seth always waited for the servants to go away for the night to open his own gifts, because they were either private or too powerful to show them. The king and Queen remained with Seth, Flamel and Kathleen. They were sitting on large sofas near a fireplace. The place had darkened for the night, the Christmas tree was projection small stars around the room as if they were outside. Seth opened his first gift from his parents. It was a very small crimson box with dark green ribbons. Inside was an orb that had the Vulken's crest engraved on it. The orb was crystal clear but inside was like a swirling deep purple cloud. He took it with his right hand, feeling the immense ancient magic coming from it and looked at his parents, puzzled.

The king bent forward and pointed at the orb. *This, my son, is the most important gift our family is now giving to you. There is an ancient charm in it. You will have to break the orb on a part of your body for it to activate. Once broken, it will leave a mark on your skin.* The king got up and continued. *If you ever feel in danger, in real danger, that your life could be terminated, you will be able to call upon our ancestors, while pressing on your mark and speaking Venthyr : Momentum Terrary Prataga Systral un Venthyr! Which simply means: In this moment, Venthyr, protect your sire.* Upon speaking Venthyr, the king'S eyes had turned black and the magical purple orb had shined.

Seth got up and removed his shirt. His skin was bare and so pale. He looked at the orb and took it in his left hand. He took a deep breath and violently smashed the orb on his right shoulder. He gasped at the sharp pain that instantly occurred. Flamel had gotten up, worried but had been stopped with the King's hand towards him. The queen had gotten up too, eyes black, feeling the vampire magic that was occurring in from of them. Kathleen had screamed fearfully and hid her eyes behind a pillow.

The orb had shattered in a thousand pieces and the purple cloud had slowly made his way into Seth's skin, making its way, rather painfully and making lines on his shoulder. Seth screamed in pain, holding his shoulder with his left hand, and fell on his knees. He concentrated on his breathing, accepting the protective charm making its way in his body. When the burning stopped, he was left with a weirdly 6-pointed star shaped deep purple tattoo on the right shoulder. He wiped the tears that had fallen on his cheeks and put back his favorite white shirt, with brown leather laces on the sleeves.

*It is done!* said the King, Queen and Seth in unison. Flamel slowly sat back in his sofa, amazed. A few minutes were passed in silence, where Kathleen had remove the pillow from her face and stared at Seth. The fire was crackling silently in the room. Flamel then took the two small gifts he had for the prince and gave them to him. *Merry Christmas, my prince.* Stated flamel. *The first gift is from my wife…* continued the alchemist while Seth opened the box and found a timeturner. *A timeturner?* asked Seth. He immediately thought about all the extra time he could be in the forest and exploring the castle. *That is an amazing gift, Flamel, I shall go thank your wife as soon as possible* Flamel nodded while Seth started to open his gift. Flamel suddenly felt uneasy, thinking he should have asked the King and Queen before giving Seth… the current gift being opened. He eyed Elena and Nathaniel nervously.

Seth opened the green box from Flamel. Inside was a golden flask with again, the vulken's crest on it. Seth grabbed the flask and looked at Flamel, then his parents who were curious about the contents. The prince removed the cap and smelled the liquid inside. His eyes instantly went black and as if he could not resist, drank it whole. Flamel's blood went down his throat and just like alcohol, a delectable burn got his stomach and he felt dizzy. He took his wand without thinking and started shooting spells at the trees decorations.

Nathaniel had got up again and violently slapped Flamel in the face. The king was furious, how foolish an experienced wizard even dared giving his son wizard blood. He had been afraid of repercussions if any vampire would touch wizard blood and maintaining peace, as if it wasn't difficult already. He looked at his son, who was laughing and shooting spells after spells at the Christmas tree. All the decorative balls were now hanging mid air all around the tree and seemed to dance with Seth's wand. The day had come, although perhaps, necessary, for it seemed wizard blood was the only thing capable of sustaining the prince's magic without him crumbling on the floor after a single spell.

Extraordinary. Finally a solution to my problem. Wizard blood. He replaced the Christmas balls on the tree and looked at Flamel. He felt as if he could drain the alchemist and still not be satisfied. He closed his eyes and focused on his breathing, calming him. He sat on the sofa. *Amazing gift, Flamel, for it seems you found the solution to my problem, but it may have created another.* Said Seth.

*Maybe not, son.* Said Elena. She took a more grave tone. *Something happened during your absence. Vampires attacked a major city in America.* She looked sadly at her husband. *We tried to stop them, only too late. We communicated with the leaders there… Aurors went there too and made threats against us. All the vampires were captured and killed one by one. Twenty-six of them. The leaders are now scared we are going to be wiped out.*

*Why did the attack occurred?* Asked Seth. *Slayers… muggle slayers. It seems our comrades were discovered and since a lot of humans are afraid of us, they managed to contact slayers and one succeeded in killing a few, so they gathered and attacked the city. Los angeles, if I am not mistaken. We had nice contacts there.* Explained Nathaniel. *So, the leaders met with the ministry of magic and asked for us to be there. They… passed a law.* The king showed his son a letter, who read it fast and each sentence made him look sicker and sicker. He jumped from his seat upon finishing. *NOOOO!* screamed Seth.

The letter mentioned that, from now on, all the vampires, exception of the royalty, and newly sired ones will have to be identified with a magical tattoo on their left hand. A picture of 3 red drops twisting showed the new tattoo. He had not paid attention to the vampires coming from other countries for Christmas but he just remembered seeing the sign on all their hands!

*They are treating us just like muggles! They have thousands of people dying from hunger everywhere on the planet, and our race is going completely out because we are not even recognized as a species but as dark creatures that don't deserve anything!* Cried out Seth. The floor began trembling. *We could bring so much to this world. Just like wizards do!* A tear fell down his cheek. His mother embraced him strongly. *Don't let them get to you, we know you were born for something special, son* said Elena. Seth let out a frustrated huff. *I could do so much more, but my body is so small and my mind is not.* He looked at Flamel and then at his empty vial on his seat. *I want wizard blood.* Declared Seth.

It made sense, after all. The king looked at his queen, who nodded. He looked at Kathleen who had actually fell asleep on the sofa in a weird position. She jerked awake at the king's call. *Kathleen! Go get the guest for the prince.* Ordered Nathaniel. Kathleen nodded and went away.

Seth went near the window and looked outside. Light snow was falling slowly. He could hear animals sounds as if he was right beside them. Elena and Nathaniel went beside their son to admire the beauty of the night. A muffled scream was heard in the corridors. A chain seemed to be dragged on the floor. His parents now had black eyes and breathed heavily. They seemed to have a very hard time to control themselves. Seth got curious and waited.

The living room's doors opened abruptly and revealed Kathleen and a vampire holding a blindfolded and chained fat man. He also had something in his mouth. They dragged him across the room and threw him in front of the royalty. The king and queen made a snarl. *This, son, is one of the wizard who brought up the recent law on us.* spat Nathaniel. *So now, he is all yours for your sustaining.* Finished the king. The muffled man tried to speak but could not. Seth nodded and grabbed the chain attached to the man's arms. Even though he was not as tall as an adult, he had the strength of his father and easily dragged the man to a room beside his bedroom. The room looked like a dungeon and he hooked the chain up in the air so the wizard could sit on his bum with arms in the air.

Seth removed the blindfold and the rag that was in his mouth. *A kid! It must be a nightmare! It is impossible! I will wake up anytime for sure! Vampire child do not exist, it's in your laws and (…)* Seth slapped the ugly man hard in the face to make him stop talking. *Would you shut up.* Asked Seth. The man stopped talking and observed the kid in front of him. White silvery hair, piercing neon blue eyes, pointed ears, white shirt and black pants, barefeet. Behind the boy was a tail going left and right like a predator. *What the fuck are you?* The fat man asked. Which just resulted into getting hit again.

*I am Seth, Vampire heir, the one that will free our kind.* Seth said. The fat man started to laugh. The prince growled and took a small dagger from the wall and cut a line on the man's left cheek. The nasty smell of the man was replaced with sweetness from the blood dripping from his cheek. *UGH! Don't touch me! Evil spawn!* spat the wizard. Seth took his new vial and quickly grabbed the dripping blood from his face before the man kicked him and backed away. He smelled the blood from the vial and his eyes turned black. He drank the little drops and he was glad it had the same effect, only smaller, than when he drank Flamel's blood. That will do, he thought happily. Only a few drops in the morning should suffice before class, no one will know. A childish laughed crossed Seth's lips and the fat man recoiled with sudden fear.

*What's so funny?* asked the fat man. He continued to mumble to himself. Seth heard the words: my wand, pain and stupid creatures. *You think if you had your wand, you would cause me pain?* asked Seth. His prisoner looked up and spat:*yeah I would! You don't deserve to live! How many centuries have you been living in a kid's body? That's revolting!*

*You are right, we would never turn a kid into a vampire, that is gross. I am actually 22 years old and I was born, not made.* Seth stated. *LIAR!* said the man furiously. The max fixated intently Seth and shouted:*ENDOLORIS!* . Seth recoiled slightly and for a fraction of seconds, he thought he had felt something bad in his body. *What was that? Tried to do wandless magic? How pitiful!* Seth said, while going to fetch his wand in his bedroom. He came back in the cell, wand in hand and pointed at the man. True fear now went in the fat man's eyes. But before he said anything, he cut the left wrist of the man with his dagger and held his hand so he wouldn't move and grabbed the blood with his vial. Seth stepped back and pointed again his wand at the man, took a sip of his vial. *So, you tried an unforgivable on me, did you? Let's try it on you, yes?* The man didn't believe it, a kid, a vampire, with magic? The world is doomed! DOOMED! Quietly, he heard the curse parting from Seth's lips and knew only pain, fire in every bone and it seemed to be eternal.

Seth's heartbeat accelerated at the dark magic he performed. The feeling was incredible, a nice warm blanket surrounded his heart, wanting only more and more. A black cloud started rising at Seth's feet, swirling around his legs.

Stop it.

A child voice spoke inside Seth's mind.

Stop it.

Seth stopped the curse and fell on his knees, out of breath. He wanted to do it again. No. He needed to do it again. He slowly got up and left the cell, full vial in hand.