Disclaimer: I own only the obvious the rest belongs to JK Rowling.
Authors Note: Sorry for the long hold up, and thanks to my wonderful beta's Tabitha and Lexi-formerly Katy999.
-Chapter Three-
Harry entered his room, a plate with a sandwich in one hand, and a glass of apple juice in the other. The Durlsey's had fled from the house, and probably wouldn't return until tomorrow, perhaps even later than that. Athan was currently trying to befriend Pig - but with no luck. The tiny owl either bit him or ignored him completely.
"How do you stand this thing?" the vampire glared at the feather ball.
"I don't, as I said before: it belongs to a friend of mine." Harry sat down at the bed. "I'd offer you something to eat, but since I've no wish to become Harry ala carte you have to go without."
"Not to worry." Athan smirked evilly. "I think a certain kamikaze-owl will do just fine."
Pig gulped and tried to put Hedwig between himself and the immortal.
Harry chuckled. "Well? When am I going to get to hear the rest of your tragic story?"
"Right now!" The vampire settled into the uncomfortable desk-chair. "Where was I? Ah, yes, the beginning of my travels with the Old Man and Kanika."
***********************~*~*********************~*~*************************
We reached the caves at the other side of the valley well before the dawn. None of us bothered to make a fire or eat, we just spread out some skins and fell asleep at once.
The same night I was woken by Kanika who was shaking my shoulder complaining that she was hungry. The Old Man was just entering the cave with a bunch of twigs in his arms. He dumped them on the floor, made an elegant gesture with his hand and a second later we had a nice fire burning. Me and Kanika just stared at him and the fire in wonder and he chuckled.
"You're able to do the same Athan, and I believe that Kanika isn't completely hopeless herself," he said.
"I can't do that!" I protested.
"You will be able to do that and much more by the time I'm finished with you, Immortal."
Not much later he had cooked a nice meal for himself and the girl. I was about to participate when I remembered that I wasn't mortal anymore. So I just sat down with them and waited for them to finish.
When he was done, the Old Man turned to me. "First of all we need to train you," he said.
"Why?" I asked.
"You really think you can survive out there," he mentioned towards the cave opening with his hand, "with what you know now? Oh, no, my dear boy; you don't have a chance, not even with your Immortal powers. Since I can control the Elements - which requires a lot of discipline and concentration - I can at least teach you to control your own powers. I can teach you a fare share of weapon-usage too, and what you don't know you'll have to learn on your own."
"Teach me too!" Kanika almost jumped up and down in her seat.
The Old Man looked doubtful.
"Oh come on," I said. "If she gets attacked or something when we're not there or during the daytime she'll need to know how to protect herself."
"Alright, I'll start easier on you but that doesn't mean that you won't be working hard. Understood?" Kanika nodded. "I hate children." The Old Man muttered, but I still think he quite fancied Kanika.
The Old Man started the training the very next night. But before I tell you the horrors of that training, I must tell you a bit about vampires that very few know. The first two years after we're turned we change. Yes, you heard right - we do change. Our body changes so that it can harbour the powers we get over the centuries.
Over the next two years I changed into the man you see now. The Old Man was, as said, an Elemental, and he helped me discover and control my own powers. We started first with the speed and strength. He taught me how to regulate both so that I didn't accidentally kill someone I was hugging, or if I was in the middle of a group of people didn't start to run faster than them.
After that we moved on to my magical powers. Those were harder. As I still was a Fledgling in most ways and hadn't even reached my first year as an Immortal, it took tremendous concentration and headaches on my part to unlock them and use them. You see, everyone has a bit of Elemental magic in himself or herself; it lays dormant behind a thick wall and waits for the right moment to show itself. Most people never discover their powers, and those who do often go mad before they can get trained by an Elemental Master.
Now, as vampires grow older that wall gets thinner and thinner and in the end disappears. By the time that happens, most of us have learned discipline, patience and concentration, and can train ourselves. But I had to tear down the wall, and the Old Man worked me like a slave. More than once I wanted to just kill him, but he was more experienced than me and I needed to know everything he did to manage, so I endured everything he put me through. And it paid off in the end. One night he had been so annoying that I exploded and without knowing it used my powers for the first time. I had him bound and gagged and hanging from a tree before he could even blink.
When he finally came down all he said was that I had to learn to control my temper, then he hugged me - his eyes shining proudly. Kanika was jumping up and down, squealing happily. She herself, had had a major progress with her own powers, and her favourites were Earth and Water. She was also very good with defending herself with a knife, and when she was six years the Old Man gave her his own knife as a gift. When Kanika hugged him, he just stood there stiff as a plank and after a while brought up his hand and clapped her awkwardly on the back.
We travelled together for seven years. We had seen most of the things the world had to offer and had made many friends with other tribes. The weird thing was that we hadn't run into one single vampire along the way, not even traces of one!
As the years went by Kanika grew into a beautiful eleven-year-old girl, her eyes sparkling with life. She didn't care that I was an Immortal, I was her bigger brother in her mind and she could hardly remember her real family. We had taught her well, and she was independent and hated boys who tried to hit on her when we came across a tribe.
The Old Man was getting weaker for every day that went, and especially in the last two months we spent together. Yet he pushed on and refused to give up. Kanika and I helped him as much as he would allow us, and both of us prepared ourselves for the fact that we would soon loose the old git.
I myself had developed greatly. If someone from my old tribe had seen me now, I don't think they would've been able to recognise me. I did most of the hunting and watched over the other two like a she-wolf would her cubs.
One night we came across another human tribe. They welcomed us into their midst and gave us food, water and new clothes as well. Kanika and the Old Man quickly became at ease with these strangers but I didn't, there was just something about them that I didn't like, but I stayed with them watching over my dear friends.
As the dawn drew nearer and we prepared to leave, it happened. We had said our goodbyes and headed towards the mountains that we could see in the distance, when the chief of the tribe stepped in front of us with six of his strongest warriors.
"But you can't leave yet!" he exclaimed. "We want something in return for our hospitality."
"What is it?" the Old Man asked in annoyance. All three of us were keeping an eye out for the sun, the sky had already started turning light blue. "A story? Some deer's? A dance?"
"We want you and her," the chief pointed to Kanika who clung to my side.
"What in the names of the gods are you talking about?" I asked. Fear had crept over me.
"Him as food and her as a new member of our group," a warrior said nonchalantly.
"Excuse me," I snapped. "But I just thought I heard you say that you wanted to eat him."
"You heard right," another warrior replied. "And you we can use as a hunter or something."
"Are you mad!"
"No, we're furious! We haven't had human meat in ages, and it will do us good! Besides, the old man is close to death anyway!" a woman yelled.
The three of us stared at them in horror. The tribe had effectively surrounded us and forced us towards a great bonfire that had been started in the middle of the camp. Suddenly arms shoot out and grabbed Kanika. She screamed and kicked out, and before anyone else could try to take her away I lifted her up in my arms.
The Old Man was watching the sky worriedly and at the same time trying to fend off several attackers. But they were too strong for him and soon had him bound to a pole and were dragging him towards the fire. I and Kanika clung to each other, knowing that there wasn't anything we could do for him anymore. There were no screams, no sounds. A silent death.
Strong hands grabbed Kanika while several others grabbed me. They managed to wrench her away from me and dragged her off, while I was held down by the six warriors who'd been with the chief.
The chief was standing over me, grinning evilly. "Perhaps we should eat this one too?" he suggested and the rest of the tribe cheered.
"ATHAN!!!!" Kanika's screams reached me. I was dizzy and weak from the approaching dawn, but I managed to pull myself together enough to throw off my captors. I ran after her with unnatural speed, but constantly spears appeared in my way and drove me further away.
"Kanika!!!!" I yelled after her an tried to reach her. I could see her, she was trying to avoid being dragged into a hut.
"Athan!" she looked to the sky. "Get going!" she yelled. "Come back tonight! Please!" I looked at her, torn into staying and following my instincts to hide from the light. "Please!"
I sent her one last apologetic look and ran.
***********************~*~*********************~*~*************************
A single crimson tear slid down the marble-like face in front of him, and Harry couldn't help but letting go of one of his own. It seemed like he and Athan had something in common: they had both lost loved ones to evil bastards.
Athan was trying to pull himself together and angrily wiped the tear away. There was no use crying. It had happened more than 8000 years ago! He was startled when a handkerchief was held right under his face, and looked up into Harry's green eyes. He smiled and accepted it before taking a deep breath to calm himself.
"I miss her," the Immortal admitted quietly.
"I know." Came the equally answer. "What happened next?" Harry asked after a while.
"I took revenge on them." Athan's face hardened. "And gods help me did it feel good."
-------------------------
There, done. Alright, it is shorter than the other two, but exams have gotten in the way. Just be glad that I posted at all.
Please review.
Thanks to:
Naia, brion, Rachel A. Prongs, Hikari Kura, Thevlyn, Dragonhope, Korinna Myorin, bubblegum*girl, Suna, WeasleyTwinsLover1112, Makina Kitsune, Aphreal Akuma and JerseyGirl03.
Authors Note: Sorry for the long hold up, and thanks to my wonderful beta's Tabitha and Lexi-formerly Katy999.
-Chapter Three-
Harry entered his room, a plate with a sandwich in one hand, and a glass of apple juice in the other. The Durlsey's had fled from the house, and probably wouldn't return until tomorrow, perhaps even later than that. Athan was currently trying to befriend Pig - but with no luck. The tiny owl either bit him or ignored him completely.
"How do you stand this thing?" the vampire glared at the feather ball.
"I don't, as I said before: it belongs to a friend of mine." Harry sat down at the bed. "I'd offer you something to eat, but since I've no wish to become Harry ala carte you have to go without."
"Not to worry." Athan smirked evilly. "I think a certain kamikaze-owl will do just fine."
Pig gulped and tried to put Hedwig between himself and the immortal.
Harry chuckled. "Well? When am I going to get to hear the rest of your tragic story?"
"Right now!" The vampire settled into the uncomfortable desk-chair. "Where was I? Ah, yes, the beginning of my travels with the Old Man and Kanika."
***********************~*~*********************~*~*************************
We reached the caves at the other side of the valley well before the dawn. None of us bothered to make a fire or eat, we just spread out some skins and fell asleep at once.
The same night I was woken by Kanika who was shaking my shoulder complaining that she was hungry. The Old Man was just entering the cave with a bunch of twigs in his arms. He dumped them on the floor, made an elegant gesture with his hand and a second later we had a nice fire burning. Me and Kanika just stared at him and the fire in wonder and he chuckled.
"You're able to do the same Athan, and I believe that Kanika isn't completely hopeless herself," he said.
"I can't do that!" I protested.
"You will be able to do that and much more by the time I'm finished with you, Immortal."
Not much later he had cooked a nice meal for himself and the girl. I was about to participate when I remembered that I wasn't mortal anymore. So I just sat down with them and waited for them to finish.
When he was done, the Old Man turned to me. "First of all we need to train you," he said.
"Why?" I asked.
"You really think you can survive out there," he mentioned towards the cave opening with his hand, "with what you know now? Oh, no, my dear boy; you don't have a chance, not even with your Immortal powers. Since I can control the Elements - which requires a lot of discipline and concentration - I can at least teach you to control your own powers. I can teach you a fare share of weapon-usage too, and what you don't know you'll have to learn on your own."
"Teach me too!" Kanika almost jumped up and down in her seat.
The Old Man looked doubtful.
"Oh come on," I said. "If she gets attacked or something when we're not there or during the daytime she'll need to know how to protect herself."
"Alright, I'll start easier on you but that doesn't mean that you won't be working hard. Understood?" Kanika nodded. "I hate children." The Old Man muttered, but I still think he quite fancied Kanika.
The Old Man started the training the very next night. But before I tell you the horrors of that training, I must tell you a bit about vampires that very few know. The first two years after we're turned we change. Yes, you heard right - we do change. Our body changes so that it can harbour the powers we get over the centuries.
Over the next two years I changed into the man you see now. The Old Man was, as said, an Elemental, and he helped me discover and control my own powers. We started first with the speed and strength. He taught me how to regulate both so that I didn't accidentally kill someone I was hugging, or if I was in the middle of a group of people didn't start to run faster than them.
After that we moved on to my magical powers. Those were harder. As I still was a Fledgling in most ways and hadn't even reached my first year as an Immortal, it took tremendous concentration and headaches on my part to unlock them and use them. You see, everyone has a bit of Elemental magic in himself or herself; it lays dormant behind a thick wall and waits for the right moment to show itself. Most people never discover their powers, and those who do often go mad before they can get trained by an Elemental Master.
Now, as vampires grow older that wall gets thinner and thinner and in the end disappears. By the time that happens, most of us have learned discipline, patience and concentration, and can train ourselves. But I had to tear down the wall, and the Old Man worked me like a slave. More than once I wanted to just kill him, but he was more experienced than me and I needed to know everything he did to manage, so I endured everything he put me through. And it paid off in the end. One night he had been so annoying that I exploded and without knowing it used my powers for the first time. I had him bound and gagged and hanging from a tree before he could even blink.
When he finally came down all he said was that I had to learn to control my temper, then he hugged me - his eyes shining proudly. Kanika was jumping up and down, squealing happily. She herself, had had a major progress with her own powers, and her favourites were Earth and Water. She was also very good with defending herself with a knife, and when she was six years the Old Man gave her his own knife as a gift. When Kanika hugged him, he just stood there stiff as a plank and after a while brought up his hand and clapped her awkwardly on the back.
We travelled together for seven years. We had seen most of the things the world had to offer and had made many friends with other tribes. The weird thing was that we hadn't run into one single vampire along the way, not even traces of one!
As the years went by Kanika grew into a beautiful eleven-year-old girl, her eyes sparkling with life. She didn't care that I was an Immortal, I was her bigger brother in her mind and she could hardly remember her real family. We had taught her well, and she was independent and hated boys who tried to hit on her when we came across a tribe.
The Old Man was getting weaker for every day that went, and especially in the last two months we spent together. Yet he pushed on and refused to give up. Kanika and I helped him as much as he would allow us, and both of us prepared ourselves for the fact that we would soon loose the old git.
I myself had developed greatly. If someone from my old tribe had seen me now, I don't think they would've been able to recognise me. I did most of the hunting and watched over the other two like a she-wolf would her cubs.
One night we came across another human tribe. They welcomed us into their midst and gave us food, water and new clothes as well. Kanika and the Old Man quickly became at ease with these strangers but I didn't, there was just something about them that I didn't like, but I stayed with them watching over my dear friends.
As the dawn drew nearer and we prepared to leave, it happened. We had said our goodbyes and headed towards the mountains that we could see in the distance, when the chief of the tribe stepped in front of us with six of his strongest warriors.
"But you can't leave yet!" he exclaimed. "We want something in return for our hospitality."
"What is it?" the Old Man asked in annoyance. All three of us were keeping an eye out for the sun, the sky had already started turning light blue. "A story? Some deer's? A dance?"
"We want you and her," the chief pointed to Kanika who clung to my side.
"What in the names of the gods are you talking about?" I asked. Fear had crept over me.
"Him as food and her as a new member of our group," a warrior said nonchalantly.
"Excuse me," I snapped. "But I just thought I heard you say that you wanted to eat him."
"You heard right," another warrior replied. "And you we can use as a hunter or something."
"Are you mad!"
"No, we're furious! We haven't had human meat in ages, and it will do us good! Besides, the old man is close to death anyway!" a woman yelled.
The three of us stared at them in horror. The tribe had effectively surrounded us and forced us towards a great bonfire that had been started in the middle of the camp. Suddenly arms shoot out and grabbed Kanika. She screamed and kicked out, and before anyone else could try to take her away I lifted her up in my arms.
The Old Man was watching the sky worriedly and at the same time trying to fend off several attackers. But they were too strong for him and soon had him bound to a pole and were dragging him towards the fire. I and Kanika clung to each other, knowing that there wasn't anything we could do for him anymore. There were no screams, no sounds. A silent death.
Strong hands grabbed Kanika while several others grabbed me. They managed to wrench her away from me and dragged her off, while I was held down by the six warriors who'd been with the chief.
The chief was standing over me, grinning evilly. "Perhaps we should eat this one too?" he suggested and the rest of the tribe cheered.
"ATHAN!!!!" Kanika's screams reached me. I was dizzy and weak from the approaching dawn, but I managed to pull myself together enough to throw off my captors. I ran after her with unnatural speed, but constantly spears appeared in my way and drove me further away.
"Kanika!!!!" I yelled after her an tried to reach her. I could see her, she was trying to avoid being dragged into a hut.
"Athan!" she looked to the sky. "Get going!" she yelled. "Come back tonight! Please!" I looked at her, torn into staying and following my instincts to hide from the light. "Please!"
I sent her one last apologetic look and ran.
***********************~*~*********************~*~*************************
A single crimson tear slid down the marble-like face in front of him, and Harry couldn't help but letting go of one of his own. It seemed like he and Athan had something in common: they had both lost loved ones to evil bastards.
Athan was trying to pull himself together and angrily wiped the tear away. There was no use crying. It had happened more than 8000 years ago! He was startled when a handkerchief was held right under his face, and looked up into Harry's green eyes. He smiled and accepted it before taking a deep breath to calm himself.
"I miss her," the Immortal admitted quietly.
"I know." Came the equally answer. "What happened next?" Harry asked after a while.
"I took revenge on them." Athan's face hardened. "And gods help me did it feel good."
-------------------------
There, done. Alright, it is shorter than the other two, but exams have gotten in the way. Just be glad that I posted at all.
Please review.
Thanks to:
Naia, brion, Rachel A. Prongs, Hikari Kura, Thevlyn, Dragonhope, Korinna Myorin, bubblegum*girl, Suna, WeasleyTwinsLover1112, Makina Kitsune, Aphreal Akuma and JerseyGirl03.