Gabriel Van Helsing removed his hat and craned his head to study the ancient castle. He had never been to Hogwarts before, although the Knights of Holy Order had said it was open to him should he ever need a safe haven. He had always rejected this on principal. Hogwarts was a school of magic and, with a few exceptions; he never trusted Wizards. They played with something that should not be bothered in his opinion. He didn't pretend to know the grander things in life, nor did he understand everything that curled into the darker recesses of the soul and he had long since decided he didn't have too either. Arts like magic, and science tended to make whatever evil lurked within come out, and in violent ways. That was what he had to deal with everyday. It was hard to deal with the morality of the issues when a gigantic beast was ripping through villages and murdering innocents. Matters of the heart and soul tended to be deep-seated mysterious powers that he didn't like to delve too deep into.
He had enough problems trying to stay alive.
"Gabriel!" Albus Dumbledore called as he walked towards him. His arms enfolded Gabriel into a tight hug. "You haven't changed a bit."
Gabriel stepped back and grinned at Albus. While it was true that Gabriel hadn't changed, the Headmaster had. His hair had long since turned white and his face held lines of age and care that didn't seem to affect Dumbledore's bright, joyful eyes. At first, Gabriel had hated those eyes, feeling they were mocking him. Once he found out this was true, it had been easier to accept and as time had passed, the two became something like friends. It had been a sort of working relationship; an alliance that had been called on from time to time when matters of one world overlapped with the other. This alliance that had been built on need was also nurtured by gentle ribbing. Which was why Gabriel now reached over and tugged on Dumbledore's beard.
"So," He said, lazily. "Is this a fashion statement or sign of authority because let me tell you, I don't think the girls dig a fuzzy face."
"I don't think Victory minds."
"Ah, yes. Victoria. Is she still doing well or does she want to kill me still?"
"Wants to kill you still but don't worry. It could be considered a compliment."
"About the beard, I've always wanted to know. When guys grow it out like that, is it tucked in or out during sleep?"
"Out, the cold air helps them grow."
Gabriel laughed. "Alright, Santa Claus, I believe you…" He stopped and turned, hearing something. "Are we here alone?"
"I believe so. Why?"
"I thought I saw something move, in the shadows."
"Ah yes," Albus mused as he motioned for Gabriel to follow. "Well, the shadows do tend to move here. It's the same thing with the stairs, and some of the rooms…ghosts also tend to like to lurk around. I wouldn't put much mind to it."
Gabriel nodded, offhandedly but kept searching the shadows as he walked. "So what's the problem? Cardinal Riker said you sounded worried and wanted me to come as soon as possible. I left a mission in San Jose to come here."
"Well, you already know about the Dark Lord that has come to power in recent years, correct?"
"The one claiming to be the heir to Salazar Slytherin? Yes, I've heard about him two years ago, when Hecate was attacked." Gabriel's face darkened. "I lost some friends in that."
"I didn't know you had other Wizard friends beside me, Gabriel."
"Acquaintances more like it. Every time I hunt a Warlock or Magical cult, I can usually expect to find one or two Navies hiding nearby."
"I'm surprised the Aurors didn't employ memory charms on you to protect their secret."
"Maybe they did." Gabriel smiled deeper. "Maybe it worked too well and that's way I don't remember my far past."
"It's a theory."
"And I wouldn't put it past them. You guys sometimes are more trouble then you're worth. Hell, I remember I hunted a werewolf once and this little blond-haired pansy comes in to try and steal the credit. I let him have it but oh, what I would have given to just take one shot at him. He was an odd bloke…named Gilderoy, I think. Thought he was a hero, I almost got bitten again because of him."
"Many try and take things upon themselves in hopes to find fame. It's a human characteristic."
"That's fine, but if he tries again, I'll shoot him." Gabriel said, and then narrowed his eyes as he caught the shadow move again. He spun about, jumping in front of Albus and pulling out his automated crossbow from his coat. As the times had changed, so had his weaponry, and his belt now held two silver laden revolvers, besides assorted bottles of holy water and oils, and other anointed odds and ends but he still liked the crossbow. It reminded him of Carl and Anna. "Albus, get down!" He cried as he fired off six arrows in rapid succession.
The creature in the shadows sprung into a flip before throwing itself against the wall as the last arrow pinned it. It made an alarm sound and pulled something out. Gabriel was about to fire again when Albus put his hand on the crossbow and pushed it down.
"It's alright! Hold your fire." Dumbledore called. "She's on our side."
"She?" Gabriel frowned.
It was indeed a human woman, or at least looked like one. She was standing in profile to him, with her body carefully out of the line of sunlight. A tightly weaved bun of hair so black it looked blue held a thin wand stuck through it to keep her hair away from her eyes. She was dressed in a tight military style uniform of heather gray and when she turned, Gabriel saw eyes of the same color. It took a moment after meeting the woman's eyes to notice her disfigurements. She looked as if she had been or could have been beautiful and attractive at one time if not for a difficult life. Her eyes were tired and grim, and lines had begun to mark her young face; making her look older then she probably was. On her neck was a large, ugly white scar as if someone had to sliced her throat, at various places on her neck, puncturing the line were little white scars: vampire bites.
The woman must have seen Gabriel looking at her scars because she looked down and pulled the wand from her bun, releasing her hair over her shoulders and letting it hide at least some of her deformities. She then gripped the arrow that had pinned her sleeve to the wall and yanked it out.
"You missed." She said, shortly as she retrieved the other arrows.
Gabriel raised his brows. "You must have vampire reflexes to dodge those arrows."
"I also have heightened senses akin to werewolves." She returned as she came towards Albus and him, holding the silver arrows to him.
"And yet you're not either." Gabriel guessed. He didn't know whither to be impressed and unnerved. "But something tells me you're not human."
"No, I'm not. I am Kaga."
"Is that some kind of animal or is that your name."
The Kaga arched one eyebrow. "I don't have a name."
"Her name is Erised, but call her Ari." Dumbledore said, giving Erised a look. "And the Kaga are…" He paused, searching for a way to define them. "They are an order of Wizards and Witches who are carefully engineered to be superior to regular humans in mental and physical discipline."
"An Order?" Gabriel looked at Erised in disbelief. "You're a product of eugenics."
"Among other things." Erised agreed, with a nod. "We also employ the use of magic and, most recently, sciences to aid in our engineering."
"To what ends? What do you gain from your superiority?"
"We lend our services to causes we feel are worthy of our attention. For some time now, our cause has been in service of the Aurors at Hecate."
"So your hired mercenaries. And so powerful, you have no equal. You will forgive me but that makes you sound a lot like a creature."
"We have been called that, and more." She answered, passively. "In fact, the Magical population as whole tend to view us as a myth, a type of long-forgotten boogey man from an other time. Because of this fear, we rarely interact with humans outside Hecate."
"Paranoia over ignorance, careful breeding, lack of emotions." Gabriel listed. "You should like a lot of the monsters I hunt."
"So, does that mean I am to be hunted?" She asked, watching him with her cold eyes.
"Why don't we focus on the problem at hand before we go looking for new ones, eh?" Dumbledore whispered. He was looking at Erised with a sort of warning, tired expression that made Gabriel think that this had not been the first time Erised had acted difficult. As Dumbledore and him began to walk again, Erised fell into step behind them quietly.
Gabriel turned to watch her for one long moment. She reminded him of Anna Valerious slightly, in the way her boldness seemed to hide some deep-seated sorrow she didn't dare show for fear it made her appear weak. He inhaled at the memory before turning his attention back to Dumbledore. "Now what about your Dark Wizard? I thought Hecate and you were taking care of him and didn't need our help."
"Normally, I would say we didn't. Voldemort is a powerful Wizard, and I wouldn't want to risk Muggle lives- despite how able they might be- in open combat with him. However, Voldemort has forced my hand. Intelligence I've received has put a powerful old adversary of yours at his side as of late, and I need your help in dealing with this."
"I have a lot of old adversaries, Albus. Can you tell me which one we're dealing with?"
"Count Dracula."
Van Helsing could have sworn the air turned colder at the mention of his name. He felt his hands ball into fist beside as rage boiled inside of him that he struggled to maintain. It had been years since he heard that name spoken as a threat, years since the memories of that monster had come to haunt him. He remembered that mission of course; though there had been times he longed it forgotten like some bad dream. In his ears, he could hear Dracula's piercing laughter, and feel the memories play out in his hands over again. He could almost feel the weight of Anna's dead body slumped against his as he realized the terrible truth…
He almost jumped as he felt a hand graze his arm. He turned and saw Erised nodding slightly to him as she removed the arm and returned to her position behind them. It had just been a second but her touch had been exactly what was needed to stop some chaotic descent into memory. He smiled at her, and then spoke to Albus. "She always do that?"
"You'll find when she wants to be, Erised can be quite the angel." Dumbledore cooed. "I'm sure you'll find her services useful in your mission together."
"Together?" Gabriel and Erised asked in unison.
Albus smiled as if he had expected this response. "Yes, together. You have fought many monsters, Gabriel but not this kind. Along with creatures like Vampires and Werewolves, Voldemort employs human soldiers and the most powerful of his soldiers is a wizard known as the Dark Prince."
"The Dark Prince? I've heard rumors about him, they say he is responsible for Day of the Dead."
"Yes, and he's thought to be Lord Voldemort's top general. You'll find him to be a powerful and cunning adversary. His tactics and boldness on the battlefield are akin to classic generals and soldiers. While he is ruthless, he's not wasteful and will retreat if he feels the odds aren't stacked in his favor."
"Which they rarely are." Ari whispered.
"All the more reason to be careful." Albus warned. He was watching Gabriel now intently. "Erised here is probably one of the foremost experts on him."
"And why is that?"
"Albus seems to believe that the Dark Prince is a fallen Auror."
"Do you have any proof?"
"Just speculation," Albus allowed. "It's the way he fights and is unwilling to lose troops, it seems too calculated for someone who has spent his life hiding behind wealth." He glanced at Ari. "But rather, someone who has both class and a history with the Aurors."
Ari shook his head. "Regardless of what his true identity is, he'll be close by the Dark Lord and Dracula. Leave him to me."
"Fair enough," Gabriel said, simply. "But can you fight?" Ari blinked as if she had never been asked such an odd question. She folded her arms and held up her chin to show off her scars. He decided to bait her. "With all those, I'd say no."
"You should have seen the other guy." Ari said after a beat, and smiled.
Gabriel smiled back. "That works. Just keep close, and we'll watch each other's back."
"Sounds like a plan."
"Alright. Let's go."
"What, now?" Ari asked.
"Why not? Gabriel shrugged. "It's almost nightfall and I assume you have at least some idea where the bad guys are going to be hiding."
"So, we're just going to rush in there? With you having never faced Death Eaters before?"
"Yes, that sounds about right…although first I want a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Then we can go."
"You've never heard of the saying fools rush in where Angels dare to tread, have you?"
Gabriel turned around and smiled at her again. He started walking backwards. He decided he liked that dazed, but amused look on Erised's face better then the cool, collected guise. It made her look a little more human. "No, why? Should I have?" He turned and continued to walk off.
Ari watched him walk for a moment before turning to Dumbledore. "Where did you find him?"
"He found me." Dumbledore answered. He leaned over and nudged her with his shoulder. She had a light in her eyes he had never seen before. It was a kind of relief that she wouldn't be alone on a mission and that her partner would someone who could at least remotely understand her. "You like him, don't you?"
"He's arrogant, and assumes too much." Ari deadpanned. "I think I'm in love."
"Watch yourself, Erised. One might mistake you for human." His tone turned serious for a moment. "And don't rush into anything foolish."
"We're going into the Lion's Den, Oz. I doubt we'll do anything but foolishness."
He reached over and touched her cheek. "You know what I mean. He's not accustomed to our ways, watch over him."
"To Hell and back, sir." Erised assured him as she started to follow Van Helsing.
Albus drew his hands over his robes and folded them thoughtfully to rest at his waist. He stood watching as Erised slide into step behind Gabriel, and then duck as he turned around to look at her. They both were smiling and laughing as they continued a childish game of cat and mouse before Gabriel batted at her, found her arm and pulled her to walk beside him. Ari blinked nervously, then said something to him that Albus could not hear at this distance.
Albus smiled in hope.
Since her assignment to him almost three years ago, Albus had watched Erised began a descent into darkness that was a starch contrast to her former days. Already a war torn veteran at roughly the age of twenty-two, Ari had been serving Hecate in one fashion or another since she was ten, the age of adulthood for the Kaga, and had spent the last six of those years in one of the most prominent positions someone of her Order could hold- the Companion of an Auror General. And in the latter years, as Malachi Smith's age and failing health begun to wear on his mind, it had been rumored that she had quietly taken more and more power unto herself, in the desire to help alleviate her Master's stress until she had been the unofficial commander of the division. She had done a wonderful job for someone who lacked the decades of experience that Malachi had, but at the end, she was still only a child compared to him.
And her fragile house of cards had shattered, one day in mid-November when one of the Interrogators, a relatively unimportant Auror named William "Monet" Moore and his family were killed and set into motion a witch hunt and paranoia that had gripped Hecate Compound as they searched vainly for a mole within the Compound and struggled to prepare themselves for a war they had been too late in seeing. Now after Day of the Dead (the attack that had left the Compound reeling) Erised had living in a sort of suicidal self-imposed exile, refusing to accept either comfort or hope. She was torturing herself over things she couldn't have changed even if she knew and it pained Albus to see such talent, such simple devotion and almost childlike faith in a cause lost to despair.
But now, when coupled with someone who understood no other life then soldiery, and dedication to a sometime vague and unforgiving cause, maybe Erised would see that a defeat, even one as crushing as hers, was not the end. Maybe Gabriel could help her heal in ways Albus, with all his wisdom and age, could not. After all, he had never been a soldier, not like them. Gabriel could help Erised more then Albus ever could.
After all, Gabriel knew something of lost.