I do not own Harry Potter or his world, JK Rowling has that honor. I own all that you do not know. I also do not own any songs that are printed at the beginning of each chapter, they belonged to their respective artists.
Please Note Alucard's name was originally based off of play on words. I did not realize that the Hellsing manga contained a vampire named Alucard. Please excuse this coincidence.
Unholy Purity
Part One: Demon Blood
Chapter Six: Vampires and Werewolves
Breaking the Habit
Singer
Linkin Park
Memories consume
Like opening the wounds
I'm picking me apart again
You all assume
I'm safe here in my room
Unless I try to start again
I don't want to be the one
The battles always choose
'Cause inside I realize
That I'm the one confused
I don't know what's worth fighting for
Or why I have to scream
I don't know why I instigate
And say what I don't mean
I don't know how I got this way
I know it's not alright
So I'm breaking the habit
I'm breaking the habit, tonight
Clutching my cure
I tightly lock the door
I try to catch my breath again,
I hurt much more
Than anytime before
I have no options left again
I don't want to be the one
The battles always choose
'Cause inside I realize
That I'm the one confused
I don't know what's worth fighting for
Or why I have to scream
I don't know why I instigate
And say what I don't mean
I don't know how I got this way
I'll never be alright
So, I'm breaking the habit
I'm breaking the habit, tonight
I'll paint it on the walls
'Cause I'm the one at fault
I'll never fight again
And this is how it ends
I don't know what's worth fighting for
Or why I have to scream
But now I have some clarity
To show you what I mean
I don't know how I got this way
I'll never be alright
So, I'm breaking the habit
I'm breaking the habit
I'm breaking the habit, tonight . . .
Hogwarts Castle
Reifujin Shirahime Shirogane was not one to get angry. Her piercing lavender eyes were narrowed in intense dislike as she stared upon her bodyguard, whom she did not trust within the slightest. After all, he was a demon, and everybody knew demons were lying, evil, twisted entities brought on the earth to cause misery for all others. Ryu was looking at her with an equally icy glare, masking hatred behind his lime eyes.
"What are you scheming?" she barked harshly at his blank face. The Reaper did not answer but his raven wings ruffled uneasily, as they often did in her company. Ryu did not look like most of his fellow Reapers, the raven-demons who guided dead souls to Khalida's realm, whose hair was often not the bright and cheery color Ryu's was. He was a tall, slim young man with long limbs and bright turquoise hair that hung around his pale, skull-like face. His cheeks were splashed with a few freckles set against a milk-white background, while his slanted eyes were the color of ice.
Shirogane growled behind clenched teeth and flung her fist towards the demon's cheek. Knowing better then to try and dodge, which he could easily have done, he allowed her fragile fingers to collide with his face. He gave no whimper of pain but spoke in his even, yet empty voice. "Your Excellency, might I be as bold as to question why you agreed to this position? An Archangel of such a caliber as yours can do better then teaching petty humans."
As much as any other would have enjoyed those sugary words, Shirogane's eyes merely narrowed further as she tapped her slipper-clad foot on the stone floor of her new office. "My mother's records left information on six traitors who will be resting within this building. After properly disposing of them, I will resume my original plans, of which are not privy to your ungrateful eyes." She spat at his booted feet and he made no movement.
Knowing he would probably end up getting hurt for his comments, Ryu still spoke them with a clipped tongue and even icier speech then that of his norm. "Shirahime, I am your brother yet you show me about as much affection as you do the dirt. Thrice I have laid down my life for yours, and nearly met with the Death Queen, yet you do not allow me access to any of your life. Do you truly hate me so?" Her eyes were blazing with lavender fire as she waved a hand harshly through the air. Shackles made of heavy metal appeared upon his neck and wrists, squeezing tight. Even Ryu, used to such abuse, gagged and sputtered as he tried to lift his arms to pull off the band around his neck.
"You are not my kin, you bastard child," she said with a sneering smile, eyes glittering manically, "You are the byproduct of an evil, vile act committed upon my holy mother and you are only alive because of her kindness. Count your blessings when you dare to insult me, you worthless piece of flesh and feathers!" She kicked him hard in the ribs, cracking one at least. "And never speak my name. It does not deserve to be tainted by your tongue." Adjusting her kimono's collar, she marched from the room, leaving him chocking and dying from lack of oxygen. His eyes were mad and going pale at the edges, the demon's sign for death.
The shadows in the office materialized into a solid body, forming a tall, slender man clad in very nineteenth century style clothing in shades of bright red and black, nearly painful to the eye. His thick black hair was pulled back in a sharp tail while his vermilion eyes glittered eeriely in the semi-darkness of the dungeon room behind square glasses. He chuckled as he watched Ryu claw at his throat with arms weighed down like weights. It went on for a few minutes until Ryu's lips began to turn as blue as his hair, eyes rolling to the back of his head as he lurched forward.
"You just can't hold your tongue, can you Ryuichi?" he sniggered, voice thick with a Romanian accent and a bitter dialect. He snapped his fingers and the bangles evaporated, leaving only gray smoke and the smell of sulfur behind. Ryu rubbed his throat testily, his eyes narrowed upon Alucard Tepes' form. The vampire prince grinned manically, displaying his long and pearly white fangs.
"Damn you Dracula," Ryu wheezed, examining the raw circles encasing his wrists, "Can you not just help me for once instead of waiting for me to meet my Reaper?" Alucard tilted his head on an angle while he gave his trademarked evil chuckle. "Where's the fun in that Shirogane? I always enjoy noticing how your bitch of a sister ignores my presence every time."
Ryu pushed himself to his feet, folding his wings to his back and allowing them to melt back into his flesh. His elfin ears returned to those of a human and he stood towards the vampire, looking about as normal as Ryuichi Shirogane could possibly get. The Reaper folded his arms and examined Alucard's right hand, which was wrapped in a bloody handkerchief, embroidered with the lacy letters spelling the name Etna, Alucard's first wife.
"Have a rumble in a Paris bar again, or is it family trouble?" Ryu asked, his lips curling at the corners. It was well known amongst the demon races for the vampire's many quarrels with his wives and children. It didn't help much he had regular fights with his mother over letters (usually written in blood), while poor Lucy had taken to annoying Vlad for a daughter to raise properly. Alucard gave him a sharp look and tugged at the tie of his makeshift bandage.
"The second one, as usual," he said lazily, examining the dry black blood that had caked the pale skin of his hand, "Etna threw a wine bottle at me and it caught my hand. She is not going to be happy tonight, let me tell you. Perfectly good wine, wasted," he responded with a sniggering laugh, tossing back stray locks of his black hair in an almost feminine manner. Of course, if Ryu had spoken those words aloud he would be lucky to come off alive. From the pocket of his overly-dramatic coat, Alucard pulled out a piece of pink writing paper and held it with nothing more then two fingernails, blatant disgust on his face.
"It's from Atlanta, blasted wolfhound," he snapped, balling the paper into his fist and tossing it to the floor by Ryu's feet, "She's having another one of those 'Save the whale' conventions and wants us to come. I'm not going, last time she tried to get me into the ridiculous costume. She says she misses you." Alucard laughed as Ryu's pale cheeks turned slightly pink. Atlanta Windstorm was the leader of the Lycanthropes, a free spirited and giggly girl with about as much fashion sense as Alucard had humility. Americans called her kind of people 'tree-huggers' as Ryu believed, and – he remembered with a smile – it did not suit the rest of her strict, rigid family, especially Zephyr and her husband.
"There has to be more to Atlanta's letter then just a simple invitation to a garden party, what does she want from me?" he asked lazily, tugging at his raggedy gauntlets.
"Both of us, you blasted angel-spawn," Alucard growled, spreading his leathery wings, which were not unlike a dragon's, "She has orders directly from Khalida and Mitsukai, as well as my old man. We need to have some good old fashion London fun." Ryu didn't like the way Alucard's eyes glistened, since it usually brought forth some sort of mindless killing.
"Now what would three darling women and your crackpot father want with little old us?" Ryu asked sarcastically, flipping open Atlanta's invitation. His pale eyes scanned down the overly curly writing and the woman's large John Hancock, the 'I's dotted with smiley faces that made his skin crawl. "Harry Potter? What the devil does this woman think I am, the head of the secret police? How the hell am I going to be able to trail some snot-nosed hero brat with my sister-bitch holding me on a leash?" Here Alucard grinned again, forming his bat-wings with the blood-red membrane, and bowed low so the edge of his coat left the floor.
"Your job is to guard the child in the school, I will handle the outside. Shadowy corners are my specialty." The glimmer Ryu hated was back in his old friend's eyes and he sighed. Alucard was perhaps the only demon companion he had, since his darling family shoved him in the shadows all the time due to his 'unholy demonic nature'. From the vampire, Ryu had heard and learned all about the joyous world and its people, both humans and demons, finally proving he wasn't a freak and merely a Reaper, and a crappy one at that.
"Aren't you forgetting about the sixty or so birthdays you have to buy presents for within the next day or two?" Ryu asked in exasperation, running a hand through his pale hair as a bemused expression crossed his features. He doubted very much if the vampire knew any of his children's names, much less his wives'. Alucard shrugged carelessly and stood from his low bow.
"Please, I owe everyone far too many gifts to be concerned. I'll just bring a virgin or two over for dinner and they'll all be happy for a long time." For emphasis he ran his tongue across his fangs. Ryu winced slightly but nodded.
"Say hello to Atlanta for me, and apologize since I won't be able to go to her convention."
"What the hell makes you think I'm going boy? There's no way in hell I'm getting near that wolfhound after she called me Aly and tried to get me in that whale costume." With that remark and his trademark sneer, Alucard vanished into the shadows of his arrival. Ryu grinned to himself for a moment before proceeding to destroy Atlanta's letter and Alucard's arrival.
12 Willow Avenue
Harry blinked several times, knowing that if he was still in his demonic body, his ears would be lowered in surprise and slight shock. "What?" he hissed, making Hermione stare at him in worry. He ignored her and spoke back to his mother. "What did you just say?" he asked slowly and clearly. Inside his mind, Lily Potter took a sighing breath and spoke in a quite, gentle voice.
My best friend, in both Bath and Hogwarts, was a girl named Atlanta. She . . . she was a funny person, very eco-friendly. Her family was extremely strict and didn't really approve of her friendship with me. But she . . . in our seventh year, at graduation, she pulled me aside and told me that she didn't trust James, that she didn't like him at all, but if I loved him, she'd help me in every way. She told me that she'd be moving to America within the next year and . . . and if I ever had any children, she'd make sure they'd be safe, from everything and asked me . . . Lily took another deep breath. . . . When you were born, she came back with her brother and her husband. She really liked you Harry, and Sirius and Remus liked her . . . She's your godmother Harry, Atlanta Windstorm is, and she promised that she's make sure that you'd be protected and safe.
"Didn't do a good job did she?" he said with a dark laugh. Hermione was staring at him strangely, and spoke softly. "Is it . . . that necklace you said you could talk to your mum and dad . . .?" He ignored her.
Don't say that. Atlanta was told by Dumbledore to stay away from you, because she and her brother were demons . . . Lycanthropes, like you. He didn't trust them, you see. I trusted Dumbledore with my life, but he's too blinded by bigotry and the light. But she kept in touch with Remus, Sirius just told me. Well, when she came that night, she asked me if I was willing to do anything to keep you safe. I said yes, even if it meant making you a demon. I'm so sorry Harry . . .
He let go of the lily pendent and fell onto Hermione's bed, feeling slightly numb. Hermione stared at him and he answered the question she had yet to speak. "It was my mother . . . She . . ." He balled his hands tightly into fists on his knees. "My godmother's still alive and Dumbledore forbade her from every talking to me!"
"Harry, what did she say to you?" Hermione asked quickly, sitting next to him as he drew out Mitsukai's amulet and fiddled with it for a while. "My godmother's a Lycanthrope," he said quietly, "A demon like me . . ."
". . . Do you think we should contact Dumbledore?" Hermione asked, off topic, "So he'll be able to sort out this whole Ministry affair?"
"Yes. Owl Dumbledore, so I can find out why I never got to meet my godmother!" he snarled, making Hermione scramble away from him fast. His face burned in embarrassment and he let go of the amulet, watching as his nails grew longer. "Hermione, I . . ."
"I don't understand any of this," she said slowly, her face still a slight shade of pale, "But I do know it has to be horrible for you, especially. Dumbledore will straighten this all out, like he always does."
"You're not understanding something," he said, trying to sound unemotional and trying to keep his temper down, "Dumbledore kept me locked up for ten miserable years with people who never missed a chance to deprive me of anything happy. Dumbledore never explained anything to me and pushed me aside, like I was some sort of little kid who couldn't take care of himself and couldn't understand anything. Now I just find out that he's pushed back a person who could have made my life much happier, so much better . . . He's not going to explain anything to me about this, he's going to get Snape to brew a potion, give me back a normal look and shove me in the corner while the grown ups take care of everything!"
His nails were digging deep into his palm, his teeth clenched tightly together. Hermione leaned over and hugged him tightly, knocking his hat askew and allowing his stiff ears to resume a canine's normal appearance. "He does what's best," she said, her voice muffled slightly since she was speaking into his hair, "And we'll just have to go along with that. I'll help you find your godmother, so maybe she can help if she's a . . . a demon like you."
He grinned slightly to himself and hugged her back, wondering wither or not being a demon was a good or bad thing. He pulled apart from her and picked up his discarded hat, where his friend gave a loud click of her teeth. "That thing looks so stupid on you!" she snapped, moving over to her desk and taking a pencil to write out a letter to Dumbledore. Harry shrugged lightly and stood, hands in the pockets of his trench coat. "I like it," he said stubbornly, "It's kind of cool actually." Hermione merely rolled her eyes as she wrote, her head tilted on an angle slightly and her tongue between her teeth. He fingered the lily pendent again, and heard Sirius' speak.
Lily told me what she said. Listen, about Atlanta, Dumbledore didn't think it wise to let someone like her near you. I didn't know she was a, erm, Lycanthrope, but she always had this really shady looking character with her in Hogsmead. Said he was a family friend, but everyone pretty much assumed she was a vampire, and her friend was Dracula.
"And why is that?" he asked silkily. Sirius sighed. Atlanta herself, from school I remember, was . . . extreme. She was suspended quite a few times for defending Lily from older students, and she had an almost sadistic attitude towards James. Broke his arm one time in sixth year for a couple of pranks. Add in her . . . husband Thantos and she wasn't considered an able-bodied guardian for you. Remus liked her though, thought she was special. We used to tease him and James about Lily and her. Sirius chuckled lightly for a moment. But there was something about her scent that had always bothered him. He told me once. She smelt like him, you know, like a wolf, but she acted more like a puppy.
"Do you know where she is now?" Hermione was giving him strange looks again.
Somewhere in New York City, I think. She went over there with her brother to form a magazine company or something like that. Completely gave up on magic, what I heard. Never was too good at it.
He remembered how his magic had begun to dull during his fight with Bellatrix, and frowned suddenly as the outcome of the fight never came to his mind. It was like he had fainted, the whole start of the fire wasn't in his memory. Shrugging it off, he lazily scratched behind his ears and flinched slightly when they violently twitched. It was still unnaturally bizarre to be able to feel his ears like that, and to look at his hands and see near inch and a half long, claw-like nails.
"Alright then we just need to wait for an owl to send this to Dumbledore," said Hermione suddenly, folding up the letter and turning to him. "Are you okay? You didn't eat much."
"Too much on my mind," he said with a small sigh, "It's just . . . You don't mind I'm like this?" He took of his hat and felt his ears twitch. She blinked for a moment and smiled. "It's different, yes, but it's not like your going after people for their blood or anything. I'll get used to it, and so will you."
He grinned again and Hermione shivered slightly. "Just don't smile . . ."
Tepes Manor, London
The Lady of the Kitsune, Makai Mitsukai, was draped in the chase lounge in Vlad's study, her usual attire swapped for an elaborate kimono of indigo silk embroidered with golden orchids. Rich jewelry made from lapis lazuli were at her throat and wrists, including many Necromancy talismans and amulets while platinum wires were embroidered into her braided hair. She looked nice; it was a pleasant change from her usual gothic appearance. She smiled lightly as the vampire entered the room, his ponytail singed from his experiments, his attire a simple shirt and jeans, stained with blood and ash.
"Sorry for the wait Makie," he said with a strange sort of grin, moving towards the mini-bar and a bottle of Kitsune blood. "You don't mind if I have a drink, do you? I just like your blood too much." Mitsukai shrugged carelessly and tossed back a few strands of her dark hair.
"I can't take too long Vlad, since Drei and Kara are coming over tomorrow for the anniversary of Shirogane's murder next month," she said calmly as he poured the thick black liquid into a wine glass, "So let me get to my point quickly."
"Yes, darling little Zephyr came by earlier to tell me of your plan," he said darkly, taking a seat in his leather chair and leaning back, resting his dragon-hide boots on a stack of books, "You want me to sire a girl in London because she's part of the ancient prophecy, right?"
Mitsukai smiled. "Trusty Zephyr, fast like wind. But yes, he was correct. Are there any confusing parts to my request?"
He drained the glass in a single shot and stared at the massive library around them. The Dracula family library was a large, circular room with bookshelves on all the walls. There was a small extension of the room, featuring a piano and art easel where his wife dabbled in painting nothing but the leaders of the demon species. The large fireplace had an elaborately carved mantel, featuring bats and crescent moons, with a large portrait of himself and Lucy above it, a younger Alucard in his mother's lap. The rugs were mismatched and stolen from various dealers, the furniture similar, all in shades of silver and blue. It wasn't very tidy, piles of books gathered around everywhere and small artifacts cluttering the desk.
"Makie," he said licking the glass for the last of the blood, "Why can't Alucard or somebody else do this job? I'd rather cut my own head off again – and that hurt, mind you – then get my ass hauled in by those human bureaucrats. Alucard would just kill all of them and be done with it." Mitsukai draped herself over the edge of chase lounge, the sleeve of her kimono slipping down slightly to reveal her pale shoulder.
"Little baby Aly is not suited for this task. He is merely the prince of the vampires, you are their king Vladdie." She picked up a silver picture frame from the desk and looked at the person inside. It was Alucard again, about thirteen or fourteen and taken sometime in the early days of photography. He was sitting straight up, his dark hair framing a handsome yet thin face, his eyes blank. She grinned slightly.
"He was still half-human when this was taken, right?" Vlad nodded and leaned back further in his chair and yawned widely, revealing his long canine teeth. "Yep. Lil' Aly was still human, still with morals and actual love, I think. I must be one crap ass father if I turned an innocent little boy into the mindless pervert and killing demon that is Alucard Tepes."
"I'd prefer if you left my out of conversations."
Vlad nearly fell backwards from his chair as his son remerged from the doorway, clothed like a medieval duke in shades of black and dark blue. His red eyes were narrowed as he walked swiftly across the room. "Holy shit Alucard, when did you get here?" snapped Vlad, adjusting his collar. Mitsukai stood and gave the vampire a small kiss, which he practically convulsed at.
"About the time you kept referring to me as 'Aly'," he snapped, taking the bottle of Kitsune blood and draining half of it in seconds, "And yes, you are a shitty father. What kind of man lets his son marry and doesn't send one complaint when he's never invited to the receptions? Let me tell you, you don't miss much except Etna and Sienna coming over and slapping me."
"Shame I've missed them then," said Vlad dryly, "And you do know you're drinking Kairai Okami's blood?" Mitsukai gave a small smile, showing her own small fangs. "My, my, looks like Kairai is cutting herself again. I'll ask Drei to put her back in rehab." Alucard rolled his eyes and took a long sip from the bottle, licking his fangs. "Please. Okami's got the best blood I've ever tasted. She a virgin?"
Mitsukai nodded and turned back to Vlad. "Before little Aly came, I wanted to tell you who your new daughter will be." Alucard choked on the bottle, dripping the ebony liquid down his chin and gasping. Vlad raised an eyebrow.
"Why the hell would you care, you've been asking me for a little sibling since you were a hundred. Lucy was willing to give you that sandy haired bastard back in 1960."
Alucard wiped his chin and threw the bottle at Vlad. He ducked, catching the bottle over his head. "Is this girl pure? Christian is she?" Mitsukai tilted her head and nodded with a metallic gleam in her navy eyes. "Pure as snow, but bossy and kind and gentle." Alucard stared at her and grinned happily, shouting profanity joyfully.
"Does she have a name?" asked Vlad irritated, setting the bottle down and glaring at his son with narrow dark blue eyes. Mitsukai stood, walking gracefully over towards the mini-bar and took a bottle of chrysanthemum sake and the thick red elixir that was virgin blood, mixing the two in a wine glass. "Her name's Hermione Granger, the brain behind the Boy Who Lived, Harry Potter. I presume you know him, Alucard?"
Alucard snorted and took the remaining sake. "Ja. Atlanta and I have a restraining order on him. Pain in the ass, that is. How are you supposed to make the man insane if you can't get within a foot of him?"
"About as fun as sitting around this house because your son gave you a horrid stereotype," snapped Vlad, "Do you know how much that sucks to see little kids wandering around, dressed up as you? I don't think they realize I don't look a thing like that."
"You're both annoying little people with no real existence except to torment those on earth," said Mitsukai lazily, drinking her concoction with unpleasant relish on her face, "What a pity. You can't taste the blood."
"Makie, is there anything else I need to know?"
"Beware of the wolf-man, Prong's son. He has an abnormally strong beserker form, an even stronger force for a mere half-demon. If little Aly got his hands on Potter, we might as well resurrect Hitler and enjoy World War II again," she cooed, pouring two more glasses of blood for Alucard and Vlad, "I miss the old days. Kara and Drei were Nazis, and Tenrai would have been very proud of them." Vlad raised an eyebrow. It wasn't often Mitsukai reminisced about her dead husband Tenrai Mitsukai, who was killed in cold blood by Asako Shirogane and his head mounted one a pike. The kitsune head had then been paraded around a town in feudal Japan.
"Heh," said Alucard, taking the glass Mitsukai offered him, "That was the only time I ever decided to work for America. Miserable experience. At least I got to kill the Italians."
Mitsukai raised her glass. "To the joy of incoming war. May many men perish in the outcome."
Alucard and Vlad toasted her as well, Alucard's demented smile present in the lamplight and Vlad's bemused expression in his eyes.
Reifujin means 'lady' in Japanese.
End Chapter 6: Vampires and Werewolves