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Thanks to all of you who reviewed and sorry about the long delay, I was having trouble with my computer.
Chapter 4 Aithne explains part 2
"Concerning the Order of the Pheonix, I would be a member but I am a total secret."
"What do you mean?" a puzzled Hermione asked.
"I mean that Dumbledore doesn't really know who I am or what I'm doing. No one does, except now you four know, and Remus has always known."
"You still haven't answered our original questions though," Harry commented as an afterthought to the spiel by Aithne. "Why were you in the forest this late at night, why were you talking with Lucious Malfoy, what was in the envelope you gave him, what was in the envelope he gave you, and most importantly, do you or do you not work for Voldemort, and if not, what in the world WERE you doing?" Harry took a long deep breath and continued with another question, "One last question, Professor Lupin?"
"Yes, Harry."
"Why were you waiting for Aithne? I mean, if she is as powerful as you both claim she is, I'm sure she could probably take care of herself."
"Yes, Harry, I'm sure she could also. However, no other person knows what she's doing. If another teacher saw her coming back to the castle, what do you think they would do? I was there, not to ensure her protection, but to make sure her rendezvous was uninterrupted and to escort her back to the castle when she was done, so she wouldn't get in trouble. Besides, she's probably the most dangerous creature in the forest."
"I think you forgot about Aragaug and his family," Ron put in quietly.
"Ron, even Aragaug knows how dangerous Aithne is. When she's around, you can be sure that the spiders give her a wide berth."
Aithne interrupted softly before they could continue, "The sun will rise soon, we should head back."
"But what about you? Vampires can't go out in sunlight."
"That's a myth. I'm not particularly fond of sunlight sometimes, Harry, but I won't spontaneously combust if I walk out in daylight. If I did, I would surely miss all of the Herbology lessons.
"The fact is, most things you've heard about vampires are myths. Holy water is just water blessed by priests. Doesn't taste very good, but is in no way harmful. Other stuff like crosses, silver bullets, even a wooden stake to the heart, all of them are myths. About the only thing that hasn't been tried on me or I haven't tried on myself is outright decapitation." Aithne smirked as she stood and moved towards the door, followed by Lupin and the others. "Thank you for the hospitality, Hagrid, have a nice day." With that, Aithne opened the door, and they all started the walk back up to the castle.
"Just curious," Hermione broke the thick silence, "do you have to drink blood? I mean, if all that other stuff is a myth, what about the blood?"
"The thing about vampires, Hermione, is that no one really knows anything about them. What was known at one time has now become so streched and exaggerated, that it is no longer truthful."
Lupin and Harry pushed open the heavy front doors.
"People don't seem to realize that vampires aren't all cold-blooded, heartless, serial murderers. Yes, we do need blood, but we don't don't have to kill. The blood can be given willingly and taken in small quantities so as not to hurt anyone. Vampires are almost exactly like humans, except we have a few more accessories and needs." Here Lupin left them to enter his own chambers.
Harry and the others walked back up to Gryffindor common room. Everyone chose a seat near the fire.
"Harry, if you'd like, I'll answer your questions now."
"I would appreciate it," Harry replied drily.
"Why was I out so late at night? Lucious can not be seen to be doing Voldemort's handy work and I would have been hindered greatly by staff and students if I had tried to enter the forest during daylight hours. I was talking to Lucious, because he is my link to Voldemort. I pass Voldemort information; false of course, through Lucious. The information was what was in the envelope I gave him."
"But what was in the envelope you recieved?"
"All in due time. The envelope I recieved gives me Voldemort's instructions of what I am to do next and some special potion ingredients."
"Potion ingredients?"
"Yes, to make a potion that will keep me from needing to drink blood." Aithne smirked, "I have been blood free for almost five years. Quite a long time for a vampire.
"Was that all the questions?"
"No. You've pretty much told us that you don't work for Voldemort and what you actually were doing, but if you don't work for either Voldemort or the Order, who do you work for?"
"The benefit of mankind. Or I guess you could say that I work for myself."
The group sat in silence for a moment before Ron's stomach interrupted all thoughts in the room. As if in silent agreement, the four stood and went down to breakfast without another word to each other.
A/N Please R&R tell me what you think. Hope you like! I don't care if you give negative comments. I'm desperate enough that I'm on my knees begging for reviews. Please forgive me for the shortness of the chapters, I felt that was a good spot to end this chapter. Oh, and thank you so much to those who reviewed this story so far!
Thanks to all of you who reviewed and sorry about the long delay, I was having trouble with my computer.
Chapter 4 Aithne explains part 2
"Concerning the Order of the Pheonix, I would be a member but I am a total secret."
"What do you mean?" a puzzled Hermione asked.
"I mean that Dumbledore doesn't really know who I am or what I'm doing. No one does, except now you four know, and Remus has always known."
"You still haven't answered our original questions though," Harry commented as an afterthought to the spiel by Aithne. "Why were you in the forest this late at night, why were you talking with Lucious Malfoy, what was in the envelope you gave him, what was in the envelope he gave you, and most importantly, do you or do you not work for Voldemort, and if not, what in the world WERE you doing?" Harry took a long deep breath and continued with another question, "One last question, Professor Lupin?"
"Yes, Harry."
"Why were you waiting for Aithne? I mean, if she is as powerful as you both claim she is, I'm sure she could probably take care of herself."
"Yes, Harry, I'm sure she could also. However, no other person knows what she's doing. If another teacher saw her coming back to the castle, what do you think they would do? I was there, not to ensure her protection, but to make sure her rendezvous was uninterrupted and to escort her back to the castle when she was done, so she wouldn't get in trouble. Besides, she's probably the most dangerous creature in the forest."
"I think you forgot about Aragaug and his family," Ron put in quietly.
"Ron, even Aragaug knows how dangerous Aithne is. When she's around, you can be sure that the spiders give her a wide berth."
Aithne interrupted softly before they could continue, "The sun will rise soon, we should head back."
"But what about you? Vampires can't go out in sunlight."
"That's a myth. I'm not particularly fond of sunlight sometimes, Harry, but I won't spontaneously combust if I walk out in daylight. If I did, I would surely miss all of the Herbology lessons.
"The fact is, most things you've heard about vampires are myths. Holy water is just water blessed by priests. Doesn't taste very good, but is in no way harmful. Other stuff like crosses, silver bullets, even a wooden stake to the heart, all of them are myths. About the only thing that hasn't been tried on me or I haven't tried on myself is outright decapitation." Aithne smirked as she stood and moved towards the door, followed by Lupin and the others. "Thank you for the hospitality, Hagrid, have a nice day." With that, Aithne opened the door, and they all started the walk back up to the castle.
"Just curious," Hermione broke the thick silence, "do you have to drink blood? I mean, if all that other stuff is a myth, what about the blood?"
"The thing about vampires, Hermione, is that no one really knows anything about them. What was known at one time has now become so streched and exaggerated, that it is no longer truthful."
Lupin and Harry pushed open the heavy front doors.
"People don't seem to realize that vampires aren't all cold-blooded, heartless, serial murderers. Yes, we do need blood, but we don't don't have to kill. The blood can be given willingly and taken in small quantities so as not to hurt anyone. Vampires are almost exactly like humans, except we have a few more accessories and needs." Here Lupin left them to enter his own chambers.
Harry and the others walked back up to Gryffindor common room. Everyone chose a seat near the fire.
"Harry, if you'd like, I'll answer your questions now."
"I would appreciate it," Harry replied drily.
"Why was I out so late at night? Lucious can not be seen to be doing Voldemort's handy work and I would have been hindered greatly by staff and students if I had tried to enter the forest during daylight hours. I was talking to Lucious, because he is my link to Voldemort. I pass Voldemort information; false of course, through Lucious. The information was what was in the envelope I gave him."
"But what was in the envelope you recieved?"
"All in due time. The envelope I recieved gives me Voldemort's instructions of what I am to do next and some special potion ingredients."
"Potion ingredients?"
"Yes, to make a potion that will keep me from needing to drink blood." Aithne smirked, "I have been blood free for almost five years. Quite a long time for a vampire.
"Was that all the questions?"
"No. You've pretty much told us that you don't work for Voldemort and what you actually were doing, but if you don't work for either Voldemort or the Order, who do you work for?"
"The benefit of mankind. Or I guess you could say that I work for myself."
The group sat in silence for a moment before Ron's stomach interrupted all thoughts in the room. As if in silent agreement, the four stood and went down to breakfast without another word to each other.
A/N Please R&R tell me what you think. Hope you like! I don't care if you give negative comments. I'm desperate enough that I'm on my knees begging for reviews. Please forgive me for the shortness of the chapters, I felt that was a good spot to end this chapter. Oh, and thank you so much to those who reviewed this story so far!