Last Impression
By Angelis-Sensei
Challenge set by Plot Bunny's Helper (AKA Blackest Grim)
AN: Final Fantasy Unlimited is one of the greatest anime I've seen! You must see it. (Hence the reason I haven't updated in a while.) If this is a little different than normal, blame it on FFU!
Refer to my profile if you must see a disclaimer.
Key:
"Talking."
Thoughts.
"Parseltongue."
Chapter 6:
The Numerous Mysteries
!-!
There was a way, if there was a will, it was said. He was determined to do just that.
!-!
There was just enough time left to do what he needed to do the next day. Benjamin snuck into the Professor's room and tapped on the door.
"Yes?" he heard a deep voice call to him.
"Oh..." he began, leaning against the wall, watching as Severus – no, Salazar – mixed potions and brewed what he needed for himself. "I was just wondering what you'd like to do today, is all." Benjamin smirked, pushing himself from the wall,and gliding over behind Salazar.
"I don't really know what you have in mind," the brunette muttered, concentrating.
"Well, I was thinking of... perhaps we could escape to a different world together," he purred, wrapping his arms around the taller man's waist.
Salazar immediately flinched at the touch, hastily getting out of reach. "Out! I don't care who you are, GET OUT OF MY CHAMBERS!" he yelled, his face pale, black eyes glinting dangerously.
Surprised by the sudden outburst, Benjamin was about to protest, but then he remembered some previous incidents involving a hot-tempered potions master. Sighing, he left the room to wander the halls.
What a stupid thing to do as to take it to the next level so fast, he berated himself. He should have known that Salazar was going to act in an explosive manner, knowing how his old lover had been killed. A week before, the potions master finally opened up enough to tell why he was banished from Hogwarts so long agoThe reason being that he'd been turned into an Elder Vampire by his lover, who had been revealed to be who the Founders were originally fighting against.
What a harsh time it had been so long ago, Benjamin thought to himself.
His old friends didn't want a thing to do with him any more, nor did any of the Slytherins feel comfortable around him, either. Such a pain, he cursed, kicking a rock with his shoe.
There was nothing to do at the moment, so he sat on one of the benches close to the castle walls. Being who he was – Hogwarts wasn't exactly fun and games anymore. Now that he knew what was going on with the odd energy levels inside the castle, he was beginning to wonder where the Dark Lord was all this while.
Stretching, Benjamin glanced over into the Forbidden Forest quizzically. What exactly was in there that could be hidden so well? The thought dawned on him: What an evil aura coming from the forest...
He began to walk toward the said forest, when a wind blew up. "Ah!" the wind blew, suddenly whipping his robes into his face, covering his eyes. When the wind died down, Benjamin found himself deep inside the forest, nothing but trees and Darkness around him. He didn't feel quite alone, however. Whatever was there, was watching him intently and knowingly. "Who's there!" he called out, demandingly.
"Oh, it's no one besides the one you've been looking for," the voice hissed in his ear as if it was the wind itself. "I know what you want... but you'll have to undergo some changes to get it, though..." the voice trailed off in a laughing hiss-like sound.
"What sort of changes?" Benjamin wondered aloud.
"Like this," and with that, the wind picked up again, toying with the teen's robes. Soon, Benjamin fell to the soft, earthy ground in a dead faint.
!-!
When he woke, Benjamin felt quite odd lying in the medic ward of Hogwarts. There was something that was uneasy about this entire situation and how he got back here.
"Oh, dear! Benjamin, sire, you're awake!" a female voice called, worried. The woman rushed over, enveloping him in a tight, cold hug. "I'm so glad that you're all right... your father said that something happened to you earlier in the forest?"
Pulling away from the other, Benjamin looked up and smiled at his mother. "Yes, I'm fine... I did run into someone, but I didn't get very far with it." He sighed, leaning back against his pillows again.
His mother was different than all of the other women that inhabited the Upper World: she was a Darkling – something forbidden in the World of Light and looked down upon in the Upper World. However, in the Lower World, it was quite normal for a vampire to marry a girl like that. She was part dementor, only because of a certain poison her father had drank at a certain point in his life. Her mother had been a vampire as well, but not of such a high calabur as Benjamin's father.
"Father..." he called out a little weak. "I guess I'm seeing you a bit earlier than Christmas, eh?"
His father stood, in all this glory as the Lord Grim. "What happened that you would get your body changed like this?" he demanded harshly, grabbing a fist-full of Benjamin's hair.
Tentively, Benjamin realized that his hair was a blood red colour his skin slightly silver-tinted and his hands were clawed. His eyes trailed down to look at the rest of his body, slightly wavering. He had a tail that was the same blood-red in colour as well and heavily furred. His hands were shaking visibly, as he clung to the white sheets.
"What... what happened to me!" he hissed lowly, tears of anger and fear flooding his eyes.
"Ayashi, please don't say anything hurtful to Benjamin," the woman begged, tugging on Benjamin's father's arm slightly.
Glowering down at his only son, Ayashi Grim scowled. "It appears that something or perhaps someone, cast a spell on you to reveal your true self," he scoffed.
"My... my what!" he asked, exasperated. Shocked, Benjamin took his leave, rushing into the nearest room with a lock so that he could spend some time thinking alone. When he reached the bathroom, he looked into the mirror. It all sunk in quickly.
No wonder mother and father told me never to drink or cast anything that would alter my appearance. What could be the meaning of this? Even my eyes are that colour... he thought, gazing into his own eyes. Is this what I inherited from mother?
To Be Continued…
