The Hybrid
Chapter 3
"So, what did you get me?" Seri asked immeadiatly upon Zack's return. Zack lifted the cage Artimis was lounging in. "Wow!" Seri yelled, taking the cage.
"I expect you to owl me once a week you know," Zack said, giving his little sister a look that said 'keep me informed or else.' "Where is mom?"
Seri shrugged. "In her office?" Seri suggested. She was still looking at the owl. She spotted Kit, but ignored her, liking the owl more.
Zack rolled his eyes and walked up to the first floor. As he neared his mother's office he smelled something strange in the air and he didn't like it. Placing a hand on one of his guns, he let himself slip into a semi-transformed state. Like any vampire, fangs sprouted from his gums, and his eyes turned feral silver. Unlike a vampire, however, his eyes became snake like slits, much like Kit's were. He held off on everything else.
Listening with his ear to the door, he found he couldn't hear anything, not even a heart beat. Silently he opened the door, shocked at the scene before him. His mother was lying face up on her desk, her laptop smashed on the floor. She didn't seem to be able to move. There were several UV burns on her face, most likely caused by the man standing over her with a wand.
Stepping further into the room, Zack was finally able to here what was going on. "Where is Harry Potter?" the man demanded. Zack nearly growled at the man. When Selene didn't answer he muttered a spell, giving the delicate woman another UV burn, this one on her arm.
This time Zack let out a snarl that would rival that of a wolf. The man jumped in fright, turning to face him. "Step away from my mother!" Zack growled, his voice several tones deeper and louder.
The man didn't move, and in one jump, Zack leapt on the man, putting his gun, one of the ones Selene had given him earlier in the day, to his head. Zack recognized the man. His name was Mitch Sawyer, a wizard vampire hunter. Mitch, sensing the danger he was in, pulled out his wand, casting several UV spells in Zack's direction. They all connected, but they didn't do anything. Hearing the small click that meant a bullet was now in the chamber of Zack's gun, the man stopped.
"What are you?" he asked, voice full of fear.
"I, am your worst nightmare," Zack growled, moving the gun lower before pulling the trigger. Luckily, or unluckily, for the man the only things in the gun were tranquilizers. He couldn't do any real damage until he changed the clip. The man jerked and ripped out the dart, but was still out within seconds.
Turning to his mother, Zack used some of his Vycan magic to take down the silencing charm. "DAD!" Zack yelled, 'unweaving' the spell the hunter had put on Selene.
"God Zack, what are you yelling about?" Michael asked, running into the room with several of his associates in toe. "Oh shit," he said, seeing Selene laying on the table, his son standing over her, checking her injuries. He then spotted the hunter.
"Dad, you take care of mom, the hunter is mine," Zack growled, showing dominance. It was denied.
"Zachary, go find your sister. If one got in, then others could have as well," Michael ordered, picking his wife from the ground, she was badly burned. Contrary to popular opinion, Vampires didn't have a problem with light, it was UV rays that got to them. High doses of UV could kill a vampire, almost like a heightened form of skin cancer.
As he was still a 'pup' as far as everyone else was concerned, he couldn't challenge his father about who was to deal with the hunter. Running up the stairs, he was met by his sister in the hall. "Zack, what happened?" she asked.
"Mom was attacked by a vampire hunter. He is being dealt with," Zack said, reverting to his human form. His eyes were still tinted with silver, but it would fade away.
Serenity looked shocked. "Is mom okay? Are the babies alright?" Seri asked.
"I'm not sure, but it was only burns, they should be fine," said Zack. Seri sighed in relief.
It was a few days later that everything was right, and Zack was ready to head off to school. Over the past few days Kit had been great company, giving him something to do other than worry about his mom. Selene, in hand, was fine. She had a few burns, but nothing that lasted for more than a few days. Mitch Sawyer had been 'dealt with' and was now just a name on a very long missing person's list.
"You remember what we talked about?" Selene asked, placing a hand on her oldest's shoulder.
"No fighting, no walking around with my fangs out, and no running around in any of my animal forms unless my life, or another's depends on it," Zack repeated. His mother had only said it to him 10 times that morning.
Selene nodded, planting a kiss on her son's cheek. Their talk was covered by the yelling of all of the eager young witches and wizards around them. Thanks to a little bit of inventive thinking on Flash's side, an anti-UV ray charm had been cast on Selene, so she could escort him to the platform. The charm was originally designed in Spain when people started coming down with skin cancer, but it worked just nicely for what Selene needed.
Michael had had a meeting that morning, and had not been able to come, but Seri had bounded along right next to her mother and brother. "Zack, don't forget to send me something good for my birthday!" Seri said, jumping on her brother, giving him a tight hug.
"Don't worry Seri. I know that if I don't send you something, you'll show up in my dorm room with a chain saw," Zack said sarcastically, but then again, he could never be sure with his younger sister.
"We'll write you if these two decide to come early," said Selene, giving her stomach a pat.
"Thanks mom. I'll write as often as I can, and if I can get my cell to work through all of the magic, I'll call you," Zack promised, hugging his mom and little sister. With strength no 11 year old should possess, Zack picked up his trunk, Kitala jumping onto his shoulder from the top of the trunk. He'd disappeared into the crowd in seconds.
It was 10:57, so Zack only had a few minutes before the train would leave. He easily dodged around people, and found a compartment to himself in the very back of the train. Dropping his trunk, he pulled out a small bag, and stuffed the trunk under the seat.
The train ride was silent. No one bothered him, and he got several hours of textbook reading in, something he'd been doing since he gotten the books. By the end of the ride, he had finished all of his class books, and was well into a muggle murder/mystery book when an announcement was made that they would be arriving soon.
Pulling a pair of loose robes out of his trunk, Zack put his read textbooks back, and pulled on his robes. After changing, Zack put a magical lock, vampire in origin, on the trunk that was so powerful, Dracula himself would have had a hard time opening it up.
Kitala, who for some reason was good at staying unseen by anyone but Zack, leapt from her spot on the seat, onto Zack's shoulder. Zack was still surprised at how sassy the fox was, even though she was only a baby by any standards. Picking up the fox, Zack tucked her into his front pocket.
"Try to look cute will you? Or at least not deadly," said Zack said, earning a cold glare from the fox. Shouldering his bag, Zack left the compartment, a bit reluctant to leave his trunk, even if he was told it would be delivered.
Kitala looked around, smelling out danger as Zack walked, doing much the same thing himself. Sensing the mature and dangerous aura around him, all of the students stayed about a step away from the two. The first years were lead to a group of boats by a man named Hagrid. Upon getting out of the boats, and into the hall, where Professor McGonagall introduced herself, rumors started flying. Zack ignored all of this, Flash having told him all about the sorting, and the hat.
Several students were still shooting him weary glances. He really didn't look like a first year, and not just physically. His eyes held shadows akin to those you would see in a World War Veteran. While only a few of his scars were visible, they were some of the more prominent ones, like the one in his hand from a heated argument with some clan's 'first son'. In the end, the boy had ended up physically attacking Zack, and to avoid a knife in the heart, Zack had used his hand to block the strike. All in all, Zack hoped they didn't have community locker rooms, because not all of his scars couldn't be written off as those from escaping from a fire.
Only a few minutes later, McGonagall returned, eyes running over the crowd as if she were looking for someone. Zack didn't need psychic powers to know that she was looking for his alter ego, so to speak. McGonagall said a few words that Zack didn't hear, before everyone followed her to the hall. Sure enough, in the front of the hall filled with eager looking students, was a ragged looking hat.
The first person called up was a girl named Hanna Abbot, sorted into Hufflepuff. After that, Zack wasn't paying a lot of attention, until his name was called. "Corvin, Zachary!" Zack noticed several teachers' heads came up at his last name. He could practically feel their disappointment that he didn't look at all like Harry Potter.
Sitting down on the stool, Zack let the hat be placed on his head. It began talking in his head. 'Hmmm…very interesting and advanced mind for one so young. Lots of ambition, lots of secrets. No worries young master, they are safe with me. For now you will be placed in…'
"Slytherin!" the hat yelled allowed. The Slytherin table cheered, while all of the other houses booed. Flash had told him about Slytherin, having been a Slytherin in his day as well.
Almost everyone was prejudice against the group, and as a result, more often than not it produced dark wizards. However, not everyone in the group was bad. As a matter of fact, Zack had met many of Flash's good friends that had been Slytherins in school.
After he had taken his seat in a remote part of the table, Kitala decided to make herself known, jumping from his chest pocket to the table, sitting down next to his plate. No one noticed her, and Zack was thankful for that.
The sorting went on, until the came to "Potter, Harry!" Zack, it seemed, wasn't the only person who didn't think the-boy-who-lived would make an appearance. After a few moments of silence, and a word from Dumbledore, McGonagall went on with the sorting.
All too soon the sorting was over, and attention was now being drawn to Zack, as people started noticing the small fox eating off of his plate. It wasn't long before the Slytherin Head of House was making his way over.
"Zachary Corvin?" he asked in a low, silky voice.
"Yes sir," Zack responded.
"Are you aware that the list said you could bring only an owl, a cat, or a toad?" Zack nodded. "Then why do you have that?" he asked snidely, pointing to Kitala.
Kitala, being her spunky self, didn't take too well to that. "Look you greasy old bastard! He is my familiar, and wherever he goes, I go. If you have a problem with that, SUCK MY TAILS!" she yelled, making the man jump back in surprise.
"Kitala!" Zack reprimanded. "I'm sorry sir. I haven't gotten around to dealing with her mouth yet, though it's better than it was before," said Zack, tucking the clawing Kitala back into his chest pocket.
"See that your beast is restrained, or she may not stay," the man growled, walking back to his seat at the head table. Rubbing his temples Zack decided that, if he could, sinking into the floor would be a good idea right about that time.
Every student in the hall was looking at him, or the small fox poking out of his chest pocket. "Thanks for that Kit. I really needed a teacher not to like me already," Zack growled, low enough that only Kit heard. Kitala rolled her eyes, knowing Zack wasn't mad at her.
With a leap, Kitala jumped back on to the table and started eating off of Zack's plate. Zack just rolled his eyes, use to the fox's attitude. "You are lucky I like you," Zack growled playfully, taking a bite of apple from his plate. Kitala nipped his finger as he reached onto the plate again, trying to take a chicken leg from her 'side' of the plate.
Zack was in the common room before anyone tried to approach him. Incidentally, it was a group of girls that wanted to pet Kitala. With Kit's consent, Zack allowed them to, leaving it to Kit to tell them off should one of them grab her ears, or try to play 'dress up' with her.
Before long, it was time to head up stairs for some much needed shut eye. Zack nearly stepped on a boy his age when he blocked him from entering the dorm. He was about a foot shorter than Zack, clearly not having hit puberty yet. His blond hair was slicked back, letting his icy blue eyes shine through, though they were nowhere near the intensity of Zack's eyes.
"Where do you think you're going mudblood?" he asked, trying to shove Zack backwards. Zack didn't move. If anything, the kid pushed himself back further than he did Zack.
"Right. If you don't mind, I'm tired, and I will be going to bed now," Zack said, easily shoving through the smaller boy. He looked shocked that anyone would dare shove past him.
He tried to grab Zack, only to find him pulling the curtains to his bed. Nearly everyone in the castle felt the wards he created around his area, in order to avoid accidentally killing someone in the night for sneaking up on him.
The next morning, Zack was the first one up, as classes didn't start until 9, and he was used to waking up at 5:30, 6 at the latest. With a still snoozing Kitala for company, he made his way out of the dungeons, only to bump into the man from yesterday. "Hello professor, I'm sorry but I didn't get your name," said Zack, being polite as possible.
"Professor Snape, the potions master. Where, may I ask, is you beast?" he asked.
"My pocket. She's sleeping at the moment, never was much of a morning person-err…animal. Professor, may I ask you a question?" Zack asked.
"I think you already have, but go ahead."
"Who is the blond first year boy? He called me a mudblood, and I really don't appreciate the use of that terminology," Zack said. Flash had explained to him the whole mudblood vs. pureblood thing, and Zack wasn't going to put up with being insulted.
"You are a Corvin child, are you not?"
"Yes sir."
"Draco Malfoy, while he has great knowledge of the existing pureblood families, he has not yet done research on the no longer existent ones. If he had, he would have come across your surname as having been around in the early thirteenth century, a very impressive line. I'm not surprised that magic eventually resurfaced in your line," Snape said.
Zack nodded, not correcting the man. While the part about his family being wizards wasn't totally accurate, Zack knew that his family name had been around for thousands of years. "Alright, thank you Professor. It's getting late, so I'm going to go to breakfast. Knowing Kitala, she'll have a fit if I don't have breakfast ready for her when she wakes," Zack said rolling his eyes.
As he left the professor, he was surprised at himself. Normally, around strangers he was very formal, but rolling his eyes was normally only something he did when his sister was around. Shrugging it off, he headed to the Great hall, where a familiar owl was waiting for him.
"Hello Artimis. Is that from Seri?" Zack asked, sitting down. As expected, he was one of the only people in the hall.
Artimis hooted in confirmation. The hoot was quickly followed by a growl, coming from the fox that had been dozing in Zack's shirt pocket. "I smell food!" Kitala's voice yelled. It was only second before she was feeding off of a piece of sausage on Zack's plate.
"Good morning to you too," said Zack, placing the letter next to his plate. Grabbing a piece of toast, he fed it to Artimis. She hooted in thanks, perching herself on his shoulder. By then, Kitala had worked her way through all of Zack's sausage, and was working on his bacon.
Reaching for the letter, a pale hand beat him to it. "What's this? A letter from your girl friend?" Draco's annoying voice asked. The boy opened it, but it was obvious he couldn't read it, it was written in French. Seri had always preferred the French language to English, so Zack wasn't very surprised.
"If you don't mind, I'll have that back," Zack growled, plucking it back from the boy. Looking down at the medium sized letter, Zack read:
Dear Zack,
I hope this letter finds you well. Everyone here misses you already. Mom has gone on a full out cleaning spree since you left. I think she's in the attic right now. Don't worry about her over working herself. Madeline is keeping an eye on her. Dad left for New York City today. It seems someone messed with his stocks, and he is fuming. Flash and Spin went with him, just incase.
Doc set the date of the twin's birth for December 13th, a Friday, I know. You better be back for the Christmas break. Goodness knows mom would hold off having the twins until you were able to be here. She and dad came up with preliminary names. Nathan and Natalie. I think they are good names, what about you? Write back soon! I don't know how long it takes for owls to carry messages back and forth. Seri XOXO (A/N: XO means hugs and kisses.)
P.S. What house were you sorted into?
Zack placed the letter back in the envelope. Opening his bag, he quickly scratched a response:
Dear Seri,
Good to know that I'm missed. Keep a close eye on mom, I don't want her going into labor before break. God help whoever pissed dad off so much, don't people ever learn? You do not mess with the Corvin family, though the Americans might not know that. Nathan and Natalie, they sound good, but are you sure it's going to be a boy and a girl? It could be two boys, or, gods help us, two girls. I hope Doc wasn't wrong about the date. Tell mom, and dad when he gets back, that I love them both and I'll owl them soon.
Love,
Zack XOXOXO
P.S. I'm in Slytherin.
P.P.S Write in a mix of French, Italian and whatever else you can think of. I don't want other students able to read over my shoulder.
Zack had responded in French, Italian and German, just incase someone got curious about his letters. Draco was still trying to read over his shoulder, but without success. "Is there a reason you are still here?" Zack asked.
"Who are you writing to?" Draco asked, his voice rude, but not as bad as before.
"My sister, if you must know. Knowing her, she'll be writing me every day, just because she can," said Zack, handing it to Artimis, who took off with a hoot.
"Less talk, more food," said Kitala, through a mouth of food.
Zack gave her a warning glance. "Don't talk with your mouth full, don't chew with your mouth open, and stop eating like someone is going to take it out from under your nose," said Zack, plucking the last piece of bacon off the plate, right out from under Kitala's nose.
"Ass," Kitala growled, glaring at him.
At 8 most students were up and eating. The head of each house was passing out schedules. Zack was very surprised when, with his schedule, there was a request from the Headmaster to be in the man's office in ten minutes. "Something to worry about?" Kitala asked in Parseltongue.
Zack shook his head. He was just about to leave to see the Headmaster when he remembered that he didn't know where his office was. He nearly hit the roof when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He was naturally very jumpy in unfamiliar environments. He turned to see a woman he knew as Professor Minerva McGonagall standing over him. "Come Mr. Corvin. The Headmaster wishes to see you," she said, giving him space to stand.
With a mighty leap, Kitala jumped from the table, to his shoulder, ready to kick ass if she felt it necessary. With Kit on his shoulder, Zack felt a little more secure, but had a hand on the hilt of a small dagger, just incase.
Several sets of staircases later, they ended at a large stone gargoyle, and McGonagall spoke the password, Ice Mice, or some other nonsense. The gargoyle jerked, then moved to reveal a moving staircase. Zack jumped on with little hesitation, familiar with muggle escalators.
It took him a second to register that McGonagall wasn't following, but that didn't bother him any. Less enemies to take out if things became hostile. He came to stop at a door, and entered without hesitation. The office looked nothing like what Zack was use to, and he'd seen a lot of offices. Where most offices were small and impersonal, this one was large and decorated down to the floor with shiny ornaments, and then the rugs, and what you could see of the walls, were bright, florescent pink.
"This guy is totally whacked," Kitala commented, talking in Parseltongue for security. There really was nothing better than to be able to talk in a language no one else understood.
Zack nodded in agreement, feeling the need for sunglasses, just to block out all the glares from the glossy ornaments. With a blink, Zack did the next best thing, he made himself color blind. 'Better,' Zack thought, but if he didn't know better he would swear he could still see small flashes of color.
"Ah, Mr. Corvin, please, sit down," a very old, worn voice ordered. Walking down a twisted staircase was Albus Dumbledore, where an obnoxiously colored pair of robes, at least as far as Zack could tell in his color blind state.
"I think I'll stand sir," Zack said politely. He really was in no mood to sit, even if he didn't feel a minor threat from the Headmaster.
"Very well. I simply wished to inform you that, due to your mother's condition, your house has been hooked up to the floo network, so that when the time comes, you may return to see the birth of the newest member of your family," said Dumbledore, sitting down at his desk.
Zack just stared at the man. "The request came from one, Flash Johnson. I take it you know him?" Dumbledore asked, eyes holding a tell tale twinkle.
Zack nodded, knowing that he had nothing to worry about. Flash was always watching his back, whether he liked kids or not. "He's the one who explained to my parents about my being a wizard."
"Very well. I believe you have classes starting soon. Have a good day." As Dumbledore said this, the said look came back to his eyes, but Zack ignored it, concentrating on finding his classes.
(A/N: Okay, I'm having an internal battle. I know Zack's personality is better suited for Ravenclaw, but he will stick out more in Slytherin. I'm thinking that, during second year, he will be resorted into Ravenclaw, and so on every year, switching between the two houses on the sorting hat's insistence. Sound good? I could also change a few things, and put Zack 100 percent in either Ravenclaw or Slytherin. Well, anyway, I figured out while looking on my calendar that the 20th isn't a Saturday. Looking at my calendar, I think my Bio teacher meant the 30th. Anyway, let me know what you think, and I'll have chapter 4 up on May 9th or 10th, depending on if my brains still exist or not. I'll miss you guys, and my computer, in my 1 month disappearance! Wish me luck! I will need it!)
Review responses:
Japanese-jew: Thanks. I promise I'll update soon.
Wytil: Wow. I don't think I'd be a biologist. I really don't care much for the class, and that pig dissection a few weeks ago really caught up to me later. I'm really not sure what'd I would like to do yet. To write for a living would be great, but I don't think I could just sit around a write all the time. I'd go stir crazy.
ShAdOwAdRiA: Thanks.
HecateDeMort: Yep. Thanks.
Shazia)Rivera: I'm thinking about butting him in Ravenclaw instead.
Mah-angel-frum-heaven: Thanks. There are no other Harry Potter/Underworld crossovers to my knowledge.
Raven-warrior05: I may or may not change him to being in Ravenclaw. Ravenclaw fits his character more, but his being in Slytherin draws more attention to him.
Hpever: Yes, I figured that out when I went to fill it in on my calendar. I'll have to ask the teacher is it was a typo, because the print out she gave us says Saturday the 20th. I never have stayed up until 2 in the morning, and I never will, unless it is vital that I get said assignment in.
Laughing Cat: Thanks. Nice to know I'm not the only person who is going to be stressing this month.
Shadowface: Thanks, and I will.
Jbfritz: Thanks.
Kaaera: Thanks!
Dark Catalyst: Thanks. I hope you enjoy this story.
Methoslover: Thanks.
Applebottoms: I will, not. O'well, the day of the State AP exam, we have the rest of the day off. It's the school exam that falls on a Saturday.
Sarah R Potter: Thanks.
Gaul1: Forgot about the whole reaction thing. Lets just say Kit think they're all insane, and no one besides Seri has seen Kit. Train ride, uneventful.
Silver Slytherin: Thanks.
Koord: You'll see.
