The Hybrid
Chapter 11
Selene sat at the foot of her oldest son's bed. They all knew it would happen eventually, Voldemort's return, but none expected that it would affect Zack in the way that it had. When Luna had burst into the room she shared with Seri and the others, it had scared the girl's half out of their wits. It was even worse when Luna returned to Zack's room with Seri and found Zack bloodied and half transformed in his panic.
Luna had yet to leave Zack's side, despite the orders from Madame Pomfrey and the arrival of Selene and Michael. Neither parent minded much. Both sensed the bond forming between Zack and Luna and weren't about to deny the two that. What Selene regretted was the fact that Luna had to see Zack mentally tortured by a force that even Dumbledore couldn't even begin to guess at. He'd been unresponsive with the exception of a few odd fits of unknown origin for the last three days and when he'd spoken to Luna, before he'd passed out.
As Selene sat watching Zack sleep, she felt a hand on her shoulder. "Come on Selene. You're tired and the twins miss you. You need to come back to our room and rest."
Selene leaned back into Michael's touch, but made no move stand. "I can't leave Michael. I just can't. I can't leave Luna here by herself should Zack wake up," sighed Selene. A Vampire, a creature that thrived on the night, and she was tired, but she couldn't leave Luna and Zack alone. Her motherly instincts wouldn't allow it.
Michael seemed to sense this, and buried his head into Selene's long hair, enjoying the scent. Like his wife, he'd gotten little sleep since his son's episodes had started. As tired as he was now, he couldn't sleep without his wife, the result of 20 years of marriage. "Please Selene. We're both tired, and I don't think Zack or Luna will be stirring anytime soon."
Selene nodded, allowing her husband to lift her out of the chair. She smelled a little bit of concern in his scent, and knew he had reason. Her clothes, once perfectly fitting, hung on her thin frame and she was even paler than usual. "Where are the twins?" Selene asked, leaning into her husband as he effortlessly picker her out of the uncomfortable hospital chair.
"They're in Seri's dorm with Mione. She offered to watch them for a little while. Best get them back before she remembers some random homework assignment she has to turn in," Michael jested.
Selene yawned, but smiled. "How is it that you and I did as little as possible in high school, yet our children are workaholics?" she asked.
Michael seemed offended. "You did as little as possible in high school. I went on to be a doctor, remember?" Michael asked, poking Selene in the ribs playfully.
"Typical, it always comes from the males in the family. Always hooked on something…"
If there was one thing Zack was really getting tired of, it was floating in darkness. He'd seen more darkness being unconscious then anyone not in a coma. 'Just breathe Zack. No need to shatter the darkness and make everything white. I'd rather be blinded by darkness than by light,' Zack thoughts, his mind flashing briefly to mornings in the infirmary.
Seconds turned to minutes, and minutes to hours, but Zack didn't feel any change in the dark. 'Why am I unconscious anyway? Last thing I remember was seeing Luna, and then my forehead split open. What am I missing?' No matter how hard Zack thought he couldn't place why he was floating in his mind's own, personal safe room, as he'd come to think of it.
The few times in his life when his minded protecting so that he would loose it, this part of his brain took over, canceling everything out, and preserving his mind until the situation could be worked out. Yet every other time this had happened, only two or three times, he'd always been out of this part of his mind in what seemed like a matter of hours.
Finally, in the unending darkness and humming silence, soft, footfall like sounds could be heard. As Zack focused on the place he thought the sounds were coming from, and jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Flipping around, Zack came face to face with a person he'd never seen before in his life, but still seemed familiar. The man was old, his face hanging with age. Sparkling light blue eyes held onto Zack's own navy orbs, betraying his fragile elderly appearance.
"Zachary Corvin. It has been a long time since I've heard of someone from that line. You are a half-breed, correct?" the man asked. Zack was on his guard from the 'half-breed' comment, not knowing whether this man was the one to put him into this state. The old man seemed to sense this, and placed a comforting hand on Zack's shoulder, holding him tight enough so that he couldn't shrug always.
"I'm no holding your parentage against you Zachary. I, too, am like you, except for the type of half-breed. I'm half muggle, half wizard."
Zack looked at the man with curiosity. The only person that knew about his parentage besides the obvious was Albus. This man, though a little younger, looked just like the old Headmaster. Checking his scent, Zack found he smelled just like the old man as well, except there was less sugar and more mint mixed into his scent. "You're related to Albus," said Zack, not question in his voice.
The other half-breed smiled widely. "Excellent. You've a wonderful sense of smell. I'm Albus's half-brother, Charles. Our father was a little…loose…with himself. My other half-brother, Aberforth, doesn't share the same mother as myself or Albus either," Charles explained.
"That does not explain where I am, why you're here, and why I'm here," said Zack, cutting to the point.
Charles sighed. He'd been hoping to put off the unpleasantness of this conversation for a while longer. "As you know, Voldemort has returned to power. As strange as this may sound, I was killed by Voldemort many years ago, but not completely. I managed to cast my form from my body, and I've been stalking Voldemort since. At least, until recently. You and he have a certain connection, and it allows me to get into your mind, which is where you are now.
"It has long since been prophesied that you would be the one to kill Voldemort, that you would have a power that he would not know about until the end. I am here to see that prophecy be done, as I will not be able to die completely until Voldemort dies. When you sleep, you will be training under my hand to become stronger, and develop whatever this power is that Voldemort seems to fear enough to not want to face you in a fair fight," said Charles. He seemed to be casting that same eerie power that Albus did when he was angry.
Zack decided to challenge him. "What is my incentive to help you? I could very well just stay out of this, within the protection of the Vampires and Werewolves."
"Well, for starters I could keep you locked inside of your mind until your body fails and you would never see your lady love again. I could torture you with every image of everything Voldemort has ever done, including the murders of your adoptive parents.
"You asked for your incentive, however, and that is knowing that you don't have to live in fear of being taken from your family and being pushed to be someone you aren't. You will be free to love and be loved by young Ms. Lovegood. I can also free you from the dreams that plague you, and the anger that consumes you. Isn't that what you want?"
Zack thought about it. If he was found out to be Harry Potter, no matter who his real parents were, he would be taken away from his family, and they would be tried for the kidnap of Harry Potter, turning him into a Lycan, etc. If he ever were able to marry Luna, they would never be left alone. Not to mention, if his dreams continued as they did and his stress and anger continued to grow without an outlet, there was a good chance they either he would go insane, or kill someone.
"Alright, I get what you're saying, but I still don't see how your presence will help me kill him any faster, if at all. Plus, the only powers I have are all ones he knows about. How could he not know about my being a Vycan?" asked Zack.
Charles nodded. "Yes, that is true, he does know you are not quite human, but he has no idea what you can do. As far as I can tell, he thinks you're a human that grown some fur and a tail on full moons and hunts for blood," Charles explained with a slight laugh.
"Idiot," Zack growled.
"Hey, I never claimed an intelligence for the man. He may have been smart as a young adult, but it didn't stay with him as he grew older. Such a waste," Charles sighed.
"Alright, while you never did specify what you were going to do to help me, I'm going to go along with what you have planned. However, I want to go back now. No doubt that Luna and my family are very worried about what's going on. I need to tell them everything, and start rallying the Werewolves and Vampires so that they don't accidentally ally themselves with Voldemort." Zack heaved a great sigh, knowing all of the work that was ahead of him.
"Very well. I will see you the next time you go to sleep. Remember, Zack, your sister may not always be smarter than you are."
Zack lifted an eyebrow at the older man. "How do you know-" Before he could finish his sentence the world around him melted into a swirl of colors and motion.
BLAH
Zack sat straight up, bile rising in his throat. He was going to throw up. His head swam, and he felt dizzy. After a few seconds of fighting the heavy nausea a soft, cool hand on his forehead washed it away. The hand moved from his head to the back of his neck, another coming up to support his back. With a combination of strength and grace, Zack felt his body lowered back onto the bed.
"Luna," he muttered, knowing the hands belonged to his future mate. No one else he knew had hands as small and soft as hers were. He felt soft lips pressed to his forehead, which suddenly felt slick with sweat. Come to think of it, his whole body felt over heated and wet. Lifting an arm, he cracked an eye and saw the sweat dripping down his arm.
"How do we feel?" Luna's soft, comforting voice asked.
"Seasick, strangely enough," Zack muttered. While he didn't feel tired he couldn't keep his eyes open.
"You had a very high fever for a few hours, so I'm not surprised to feel so bad," Luna responded, still pressing her unnaturally cold hands to his forehead.
Zack was starting to wonder. Normally Luna was warm to the touch, and he was the one that was cold. It'd never been the other way around before. "Why are you so cold, Luna?" Zack asked, forcing his eyes open. Luna stood over top of him, dark circles under her eyes marring her perfect beauty. Behind her, Zack spotted a makeshift bed made of two chairs, a blanket and a pillow. Luna, despite the freezing temperature of the entire castle and grounds, was dressed in a short, spaghetti strapped nightdress. Looking closely at her lips, Zack found that they were tinged with blue.
Zack ignored the protests of his body, lifting his arm and the blanket with it, exposing his bare legs to the cold. Before Luna could react, she was laying parallel to Zack in the small hospital bed, being invaded by warmth. Luna safely secured in his arms, Zack buried his face in her hair, ignoring her protests that he was already running a fever and didn't need the extra cold. Together, the two future mates drifted into a deep slumber, Zack not haunted by nightmare for the first time in a long time.
(A/N: Gods, it's been a long time. I'm really sorry about how long this took, and about the fact that it isn't very long. Thankfully, the semester is almost over, and I should have some easier classes next semester so I'll have more time. Currently I'm diligently avoiding having to finish Joseph Heller's Catch-22. I have to have it finished by Friday, and I'm only page 90…It's a 490-page book. Not to mention I'm trying to keep my A in Chemistry, and going to Wrestling Practice and dealing with everyone's bullshit. I had my first match of the season last night and had my ass handed to me by the regional Champion in under 60 seconds. Fun, no?
Not to mention, and I really hate to bitch about this but I feel the need, my friends are being stupid. My best friend became friends with this girl that I really thought was a back stabber to start with, but tried to get along with. Well, she's got him in trouble because she went around calling his ex-girlfriend a crack whore, and then pointed all fingers to him, saying it was him saying it. Ex-girlfriend tried to kill herself, and everyone's trying to pin it on him. Then, this girl joins the wrestling team, hyper extends her elbow cause she wanted to screw around, and then had to wrestle me in a scrimmage. She asked me not to touch her arm, so I respected her wishes and I didn't. I still beat her.
Now, she's going around telling everyone that I did that to her arm and the match was unfair because I'm 11 pounds heavier than she is, and then lying to my face about it when I have a recording of her saying it. She also called me fat, even thought I have a lower body fat percentage than she does…Not to mention, she's trying to break up some of my friendship telling me people were saying stuff about me behind my back, and telling them the same. Luckily, all of us have known each other too long, and too well to believe any of her bullshit. I just can't wait to get her in practice tomorrow…Well, I better go work on this book. I'll try to have the next chapter up by Christmas, okay? Later!)
