The Hybrid

Chapter 12

It took many days, but soon Zack was back on his feet. He had finally decided to listen to his parents and take it easy for a few days, which helped him bounce back quickly. Every time he slept Charles was waiting for him on the other side. In his time of recovery, Charles mostly had him doing bookwork and research.

As the old man had explained it to Zack, physical training would have to wait. While things that happened in Zack's mind could only affect him in his mind, things that happened in the real world could affect Zack in both. His body was not yet recovered enough from the last few day's abuse to be able to function as it would need to, if only in Zack's head.

Almost a month after meeting Charles for the first time, Charles was bringing Zack's first physical lesson to an end. So far they had only been testing reflexes. In order to do this, Charles had conjured 3 types of balls. Red, blue, and yellow. The red balls were hard as rocks and backed a punch. They were to be dodged. The blue balls were elusive. They didn't want to go anywhere near Zack when it could be helped. They were to be captured. The final ball was the yellow ball. This ball was full of staining yellow powder, which was to be dodged while simultaneously destroying it. Zack was given no tools to work with but his hands.

After what seemed like hours, it seemed like Charles had run out of things to fling at the younger wizard. Zack was covered in yellow powder. It was everywhere, from his hair to his shoes. Every time he took a step some of it sprinkled onto the floor. Beyond even Charles' well trained eye, there were red welts on Zack's skin from his inability to dodge all of the red balls, but a full sack of blue were, in Zack's mind, worth all of the trouble.

"That, Mr. Corvin, was the most pitiful display I have seen in all of my years. You were hit nearly every time by both sets of balls, and failed to elude even the exploding balls. Until you can dodge and catch every ball tossed your way, you will not progress. Now, be gone," said Charles with a dismissive motion of his hand.

Zack was shocked by Charles' harsh reply. He started to protest to Charles' harsh but semi-true words, when the feeling of nausea that had accompanied his first trips within his mind returned full force. Just before he felt the contents of his stomach returning for the entire world to see, he woke up.

"What the hell?" Zack asked, sitting up. The nausea he had been experiencing only moments ago had faded as if it hadn't been there to start with. Shaking off the remaining feeling of awkwardness away Zack sat up, noticing bit was time to get ready for classes. The late November air had chilled his room, but Zack tried to ignore the cold as he took a running sprint into his bathroom for a hot shower.

About twenty minutes later, Zack had returned from his shower. His room was pleasantly warm, Zack noticed as he made a beeline for the dressers containing his clothes. Just as he was about to drop his towel so he could a polite cough made him spin to face the source of the noise. His cheeks reddened as he spotted his girlfriend sitting on his bed, her face tinged with the same blush of embarrassment that covered Zack's face.

"Luna?" Zack asked. "What are you doing here?" he asked, tying his towel tighter around his waist and quickly pulling a dark blue polo shirt over his head. Thanks to years of abuse, his back was covered in pale scars. During the winter, when his tan faded the marks were almost unnoticeable but in the summer they were very prominent. Unless Zack had on a laundry list of charms on to cover the scaring, he never took off his shirt, self conscious of the marks left behind by his adoptive Aunt and Uncle. With his girlfriend, who had known about the scars for years, Zack was only slightly less conscious of the scars marring his skin.

"I'm sorry Zack. I didn't mean to walk in on you," she whispered, turning her head away blushing even deeper. As she turned away, Zack noticed a flicker in the skin around her right eye. Forgetting about his dressed down state, Zack moved to sit next to Luna, tilting her head up so they could see eye to eye. The skin around her eye flickered under Zack's scrutiny.

"Finite incantantum," muttered Zack. Her skin flickered again, and then disappeared, leaving a dark, purple bruise around her eye. Someone had punched her in the face, and Zack was determined to figure out whom.

Luna seemed to sense his thoughts. "It was an accident, and I didn't want you to see it and worry," Luna whispered.

Zack looked closer as the bruise, and saw the telltale darkening of the bruise where a large stoned ring had connected with Luna's delicate skin. Zack came to a conclusion. "You're lying." His tone was soft, but firm. Luna wouldn't look him in the eye. "Stay here, let me get dressed. Then we'll talk."

Zack disappeared back into his bathroom, jeans and boxers in hand. He returned within a minute, taking a pair of sneakers out of the closet as he went. He hadn't even bothered combing his hair yet. "Who hit you?" Zack asked, sitting on the bed next to his mate-to-be. It was then he noticed that she was still in her pajamas. She must have come straight from her dorm.

"Zack, that isn't why I came here," said Luna. Zack cast a curious look. Luna looked frightened, almost terrified. "I-I'm sorry, but I'm breaking up with you."

At first, Zack couldn't believe her ears. He blinked once or twice, confused. Then, a deep pain filled his chest, and he could almost hear his heart shattering. The wolf within him protested to the dismissal of his former mate-to-be. He could feel the Vycan fighting for control. If it were up to the Vycan, Luna would be mated before she had a chance to protest. All it would take was a slight mixing of the blood. Zack, however, wouldn't have it.

He started to protest but he never got to say anything. With speed Zack didn't even know she had, Luna was gone, and taking what was left of Zack's heart with her.

The days following, Zack was more than a little cranky. Luna seemed to be avoiding him at all costs. She had moved out of the dorm she shared with Mione and Seri, and back into the Ravenclaw dorm. She didn't take meals during the normal hours and hadn't been to the kitchens, from what the house elves had told Zack. The few times Zack could catch a glimpse of her she was always surrounded with a group of Ravenclaw girls from all years, and a few males.

The first time Zack had seen Luna walking with several boys around her, he'd nearly gone on a killing spree. If it weren't for Seri, he would have killed each one, and used their guts for streamers in the Great Hall. As far as his Vycan was concerned, the girl was his, and he wouldn't have it any other way. Now, because he was so aggressive and grumpy all the time, Hermione and Seri took turns keeping an eye on him making sure he didn't accidentally kill some unfortunate first year that tossed him a look.

This went on for several days, Zack's Vycan becoming more and more restless. The fact that it was now school known that he was single didn't help either. Girls from every year, in all of the houses stalked the hybrid, trying to talk him into dating someone. Most of them were sent away either scared half to death, or in tears. An unhappy Zack was not a nice Zack.

It was as Zack was walking down the third floor corridor to his room with Hermione that he picked up Luna's scent. 'Is she coming back to me?' Zack wondered, a burst of euphoria entering his mind once again. He ran to his room, only to find that's not where the smell had originated. It was coming from further down the hall. Zack followed it, picking up new scent strands as he went. Fear, anger, arousal and sex all connected with his sensitive nose, but they didn't all belong to Luna.

As he rounded the corridor, he came across a sight that made his Vycan howl with rage. In a dark part of the corridor was a tall, semi-blond Gryffindor boy and Luna. Luna had her back pinned to the wall, her legs wrapped around the Gryffindor waist, and her arms around his neck. The boy was energetically kissing Luna, all the while exploring her body with his hands. One hand was under her skirt, while the other explored under her shirt.

Zack barely felt Mione's hand on his shoulder, and her physically pulling him away. The next time he felt anything was when a sharp pain flashed across his face. He was lying down on a bed that was not his, surrounded by Luna's scent, with Seri's wide blue eyes staring down at him. "Are you in the land of the living?"

"I'll kill him," Zack growled, pushing himself off of what he presumed was Luna's bed, which had been left in Seri and Mione's dorm room. Seri, eyes turning the same Vycan black that Zack's eyes were, gripped the front of Zachary's robes tightly, and lifted him several inches off the ground.

"You will do no such thing Zachary Michael Corvin. Luna has made a choice, and you will respect that choice, do you understand me?" Seri growled. Her canines had lengthened, and her eyes had turned completely black. Zack and Seri's Vycan alter egos seemed locked in a stalemate, and Mione stood several feet away, ready to step in and help Seri if the need be made.

Finally, Zack's more rational mind started to take over, his eyes fading back to a dull version of his once brilliantly cobalt blue eyes. "Let me down Seri," he whispered. His voice was weary and defeated, his form lax. Seri lowered her older brother, the changes in her person fading as if they hadn't been there to start.

"You alright, bro?" Seri asked.

Zack gave a heart wrenchingly weary sigh. That seemed to answer all of Seri's questions, as she pulled her brother into a tight hug. Hermione soon joined the hug, and the two sisters tried there best to console their brother. Finally, they all broke apart. "I'm going back to my room to sleep." Neither girl argued with the older male as he left the room, going down the stairs and cross the corridor.

He ignored the scents of Luna and her new boyfriend as he hissed the password to his dorm, and climbed in. His room was the same as ever, covered in the scent of his cologne and his own distinct scent. Not even bothering to remove his shoes, Zack dropped into his bed, the world loosing its focus before his head hit the pillow.

In another part of the castle, the sisters of the troubled Vycan were searching the school for the source of his problem. While Mione didn't have the fine senses and hearing that came with being a Vycan, she did know the castle better that Seri did. As Seri sniffed out their pray, Mione tract where they were going to make sure they could find their way back.

Deep in the dungeons they found Luna, sitting by herself in an abandoned classroom. She had transfigured one of the many broken desks in the room into a small sofa, where she sat cross-legged. A tattered old journal was held in her hands, with a faint 'Luna' scrawled on the cover. Tears were streaming down Luna's face.

"Luna?" Seri asked, approaching the distraught girl cautiously. Luna looked up to face Seri, not speaking at all. "Please, can we talk?" Seri pleaded. Luna turned away.

"There's nothing to talk about Serenity. I have made my choice about Zack, please respect that," Luna whispered. She had put up the same goofy routine she did when she was around others in school.

Seri walked over to the Ravenclaw, sitting next to her on the sofa while Hermione watched from the doorway. Seri grabbed Luna's shoulders, noticing at once how bony they felt. "Luna, please. You don't understand what you're doing to Zack. He wants you, and it's something that won't just go away. He loves you," Seri whispered, almost pleading.

Luna, it seemed, couldn't take this. "No, he doesn't! He doesn't love me, and he doesn't want me, not now," Luna cried. The tears fell faster and Luna flew from the room, making her way out of the dungeons.

Seri and Mione faced one another, knowing that nothing could be done until Luna was willing to love Zack the way he loved her.

At that same moment Zack was in his dream realm, taking his rage out on the ball exercise Charles was giving him. Since he started a few weeks ago, he'd gotten much better, but the obstacles had also gotten much harder. For example, the night before Charles had required that Zack dodge, catch and destroy balls using only his feet while standing on his hands. Thankfully Charles had taken note of Zack's mood, and opted for an exercise closer to that which he'd done the first day, only making the balls faster.

For the first time in his weeks of physical training, Zack accomplished his task, catching every blue ball, dodging the red ones, and destroying the yellow balls while escaping their yellow dust. Charles was, to say the least, impressed. After the finish of the initial training, Zack disappeared from Charles's sights. At first Charles didn't worry. Then he heard the crashes and sounds of breaking glass.

Within his mind, Zack was in control to an extent. Like Charles, he could manipulate his surroundings. Using this ability, Zack had created a room, one full of items, some that Charles had never seen before. Zack stood in the center of the room, his body half transformed. His eyes had returned to their black state, his canines had lengthened, and a pair of large, black wings had appeared behind him. He attacked the items with a ferocity Charles had never seen from the boy. Furniture was destroyed in a single swoop, and sometimes items would break before Zack even got to them.

Charles watched in amazement as the items were destroyed and Zack became more animal like. Fur began to sprout all over his body, and his pant tore as a long, wispy black tail formed. His fingernails lengthened into claws, as did his toenails. Finally, like a werewolf under the light of the full moon, even Zack's physical being changed. His spine crunched and snapped as it lengthened, and his legs cracked as they took on a more canine appearance. All the while, Zack was still attacking whatever he could get his hands on. Charles watched as the transformation completed, and Zack continued to assault the innocent pieces of furniture and glassware.

After what seemed like hours, the transformed Zack seemed to slow down. He was bleeding everywhere from cuts from the shards of glass his rampage had left behind. Just as slowly, he started to return to his human state. Whatever had caused the fit of rage had either left his mind, or he was just too worn out to continue. Finally, Zack sunk to the ground. If Charles looked closely enough, he could see the tear tracks that stained Zack's face. Then Zack disappeared from his mental conscious, taking the mess with him. "Holy shit…"

Weeks passed. It was now the day before Christmas break, and Zack was slowly deteriorating. He kept up with his classes, of course, but he didn't talk to anyone. Not even his sisters could coax any words out of him. He didn't eat much anymore, and he always looked like he lacked sleep. While he always looked clean, he didn't take as much pride in his appearance any longer. His hair was always messy, and had been cut into a simple hairstyle, shaved on the back of his head with a few inches left on top. His clothes were constantly wrinkled and out of place. All in all, he looked like hell.

Girls no longer stalked him, turned off by his less than flattering appearance, and his lack of social contact. To them, Zack just looked dead. His eyes no longer sparkled, and he no longer talked to anyone. He was no longer of any interest to the female population of Hogwarts, except one.

On this particularly frigid night, after classes had ended for the break, Zack was taking a walk through the towers. He just couldn't take seeing anymore of the teenaged love that seemed to cover the castle as lovers said good-bye to each other for the break. So caught up he was in his thoughts, he didn't notice the new scents that began to invade him. He was woken from his damning thoughts of teenaged love by a scream. All at once the new scents came flooding in. Fear, helplessness, and blood all jumped out at him, and he recognized the scent.

Creeping closer to the source of the scream, Zack was confronted with an image that made his Vycan howl with rage for the first time in days. Like when he'd discovered Luna and the Gryffindor boy near his dorm several days, Luna was pinned to the wall by the offending male, but this time it was different. Luna was actively trying to push away the same male from before, tears rolling down her face in rivers. Her face was bruised, and her lip was bleeding.

"No!" Luna screamed, as the boy repeated the same type of touching he'd been doing before. Luna tried pushing the stronger boy away, but he just kept going. Finally, she seemed to hit him in a soft spot, because he pulled back.

Using his hips to pin her torso, he grabbed her by her neck, holding her to the wall. "Listen bitch, you better cooperate, and give me what I want or I'll tell him." More tears fell down Luna's face, but she stopped fighting, her eyes loosing the little life they'd held.

Zack had seen enough, and acted. Before the boy had a chance to touch Luna one more time, Zack had pulled him off and flung him into the far dungeon wall. The boy connected with a crack, and slide down the wall, not moving. A trail of blood could be seen smearing as he sunk down.

Luna had fallen as well, curling into as small a ball as she could. Her face was still bleeding, and Zack could see several bruises on her upper thighs where her skirt had risen up. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Zack felt the Vycan side of his conscience flare up. Someone had harmed his mate-to-be, and they were going to pay, in more ways than one.

Dumbledore was pissed. Those were the best words to describe the look on the man's face. Under his nose, an entire conspiracy against one of his students was put into play. Currently, said student was sitting in Dumbledore's office, his eyes black with his restrained fury. The boy, Zachary, had both of his sisters sitting around him, keeping his non-human half in check.

From what Dumbledore had gathered students working for Voldemort were blackmailing Zachary's Vycan mate-to-be. What they were blackmailing her with, no one was quite sure. Of course, now that they did know what was going on, Zachary was insisting that his ladylove return to his home, under his protection for the winter break.

Had it been any other student, under any other situation, Dumbledore would not have allowed this. This girl would have recovered in the hospital wing, and then sent back to her dorm. However, these children were special. Two of them had been blessed with gifts that made it impossible to live a normal childhood, and the other had lost both of her parents, resulting in a need to grow up.

Not to mention, their parents, through blood and adoption, were some of the most well connected people Dumbledore had ever met. The girl, Luna, would be safe from whatever was thrown her way. She would need the protection, especially now. She would also need the care of her friends, with the news Dumbledore had for the teenaged witch.

"I will consent to have Ms. Lovegood moved to your manor. However, you should know that a tragedy has befallen Ms. Lovegood, beyond what has happened to her already," Dumbledore lamented.

"What happened?" Mione asked. Seri was busy keeping Zack in check.

"Late last night Ms. Lovegood's father was discovered, dead. He had already been dead for sometime, when he was found. I had not gotten a chance to tell Ms. Lovegood before this series of events came about." Mione nodded, the spokesperson for her two siblings.

"We will tell Luna when the time is right Professor. At this point in time, all of our things have already been sent home. We will gather Luna and go, before our parents worry if you don't mind." Dumbledore nodded, and waved dismissively at the trio.

It took a lot of talking, but finally Pomfrey released Luna into Zack's care. The Vycan had pretty much completely taken over, which was okay so long as he wasn't around a whole lot of people. Within 20 minutes of leaving Dumbledore's office, the three were stepping into their home.

Seconds after stepping into his home, Zack's eyes cleared and became blue once more. Selene, sensing the disturbance within her home, sauntered into the room. Her eyes lit up at once. "Kids!" she yelled, sweeping all four of them into a giant hug. It was no secret she missed all of her children during the school year.

"What happened to Luna?" she asked as she released her kids. She brushed some of the hair off of Luna's forehead. Even though the bruises had been healed, Selene could easily detect the blood and tears that had covered her face only hours before. "Never mind. Zack, take her to your room. I'll see about lunch for everyone, okay?"

Zack did as he was told, offering Nathan and Natalie a smile as he pounded up the stairs. Today had been a very long day, one he was not willing to repeat, and tomorrow would probably be worse…

(A/N: In a hurry. I've been finished with this chapter since New Years, but I haven't had any time to post. My life is currently in chaos, one that I don't want to give details on, it stresses me. Anyway, I'm still wrestling, Varsity 171 moving down to JV 160, and then to 144 for States. My new classes are French, American History, Weightlifting, and Physics. What possessed me to take Physics, I don't know, but I'll worry on it later. Well, that's it for me. Got work to do. Enjoy the chapter, later!)