Michelle
The world around me was on fire, but covered in ice at the same time. Bright flashes of light blinded me every time I would get comfortable. I wanted to scream, but nothing would come out. I was moving through a tunnel of bright white light, and I knew it was the end.
I thought I had escaped from Voldemort's hands, but maybe I was wrong. Maybe my mind made up the trip to Italy and the vampires just to make the last few moments of my life memorable. I was dead, or dying, I knew that for sure. When I reached the end of this tunnel, it would all be over.
The past sixteen years of my life meant nothing. I was born with so much power, only to be snuffed out by someone who wanted it more than me. Although, he would never be as powerful, that was for sure, but at least he got the pleasure to say he took me out.
Dying hurt terribly, just as I had always feared it would. My death wasn't peaceful and I knew that, eventually, it wouldn't even matter to anyone. I was young, almost happy, and starting to come into my own. Just when I was starting to take full control of my powers, my magic, myself, it was all cut short. And now, I'm dead, and eventually, no one would even remember me or who I was.
It was tragic, really, when you thought about it. Still, it didn't matter. The only family I had died right before my eyes, and the so-called friends I had were the reason I was in this state now. Voldemort, the Death Eaters, they were all lying to my face. I wasn't one of them, I didn't take the mark, I was only a part of their movement for a short time, just to save myself…and that didn't even work.
As I walked through my tunnel of death, the flames died out and the flashes of light became less frequent. My death became more tolerable, more peaceful, of course it would be this way in the end. And that end was coming quicker and quicker by the moment. No matter how hard I tried to stop it or delay it, it was useless. Really, I just had to face it. I was dead and that's all there was to it.
The light got brighter as I reached the end of the tunnel. The pain was gone completely. I braced myself for the end, for the unknown fate I was about to face. It was time for the after life to welcome me with open arms, and I hoped the moments of hell I just faced made it worth it.
The light at the end of the tunnel was blinding. I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to shield my eyes from it. As the light dimmed, my eyes flickered open. The world around me was sharp and saturated with color. Dust glittered in the light in the air. The stone room around me was so crisp and clear. There was shuffling coming from one side of the room, the sound of paper, maybe a book, being turned. The sound of footsteps rose in the distance.
The room smelled old, shut up or something. Then, I could smell parchment and books and the clearly recognizable smell of my favorite perfume in an open bottle. I noticed the feeling of silk against my skin and looked down to see my purple sheets on my bed around me. I turned again to see myself wearing a very black, lace dress. My skin was so pale, more pale than usual. It was shocking against the black fabric.
I sat up and assessed the room around me. It was familiar and foreign at the same time. My room from my house was set just like I was used to, but the room was made of stone and not wood like I was used to. It all started coming back to me, then. The vampires weren't my imagination. They were real, this, is all real. I realized, then, that I wasn't dead, not really. I was a vampire.
"Hey," I heard an unfamiliar male voice say, "how are you feeling?"
I turned to see a very attractive guy with light brown hair staring at me from my desk with one of my books in his hand. I stood up and moved towards him, finding myself standing in front of him within not even a second.
"Well, that's going to take some getting used to," I said with a smile. Now that I'm a vampire, I can move really fast. Experiencing it for the first time, especially when you're not expecting it, can be pretty thrilling.
"You look magnificent, would you like to see?" he asked.
"Is it very drastic change?" I asked. "I mean, do I look like myself?"
"It's not too drastic," he replied, "You look beautiful, but you looked beautiful when you come here. It's just, very enhanced. Immortality suits you."
I smiled, I would be blushing if I could, but I don't think that was going to happen anymore. "What's your name?" I asked him as he grabbed my silver hand mirror.
"Demetri," he replied with a smile as he handed me the mirror.
I took the mirror from his hand and slowly brought it to my face to look in. As I turned it around I almost dropped it as I looked into it. I almost didn't recognize the girl staring back at me. It was me, but I looked flawless…and happy. My signature Slytherin green eyes were gone and replaced by bright crimson ones. It was shocking, but it seemed right.
"Wow," I said finally. I gently placed the mirror back in its place, being sure not to break it.
"You adjust fast," Demetri said to me with a smirk.
"One of my great, but, sometime, annoying qualities," I said back with a laugh.
"It's admirable, you'll need it," he said back.
"Let's hope so," I replied. "So, I can't help but see that this is not what I was wearing when I went out. Please tell me there are some other girls around here, besides scary little Jane, that would change me."
Demetri laughed, "Of course. Heidi, the one you followed, she picked this out for you."
I nodded, "Good to know. It's pretty, I like it."
"It looks good on you," he agreed.
I reached down to play with my necklace, something I did out of habit, especially when flirting with someone I really, really liked. I found nothing, and panicked. "Where's my necklace?" I said in shock.
He laughed a bit, "I told Heidi to put it back on you." He walked past me quickly and came back to me just as fast as he walked away. He went behind me and I felt him put the necklace around my neck. I reached down, out of habit, again and felt it securely around my neck.
"Thanks," I said, "It's a very old family heirloom. It's very important to me."
"Slytherin, yes?" he said in reply.
I was intrigued, "Yes. You've been doing your research, haven't you?"
"I have," he replied, "You come from a very, prominent and notorious family. Your parents are, practically, squibs, and you're the most powerful witch to ever live."
"You read my diary, didn't you?" I said through narrow eyes.
"I did," he replied with a smile. And with that, I fell in love.
My diary had a charm on it to protect it from unwanted eyes, but if someone I could truly trust, someone who I could truly love could bypass the charm and read it. Any other person who tried to look would receive a very big and painful shock, or worse if they kept trying. The diary even said so, it was one of the first things someone would read if they opened it. Demetri knew this, as he looked at me with a knowing, loving eye. I knew, then, only he and I knew that secret. It was a nice secret to have as a first vampire secret. I was grateful that Demetri was the one to greet me as I come into my new world.
"Try to let Felix down easy, will you," he said as he stood before me. He brought his hand up and gently caressed my face. I felt a shock as his skin touched mine, a good shock. I brought my hand up to take his. It was the most euphoric feeling I ever felt.
"Who's Felix? And how's Alec? I shouldn't have done what I did to him. He was just nice, sweet, caring, I shouldn't have led him on like that."
"Felix, is my friend, and another member of the Volturi. He's tall, bit of an ass sometimes, but he's fun to be around. I think you'll like him. He likes you, too, though. Although, everyone thinks he just wants to fuck you. Alec, he's doing okay. He's over it, for the most part. I think an apology will make it all better for him."
"Good to know about Alec," I sighed in relief. "About Felix, would it be okay to mess with his head a bit? I need a little amusement."
"How did I know you would say something like that?" he said in amusement.
"Because you've been reading my innermost deepest thoughts?" I squeaked back.
"That would explain it," he laughed. "So, are you ready to make your grand entrance?"
"Just about," I replied with a smile. I went over to my vanity and put on some dark shadow on my eyes and red lipstick on my lips. I was so happy as I saw myself in the mirror. I was fierce and ferocious, deadly and beautiful. I walked to my coat closet and pulled out a black velvet robe with a silk green lining. I noticed all of the others had on something like it, I figured I should too, just add my Slytherin touch. As I stood there looking at myself in the full length mirror, I couldn't help but smile. No more worries, no more threats, no more Voldemort and his Death Eaters. I was the one to be feared now, I'd get my revenge in due time.
I stepped back and sighed as I closed the closet. Then, I smiled, took a deep breath, and took Demetri's hand and let him lead me to the throne room. I didn't know why, but I was nervous. I guess I was afraid no one would like me. I didn't want to be looked at like I did around school or around the other Death Eaters. I was always looked at with such judgmental eyes. They looked at me with hate, envy, fear, annoyance, and I hated it. Either they didn't like me or they wanted me dead. Sure, I had maybe a bit of a friend here or there, but nothing else. I'm hoping, now, that would change.
We had reached the large doors leading to the room the others were waiting in. Demetri squeezed my hand and asked if I was ready. I took a deep breath and nodded. He let go of my hand and opened the doors. I nervously stared and the ground and slowly walked in.
"Ah! Here she is!" Aro said excitedly as I walked in. He motioned for me to come closer and he held his hands out for me to come take his. He grabbed them and read my mind. "Fascinating! Seeing things in your eyes, its incredible! Such a cunning, clever girl! And so powerful!"
"Its time to show us that power we've been hearing so much about," Caius spoke up.
"Of course," I said with a smile. It was my time to show off a little, something I always enjoyed. "Would you prefer wand magic, what most witches and wizards use, or my own, personal magic?"
"Amuse us," Aro said, "Show it all."
"Well," I said, "Since I'm, pretty much, dead to the wizard world, and I've successfully removed the trace during my change, I'd like to show you something forbidden in the wizarding world.
"There are three "unforgivable" curses. One that creates pain, like Jane can do, one that allows you to control a person, and one that kills. If you have a human I can use, I could show you."
"Felix," Caius said causing a very large, very tall guy with brown hair to perk up, "go get me Elizabeth. She's been rather annoying lately."
"Of course," Felix said with a smile, knowing, now, I had noticed him. He threw me a quick wink and left the room. I looked at Demetri from the corner of my eye and giggled a bit.
I smiled and continued, "Now, about these three curses, if I was caught and known to use them, I would be thrown in prison. Now that, technically, I'm dead, I have no traces on me. So, I can successfully cast them without getting caught. They require a lot of willpower. I, successfully, used the killing curse the day before I came here.
"Usually, I probably wouldn't be able to find myself willing or able to do these curses. But, I watched my parents die a few days ago because some crazy, power hungry, son of a bitch, who's partially related to me, wanted me dead. All the judgment I was put under by all of those witches and wizards, and the death of my parents have made me a very pissed off teenager. So, I will do these one last time, just to show you what the others are capable of.
"I, could kill, or harm, without use of these spells. I have powers and abilities no other wizard or witch has ever had. I have no idea why, but that's just the way it is."
Felix walked in with a young woman with dark, messy hair in tow. She looked nervous and she should be. When I got done with her, she would be ready for death. What really drew me to being satisfied with using her was the fact she reminded me of Bellatrix. It didn't take long for me to picture her as Bellatrix.
I summoned my wand and went to work. "Imperio," I said quietly as I pointed the wand at her. Now, she was at my will. "Slap yourself," I commanded and she did. Aro squealed in excitement. "Pull your hair out," I commanded and she did. She was in pain, but tranquil, the spell was perfect. "Punch Felix as hard as you can," I said with a smirk. A loud crack rang out in the room as the bones in her hands shattered. After that, I lifted the curse, Elizabeth screamed out in pain, but I didn't see Elizabeth, I saw Bellatrix.
My smirk turned into a grin as I pointed my wand at her again. "Crucio!" I said with confidence causing red sparks to shoot out of my wand. The girl fell to the ground wailing, screaming, begging for mercy. This really pleased Aro.
"Please! Stop! Kill me please!" the girl screamed out.
"Fine," I said finally, "Avada kedavra!" At that instant the green light burst out of my wand and poor Elizabeth fell to the ground.
"Ah!" Aro shouted, "Fantastico! So incredible!"
I smiled and bowed. I had captivated them all. My place within them was set. I would never take orders from anyone anymore. I would be threatened never again. The death of Elizabeth signaled the death of the scared little girl I used to be. I knew, then, that next time I found myself, really, face to face with Bellatrix, she would be the one begging for mercy. They all would be.
"Now, how about a little bit of my own magic?" I said with a smirk.
"Don't hold back," Caius said with a faint smile on his face. He liked what he saw, he was impressed.
"I never do," I said with a enormous grin on my face. "I need a volunteer, someone strong."
"I'll do it!" Felix said excitedly.
"I don't know," I squeaked, "you're such an obvious target choice. How about Jane? I understand that she has a little special power of her own."
I knew Jane didn't like me. I, especially, knew she despised me for what I did to her brother. I, also, knew Jane was Aro's favorite. Her power to cause pain, and Alec's power to cut off someone's senses, made them Aro's most prized possessions. They were valuable, very valuable.
Jane eyed me with a bitchy look on her face and flatly said, "Go ahead. You don't scare me."
I let out a tiny laugh, "We'll see about that."
We locked eyes and she tried to use her little pain illusion power on me. I let out a pained scream, putting a very satisfied look on Jane's face. That scream turned into a burst of laughter. It did nothing.
"Gotta try a little harder than that sweetheart," I said to her in a condescending tone. Jane looked at me with angry, shocked look on her face, and before she try anymore, I waved my arm and sent her flying towards a wall.
I looked at her with an evil smirk on my face. Jane was a little spoiled bitch. She thought she was so great with her power to cause agonizing pain. What she didn't know, I could do even worse than that. What she created was an illusion, a trick of the mind, but my pain, mine was real. She wanted to play dirty, trying to sneak by with that little trick of hers she just did, and that was just fine with me. She may play dirty, but when I play, it's downright filthy.
"Want to know what my favorite element is, dear Jane?" I said with a smirk on my face. She looked at me with a mixture of fear and anger. "Water is a very, very close second. I like it, so, versatile. It can be hot or cold, frozen, vapor, it can go anywhere. Water is great, but I've found that fire can be such a beautiful thing." With those words I held my hand out and fire burst out the skin on my palm and snaked down my arm, my body, and through my feet. It hit the floor and burst out. It spread across the floor like it was covered in fuel and quickly spread across the room towards the wall where Jane was pinned.
"Bringing back any dear memories yet Jane?" I said coldly. Jane was panicked, frantic, she tried her best to fight the hold I had on her, but it was impossible.
"Michelle, please! Stop!" Alec begged from behind.
I scoffed, "I'm not going to kill her Alec." I let the fire die out before it reached her. I slowly let up my hold on her and she fell back down on the floor. Alec ran over to her side and made sure she was okay, but not before giving me a dirty, disapproving look.
"Please don't tell me that's all," Caius said.
"Of course not," I said with a smile. "There's something I'd like to try, if you don't mind."
"Oh, please do," Aro said with a smile.
A few years ago I accidentally killed another students cat. They made me angry, talking about me behind my back. They tried to sick their cat on me, and it bit me. As it bit my right arm, I brought my left one around to pull it off of me. As soon as my fingers brushed across its fur, the cat let go and dropped dead.
After that, I became curious. I wondered if it was come kind of rage fueled part of my magic's defense system, or if it was an undiscovered power I had. So, I experimented. I found that I could kill with a single touch. My experimenting started with plants and moved onto mice and rats. I did one final experiment on a deer and it worked, just like I had expected.
I didn't mean to kill the cat, I didn't want to. The mice and rats, they were vermin. Then, when I found the deer, it was going to die anyways. A hunter had shot it in the woods, but missed the kill shot and the deer ran away. The deer was going to suffer, in pain, for days before it would finally die, so I killed it. Of course, I never tried killing people. I wasn't that kind of person.
I knew, now, that I would have to kill people in order to live. It wasn't the life I expected, or even expected to choose, but I had to choose it in order to save myself. I wasn't going to experiment, this time, with a human, though. I was going to try on a vampire. There were countless minor guards in the Volturi that I could dispose, some old human servants that were turned out of pity.
I walked over to one of them, a tall, lanky girl with long, stringy blonde hair. She was turned by one of the older male guards as a play toy I found as I ran through her mind. He had grown tired of her and was sleeping with another human servant. The poor girl was pathetic and sad. I saw that she had been around for a while, and had grown tired of her life as a low ranking, useless guard. I felt her pain, and I decided I would help do her one, huge, final favor.
Unlike the human I had to torture and kill to show the unforgivable curses, she looked like no one I hated. Really, the poor human probably would've suffered worse if Caius would've killed her like he wanted. But this vampire girl, she was suffering now, and had suffered before when going through the transformation. She didn't deserve to suffer any longer. I knew what it was like to live in a life I hated, surrounded by people who didn't like me.
I walked up to her, and she looked at me with an uncertain smile on her face. She was afraid after seeing what I did to Jane and the human, the girl was afraid I was going to torture her. I faintly shook my head and sent my idea into her mind. She smiled greatly as she saw my thoughts. She, faintly, gave me a nod of permission to try to use my power of the touch of death on her. She was ready to leave this world of pain, and she thanked me for giving her the option of going so peacefully.
I gave her a small smile and reached out to grab her hand. She slowly lifted her arm and extended it to me, closing up the space between us. As my skin brushed against hers she let out a sharp gasp, and suddenly, the girl before me glowed with flames and turned to dust within a few short seconds. In that moment, the room around me rang with sounds of shock.
I turned towards the thrones where Aro, Caius, and Marcus sat. They were all standing with shocked looks on their faces, and everyone in the room was utterly speechless. I quickly turned to where I left Demetri, and when I looked at him he quickly came by my side. He looked at me with concern, and I realized I looked scared. I turned back towards the others, searching for a reaction.
"Incredible," Aro whispered.
"I see now why they wanted you dead," Caius said in wonder.
"They had no idea I could do that," I said nervously.
"Even so, you have incredible power, incredible gifts. You will be a great addition to our family," Caius replied. With that, I could breathe a sigh of relief. They didn't want me dead, they wanted to keep me.
"Can someone please find Michelle something to eat?" Aro said. "I'm sure she's starving."
"Now that you mention it, my throat is on fire," I added.
"I'm shocked you didn't kill the human when she came in," Aro said to me.
"Did you even smell her?" Marcus asked, finally speaking.
"I was so preoccupied with what I was going to show you all, I didn't even notice her scent," I replied. It was baffling, really. Seeing the traits of a newborn vampire from their eyes, they were ravenous. All they thought about was blood. It didn't even bother me until I paid attention.
"Aro," Demetri said, speaking up, "if you don't mind, I'd like to take Michelle outside of Volterra and show her how to hunt."
I gasped loudly and smiled, "Can we? I get bored if I have to sit around for so long. I would love to see what the world is like outside as a vampire."
"Don't you think it's a bit too soon?" Caius said.
"She seems to have a bit of control, unlike most newborns," Marcus added.
"I was going to tell you to go with Jane, Alec, and Felix to asses the situation in Britain, Demetri," Aro spoke up. "I do think it will be okay to take dear Michelle with you all."
"Excellent," I grinned.
A/N:
Wow! So this one's blazing all of a sudden. I'm enjoying working on it, and I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I do writing it. You little lurkers, I know you're there, please do give some reviews! I know there's a few followers and all already.
So, some comments from me on whats going on:
The whole diary thing. I know we go from one chapter where Felix gets shocked when he tries to read it, to the next where we find Demetri has read it and isn't harmed. I could've done a bunch of filler and show where we got to that point, but I figured I could just make a little note about how that came to be.
The second day of the turn, Felix gets bored and leaves the room. Demetri is still exploring all the books and things, and as he was putting something on the shelf, he knocked the diary off. As the diary fell, it landed on the floor. When Demetri picked it up to put it back, the book felt odd. Demetri, feeling a pull to the book, opened it. Of course it came open and didn't shock the hell out of him. When he opened it, he read the first page which was sort of an intro to the diary. It explained what would happen if someone got it to open. Of course, the main reason it would open for someone was if they were Michelle's true love. The second reason would be for someone to read about her if she was murdered. Demetri sneaked around reading the diary when Felix wasn't around. Felix doesn't know he read the diary, of course.
Moving on, the scene where the human is tortured and killed...It was difficult for me because part of me wants me character to be good, compared to Voldemort and the death eaters. Well, I mean, compared to them she is pretty good. When I think about it, though, she being a pure blood witch from a family as notorious as the Slytherin family sort of makes her a big candidate to be okay to torture muggles and kill them. When it comes down to it, she's bad, but not truly evil. She does what she has to to keep herself alive and safe. For now, she will keep to her word and not use any of the 3 unforgivable curses. That is one of the biggest things she is doing to put Voldemort and the Death Eaters behind her.
Lastly, I have to comment on the scene with Jane. Michelle knows Jane is Aro's favorite. She knows she is, or was, on of the most powerful in the Volturi (along with Alec). Jane is a bit full of herself. Jane needs to be taken down a bit, in the eyes of Michelle. It was a very dirty move when Michelle used fire to scare Jane, but Jane did try to use her power on her for no reason but out of spite. She was going to torture Jane a bit, but I thought that was taking it too far. Alec is very upset with her, and Jane, well, Jane is pissed. It's going to be very interesting when they're all out together.