Chapter 7
Alexander Anderson sat at his desk after a long day of sharing the teachings of Jesus to his kids. He referred to them as his kids, when they were in fact orphans that had made their way to him seeking help and hopefully placement with families. He loved the thrill of chasing demons, vampires, werewolves and everything else and bringing God's justice to them, however if there was one thing he loved more it was children.
He'd never lay a hand on them, of course. His love of children was purely paternal, and he took his vows of chastity as seriously as he did his vampire killing. Above demons, vampires and werewolves, the ones Anderson enjoyed killing most were human predators. Supernatural creatures he never bothered to draw it out, he'd just kill them and be done with it, but pedophiles were another story. He reveled in drawing out their suffering as much as he could, and he was very good at what he did.
His musing was interrupted by a sudden tapping coming from his window. He was surprised to see a regal looking owl with a package and a letter attached. He knew what was expected, after his encounters with Harry he'd decided decided to peruse the Vatican's secret archives, to which he had access, and learn more about the wizarding world. He opened his window and the bird hopped in, sticking its foot out at him. He carefully relieved the bird of its burden and stroked its feathers, the owl leaning in and hooting happily.
"The beauty of God's creatures never ceases to amaze me. Thank you for the post, I'm afraid I have nothing to give you." Anderson said. The owl bobbed its head and turned around. Leaping out the window. He resolved to get some sort of bird treats to keep in case this became a regular thing. He brought the mail over to his desk and put the package aside for now, opening the letter and reading it.
Dear Father Anderson,
I'm sure you're wary of receiving correspondence from me, since my close association with the Hellsing organization makes us ostensibly enemies. It's likely difficult to trust anything you're given by someone who blew you in half with his "devil stick." Sorry about that by the way.
The reason for the missive is, I did some research on the Iscariot organization, as well as you specifically and learned quite a bit. I have no love for Iscariot, as they would see me dead for simply existing, but you on the other hand are quite intriguing. Imagine my surprise when I found out the man who threw a bayonet into my shoulder spent most of his time seeing to the welfare and safety of orphans. Furthermore you do at considerable financial cost to yourself.
I'm not sure what you know about me, Father Anderson, but at the risk of telling you what you already know, I too am an orphan. My parents were murdered when I was a baby, and I was released into the care of my Aunt and Uncle. I can tell you without reservation, I'd have very much preferred to be one of your orphans. They were extremely abusive, physically, emotionally, and in my uncle's case, sexually. For ten years all I knew was hate, pain and misery, until I met my friends at Hogwarts.
To find out you were going so far out of your way to prevent other orphans from living that nightmare, was a shock. Despite our differences, and the likelihood that in the future one of us will be likely be responsible for the untimely death of the other, I wanted to do what I can to help your children. Enclosed is a bank draft made out to you specifically, for the sum of 10,000 Euro, for the benefit of your orphanage. If more is required, please feel free to let me know. I've also enclosed for you personally, in thanks for your services, a Bible that I found in my family's vaults.
I hope the charms on it are not offensive to your faith, I admit I know little about Catholicism, but it has been charmed to remain pristine and intact indefinitely. It dates back to 1490, and was printed on Gutenberg's presses. It is literally priceless, and I felt that you would appreciate it more than I could. There are three runes on the inside of the cover, labeled D, E and L. These correspond to German, English and Latin, and pressing one before reading will translate it into whichever language you prefer.
Take it with my thanks, and know that I look forward to meeting you in battle again. I still have the bayonet you threw at me. Perhaps I'll return it to sender?
Sincerely,
Harry J Potter.
P.S. Alucard says hi.
Anderson laughed out loud at the end of the letter, and carefully opened the package, revealing the bible and inside of it was the cheque. He was overwhelmed with gratitude at the gesture, this money would go a long way, and in the next few days his kids would all be wearing new clothes and going to bed with warm food in their bellies. If he was honest with himself, he could see no problem with magic. The bible spoke about the evils of witchcraft, but so much of the old book was up to interpretation, what's to say that witchcraft was the same as the magic Harry's people had used? No his rivalry with Harry was simply due to his association with the heathen Hellsing organization and its pet vampire.
Harry had not given him a return address, but Anderson reckoned he didn't need one as he knew where the Hellsing compound was, so he took some paper and an envelope out of his desk and started writing a response. He determined that Father Maxwell would not need to know about his new pen pal, nor the gifts he'd received from him. He was concerned deeply about the man, and he could not tell what his motivations ultimately were. He respected his knowledge and leadership skills, as well as his enthusiasm about the faith, but in Maxwell, he saw a glint of something in his eye that he did not like. The lust for power. He felt the slow deterioration of the church and increase of those losing faith was due in no small part to ambitious priests.
Back in England, Harry awoke from a tumultuous night's sleep. For the first time since he was a teenager, he had nightmares about death eaters, Hermione's torture, Dobby's sacrifice, and his godfather falling through the veil. He supposed he was subconsciously punishing himself for torturing Jan Valentine, but rationally he thought that the bastard deserved it and a whole lot more. This was the burden of morality, no matter how necessary or justified something is, part of him would never abide such things.
As he was preparing to leave he saw a note under his door. It was a request from Pip to meet him at the Armory at tonight before bed. Harry shrugged, and made his way to the cafeteria for breakfast, where Integra and Seras were sitting, Integra eating a bagel while Seras was idly sipping from a blood bag. He started making his way to an empty table when Seras' hand shot out and physically dragged him over to her table.
"I mean this in the nicest possible way, but you look like shit." Integra said, smirking at using the wizard's words against him.
"Ha ha." He said, grumbling as he poured himself some coffee.
"Didn't sleep much?" Seras asked.
"Not really. Not very surprised to be honest. Yesterday was... Yesterday sucked." Harry said.
"Nobody faults you for what you did, Harry." Integra said
"I know that in my mind, but my heart is still mad at me. I'll be fine, I promise." Harry said, honestly.
"So what's on the agenda today?" Seras asked.
"Nothing major. We have funerals to arrange, and paperwork to accomplish. How long can you keep Valentine under?" Integra asked.
"Indefinitely, thanks to Alucard. My stunner would have only been good for about fifteen minutes thanks to vampire magical resistence. Alucard was able to induce what my uncle Remus taught us in DADA class was called "Forced Torpor." Basically its a reversable hibernation." Harry explained.
"Excellent. I let Minister Shacklebolt know about yesterday, and he's asked us to bring him to the Department of Mysteries later today." Integra asked.
"How is Alucard going to get through the wards there?" Seras asked.
"We actually thought up a plan for that. The wards protect against vampires and other 'dark creatures.' If one posesses a human, however, they won't take effect. Alucard's going to as he so eloquently put it 'ride me like a meat bus.'" Harry explained.
"I don't know if I'm ok with that." Integra said.
"I am an accomplished occlumens, I can kick him out if he starts acting up." Harry reassured her.
"Occlumens?" Seras asked. Harry nodded.
"Occlumency is a branch of magic involving organizing one's thoughts and memories and protecting one's mind from outside intrusion. Basically when Alucard takes control of me, my consciousness will be sitting in the corner ready to trigger the ejector seat." Harry said, grinning.
"I'll trust your judgement on this Harry, but I don't like it." Integra said
"Me neither. I trust Alucard, but while he's in there my mind will be focused on keeping him safe from the wards, I might not be able to hold up the shields too well, he may end up seeing things I'd rather he not." Harry said.
"Then why bother at all?" Seras asked.
"The Department of mysteries is a section of the ministry I have never even come close to trusting. They keep their information and capabilities a closely guarded secret, and there are believable stories about people 'disappearing' when the unspeakables take an interest in them. Quite frankly I don't feel safe leading Integra in there without Alucard to back us up." Harry said.
They chatted about general topics while eating and once they were finished they went their separate ways, Integra to tackle her mountain of paperwork, Harry to Physical Training with the Wild Geese, and Seras so Alucard could put her through her paces. Before he knew it they were preparing for the trip to the Department of Ministries.
"I wonder who sent them." Seras asked.
"I'm guessing it was... nazis." Alucard said, dragging Jan behind him.
"That would be retarded." Integra said
"I bet you I'm right." Alucard said
"I bet you you're wrong." Integra responded.
"Bet you you're a skank." Alucard said
"Bet you you're an asshole!" Integra said.
"BITCH I EAT PEOPLE!" Alucard yelled, throwing Jan, whom he'd stuffed unceremoniously into a trash bag into the trunk of the limousine, and nobody had the heart to stop him from doing so. After that, Alucard approached Harry.
"Are you ready?" Alucard asked. Harry nodded and looked him in the eye. Alucard dissolved into a red mist which slowly entered into Harry's body through his eyes. He blinked a few times and adopted Alucard's cheeky grin.
"C'mere Police girl and gimme a kiss!" Harry/Alucard said. Seras on reflex punched him, shattering Harry's shoulder and humerus and sending him flying into a wall.
"Oh god Harry!" Seras said, running at superhuman speeds to help him up.
"You've got to be careful about that Seras. Harry's tough, but that still hurts like a bitch." Alucard said, getting up with great difficulty.
"Oh I'm so sorry Harry, I'm so sorry." She said, crying. Alucard fished Harry's holly wand out and waved it in an intricate pattern repairing the damage bones, then used it to clean and repair his clothing.
"That was cruel, Master." She said, sobbing. Alucard winced, then shuddered.
"What's wrong?" Integra asked.
"Harry is unhappy that Seras is crying. He's making his displeasure known." Alucard said, and looked over at his fledgling.
"I am sorry, Seras. I never intended to hurt either of you." Alucard said sincerely. Seras wiped her tears and looked at Alucard with a cold expression.
"Never again A.a.. Alucard." She said, it pained her to not call him master. Alucard nodded.
The ride to the Minsitry was quiet, and uneventful, but when they arrived the mood improved dramatically when the guard who was reading a newspaper, lazily refusing to look up at them asked for harry's wand for registration. Alucard reached into Harry's coat and came out with his middle finger raised at the clerk. He was infuriated but paled when he looked up and saw Harry grinning cheekily at him.
"M... Mister Potter. Forgive me, Minister Shacklebolt is waiting for you at the Department of Mysteries. Its on floor.." The guard said, before Alucard interrupted him
"I remember where it is. You might recall I visited there in my fifth year." Alucard said, his grin intensifying.
"Right..." The guard said, remembering the incident. Alucard lead them to the elevator and a short ride later they were stepping out down a familiar hallway. It was decided to examine and question the unconscious vampire in the Death chamber so that they could chuck him through the veil immediately after, they didn't want to risk him getting lose inside the building.
"Harry, Why would the wards keep Alucard and Seras out but not Jan?" Integra asked.
"The wards work by strongly dissuading vampires from entry, and in the case they can resist that they inflict intense pain until they're through the threshold. Jan's unconscious, so neither would have bothered him." Alucard said.
"Ah, harry, and Sir Integra I presume? I expected you to bring a few Hellsing soldiers." Shacklebolt said. Harry grinned, as a red mist leaked out of his eyes and coalesced into Alucard.
"Oh worry not, Mr. Shacklebolt, Integra and Harry are very much protected." Alucard said with a wolfish grin. Spells came flying at him from several hidden unspeakables, some were designed to incapacitate and others were obviously meant to kill. They tore Alucard's body apart and he fell to the ground in a bloody, broken heap.
"What is the meaning of this" one of the unspeakables asked, emerging from the darkness, pointing his wand at Integra. Harry placed himself between her and the unspeakable.
"Put down that wand before I break it off in your ass." Harry growled.
"You dare bring one of those filthy creatures into our Ministry?" Another unspeakable demanded.
"Hey Harry. These guys aren't very friendly" Alucard commented from the ground, as the chunks that previously made up his body reassembled themselves and Alucard returned to his natural state.
"No, they aren't, which is why I brought you along. Shack, do you mind calling these idiots off?" Harry asked. Shacklebolt nodded and bellowed at the unspeakables, ordering them out. One remained, at Harry's insistence, to assist with Jan's examination. Harry conjured a table and they laid the unconscious creature on it and the unspeakable began poking and prodding at him. His curiosity getting the better of him, Alucard approached the veil of death and looked around.
"Hey Harry, what's this?" Alucard asked. Harry looked up and his expression dropped.
"That's the veil of death. It's said anything that passes through it dies immediately, Bellatrix Lesgrange shot my godfather through that in my fifth year." Harry explained sadly.
"What's this?" The unspeakable asked, pointing to the back of Jan's head. There was a burned out section of his skull that his natural healing had not addressed, and there were blackened pieces of metal in it.
"That's interesting. It looks like a circuit board." Integra observed
"A circuit what now." the unspeakable asked.
"A circuit board. It's a piece of muggle technology. There are tiny pathways on it connecting different electronic components to each other in order to perform functions or process and transport information. Alucard, did the other one have this on his head?" Integra asked
"No idea. He burst into blue flames and burned to ash as soon as I'd beaten him. It was really pretty." Alucard said, still intently studying the veil.
"I suppose we should wake him up and interrogate him." Shacklebolt recommended. Harry conjured extremely sturdy straps to hold him down and Alucard casually walked over, and punched him in the gut causing Jan to wake suddenly and start screaming.
"You.. You keep away from me! Get away from me! Don't hurt me!" Jan screamed frantically upon recognizing Harry. Harry's expression went cold and he slowly closed in on the restrained vampire.
"You give me some answers and we'll release you." Harry said
"What do you want to know? I'll tell you anything, just don't hurt me again!" Jan pleaded, causing Shacklebolt's eyebrow to raise as he looked over at harry.
"Why did you attack Hellsing compound?" Harry asked, not noticing Alucard walk back over to the veil.
"This guy. Some Kraut, Fat little guy, buncha nazis, call themselves Millennium." Jan said.
"Nazis?" Harry asked, looking up to notice Alucard dancing a jig over by the veil. Integra was, once again, thankful for Harry's help with her migraines. They interrogated Jan for a while before his fear of Harry diminished and he started mouthing off to Integra again. Harry loomed over him, and he gulped.
"You know what? I think asking him questions isn't going to get us any further. You know who might be able to figure out a thing or two?" Harry asked.
"Don't fucking do it!" Jan shrieked. Harry turned his head towards the unspeakable.
"Unspeakable, when is your birthday?" Harry asked.
"Uh, it was last month..." He said.
"Well consider our friend Jan here a late birthday present. I understand the unspeakables have never had a live specimen to experiment on?" Harry said. The unspeakable grinned savagely and raised his wand to incapacitate the now screaming vampire.
"Are you sure about that Harry?" Integra asked.
"We probably got everything important that he knows. If the unspeakables find anything else I'm sure they'll pass it along, right Shack?" Harry said.
"Definitely, and the ministry thanks you for your generous donation" Shacklebolt said, smiling.
"GODDAMNIT ALUCARD WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?" Harry shouted, the others looking up in shock to see Alucard had reached into the veil with his right arm with a mischievous grin.
"ALUCARD!" Integra shouted.
"Yoink!" Alucard said, pulling his arm out of the veil, and grasped in his hand was the lapel of a shocked looking wizard whom was very familiar to Harry.
"SIRIUS?" Harry shouted.