A vampire at Hogwarts

The things you learn

The trio began walking back up to the castle silently pondering the many questions they had. Only one person seemed to notice the raven-haired girl standing idling in the courtyard chatting with another student. Harry couldn't mistake the beautiful flowing head of black hair, he couldn't miss her seemingly flawless but oddly pale skin, and he couldn't ignore the almost musical sound of her voice. She was huddled the best she could in her robes consisting of the regular uniform. No doubt she was wearing her Slytherin light grey/green jumper, uniform skirt with black leggings underneath, her Slytherin silver/green scarf and the thick wool cloak reserved specifically designed for cold weather. It was quite chilled outside considering the change in season. The end of autumn had arrived and it only grew closer to the winter months as the countdown to Christmas began. It may have been cold outside but Harry couldn't dismiss the warm feeling he got when he looked at Rachel, she truly was beautiful but the feeling changed quickly, an empty pit formed in his stomach as his eyes travelled to the person next to her. A blonde Hufflepuff boy that Harry recognised to be in his History of Magic, Herbology and Astronomy classes. He couldn't remember the boy's name off the top of his head but he recognised him. The boy was popular among the females in his class that was for sure, and probably his house too, and dare he say it 'year'. Harry could always find him clinging to Ashley Church, Rachel's twin sister. He remembered running into Ashley and Rachel at Ollivanders. Rachel's twin sister was a pretty girl, she had bright eyes, a beautiful smile and a kind heart.

"Mate isn't that Rachel over there?" Ron pointed out to Harry. Hermione's attention is brought to the current scene and she furrows her brow. "What's she doing talking to Skylar Grey? He's the cutest boy in our year...according to my dormitory mates" She adds quickly. "I don't know" Replied Harry, he was curious himself but it was no place for him to walk up and butt into their conversation. "Come on it's none of our business, let's go" Hermione ushered the boys towards the castle, leaving the two first years to continue their conversation completely unaware of their audience.

Rachel's POV

"Your friends were looking at us" Skylar commented suddenly, interrupting our important conversation. I knew that already but I chose to ignore it hoping he wouldn't bring it up but he was far too observant not to. "I know, may we continue please, I'd like to get out of this cold...my body temperature's low enough as it is" I mumbled that last part but I knew he heard me clear as day. "Yeah fine. As I was saying, It's completely normal for you to be hearing voices in your state" I raised an eyebrow curiously. "My state?" 'What did he mean by that?' He shoved his hands deeper into his robe pockets presumably starting to feel the effects of the chilled air. "Yeah, I mean currently you're not in control of your true-self. Your true self is your vampire-self, which is currently sealed behind that Rosary of yours" Skylar explained pointing to the choker-like piece of jewelry hanging from my neck. I was beginning to understand where he was coming from but I was still unclear on a few things. "Does that mean you're not in control of your true-self either?" Skylar fingered his own rosary, he lightly chuckled before answering. "I conquered my true-self a long time ago...It takes time but you have to fight for control and when you win you no longer hear those voices, the voices are your vampiric-selves thoughts" He explained. I finally understood what he meant. "You mean that I have to battle myself for control and when I win the only thoughts I'll hear are my own?" He gave me a wry smile. "More or less, yeah, the thing is, you seem to think that the voices you're hearing are someone else's thoughts but they're not...they're yours but they're thoughts based on your vampiric instincts"

I nodded showing I understood. "What if I loose?" I inquired suddenly. The expression on Skylar's face went from normal to slightly worried. He averted his gaze from mine momentarily, biting his lip nervously he began scratching the back of neck. "Uhmm, s-so let's just say you don't wanna find out what happens if you loose, it's not common anyways, don't worry about it, you have a strong will and I have confidence in you" Skylar said patting me on the shoulder for good measure before turning to head back to the castle. To say I wasn't curious as to what would actually happen was an understatement but I trusted Skylar's words. He would surely guide me down the path to conquering my vampiric self. "So what? Am I supposed to listen to these voices or fight them?" Skylar halted in place as I brought up the most difficult question. He didn't turn back to me but he did glance to his side slightly, enough to catch me in his peripheral vision. "That's where you need to be careful, a true vampire is an extremely smart and efficient creature...but they're also manipulative and evil, it's the reason we're so feared. A vampire who gives into every will and wish of their vampiric-self becomes a monster, an unstoppable, evil being. Some of the things it'll tell you to do are inhumane but it's like a test, if you pass you've conquered your true-self but if you don't, well...I told you before, you don't wanna know" Skylar chuckled. My eyes went wide with fear. "M-My instincts are-" "Animal-like? Yes, it's up to you to act upon which thoughts you feel are right and which ones are trying to corrupt you. The more bad choices you make the more corrupted of a vampire you become and it's hard to undo the bad once you become it" Skylar sent me a charming smirk before continuing his path back up to the castle. "Enjoy the rest of your day, Rachel" He called back before completely leaving me in the courtyard.