Alexandria put on a black dress and ballet flats before brushing her hair out and walking out from the dormitory and into the packed common room. She paused to look around, many of the students regarded her as they always did—awestruck mixed with nervousness the moment she entered the room. It didn't appear that many of them knew yet.
But when Ernie MacMillan stopped her from walking further he studied her closely, many students seemed to be staring at them.
"So, is it true?" he whispered.
"Is what true?" Alexandria asked, not wanting to give away anything.
Ernie showed his teeth and tapped where his incisors would be, "are you...are you a vampire?" his voice was rather low but even that didn't stop all conversations to drop.
"What would you do if I said yes?" She raised an eyebrow.
Ernie looked shocked, his eyes widening as he stepped away slightly. "We swear, no one will say a word."
All around the other Hufflepuffs nodded in agreement, Alexandria was speechless.
"How did you all find out?" Alexandria questioned.
"Well, there were owls passed around..." Veronica, another Seventh year explained. "We just had to find out if it was true."
"Are you scared of me?" Alexandria asked.
Many shrugged, "have you killed a person?" Alexandria shook her head. "Then we have nothing to be scared of...I mean Lupin was a bloody werewolf, ya know?"
"We give each other a fair chance at explaining themselves," Ernie gave a slight smile.
"How did it happen? If it's alright to ask," Veronica asked.
Alexandria rubbed the back of her neck and sighed, "got rushed one day in the streets. Next thing I knew I needed animal blood to live."
"But...you eat meals? We see you," someone's voice spoke up behind her.
"I'm not fully a vampire...I don't gain anything from eating but I also just want to still feel like me," Alexandria looked at the room. It wasn't crowded, maybe ten students in total but they all had similar sympathetic expressions.
"The people here right now, swear not a word will go further."
Alexandria smiled before walking out of the room, she'd never felt so welcomed in her life, and to be accepted for what she was by her own house...it gave her an unbelievable feeling. But as she neared the exit of the deep tunnel that opened to a corridor of Hogwarts, she felt that only her house would still accept her. After all her housemates would know her the best out of all students here.
Her smile quickly faded, she walked out of the tunnel to find Vic standing against the opposite wall in all black robes.
"I've always admired your house...very interesting place to live," Vic commented before the two walked down the halls.
Alexandria smiled slightly as they walked to the Great Hall, "Vic...maybe we should just eat in the kitchens." Having a bad feeling sweep over her.
"Nonsense! We'll be fine, I promise," Vic smiled. But even his carefree smile was forced, not providing comfort to Alexandria, word had spread throughout the castle and it was time to see how the student body would react.
When they finally reached the Great Hall, any conversation had stopped dead as they stood in the doorway. Every eye was focused on Alexandria.
Vic put a comforting arm around Alexandria and the two walked to the Ravenclaw table without a word. But they didn't get too far, every student present stood up and pulled out their wands—raising them and pointing them at Alexandria.
Scott Fairos stepped forward, looking regretful while lowering his wand slightly.
"Is it true?" He asked quietly.
"Is what true?" Vic snorted, playing ignorant.
"Is she a vampire?!" A Ravenclaw from behind Scott called, glaring at Alexandria.
Vic put his arm around Alexandria's waist, giving it a slight squeeze, "what's this rubbish?!" Alexandria glanced at Vic, so they were going to play the innocent card.
"Don't lie, I saw what you did," Scott commented. He seemed extremely uncomfortable.
"What exactly did you see, may I ask?" Alexandria questioned calmly, silently agreeing to play the ignorance game.
"You put your hand through a Death Eater and licked the blood," Scott whispered, shaking.
"shit," Vic said under his breath as he moved Alexandria behind her, shielding her from the many wands pointed at her. "Now, everyone. Look here-"
"Why the hell are you defending her?!" a Slytherin boy yelled.
"Actually no, I didn't put my hand through any chests...you have the story wrong-"
"She's a monster!" the seventh year Ravenclaw yelled.
Scott was frowning, "how long have you been like this, Alexandria?"
Alexandria looked over Vic's shoulder to see Scott waiting expectantly, "about two years."
The surrounding students began to raise their wands even higher, Alexandria pulled Vic's wand from his back pocket and placed it in his good hand as she took out her own from the back of her dress.
"It's lovely to see that in times like this the school gets together, too bad you're picking the wrong people to fuck with," Vic was getting angry now.
"How did you become one?" Scott asked.
"She was ambushed by a group of them. Look, Alexandria is still the same person, she just....has a different diet. And for your information, she's still the same exact girl. Do you understand?" Vic said to the group at large.
"We don't want that monster anywhere near here," a Slytherin said, raising her wand higher.
"We'll leave right after the funeral."
"Not soon enough," the Ravenclaw growled.
"Well, that's too bad," Vic scoffed.
The girl looked pissed and she flourished her wand, sending a spell towards them which Vic blocked.
"You want a fight is that it?! We'll take you! We'll take all of you!" Vic was getting angrier by the second.
"What is going on here?" Sprout questioned as she stepped through the crowd. When she came to see Alexandria hidden behind Vic as he stood to his full height facing off three students, she knew exactly what was happening. "Alright everyone, get back to eating."
"Professor, do you know what's going on?" Scott asked her, outraged.
Sprout looked at him, narrowing her eyes, "I see a group of students coming together to harm another. Am I correct?"
"She's the one whose going to harm us!" a Slytherin spoke up.
"I'd never hurt anyone!" Alexandria shouted. "You all know me! I've been in all of your classes and you all know I'd never hurt a fly!"
"I watched you practically kill a man last night," Scott said with disgust. "You put your hand through his chest and then you licked the blood away."
"Again, it wasn't their-"
"She was protecting me, so what if she went a little overboard? She's still trying to handle herself!" Vic shouted. "It's hard to deal with something like this alone!"
"That's enough," Sprout interrupted, she looked at Alexandria. Not feeling disgusted at her actions, but worried. Worried for what was going to happen to her now that students of Hogwarts knew. "Did you kill someone last night?"
"No, just injured," Alexandria shook her head. "The most I did was tear some biceps and break bones, nothing to the extent they're making it seem."
Sprout looked over the students with a frown, "everyone go back to breakfast."
"Does your house know, Alexandria? Because it's very interesting how none of the Hufflepuffs are here," Scott mused.
"Some of them," Alexandria said simply.
"Well, either way we're not moving until she leaves," the Ravenclaw seethed as she glared at Alexandria.
"I have every right to be here!" Alexandria shouted.
"No monster has the right to be here," she retorted. "Why don't you go to the forest and drink some blood?"
On instinct Alexandria let out a growl that forced students to back away and prepare to fight, Vic's arm around her waist tightened, keeping her restrained as she stared down the girl. She flipped her dirt brown hair over her shoulder and smirked as she stood there, not quivering like many others.
"That's enough Celest," Scott commented. He looked at Alexandria, regret filling his eyes as he looked at her.
All around she was met with horrified, disgusted looks, and even looks of confusion; everyone had retreated from Vic and herself, not wanting to be anywhere near them. The only good part was that she saw no splash of brilliant red in the crowd, so possibly Vic could still have his job after all.
"None of you have a right to judge this girl. This conversation will not leave this room, do you understand me?" Sprout was talking to the group at large there were refusals from almost everyone, "would you really speak of this and possibly send Miss Desmond to her death?"
The group was silent, there were no refusals nor agreements to the question. Scott looked at his feet, not meeting Sprout's gaze.
"I am disgusted with every one of you, how dare you turn your back on a single student for something that is beyond her control." Sprout spat the words with rage as all the students lowered their wands, "I am absolutely disgusted. This girl has lost everything and now you're wishing to put her to death by revealing a major secret at a time like this? We can all tell how events are going to go moving forward, you would risk a person's life just because they're....different?"
"I won't let this leave the room," Scott commented, he met Alexandria's eyes. Looking apologetic.
"This won't leave the room at all."
All the students turned to see McGonagall and Flitwick walking forward, both flicking their wands slightly. Everyone looked at the ground.
"Everyone return to your meals," McGonagall ordered. "How can you act like this, after everything that's happened? This is how you contribute to the memory of your Headmaster, by turning against a student just because they're different and you're afraid of her?" She looked outraged, "return to your meals and don't speak a word of this, do you hear? You don't understand precisely what is wrong with this picture, I am horrified with your actions. How dare you wish ill will on a fellow student."
The students all nodded silently, going to their places, but not before they all shot daggers at Alexandria.
Alexandria glared as Vic squeezed her arm, "the kitchens are better anyway," he whispered in her ear.
They turned to leave, but not before they passed McGonagall and Flitwick, the two gave Alexandria sympathetic looks.
"Thank you, all of you," Alexandria whispered. Grateful for her professors.
Part of Alexandria wanted to cry, another part wanted to rip every single one of them to shreds. Alexandria turned to see Sprout conversing with Scott, Sprout gave a comforting smile before the two turned toward the kitchens.
Once in the kitchens Alexandria wasn't hungry, instead she began to sob harshly into Vic's side as they stood in the empty room.
"Calm down, Lex," Vic soothed, for once he allowed her to sob uncontrollably. "It'll work out."
"How will it work out?! How the bloody hell will it work out?!" Alexandria screamed, she pushed away from Vic's hold and glared at her shoes. "Fuck! I had premonitions about last night and it still happened!"
She grabbed her head and fell to her knees, her chest heaving rapidly and the oncoming panic attack over took her entire body. Vic stood above her, pacing slightly as she howled on the floor. Vic rubbed his face angrily before getting down on his knees and taking Alexandria into his side as she sobbed and clung to his shirt front.
"We are going to go to that funeral and the minute it's over, we're going to go get that lovely flat and spend the next few days arranging it. We'll hide away from the world there and never come out," Vic soothed as Alexandria's sobs began turning into hiccups.
"I'll work at the joke shop and you can do whatever you fancy," Vic whispered. "Everything will be fine. I promise to see to that."
"We managed to get four seats together," George gestured to four chairs, Alexandria took the chair between Fred and George, Vic sitting on the other side of George.
"Why're those people looking at us like we have two heads," Fred whispered in Alexandria's ear. His breath tickled her neck, sending goosebumps down her spine.
"No idea," Alexandria lied. But she knew exactly why they looked to freakishly horrified, Fred Weasley was willingly sitting next to the vampire. The monster. The murderer. The Freak.
When the funeral ended many didn't move at first, but as Alexandria and the others moved, they were stopped by one person.
"Alexandria, can I speak with you?" Scott asked nervously as the boys watched on, "alone."
Vic slung his good arm around Alexandria's shoulders and nodded, "yeah. Come on, let's go have a little chat."
Scott frowned but sighed when Vic wouldn't back off and the three moved away from the Weasley twins.
"look, I'm sorry I just—"
"Don't need apologies from a bloke who held up a wand at us," Vic growled.
Alexandria batted his arm, "What are you going to really accept his apology?!" Vic said outraged.
"Not in the slightest!" Alexandria scoffed, "Vic's right. We won't be accepting your apology."
Scott nodded sadly but shrugged, "I wish you all the luck then." He walked away, hanging his head as he went.
"What'd your boyfriend want?" Fred asked, a jealous tone to his voice that Alexandria didn't catch but Vic couldn't help but smirk at.
"He's not my boyfriend," Alexandria snorted.
"Alright, well then what did Scott want?" His tone instantly changed to that of indifference, George and Vic shared a look that went unnoticed by Alexandria.
"Nothing," Alexandria and Vic spoke at once. The twins shared a look but didn't speak further.
"Let's go to the kitchens," Fred suggested.
The group consented and trudged down to the kitchens, Fred walked off and found four bottles of butterbeer and passed them around.
"Feels weird to be down here after being gone for a year," Fred commented.
"Good weird or bad weird?" Alexandria asked.
Fred took a swig of his drink before answering, "good because it almost feels like old times, but bad because even sitting here everything feels different now."
Alexandria looked at Vic, the two shared a look as they all silently drank their butterbeers. Even the warmth that the drink provided was not enough to fill the cold bottomless pit in her chest.
"Will the shop still be running?" Vic asked quietly.
"Yes, and even if we close your post will always be there," Fred offered.
"Thanks."
"Where are you working, Lex?" George asked.
"Nowhere as of yet," she shrugged.
"We could—"
"No, no you've done enough for the two of us." Alexandria held up her hands in protest, "I can manage."
The boys all looked doubtful but said nothing.
"This is where we're living?" Alexandria looked at Vic who looked like the happiest guy alive. He was grinning from ear to ear.
"It's beautiful! Come on, we're in 3B!" Vic said and ran into the building and up the stairs, leaving Alexandria to follow slowly.
After walking up three flights of blue carpeted stairs, they came to a cobalt blue door with the number 3B. Vic unlocked the door to reveal a rather spacious apartment filled with all the basic furniture one would need to live.
The carpeting was a dirt brown and covered every room but the bathroom and the kitchen. When they entered, the room had bland furniture situated everywhere, a balcony was on their left, connected to what would potentially be their living room; there was a small hallway that led to a bedroom and a rather nicely sized bathroom, a small office, and a small kitchen.
"Vic! There's a small office we could turn into a bedroom!" Alexandria excitedly.
"This is so perfect," Vic breathed, "and we can get a decorator to come in and do everything for us! We just have to pay 400 pounds is all."
"That's all?" Alexandria asked as she looked around the apartment.
"Yeah! Not bad, eh?" Vic beamed proudly.
"Let's get decorating then," Alexandria grinned, wanting to do something normal.
"I was thinking something from the gothic romantic era?" Vic suggested.
"You know how I adore the gothic period," Alexandria grinned, "how about gothic meets galaxy?"
"How would that work?"
"Light fixtures and furniture all from the gothic era and fabric and color pallet from stuff that resembles the galaxy," Alexandria explained. "The walls are painted a deep blue that sparkles slightly, the furniture is all black....I kind of like that, don't you?"
"So long as I get my telescope, we can make the apartment look any way you want, even change it if we so please," Vic shrugged.
"Let's get going then!" Alexandria said excitedly. After what happened earlier with school, she was shockingly happy, she didn't expect that to happen for a while. But here she was, genuinely happy as Vic requested the designer to come right away so they could begin their lives.
After three hours of discussing with the apartment designer, the apartment was completed. It was a gothic galaxy, just the way Alexandria had envisioned.
"This is perfect," Alexandria breathed.
"Welcome home, Lexi-bear," Vic grinned as he slung his arm around her shoulders.
Alexandria wrapped her arms around Vic's waist and grinned as they stood there.