(A.N: This is supposed to be Skyler, I know he looks older than 11...just pretend)
(Rachel's POV)
Who knew having lunch would be this difficult, then again I don't know why I expected my sudden disappearance after breakfast to go on noticed.
"Where were you Rachel? We haven't seen you since breakfast"
Blaise asked getting straight to the point after we all sat down in our usual places at the Slytherin table. Blaise was sitting on my right, Draco to my left, Gregory (Goyle) sitting directly across from me, and Vincent (Crabbe) sitting to his right and across from Draco. I inwardly sighed before answering with the rehearsed line I was told to tell if anyone were to dare ask the question.
"I'm taking extra classes on Fridays" I used a cheerful smile in an attempt to reassure the four boys. I didn't want to go into detail if I didn't have to. "Oh? What classes are you taking?"
Gregory questioned curiously then taking a bite of the turkey leg that sat on his plate. 'And~now I have to go into detail' "I'm taking elemental magic classes and some theory classes it's rather advanced stuff, my father requested it" They all display looks of shocking admiration and some of disbelief. "Woah~ elemental magic but that's a fourth years class. How did you manage to get into that?" Vincent exclaimed his eyes and was bugging out of his head at how shocked he was. I was about to speak again when Draco piped in. "You idiot, she just told you her father requested it! Your father must be a pretty powerful man in order to get the school to allow you to take fourth year classes" Said Draco as he stared into my icy blue eyes with his own piercing gray ones. A blush quickly formed on my face and I attempted to hide it by looking down and changing the subject.
"So~ what are your guy's plans for this weekend? Doing anything fun?" Nervously scratched the back my neck as I questioned them. They all just seem to shrug off the fact that I totally change the subject. "Not much just gonna do some hanging maybe pick on a few Gryffindors" Blaise reply bluntly. I elbowed his side in response to his comment to which he just laughed. "Hey don't be so rough" He fake whined attempting to pout cutely. I simply rolled my eyes.
After lunch it was time for me to return to my classes thus making my way back up to the sixth floor where professor McGonagall would be waiting. I got there just in time for my next class to start and she was already waiting for me as I had predicted. "Welcome dear. Today I'm going to be testing you and your ability to control your magic so be ready"
I nodded in confirmation walking closer to her in order for her to start her lesson. "The rosary dear, you won't be needing it" She informed me. I looked at her as if she was crazy, does she know what can happen if I'm not wearing the rosary? Bad things, many bad things. "Professor, I don't think that's a good idea" I informed her nervously. She tutted me in response. "There is no need to fret, dear. We here at Hogwarts specialize in teaching students to control their magic abilities, you are no different" She stated nonchalantly. I hesitantly reached up to clasp the bindings of my rosary, once un-clipped I set it down gently on a near by side table which was positioned next to the sofa's I had been seated on previously. My hands were shaking, I was generally scared that I'd hurt someone with my powers. I remember my father telling me that if I couldn't learn to control them that he'd have no choice but to lock me up. This wasn't because he was cruel because he really wasn't, it was because I could severely injure someone or worse kill them. I had no intention of doing so. "Calm down, child" Professor McGonagall mused. I nodded curtly and began taking deep calming breaths. Once I had visibly relaxed the professor spoke again. "Now, let's start by telling me the sorts of powers you posses. Once I've narrowed down your abilities I can assist you in discovering what triggers them"
I thought for a brief moment, it wasn't a very long moment because I knew very well what most of my powers consisted of. "I have some issues regarding the Full moon-" The sound of her short chuckle interrupted me suddenly. I quirked an eyebrow at her in confusion. 'Why was she laughing at me?' "We had a student some time ago with similar issues regarding the Full moon, I assure you that if it comes down to it we can offer you the same accommodations that we offered him" I immediately understood what she was referring to. As far as I know, Hogwarts had never accommodated for a vampire before, strangely enough now they had two, only one that they knew of. "Are you comparing my predicament to that of a werewolf's?" I hissed lowly, a flash of red clouding my vision momentarily. I quickly shook off a violent thought that appeared in my head. She looked taken aback by my tone, she frowned. "No Ms. Church, you're far from that of a werewolf. I think you know that a werewolf has no control over their actions once effected by the Full moon, you on the other hand I believe have control" I noticed how carefully she chose her words from that point on, she was afraid to upset me. I had given her a glimpse of my inner beast. "Excuse my interruption, please continue"
I sighed reluctantly but continued never the less. Everything is strengthened during the Full moon, my senses, my abilities, my restlessness, and my thirst for blood. I'm afraid not even the blood tablets will satisfy me during this time" My gaze was locked on the floor as I spoke. Professor McGonagall paced lightly, I could hear her heals make contact with the stone cold tiles of the floor. "What sort of senses are we referring to, dear?" I looked up at her suddenly when I heard the sound of a quill scratching against parchment. I narrowed my eyes slightly. "You're taking notes?" I questioned, sounding as if I was in utter disbelief. She herself was taking notes but she had enchanted a quill to scribble key notes of our conversation onto a piece of parchment. "Yes, pay no mind to this. Professor Dumbledore has asked that professor Snape and I keep note of certain behaviors and abilities that we encounter during these classes" She informed. Now I was terribly confused. "Why?" I asked her skeptically. She sighed lightly. "Hogwarts has never had a vampire as a student before and very little is known about them in the wizarding community. This information will be used to better accommodate you throughout your years at Hogwarts. I personally hope to use what we learn from you to clear up any misconceptions about vampires" The professor explained. My eyes went wide with a realization. "No! Professor, this information cannot be released to the public, it cannot be added to the books. There is a reason what is known about vampires is fake. That is exactly what we want you to believe, if people knew the truth it could mean the end of my race as we know it!" I exclaimed defensively. McGonagall's eyes went wide. "My dear, I thought you resented the creatures, what if there was a cure that could only be uncovered using this information?"
She doesn't understand, no one understands. "There is no cure, I've accepted this. There's no point in spending eternity with the means for revenge and he only did it to save me, I'm grateful for that much" I said solemnly. "I understand-" "-NO YOU DON'T" I snapped, my eyes burning bright red in utter rage, my fangs barred, my heart racing and my breath unsteady. I sunk to my knee's in realization that I had lashed out at a teacher, one who willing chose to help me despite knowing I was a danger to her. My head hung low as I continued. "You don't understand..." I took a deep breath. "...Vampires are considered immortal but there's no such thing as immortality, there's always something, a weakness. Everything has a weakness, and it will eventually lead to their destruction" I explained barely above a whisper, but she heard. I looked her in the eyes, She stared back at me with a look, I was expecting fear or disgust but what I saw was concern and reassurance. "The information in the books-" "-Were written by vampires, who desperately wanted to keep our abilities and weaknesses a secret" I cut her off, I stood once more feeling slightly more composed. "I assume the reason for this being that when the books themselves were being written vampires were near extinction. Humans were getting closer to the discovery of a vampires true weakness. False information was written to give people the idea that the key to killing vampires was already known" That was my theory anyways, vampires lived so long ago that not even Reiji could tell me of their entire origin.
"Ms. Church, if I gave you my word that this information would only go as far as Professor Dumbledore and Professor Snape, would you kindly tell me what you know to be true about the race?" I gave her a questioning look. 'Should I tell her? Is it worth telling her? What would Reiji do?' "I-I, uhh~" I hesitated. I took another deep breath to calm my nerves. "Some of what was said in the books was true, but only certain books. The diaries were mostly factual, they held clues to a vampires weakness. Most people didn't know this mostly because they had no idea they were even reading the diary of a vampire" I began. The quill scratched away at the parchment while McGonagall listened intently. "Those diaries told stories of medieval times when people suspected of witchcraft were hung and burned at the stake, the same fates and more awaited vampires, being staked was a common one. This action was first attempted long ago by a man named Van Hellsing, he was a known member of the Vatican who specialized in eliminating all creatures labelled as unholy. It was told that he supposedly staked the vampire Dracula through the heart and killed him instantly. This was false, what he actually discovered was that the most effective way to ensure the death of a vampire was to have them bitten by a werewolf" I realized that as I explained I had begun pacing. I stopped momentarily to make sure she was following, a curt nod told me I was free to continue.
"Now you know why I speak so lowly of the creatures, we are each the others worst enemy, each of us being the key to the others destruction" My eyebrows narrowed at the thought of encountering such a beast. "It was only after the death of Dracula that our race began to struggle. Dracula was considered the most powerful and immortal vampire of the time, his death caused fear in the rest of us. One man held the key to killing us all. Luckily, Van Hellsing wasn't one to blab, he kept most of his discoveries in a diary to which is currently in the possession of one of Dracula's descendants. Van Hellsing discovered many and most of the weaknesses known to my race including, being burned at the stake, loss of blood in the hands of our own kind, werewolves, and Silver" I said the word silver with the utmost distaste. "Anything made of silver is harmful to us, we're basically mortal when it comes to the use of silver. We can died of a stab or gunshot wound if the bullet or knife is made of silver, it even burns our skin upon direct contact. That's why I've made it a habit of mine to never eat anything that requires me to use the silverware here" Professor McGonagall looked shocked. "Oh my! I had no idea, I always thought you were not one with an appetite, I never once thought it could be the cause of the utensils. Professor Dumbledore and I will have this sorted out immediately, I assure you" Professor McGonagall stated apologetically. I chuckled lightly. "It's fine, I didn't expect you to know, in fact I was hoping no one would ever find out" "Ms. Church, this really is necessary" She spoke sincerely. I nodded in understanding. "I can heal from the burns caused by silver but I can't heal from the internal damage inflicted by it" The quill scribbled furiously trying to get down all of the important information being said.
"Hellsing was killed in the hands of a vampire who took possession of his diary, after his death vampires were believed to have gone virtually extinct and Hellsing's practices were soon forgotten. In reality the race had only gone into hiding while they attempted to thrive during the darker periods when they were being hunted. Witches and werewolves were the human races problem now. After some time the vampires came out of hiding but instead of turning to their old ways they began to blend into to society in attempt to hide amongst the humans. They went from being feared to fearing, and in addition to this a few vampires came up with the idea to place false information regarding vampires into books. Ones containing true information about how to kill vampires were disposed of in secrecy" I finished. "Very well done, I must say i'm quite impressed. I'm also very pleased with this new knowledge and I assure you it will not be released to the public. A book may be kept in the headmasters office but it will be safe in the hands of Professor Dumbledore" professor McGonagall informed me. I nodded. "Well, now that that's out of the way I do believe you were about to tell me of the senses you posses" "Right" I confirmed. I thought about what I was going to say for a moment. "Well, I have heightened Vision, hearing, smell, and touch. I have all of these to begin with but during the Full moon they're on overdrive. I used to think I was hearing voices when I was younger but it turns out I was able to listen in on conversations the servants were having at the opposite end of the manor. And then I swore I was a mind reader, I could hear peoples thoughts without them even speaking, these were all accidents of course, they just occurred" "The skill you're referring to is called Legilimency" I looked at her with confusion. She seemed rather proud when she spoke of the skill. "The act of interpreting ones thoughts, a very difficult skill to learn. It takes many years for even the best of wizards to master and you my dear have just proven your ability to use it non-verbally" She clasped her hands together as if she was joyed by this.
"I don't know how I did it, it just happened" I explained solemnly. "There's no need to worry dear, Professor Snape is fairly skilled in Legilimency himself, he'll teach you the skill. I'll also have him teach you it's defensive partner, Occulumency, the art of being able to shield ones thoughts from the use of Legilimency" I gawked at the idea, I was really eager to start learning right then and there. The skill seemed useful. Professor McGonagall must've seen my enthusiasm. "But remember the use of Legilimency is not for ill intentions, it is only to be used for necessary purposes. Often those who seek to acquire these skills dabble with dark magic, I'd hate to see the same come of you" The look on her face when she spoke told me she knew someone who had done something like this before. "Let's move on shall we?" She suggested to which I nodded in agreement. "Your abilities. Professor Dumbledore mentioned that you only know of some of your powers, he said it is likely that you haven't experienced all of them and will only experience them as your magical ability increases" I nodded signalling I understood. "Which abilities do you currently posses?" I didn't have to think to hard about it, I was familiar with some of them more than others. "Speed. All vampires posses the natural ability to be in one place and appear in another seemingly in the blink of an eye. People mistake it for teleportation but it's actually just inhuman speed" I informed her nonchalantly while shoving my hands in the pockets of my robes.
"And you can use this ability?" She inquired. I mentally sweat dropped. "Uhm...Use it, yes. Effectively, no" I confessed in a sheepish tone. "Care to elaborate?" "In short I can't get from one place to another without colliding with something. Most vampires are easily capable of traversing their way around objects as they use their speed. By using their acute vision they can sense obstacles from a distance almost as if their seeing things in slow motion but it's actually happening in under a second, instinctively their body's avoid colliding with said objects. In my case I can't control the use of my speed or vision so I can't predict the objects coming towards me before I actually hit them. I'm supposed to be able to manipulate the way I see time, this would allow me to in a sense see in slow motion and be able to adjust myself so that I don't run into anything, unfortunately I can't do that" I said with a sour tone. I'll admit to disliking the fact that I couldn't properly use most of my vampiric skills, they're extremely useful but I couldn't control them for the life in me. "I see, it seems in order to perfect this ability, Ms. Church, you must first master using your senses" "Yup" I huffed slightly annoyed by this fact. "Anything else?" She inquired curiously to which I chuckled. "Oh yeah" I replied informatively. How could I forget the ability that caused me to set the manor on fire on multiple occasions. "Fire. I can conjure fire" I informed her blatantly. Professor McGonagall let out a light gasp of surprise. "This is a very unexpected gift, Ms. Church. Being able to manipulate an element is an extremely difficult skill. Here at Hogwarts we offer Elemental magic to fourth years and above but the class is mostly the study of the subject due to the fact that most students don't have that magical capability. In fact I can only recall hearing about one student who had this skill" She informed me with utmost delight, that is until mentioning the 'student' that also possessed the ability to use Elemental magic. "Who was that student? They must've been very intelligent" I asked delightfully curiously. Professor McGonagall's expression turned into a concerned one before becoming slightly nervous. "Goodness, It's been such a long time, I can hardly remember the boy's name" She said with a grim expression.
"Oh" I was hoping to find out the name of the student but all I found out was that it was a boy. I had a feeling she knew what the boy's name was and that she was hiding it from me, I just had a feeling. 'If only I could use Legilimency on her to find out' I quickly shook off the thought of trying. "I'm surprised that you're one of very few who can manipulate fire" Her hand was placed thoughtfully under her chin as if to display the fact that she was thinking. "I wouldn't necessarily say manipulate, I can conjure fire, I've yet to try manipulating it" I corrected her, she raised an eyebrow at me. "Is there a specific part of your body to which can conjure fire?" "My hands, that's about it as far as I know" I stated looking at my hands in the process as if I believed they'd spontaneously burst into flames as they had on multiple occasions. "I don't think we should test that theory" I added with a slightly worried tone. "Interesting" Was all the professor said in response. "I was also informed that you have an un-natural healing ability, am I correct?" I nodded confirming her statement, although the ability was completely natural if you were a vampire but I saw no point in arguing.
"We'll have to keep that in mind, it's best to avoid injury if you wish to keep your ability a secret. Anything else?" Professor McGonagall inferred. Well there was another thing and I was debating on whether I should tell her or not, I think it might have been in my best interest to keep it to myself. Vampires were extremely good at manipulation, our good looks easily charmed people. This is another skill I've yet to use and I knew I could use this one I just haven't. Come to think of it, it would be in my best interest to start using it, I wanted the students and professors to believe that I was a model student, I should probably start acting like one and it wasn't to late to start now. By doing this I would be perceived as a normal hardworking student, no one would suspect me to be the blood thirsty creature that I really am. "No professor nothing else" I said sweetly, lacing my words with vampiric charm. She seemingly fell for it because she smiled back. "Very well, Ms. Church, I believe that concludes our first lesson. The rest of your classmates should have spare during this time, you're free to join them if you wish" I nodded curtly before grabbing my rosary and returning it to it's place around my neck. As I was doing so I was reminded of something that had been bugging me for a while. "Actually professor, there was one more thing" Professor McGonagall turned to me as if to say 'spit it out then' I began to hesitate. 'Should it tell her about Skyler? If I spill his secret who's to say he won't reveal mine. Does she already know? If so it wouldn't hurt to tell her, if not I could ruin it for Skyler' "I...Uhhh" I trailed. 'What kind of a model student trails off like that? Spit it out Rachel!' "There's a student in Hufflepuff, his name is Skyler Grey, he's also a vampire...Just so you know" I muttered that last part hoping she didn't already know the information that I had just told her. She looked shocked, I can't blame her, she should be shocked I'd just revealed to her that there was another blood thirsty creature living among the students here, one that she had not known about before.