(No one's POV)
It was November 1st, a Wednesday to be exact. The great hall was filled with happily chatting students who'm had awoken not to long ago and were ready to start the day. The school and its students seemed to be in rather good spirits for having been attacked by a Mountain troll the night before but all was well...almost. Young Harry was sat at his house' table along with his good friends Ron and Hermione. It was apparent that Harry wasn't feeling well, something was bugging him. He barely touched his breakfast in fact he resorted to just picking at the food with his fork causing his two friends great concern. The two try to persuade Harry to eat but he quickly turns them down. Then suddenly, Professor Snape appears. He stops by Harry and wishes him luck on his quidditch match but his tone suggests that he was patronizing him, the three young wizards caught on to his tone and took it as a rather offensive gesture. The professor then leaves but not without walking or rather limping off inconspicuously which Harry once again notices and this time Hermione as well. They begin to ponder and question the Professors injury but were interrupted by someone clearing their throat gaining the Gryffindor trios attention.
(Rachel's POV)
After clearing my throat I received the trios full attention. Hermione offered me a small smile which I returned and Ron looked impassive. "Rachel!" Harry exclaimed in surprise. I took a seat next to him resting my elbow on the table and leaning my face onto it comfortably. "Hi" I replied cheekily. "What are you doing here?" He looked nervous as he gazed about his left and right as if checking for someone. "Don't worry about him, he's not here at the moment" I reassured him, I was referring to Draco and he knew it. "That doesn't really answer the question" Ron grumbled. "Well alright Mr. Pushy" I said defensively towards Ron's rather impatient comment. " I came to wish you luck in your match" I explained to Harry to which he gave me a weak smile in return. I frowned at this. 'It's not like him to look so glum, I hope he's alright' "Harry-" I started, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder only to be cut off by an owl screeching and dropping an oddly shaped package on the table in front of us. It was Hedwig, Harry's owl. "Bit early for mail isn't it?" Hermione pondered. 'Something tells me it's a broom' "I bet 5 Galleons that it's a broom" I declared. ""We're in"" Two identical voices sound from behind me. I turn to look back at the one and only Weasley twins. "So you don't think it's a broom?" I questioned them. They both give me cocky grins. ""No""
I watch intently as Harry opens the package, a satisfactory smile slithers across my lips when the item is finally revealed. "It's a broomstick!" Harry exclaims in awe. I look back to the dumbstruck twins and stuck out my hand at them with a 'Hand it over' gesture. "Pay up" They both murmured things like how unfair I was and I tricked them. "Not my fault you fell for it" I chuckled triumphantly. Fred whispered something to George which had I not had such advanced senses I wouldn't have been able to hear. "She's good, we could use her as a consultant for our merchandise" George nodded in agreement and Fred looked back to me readying himself to ask a question. "I'd be glad to" I replied without him even asking the question. "Alright then..." Fred trailed off. "In that case we'll be seeing you later" George waved me off with a sly wink and Fred followed. I turned back to the situation at hand. "But who...?" Harry questioned after Ron's comment about his new broom being a Nimbus 2000. I tapped Harry on the shoulder and pointed to the head table where Professor McGonagall sat casually stroking Hedwig. I noticed her gaze from here and recognized the pleased look on her face. It was a gift from her, how admirable.
"That's amazing Harry, with that broom you'll be the fastest player on the pitch, you're sure to win today" I said excitedly. "Aren't you cheering for Slytherin?" Ron questioned, venom dripping from the word Slytherin. My expression saddened. "Well yeah. That's why I came to wish you luck. I might be up in the Slytherin tower but in 'here' I'll be cheering for you" I told Harry pointing to my head. He gave me a crooked smile. "See Harry, you have a lot of people cheering you on, you'll be fine" Hermione said reassuringly. "Not to mention there's no one on my team that I really care for anyway, not until next year that is" I muttered that last part more to myself but I should've known that they all heard. "What about next year?" Harry asked curiously. I mentally face palmed for saying anything to begin with but there was no way out now. I scratched the back of my neck nervously while explaining what I had meant. "Well...Draco's trying out for the quidditch team next year and...so am I" I said timidly. "That's great Rachel!" Harry cheered excitedly but quickly corrected himself when he saw his two fellow friends gape. "I meant about you trying out next year, I could care less what Malfoy does" He spat that last part sourly. It really made me sad that the two people I considered good friends didn't get along at all, they were complete opposites.
"I can't say the same for him though, he really does care what you do. The second he heard you got put on the quidditch team he started writing angry letters home to his father demanding that he got put on the Slytherin team because it was only fair. Even I know his dad doesn't have that power. But he was almost guaranteed a spot next year...and so was I" I explained. "What a spoiled git" Ron muttered. Hermione had to elbow him to remind him that I was Draco's friends and I didn't appreciate his harsh words towards him. "But I'm happy for you" He added to try and lessen the blow he had hit with his Draco comment. "What position are you going to try for?" Hermione inquired genuinely curious. The two boys leaned in closer in anticipation of my answer. "I really don't know" I thought about it but couldn't come up with an immediate decision. "Your Mum was a keeper, right?" Hermione stated rather than asked. "Yeah and your Dad's a seeker" Ron exclaimed seemingly interested. I nodded to both in confirmation. "It doesn't matter what you choose I know you'll be amazing" Harry complimented and I couldn't help but blush at his sweet remark. I uttered a kind thank you in return for his sweet words. "I'd be fine with either I suppose. I don't think Ashley intends to play quidditch so I might follow in my mom's footsteps" Hermione quirked an eyebrow at me but looked back to the Hufflepuff table. Spotting my sister who was cringing away from some guy who was teasing her with a piece of squid on his fork. "Ew! Ew! Get it away!" She squealed. Hermione turned back to me and rolled her eyes. I sighed and replied simply. "See?" All three nodded simultaneously. "So~Keeper?" I inquired for their input and they all gave each other a look before responding in unison. """Keeper"""
Not long after we were headed to our own classes. I had double Charms in which normally I would've sat with Draco but for some odd reason he wasn't there. Instead of sitting by myself I decided to sit with my ever loving twin sister. "Rachel!" She exclaimed pulling my into a bone crushing hug. 'Wasn't I supposed to be the one with supernatural strength?' I shrugged it off. "Hey Ash" I greeted her. She cleared her throat lightly and gestured her eyes over to her right as a signal to acknowledge the person next to her who I had purposely ignored. "Hi Skylar" I said my voice void of any emotion. "Good to see you again Rachel, you look well" He said politely. Well, what else could you expect from a Hufflepuff. "Meh!" I shrugged in reply. That class seemed to drag on forever and to make it worse throughout the entire thing I could feel Skylar staring at me. A few times I thought about shouting at him to stop staring at me but decided against it because I'd only draw attention to myself. There was a short break before I had History of Magic, I had decided enough was enough. "Excuse us" I smiled sweetly at Ashley, grabbing onto Skylar's arm and pulling him down the hall into another corridor and then another and another and a staircase or two. "Where are you taking me?" He didn't seems shocked or worried just rather curious. I paced back and forth three times before the hidden door revealed itself. "Ayy!" Skylar cheered in amusement. I grunted in annoyance and pulled him inside.
Once I knew we were alone I assaulted him with questions. "Who are you? What do you want with me? Why do you keep staring at me? And more importantly, What's a vampire like you doing at a school like this?" I was relentless with my tone. I wanted him to know that not answering my questions wasn't an option. I was the one calling the shots here. He seemed taken aback for a moment. "Whoa! If I had known we were playing 21 questions I would've come up with some questions myself" 'Does he think this is a joke? Do I look like I'm joking around?' My eye twitched in irritation as anger boiled up inside me. I thrust my hands down towards my sides in frustration. "Answer me dammit!" I demanded, feeling an intense heat in my hands and feet. Skylar smirked mischievously, I looked down to my hands and feet to see scorch marks on the ground by my feet and small flames withering back into the palms of my hands. 'Did I do that? Did fire just come out of my hands? I can't do that, can I?' "You really are powerful" My curiosity was peaked by Skylar's words. "He said you would be. He also wanted me to keep an eye on you, make sure you were progressing well, eating...playing nice" He hinted that last part at me with a playful nudge. I growled at him in response, I was in no mood to mess around. He put his hands up defensively. "Okay, no need to go lashing out on people" I sneered at him. "How do you know him, who are you?" He just sent me a cocky grin. 'He really didn't know when to stop did he?' "It's quite simple really. We're cousins, first cousins. So lucky me, I'm the first one he runs to when he needs a babysitter for his future fiancee and might I add my future queen. Of course I'd say yes" He said all of this with a semi-cheerful tone, I say semi because the other part was mostly sarcasm.
"You said yes because you wanted to keep that pretty little face of yours" I said matter of factly, his smile faltered. "That too. Speaking of pretty little faces, yours doesn't look so good" My eyes went wide in shock. "Excuse me!?" He ignored me and continued. "When was the last time you ate? Your skin looks pale" "I'm always pale, I'm a vampire" I scoffed at him. He rolled his eyes at me. "You know what I meant. You're lacking the proper nutrients, don't tell me you're trying to sustain yourself on this human garbage, it does nothing for you" He scolded. "I know that already! I don't need you to tell me!" I snapped. "Fine, then I suppose you know you'll became anemic if you don't eat better, goats and rabbits can't give you all of the vitamins and minerals you need" I looked to the floor suddenly finding the stone tiles fascinating. I heard Skylar click his tongue disapprovingly. "That's what I thought. If you keep this up you'll go rogue and attack the entire school" I gasped in horror. "Uhuh, and I'll get my ass beat by Reiji for allowing your health to even get that low" 'How did this go from me questioning him to him lecturing me? What happened to 'I call the shots'?' "This is why Reiji sent me to keep an eye on you" He shook his head as he turned away from me momentarily. "He doesn't trust me?" I said more to myself than anyone else. "It's not that he doesn't trust you...it's that he knows you. Your a stubborn girl and the fact that you're in Slytherin proves that" I frowned at that comment. 'How exactly does being in Slytherin prove that?' "But you're a jerk how are you in Hufflepuff?" I inquired, he laughed at my boldness.
"Hufflepuff's not all about being nice, it's also about being loyal, honest and humble. I'm loyal. I serve under Reiji, he is soon to be Vampire King after all and I will serve under you as well and to be quite frank I'm honest as well" He explained. I understood the first part but not the second, how on earth was he honest? Wasn't he lying to everyone about his identity? Skylar chuckled at my expression. "I've told nothing but the truth to everyone who has asked. They asked me what my name was, I told them. At no point did anyone ever inquire what species I was, they all just assumed I was a wizard because I could wield magic and I attended a magic school" I was utterly shocked. Not by his response but by the fact that I was certain I hadn't said my last thought out loud and that I was pretty sure he read my mind. "You didn't think you were the only one capable of reading thoughts did you? Or whatever they call it here, Legilimency" I was speechless, I had no idea what to say. I was finding out more about myself through someone else and as much as I hated it I didn't want him to stop. "I've heard you're getting special classes with some of the teachers here" I furrowed a brow at him. "How did you know about that? That is strictly confidential" I questioned him. How he knew was a mystery to me but I didn't like that he knew more about me than I did. Skylar smirked and took a few steps closer to me causing me to take a few back. "I've got eyes and ears everywhere" No response immediately came to mind but I suppose he didn't need one from me for he continued anyway. "Do you really believe they can help you? These sorts of powers can only be properly taught to you by another vampire, by me" He scoffed in declaration. "Are you gonna help me?" I asked almost in a whisper. Skylar's face lit up with a smug grin as he mused. "I might"
He pulled out a pocket watch and glanced at the time sighing before shoving it back in his pocket and returning his attention to me. "I'd love to stay and chat but I've got to get to class and so do you. You wouldn't want to be late for History of Magic, would you?" He said in a sing-song tone as he raised an eyebrow at me questioningly. "How did you-" "You can't still be questioning how I know this, can you? I would've thought you had put it together by now" He was teasing me at this point. "Anyway gotta go, your sister's waiting for me in class. She likes me ya know" It was kinda like an FYI statement but he only said it to bug me which it did. Getting involved with vampires was a dangerous game and I didn't want Ashley getting hurt. He turned to leave but stopped abruptly. He didn't turn around fully to face me but he did glance back at me, his expression more serious than before. "Oh and you might want to start taking better care of yourself, Reiji frequently makes me send him updates on your health and progress, I'd hate to tell him you're not doing well" I huffed and crossed my arms over my chest. "Then lie" I said sourly. I didn't like being bossed around and although I knew he was trying to help me I knew it wasn't because he was cared about me, it was because he was worried about his own well being. "Oh honey~ You know what Reiji's like, if he found out I lied to him he'd stake me" I could tell by his tone of voice that he wasn't joking. "It's such a pain, I hate having remember to eat" I grumbled. "Is that your issue? Ha! I can solve that, I'll feed you from now on" My eyes almost popped out of there sockets. "WHAT!?" I exclaimed in shock, he just chuckled in reply. "Not like that, I meant I'll supply you with blood. From now on you eat when I eat"
It seemed reasonable but there was still a lingering question in mind. 'Where was Skylar getting his blood? It obviously wasn't from Hagrid. His words suggested that he was being supplied with high quality and highly nutrient rich blood but where was he getting it from? Did Dumbledore know about this?' "You sure ask a lot of questions" He chuckled. "Where are you getting it from?" I finally voiced. He smirked mischievously before replying with the utmost simplicity. "From the source" I gaped at this. 'Was he actually feeding off of humans? Wasn't that risky? Did he not care if he got caught?' "It's really easy feeding off of the helpless students here. All you have to do is use a blood replenishing potion on them afterwards and erase their memory of ever being bitten" He shrugged as if it was the simplest thing on earth. I couldn't believe what I was hearing, it was madness. "It will benefit you greatly, your powers will develop faster and you'll be able to control them better if you were healthier" That was the last thing he said before exiting the room of requirement, leaving me alone in the dimly lit room.