The Black, the White, and Then the Grey

Saved by Dumbledore

“Vampires exist??” Asked Harry, his mind obviously swirling with the implications. He was after all, still getting used to the wizarding world.
“Yes Harry, apparently so. Some had speculated that their species had been eradicated. For centuries now, they have been hunted and executed. Wizards, after all, don’t enjoy being a main staple in their diet. Apparently, our magic makes us tastier than those without magic. So, once you think about it, finding a Vampire in our modern time is a very impressive feat in deed.” Said Hermione.
“Bloody Hell! She’s going to want to eat us!” Exclaimed Ronald, backing away from me slightly. I groaned inwardly, he was such coward.
“How is she a Vampire if Sirius is not?” Asked Harry, apparently ignoring Ron.
“Vampires can mate, but frequently they do not. It seems that they mostly regenerate their race by biting others. It is said that Vampires born are stronger than Vampires bitten. By birthing a Vampire, they could be signing their own deathbeds. Most Vampires aren’t exactly the friendly type.” Recited Hermione, obviously having read about my condition before.
“Is no one else worried that this Bloody woman will actually want to eat US???!” Exclaimed Ron in a more forcible louder, but still worried tone. This actually got the attention of the other two. I closed my eyes, knowing I didn’t want to hurt these three. So far they had actually been nice to me. My mind became clouded as a fog drifted out of my suppressed memories and displayed itself in the forefront of my mind.
I was just a child, not understanding the differences my body was going through in comparison to normal wizards. How was I different than last year? I was scared, not having any support in helping me through all these changes. In this memory, I was physically in a dark street behind Diagon Alley. I had been chased there by several men, after they realized what I was. I had just been shopping, when some foolish child had sliced open part of their arm. The blood smell had immediately permeated the air, and had found my nose instantaneously. Unwillingly, my eyes turned mercury silver, my hair somehow had added volume, my skin paled even further and my fangs descended. My body felt so much more alive than anything I had ever known before. In an instant, I was standing in front of the child, not realizing that I was moving at speeds faster than a normal wizard could. The mother of the child let out a shrill, loud scream, alerting everyone in the immediate vicinity. That’s what broke my attention to the blood. I looked up at the mother so confused. She was so frightened. Why? The child was just cut. It was nothing fatal. In that instant, I couldn’t even begin to recognize that I was what was putting that child in eminent danger. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the light of a spell being cast, and I was able to jump out of the way in time. The child instead was hit with the curse, making him unable to move. My ears started to catch up with my hypersensitive mind, and I started to hear the word “Monster!” being screamed at me. I just realized how much of a panic the store was now in. Why were they so concerned? Nothing had happened… As I was lost in a child’s confusion of only adult understandings, more people started throwing spells at me. I ran. I don’t know where I was running, but I was scared because I didn’t understand why these men hated me so. They chased me. All of a sudden, I was hit with a spell, and I could no longer move. I tripped and fell on my face, no longer able to run or even catch myself. The men seemed pleased with themselves. I wanted to look up at them, but I couldn’t even move my eyes. The men started kicking me while I was paralyzed on the ground. As I was sobbing silently, I heard phrases about a monster getting what she deserved, and about killing the monster to put her out of her misery. Who were they talking about? It couldn’t be me, could it? I was just a normal wizarding girl….. wasn’t I? I felt a wand being raised. The hairs on the back of my neck were standing up. That’s when I heard his voice.
“Fools, leave her alone! She may be different, but she isn’t a monster. Anyone who touches her will have to answer to me!” I knew that I could recognize the voice, but in the cloud of my childhood memory, it was unknown to me. The voice did help in causing the fog to disappear. It had almost dissipated, when I heard the same voice yet again, but this time he was no longer in my memories.
“Evangelene won’t be eating anyone. I wouldn’t have brought her here if she were actually dangerous. I have known her since she was a child.” Said Dumbledore, appearing out of the shadows and snapping me back into the present. His presence helped calm my nerves exponentially. The others still seemed a little tense.
“Evangelene, please humor your classmates for a moment. Have you ever ate the meat of a person before?” Asked Dumbledore, appearing completely serious. I knew him well enough to know that he was chuckling on the inside. His question made me smile a bit.
“Well, Professor, meat and food in general tend to make me a little nauseous.” I said, still on the defensive side.
“Evangelene, have you ever drank blood directly from any person?” Asked Dumbledore, not waiting for a response from the other three on the other question. I could see a slight twinkle in his eye.
“You know full well Professor that I only drink donated blood. I have never considered biting a human.” I said, lying in the slightest. The thought had crossed my mind previously, but most of the time in a joking manner. Most of the time I had wondered if anyone would miss the incredibly stupid person I had wanted to bite. But in all honesty, I had never bit anyone.
“This would explain why she has never been at school before, and maybe even why Sirius didn’t mention her to Harry. After all, she is his daughter, he has to do everything he can to protect her. What she is, is a secret that needs protecting.” Said Hermione, the wheels obviously turning in her mind.
“He still could have mentioned something to me. He is like a father to me. He feels like the only real family I have.” Said Harry, from deep inside him.
“Okay Harry, hold on. Have you ever thought about this from my perspective? My father and I keep in very close contact via letters, and you want to know what? He talks about you constantly. My father loves you. How do you think it feels to be the secret he has to keep? How hurt do you think I was when I realized you had never heard my name, or even known that Sirius had any children? He was and is ashamed that he couldn’t protect me on that fatal day I became what I am. The only one he has been able to mention my existence to is Professor Dumbledore!” I became more emotional the more I spoke, my emotions getting the better of me.
“But Harry does know, Evangelene. You’re more alike than you’re choosing to realize at the moment.” Said Professor Dumbledore quietly.
“I was a secret too. I lived under a staircase in constant neglect my whole life. I was to never make a noise when company was over. My family loved to pretend that I never existed.” Said Harry, his tension draining with every second that passes.
“Can you turn into a bat?” Asked Ronald, quite randomly. We all turned to stare at him blankly. Here we were in the midst of a “moment” and he asks a stupidly random question like that? Ron didn’t understand the social faux pas (think of the term that you normally here like fashion faux pas, but sounds like fashion foe-pa. Yes, I had no idea it was spelt this was too…) that he has just committed. He was completely oblivious.
“What?? She is a vampire, like Dracula.” Said Ron, in a “duh” expressionistic voice. I winced at the stereotype.
“Dracula was a fictional character created off the rumors of Vlad the Impaler. He would impale his victims on a thick, long stake through their pelvises, and slowly let them slide all the way down the stake in a form of slow torture as it annihilated their vital organs one by one. It could take days to kill a person in such a manner, but that is what he enjoyed most. The blood from the victim normally is drained via the stake, with the blood pooling on the floor. It is rumored that he drank the blood, but no one knows for sure. But to answer your question, neither I, nor Vlad the Impaler can or ever could turn into a bat without the help of some magic.” I said, happy to have a moment to spit out factual information rather than actually have to think for a moment. Dumbledore seemed to chuckle at my response, “I had hoped that Evangelene would fit in with this group. I had rather hoped that you would be understanding and welcoming. Plus, I figured Hermione would enjoy the academic competition. Hermione smiled, looking at both Ron and Harry before responding, “Well, inspiration to succeed is always welcome. And we, among the few, seem to value uniqueness.” All three of them seemed to smile at the thought. Dumbledore nodded seemingly in consent of the end of the subject, ready to being anew.
“Now that is settled, I would like to know just what happened in the Great Hall.” He said, looking at Ron. Ronald’s eyebrows furrowed together, trying to remember.
“I don’t really know what happened. It’s like….. like I couldn’t control myself. I know what my body was trying to do, but it made no sense. Fruit punch isn’t even my favorite drink, it’s Butter Beer. But I was inside my body, watching what was happening, but I couldn’t change it. It was like I was in a fuzzy dream.” Said Ron, still looking rather confused. I looked at Dumbledore who looked at me over those half-moon glasses.
“During the exchange, his eye were different. There were glazed over and foggy. It was like it wasn’t him, or that he wasn’t there.” I said softly, looking at Dumbledore. He knew my family background and the way I was conceived. He knew full well what I was implying.
“Are you suggesting that he was under the Imperius curse? That is quite an accusation.” Said Hermione.
“I cannot tell you what spell was used on Ronald, but I can tell you what I was dealing with. And I was NOT dealing with Ron.” I said, my mind reeling with the implications.
“I will look into it, and I want the rest of you to NOT look into it.” Said Dumbledore, looking directly at the four of us individually.
“I can’t believe that someone at Hogwarts is casting Unforgiveable Curses!” Said Hermione, obviously troubled. But I can imagine it troubled us all.
“We can’t know that for certain, but it might be possible.” I said, our earlier tension not noticeable at all.
“Why don’t you leave the issue to me? It could be very dangerous, I don’t want you guys wrapped up in it. Why don’t you go show Evangelene the common room?” Asked Dumbledore, not meaning it at a question. We all bid him farewell, and I followed the others through the castle. I had been meaning to pay attention to where we were going, but in light of recent events, I was spending more of my brain power thinking about them. Plus, they were more rehearsed in the navigation of the castle. I had only looked at floor plans in books. But to be honest, I think this castle has so much magic within it, there is no way the floor plans can accurately describe the ever changing castle. I looked over at Harry. He was obviously deep in thought, something I was particularly prone to. I knew he was thinking about Sirius, after all my father has a big impact on his life. When we reached the stairs, we had to split up into pairs, since that’s all that could fit across the stairs at one time. I noticed that Ron and Hermione took off in the lead, subconsciously pairing off. This left Harry and I behind them. I looked at him, assessing his body language. He seemed distant, almost like he had a wall put up around him. I moved to give him a little space, knowing that he was delved into thought. I looked forward. Ron was trying to subtly reaching for Hermione’s hand. I smiled as she let him touch her, then puller her hand away, playing hard to get. That’s when I realized, I would never be able to experience these nuances by myself. How much was I actually missing out on in my previous hermit lifestyle?
I looked down the stairs after walking up several flights. I smiled as they kept moving. I was amazed how the stairs never touched each other. Yet they still moved in non-traceable patters. The magic solidified in the very foundation of the castle truly amazed me, and I was happy to actually experience it in person. I felt Hermione stop in front of me and turn to face me. I couldn’t help but smirk when Harry almost ran into her, since he was still lost deep in thought.
“Evangelene, I wanted to talk before we actually went into the common room. It’s going to be busy in there. They might have a million questions to ask you, because there aren’t very many students our age that have never been to a school before. I will do my best to support you, especially now having background knowledge into your situation.” Hermione said, gently placing her hand on my shoulder. I froze in fear… What? A million questions? What if they asked questions that I can’t really answer, and you know what they say about lying! Once you start lying, the lies can get so big that they run your life. So… maybe I should rethink my hermit lifestyle? OH! And there are going to be many people? UGH, why did I choose to come to this school?? I started panicking a little, but then I looked back at Hermione. She still had her hand on my shoulder, offering her support. She owes me nothing, and yet she was still willing to help. Maybe it will make school a little less difficult to navigate.
♠ ♠ ♠
So I had a reader message me and ask me to keep writing, it touched my heart and inspired me to come back. Heres the next chapter! Let me know what ya'll think!