"At least we got two days to prepare, and Grindelwald didn't just drop us down, telling us to go retrieve something that a vampire guards."
"It is better than how the tournament's tasks were." Quincy answered me while we were sitting at home, flipping through books about beasts and monsters from Salazar's library.
"I guess you are right. Anything on your end?"
"Not much; this volume did talk about some other monsters, like ghouls, though. It says they are like the inferi, dead servants raised by the vampire's magic. It also says they are a bit more intelligent but just as deadly."
"I thought there would be more info on them from his time... ah, wait! I think I found it!"
Flipping through the sixth book, we finally uncovered something. By Salazar's words, vampires in his time were rampant and festering throughout the continent, giving a bad name to wizards and witches. Many times, their antics were causing trouble to the magical societies as they drew attention to themselves and everyone around them, making muggles aware of their presence. This not only ended in witch hunts but also formed the first vampire-hunting groups of mages in retaliation.
"This is perfect!" Quincy giggled, climbing atop me as we continued reading, "Vampire hunting is exactly what we need!"
She was right. It went into detail as to what were the most obvious signs of a vampire and their powers. This also meant it was another ranking list by Salazar, this time one that made much more sense.
First were the fledgling vampires. Creatures that were freshly turned. Whether the individual was a muggle or not, their new magical abilities were all connected to the one that turned them. These creatures were weak, sensitive to the sun and strong lights, preferring to hide in the dark and be active when the sun was down. They mostly had magical capabilities that were similar to mind-altering spells and ones that enhanced the user's physical abilities.
"No holy water? Or stakes?" Quincy asked, and as I looked, I noticed it wasn't mentioned here.
"Maybe there are more at the end? Let's keep reading!"
Next came the class of normal vampires. These were those who had already been alive for decades if not more; they were experienced and dangerous. Their powers and influence on the minds of muggles were great, and even wizards could fall victim to their machinations. These creatures were less troubled by the sun, and the disciplined ones could walk directly amongst the muggles, even if they were significantly weakened.
Above them was another rank of vampires that Salazar called ancient vampires. These were centuries old, crafty, experienced, and the most dangerous. They had advanced magical capabilities, including animagi-like shapeshifting and controlling magic without a wand. He mentioned multiple times that these vampires, although preferring to remain in the dark, are just as dangerous while fighting in the sunlight.
"Oh, here it is!" I exclaimed, finding the last part in the codex, talking about their weaknesses and how to face them. "It says holy water does nothing; instead, we need to use mercury."
"Hmmm... maybe we can borrow from the school? I will check tomorrow!"
"The other thing it mentions is," I continued, nodding my hand, "to use acid. Anything that damages their tissues and blood. Oh, and here it is! A stake through the heart does the trick, especially if made of silver. Huh. Salazar says that if you can't do that, the best alternative to deal with a vampire is fire."
"Well... that sounds easy!"
It did sound easy. He also mentioned that all the methods mentioned above were for those who were not good enough in spell-casting, were slow on their feet, or were simultaneously going up against multiple vampires. The best strategy was to use fire spells from the get-go and attack the vampire first before it could notice you.
"Huh, listen to this!" I added with a chuckle, reading from the end of the page, "If you meet an ancestral vampire, either run or try to be polite. Do NOT attack."
"Huh... What is an ancestral vampire?"
"Good question... It only says here that no matter the vampire type, avoid direct eye contact and always keep a five-foot distance from the monster. Their mind-controlling abilities are their strongest weapons."
We tried to look it up more, especially this last, briefly mentioned type, but nothing was there. Whatever that thing was, it was probably an even older variant.
"I think I know what it is." Echoed Herpo's voice in my head, and Quincy could guess what had happened by the change in my expression. "In my time, I knew of a blood-sucking creature that we called it Empusa. It was old, very, very old. I never really did anything to her, nor did I meet her, but I knew to stay away from her territory. She was known for hunting young men and drinking their blood, and one of my enemies, a self-proclaimed hero, went to fight her. I never heard of him ever again."
Well, that was not that helpful. But... he was probably right; that kind of vampire is simply ancient and powerful. I wasn't afraid to meet one because if something like that lived here, I don't think Durmstrang would allow it to exist for long. That was way too dangerous. Quincy was going to get us some mercury while I was preparing and practicing flaming spells for the journey.
Luckily, it was not a surprise trip, as our teacher mentioned it a day before, ensuring we were all prepared and arrived on time. His name was Peter, and he was relatively young, reminding me of Professor Lockhart. He had the same flamboyant exterior but was a bit more reserved, with less boasting. It just... made me miss the old idiot more. I couldn't help but think about him when I looked at Professor Peter's back, seeing his blonde hair.
"Shit..." I grumbled, sitting on my broom as we were flying as a group, following our teacher to the ruins for an on-hand history lesson.
"What is it?" Quincy asked, flying close to me, listening to me whisper.
"I thought about missing Professor Lockhart, and I felt nostalgic... It felt wrong!"
"Ahahaha! Stupid!" She laughed loudly, turning multiple heads towards us, and I could see how much they were smitten to death by her laugh. Bastards! "But I get it; he was weird but not a bad person if you got to know him. I do miss him, too!" She shrugged, adding something that made my mouth twitch. Mainly because it made the other guys listening to us misunderstand her. "I liked him."
Well... I think at least this will make it spread why she shoots down everyone who comes and tries to ask her out. I know that a few rumors were spreading by angry guys who were turned down that we are in a taboo relationship as siblings. Not that they were wrong, only about the being siblings part. Haaaah, explaining that would have been a pain in the butt!
"Get ready, children!" Shouted our teacher, smiling, leading us like a flock of ducks flying in a V-shaped formation. "We are nearing the ruins! We will circle around and check for some monsters down below! Get your wands ready and cast the revealing charm to see if any nasty little critter made camp here or not!"
Using the spell, I could quickly tell that the ruins were clean of any magical or dangerous beasts, as no living beings were loitering around or within it. Well... A vampire is undead... Would he even show up? Watching it from above, it was as if one of Hogwarts's towers was left alone, to deteriorate and half collapse onto the smaller, supporting buildings around it. I knew that muggle tourists who would stumble upon the school would see it exactly like this... the irony. After touching down before its moss-covered, destroyed walls, we were greeted with thick bushes, leaves covering wherever we stepped, and an eerie silence ruling the land.
"Don't wander too far; it is easy to get lost in the forest!" Professor Peter warned us, making sure he counted everybody before beginning his lesson. "Castle Volgonid was named after its vampire lord, Volgonid the Bloodfiend!"
"..." I couldn't help but glance at Quincy because his title was anything but friendly.
"Professor... is he...?" A girl from class asked, raising her hand meekly, making him grin.
"Well, there was an alliance of seven witches who swore to kill and rid the land of Volgonid. You see, this particular vampire was only hunting for girls and virgins and made powerful enemies because of it."
"Phew..." Even I was surprised by how loud of a sigh Quincy let out, making not just me but mostly all of the boys in our class look at her while I tried not to laugh. "What..." She whispered, drawing closer to me, not wanting to meet their eyes.
"Professor!" Another hand shot into the air, but he waved at her, calming the suddenly tense nerves. Or I thought, but instead, he continued with a laugh.
"No need to worry; he was meticulous and usually turned the unclean girls and men into his servants!"
"..."
"Now," He went on, leading us into the castle, through the central arch, making us walk under a demonic gargoyle sitting atop it all alone. "he had been terrorizing these northern lands for centuries, you see! He was a feared, strong monster... but when those seven heroic witches came here, well... you can look around and still see the indications of their battle!"
"How was he defeated?" One of the guys asked, making Peter chuckle once again, and this time, I already expected his sinister answer. I think he enjoyed toying with us.
"We don't know. The only clue remaining is their battle here, but no corpses were recovered. Nobody saw either the old vampire or the seven witches anymore after that event in 1797. But no virgin girls were ever hurt either, ending centuries of young maidens waking up with bite marks on their necks!"
"Lovely..." I murmured, making me look around, and now I had a thought that Grindelwald's warning was, for sure, true. That old bastard is probably still alive somewhere underground but weakened. Wait... if he is a vampire, isn't he already dead? So he is... unalive?
"What are you thinking of?" Quincy asked, nudging me as the class was now walking around, discovering the ruins. It was like a field trip for a fun history class.
"Some nonsense stuff... Hah, come!"
Grabbing her hand, we headed off and made sure we slipped away from the crowd that was too afraid to stray away from the Professor. We, on the other hand, quickly ended up in the specified garden, noticing the moss-covered well. Looking into it, it was dark, deep, and dried up; throwing a rock down only made a sound after about five or six seconds, hitting the bottom with an echoey clang.
"What now? Accio?"
"Grindelwald said we shouldn't use too much magic, no?" I shrugged, grabbing the old chain hanging from the top, probably ending in a bucket somewhere deep down. Testing it, it looked good enough to hold my weight as I began climbing over the edge.
"You ain't going alone!" She protested at once, quickly turning into an owl and hopping on my shoulder as I began my descent.
"At least we got two days to prepare, and Grindelwald didn't just drop us down, telling us to go retrieve something that a vampire guards."
"It is better than how the tournament's tasks were." Quincy answered me while we were sitting at home, flipping through books about beasts and monsters from Salazar's library.
"I guess you are right. Anything on your end?"
"Not much; this volume did talk about some other monsters, like ghouls, though. It says they are like the inferi, dead servants raised by the vampire's magic. It also says they are a bit more intelligent but just as deadly."
"I thought there would be more info on them from his time... ah, wait! I think I found it!"
Flipping through the sixth book, we finally uncovered something. By Salazar's words, vampires in his time were rampant and festering throughout the continent, giving a bad name to wizards and witches. Many times, their antics were causing trouble to the magical societies as they drew attention to themselves and everyone around them, making muggles aware of their presence. This not only ended in witch hunts but also formed the first vampire-hunting groups of mages in retaliation.
"This is perfect!" Quincy giggled, climbing atop me as we continued reading, "Vampire hunting is exactly what we need!"
She was right. It went into detail as to what were the most obvious signs of a vampire and their powers. This also meant it was another ranking list by Salazar, this time one that made much more sense.
First were the fledgling vampires. Creatures that were freshly turned. Whether the individual was a muggle or not, their new magical abilities were all connected to the one that turned them. These creatures were weak, sensitive to the sun and strong lights, preferring to hide in the dark and be active when the sun was down. They mostly had magical capabilities that were similar to mind-altering spells and ones that enhanced the user's physical abilities.
"No holy water? Or stakes?" Quincy asked, and as I looked, I noticed it wasn't mentioned here.
"Maybe there are more at the end? Let's keep reading!"
Next came the class of normal vampires. These were those who had already been alive for decades if not more; they were experienced and dangerous. Their powers and influence on the minds of muggles were great, and even wizards could fall victim to their machinations. These creatures were less troubled by the sun, and the disciplined ones could walk directly amongst the muggles, even if they were significantly weakened.
Above them was another rank of vampires that Salazar called ancient vampires. These were centuries old, crafty, experienced, and the most dangerous. They had advanced magical capabilities, including animagi-like shapeshifting and controlling magic without a wand. He mentioned multiple times that these vampires, although preferring to remain in the dark, are just as dangerous while fighting in the sunlight.
"Oh, here it is!" I exclaimed, finding the last part in the codex, talking about their weaknesses and how to face them. "It says holy water does nothing; instead, we need to use mercury."
"Hmmm... maybe we can borrow from the school? I will check tomorrow!"
"The other thing it mentions is," I continued, nodding my hand, "to use acid. Anything that damages their tissues and blood. Oh, and here it is! A stake through the heart does the trick, especially if made of silver. Huh. Salazar says that if you can't do that, the best alternative to deal with a vampire is fire."
"Well... that sounds easy!"
It did sound easy. He also mentioned that all the methods mentioned above were for those who were not good enough in spell-casting, were slow on their feet, or were simultaneously going up against multiple vampires. The best strategy was to use fire spells from the get-go and attack the vampire first before it could notice you.
"Huh, listen to this!" I added with a chuckle, reading from the end of the page, "If you meet an ancestral vampire, either run or try to be polite. Do NOT attack."
"Huh... What is an ancestral vampire?"
"Good question... It only says here that no matter the vampire type, avoid direct eye contact and always keep a five-foot distance from the monster. Their mind-controlling abilities are their strongest weapons."
We tried to look it up more, especially this last, briefly mentioned type, but nothing was there. Whatever that thing was, it was probably an even older variant.
"I think I know what it is." Echoed Herpo's voice in my head, and Quincy could guess what had happened by the change in my expression. "In my time, I knew of a blood-sucking creature that we called it Empusa. It was old, very, very old. I never really did anything to her, nor did I meet her, but I knew to stay away from her territory. She was known for hunting young men and drinking their blood, and one of my enemies, a self-proclaimed hero, went to fight her. I never heard of him ever again."
Well, that was not that helpful. But... he was probably right; that kind of vampire is simply ancient and powerful. I wasn't afraid to meet one because if something like that lived here, I don't think Durmstrang would allow it to exist for long. That was way too dangerous. Quincy was going to get us some mercury while I was preparing and practicing flaming spells for the journey.
Luckily, it was not a surprise trip, as our teacher mentioned it a day before, ensuring we were all prepared and arrived on time. His name was Peter, and he was relatively young, reminding me of Professor Lockhart. He had the same flamboyant exterior but was a bit more reserved, with less boasting. It just... made me miss the old idiot more. I couldn't help but think about him when I looked at Professor Peter's back, seeing his blonde hair.
"Shit..." I grumbled, sitting on my broom as we were flying as a group, following our teacher to the ruins for an on-hand history lesson.
"What is it?" Quincy asked, flying close to me, listening to me whisper.
"I thought about missing Professor Lockhart, and I felt nostalgic... It felt wrong!"
"Ahahaha! Stupid!" She laughed loudly, turning multiple heads towards us, and I could see how much they were smitten to death by her laugh. Bastards! "But I get it; he was weird but not a bad person if you got to know him. I do miss him, too!" She shrugged, adding something that made my mouth twitch. Mainly because it made the other guys listening to us misunderstand her. "I liked him."
Well... I think at least this will make it spread why she shoots down everyone who comes and tries to ask her out. I know that a few rumors were spreading by angry guys who were turned down that we are in a taboo relationship as siblings. Not that they were wrong, only about the being siblings part. Haaaah, explaining that would have been a pain in the butt!
"Get ready, children!" Shouted our teacher, smiling, leading us like a flock of ducks flying in a V-shaped formation. "We are nearing the ruins! We will circle around and check for some monsters down below! Get your wands ready and cast the revealing charm to see if any nasty little critter made camp here or not!"
Using the spell, I could quickly tell that the ruins were clean of any magical or dangerous beasts, as no living beings were loitering around or within it. Well... A vampire is undead... Would he even show up? Watching it from above, it was as if one of Hogwarts's towers was left alone, to deteriorate and half collapse onto the smaller, supporting buildings around it. I knew that muggle tourists who would stumble upon the school would see it exactly like this... the irony. After touching down before its moss-covered, destroyed walls, we were greeted with thick bushes, leaves covering wherever we stepped, and an eerie silence ruling the land.
"Don't wander too far; it is easy to get lost in the forest!" Professor Peter warned us, making sure he counted everybody before beginning his lesson. "Castle Volgonid was named after its vampire lord, Volgonid the Bloodfiend!"
"..." I couldn't help but glance at Quincy because his title was anything but friendly.
"Professor... is he...?" A girl from class asked, raising her hand meekly, making him grin.
"Well, there was an alliance of seven witches who swore to kill and rid the land of Volgonid. You see, this particular vampire was only hunting for girls and virgins and made powerful enemies because of it."
"Phew..." Even I was surprised by how loud of a sigh Quincy let out, making not just me but mostly all of the boys in our class look at her while I tried not to laugh. "What..." She whispered, drawing closer to me, not wanting to meet their eyes.
"Professor!" Another hand shot into the air, but he waved at her, calming the suddenly tense nerves. Or I thought, but instead, he continued with a laugh.
"No need to worry; he was meticulous and usually turned the unclean girls and men into his servants!"
"..."
"Now," He went on, leading us into the castle, through the central arch, making us walk under a demonic gargoyle sitting atop it all alone. "he had been terrorizing these northern lands for centuries, you see! He was a feared, strong monster... but when those seven heroic witches came here, well... you can look around and still see the indications of their battle!"
"How was he defeated?" One of the guys asked, making Peter chuckle once again, and this time, I already expected his sinister answer. I think he enjoyed toying with us.
"We don't know. The only clue remaining is their battle here, but no corpses were recovered. Nobody saw either the old vampire or the seven witches anymore after that event in 1797. But no virgin girls were ever hurt either, ending centuries of young maidens waking up with bite marks on their necks!"
"Lovely..." I murmured, making me look around, and now I had a thought that Grindelwald's warning was, for sure, true. That old bastard is probably still alive somewhere underground but weakened. Wait... if he is a vampire, isn't he already dead? So he is... unalive?
"What are you thinking of?" Quincy asked, nudging me as the class was now walking around, discovering the ruins. It was like a field trip for a fun history class.
"Some nonsense stuff... Hah, come!"
Grabbing her hand, we headed off and made sure we slipped away from the crowd that was too afraid to stray away from the Professor. We, on the other hand, quickly ended up in the specified garden, noticing the moss-covered well. Looking into it, it was dark, deep, and dried up; throwing a rock down only made a sound after about five or six seconds, hitting the bottom with an echoey clang.
"What now? Accio?"
"Grindelwald said we shouldn't use too much magic, no?" I shrugged, grabbing the old chain hanging from the top, probably ending in a bucket somewhere deep down. Testing it, it looked good enough to hold my weight as I began climbing over the edge.
"You ain't going alone!" She protested at once, quickly turning into an owl and hopping on my shoulder as I began my descent.
