Ravenstar: Chapter Twelve

[eaivalefay]

Chapter 12: Questions, Confessions, and Explanations

Nalian sank into the prefects' large bathtub with a grateful moan. Ever since he woke up an hour ago all he could think about was taking a nice, long, hot bath. His muscles ached as if he'd taken a nasty beating the night before. Nalian suspected it was from the energy potion he took; it made sense that the price of the potion would be as great as its gift. In other words, expending so much energy, energy that Nalian's body truly didn't have at the time, made him doubly exhausted and sore when the potion's effects wore off. 'Derek could have given a little more warning,' he thought with a resigned sigh.

Utter exhaustion didn't even begin to describe how he felt, not even considering he'd slept for over twelve hours straight. Dinner was currently underway in the great hall, and Nalian was sure he was missed.

Draco was going to kill him.

Speaking of Draco, what was he going to tell the blond Slytherin? And the teachers, for that matter? Somehow he didn't think 'I was being questioned by a bunch of vampire lords and visiting with my elven mentor' would go over very well, if he was even believed. Not, of course, as if telling the wizards such a thing was even an option.

He closed his eyes, pushing the matter aside until his thought process started working properly again. Nalian didn't realize he'd nodded off until the door was pushed open and a sixth year Hufflepuff walked in.

The girl froze in shock, staring at the naked guy submersed in the tub. "You're not a prefect," she said flatly, though her eyes were concentrated more on his abdomen than on his face.

"A friend gave me the password." Nalian said, opening his eyes. "I'll go now."

He waited.

"If you could please turn around so I could get out?" He asked politely.

"Oh!" The brunette flushed a bright red and whirled around. "Sorry."

Nalian pulled himself out of the tub with a grin. He wasn't really bothered by the idea of being seen naked, but he knew pointing out to the girl that she was staring would embarrass her. Well, he had to get his kicks in somewhere, didn't he?

"I'm decent." Nalian told her, "and I'll be going."

"A-alright." She mumbled, not turning around. "I won't tell anyone about this if you don't." She added.

"It's a deal." Nalian held back his chuckle until he was heading back to the Slytherin dorms. His humor was short lived however, as Draco greeted him in the entrance hall.

"Where the hell have you been?" The blond said, his tone cool.

Nalian stopped a few meters away from Draco. "I was taking a bath." He said slowly, wondering if he could make a run for it.

"That's not what I meant." Draco glanced around discreetly. "Come on. We can grab a butterbeer at The Three Broomsticks."

Nalian stared after Draco's retreating form before running to catch up after Draco disappeared out the door. 'This is not good.' Nalian thought. 'He suspects something! What to do, what to do...'

The town was surprisingly active so late in the day. Dozens of people wandered from shop to shop, most of them people who still lived in Hogsmeade, though some of the refugees of Hogwarts were bustling about as well.

There were still dozens of shops in business. Voldemort had never been able to take over Gringotts bank, despite his attempts, and there was a small branch of Gringotts located in the town. Shop owners created discreet ways to receive goods from the world outside. Necessity was the mother of invention, after all.

Draco and Nalian silently agreed to browse for awhile, wandering from the bookshop to the joke shop to a pet store before finally walking into The Three Broomsticks.

"Let's get it to go, shall we?" Nalian suggested, forcing a cheerful tone. "It's a nice day out. I wouldn't mind going to sit by the lake."

"Nalian," Draco drawled, "it's the beginning of December."

He winced slightly. "Just come on. It's not like we don't know any heating charms."

Before they got two feet closer to the door a masculine voice called out, "Nalian! Draco! Come join us."

They both turned automatically to see James Potter waving them over with a disgruntled looking Sirius Black at his side. A third person sat opposite them, but Nalian couldn't see their face, though he suspected it was Lily.

"Mr. Potter, Mr. Black, Lily." Nalian said politely once they reached the table.

"Didn't I tell you to call me James?" The man asked humorously.

Nalian flushed somewhat, "er, yes, sorry."

"Why don't you two sit down?" Lily asked. "I've been meaning to talk to you anyway, Nalian."

"That's all right," Draco said quickly before Nalian could answer, as if afraid Nalian would accept the offer to get out of talking to him. "Nalian and I were just grabbing some drinks to go."

Lily looked a bit disappointed. "Alright. A quick question though, Nalian. I was wondering if you are all right? It seems like you've been avoiding us this last week."

Nalian looked apologetically at Lily. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to give you that impression. I just," he paused, wondering if the subject should even be brought up somewhere so public, "I just read something that's been bothering me. It's made me a tad book avoidant."

His words let them know that it wasn't them he was avoiding, but his translation job, because he read something that disturbed him. It was true that Nalian had read a great many things that had disturbed him from those books, even if it was really the Potters he was staying away from. His answer at least would buy him a couple more days before he had to return to translating the texts, therefore return to the Potters' residence.

Lily nodded sympathetically at him. "Why don't you two head back, then? It's getting a bit late to be wandering around alone, don't you think?"

"Of course, Professor." Draco smiled reassuringly. "We were just heading back to the school before you called us over."

"Good. Now off you go. Goodnight, you two."

"'Bye."

"You lied to them." Draco noted mildly as they walked the path back to Hogwarts.

"As if you never lie." Nalian replied. "Besides, what was I supposed to say? 'Yes, I am avoiding you, but I'll be damned if I tell you why!'"

Draco laughed, "I suppose that wouldn't go over very well."

Nalian led them to a secluded area on the lake's shores, settling down on a patch clear of snow and waiting for Draco to do the same. "What is it you wanted to talk to me about?" He asked after they had gotten comfortable, discreetly setting up wards against eavesdropping and a detection spell to notify him if anyone came near.

Draco studied the bottle of butterbeer in his hand before looking up to stare straight into Nalian's eyes. "Where were you last night?"

"What do you mean?" Nalian asked evasively.

"I mean, I know you weren't in bed for most of the night and you came back dead tired." Draco said.

"I did all that?"

"Nalian!" Draco hissed. "This is serious! Do you know how much trouble you would get in if anyone else found out? I'm not just talking about getting in trouble with the teachers, I'm talking about being interrogated by the aurors. And trust me, interrogations today aren't as nice as they used to be."

"What? Are you planning on telling the aurors, Dray?" Nalian asked. "I'm not working for Voldemort!"

Draco gave him a disgruntled look, "I know that, dumbass. If I thought you were working for Him, do you think I'd be asking where you've been? I'd have told Father already."

Nalian breathed a sigh of relief, "so you haven't told anyone?"

"No."

"Thank-you."

"Don't bother. Tell me where you've been, Nali."

Nalian stared uneasily out over the lake, the stars reflecting on its surface. "You can't tell anyone, Draco." He said finally. "On your word, you won't tell anyone?"

Draco stared hard at him for a minute, "I swear it. I won't breathe a word, written or spoken or in any other form, to anyone about what you tell me here."

"I went to see my mentors last night, about the vampires Voldemort supposedly has."

"What!" Draco asked, shocked and not a little confused. "Why?"

Nalian gave an amused half smile. "I suppose I should start from the beginning."

"That's generally the best place to start, yes." Draco frowned uneasily. Who else now knew about the vampires? What had Nalian been thinking, telling others?

"Calm down." Nalian muttered. "My telling Derek and Darian isn't as serious as you think. The only reason they would meddle in wizards' affairs is to stop the vampires supposedly allied with Voldemort."

Draco look startled, "they could do that? Who is Darian?" He paused in thought and then said, "and what do you mean 'meddle in wizards' affairs'? Your uncle is a wizard too!"

Nalian smiled slightly. "I don't have an uncle. Or at least, not one that I know of."

Draco gave him a confused look, "but Derek is..." He sighed. "Just start from the beginning."

Nalian nodded. "My name isn't Nalian Morthen, this isn't my real appearance, and I'm not an American exchange student. I'm not even entirely human, Draco. My name is Nalian, just Nalian, and I'm half elven."

Draco stared at him. "Elves don't exist. They became extinct centuries ago!"

"No, they cut off contact with humans centuries ago." Nalian explained patiently. "They still have thriving societies away from prying mortal eyes."

"Mortal?"

"Those who live a shorter life span than a thousand years. Humans, basically. Also others, such as the veela, mer-people, centaurs, certain forms of demons such as the ice demons or the wind demons of Australia. Basically, any race that didn't choose to go into hiding, instead deciding to stay and live among the growing human race." Nalian explained patiently. "I promise you elves are real."

"And you are one?" Draco asked, stunned.

"Sort of." Nalian sighed. "This is kind of confusing, so bear with me." When Draco nodded Nalian continued. "I was born human, by a wizarding couple right here in Britain. But one of my parents, my mother, had strong traces of elven blood, and I had even stronger traces of elven blood. Darian, my mentor, noticed my elven nature when I was an infant
and kidnapped me."

Nalian stopped Draco's sudden protest with a wave of his hand. "I don't regret it, Dray. Darian is my family and has given me a good life. Who is to say my life would've been better if he left me with my parents? I see how things are here today. It is not the most appropriate environment for children to grow up in. But lets not get into a discussion of morality right now."

"Anyway, living among elves, and learning their magic, among other things, brought out the elven nature of me. I developed a more elven appearance, I'm adept at elven magic, things like that. I will also live longer than a normal wizard would, though not nearly as long as an elf could."

"This is a lot to take in," Draco shook his head, "and I get the feeling this is only the beginning of your story."

"There is a lot more to tell." Nalian agreed mildly.

Draco gave him a curious look. "So how old are you?"

"I'm really seventeen." Nalian assured him.

"Why did you come here? What's at Hogwarts?"

"My mentor, Darian, sent me here to retrieve some elven artifacts that were long ago lost in your world. I've collected over half, but there's still quite a few to find."

"But why were you sent? If you're only seventeen, surely there are others with more experience for something like this?" Draco asked.

"Draco..." Nalian didn't quite know how to explain it to him. "I may only be seventeen, but I was born for this sort of work. My whole life has been training to be the perfect... The perfect soldier, I guess you'd say. That's not really the best description though. My mentor is a very important figure in our society, and I've always needed to be prepared for all the scrutiny I'm under as his protégé. I was the perfect candidate for this job anyway; because I'm part human I fit in better than a full-blooded elf would. Some wizards can sense an elf, which would be dangerous for other operatives, more than it is for me."

When Draco thought about it, it didn't really surprise him. He'd always known there was something unusual about Nalian, and had always known Nalian had a lot of secrets, just as he'd always known that even if Nalian didn't tell him everything Draco still could trust him with his life. The fact that Nalian was basically a trained spy actually explained a few things about him. Like how he was such a good actor, why he was such a good fighter for a person who didn't live in a war-riddled country, or why the ever-inquisitive headmaster made him nervous. Speaking of which, "why does Dumbledore trust you?" Draco asked in confusion. "I can't imagine he knows?"

"No, he doesn't." Nalian said. "Which brings me to another part of this long story."

"What is it?" Draco asked in concern. Nalian had been quiet for five minutes.

"It's difficult for me." Nalian murmured. "Dumbledore believed my story that I came from a family from America, and that my parents had died and I now live with my uncle. He was willing to give me a chance, I think maybe because he was discreetly making positive ties with the American magical community for possible support against Voldemort later, and would've turned me away that first night I got here if he saw something he didn't like. But just the opposite happened; he something he liked." Nalian stopped. Did he want to tell Draco this particular truth? He'd barely had time to digest the news himself. Telling his two mentors was one thing, but telling someone so closely connected with the Potters?

"Nalian?"

He decided, "you remember I told you my parents were British? Dumbledore knew them, and he knew me when I was an infant. He recognized my magical signature when I first arrived."

Draco thought about this, "it makes sense that this would cause him to trust you more than he first did, but who are your parents? I would think it would be all over the community if some couple's long lost son was returned to them. Not to mention that that can't be the only reason Dumbledore let you be."

"I found out those answers too. The headmaster has some artifacts I've been trying to collect in his office." Nalian smiled wryly. "In one of my attempts Dumbledore found me in his office, and I, being the genius that I am, told him I wanted to speak with the Sorting Hat. Dumbledore assumed it was about my parents. This caused me a great deal of confusion, because at the time I had no idea who my parents were, let alone they were alive and right here in Hogsmeade."

Nalian could see comprehension dawning on Draco's face. He suspected Draco had figured out who Nalian's mystery parents were. "Once I realized what Dumbledore was dithering on about and that I hadn't blown my cover, I played up to his story. I told him I knew my parents were here, but not who they were. I pretended I wanted to find out, but I didn't want them to know who I was because I feared their rejection, hence my appearance change, which Dumbledore noticed since he knew me in infancy."

"The Potters." Draco breathed, looking gobsmacked.

"Yes, the Potters." Nalian laid back on the ground to stare at the sky. "They're my parents, and now you, Dumbledore, Darian, Derek, and myself all know." He sighed. "I don't know what to do about it. Dumbledore wants me to tell them, but I'm not sure. I have no idea what the repercussions would be."

Draco propped himself on one elbow, watching Nalian's face. "I don't know. It's a hell of a secret to keep, Nali." He gave his friend a curious look, "but where'd you get your parseltongue ability then? I'd think I'd know if the Potters where of the Slytherin bloodline... Can all elves speak to snakes?"

Nalian smiled, "no, elves can't. I must have somehow gotten it from one of my parents' bloodlines. I'm the lone snake-speaker among the elves, but it is pretty common for elves to understand animals in general. They can't literally speak to animals, the way I can with snakes, but they understand an animal's want or need. Elves hold a great respect for nature and animals, and vice versa."

Draco frowned thoughtfully, "we could look into your bloodlines if you want."

"Maybe. Is there a family tree even existing?"

"It'd be difficult to figure out, but there's enough research material for us to look into it." Draco commented. "I told you, the old ministry's files were moved to Hogwarts, or as many as could be saved anyway." There was long pause before finally, "Nalian, who is Derek? You said Darian is your mentor, but you've referred to Derek, your supposed uncle, a few times now."

"Derek is my second mentor. Practically an uncle to me." Nalian smiled. "I lived with him for a while so that I could study under his tutelage. Darian and Derek are both very knowledgeable, but in different areas."

"What do you mean, what areas?"

"Well, for starters, Darian is an elf, and Derek is a vampire. You can kind of see why they would have expertise in separate areas, except they're both excellent leaders, with a lot of skill at politics."

"A vampire." That's what got Draco's attention the most. "Isn't that the least bit dangerous?"

"Derek would never harm me." Nalian turned to face Draco. "But yes, living in the court of the vampires is very dangerous. Not all of them like humans, except as what's next on dinner's menu." He sighed. "You have to understand first of all that the vampires of Derek's society are largely different than the ones you're used to hearing about."

This got Draco curious. "How so?"

"Well, for one, the vampires in the wizarding world rarely are full-blooded. You see, vampires who wish to integrate themselves into a wizarding society are allowed to do so, but they are exiled from the rest of the community and are not allowed to turn others. If they try to turn others into vampires and are caught they are executed. So those with vampire blood are rare, and often their vampire blood is thin. The vampires of the wizarding world are less able to control their urge to drink blood. This inability to control themselves also extends to other areas, such as physical violence. They also don't like sun. All vampires can stand the sun, but they prefer the night."

Nalian paused to gather his thoughts. "The fact that possibly fifty or more full-blooded vampires have joined Voldemort signifies that some vampire who left the community has illegally been turning others. Besides, vampires don't like others of their kind getting involved in affairs that don't concern them."

"That's why you told Derek about the vampires Voldemort has." Draco said. "So they'll help us?"

"If Voldemort truly has vampire allies, the Council of Elders will step in and correct the problem. The council is basically the vampires' government, and they don't take disobedience of the laws very well."

"Why are vampires who live in the wizarding world exiled? Why  can't they change others?" Draco asked.

"It's to keep a breach of security from happening. It's happened in the past too often, where a vampire moves to such a community and the information is somehow taken from him, by force or by willingness or by corruption. For the second question, because vampires and wizards alone are powerful, but creating a hybrid is too dangerous, in the council's
opinion. It's also a way for the council to keep control over the vampire society."

"Sounds like a lovely bunch of people." Draco said.

Nalian chuckled.

"What are you going to do when you find them all?"

"What?"

"The artifacts you're searching for." Draco clarified. "What will you do when you find them all?"

"Give them to Darian. After the mission is complete I'm supposed to return home." Nalian smiled at Draco. "Don't worry. It will be at least the rest of the year before I find and collect the rest of them."

Draco nodded, laying back on the ground with a thoughtful frown.

They watched the stars in silence for a while.

"Draco?"

"Hmm?"

"What about your bloodlines?"

Draco sat up, looking curiously over at Nalian. "What do you mean?"

"Well," Nalian sat up too, "you're not entirely human. Part human, part ice demon, and something else I don't recognize."

"Oh." Draco settled back down onto the ground. "Part veela. My mom was half veela, and I'm a fourth. My father, as you probably realize, is half ice demon." Nalian was staring at Draco in amazement. "What?"

"It's just... You're like some sort of miracle of birth!"

"Huh?" Was Draco's articulate reply.

"You're father and mother must have hated each other with a passion." Nalian added thoughtfully. "Why in the gods' names did they even marry?"

Draco was staring at Nalian in surprise. "I-well, it was an arranged marriage. How did you know my parents hated each other?"

Nalian blinked in surprise. "You don't know?" When Draco shook his head Nalian went into an explanation. "Ice demons and veela don't get along at all. It's amazing that your mother even conceived you, considering veelas would destroy their reproductive system before bearing a child of ice demon blood."

"Well, I'm very much here, so maybe the animosity has simmered down between the two races over the years?" Draco was shocked to hear Nalian's words, but it made sense. "My parents had always despised each other, playing mind games with one another. It was odd then, when Father grieved his wife's death. But then, for all their hate, I suppose they'd become used to each other's presence." Draco mused out loud.

Nalian shook his head. "Ice demons mate for life. A half-blood wouldn't be tied to such a thing, but it would still deeply hurt them if their mate died, whether they liked said mate or not."

"And if Father had loved my mother?" Draco asked curiously.

"If he had, well he may have been grief stricken enough to commit suicide. Though your presence more than likely would've prevented such an action. Ice demons are insanely protective of their children, until their children are grown. The parents are murderously protective, actually, but have a natural instinct to let their children go when they reach a certain mental age."

"Shit." It was all he could think to say. It matched some of his father's actions perfectly.

"As for you being "very much here" as you put it, perhaps your mother was able to conceive and carry you because both your parents are also half human, with the human generally the dominant side of their personalities." Nalian looked thoughtful. "I've never heard of a veela-ice demon mix before... It's a good thing you're half human, or you'd probably go mad."

Draco snorted. "Thanks."

"Seriously." Nalian gave him a look. "If your dominant nature weren't human, you'd be in serious trouble. I bet even still you feel conflicted sometimes about how to react to certain things. Like if you're seriously angry at someone, you may be torn between being viciously violent, doling out immediate, bloody revenge, or a colder exterior with a more discreet, untraceable revenge."

Draco nodded slowly. "Father had a particularly difficult time getting me to control my temper when I was younger." He looked at Nalian. "I hope I'm not predictable in matters like these?"

Nalian shook his head. "No, Draco you are not defined by what you are. It is true that what you are can have a basic effect on how you react to certain things, such as stressful situations, but if you really put your mind to it, you can change that reaction. That holds true for everybody."

"Besides, I was lucky that I hit upon something that could describe part of your personality. It was just an example. Here, a short, greatly summarized description, and some of the superficial reasons that veela and ice demons don't get along: veelas often enjoy living in forests, but many, even most, have integrated into the wizarding or muggle societies. They are very beautiful, and their appearances differ, but most have a fair complexion. They have fiery tempers, but this is often hidden behind a mask of merriment and they may seem amenable until they lose their temper. Their ability to throw fire is just one of the manifestations of their fiery temper. Ice demons, unlike veela, are more cold and aloof. While they have strong tempers, it comes out in more controlled and precise, vengeful ways. They also have intense pride and dignity. They have not integrated with human societies, and rarely deal with them (though the wizards know their colonies exist). In fact, they disapprove strongly of their kind interacting with humans, and often ostracize those who do leave (the anger and injured pride of an ice demon is a powerful thing). They live in the mountains, with an inborn ability of ice magic."

Draco shook his head at Nalian. "How do you know so much about other races?"

"It's part of my training, though it's especially important for me to understand the ice demons' society."

"Why?"

Nalian actually blushed, peaking Draco's curiosity even more. "Elves and ice demons are on good terms with each other, often very good terms. You see, we are often very physically attracted to each other. It's controllable with the right training, but if an elf or ice demon runs into each other unexpectedly we have to be able to control ourselves, to know how to control ourselves."

Draco smirked. "So that's why you drool over my father, eh?"

Nalian's eyes bulged, "what?! How'd you-" His face turned red. "Yes. Damnit. That's one of the reasons I'm attracted to him."

Draco noticed the subtle phrasing. "One of the reasons?"

Nalian blushed even more, refusing to meet Draco's eyes. "Just shut up, Dray." He looked quickly in Draco's direction. "Does it bother you? You won't tell him, will you?"

"I won't tell him, no." Draco promised. "And no, why should it bother me? As long as it doesn't interfere with our friendship, I'm fine with it."

Nalian breathed a silent sigh of relief. "How did you find out?"

Draco grinned evilly, "this one night I couldn't sleep. So I decide to get some water and on the way back I here this... Moaning. From your bed. With you saying a certain name."

Nalian, who was just starting to get his coloring back to normal, felt his face go red again. "Fuck."

"That's the impression I got, yeah." Draco said innocently.

"Shut up." Nalian buried his face in his hands.

"It wasn't exactly the way I wanted to find out either." Draco said with false comfort. He finally took pity on his friend. "So why is it ice demons and elves are naturally attracted to each other?" He asked, genuinely curious.

Nalian shrugged. "Superficially, we have a lot in common; particularly the ice demons and dark elves. It's mainly part of are biology though, some chemical both groups give off that's like a beacon of lust."

"There are two types of elves?"

"Yeah. Two societies. The dark elves, and the light elves. They don't get along, never have, but there's enough room for agreement that we can make treaties with each other."

Draco nodded, covering a yawn with his hand. "And which are you?"

"Dark." Nalian grinned. "Was there ever any doubt?"

"Since you're a Slytherin, no, but as your a Potter..." Draco trailed off with a grin.

Nalian rolled his eyes before glancing at his watch. It was two in the morning. "I can't believe we've been out here that long! We better get to bed."

"Good idea. Because if you miss classes again because of sleep deprivation, I'm going to kill you."

"It's your fault we're out here so late tonight, Dray." Nalian pointed out.

"That's debatable." Draco shrugged the comment off as they headed back to the castle.

"Prat."

---------

A/N: Someone mentioned that the abrupt scene switching can get confusing to them (when I switch scenes with this mark ------- ). Does this confuse anyone else? I'm sure I can think of a way to fix that if it does, so drop a line and let me know.

Thanks much to: Arassi, Nynaeve, Kathy, Dakarluv, Caryl, James, Mazoku1, non sum, TheWall, Malfunction, angelkitty77, Night-Owl123, The Shadow Bandit, SheWolfe7, Shikatanai, E.A.V, Mark, Carrie, A-Brighter-Dawn, Skysha-Tranqui

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