Quite Unexpected (Charlie and Victoria)

[Sehkmet Nassiri]

Charlie had hoped that there would be something that she could have done otherwise, looking back on that night that she had met Victoria Rossmund, she had hoped that she would have been able to be saved by healers before she had to do what she did. But the fact of the matter was what was done was done, and she could only hope that she wasn't resented because of it.

She had thought that when she was going to tell Marcus, he would demand to be turned too, but she would have to tell him the one and only condition for which she would ever turn a human being into one of them, into a vampire, and thatw as if there was simply no other choice available to them.

When the power was taken from their hands, and it was either to die, or to live as a vampire. Charlie waited in her home, the candle light flickering, as she had not changed to electricity, her home was still as it was when she first bought it, over 100 years ago, apart from the changing of a few decorations, she waited and she hoped that her new vampire would come to her and listen to why she had done what she did.

[Victoria Rossmund]

Victoria didn't know where she was, or what day it was. She couldn't remember the last person she'd seen, or her last meal. She felt as if she was in a daze, being pulled forward by an unseen force and a driving hunger than burned her throat.

It felt like forever before she came upon a dark city road with nice townhouses. As she neared one of the doors her skin felt tingly. She wasn't sure if it was good or bad, but she had to know what it was.

Looking down, she noted, once again, that her cloths were blood stained. She didn't know who's blood it was. She had searched herself for wounds, but found none.

Pushing those thoughts aside she gently knocked on the door, waiting to see who, or what, lived inside.

[Sehkmet Nassiri]

Charlie heard a knocking on her door and she quickly flitted to it, opening it to see Victoria, still dressed in the same clothes that she had been when she had turned her and looking thoroughly hungry, it all pained Charlie to see her like this, but there was nothing that could be done now, there was only one way and that way was forwards, hopefully she would be able to succeed where her sire had failed.

"Come in come in." she said, ushering the child inside and shutting the door behind her, making sure that there was a click as the lock closed properly, she didn't want Marcus showing up while she was attempting to begin to talk to the new vampire she had created.

"I suppose that you have a lot of questions for me, firstly I suppose I should introduce myself, I am Charlie Disneur, but I must ask do you remember anything that happened to you?"

Gesturing to a seat in the parlour of the house, Charlie thought that she would like to get some new clothes for Victoria as soon as she was able to look, not knowing however if she had any that would fit her, she being so young.

[Victoria Rossmund]

Victoria was surprised, to say the least, to be greeted by a lovely looking woman. As soon as the door was opened she felt this overwhelming sense of calm. Hmm....

While she took a seat she noted that Charlie obviously knew her, and that she wasn't expected to know her in return. At least I won't look like a total idiot. She was surprised to see that there wasn't any electricity in the house. She had gotten more used to it in Hogwarts but it was jarring in a regular house setting.

She had a lot of questions running around in her mind, but her throat hurt so much she wasn't sure how long she would be able to talk. "Maybe I please have a glass of water first?" She wondered if maybe she was coming down with a cold or something.

"I remember going to visit a lake...and then nothing. Fear, maybe." She looked down at the blood. "But not this."

Victoria tried to act brave in most situations, like when Tess and her had went searching for the sisters in their first year, or in daunting classroom situations, but right now she was utterly terrified. She thought back to her recent visit with Vlad and wondered if this was how he always felt. Not remembering.

[Sehkmet Nassiri]

Charlie looked at Victoria and it was obvious that she was nervous, scared even, but there was no reaosn for her to be, however, she knew that there were questions that hadn't been answered anf that they were probably swimming at the forefront of her mind. Until they were answered, and probably afterwards also, there was going to be several things that made Victoria nervous in her presence, probably the main one was that she was a complete stranger to her.

When she asked for a glass of water, Charlie hummed and bowed her head a little, standing up from her chair she walked over to the door and smiled lightly;

"I doubt it will help but, I shall fetch one for you anyway."

A few seconds later Charlie appeared back in the doorway with a glass of water, placing it on the table beside Victoria with a small smile on her lips, sitting back down she looked at the girl in front of her, so she remembered nothing? This was going to be harder to explain than she thought.

"Well, I shall tell you what happened, and bear with me until the tale is done." she said with a warning look "You were attacked, by a group of wizards by the side of Willow Lake last night, I happened upon you after they had gone and it was obvious that you were harmed, and close to death. I knew it was too late to get you to a healer, you had lot and awful lot of blood." Charlie sighed lightly.

Taking a deep breath she continued;

"So I did the only thing I could...and I...well I turned you into someone like me. I am sorry to tell you this but you're a vampire. It's hard to believe but it's the truth, I promise." Charlie said in a softly sincere voice.

[Victoria Rossmund]

Victoria felt numb. It wasn't like the shock she felt at the battle in her first year. What Charlie said actually made sense. She'd read many books about vampires, but never imagined they could be real.

It would explain her thirst. It was more than thirst. It felt like her body was wilting from it. She took an experimental sip of water, in a last hope of normality. She felt the cool liquid splash down her throat, but it did nothing for her. Setting it down she looked at Charlie.

"I believe you." As she thought back on the night before, glimpses of colored lights played before her eyes. They were so bright she couldn't see who was behind the spells. She remembered a pain across her chest and her hand moved to touch where her heart had been sliced over. She couldn't imagine what she had looked like, but it couldn't have been good.

"Thank you." She couldn't think of anything else to say. Charlie sounded sorry for her actions, but if not for her Victoria would be dead.

Trying to muster up her old courage, she took a deep breath. "So what do I need to know? How do I survive? What do I do now?" She wanted to learn as fast as possible.

[Sehkmet Nassiri]

Charlie was glad that Victoria believed her, the last thing that she wanted was to be thought of as one of those wicked vampires who take children on purpose and turn them to this way of life, she hated people like that, for it was unfair, the child would never grow up and many vampires such as this did not last above fifty.

She hoped above all hopes however, that with her guidance, Victoria would be able to live a long and happy life as a vampire, and to be content with what she was.

"I am glad that you believe me, and that you do not resent me, I was afraid of your reaction merely because there is no way out now, it is done, I only regret not being able to help you in another way." she smiled sadly.

With a small smile on her lips, Charlie chuckled lightly and shook her head, it seemed as if Victoria was in some haste, but she knew it would take years to get her to know all there was to learn;

"What do you need to know? Do not in any circumstances spend any amount of time in direct sunlight. You will die. You need to be able to learn how to feed, and I shall teach you. I shall be with you until you decide you are ready, and after that as your sire for the rest of your days, it is how it is supposed to be."

[Victoria Rossmund]

No sunlight? Victoria's mind started working on overdrive. Things she hadn't taken the time to even think about before now. School. Her friends. School. Her family. School! How was she even going to continue her life? The feeding didn't bother her. Charlie seemed like a nice enough woman that Victoria figured that just becoming a vampire didn't mean losing one's humanity.

"Is there no way to go in the sun? I'm grateful just to be alive, but what about school? I've got so much more to learn? And can vampires still do magic?" Her mind seemed to swim with questions and the burning in her throat didn't help.

Just as she was about to ask when she would learn to feed, she remembered Tess. "Oh no! They're going to be worried sick!" She stood up out of sheer anxiousness. "Can I...can I owl someone? I know they're going to be wondering where I am, at Hogwarts I mean."

[Sehkmet Nassiri]

Charlie knew that there were things that Victoria would now not be able to do, although she had managed to find something that she had used in the past when she had needed to get around in the sunlight, although it did not last very long when the rays were bright, or when it was in the middle of the day.

"Vampires can still learn magic, in some respects you will be able to do the spells you learn in a more powerful manner, but it will take you far longer to learn them as you now have vampire magic, as well as your ordinary magic." she smiled lightly.

Holding up a finger Charlie moved through the rooms of her house, finding a small painted music box, opening it and hearing it play it's sad song, Charlie let her smile grow sad, and she shut it swiftly. Making her way back over to Victoria, she held a black ring in her hand.

"This ring, holds a rare charm, it's called the Midnight Charm, place it on your finger, it will surround your body in shadows, you can use it to get around in school, perhaps Mistress Briony will provide you with a map of the secret passages also, so you may be able to continue your learning."

Charlie laughed a little and nodded; "Why of course you may, just because you're a vampire doesn't mean you have to become a hermit, but I must stress to only tell the truth to those who you trust, above all others."

[Victoria Rossmund]

Victoria was surprised to hear that vampires had magic. "What kind of magic do vampires have? And how does it interfere with witch magic? I'm muggle born, so I don't really know much about vampires." She blushed. She had been working hard at her studies, trying not to have her heritage be a hindrance.

When Charlie came back into the room with a ring Victoria was more than surprised. It looked very old. An extremely black metal holding what looked like a faceted opal. Nothing elaborate, but Victoria could practically feel the power rolling off of it.

"Thank you," she said, putting the ring on her finger. "I will talk to the Headmistress when I return."

Victoria looked around and found a quill and parchment. Taking a few minutes she decided to write her best friend. Her family would have to wait. They weren't expecting to see her for a few more months, so it would give her time to figure out her new life. And how to tell them.

Finally finishing her letter she rolled it up and set it on the table, waiting for Charlie to help her send it.

With that big worry out of the way she moved on to her next big question. "So...obviously waters not going to help with my...hunger? How do we...feed?"

[Sehkmet Nassiri]

Charlie smiled gently when she was asked what sort of magic that vampires had, it was something that she had thought that all people all over the world would know that, but it was hard to seperate the myth from the things that were actually real. So it was of no hardship to tell her what she was able to do and what she was not;

"Well, there are daylight vampires, there are certain powers that also influence faster movement, keener eyesight, increased senses and all of that, the rest of the magic you develop can only be seen when you grow older in your years after the transformation."

When she accepted the ring, Charlie smiled again and bowed her head graciously, she was glad to be of some assistance as she herself no longer needed the ring, she needed the ring, and she did not. Charlie would be glad to help Victoria, in any way she could think of.

Taking up a book to read a few pages while Victoria wrote, Charlie replaced it when she had finished and took up the letter, looking at the address upon it and nodding her head;

"I will deliver this to the address for you personally, to make sure that it gets there."

The question was simple, but it was one that could not be avoided; "Why we use fangs of course, you are still in the early stages of transformation so they are not fully developed, they will be however after a few more hours, for now, you may have some of this blood if you wish."

Charlie asked, gesturing to some blood she kept in her liquor bottle.

[Victoria Rossmund]

"Oh," Victoria said, after Charlie explained vampire magic. She had heard some of those things from fiction books, but had never thought of them as an actual form of magic, just heightened abilities.

As Charlie took the letter to send it, Victoria felt a weight being lifted from her shoulders. As she had been advised, she'd written to the one person in the world that she trusted completely. She was happy to have even that, seeing all the bickering between students at school. Tess had become like a sister to her over the last few years and she knew she would need her even more now.

At the mention of fangs she felt around in her mouth. Her canines did feel rather different. Longer, but not pointy yet. "Will they always be out? Or do they retract?" She wondered, for future discretion. It sounded as if being obvious about ones creature status could be dangerous.

When offered the blood she walked over to the decanter. Uncorking it, she pored some into a small glass, watching the dark liquid slosh around the sides. She wondered what it would taste like.

When in Rome, she thought, and took her first sip. It had the copper taste that she recognized as blood. She'd been one of those kids to lick her own cuts. Curious. But it did not disgust her. It didn't taste like chocolate or juice, but the happiness she felt as a human in drinking those things was the same as she felt now. Her thirst was finally quenched.

"Is it...what kind of blood is it? What do you drink?" She had read of different choices in blood in fiction books. She wasn't opposed to doing what was necessary to live, but never wanted to kill someone for it. If Charlie was the kind to drink from animals, then so would she. If she fed from humans...then so would she. But only in a way as not to kill them.

[Sehkmet Nassiri]

Charlie smiled lightly, when Victoria asked questions it was something that made her feel at ease, as if she was accepting the change and she was allowing herself to develop her knowledge because she wanted to, not because she had to learn.

When she asked her next question Charlie's smile grew slightly and she nodded her head.

"Yes, they do retract, it helps when you are moving in society but they should not be so noticable if you keep your mouth closed if they ever do slip out so do not worry about it too much."

Trying to make sure that she was as kind as possible, as she did not want to add the Victoria's problems Charlie averted her eyes while she drank the blood, because she did not want to upset her by watching her when she took her first drink.

Not even remembering that there was another option, she knew of one, but the vampires who drank from animals often ended up having their minds warped, they needed far larger quantities of blood, far more frequently. Her way of feeding...was much more managable.

"I personally drink human blood, I believe that it is the better out of the options. Animal blood does not cure the thirst as much as human and would require double as much, however, I acquire my blood from taverns and the apothecary, in those transfusion bags hospitals use." she smiled "I very rarely take blood from a human themselves, only when they consent of course."

[Victoria Rossmund]

Victoria was happy to hear that she wouldn't be so obvious at school, with the fangs and such.

School! She knew she'd been gone for a few days and she couldn't imagine all that she'd missed. I have to go back.

She was glad, in a way, not to have to drink from animals. She loved most animals, and in a weird kind of logic, to drink from them is to force it upon them. At least humans have the capability for resistance or compliance. But she was very happy to hear that there was away around even that. "Is there a way to get the blood I need at the school?"

Victoria thanked Merlin, for once, that she was the only 3rd year Gryffindor. It might make it easier to store what she needed to live, without other students stumbling upon it. Not that she was too worried about some knowing, it was just something she couldn't risk them tampering with. Not with how important it would be to her.

Realizing she should make her way back to Hogwarts soon, she stood and couldn't help but feel sheepish in asking. "I really should be getting back to school. But...I don't really know how to get there. I'm...muggle born, and while I've heard of Floo and all that, I don't really know how to use it."

Feeling almost a pain in her chest at the idea of leaving Charlie, she went on, "Maybe I can see you soon? Do you come around the area often?"

[Sehkmet Nassiri]

Charlie thought for a moment, she believed that if she told the Headmistress that she should sort something out for her, surely she would do if she was as dutiful as she had heard from the creature meetings.

"I believe if you ask the Headmistress she will be able to provide some for you, and since you're young you will need to feed often and plenty of blood."

Picking up a small pouch of floo powder Charlie gave Victoria the bag and smiled lightly at her;

"I think that you should perhaps get back to school, you have missed a lot of it, but here, this is some floo powder, if you have any problems use the grate at school and come to see me."

When she asked if she knew how to use the floo network, Charlie grinned; "It's been a while, and you wont want to see a demonstration because it'll put you off, but take a pinch of powder, step into the grate, drop the powder, and say where you want to go."

[Victoria Rossmund]

Victoria couldn't even begin to express how thankful she was that Charlie had rescued her. And how wonderful she was being with explaining everything. From things she had said, Victoria imagined that it wasn't this way with some new vampires.

Happy to hear the Headmistress may be of some help, she felt better about going back. She took the offered bag and looked inside. Just as she was about to take some, she looked back at Charlie.

Victoria had only just met her, but she felt close to her. Whether it was just a bond from their relationship or just a by product of this experience, she walked over to her and hugged her tightly. "Thank you." She said softly.

Then she walked to the grate, threw down some powder, and said "Hogwarts."

[Sehkmet Nassiri]

Charlie smiled lightly and waited until the girl had said the place where she wanted to go into the floo grate, so she would safely be on her way, before she turned and she thought about how she was going to be able to manage her apprentice from such a large distance and she vowed that she would make sure to owl her as frequently as possible.

Sighing lightly, she took a small sip of her blood, and her thoughts went to what Marcus would say about this.

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