Daughter of the Vampire

Lorcan had not been to bed long when the owl arrived at his window. He had gone to be about 4 am, and it was not quite nine. He had hoped to get another hour or two before going in to Slugs and Jiggers. Surely the shop girl could manage it for another couple of hours, could she not? He snatched the message from the owl, hoping to dispose of whatever this matter was before he had to go to the shop. He opened the envelope and saw the Minister's seal on it.
What did Lupin want with him? He read the note, summoning him to the Ministry. He bristled with distaste. He was not a dog to be summoned whenever Lupin had some need of him. He considered not going, and he lingered a moment longer and then begrudgingly got up, casting one last glance at Zada's sleeping form. So be it.

He dressed, feeling that same age old peckish feeling that wasn't relieved by breakfast alone. He did not particularly enjoy the taste of blood but he had come to resolve that at times, the hunger merely continued to gnaw if he did not do something about it. It did not seem, from what he understood from others that were that hybrid blend of both human and undead, that it it struck every single one differently. He did not need the foul tasting suppliment all the time, and it seemed that if he imbibed periodically, it rendered away a certain ill feeling. He decided any sort of a bracer would help him deal with a man that he did not entirely understand and did not want to.

Once he'd fortified himself, he took the floo into the Ministry and made his way up to the Minister's office. The woman at the secretary's desk did not look like she quite belonged there. She appeared to be fiddling with a fern on her credenza. He cleared his throat, and she turned around.

"Water," he said. "It needs water."

"Oh," she replied. "Can I help you?"

"Lorcan D'Eath. He sent for me. Said it was important?"

"Oh yes. They're expecting you. One moment," she said. They? he wondered Who were they? She opened the door and looked at Robert. "Lorcan D'Eath is here, Sir."

"Oh, excellent," Robert said. He looked at Brian and Anabelle. "Ready?" he asked them. He paused for a moment and nodded to them as encouragement. "Show him in." The woman opened the door

"They'll see you now," she said to Lorcan. He entered the room and saw a blonde man and a young girl there. What did they have to do with him?

"Lorcan," Robert greeted him.

"Lupin," Lorcan greeted him in return. "You sent for me?"

"I did indeed," Robert said. "Come in. Let me introduce you. This is Ms. Anabelle Mulciber and Mr. Brian Quinn, both in the MInistry auror department."

"Pleased to meet you," Lorcan said, more curious than ever.

"Have a seat," Robert said. "There has been a matter involving you and your family that has come to my attention, and it is only fitting that I contact you at once."

"A matter? Involving me?" Lorcan frowned. "Now, I wonder what, precisely, that could be."

Brian glanced over at Anabelle. D'Eath was, at his core, a Slytherin and half of a vicious blood thirsty vampire, wasn't he? And surely no friendlier. The last thing Brian wanted, at that moment, was to see Ekko go to her father anytime soon. He had had too many encounters with James Blood to imagine that there could be one instant of peace between Lorcan and James Blood. Brian believed now that there was a better than even chance that blood would be spilled and no amount of politics would resolve it.

She wasn't sure how she felt about meeting this man, Damitrius had always been scared? (Was that the word?) to have her friends meet her father. Hit didn't think she was actually scared, but she couldn't find the right word to describe what she might feel. All she knew was that she was adamant about not letting them go to D'Eath Manor.

Hit felt like it had something to do with him being the Head of the Death Eaters, but obviously that didn't matter to her since her family was filled with Death Eaters. It wasn't like she had no clue about it. Damitrius was probably just scared that everyone would judge her based on that. That she would gain popularity over her father's position instead of through her own endeavors.

Hit totally understood that. It was why she was never pushy about meeting her father. That, and she was basically on the opposite side.

That was an issue for another day, though.

Her hands had been brought together in front of her when Lorcan entered the room and she nodded her head politely to him when her name was mentioned. Merlin, did it sound foreign to hear her real name being said. But it was fine as long as she remembered that it was her real name and Hit was only a nickname from her aunt's husband.

Maybe it was time to stop using it, though. She was so close to entering the real world, she couldn't keep hanging onto such a nickname for childish reasons.

She felt one of her hands tightening the grip around the other as she looked at the Death Eater leader. This was the man her family took orders from, Damitrius' father and now.. Ekko's.

There was something that Robert genuinely didn't like about Lorcan D'Eath, and he knew part of it was the differences in political views. Robert did not believe in observing tradition just because it was tradition. Nor did he believe in self serving motives, and Lorcan believed in both.

The other thing that Robert did not like was that Lorcan was entirely too stuck on himself. Robert did not like the icy smoothness that the half vampire possessed. It was a slippery, oily smoothness that D'Eath displayed that made Robert want to pop him right in the jaw to see if he would loose that Mightier-Than-Thou demeanor. For a brief moment, Robert entertained himself with a visual of all that oily façade keeping D'Eath from settling into one of the office chairs, resulting in a gooey half-vampire puddle on the rug. Ew. He resisted the urge to smirk at his own visual.

"Have a seat," Robert repeated. "Please." D'Eath obviously want to settle into the chair but he did so to save face.

"What is this about, Lupin?" D'Eath asked. "I'm a busy man."

"I do appreciate your time," Robert said.

"And what are your aurors doing here? I have had no trouble at my estate." Robert looked at Anabelle and Brian, encouraging them to stay calm. Robert had a plan, and he did not know how this would play out, but he hoped to buy Ekko some time.

"There has been a matter come to our attention about a woman you used to know--Elizabeth Augustine?" Robert asked.

"Augustine?" D'Eath asked blankly. "I know no one by that name."

"She is deceased," Robert said. "She was a half vampire that was registered to the Ministry."

"Poor woman," Lorcan said automatically with no particular feeling attached. "However I hardly know every half vampire in England."

"She had a child who, it turns out, is also a half vampire," Robert said.

"What are you saying? That you believe the child is mine?"

"Augustine listed you on the child's birth certificate."

"That is hardly evidence," D'Eath said coldly.

"No, it isn't," Robert said. "Oh well, then. Thought you might want to know in case there is a child of yours that is about to be sent off to be adopted...."

"You are an impatient prick, aren't you?" D'Eath bristled. Robert resisted laughing at what he could only interpret to be discomfort. Name calling never meant anything to Robert. "I might have known an Augustine, now that you mention it. I can't be certain the child is mine, but my house is quite large. I would be happy to do my civic duty by taking in a charity case..."

"Oh, the child is far from a charity case," Robert said. "A fine upstanding werewolf family has been caring for..." Well, that was only a slight lie, wasn't it? After all, Remus was a werewolf, right?"

"Werewolf! For a half vampire! You must be barking mad!" D'Eath's hatred for werewolves came shining through, as Robert was positive it would. "I expect you to deliver the child to me at once!"

"I'm afraid I can't do that. Not unless you can prove you are the child's biological father," Robert said calmly.

"You could at least tell me whether I have a son or a daughter," D'Eath scowled.

"I don't know that you have anything yet," Robert said.

"I presume you have means to find out," D'Eath said impatiently.

"I do indeed," Robert said. "We could send you to St. Mungo's for a test, or, since Mr. Quinn here is also a healer, we could save you the trip. If you would be kind enough to accompany him, he could collect the hair sample we need to try to determine if you are a match to the child. It does take a few days to process the results."

"And where, exactly, will this waif remain in the meantime?" D'Eath asked.

"The child will remain in the custody of the Ministry until I decide otherwise," Robert said.

"You. The brother of a werewolf, you think you know what is in the best interest of a vampire child? What do you know about it?"

"I do not claim to," Robert said, not wanting to feed D'Eath's ego. "I have the responsibility, though."

Lorcan looked over to Anabelle and Brian. "And how exactly did you come by this Augustine child anyway?"

This was uncomfortable. No, more than uncomfortable, if that was even possible. Anabelle shifted her weight, unable to find comfort in any position she put herself in. She didn't like this, at all, but what she didn't like even more was the way in which D'Eath was referring to Ekko. She was not a charity case, and Hit had to remind herself that she was in the presence of the Minister of Magic so she didn't step out of line.

She wanted so badly to retort to his comment, but Robert took care of it, much to her relief. His attitude changed quickly once Robert mentioned a werewolf family taking care of Ekko, though any connection between his family and werewolves, besides constantly running into Blood, was lost on her for a bit.

Hit bit her lip when Lorcan asked Robert if he thought he knew what was in the best interest for a child like Ekko. She wanted to interrupt, wanted to mention something that she hoped would have appeased him, even a little, but she couldn't bring herself to. Instead, she began questioning herself. She'd wanted to say, If Robert doesn't know, I do. But it just made her think. Did she really?

Ryo was a vampire. He was her best friend. Damitrius was a half-vampire, and she'd always been fairly close to the older girl. But she couldn't claim she knew what was best for them. Not for Ryo, not for Damitrius, and especially not for Ekko. A girl who had just found out she was a half-vampire was likely going to need someone who knew about that life. Not a girl who spent more time daydreaming about what life as a vampire would be like, more than anything else.

Her hands' grip on each other tightened further but she tried to hide it by holding her hands behind her back now.

She really needed to stop doing that.

"It was a cold case that was meant to be used for training.. For me." Hit began to explain, though she wasn't sure if Lorcan had meant for the question to be toward Brian. "There were parts of the file that were missing, so we went about looking for them. At some point, we had to look through her records and when we did, we found the child's birth certificate - with your name - but no one had found that child when Elizabeth was found, so we dug deeper.."

Hit trailed off, lowering her gaze.

Robert watched D'Eath, starting to feel like the three of them would have to go home and shower off the slime that the death eater seemed to be determine to coat his personality in. Robert was pleased at how matter of factly Anabelle responded to D'Eath's question, and pleased that she had stepped up to answer. Good for her. Mulciber did not need to shy away from anybody, and certainly not Lorcan D'Eath. Pleased with her, Robert cast her a slight approving nod. as much as he could without looking inappropriate in front of the half vampire.

"So let me get this straight," D'Eath turned now to look at Brian directly. Robert did not miss the flaming anger that had seemed to get the best of D'Eath. "You managed to botch up an investigation of a dead woman, and obviously a murder in order for her to end up dead at her young age. And no one managed to find that there was a child? How utterly typical. How long ago exactly did Elizabeth Augustine die, precisely?"

"A bit over a year ago," Brian said, deciding that D'Eath was not worth his energy.

"A year. A year? And no one bothered to look into it? How did she die?"

"She was attacked by a wild creature," Robert said, hoping to draw back D'Eath's attention to himself.

"Wait," D'Eath narrowed his gaze. Fabulous, Robert thought sarcastically to himself. Sherlock Holmes, D'Eath was not, but he was apparently not going to miss this connection. Why couldn't the half vampire also be a half wit? "You find the child in the care of werewolves, and her mother just happens to have been killed by a 'wild creature'? Undoubtedly a werewolf attack and the child was then merely collateral damage."

"I did not say that," Robert said.

"Because you're an idiot," D'Eath seethed. "Do you honestly think I would be that stupid to miss it?" He turned back to Brian again. "How wonderfully consistent of you and the rest of the inept auror department to take a child and teach her to follow in your footsteps. Just what we need is more of you."

"Miss your midnight feeding, did you?" Brian spit back at D'Eath. Brian had gotten to like Anabelle, and he wasn't about to let D'Eath take a dig at her because she was young. Robert immediately cast Brian a reprimanding glare.

"How dare you!" D'Eath said. "Feel like pressing your luck, do you? Perhaps I should..."

"Perhaps," Robert said, looking to draw Lorcan back again towards him, "you need some time to consider if you want to determine if you are or are not the biological father of the child. As you yourself said, you are a busy man. Another mouth to feed is an important consideration."

"Hardly," D'Eath dismissed him. "Deliver the child, Lupin."

"Not until you are determined to be the father," Robert said. "The law requires we follow procedure. We shall need the hair sample still and then we shall need to process it and your claim to the child, should you decide to file one if the paternity test determines you to have the right to do so. If you are not the father and still want the child, you will have to apply to adopt her with the other applicants." Robert only now mentioned gender to see what Lorcan's response would be.

"Her. I have another daughter," D'Eath said.

"Perhaps. Perhaps not," Robert said.

"What is her name?"

"Eleanor," Robert said.

"How old?"

"Ten," Robert said.

"And where is she?"

"She is in an appropriate home for the moment and is being well cared for. She has been through quite an ordeal without her mother. What can you tell me about Elizabeth Augustine?"

"Little," Lorcan said. "Misplaced into Slytherin if ever there was one. "Atractive, but emotional, a bit clingy, believed in tradition, but always too tender hearted."

"How did you meet her? Do you recall?"

"Ran into her in Gringotts, I believe, and then met her again one night in Eli's, but that was quite awhile ago. It was a short lived affair. She wasn't my type," D'Eath said. "What is Eleanor like?"

"Understandably rattled after the death of her mother and of being in the hands of strangers for as long as she was. I would not place her elsewhere, not even with you, until I know she has sufficiently recovered--unless, that is, if you can assure me that Ministry staff will have unlimited access to supervise her case through her recovery...."

"Into my home? At all hours? Certainly not," D'Eath frowned. "How long do you expect she will be fragile? Is her constitution permanently damaged?"

"No, I don't think so, but her health will take management for some time."

"I will take your paternity test, but I expect you to have her ready to be discharged to me in time to take the train in the fall. It will not do to have her start her education in any other fashion from what my family has always done."

"In accordance to your family traditions," Robert said, unwilling to show D'Eath how much he wanted to transfigure the man into a bug and drop him into one of the many insect jars he had in his potions lab at home. Dismissing a child in favor of tradition was reprehensible to Robert. At that moment, Robert wanted to make sure that Ekko did not ever fall into Lorcan's filthy hands.

"Of course," Lorcan replied, as if Robert had been dense to think otherwise.

"Then, should you prove to be the father, you are content to leave her care choices to me until she is well, I take it."

"Run your test and then we shall discuss the matter further," D'Eath said, not wanting to give Robert any direct permissions at this point. For the moment, that was good with Robert. It gave Robert the leverage he needed to buy Ekko a bit of time if she wanted it or needed it. Robert was not about to toss her to a bunch of house elves.

"Very well," Robert said. He looked to Anabelle and Brian. "Please escort Mr. D'Eath to the records' department and assist him in providing us the sample for testing. Be sure you hand deliver it to St. Mungos so the test can be performed there and request that the results given to you as soon as they're available."

"And who will be in contact with me about the girl?" D'Eath asked.

"Ms. Mulciber and Mr. Quinn will be your contacts," Robert said. He looked at Anabelle and Brian and nodded, inviting them either to ask questions or to escort D'Eath to the records department. Vampires were volatile creatures, Robert knew. This has gone as well as it could have gone. They had all survived round one.

Merlin, she really did not like this man.

Hit was aware that she not supposed to like most people, given the way she had grown up, but something about D'Eath really got on her nerves. Maybe it was the fact that though he was supposed to be an adult, he threw around childish insults about any and everything that seemed to be around him. Though she was young, no because she was young, she was able to see the immaturity that emanated from the man that was gave orders to her family members.

Maybe that was what really bothered her.

It shouldn't, though. It wasn't like she was on good terms with half of them.

Hit gritted her teeth throughout the entire conversation after her little contribution, not wanting to say anything that would make her sound foolish, but she added to Robert's sentence about Ekko's name. "She likes to be called Ekko, though." Not that you would care. It was amazing that a man like Lorcan who didn't really seem to care about much besides his precious Death Eaters could be the father to so many children.

Actually.. It wasn't all that amazing.

It was more disgusting than anything else.

"You Slytherins sure are transparent.." Hit muttered. Tradition was everything for them. It explained so much, about him, about some of her friends, about her family. It made a lot of sense for them to dislike her because of what she was. She was the black sheep, the only one who'd been brave enough to break free of the shackles of the tradition that was oh-so important to them.

Must be why she was a Gryffindor.

Hit turned to Brian, not wanting to address Lorcan directly. "We should get through this fast," she side glanced at the Death Eater, ".. For Ekko's sake."