Alaric Equinox✴Adult I✴

Alaric Equinox came into this world on October 27th, 1987, born to a Vampire father, Lysander Sealdre, hailing from Britain and a Witch mother, Cosette Taylor, hailing from America. They were the couple that was never meant to be as Alaric’s grand entrance into this world ultimately took his mother’s life; there were too many complications at birth and not enough time to get her to a proper healer. It was because of this that his father had minimal contact with him. He taught him enough about being a dhampir to get him by and to control most of his cravings as a child, but his teachings were cold and often harsh. Since his father could not stand to look at him, given his resemblance to his mother, he was given a private tutor and fulltime nanny named Victoria Equinox.

Alaric’s father left for good when he was just five years old, leaving Alaric and Victoria the to the house on Dorset Mountain in East Dorset, Vermont. Neither of them had anyone else in the world but each other now. She continued Alaric’s education, where his father had left off teaching him how to properly unsheathe his fangs, how to fight to protect himself, how to hunt animals, and, most importantly, how to apply makeup. The corpse-like look to his skin never suited him and often brought streams of rubies cascading from his eyes as he looked at himself in the mirror. He maintains his milky white complexion by adding just enough makeup to get rid of the corpse-like appearance.

For the longest time, Victoria did not think that Alaric possessed any of his mother’s magical ability as he showed no signs of magic even on his eleventh birthday. It wasn’t until December 1998 when Alaric got lost in the wintery mountains while playing. Panic flooded through the little boy’s body, realizing that the snow had covered most of his tracks, concealing the way home. So he sat down and cried as hard as he had ever cried before when suddenly a red firework burst into the sky centered on him. It reminded him of the fireworks that filled the air during the fourth of July celebrations. He stared up at in wonder, not knowing who or where it could have come from. It took no time for Victoria to find him after his Periculum lit up the night sky.

This spurred talk of magic and the two schools he could go to, Ilvermorny and Hogwarts. Given that his family owns property in both countries, he had his options. Victoria wanted to take him away from the home that held the negative energy of his father. She suggested that they explore the other half of his heritage and move to England so that he may attend Hogwarts. They decided to start packing up the things that they did not need through the rest of the winter and waited until spring before moving to his father’s estate in the countryside of England. Finally getting settled by April 1999.

The day would shortly come where he would gain his Hogwarts acceptance letter. The day it arrived, they both danced together in the kitchen, giggling with glee. Victoria had so far been right that moving here was better for him, but as in most cases, she was both right and wrong. Once he was accepted into Hogwarts and sorted into Slytherin, the feeling of oppression lifted off his shoulders. He was accepted into the school regardless of what he was. There were always the occasional bullies who would make fun of him, push him outside on particularly sunny days, and ridicule him or goad him by asking if he wanted to bite them. Occasionally he would lose his temper and show his fangs to the other students as a hostile act hoping that scaring them would make them just leave him alone.

During his second year was when the catastrophic moment happened that almost resulted in his expulsion. He had just escaped some bullies who had dragged him out on an unusually warm and sunny day only to be stopped by their ringleader and pulled back by two of his lackeys. This was when the leader taunted Alaric and finally cut himself just enough to bleed, sending Alaric into a blood rage. The boy did not expect Alaric to be strong enough to break free from his friends' hold, but he did and pounced on the boy. He was seconds away from sinking his fangs into the boy’s throat before he was pulled off of him and subdued. Since this was the end of 2nd year, he was sent home after exams via portkey, and Victoria received a very stern owl about the situation.

After his second year, Victoria realized that Alaric’s father never taught him how to properly control their nature because although dhampirs were still part human, their personalities were ultimately predator and everything around them, especially humans, were the prey. She spent that summer teaching him how to quell those feelings so that he could make better choices when he was picked on. He had many different coping mechanisms to calm him down, and when he returned to school, he was a new boy even if the bullies weren’t. He would find himself in the infirmary many times getting treated for severe sunburns, and although most would have sought revenge against the children who did this to him, he decided now to ignore them and remain kind to others.

Alaric rose above them; he was determined to wipe away the stigma that came with being what he was. He was never totally sure why he was placed into Slytherin because Alaric was such a gentle soul with a thirst for knowledge, but he knew the hat never lied and maybe it was that determination to prove that he was just as good as the rest of them and better than most that landed him in the noble house of the snake.

It was in his third year that he received information about his father’s passing while working for other Vampires, something that did not seem the phase the fourteen-year-old. It also had information about his vast inheritance and the fact that Victoria would be his legal guardian until he became of age. That was something that brought him immense joy as she was the only parental guide he had ever truly known. It was also at this time that he officially petitioned to have his last name changed to Equinox legally something which was granted as it was deemed to be in his best interest, and it finally allowed him to erase every final aspect that was his father from his life.

He found that he was not particularly gifted in the casting of magic, and it often took him much longer to master casting even minor spells than his other classmates and his closest of friends. This caused him to only work harder to prove that he could do it. Although there was always a class that pulled him like a siren’s call, and that was astronomy. It was peaceful, and looking at the stars seemed to help calm the turbulent waves that formed inside of him when he was picked on. There was just something about the crisp air at the top of the astronomy tower that breathed passion into him, and he often spent hours up there, with the professor’s permission, studying and charting the stars. He was often given detentions for being caught out after curfew, just walking outside looking at the stars or mapping out charts in the courtyard without having access to the astronomy tower.

After graduation, Alaric and Victoria returned to the United States to his childhood home. He saw no reason to move away, and now that he was an adult, he could easily help take care of her to repay all of the kindness she bestowed upon him growing up. She no longer had to fulfill any duty and could spend a nice retirement doing as she pleased. Alaric continued to study and teach astronomy and even author a book or two even if it only published in the muggle realm. This was something that gave him the night owl hours that he preferred to keep although it is not unheard of to see Alaric out in the sunlight you may just see him under a sun parasol to protect his skin.

In 2019 Alaric’s dream came true. One of his best friends from school time owled him about the Astronomy position opening and encouraged him to apply. So he did just that, sending in his application and his qualifications. He was not confident that he would be allowed to teach being a Dhampir, but his application was accepted, so once more, Victoria and Alaric packed their home and moved back to their England estate.

He started teaching Astronomy at the start of the 2019 school year but was shortly promoted in December to the Ravenclaw Head of House. Although he loved teaching astronomy, he knew something was direly wrong in Hogwarts, and if he was going to be able to better protect the students, it would be by taking up the mantle of Head of House. His goals: Find Lear, Figure out what hides in the darkness in Hogwarts, and protect the students at all costs.

Alaric made the painful decision to step down as Ravenclaw Head of House in late 2020 to take care of his adoptive mother, Victora Equinox. She had grown fragile in her old age, and caring for her was not only his obligation, but his honor. She had chosen to care for a young dhampir boy as if he were her own son, even though she didn’t have to. Returning that same love and kindness was the very least he could do. Alaric wanted her to spend her twilight years where she had originally called home. That meant taking her back to East Dorset, Vermont, while she was still well enough to travel. His relationship at the time had also come to a mutual close. They had simply grown apart and wanted different things in life. While all endings are sad, it was not a dramatic departure, and it was what they both needed to keep growing as people.

Returning home to the crisp mountain air seemed to revitalize Victoria, and she thrived for a few years. During that time, Alaric obtained another Astronomy Professor position at a wizarding community college. It wasn’t quite the same as working at Hogwarts, but it allowed him to spend his nights charting the stars, calculating cosmic events, and passing on his knowledge to the younger generations.

As the years came and went, Victoria became less independent but was relentless in Alaric keeping his teaching position. She refused to let him upend his life on her behalf. So, he hired a night nurse to watch over her while he taught. Come springtime 2026, Victoria Equinox passed away peacefully with Alaric by her side. Her last request was for him to sing to her one more time, and so he did. He sang to her the same lullaby that she sang for him when he was scared, and before he finished the song, she was gone.

Alaric had allowed himself to wallow in his grief before deciding it was time for another fresh start back in the UK. She had made him promise that he would go back one day, and he knew he had to honor that promise. Come summertime, Alaric would announce his intended departure to his colleagues and arrange a replacement. He would hire a caretaker and his family to care for the mountain home and live in it as if it were their own. He would also hire a service to open his home in Hogsmeade, clean and air it, and arrange anything he sent ahead of him.

Come Saturday, September 19th, Alaric would find himself boarding the Mystic Pullman at 7 am from King's Cross Station. The 3.5 hours that it took to travel to Hogsmeade felt far shorter than it should, but at promptly 10:30 am Alaric would find himself walking the familiar streets of Hogsmeade.