Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter; if I did you would know it. Story title is a song by H.I.M. Chapter title is song by Abney Park.

Following her introduction to the dream realm, Drago visited her during night time interludes nearly every weekend, hoping to tighten his hold on Mina before her impending return when Hogwarts let out. With so many visitations, Mina never did return to Lucius' dream, but that did not mean she was not aware of his reach. Rabstan continued to court her, but that failed spectacularly, when she caught him bullying first year, Regulus Black. It took very little for her temper to surface when the older boy had the younger brother of her downfall cornered at wand point. Having been in the company of Severus prior and arguing over her stubborn refusal to fall in line with her fellow serpents. She was already angry when they entered the common room.

"You expect me to allow that to go on and do nothing? That would make me no better the Potter and Sirius!" Severus scowled.

"Mina-"

"No, this won't happen" Her animal lurking behind her eyes, she crossed the room with an animalistic glide until she was standing in front of the younger Black boy. He flinched at her arrival, but she slipped easily between the two. Rabstan's lips turned down.

"This doesn't concern you." Mina's eyes narrowed and her hands rose to her hips. Her lips curved wickedly, her eyes silver and slowly fading to white.

"Is this not my common room?" Her eyes flicked at the room at large and those present fell silent. Rabstan loomed over her, his eyes narrowed and his jaw twitching.

"This is between me and Black." Mina smiled sweetly and raised her hand to a loose curl, idly twirling it around her finger. Rabstan scowled. "They can't both belong to you, and you already have the older one at your beck and call." He reached out his hand closing tightly around her arm. Quick as a flash Mina's other hand gripped his wrist with bruising force and his grip on her arm loosened.

"This is a public forum, Lestrange, it has nothing to do with belonging period. But for a group meant to take care of each other, bullying our own seems to be counter productive." Her nails lengthened in her anger and Rabstan hissed. The two held each other at a standstill until Narcissa entered the room.

"What's is going on here?" Her lilting words cut sharply in the silence. Rabstan stiffened and slowly let his stance fall from confrontational. Smiling darkly, Mina just as slowly released his wrist, nails scraped skin. Slowly, he withdrew from her space and back stepped.

"A reprimand gone wrong, that's all." Mina kept her eyes on him even after he turned abruptly and marched from the room. He had just reached the door to the boys' rooms when she called out in dulcet and gravelly tones.

"Or perhaps one gone right." Rabstan stumbled, but did not turn back. Mina let her eyes dance over her seemingly frozen peers before turning with slowly darkening eyes. Regulus stared at her wide-eyed, heart pounding. Mina sized him up and nodded in confirmation before turning to the girl's dorms.

"Th- Tha." Mina heard his deep breathe and slowly the pounding of his heart calmed. "Thank you, Miss Chakano." Mina paused at the door and carefully glanced at him.

"It's what any decent person would have done." Several gasps followed her as she entered the hallway to the girl's rooms. But any impact she would have had ended when stepping into her room. She collided with an invisible mass, though mere seconds of stepping in her room she knew she was not alone. She shoved the mass away and the startled scuffle of feet followed by the thump on her bed caused her to narrow her eyes. "What do you want Sirius? And why are you in my room?" Her answer was the shifting of fabric slipping from over him.

"You are making a lot of enemies among the snakes, by why on earth are you protecting my brother?" Mina rolled her eyes and snapped her door shut throwing up a silencing charm on her door.

"This is Slytherin House, they are always enemies and you, you are crazy to be here!" She paced to her desk and set her bag on it. "You can't be in here Sirius, if they find you there will be all sorts of trouble for you, and for me. You might even be expelled." Sirius stood and crossed to her doorway leaning on it.

"Worried are you?" Mina narrowed her eyes.

"Why are you here?" He scoffed and stuffed the invisibility cloak in his pocket.

"Originally, I was planting dung bombs in the boy's dormitory and was on my way out when I saw your little scene. It seemed an opportune time to talk to you. Jewels, you are in the wrong house." Mina rolled her eyes.

"I asked for this house, it seemed like the right move?" Sirius's brow furrowed. "Don't look at me like that! I was trying to be in a different house from you, now get out before we get caught." Sirius watched her intently.

"You'll have to do better then that." Mina hissed and crossed her arms. She opened her mouth when a furious knocking sounded on the other side of the door.

"Chakano, the Lupin boy is asking for you." Mina narrowed her eyes and Sirius reluctantly slipped the cloak back over him vanishing from site. Mina crossed to the door and his hand lightly on her wrist stopped her.

"We will finish this conversation, Mina, don't try to avoid me." Mina's eyes flared silver and her body turned into him, the pounding of his heart echoed loudly in her ears.

"You think you can tell me what to do?" The multiple cadences caused him to shiver and he swallowed, licking his lips beneath the cloak.

"Please lady?" Mina dropped her eyes from his and took a calming deep breath.

"Give me until finals." She kept her eyes from him and twisted the door open forcing him to step away. Narcissa stood with her arms crossed watching her coldly.

"After that, you and I need to talk." Mina narrowed her eyes and steeped out of her room, forcing Narcissa back.

"I think, that I have had enough talks tonight. So, once I am done visiting my friend I will be coming back to my room, alone, so I may do my homework and then catch an early night." She felt Sirius slip out behind her, his fingers trailing along her back as he moved away and down the hall.

"Our leniency will only last so long, Mina Chakano. If you aren't careful you will become a pariah in our house." Mina chuckled and shut her door.

"It's cute that you think I would care about something so petty." She turned her back on the seventh year and walked sedately down the hall, ignoring the cool gaze on her back. Helping Sirius slip out of the common room was easy, but a nearly frantic Remus greeted her in the hallways beyond.

"Have you, seen Sirius?" Mina's eyes flicked to her left and she twined her arm with his leading him away from the common room entrance.

"Not recently, I'm sure he will pop up soon. Lets go to the kitchen for some chocolate. I need something sweet after that nightmare." She glanced over her shoulder only to see a bodiless thumbs up vanish down a side hallway.

"Why, what happened?" Mina smiled and held to his arm tighter.

"Don't tell anyone, but sometimes I really wish I had gotten into a different house." He frowned and followed her lead to the kitchens, where the two easily got their hands on white and dark chocolate. Mina recounted the common room incident and licked the melted chocolate from her fingertips as Remus frowned at his own half eaten snack. "Needless to say, I will be glad when the year is finished." Remus took another bite of his chocolate.

"Be careful, Mi, I would hate for them to turn their bullying onto you." Mina smiled at the pet name from their childhood.

"I'll be fine, I promise. Besides, I don't need them when I have you, and Lily."

"What about Sirius, and Scabior?" Mina smirked.

"Scabior is desperate for my approval, and Sirius... well I don't think I'd be able to get rid of him even if I held him at wand point." Remus nodded and finished his snack.

"Maybe Dumbledore can help you, like...well like he helped me." Mina shook her head.

"I'm sure he would... But there will always be strings and I must be careful not to tie myself to anyone.

"You're tied to me." Mina smiled and grasped both his hands and leaned forward.

"Well that was an easy decision, you are my best friend Remus… no one can hold a candle to you." Remus slowly smiled and the two called it an evening. When Mina got back to the common room, everyone turned his or her eyes away except Scabior who was sitting with Regulus. The two waved her over, but she waved back a denial before heading off to her room to do exactly as she said she would.

It was made abundantly clear in the days that followed that Mina was being warily ostracized form inclusion within her house. As such Severus would only spend time with her when he was with Lily and Remus for study purposes. Scabior continued to sit with her regardless of what the house decided and she took this as a point in his favor. Regulus joined her when he could and soon the two struck up an amiable friendship. Severus grew closer to the others in the house of green and silver and she grew further away. It was unfortunate that the younger boy was not as much of a deterrent to Sirius Black as he frequently found ways to approach her even if it was just a way to be in her company. This obviously did not occur when Regulus was around, but as he was younger and not often in her company. There wasn't much to protect her from her downfall's insistence of being around her.

Any opportunity he could, he would attempt to gain her attention. Remus growing concerned confronted his friend on numerous occasions hoping to get him to stop, but as with the Black Scion's frequent misbehavior. Remus' pleas went largely ignored; things came to a head when Rabstan approached Mina after weeks of house silence.

"Chakano?" Mina stiffened in her seat at the library and glanced warily over her shoulder.

"Can I help you?" Rabstan's wand hand twitched.

"I apologize for my previous behavior with you. The house, as a whole, have not done right in our treatment of you and we would like to make amends." Mina shifted in her seat and closed her books slowly. Her eyes never left his and she watched his left eye twitch. Slowly she stood and turned to face him, arms crossed.

"You apologize... and want to make amends." Rabstan jerked a nod. Mina nodded and reached behind her picking up her book casually. "How is Lucius?" His chest heaved.

"Don't be like that Mina, he… its nothing like that." Mina narrowed her eyes.

"Do you think I am stupid?" Rabstan shook his head and Mina opened her book again. I will take your apology as a sign that you will no longer push your way into my life uninvited, tell you master that too." Rabstan nodded and turned abruptly, looking for the entire world as if he had just swallowed a death sentence.

Following the strange interlude, Severus retuned to hanging out with her the majority of the time. As such, Mina quickly became aware of the finger feeling in her mind similar to what she had felt at the beginning of the year. It took three days of research, mostly done in private, before she realized what he was attempting. Once she knew, however, she called him out the next time the two were studying privately.

"Is there a particular reason you feel the need to attempt legilimancy on me, Severus?" It was softly spoke, but firm none the less. His shoulders hunched and he dropped his eyes.

"Practice?" Mina's eyes lifted to him and she tapped her chin.

"Practice, really? I think not, try again Severus." He sighed and hunched in on himself even more.

"Lucius suggested I try on you." Mina's eyes narrowed

"Did he indeed? Is there something particular you are looking for?" He moved to pack his things, but her hand flew out to grip his wrist. He tried to shake her off, her grip tightened. The animal rising beneath the skin slipped into her suddenly silver gaze. "Don't Severus, we are friends, are we not?" His chest heaved and his movements stilled.

"He said you had secrets and I should find them. It's good practice." Mina nodded and slowly released his arm.

"Fine let's trade." His eyes flew to hers and she smiled at his consternation.

"You get to practice and I get to learn, though I warn you, once you find what you think you want to know, it won't be the same for our friendship. And once I can successfully block you, you will never find another secret again. That said, I'd like your wand oath that you tell no one what you find." Severus studied her slowly darkening gaze.

"Lucius will-."

"Do you honestly think that man has that much power over you now that he has left school? And do you really want to be his lackey like over half the house? What happened to your own merit?" Slowly, Severus nodded as shame colored his cheeks.

"You're right, I am not sure how I had forgotten." Mina smiled, knowing that she had outwitted the man again and the two friends began practicing immediately.

By the time Finals came around in June, both Mina and Severus were well versed in legimancy and occlumancy, having practiced on one another even in company of their friends. As agreed the two met privately the night before the first exams for Severus to swear his silence. They made a mutual agreement that Mina would say nothing about and protect the secrets of Severus' home life, and he likewise swore to take her own childhood and home life to the grave.

Their magic glowed briefly when the door to their abandoned classroom opened forcefully.

"What is all this?" Mina dropped her head and Severus stiffened. Mina tapped the inside of his arm and his gaze returned to hers.

"Head back to the common room Sev, I will talk to him." Slowly, Severus nodded and stiffly left the room. He paused in the doorway to glare at Sirius and Sirius growled at the shorter boy. Severus raised and eyes brow, his gaze flicking back to Mina.

"Interesting." Mina narrowed her eyes.

"We made a promise, Sev." He sighed, nodded, and slipped out of the room.

"That's right Snivelly, run away."

"Sirius!" His grey eyes swung back to her, sliver slithering in their depths.

"Why are you swearing oaths to him?" Mina sighed and crossed the room to him lacing her fingers with his, she tugged him in the room and closed the door.

"What Severus and I do is our business, Sirius. It had nothing to do with you." His fingers tightened around hers.

"Is he going to be your pet then?" Mina scoffed

"Really Sirius, this is what you are concerned about? He helped me with something and I helped him and we agreed to keep the results of the deed private. It was an experiment Sirius! You really need to let this pet thing go, I don't have pets I don't want pets. He is my friend, family… like a… coven of my own people I can trust, Like Remus, he's damn near family!" Sirius jerked back from her.

"Family, he's… family." His eyes dropped and he folded in on himself.

"Sirius, don't take it like that please? I just meant that it was nothing big or anything, but it is our secret." Sirius glanced up at her again.

"I want a secret then, give me a secret." Mina sighed. Slowly she paced away form him head down, hair framing her face.

"Sirius, this is really…"

"I belong to you… I mean I want to belong to you and I hate that he matters more." The sound of knees hitting the ground had Mina spinning around. "Please, I'm begging you, make me important, too, Lady." Mina crossed to him twining her fingers in his hair.

"Oh Sirius, you do matter, more then you can know. You mattering to me is why I asked to go into Slytherin. You matter so much it's dangerous for you!" Sirius stared up at her with wide eyes.

"That does not even make sense!" Mina sighed and lowered her lips to his ear.

"I am a Damphier, Sirius the first vampire born in centuries. Space between us is essential because one day, I will kill you." Sirius stiffened under her touch and she released him, eyes wide, dark, and slowly growing cold.

"There is your secret Sirius… now you know." She dropped her gaze letting her hair fall forward as she slipped around him heading for the door." Was it worth it?" He turned to answer her whispered question to find her gone.

Finals past and the end of the year was upon them. Since the conversation with Sirius, he seemed to more or less avoid, Mina. She continuously felt his gaze, but she was not surprised at his physical regression from her. It was painful and her heart hurt, but she pushed the ache down deep and shut that part of her heart away. It was for his safety after all. Remus noticed her emotional withdrawal, but their friendship remained solid. He kept his pack close, for she was all he had. Severus and she maintained their new bond even when finals were over. Lily often joined them for reading in their courtyard and their friendships remained strong. Ultimately, Mina was ready to go home and by the time she stepped off the Hogwart's Express, she readily three herself into Gitana's arms.

A/N: Reviews warm my heart and hasten this version of shadowed dreams.

-DJR