Oh. My. I don't even-

I can't believe it's been over two months since I've updated. I can't believe I just let the time fly by like that. I'd like to say I had school and tests and extreme work in general (which I did to an extent), but I really should not have let the time get away from me.

I'm going to be honest: I was monumentally stuck. Not on with what will happen in the long run - I have that pretty much covered for this story. But this particular episode of Young Dracula was proving difficult for some unknown reason. Really, I thought it would be one of the easiest to write but it all came out wrong. I STILL think it's wrong. I hate how it's written. Ugh.

But I've kept you guys waiting long enough so I figured might as well post this, grit my teeth, and come back to it later if necessary. It's probably better to just get on with the plot than stew over something that might only come with time.

So I'm sorry for the long AN and sorry for taking so long to post and sorry for the chapter if it doesn't seem up to par.

Also, I don't own anything that might get me sued. So please...don't sue me.

Chapter 21: Mr. Van Helsing

The Count's mood fluctuated during the week preceding Vlad's first day to Breather school. At times, he was in such a fury that Vlad made a point of staying at the opposite end of the castle to escape his father's violent tendencies. He seriously doubted that the Count would hurt him, but Vlad made it his duty to save his Hogwarts belongings, Nox, and Zoltan from destruction. He had become rather adept at repairing spells and it was often with a sigh that he went to repair the objects of his father's irritation once the older vampire had calmed down. Ingrid took vindictive pleasure in Vlad's ailments; it was her only consolation after she had been immediately shipped off to school the day following the headmistress's visit.

Yet at other times, the Count would be in a sort of glee. It was usually after he had eaten for the night and it was during those times that Vlad's father would grab his son and whisper to him the fun of "playing" with the Slayers. With a Slayer in town, his father told him, un-life would be far more interesting. Already, the Count was planning something, especially since he blamed the Van Hellsing for forcing him to send his children to a "plebian school." Vlad often tried to escape his father's tirades at first, but after the Count continued to persist, the young vampire had resigned himself to listening.

It seemed that the thrill of having an adversary and the excitement of a new environment had formed into the deadly product that was an overexcited Count Dracula. The man was already dangerously on the edge on a daily basis already; it seemed that the arrival of a Van Helsing had tipped the scales. If Vlad hadn't known his father as well as he did, he would have been worried that something had gone wrong with the man's mental sanity.

It was, ironically enough, on Vlad's first day to Stokely Grammar School that the Count seemed balanced again. Almost unnaturally balanced. Vlad had very nearly dropped his book bag upon seeing his father walk awake into the entrance hall with the sun still up, declaring that he wished to see his son off. The strangeness only continued when the older vampire had commanded Renfield to bring the car up to the front so that the entire family could drive to school. The entire family – including Ingrid.

Vlad's jaw felt tempted to drop and Ingrid was just staring incredulously. Both of them had expected to walk to school and by blood and bats did they know how much their father loathed traveling during the day.

It was every bit as embarrassing as Vlad had expected, driving up to the front of the school in a large, black car. But a touch of gratitude towards his father for even bothering to come this far made the young vampire overlook it for once. He bid his father a rather hasty goodbye and reached for the door handle, but the Count quickly said, "Wait." Vlad glanced anxiously back at his father, praying that the man had not changed his mind last minute. "I have a good luck gift."

To say that Vlad was now beyond surprised would have been an understatement. What had brought this abnormal turn from the Count? Wasn't it just yesterday that his father was fuming about how the "filthy Slayer" had "sentenced his children to a mindless institution?"

"Now these are a pair of ancient brooches that have been passed down within our family for centuries. They have our coat of arms and I want you to have it."

Vlad looked at the brooches in his father's hands and his eyes roamed over the carefully carved surface. The ornament was made almost entirely of pyrope garnet – blood red of course – touched with gold accents. The dragon form that the stone took was unmistakable.

"This is for you," the Count said, placing one of the brooches into Vlad's hands before the boy could so much as mumble in slight protest. "And Ingrid…it is such a pity you were born a girl."

Vlad tried not to grimace at the brief flicker of crushed hope that his sister had been portraying. The very moment the brooches had been mentioned, Ingrid had been pleased and almost excited. After all, why would their father bring out two if not to give one to each of his children? At the rejection though, a shuttered off look of fury enveloped Ingrid's face and she snarled, "You're a heartless, spineless, self-centered bully." Bitterness touched her voice. "And so am I, but you just can't see it."

And Vlad knew in that moment that Ingrid did not feel the superior vampire that she was, but a daughter who had just been denied a family heirloom as if she were nothing more than an inconvenience within the household.

Ingrid didn't hesitate to storm out of the vehicle and the moment she was gone, the Count muttered, "That girl will be the death of me."

"I'll see you later, Dad," Vlad quickly blurted and hurried to follow his sister. He knew he should have said something, done something to defend Ingrid perhaps. But he couldn't change his father's mind about that and ignoring it would probably be the best path to take.

"Don't forget to come home by noon! And don't forget your cape!" the Count called out as Vlad exited, but the younger vampire merely pretended to have not heard and continued up the steps and into the school. He knew he would have to leave school early as his father desired – the school actually believed it when his father said he had his son required only a half-day schedule for health related reasons. But Vlad shoved the brooch into one of his pockets, absolutely refusing to walk into class – even a summer class where there were fewer students – like a complete weirdo.

Stepping into the school halls, Vlad felt a brief moment of contentment. Here he was, finally being completely and utterly normal. Even if he did love Hogwarts, there was something liberating about knowing he could be among completely mundane humans as well.

But the moment was only that: a moment. In the next second, a very familiar pair of brown eyes and a head full of dark brown hair seemingly materialized in front of him. "Hi Vlad!"

Vlad sighed to himself before replying, "Hi Robin. Maybe…well, maybe you should be a little more discreet about this? You're the only one who knows and I'd like it to stay that way."

"About what?"

Vlad sighed and rubbed his forehead. This guy really didn't know how to take a hint. "What part of 'dangerous vampire out for your blood' do you not understand? It's a miracle my father didn't catch you the first two times you decided it was smart to visit my house. And my sister already saw you – which she kept quiet about but now I owe her something for that – and who knows what will happen if she thinks we're too familiar?"

"Oh, come on," Robin cheered. "It can't be that bad. I'm even willing to donate some blood if it really gets that drastic."

"You really don't get it." Disbelief was etched on to Vlad's face. "My father isn't just going to accept some of your blood. My family takes particular pride in sucking dry every prey that comes their way."

"Ugh. Fine. I'll try to keep this top secret. But you just don't get how mindlessly boring it is down here sometimes. I'd give anything to be a vampire."

Vlad just rolled his eyes. He had already gotten the hint that nothing would really deter the other boy from his fantasies. "Why are you in summer school anyway? I thought only failing students and transfers went to school now."

Robin shrugged. "I never said I was a great student."

"Well, I suppose we can talk more often now. Just make sure you're careful when my father's around. I don't know whether he will be picking me up or not, but he did drop me off today."

"Your Dad can walk in sunlight like you and Ingrid?"

"No. He can't. But cars with curtains are great alternatives." Vlad exhaled and ran a hand over his face. "Just be careful around me, okay? My father's been a little…off lately."

"Why?"

"Apparently there's a new carpenting teacher. And his last name is Van Helsing."

Robin stared and blinked for a long moment before something abruptly clicked in his mind and he guffawed. "You're kidding. That part of the story is real too?"

"The part where the guy is a Slayer? That is definitely true."

"Awesome! I was wondering why it had worked."

Vlad only had to blink once before something clicked into place and he had to resist the temptation to hit some sense into his new and strange friend. "Please tell me you weren't the one who told the headmistress about us living in the castle."

"Technically it wasn't me," Robin defended. "I just…happened to mention it to my parents."

"And your parents told Ms. Harker. Great. Brilliant. If my father ever finds out about this, your family will probably be next on the biting list after Van Helsing."

They didn't have any more time for conversation when the warning bell abruptly rang and the two of them were forced to rush to their first class together.

As the day progressed, it became achingly clear that while Vlad excelled in some subjects, there were others that he had never truly focused on before. Literature was a breeze compared to the old tomes his household and Hogwarts had to offer and history was easily understandable as well as something he could catch up to quickly. But when it came to mathematics and the sciences, Vlad was more than a little lost. The furthest his education had gone in math was simple addition, subtraction, and multiplication for economic purposes and his knowledge in science was literally akin to a five-year-old's. His family was filled with vampires and he had been attending a wizarding boarding school; neither offered anything remotely close to biology or chemistry. It was easy to see why Vlad had never studied those fields considering vampires and wizards defied almost all logical sense.

But that was hardly the day's greatest revelation. The classes he attended were barely half full considering it was still summer break, but even then it was easy to see that fate had a strange way of ostracizing him. Robin had seemed strange when Vlad had first met him – that was for sure. But the young vampire hadn't thought far ahead enough to realize that other people his age would think so too. At least for Vlad, capes and dark colors were almost the norm. For the other students, Robin eccentric at the very best.

It wasn't that hard to figure out that Robin was actively excluded. People avoided him and called him everything from freak to creep. If it hadn't been for Robin's elder, rugby playing twin brothers, Vlad had no doubt that physical bullying would have also been a part of his friend's daily routine.

A part of Vlad tasted regret – a regret that he would not quite have a normal experience even surrounded with non-magical, non-vampiric people. But a larger (a much larger) part of him was slightly angry for his friend. Robin was strange, no doubt about it. But he wasn't unkind and he certainly never had malicious intent towards anything. He didn't deserve the kind of treatment he was given.

So when morning break came around, Vlad made sure to sit himself with Robin even if they were completely alone and to the side of the hall.

"Ugh," the human boy groaned. "I hate school."

Personally, Vlad thought his friend had the potential to do perfectly fine in his schoolwork. The few classes he did have with Robin showed not that the other didn't understand the material, but that he preferred to doodle bats and potions on the side margins.

But it really wasn't up to Vlad to lecture his friend; he was sure Robin's family did that more than enough. Instead, he sighed, "What are we going to do in carpentry class?"

"Carpentry class?"

"Robin. I thought we were just talking about the very real possibility that I might get stabbed through the heart with a piece of wood just a few hours ago."

The other boy blinked over his sandwich. "We have carpentry?"

"Apparently summer classes offer no other extra curricular," Vlad frowned. "And it's required. Trust me when I say I wouldn't be taking the class if I didn't have to."

Robin blinked again and shrugged. "It can't be that bad. When the actual school year starts I'm sure you can just transfer to a different extra curricular."

And then it struck Vlad that he had yet to tell the other boy that for the three-quarters of the year, he would be gone. As much as the young vampire was eager about the possibility of a normal school even with a slightly-less-than-normal friend, he had no intention of staying during the school year. Vlad was still set on going to Hogwarts if only for the possibility of finding a cure for his vampirism.

"Uh, Robin, I'm not going to be here during the actual school year."

The other boy raised an eyebrow. "See, I told you you'd want to never come back once you'd gotten a taste of it. School is a virtual prison I tell you."

"No, it's not that," Vlad sighed. "I actually attend a boarding school in Scotland. This is just my summer break."

Robin opened his mouth and then closed it, a crease now dominating his forehead. "What? But I thought…then why are you even coming to summer school? You don't need to be here if you already go to a boarding school. And if you are going to boarding school, why is it that you don't know half the stuff we're learning?" Then, confusion and dismay turned into understanding and slight excitement. "But it's not a normal school, is it?" Robin leaned in, a grin now tugging his lips up in a conspiring smirk. "It's a vampire school."

Well, in some ways it was good thing Robin hadn't actually guessed correctly. "Sure," Vlad replied with a tight smile. "You could say that."

"I can't believe you. Why didn't you tell me this before? This is so awesome! Do you think I could attend? Maybe if I applied and pretended –"

Vlad quickly interrupted before the other boy could get any more ideas. "I don't think that's a good idea. They're figure out you're not a vampire in a heartbeat and then I might end up having to explain to your parents why you're dead at the end of the school year."

"Maybe if you just turned me into a vampire –"

"Don't even think of asking me that. Don't you ever think of asking me that." Vlad's voice had turned frigid . Turning his only human friend into a vampire was the last thing he wanted to do; he didn't want to condemn Robin to the same, eternal fate he had.

The swift rejection had the other boy abruptly quiet and he seemed to flounder for something to say before sighing. "Well, you never answered my question. Why are you here if you're going to be gone nearly the entire year anyway?"

"Because I want to. And because how else am I going to meet up with you every day for the summer? There's no way my father is going to let me come down here without a good reason."

There was a bewildered look on Robin's face and it made Vlad a little sad to realize that the other boy might never have had somebody outside of his family say they wanted to do something illogical for his sake. It seemed unlikely that Robin had ever really had a friend before and Vlad might have believed that to be the common factor keeping them together had it not been for the fact that Draco had – in a strange sort of unofficial way – already been the young vampire's first companion.

The sad thing was, Vlad wasn't exactly telling the truth when he said he was doing all of this for Robin. Yes, part of it was true. But a part of it also had to do with the fact that the young vampire wanted normalcy so badly he was willing to fight his dangerously powerful and temperamental father for it. Another part of it was that he hadn't known there was a Slayer in the school before he had begun to argue his case. And when his father had finally agreed to allow his son attendance amongst the "peasants," Vlad had been too stubborn to give up what he had started a feud over. He certainly didn't want to risk his life for somebody he had just met, but facing the Count and admitting he was wrong made Vlad cringe. Surely, he reasoned with himself, a Slayer wouldn't be so brash as to hunt him down in the middle of an entire population of normal students?

Robin had been silent for so long at that point that it began to seem like Vlad might have short-circuited something in Robin's brain. But the human boy quickly burst out of his impasse and spluttered, "Well, okay. Thanks, I suppose." He searched for something to say, blurting, "Uh, well, about that carpenter problem I'm just thinking that if you don't make a big deal out of it and act like you normally do you probably won't get caught. If I didn't know you were – well – what you are, I wouldn't have been able to tell."

"That…was probably the nicest thing anybody has ever told me." Vlad smiled, a little relieved to have the topic changed and the matter of his schooling settled for now.

Robin scowled and raised his eyebrows. "You are a strange."

"Like you're one to say anything," said a distinctly young and female voice behind Vlad. The young vampire whirled around in slight shock and came face to face with a girl who probably should have been still in primary school. "Ignore him. My brother thinks he's a vampire. He actually believes bloodsucking humans exist. Sad, isn't it?"

Vlad gaped a little. "Did you say brother?"

"Yes, I'm Chloe Branaugh. It's nice to meet you."

"I'm Vlad. Are you…ahead of your class by any chance?" It was a little difficult to think that anybody that petit could be already their age or older.

There was an unmistakable pride in the girl's eyes when she proudly replied, "Yes. I'm three years ahead, in fact. I'm taking extra courses during the summer so that I can, perhaps, graduate early. And I have to thank you by the way, for being friends with Robin. You're probably one of the first –"

"Chloe," Robin coughed heavily into his hand. "Um, isn't the bell about to ring in a minute?"

"No it…oh it is! I'll see you later!" And in a whirlwind of blonde hair and textbooks, the young girl was gone and out the cafeteria doors to her next class. The exit left Vlad with a distinct reminder of a certain bookworm back at Hogwarts.

Not a moment later, the shrill bell made Vlad cringe and his stomach sank at the realization that his next class was with a Slayer.

~0~

"Alright settle down, class!" When the students continued to throw paper planes, the man raised his voice and repeated, "I said settle!"

This time, the class did quiet down and Vlad tried his very hardest to shrink into his seat. Robin had wanted to sit in the front for bats knew why, but the young vampire had managed to convince his friend that it would be much better to be somewhere less noticeable.

"My name is Mr. Van Helsing. And I am here to help you turn wood into could." Only a few students managed to catch the pun. When only a few scattered chuckles greeted the man's opening, he continued, "Now, I apologize if it is a little cold. Apparently, there is a problem with the heaters."

Maybe it was Vlad's paranoia and pre-conceived ideas of what a Slayer should be, but Mr. Van Helsing was as unnerving as any vampire hunter he had heard about. The man certainly seemed to have the stature for it with his tall body clearly at the peak of its physical capability. The man's hands seemed made to fit a wooden stake in it and every twitch of his eyes made Vlad cringe at the possibility of being discovered.

Vlad felt his breath catch in his throat when the man's gaze suddenly locked on to his. Did the Slayer think the cold was due to an undead presence? It was a well-known fact that vampires exuded a sort of cold, but it was hardly noticeable unless through direct contact. Surely the man hadn't already figured out Vlad was –

"You, there!"

"Yes?" Vlad immediately blurted in his panic.

"Not you," Mr. Van Helsing scowled. "Your friend there. The one who is doodling in my class."

At that, Robin quickly glanced up, a slightly surprised look on his face.

"Put that rubbish away. When you are in my class, you will pay attention. Now, would everybody take out their notebooks please?"

There was a dark glower on Robin's face as he placed his drawing into his bag. "I wonder what crawled up his arse and died?"

"Robin, could you please not attract any more attention to us?" Vlad pleaded. "I almost had a heart attack there."

"But this is so boring. I could be doing anything else right now and I'm here learning how to cut up wood of all things." Robin continued to mutter to himself about the absolute waste of time school was, but Vlad had stopped listening. His eyes had caught upon a very familiar brooch just peeking out of his friend's bag.

"Is that mine?" Vlad asked, astonished.

This time, guilt cut Robin short. "Well, it kind of dropped out of your pockets on our way to class this morning and I –"

" – stole it."

"No! I was keeping it safe. Protecting it."

"That's a load of garlic," Vlad hissed. Didn't Robin know when to stop? Not only was stealing wrong within itself, but it the very fact that the object stolen was an heirloom made Vlad bristle even more. He didn't want it; he had shoved it away this morning for a reason. But there was a deep-seated instinct to protect what was his – especially since it was his family's. "Give it back."

"Well, I can see you two are going to be a problem," Mr. Van Helsing said, suddenly looming over them and making whatever hostility Vlad had been harboring disappear in sheer panic. "A brooch I see? Well I will hold that for now, boys. We wouldn't want you being distracted during my class, now do we?" The man turned to the rest of the class. "The rest of you get on with your work, then!"

Immediate shuffling followed the teacher's command as the man turned to the two boys in front of him. "Give the brooch to me."

And then Vlad wanted to fade into the floor because as Robin handed the ornament over, there was an undeniable gleam of recognition in the man's eyes. Of course he would recognize it. What decent Slayer didn't know the Dracula coat of arms? It was at times like this that Vlad cursed his ancestors for painting their insignia for the entire world to see upon their victims.

"Whose is this?" Mr. Van Helsing asked.

What was he going to say? Vlad couldn't say it was his, but he also couldn't just let the man take his family's inheritance. His mind felt blank and he was starting to consider taking the Invisibility Cloak out from underneath his bed for school purposes.

"It's mine." Robin said, resigned. And Vlad tried his very hardest not to look at his friend incredulously. He felt slightly worried that it would be Robin who would be taking the punishment, but relief quickly overcame it.

"See me after class. What was your last name?"

"Branaugh."

"It was clear Mr. Van Helsing didn't believe it.

~0~

Jonno Van Helsing would not have said that living with his father was difficult, per se. Eric Van Helsing tried best, especially for a woodworking teacher who moved every few years from town to town in a portable trailer. The man always tried to save some time for his son and when Jonno requested something – as rare as it was – the man never hesitated to comply. Their life was far from glamorous, but it was their way of living and Jonno was content with it.

Or he would have been, if it hadn't been for the one quirk his father was completely obsessed with.

Jonno could still remember the arguments his parents used to get into over the topic. He never missed it when they did, even if his mother and father had tried to settle their differences away from their son's notice. Always, it was about the "family tradition" Eric Van Helsing was determined to see continued. And maybe Jonno would have been okay with it if it were stamp collecting or bad cooking. But, as fate would have it, Eric Van Helsing was convinced his family was and always had been a clan of vampire slayers.

There were so many things wrong with it Jonno didn't even know where to begin.

Animal slaying? Okay. Plant destruction? Maybe not eco-friendly, but something they could work with. Vampire hunting? Vampires didn't even exist, yet one of Jonno's earliest memories was of his father showing him the many stakes that had been "passed down."

His mother had gotten sick of it and left to follow her own path. Jonno had wanted nothing more than to beg for his family to stay together, but he had to make a choice and between the two who had fostered him, he knew that his father needed him more than his mother did.

So for the past six years of his life, he had been living with his traveling father, having to constantly convince the countless police, principals, and other various witnesses that his father's belief in vampires was all a joke and nothing more. It worked for a little while, but they always had to move in the end. They didn't really have a choice when Jonno's father decided wandering during the nighttime armed with lethal weapons was okay.

Jonno would have been lying if he said that he wasn't tired of it. He was. He didn't want to always have to go to new schools, always take defense classes to comfort his father, or constantly be that one strange boy with a strange father. All he wanted was to have a place to settle and to have his mother back. But he stuck it out and tried his best to moderate his father's obsession when he could.

So when he had sat through his first day of summer school in his father's class, he was less surprised and more irritated that his father had already pegged one of the students – of all people – as a potential vampire.

"I just know it," Eric Van Helsing whispered conspiringly. "It couldn't be any more obvious! This brooch is the Dracula coat of arms. The Dracula coat of arms! Jonno, do you have any idea how big this chance is?"

Jonno sighed. He, of course, hadn't missed the spectacle his father had caused in the middle of class earlier; he had been there. Robin and Vlad – if Jonno could remember their names correctly – had certainly been distracted during the lesson, but they hardly deserved the severity that Eric Van Helsing had subjected them to. That had been the indicator that the man believed one of the boys more than a mere human going to summer school.

"Dad," Jonno relied, placating. "Maybe it's a little too early to see. We just moved here. Today is your first day teaching. Don't you think you're being hasty?"

"But I know for sure this time, Jonno! This insignia is unmistakable! Every Slayer knows this coat of arms –"

"Fine," Jonno cut in, knowing that his father could go on for ages. "Robin will be coming in soon to get the brooch back. Why don't you try to prove to me then? Without immediately staking him?"

"Yes, yes. Good idea, Jonno. Lure the bloodsucker into a false sense of security and then I'll get him!"

It took the younger boy all his self-control not to groan aloud. Instead, he walked into the closet in the classroom and shut it, looking out the small door-window and nodding at his father to indicate he was ready.

Not a moment later, a boy with pastel skin and black hair tentatively stuck his neck inside. Honestly, it was a little easy to see why Eric Van Helsing found it so easy to believe the boy a vampire. Robin Branaugh certainly looked the part – at least slightly more so than his friend. Vlad, at least, did not wear capes to school.

"You wanted to see me?" Robin's voice was surprisingly steady.

"Oh, yes. Branaugh, come in. I've…just been admiring this brooch of yours." Jonno let out a heavy breath as he saw his father fingering the ornament and glaring at the student in front of him.

"I brought it in for a history project. But my Dad made me promise to bring it straight back home. It's a family heirloom."

The boy then quickly moved as if to take back the brooch. But the woodworking teacher pointedly clasped his hand over the object and held it further away from Robin's reach. "Your father? And tell me…where is your father at this moment?"

"Well, he's probably just getting a bite to eat right about now –"

"Oh, a bite to eat?" Eric's voice dropped into a frigid cold. "I know what your father does. It's no use to keep on hiding it from me."

"Um, he's a plumber. If that's what you mean."

Jonno wanted to slap a hand for his forehead. Was his father really going after a plumber for goodness sake? At this rate, they were going to have to move in a week.

"A plumber, hm? Well then I'm sure he wouldn't have a problem coming down now during the day to check out the air conditioning."

"Oh, I'm sure he would," Robin replied quickly. "I know what you mean. It must be burning to teach in a class like this. I'll give you his number." Before his teacher could reply, the young Branaugh pulled out a blank sheet of paper and scribbled the contact information with a pen he had picked up off the nearby teacher's desk. Jonno could see the slightly stunned look on his father's face; he had clearly expected a completely different reaction. "Um, could I have my brooch back now?"

For a moment, it seemed like Jonno's father was considering it. But then he shook his head and growled out, "No. Your father can come and pick it up after school today."

And to think Jonno was beginning to believe his father had been improving.

~0~

Vlad didn't even have to wait for Robin to tell him what had happened. "I know," the young vampire had said the moment his friend stepped out of the classroom empty handed. "I guess we'll just have to find another way to get it back."

Robin blinked before demanding, "How did you know he didn't give the brooch back to me?"

"Well, you aren't carrying it." That was the obvious answer. Vlad didn't need to tell Robin that he had quickly tacked an eavesdropping charm on his friend's cape before he had gone in.

"Is it really that important? Maybe you can tell your Dad you lost it."

"And have him kill me?"

"Well that's alright, isn't it? You're dead already."

The words cut at Vlad and he hastily opened his mouth to retort and argue that no, he wasn't dead yet. He was human. He wasn't some bloodsucking monster that took sadistic pleasure in creating pain or –

"Who's dead already?"

Vlad very nearly jumped at the sound of Chloe's voice right beside him. He had been so engrossed in his thoughts that he had missed the younger Branaugh coming up to them.

"Oh, I get it," the girl scoffed. "You're a vampire too, aren't you?"

"What?" Vlad blurted, suddenly panicked. "No, no it was just something Robin came up with!"

"Right…we mustn't let everybody know that you're all vampires – " Chloe was abruptly cut off when a chalk-white hand clasped itself over her mouth, elegant fingernails long enough to cut the lips they rested on.

"Ingrid!" Vlad exclaimed. Things were just going from bad to worse. "It's alright! She knows Robin was just joking!"

"Agh!" the elder Dracula hissed and quickly jerked her hand away from Chloe's mouth in pain. A fiery anger lit up Ingrid's eyes as she snatched the younger girl up by her collar. "You little Breather. You've got some nerve. We bite you, not the other way around."

"Oh," Chloe replied airily and with more than a little touch of contempt. "You're a vampire too? Well that explains why Robin has been so cheerful lately; he's found a crazy lot to hang around with."

Good garlic this girl was signing her death warrant.

"I suggest you learn how to address your superiors," Ingrid said, ice freezing her voice with a surprising amount of control keeping her composed. She seemed poised to strike or lash good. But at the last moment she seemed to pull herself in and instead snapped, "What are you still doing here, Vlad? Doesn't Daddy-dearest want you home?" It was obvious she was still irked about having to stay the whole day amongst Breathers while her brother was excused to return home in order to study his Hogwarts material.

Vlad hastily nodded and shrugged his book bag on more securely for the walk back home. But as he began to back to the castle, Robin's hand grasped the crook of his elbow and the other boy whispered, "We'll get it back. I'll meet you here after school."

Vlad wanted to tell Robin that the idea was crazy, that they would have to find some other way of doing it without anything remotely attention-catching or illegal. But his friend was more intelligent than a lot of people gave him credit for and Robin was already leaving towards the opposite direction beside his sister, leaving Vlad with no choice but to leave the comment as is. He could hardly kick up a large fuss around Ingrid. If he did, she would no doubt realize that her brother had lost a valuable family heirloom and then the Count would inevitably learn of it the moment she got home.

Yea. See. I told you it would be worse than normal. It just jumped around the place, didn't it? And the dialogue was KILLING me.

But enough with my whining, I also wanted to say that I just realized I completely misspelled "Helsing" in the last chapter. I spelled it "Hellsing" and there is only supposed to be one "L" in the word. So I fixed it this chapter and expect all the following chapters to have it correctly spelled!

And to clarify, yes Vlad can do magic outside of school. The Trace is put on registered WANDS. Vlad doesn't even use one and they don't know to put it on the bangle around his arm so he's home-free with his magic usage as far as I'm concerned.

I want to thank all the people who reviewed and those still following me after such a long two months! Thank you! Those reviews always push me to write (it was what got me moving after so long!). :)

Till next time!