Scorpius sat in one of the chairs in the Slytherin Common room, his legs pulled under him and a book on magical history in his lap. The book was more interesting than Binns. Four days had passed since Regan's arrival. She had appeared in the Slytherin Common Room once already. The students were generally uncertain how to react to the vampire's presence, leery since she drank human blood. Regan offered to spar with them but easily beat the Slytherin students, fast enough to move before they could see her and strong enough to lift them up with one hand and throw them across the room. She'd been careful not to hurt them, though egos were still bruised.

Petal was sitting across the room reading a muggle book, Lord of the Rings. Scorpius had no idea how she had gotten it. It was after dinner, but the common room was quiet, everyone studying. One of the older students stood and walked to where Petal was reading.

"Yes?" Petal asked when he stopped in front of her, glancing up.

"I'm Kai Jones," the student introduced. "Arclight, will you teach me the Torture Curse?"

Scorpius froze, about to turn the page.

"Huh?" Petal asked blankly.

Scorpius looked up, stunned by what the Slytherin had just asked. The volume of other conversations dropped. Where had that come from?

"Why?" Petal asked cautiously, baffled.

Scorpius didn't blame her.

"It comes in handy," Kai blandly answered. "You saved Jen with it. Could you teach it to me?"

Jones, Petal had heard that name before. She remembered. There was a woman among Lestrange's Death Eaters with the same last name. Kai was likely her kin. One of the deals the Arclight had struck with Lestrange was that the Death Eater's children, mostly Slytherin's, were not to be harmed in the battle. By that rule, she was not allowed to harm Kai. She didn't have to teach him anything; though was intrigued he dared to ask so bluntly. It took guts.

"I could," Petal replied, "but you mutes consider it a forbidden technique. I could get in severe trouble for teaching you Crucio."

No duh, Scorpius thought. He looked over at where Jacob and Luke were working on their Astronomy. Both were staring at her.

"Using it on another person is a life-long sentence in Azkaban," Kai agreed, "but you didn't use it on a person."

Scorpius watched hesitantly as Petal slid a bookmark between the pages of the book and closed it. Kai was right, Scorpius realized. There was a loophole in the law. How long had Kai thought about it to find that? Petal's expression was thoughtful. Wait, was she actually thinking of teaching it in the middle of the common room?

"This curse is different from most spells," Petal began to speak. "It does not require a certain hand movement with the incantation. It needs intent."

"Intent," Kai repeated.

"The incantation is simple, just the word Crucuio, but that alone isn't enough," Petal explained. "The caster must possess a deep desire to cause the victim pain. In order to be proficient in the casting, one must also take pleasure in their suffering. The need for the dark emotions is what led to you calling it Unforgivable."

Scorpius felt goosebumps stand on his arms. She said it so calmly.

"You wanted the Runespoor to be hurt?" Kai frowned.

"Not particularly," Petal sighed, "but I did want to use it. It would have been much stronger had I used it on the Gryffindors."

Kai nodded understanding. Scorpius couldn't help but listen, intrigued by the forbidden knowledge. He doubted he'd ever use such a curse. He didn't want to end up in Azkaban. Why wasn't Petal afraid of that? The other Slytherin had the sense to look a little uncomfortable at how publicly she was explaining, but Petal was totally unperturbed. It was as if she was explaining a disarming charm. She had said her family was independent of magical governments and the reserve ran its own laws. Was that possible though? Would the magical governments really not interfere with them, not matter what they did?

That kind of power seemed unreal, and if that was the case, why was Petal at Hogwarts instead of the reserve? Scorpius just didn't understand.

"You're on your own if you get caught," she told Kai, looking back down at her book.

"What's that?" Kai asked.

"A muggle book," Petal answered, flipping to the page she had been reading. "It has interesting concepts of magic."

"Muggles are imaginative," Kai agreed.

"It's their way of compensating for being the weakest," Petal supposed with a small smile, head still down, "a type of wistful daydreaming."

Scorpius looked down and turned the page. He didn't overwhelmingly love muggles or muggleborns, but he didn't hate them. He would act like he did because it was expected of a Slytherin pureblood. His parents had no patience for it, having suffered for it during the Second Wizarding War. He felt cold at Petal's tone. It wasn't dismissive or condensing or even smug. He didn't know what it was, but he didn't want to hear it again.

Kai turned and walked away, heading back to other third-years he was studying with. Jen eyed him but he smiled at her.

"Forbidden spells, huh?"

Everyone in the Common Room flinched or jumped. Scorpius's book, perilously perched on his lap, fell and crashed on the ground. The sound made the Slytherins jump again. Petal frowned as she raised her head.

Regan was at the entrance. Scorpius stared at her. How had she gotten in? The wall hadn't even opened! That had happened last time to.

"Regan," Griffin sighed.

She smiled at him, vanishing from where she was and appearing behind him. Everyone kept staring a. Scorpius made no motion towards his book.

"It's not apparition," she promised, "we vampires have all sorts of abilities since we're not muzzled by a wand."

Petal looked back down, giving a wry smile. She knew how Regan felt. Who would have thought she'd have something in common with a vampire?

Seeing everyone looking at her, Regan blinked. "I won't tell anyone about the Torture Curse. It's a human matter, no concern of mine."

She looked past Griffin's shoulder at his book, leaning forward. Her action placed her teeth near his throat. Griffin's friends stared but he paid no mind to it.

"Potions, huh?" She mused.

"I have a test coming up," Griffin smiled, "not a vampire's specialty."

"Not in the slightest," Regan agreed with a pleasant smile.

Griffin smiled. "Let me study?"

"Sure," Regan straightened, silken black hair shifting with her movements. "I'm just curious about humans. I've been exploring the other House's dorms. I saved Slytherin for last."

"I don't suppose you overheard any of their passwords like say, Gryffindor's?" Kai asked.

"No," she replied with a smile.

"Too bad," Kai sighed.

There were a few smiles.

"You really are underwater," Regan smiled, turning in place. She approached one of the windows, walking to it normally. "Neat."

Scorpius lowered his eyes and picked up his textbook. Some of the pages were crinkled. He smoothed them and returned to the page he had been reading. Kai watched Regan, eyes glued to her form. There was quite a bit the leather didn't cover. One of Jen's eyebrows twitched and she kicked his shin under the table. He jumped in his chair, knee banging the table. He cringed, biting back a sound of pain. Jen looked to her book with a huff. Kai glared at her but she didn't raise her head.

Regan looked over her shoulder at them. "Can I see the rooms?"

There was a moment's pause before Jen stood. "You can look at the 3rd Year girls. No one there will mind."

There was no point in denying her since she could seemingly go through walls. She picked up her book, shooting another glare at Kai as she walked to her door. Kai ducked to avoid the book swinging through the air as she turned. His housemates snickered, entirely unsympathetic.

Regan followed Jen as the Slytherin turned the doorknob and opened the door. They came into a rounded area with five beds lining the walls. The four-poster beds were made of dark wood with thick velvet curtains and silver lamps with white light hung from the ceilings. A large green circular carpet took up much of the center area.

Only one of the five beds was occupied, the occupant lying on her stomach reading her textbook. She looked up.

"Hi, you're Regan, aren't you?" She smiled.

Regan nodded. "And you're Kiera. I've heard from the other houses you know everything that goes on around here."

Keira sat up. "I'm honored. I imagine a vampire would be wonderful at collecting information. Can you really enter shadows and walk through walls?"

"Each vampire has slightly different abilities," Regan admitted, "some can do that."

Keira smiled. "That is so cool."

Regan smiled back. It was nice, different from the response she got when she entered the common room. The humans her kin kept in Tír na nÓg hardly considered them cool. Her people were barred from hunting humans, but if it was blood taken by humans held prisoner beneath their city it technically wasn't hunting.

"Actually," Regan added, "there's something I want to ask you about Keira, since you seem to be the master of information here."

"Oh?" Keira smiled. "Shoot."

"It's about Malfoy." Regan said. "I've heard quite a few rumors about him."

Regan had a pretty good grasp of the situation and atmosphere at Hogwarts, which would be critical. No doubt the Arclights were going to cause trouble and she needed to tell how things were so she would notice when things changed. Scorpius was part of the first-years Petal had befriended, and the only one of the clique she still didn't fully understand. The rumors were too interesting.

"Something about his father," Regan continued.

Their heartbeats quickened when she said that.

"He's not really Voldemort's son, is he?" Regan asked.

Jen was a little taken aback to hear her use the Dark Lord's name so casually, but Regan wasn't human so of course, she wouldn't care.

"It depends who you ask," Keira smiled crookedly. "You've heard rumors of it?"

Regan nodded.

Keira tilted her head as she thought about it. "The rumor is Scorpius is You-Know-Who's son, not Draco's. A year before he was born and several years after, Astoria didn't show herself. It goes that she used a time-turner to conceive with the Dark Lord. She hadn't had a child for a long time and she had been saying she couldn't conceive, so the sudden appearance of Scorpius invited rumors."

"The other houses mentioned it when I asked," Regan told her. "I suppose it doesn't matter to you as much since Voldemort wasn't some grand demon to be feared."

"That's generalizing," Keira accused her. "I don't care about him at all. I'd rather he stay dead – the peace is better. Although, I'm sure you can see why Scorpius is such a wallflower. The less interest paid to him, the less the rumors come up. He's been successful so far, and Petal's appearance helped. Everyone looked to her. Scorpius has been ignored because of her, which he appreciates."

"If that's the case, why is he sticking so close to her?" Regan didn't fully understand that.

"Why not?" Keira shrugged. "They get along well and she doesn't care about the Dark Lord or rumors. He's also using her fame to hide his own infamy. Or at least, I think that's what he's doing."

Regan nodded. That did make sense. If true, Scorpius could be compared to a cunning predator, hiding in plain sight.

"Of course," Keira continued, "I don't think he really is the Dark Lord's son."

"No?" Regan asked. "Why not?"

"In the Second Wizarding War, there was a battle in the Department of Ministries." Keira smiled. "The Ministries stock of time-turners was rendered useless."

"Useless?" Regan repeated.

"They weren't… destroyed per say," Keira agreed. "But when their shelf fell one of them was activated so they are all trapped in an endless loop of falling over, un-falling, and then re-falling. Since no one has been able to break the loop, they can't be used. Looking at it basically, Astoria didn't have a time-turner to use to go back in time. Nor has one ever been found on Malfoy property. However, there could always be an unregistered one or a new one made.

"There's a real obvious flaw in their argument as well," Keira continued. "They say Astoria was unable to conceive, which is why she went back in time to conceive a child with the Dark Lord. If she really couldn't conceive, it would have been a failure anyway."

Regan smiled. "Common sense wins."

"That argument's been turned on its head as well though," Keira continued, "by saying it was Draco who was unable to conceive a child, and Astoria simply needed a different lover."

Keira looked at Jen.

"Don't look at me," Jen warned her. "It makes sense. I don't know what I'd think about Him having an heir after all, but I don't think Scorpius is his son."

"You to?" Regan glanced between them. "Don't tell me the reason it's not discussed in Slytherin because no one believes them? You'd think they'd be most believed here. If Scorpius is Voldemort's son, there is an heir to the Death Eaters, to Salazar Slytherin."

"And Keira said don't generalize," Jen warned the mixed-blood. "The Dark Lord was the most powerful being, but he was ruthless, even to his own soldiers. Those who believed in blood purity would rather carry out their goal with a different leader."

"Tom Riddle had dark hair and eyes," Keira added.

Regan turned to her.

"So does Astoria," Keira continued, "so why does Scorpius have blonde hair and grey eyes, the dominant traits of the Malfoy family? Of course his father is Draco. Muggles are annoying in many regards, but they know a great deal about genetics. The traits for white-blonde hair and grey eyes are recessive. How could he get them if neither of his parents had them?"

"I'm surprised to hear a pureblood quote muggle biology," Regan smirked.

Keira shrugged. "It's true."

"Besides," Jen added, leaning against the bed's frame. "There's no way he's the Dark Lord's son. I'm sure you've noticed, but he has no bloodlust."

"No," Regan smiled, "he doesn't."

She supposed that, more than anything, was telling. This was remarkable. The one house she thought would be the most focused on Scorpius's heritage completely ignored it. All attention the stigma would normally put on him went to Petal's unexpected enrollment, this totally unapologetic, confident, gifted, tactical young girl from a place no one had heard of, growing up in an environment – the Arclight Magical Beast Reserve – others could only dream of, independent of normal laws of wizarding society. Things would have turned out differently if Petal hadn't enrolled. Regan wished she hadn't. It was better if the Arclights were hiding.

"So only the other three houses are interested in rumors," Regan smiled, setting aside the worry before the humans could notice. "Taboo things are the most intriguing."

"Pretty much," Keira sighed, "and they're afraid to say anything about it to Scorpius because that would mean saying it aloud. Cowards."

This was a different dynamic then she expected. That was one reason she was so curious about humans. They were so unique. Vampires were also individuals, but they were much more united and unified.

"Especially given the shape his mother's in," Keira sighed.

Regan glanced at her. "Huh?"

"She's dying, a blood malediction," Keira informed her, "which is probably why they waited so long to have a child and why Scorpius has no siblings. His birth must have weakened her greatly, hence the seclusion. I was surprised when my mother told me of it."

"Blood malediction," Regan was taken aback.

"Someone cursed one of her ancestors," Keira shrugged. "It resurfaced in her."

"That's an old form of vengeance," Regan mused. "They're difficult to do. Her ancestor must have done something pretty bad to warrant one of those, especially to make it inheritable."

Keira looked at her flatly. "You don't happen to know anything about a blood malediction, would you vampire?"

Regan looked pointedly up to the ceiling, hands clasped behind her back, yet still managing to look unabashed. "You wizards learned it from us long ago. You've become very proficient with it since then."

Keira and Jen looked at each other, Jen shaking her head.

"Petal doesn't even know what forbidden means," Jen mused. "She was just in the Common Room teaching the others how to use the Torture Curse."

Keira's jaw dropped. "You're joking."

"No," Jen promised, "I'm not."

Keira clapped a hand over her face.

Regan smiled wryly. Slytherin was definitely the most interesting of the four Houses.

They really are, aren't they? I'm biased. If you've read some of my other stories you know I love the bad guy. They're just more fun.