Fangirlfriend2 - I assume you're referring to Insomnia, but Vlad doesn't need those dreams - he already knows he's the Chosen One, it just hasn't been all that relevant in the magical world yet. It will be!

As for Ingrid burning in the sun, that doesn't actually happen until the day of her birthday, it doesn't take place before then. WRT to Magda and Zoltan... Magda has very little place in this to be honest, purely because majority-wise this takes place in the magical world, not the Young Dracula-verse. Same goes for Zoltan, he's not integral to the storyline and I don't see the point in overdoing it with characters who don't serve the story any. As for the lack of Young Dracula fanfiction? I agree! There's some over on Archive Of Our Own, but that's the only other place I know of.

Vampireharry the 2 - I'm glad you enjoy!

Apologies for the late update! My internet died on me for several days. Should be fixed now. I have limited expectations of the truth of the matter, but we'll see.

-YDHP-

Three weeks after Valentines day, Harry and Susan showed no signs of stopping all the things he wished they wouldn't do in front of him. Or ever, really. Like holding hands and looking at each other and sitting next to each other at dinner (Vlad had taken to sitting at Slytherin with Ingrid and/or Theo, who would quietly talk about Arithmancy or Runes and nothing personal), and Susan had this annoying habit of kissing Harry on the cheek and winning a smile from him. Vlad would give anything to be able to do that.

He would mind a whole lot less (ok, a little because he would probably mind a great deal anyway) if it weren't obvious Harry was reconsidering how physically close he and Vlad were outside of usual friendship - they still hugged, but Harry didn't fall asleep on Vlad's bed after nightmares, and always looked a little surprised whenever Vlad would grip and squeeze his wrist the way he had always done to comfort him. Now even if they did break up, Harry had changed views on how physical he should be toward Vlad, and Vlad hated it.

They paired up in Herbology, and Charms and then even Transfiguration. With Dean and Seamus basically two halves of one entity, and Draco and Hermione still glued at the hip, Vlad was left to pair with Neville - he didn't mind that, Neville was more than competent (mostly, he was still clumsy but Vlad didn't hold that against him), but even Neville brought up how 'cute' Harry and Susan were over the Venomous Tentacula they were trimming, and it was wearing on Vlad's nerves.

Hermione knew Vlad must be agonising, twisting, already aware of his mate problem, but she accepted Vlad saying he really didn't want to talk about it, kissed his forehead and promised she would always be available should he change his mind. Most of his now very free time was spent either with Ingrid, studying in the Library or Bertrand's quarters, or with the Weasley twins and first years, who were either oblivious to romance or too busy planning pranks.

"Cheer up, it may not last?"

Vlad looked up from where he had felt safely alone, sat out in the still bitingly cold outside grounds, finding Hermione holding out a thermos he could smell contained hot chocolate and wearing a sad smile. He took it, if only to warm his numb hands that had been clutching a book. It was for show, he had re-read a paragraph six times without absorbing a word of it.

"I wish I didn't agree. I shouldn't want him to be sad about a breakup, but I'm also kind of exhausted watching them."

"Normally, I would think that was selfish, but I know you ultimately just want him to be happy."

"More than anything."

He took a long swallow of the hot chocolate, hints of mint flavour washing over his tongue and winding down his throat. He passed it back and Hermione followed suit, looking at the book he was reading - one of the animagus books.

"So, are you any closer to working out how we do this?"

"I think I've got the basic idea, yes. Harry will be thrilled, the first step is a mix of potion and meditation."

"Then what?"

"The first two things help you find your 'form'. Then you have to learn how to transform, which can be hugely difficult. Obviously. I'll need your help on this bit, the restorative draught."

Hermione scanned the list, finding 'mandrake leaves' and nodding - she understood his allergy. He wouldn't tell Harry they had the idea yet, not until they had a batch of restorative draught to put him back if something went wrong.

"Wow. So, how should we do this?"

"You could use the Chamber bathroom. It'll only take a couple of days to brew the restorative, and I think it should keep for long enough to go until summer at least. Mandrake leaves aren't easy to come by, but everything else we have in our extra Potions kits. So, you get started and I'll find the leaves?"

"I don't want to know. I'll start tomorrow, first let's make copies of the recipes?"

Vlad nodded, pulling parchment and self-inking quills from his pocket so he and Hermione could both scribble down the recipes - he had been slowly returning the books to Malfoy library to reduce the chance of getting caught with half a bookcase in his bedside table.

"I'm excited! I know this isn't going to happen overnight, and its illegal and all that, but I'm still excited."

"Who are you, and what have you done with Hermione Granger?"

Hermione beamed, squeezed him with one arm around his shoulders and bounced up, tucking the copied recipes into the inside of her coat. Vlad found her good mood infectious, at least until they spotted a couple walking around to the owlery. It could have been anyone, except that little spark in his chest that always knew when he could see his mate, even in the distance.

"She doesn't even know him. She looks at him weird when he eats loads of meat, how would she cope knowing he speaks to snakes? That he's got a pet basilisk?"

He wasn't mad - he had checked they were still way out of hearing range of anybody else before he spoke.

"I don't know Vlad. I realise I'm hardly one to talk, but it's pretty rare that the first person you ever date is the "one and only" deal. Most people don't have something ticking inside them to say that's absolutely the one. Maybe she'll accept him for who he is and what he can do. Maybe she won't. Either way, you're going to be his friend like you always have been, right?"

Hermione gave him that look, the one none of them dared argue with. It usually only came out over homework, but sometimes when she was making Vlad sort his head out or telling him off for trying to put off using painkillers when his scar hurt. The only female more scary than Hermione was Ingrid, which was saying something when one was a Dracula.

"Right. So. Library? Since we now need to find a book on 'Meditation for Endless Fidgets" because Harry Potter can not sit still. Bertrand was always complaining he struggled to meditate."

She took the change in topic - Vlad's pained staring at Harry and Susan finally being broken as she stepped in front of him to break his eyeline - and nodded, grabbing his wrist and dragging him along in the direction of their school. Mr Filch glared angrily at them for coming in from outside. Vlad would have minded less if their shoes were dirty, which they weren't.

They made it to the Library quickly, folding up their cloaks into Vlad's bag and carefully hanging jacket and coat over the backs of their chairs. Vlad was already accomplished in meditation, though not as guided as this would require Harry and Hermione to achieve. There were a few books on Yoga, Chakras and the like, which Hermione swore was a good place to start.

"You two are always in here. Searching for the strangest things! What are you up to?"

Madam Pince eyed them both very suspiciously, and Vlad merely shrugged.

"Ask any of our teachers, we're the top of pretty much every class. We study a lot, and we both like extracurricular activities and reading. It's a library."

Hermione stared down the librarian, who looked mildly scandalized by her words but huffed and turned to berate a first year who's ink pot was too close to the book they were copying. He flicked through the books, grimacing at some of the ideas about life and death that wouldn't apply to him, and certain his eyes were impossibly wide at the bizarre positions some of the humans twisted themselves in to. Vampires didn't do contortion, just turned into bats... Maybe he couldn't judge too much.

"Not sure anything but a powerful sedative would get Harry to actually stay still."

"Mmm. True. Still, we can say we tried."

Sharing a chuckle, they detoured to drop the thermos back to the kitchens, somehow leaving with a mountain of biscuits in spite of it being dinner only an hour or so later. If Vlad didn't know better, he would suspect the elves were trying to fatten them up.

"I'll get my spare cauldron and ingredients to the bathroom while you have Healing tomorrow, and source the leaves. It will all be waiting for you when you can get there."

"Works for me. I better find my boyfriend before he thinks we've run off together on a romantic adventure."

They were cutting through a secret passage to the seventh floor, intending to change into comfortable attire for dinner and homework later on.

"You could always tell him I'm super gay for Harry Potter."

"Well, Harry doesn't know, so no I can't."

He forgot Hermione knew the specifics, even without him telling her the minutiae. They shared a sad sort of smile, then Vlad ducked out first to check the coast was clear before he herded Hermione out, entering the common room together and his heart leapt in his chest at the sight of Harry - free of his Hufflepuff girlfriend for once. He barely even noticed the Weasley twins either side of him, taking in the sight of just Harry, which he only really got to see in Gryffindor Tower now.

"How do I look?"

Vlad didn't look up from where he was rummaging through his trunk to check his extra ingredients kit, unsure what Seamus was wearing but responding with a deadpan answer anyway.

"Like a troll in drag."

"Perfect!"

That got his attention enough, looking up to find Seamus wearing the most ridiculous ensemble. He didn't know where to start, with the lurid green and orange wig, sparkly silver shoes and pale purple robes.

"Seamus. Why are you dressed like Dumbledores wardrobe threw up on you?"

"Ingrid told me to. Said I'd look awesome. I do, don't I?"

Looking closer, he could see the slightly glazed look of short term hypnosis - with practice, and occasionally luck, they could pull it off without leaving a trace, but Vlad expected she had done this to Seamus for a passing moments amusement, rather than any serious intent.

"If you say so. Might want to rethink the earrings. "

He had what looked like butterbeer corks dangling from his ears. Vlad didn't think he had his ears pierced before, hoping the jewellery was clip on and Ingrid hadn't actually convinced the poor boy to ram sharp implements through each ear lobe. Shaking his head, and satisfied he had everything but mandrake leaves for the potion, he had to see how this turned out.

Waiting a half-minute to follow Seamus down, half the common room was in hysterics, the rest either aghast or perplexed by Seamus parading around in that monstrosity of an outfit.

"Did you put him up to that, Dracula?"

"Nope. I found him like this, I swear!"

"He told me I look like a troll in drag. Isn't that nice?"

Seamus floated on, several of the Gryffindor students either noting it was nearly dinner time, or dying to watch Seamus enter the Great Hall dressed like that following. There was a general hum of conversation already in the barely half full hall, but it stopped dead silent as everyone noticed the hideous brightness.

Completely oblivious thanks to the wonders of hypnotism, Seamus sat down and began serving himself dinner. Vlad was beginning to wonder where Dean Thomas was in all this, and suddenly regretted wondering such a thing when the boy came bouncing in to the dining hall. Wearing a tutu, pink socks and gloves, even delicate little ballet shoes and a bright pink headband.

Ingrid must have been really bored.

He too sat down like nothing was amiss, politely asking someone to pass the potatoes while the majority of the professors eyed the Gryffindor table in bemused exasperation. They probably wouldn't have bat an eyelid if it had been Fred and George dressed so oddly, but it was a little more unexpected from Seamus and Dean he supposed.

Unable to stop himself from chuckling lightly throughout the meal, especially when Dean complimented Seamus' wig and Seamus complimented Dean's shoes, Vlad took pity on them by the time it was pudding and snapped his fingers, careful to make it look absentminded by doing it a few times and looking deep in thought about absolutely nothing.

"Seamus mate, what are you wearing?"

"You're one to talk! Is that glitter on your skirt?"

The two realised the things they both had on, jumping up and running out of the Great Hall. Which meant Vlad no longer had any distraction from Harry and Susan sat together, feeling his stomach turn and pushing away the treacle tart in front of him before he vomited on it. As soon as it was less suspicious, he left too.

Seamus and Dean were both back in normal clothes and muttering to themselves about how they didn't remember getting into those clothes - more evidence of hypnosis - when Vlad got to the dorm, his charmed journal going off a few minutes later.

"Spoil sport."

"Their reactions were the best part!"

It took several minutes for Ingrid to compose a reply, during which time Vlad managed to cheer his friends up with an obscene amount of biscuits to make up for their missing pudding at dinner. He was buried in Arithmancy homework when Draco, Harry and Neville made it back to the dorm, snickering at the two boys Ingrid had tormented but falling silent at a glare.

"Merlin, I haven't even started my Defence essay!"

"Seriously? We got it Monday, you literally have until tomorrow morning to write twelve inches of parchment on how to detect bitten werewolves outside of the full moon, with emphasis on the difference between them and born werewolves."

Seamus scrambled for his books, spreading out across half the floor in his panic. That was one of those essays Vlad was sure he could have done with his eyes closed, having grown up knowing about all the things in the dark most children were taught to fear, and he was taught to revere. Except werewolves. His dad hated werewolves. Unsurprising, given their mother leaving him for one he supposed, but he really hoped his dad never heard Vlad had one for a teacher. He would probably burn down Hogwarts on principle.

Armed with two pairs of dragonskin gloves, Vlad swallowed thickly as he trudged down to the Herbology greenhouse during his free period. Professor Sprout was free this period too - Vlad had checked in advance, thanks to Bertrand's handy access to a teachers timetable - and smiled warmly at him as he peered into the greenhouse she was tending to a Snappodil in.

The large yellow petals looked perfectly harmless, until one got too close and then tiny razorsharp teeth descended, and it closed up tight with a loud 'snap!' motion. They grew wild commonly in any magical garden, and could cause nasty injuries if one didn't know how to be careful - hence their place on the Hogwarts syllabus.

"And what can I do for you, young Vladimir?"

He felt tremendously guilty for what he was about to do, because Professor Sprout had barely even acknowledged his vampirism other than to always conveniently assign him somewhere safe when they were growing Mandrakes or learning about Transylvanian Wolfsbane - something else he was allergic to. Still, when it came to keeping Harry safe, Vlad could endure any crisis of conscience.

"I need Mandrake leaves. For a... salad."

Focused more on his hypnosis holding than what he was offering as reasoning, Vlad sagged internally with relief when she smiled indulgently, nodded and led him to the store room. Even through both sets of gloves, his skin knew these leaves were toxic to him and prickled unhappily. Transferring them to a bag, then shoving them inside his robes quickly, Vlad added a "remember nothing" to his hypnosis, then clicked his fingers.

"Ah, Vladimir! What can I do for you my boy?"

Again relieved she had forgotten, Vlad thought on his feet quickly

"Oh, I came to ask for the list of Sixth Year Herbology studies? Ingrid asked me to find out if she's absolutely going to have to drop the subject, because she doesn't like 'research' as much as me."

"I see. Follow me."

Already itching to get out of her humid, allergen-ridden store room, Vlad followed the squat woman happily to the office hidden behind a glass door covered in overgrown vines.

"Ah. Here it is, the standard Sixth Year plant list. Here you are, you may as well take the Fourth Year one too, find out if you'll have any troubles yourself next year, as you seem to be able to find out better even than me. Don't be sharing that with the other students mind you, it wouldn't be seemly for me to offer preferential treatment."

"Of course. Thank you Professor."

He scrambled out of the greenhouse as fast as he could without his behavior seeming suspect. It was lucky Ingrid did want to continue Herbology next year - she was into Potions, it made sense even if she abhorred getting her perfectly filed and polished nails the slightest bit dirty. A cursory inspection didn't throw up any serious red flags, but he would have to investigate each one anyway, especially as Sprout would want to know whether he had found anything.

Like he didn't have enough to do already.

Dating was... strange. Susan seemed to vary between hanging on his every word and talking over him, and kissed his cheek so frequently he wondered if she was doing some kind of invisible 'girl territory' marking he wasn't privy to. He smiled when she did it, because it was sweet and made his stomach feel kind of funny, though he still wasn't sure it was a pleasant feeling he imagined it was what other people called "butterflies", which were apparently a good thing.

He was nervous quite a lot of the time too - Susan always apologised for the slight, but anti-Slytherin comments still slipped through. Harry found himself shredding napkins into tiny pieces beneath the table whenever she had brought it up, standing to dislodge a confetti of wasted paper from his knees. Was it madness to expect her to accept who he was, what he was.

True heir of Slytherin. Powered by Basilisk venom. Controller of said basilisk. Parselmouth.

It irked him that he thought it, but he wished being with her was as easy as being around Vlad. Virtually nothing shook the boy vampire. But he knew they were two very different things, different people. Vlad wasn't his girlfriend, and Susan wasn't his best friend.

Which is why he had been making the effort to stop blurring the lines so much, not wanting anyone else to wonder whether he and Vlad were just friends. Vlad didn't really seem to react much either way, other than to look hurt for the milliseconds it took before the guard in his eyes came down, whenever Harry realised just how physically, casually familiar they were. In a way they weren't with anyone else.

It was different to how Vlad was with Ingrid, Fred and George with Ginny, even how he and Draco were, with their brother-level friendship - the two were very much close, but there was something different with Vlad. Infinitesimal, but different. It was probably the multitude of near death experiences they had shared, or the fact neither were entirely human. Or that Vlad understood what it was like to be "different", accepted Harry without reservation no matter what.

It made his head spin, so he stopped thinking about it. And started taking dreamless sleep more often, to lessen the likelihood he would seek Vlad in the night. It worked overall - he certainly hadn't crawled into Vlad's bed all sweaty and scared since before Valentines day.

Lily was annoyed with him too - he hadn't dared risk carrying her about with him since Valentines day, when he normally took her out to enjoy the myriad of scents of Hogwarts at least one day a week. Susan didn't know he was a Parselmouth, and if Lily popped her snout out of the special carry bag (she still fit in his pocket, but only just now as she grew), he probably wouldn't be able to stop himself slipping into hisses.

"Wizard, why do you waste much time with the witch?"

"Susan is my girlfriend Lily, that's how it works."

"Surely I and the curly females should be plentiful company. On top of which, the female snake is your companion too, is she not?"

"Ingrid? Yeah, we're friends, but that's different to a girlfriend. You're still my favourite girl Lily."

She turned her scaly head away, but he caught the satisfied hiss when he rubbed his finger over the green stripe at the top of her head.

"Does she fear reptiles? Or are you disenchanted with the idea of revealing you can converse with our species?"

He couldn't lie to Lily, not when she looked at him like that, beady and knowing. Besides, who could she tell? He was the only parselmouth since Riddle. She could tell Phantom, he supposed, but she couldn't tell anyone either.

"She may well fear you, but yes, I'm scared. Scared that this big huge Slytherin trait inside me will put her off me."

Lily looped around his wrist, stretching completely along the length of his forearm to flick her tongue against his Basilisk-bite-scar. It was an uncomfortable reminder that he wasn't normal, even after having a heart to heart with a snake.

"What is it those breather women say in those awful books the young girls read? If she does not accept you for you, then they are the incorrect human with which to aim your affections."

"I thought you didn't care for such things as romance."

Lily looked affronted - at least as affronted as a snake could possibly look, and twisted her scaly self back to face Harry, swatting him with her tail a little bit in exasperation and affection.

"I do not. The furball is popular amongst the young ones, and complains about the drivel they read to me. However, I do have to consider myself in this equation. You must attach yourself with someone who feeds me in your absence, for example."

"You can feed yourself Lily."

"That is entirely beside the point. I could waste away while you were off galavanting with some witch who cares not for my wellbeing."

He had forgotten just how overdramatic his familiar could be, unable to suppress a fond smile as she swayed slightly, most of her balance-action tail section wrapped around his wrist. She gave him a disapproving hiss, but he knew in a roundabout way she was right. They were bonded together, Lily was his and according to Hermione (who was always right), she couldn't bind to anyone else now she had picked him. If Susan couldn't deal with Lily, with Harry's tendency to hiss, he was going through much of this for no reason. Other than to pretend he was normal.

"I'll try to work out how to tell her, promise. If I do introduce you to her, do you promise to be nice?"

"I am always exceptionally well behaved."

"Right. Keep your snout to yourself or you'll stay in that tank you scaly pest."

Lily made a sound that wasn't quite a word, more a grunt of annoyance, though it was softened by her winding tightly around his forearm and going to sleep. He wasn't going anywhere fast... except he did have plans with Susan.

Again. His mind unhelpfully added, as though his subconscious wanted to remind him he spent nearly all his time with her, and half the time it was almost-awkward silence. She was easy to talk to, but there was a very finite amount of his life Harry could share with her, so he daren't risk initiating deep conversations. He couldn't even talk about school holiday plans anymore, as the Malfoy Manor residence he now took was supposed to be very secretive.

He felt guilty as he slowly worked Lily off his wrist, laying her in the warm spot on his bed so she wasn't suddenly bereft of his scent and body heat, though he expected her to notice he was gone regardless.

Taking off his glasses to rub at his eyes, he felt another spike of difference hit him. He didn't have to wear glasses around Vlad, but the glamoured glass that no longer corrected his vision was a permanent fixture around his girlfriend. Lest his pupils elongate again.

This was ridiculous. He had to stop comparing his human girlfriend to his vampire best friend. It was like comparing... Severus and Ingrid. Polar opposites. He wasn't dating Vlad, so it was unfair to them both to compare them - Vlad had no place kissing him, and Susan hadn't known him since the Hogwarts Express, not really. Not like Vlad and Hermione had.

Growling internally, he set his mind straight, shoved his glasses back on a little too roughly and tried, in vain, to flatten his wildly messy hair.

"Thought you had stood me up for a minute."

"I'm all the way up in Gryffindor Tower. And the staircases change."

He was lying through his teeth really, because he had cut through a passageway from seventh to third floor, and only walked down two floors to her, zero staircase shifting involved. Though he was in Gryffindor Tower before that. That wasn't a lie.

"So, where to?"

He thought for a moment, then decided on the spot.

"Let's go down to see Hagrid. He's awesome."

Susan didn't look instantly thrilled, but she took his hand - where it had hung loosely at his side, he was never sure how to initiate such things without seeming awkward - and they headed out of the main doors to cut across the field. Spring was beginning to edge in, a bright sunset lighting up the freshly budding leaves and plants.

"Ello 'Arry!" Hagrid boomed happily from where he was sat carving what looked like half a tree branch, Fang resting dopily at his feet "an... I don' know yer. Lemme guess, this be why I haven' seen ya lately 'Arry?"

Flushing lightly, Harry nodded and felt instantly guilty again. Was he neglecting everyone?

"Hagrid. This is Susan. My girlfriend. Susan, meet Hagrid."

Hagrid offered an enormous hand to Susan, shaking hers gently but still making the majority of her upper body rattle in place.

"Go on in, I'll jus' clear this up and I'll put a pot o' tea on."

Susan was quiet, small hands wrapped around the cavernous mug of tea and trying to edge away from Fang, who was rather insistently trying to sniff her.

"Get outta th'way ya dozy dog."

Fang huffed, but spotted the frisbee sized dog treat Hagrid held out and loped over to it, flopping in his outrageously patterned dog bed (Harry suspected Dumbledore) and drooling contently over the treat. Susan relaxed a little, but Harry was a little edgy - even Ingrid got on with Hagrid. Hell, even Bertrand and Severus had a tentative sort of friendship with the man - Bertrand promised not to eat his pets, and Severus happily took all the flobberworms he could get from Hagrid.

"I saw ye together on yer way to 'Ogsmeade, Valentines an' all tha'. Bin waitin' fer ye to introduce us."

Susan, suddenly shy, mumbled about being a Hufflepuff and her aunt working for the Ministry.

"Any relation ter Amelia Bones, the 'ead of Magical Law Enforcement?"

Susan nodded.

"She's my aunt. Why?"

"Think she visited me, when I were bein transferred ter Azkaban. Said it weren'... Doesn' matter. Nice lady. Fair."

Harry was avidly curious about the end of that story, but Hagrid clearly didn't want to talk about it. In front of Susan, at least. He hadn't thought of a totally different branch of conversation before the door opened, half a dozen first years practically falling through it. He recognised George, Jason and Bella from Gryffindor, fairly sure the others were Slytherin

"Hagrid! It's happening! Come quick!"

The huge man clambered up, following the group of first years out and Harry followed, eager to find out what all the fuss was about. The pre-teens were all grouped around a nest of blood-red eggs, which were ominously vibrating and emitting high pitched squeals. Having no clue what was about to hatch, Harry kept a wary distance, curiosity still making him crane his neck to see around Hagrid.

A fleshy pink appendage burst forth with a crack of eggshell as the first began to break, then all at once the whole nest shattered and revealed some rather... grotesque looking things. They were all pink-ish, wrinkly and Harry could not really distinguish a head or tail end - it didn't even have eyes he could see.

"Ew. What is that?"

Susan announced herself with a sound of disgust, shying away behind Harry as the things raised themselves on shaky, insubstantial looking limbs. The first years were all cooing excitedly, pointing out various strange appearances about the things.

"Blas' ended skrew'. They won' always look like tha', these are only babies."

"See!"

He was forcibly reminded of Hermione when George shoved a book in their faces, showing a full grown blast ended skrewt. They were monstrous in size, and apparently would grow to such size in under eighteen months. The adult, matured skrewt-things had armoured skin, thick and shell like and they were able to emit huge bursts of flames from their backsides. That explained the name he supposed. Even matured, they lacked many distinguishing features from front and back.

"They'll have wings! But can't really fly cus they'll be so heavy. That's pretty cool. I like thestrals better!"

"Who have you seen die?"

Harry looked between George and Susan, who had blurted the question out a little tactlessly, but George didn't seem too bothered.

"My grandma. She was really sick, but I got to make sure she didn't die alone. Which I think is pretty cool, even if it was really sad and my mum and dad wanted me to get therapy. I'm fine though, just means I can see them. They have wings too. And they can fly! Excuse me, I'm going to look at the skrewts some more."

She barely even stopped for breath, disappearing in a flurry of curly hair - again, forcibly reminding Harry of Hermione. George was like a more devious version of Hermione, now he thought about it. Always bossing her two male friends about, doing brilliantly in classes and usually with a book in hand. She was also mischievous, had almost as many detentions as her Weasley namesake and was so energetic it was tiring to witness at times. Then there was the food... Harry thought on his huge, meat-stacked meals and decided not to judge. Even if he didn't think jam and sausages went together.

"Do you know them?"

"George, thats Georgina but she hates it" it was habit to add that, as she reminded anyone who dared say Georgina even once "Bella and Jason are Gryffindor first years. The other identical one is Jacob, Slytherin. I think those two are other first year Slytherins too. I'm bad at remembering names. But they seem to be working to house unity, which I think is brilliant given the current climate."

Susan ahh-ed quietly, backing away when a little skrewt puttered over to them shakily, staggering as it learnt to walk.

"Are these what we'll be taking care of in Magical Creatures Hagrid?"

"Maybe. Gotta introduce 'em to th' seventh years firs', Ministry regulations and all tha'. Look at 'em, 'armless!"

Hagrid had said similar things about dragons and acromantula, so Harry took the description with a pinch of salt. Particularly when they started expelling puffs of smoke, singeing the grass behind them.

"Yer better be gettin' back, it's late!"

"Damn. Can we come visit them?"

"O' course!"

Harry volunteered to walk the first years back, realising he hadn't gotten that far into an actual visit with Hagrid between Susan's awkward silence and the avalanche of first years alerting Hagrid to imminent hatching.

The awkward silence continued between them, and Susan headed over to Hufflepuff table for dinner, claiming she missed her friends. He supposed it could be true. Shrugging inwardly, he dropped into a chair next to Draco, poking him with a turkey leg when he wouldn't stop kissing Hermione.

"Oi!"

"People are eating, save the PDA for somewhere more appropriate. Like Potions class."

"Yeah. Like that wouldn't get you killed and dissected for potion ingredients."

Hermione flushed lightly, but Draco elbowed him in the ribs jokingly and wiped the turkey juice from his face with than usual. Piling his own plate with lots of meat, then hearing a voice suspiciously like Vlad's in his head accusing him of an unbalanced diet, he added some potatoes, carrots and sweetcorn.

The increase in appetite and meat consumption was going somewhere at least, Harry noticed. He was still skinny, but less so than he used to be and finally growing in height. Only Vlad and Draco were taller than him, Vlad taller than Draco by a couple of inches. He had explained that - vampires reached their adult height by 16 more often than not, whereas most humans would grow until their twenties sometimes. So it made sense he was growing the quickest, being the only vampire in their dorm.

Realising he couldn't see said vampire, Harry glanced over at the Slytherin table. Sure enough, Vlad was sat with Ingrid, directing vegetables into his mouth in between a clearly in-depth discussion with Theodore Nott. They were both looking down at something on the table, and he sincerely hoped Vlad wasn't doing homework at dinnertime on a weekend.

Though he had told Harry he was close to having information ready for animagus stuff. He had somehow gotten Hermione involved. He didn't mind that so much, they were still a trio regardless of species and relationship status variations. If Vlad disappeared, Hermione would be his first port of call, the second person he would trust most with his life easily. The promise of learning to become an animagus, to do something his father had done, something that was zero to do with his Slytherin heritage... It made him giddy.

He just hoped it didn't turn out he was a snake animagus. He would be tempted to hex himself.

The next day, Susan was perfectly fine with him again, and Lily continued to hiss grumpily about Harry not introducing her and his 'human' to each other. She didn't really want to meet Susan, but she had obviously clocked on to the fact Harry would keep the two apart to keep his parselmouth a secret. He was lucky in that his dorm mates had never told anyone, even when they hadn't taken the revelation all that well.

Would he be that lucky with Susan? If she took it badly, would he have Ministry officials coming to question him for being a snake-whisperer? Would it be in the Daily Prophet within hours?

Twisting on his side to punch his pillow into submission, Harry sighed to himself. Why did his life have to be so damn complicated? He hadn't realised that wonderment had been aloud until Lily hissed sleepily in response.

"You would get bored if it wasn't."

-YDHP-

If my descriptions of skrewts are horrendously incorrect, sorry! I based the adult descriptions on the ones that try to eat you alive in the Goblet Of Fire game. Man I hate those things.