A man stood in the kitchen speaking his mother and father. He was an imposing figure, tall and lean with dark wavy hair that fell past his ears which were pointed. His handsomely angular with a trimmed beard and mustache. He also wore silver earrings.

He wore a dark cloak over a burgundy vest and button-up. It was a lot of clothing to be wearing in the summer but he seemed perfectly comfortable. Ron noticed he carried something in his arms, a black little puppy.

The man's eyes shifted to him and he got a look at his yellow eyes. The man smiled "ah, this is Ronald then?" he asked.

"Oh yes," Mum said and went to bring Ron forward "Ron, this is your Mentor Donovon Grey. He works for the vampire council" she said.

"It's very nice to meet you, young man, I look forward to getting to know you," he said with a grin that surprisingly made him personable. He offered his hand and Ron took it, he was cold.

"Er hello," Ron said remembering his manners, he glanced at the puppy that was cradled in the man's other arm. It was black with white fur on it's back and it had floppy ears.

"Cute little one, isn't she?" Mr. Grey said.

"Yeah," Ron nodded, he'd always wanted a dog but could never afford one.

"I hoped you were one to enjoy canines as I enjoy them myself," Mr. Grey said, he held out the pup. The pup lazily blinked it's eyes open and Ron melted taking the puppy.

It wagged it's tail melting his arms "she's really cute" Ron said.

"I'm glad you think so, how about you make her your familiar?" Mr. Grey asked and Ron gaped at him.

"Really?" Ron asked.

"Of course, I brought her for that reason. It's part of our tradition" Mr. Grey explained.

"Wait a moment" Charlie leaned to look at the puppy in Ron's arms "is that a Magnum wolf pup?" he asked, looking so happy he could jump up and down any minute.

"That's right, wolves are a preferred vampire companion. Akin to owls and cats for wizards. Although I figured since my son's Magnus Wolf had her pups a few months ago, this was a perfect opportunity" Mr. Grey explained.

"What's the difference?" Hermione asked coming up to Ron to pet the wolf pup.

"Magnum, or Magnus for a female wolf, are very large wolves that the magical community keeps from muggles for their protection. A typical height for a large regular wolf is about waist height but Magnum wolves at full height are shoulder height on a tall human" Charlie explained.

"They are excellent transportation in snow especially" Mr. Grey explained.

"Wow," Ron said looking down at the puppy, she's didn't look like much but if she got that big. "How am I gonna feed her," he asked.

Mr. Grey chuckled "don't worry about that, they take care of themselves. They hunt and they are very good at making sure they aren't seen" Mr. Grey said. "Although for now, I'm fine supplying the food in her time as a pup."

Ron nodded, grinning at the thought of having something that could actually be affectionate with him. The puppy in his arms wagged her tail and tried to lick his chin.

"Well, now that I've bribed you properly I wanted to meet to talk about scheduling your time with me and classes. I don't want to cut into your social time with your friends either," he explained.

"Then we'll go talk over in the sitting room," Mum said.

"Of course," Mr. Grey said then nodding to his parents "lead the way."

"Uh hang on" they all stopped "I've been starving since I woke up," he said.

"Ah, well we can't have that" Mr. Grey pulled out a package which he handed him "that should satisfy you until you can eat after all this,"

"Then let's go" Dad said.

Ron followed his parents and Mr. Grey wasn't far behind. Ron sat with the puppy on his lap, it closed its eyes then and slept. He opened the package and ate what looked like a candy, a gummy that tasted like blood. His head felt clearer and he was more awake.

His parents sat on either side while Mr. Grey sat across from them.

"Now Dumbledore has given me the liberty of seeing your class schedule," Mr. Grey said.

Ron nodded stroking the pups soft fur "yeah, we don't have a lot of time during weekdays and well I would have liked to try out for Quidditch this year" he said.

"Yes, my thoughts exactly but you have much more time than you would have if you were still human," Mr. Grey said.

"What do you mean?" Ron asked.

"Well humans need about 7 or 8 hours of sleep if I remember correctly" Mr. Grey considered.

"Yes, that's right" Dad nodded.

"Well, a vampire only needs 3 or 4 hours of rest. Through sleep or meditation. Despite that vampires can go out during the day and be perfectly fine under the sun with charms and such. They are still largely nocturnal."

"So you're saying he would have his sessions with you during the night?" Mum said.

"Yes, I would suggest he use his time after classes to socialize and do homework or Quidditch practices and such. In the time that most students are required to be in bed then we will have our lessons. Most likely by midnight until 3 am and then he sleeps to be up for classes the next day," Mr. Grey explained.

"Has Dumbledore agreed with this idea? Ron would need to have permission to be up at such an hour usually unthinkable for a student. And are you sure that's enough rest?" Mum asked.

"I have spoken with him and he's agreed to it. Ron would receive a night pass so long as he is with me. Trust me when I say most vampires don't need to sleep very much. There's a bit of puzzlement among vampires who haven't been human or not been in a long time. We wonder how do you ever get anything done when you sleep so much" Mr. Grey said.

Dad chuckled "well you've convinced me if Ron agrees," he said.

Ron considered it, it might kind of fun walking around the castle at night. He could see in the dark now, couldn't he? "Okay, sound good to me," he said.

"Excellent, could I have a word with Ron alone?" Mr. Grey asked.

"Yes, of course," Mum said and his parents both stood. They headed out and Ron brushed the ears of his pup back. She flicked them once.

"After speaking with Dumbledore and looking at your grades in the past I see that you are fairly mediocre. At the very least you aren't the bottom of your grade" Mr. Grey said.

"That's reserved for Crabbe and Goyle, dumb as a sack of rocks" Ron replied nodding.

"Indeed, well considering the level of intelligence that Dumbledore has told me you posses I don't see how you aren't getting better grades. Motivation perhaps but this won't stand, I'm a fair mentor but I am strict. Your teachers will see a change, you won't be competent you will exceptional," Mr. Grey explained.

Ron stared at the ground between them then looked up nervously. "But I struggle with everything. You can't help if I'm stupid."

Mr. Grey shook his head "stupid? Who on earth is the actual idiot who told you that? I don't have the desire to mentor stupid people. You are not stupid, Ron but you do need to focus more."

Ron sighed "okay I'll try harder," he said. No one had actually told him was stupid but he had felt it, from his teachers and sometimes from his friends. Hermione could make anyone feel stupid.

"Here, I want you to write your summer essays according to a format I'll give you. When you do your readings for the new year I also want you to take notes. I will be looking over your essays and notes, humor me and don't look at your friends work," Mr. Grey said and Ron wanted to groan.

Mr. Grey smiled as he took out a leather-bound book and handed it to Ron "This is a journal for your notes, write the subject at the top of the page and whatever you write on the other pages will organize by subject and date. Very useful, you can plan your essays on this" he said.

Ron took the book, it was weighty but not overly heavy. "Thanks," he said, it was a nice journal and he had given him a lot recently so he should do as he said.

"Ah, one more thing I think you'll find useful" he pulled it out his coat and held up a long silver chain with a pale blue, faintly glowing Chrystal on the end. "This is a Moon Chrystal which has the opposite effect under the sun. This will protect your skin and eyes during the day," he explained.

Ron reached out to take it. It felt warm in his hand "thanks, really," he said putting the chain over his ahead and letting it rest just under his chest. He'd been given so much, he wasn't sure how to take it.

"Of course, I look forward to getting to know you" he smiled.

Ron nodded then offered his hand to shake and Mr. Grey took it easily. "So, what do I call you anyway? Mr. Grey or Professor?" he asked.

Mr. Grey chuckled "you can call Donovan actually or Don is preferable. Mr. Grey is for my council underlings" he said standing as he released Ron's hand. Ron stood holding the pup who perked and began to wriggle. Ron set her down and she wagged her tail walking around him.

"Sure," Ron said following Mr. Grey out, marveling that he was so much taller than him. He had to be almost a meter taller than him and strong too.

"Great, I'll around in a week. I've agreed to be part of the guard back to Hogwarts" Donovan explained.

"Guard?" Ron asked.

"Oh, that's right, you haven't heard. Well, Sirius Black has escaped from Azkaban" he said and Ron stared in surprise "yes, I'm sure your friends will fill you in. Unfortunately, I'm to speak at court on your behalf soon. Don't worry about a thing. There's a reason I want you to be the best you can be and that's because we vampires teach there's no such thing as a mediocre vampire," Don grinned.

Ron wasn't sure how to respond exactly so he just nodded. "Well in the meantime, get your work done not at the last minute and do your best this time. You may end up a little overwhelmed with your new senses sometimes but if that happens try to give yourself a minute to be alone and focus" he added.

"Okay," Ron said, he didn't seem to have any issues yet but maybe that was still to come. He hoped not.

"Right, well goodbye and will see you in a little while," he said then headed out. Ron looked down at the little pup who had raised her leg to scratch her ear. "Well, what do you think? What should I name you?" he asked.

She just looked at him with gigantic blue eyes and he scratched behind her ears. As he walked to the kitchen, she followed behind him. Everyone has dispersed eventually which left Harry and Hermione sitting at the table while his mother cleaned up.

"Here" Mum set a jar in front of him with a straw tired there with twine "Mr. Grey dropped off about 8 of those jars all with cooling charms on them except this one. He says it's best if they are warm before drinking" she said.

Ron stared at it, that's when it finally hit him that he was a vampire, he wasn't normal anymore. He needed to have blood to live, he reached out and opened the jar. A thick salty aroma reached his nose and he felt something on his teeth. He brought his hand to his mouth.

Harry leaned in with a fascinated look on his face "your teeth are growing" he said.

Ron gave him a look "yeah no kidding" he said, touching a finger to his tooth and jumped when it pricked him. He stared at his finger which bled a little then sealed quickly.

"Their retractable" Hermione added, looking with equal interest.

Ron shrugged then put the straw into the blood and sipped. Once he started, it was difficult to stop and he was hungry so he didn't pause until he'd drained the jar.

He looked at Harry and Hermione after he finished "alright, so tell me about what I missed while I was... well you know" he said setting the empty jar aside.

Notes:

I created Donovan's character with the intention of giving Ron someone in his corner always. Ron doesn't always get that even with his own friends. Someone on his side, that has just you in mind can change someone's character a lot. Don is imperative for Ron's character evolution.

Thought I'd drop some songs I was listening to while writing this:
Stronger - The Score
Pretender (acoustic) - AJR