Chapter 8 – Introductions all round

Remus frowned and put his tea down as a knock on his door echoed around the room.

"Who in the world would be calling at this time of night?" he murmured to himself, glancing at the clock. He opened the door.

"Tom?" he asked incredulously. "What are you doing here? Did you know that it is half-past one in the morning? How did you get here in the first place? For that matter – Why are you here?"

Tom narrowed his hazel eyes. "My kits are here, I know what the time is, I apparated and I got a disturbing letter this evening from my little Princess about my young Prince and I intend to oversee this previously unforeseen problem personally. Now, I am exceedingly tired, so I will just show myself the room holding my kits. I will be awake for this breakfast I have learned of and then I will talk to Mione and her mate. I expect you to be in the room with Harry and his mate until I am finished with Mione. I will then talk with Harry's mate." He crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow in a move so Hermione that Remus felt – and fought - the desire to laugh.

'So that is where she learnt it,' Remus thought with a mental grin.

"I trust that you, Hermione and the Mutt will be able to keep Harry occupied during this time?"

Remus nodded and moved aside, allowing the Demon to enter his rooms. "I can promise that we will try. You know what he is like with those he classifies as his. It might be prudent for both you and Hermione to order him to stay with us."

Tom smirked. "Neither I nor Hermione will be telling him to sit and stay." He nodded once at the stunned lycanthrope and walked confidently into the room holding the two younger Demons, shutting the door behind him.

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Remus and Sirius waited outside Remus' rooms with slightly fearful hearts. They felt their hearts contract when they saw the two boys walking towards them. They heaved a sigh of relief when the dark, greased head of the Potions Master appeared behind the two boys. They had another person to try to keep their kitten occupied while Tom interrogated Draco.

"Do the two of you normally wait for guest outside your quarters?" Severus asked them with a raised eyebrow.

"We have a ... slight complication," Sirius muttered, keeping one eye on the door to Remus' rooms and the other on the boys.

"What type of complication?" Severus drawled wandering what could cause the two strong men before him to be nervous.

Remus and Sirius couldn't help their eyes flicking to first one boy, then the other.

The teens exchanged glances and sighed.

"Tom is here, isn't he?" Draco asked only slightly paler than normal.

The two ex-Gryffindors nodded.

"It had to happen sometime," Blaise said softly, looking at his vampiric friend.

"Yes, and I'm happy that it is sooner rather than later. I have a feeling that if he had arrived in a weeks' time, I would not take too kindly to a perceived threat to my right to my mate." He looked Remus in the eye. "Did he give you a timetable as to what is going to occur this morning?"

Once again Remus nodded.

"Breakfast first, and then he wants to talk to Hermione and Blaise – with me staying in the same room as you and Harry. Then he wants to talk to you ... Alone."

Draco nodded. "I was expecting so."

"Sirius, Hermione and I are to stop Harry from interrupting the two of you. We have also been warned that neither Tom nor Hermione will be telling Harry to stay away."

"A test," Draco sounded un-surprised.

He and Blaise exchanged looks once more. They had known that their interrogations would be different due to the differences in their nature. As one, they bowed to a shocked Remus and Sirius. "We understand and accept these terms. Do we have permission to enter?"

With a blink of the eye, Sirius and Remus turned and lead the way into the room. Before Draco could enter the room, he was stopped by a hand on his arm.

"So you mind explaining to me why you are so calm about this?" Severus asked his normally easily stressed godson.

"I realised something last night while conversing with Harry over our evening meal,' he started, eyes slightly unfocused as he remembered the moment.

Severus waited, absent-mindedly noticing his question had gained the attention of Remus, Sirius Blaise and a dark haired man he had never seen before. He noticed all of them were waiting for the answer to the question he was going to ask.

"What was it that you realised?"

Draco looked Severus in the eye. "I realised that Mr Riddle had taken to place of Harry's father – in both his eyes and in Harry's eyes. That got me thinking about something Harry and I discussed last night in a getting-to-know-you game we played. Both of us wish for a large family. All I had to do was think about what I will do when any of my future children bring home a boyfriend, girlfriend or mate to meet the rest of their family." He smiled softly, eyes going slightly unfocused once more.

"And even though this may be hard for you to understand at the moment since you haven't spent any time with him, but if it meant I could keep him happy and in my life, I would face this type of interrogation every day for the rest of my life. Harry is more than worth it."

Severus nodded thoughtfully and noticed that the unknown man pulled back into the room with an oddly thoughtful look on his face.

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Hermione took a sip of the tea before her while watching the dark-haired teen before her. Harry was making French toast – Tom's favourite breakfast – for everyone that morning, but she could tell that her brother's hands were shaking.

"What's the matter Sweetie? Aren't you happy to see Tom?"

Harry moved to the table to beat the egg, milk and spice mixture so he could talk with Hermione.

"I love seeing Tom again, Rinie. It's just," he sucked the corner of his bottom lip into his mouth and chewed it gently. "It's just that he's going to want to question Draco and he gets overprotective so I don't know how it is going to go. Tom and Draco are both dominants, meaning they will clash and I don't want that." He lowered his head as tears of frustration and fear trickled down his cheeks.

"How do I act around Draco now that Tom's here, Rinie? I want to treat him the same as I have every morning since I've been here – but what will Tom do to him if I do?"

He returned to the bench where he started soaking bread in the egg mixture.

Hermione watched him with a slight stab of guilt to her heart. She knew that it was her letter that bought Tom here almost a month earlier than he had planned. She went and wrapped her arms around her kit's waist, resting her chin on his shoulder, watching his movements but somehow not hindering them.

"Pretend that Tom isn't here, Sweetie," she whispered, "if your heart tells you to greet Draco the way you have been for the past two days, than do so. You have nothing to fear."

Harry smiled and snuggled slightly into his big sister. "Thank you Rinie."

Hermione smiled and pulled Harry closer to her and tickled the young man's sides, causing him to start giggling.

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Tom stood in the shadows, watching the way his kits interacted with the new comers. His eyes widened when he saw how his youngest pupil greeted his mate and he almost chocked when the blonde's hidden heritage revealed itself. He chuckled when Harry and Hermione were introduced to the dark-haired man and he blinked in surprise as Harry and Hermione started to speak.

"We have someone we want to introduce you to as well," Harry said shyly.

"Don't worry," Hermione assured their guests as they paled, "his bark is worse than his bite."

Harry's eyes twinkled with so much mischief that even Sirius took several steps backwards. "That is only in his human form though. In his animal form he doesn't bark and is quick to bite."

Hermione smirked. "Tom, you can stop hiding now."

Draco, Blaise and Severus gulped as a tall, dangerous-looking man stepped from the shadows.

"Good morning, Gentlemen," he purred, power in every word. "It is a pleasure to meet you."

Harry smiled up at the man as he laid a hand on his shoulder. "Breakfast is ready and waiting. I made French toast with maple syrup and mixed berries."

Tom smiled, revealing small, sharp teeth. "That sounds delightful. How about we let Remus and the Mutt lead the way – Give them the illusion that they are in charge."

Draco and Blaise exchanged looks, eyes sparkling with humour when their mates giggled and agreed, much to Sirius and Remus' consternation. They could tell that they would enjoy Tom's company ... If they survived his over-protective parent routine that is.

Severus followed his godson into the dining area with a smirk on his face. Life was definitely becoming more interesting with the arrival of the two – now three- Demon, and he could tell it was just going to get more interesting as time went on.

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Remus watched as Harry started to clear the table.

"What are you going to do this morning Kit?" he asked.

"I've got letters to write to Mama Figg, Aidan, Kitara, Lannie, Laurie, Twiggy, Miss Gramnan, Hannah, Buzz, Sidney, Adalaide …"

Remus chuckled. "Ok kitten, I get the point. Where are you going to be doing this?"

Harry paused in thought. "Draco asked if he could do his assignments here and I want to be in the same room as him – but I also need to be in the same room as the Professor so I can get to know him and Tom most probably made sure that you and Siri knew that he would be most displeased if one of you wasn't with me at all times when Draco was in the same room as me –"

A chocking noise bought everyone's eyes to a red-faced snake-Demon. "What gave you that idea Kit?" he chocked, trying to cough the tea in his lungs out.

"I just know you. The time I started at the school, you ordered Sam that he wasn't allowed to let me leave his sight – even though Rinie was going to be there and he was 4 years ahead of me, so he couldn't stay with me all the time." The black-haired teen smiled. "I just thought you'd like an example before you rejected it as a falsehood."

He turned to Remus. "That leaves only the sitting room and the dining room. I'm guessing we should stay here – considering that it isn't fair to ask anyone to do their work on an unstable surface."

Remus chuckled. "I'll sit at this end with my marking. You can sit on one side of me and Draco on the other. Where and what are you going to do Severus?"

"I did what you suggested and bought some of my marking to do, as well as some of my personal journals and some of the older Potions magazines. I will sit two or three seats away from Draco – depending on how much room he is going to need for his books."

"Speaking of books," Draco started, "where will be the best place to enlarge my library chest Remus?"

As Remus and Harry helped Severus and Draco with their stuff, Tom indicated for Hermione and Blaise to follow him form the room.

IdidntrealiseIhadsomanyoftheseinthisstory

Tom took the seat behind Remus' desk and steepled his hands. Looking between Hermione and the child before him, he tapped his fingers lightly against his lips. Coming to a decision, he turned to Hermione. "Are you going to introduce us?"

Hermione hid her smirk. She knew that as her mate, Blaise would be dealing with some frightening things – but nothing would be as scary as Tom in one of his moods.

"Milord, this is Blaise Zabini, the resident dark elf of Hogwarts' Slytherin House. Blaise, this is Lord Tom Riddle of the Hells Pit Snake Demon Clan and my father in all but name."

Blaise bowed deeply in respect. "Milord."

Tom took a deep, steadying breath in an attempt to relieve the pressure he felt in his chest when Hermione had acknowledged him as her father. "Please, have a seat," he waited until both teens were comfortable. "Now Mr Zabini, what are your intentions towards my little Princess?"

Blaise straightened in the chair and looked Tom in the eye, ignoring the eye roll that Hermione sent the older demon.

"At the moment it is my intension to befriend Hermione. It is my overall intension to bond with her and share my life with her, but before that I wish to know what her mind is like. I got the chance to start last night and I liked what I discovered. She is not only beautiful, but she has a wonderful personality and a sharp mind and I can see myself spending the rest of my life in discussions and debates with her." He stopped, thoughtfully chewing on his tongue.

"As a part-elf, it is my duty to love and protect my mate – my nature will allow me to do nothing less. Me doing anything to harm her – emotionally, physically or elsewise – is against everything my mother taught me and I will do all in my power to prove my worth."

"You bought up the fact that it is your duty to love and protect your mate, but you said nothing about family. This concerns me greatly."

Blaise nodded, organising his thoughts. "The reason I did not mention family was because I am not yet ready for a family of my own and I said as much to Hermione last night. The reasons for this is my mother is with twins and she is going to need all the help I can provide her with for the first couple of years as she has had ... complications ... through this pregnancy. It may seem selfish of me, but I do not want to put my mate through a pregnancy that I may not be there to help with if my mother, step-father or younger siblings need me."

"How many children do you want?"

"Two or three: I love children, but I don't think I could handle more than three. I will be helping with the rearing of my children – but when I am at work, Hermione will be watching them by herself and I do not want her to overdo anything. I want her to enjoy her time with our family, not think it is a chore."

Tom nodded, thinking over the wording of his next question.

"I know you do not have a job at the moment, so instead, I will ask about the results you get here – I will be checking with some of your teachers as well, so be truthful."

"I am in the top five students of my year level in most of my classes with the only student who always gets higher marks than me is my best friend. For the first two years after school, I am going to be an intern at the business my step-father owns. After those two years, I am going to be going to another company to complete my internship and then I am going to work my way up the ladder the same way everyone else does. When my father dies, I am going to inherit his business so I want to be able to understand everyone who works in the positions throughout the business. I am NOT going to be some rich boy who gets on in life on the coattails of my family. I am going to earn my position, even if it means I have to clean the company toilets with a toothbrush by hand for the first three months."

"What about sex."

Both Hermione and Blaise blushed in mortification at the bluntness of the question.

"Well? I'm waiting."

Blaise inhaled deeply. "The one thing that everyone knows about dark elves is that we have a high sexual appetite. That is true – but the one thing they don't know is we don't develop that appetite until a year after we bond with our mates. The bond has several stages. The first is the acceptance – which occurred the first night we met. Second is the data-collecting stage – better known as the dating stage. This lasts for between one and four years. This is followed by the bonding ceremony. It is after this that any type of physical contact that is counted as sex will be initiate."

"And what type of contact is that?" Tom asked dryly, sneering at the boy.

"Anything beyond holding hands, hugging, snuggling and a basic lips touching kiss."

Tom felt his muscles relax and allowed himself to smile at the still tensed lad before him. "I agree to these terms –"

"Not that you had a choice," Hermione muttered, rolling her eyes.

Tom glared at her, only to be on the receiving end of an air-born kiss. He sighed and shook his head in mock-sadness. "These younglings have made me soft. Before them my glares could melt steal, now I just get blown kisses and pinched cheeks saying how cute I am."

Blaise felt his jaw drop as Hermione giggled softly.

"Your glares are the same Tom – they just don't work on me and Harry. And if you don't want your cheeks pinched then you shouldn't act like a child in front of Harry while he is in one of his mothering moods."

Tom chuckled. "Very true Hermione. Now, Mr Zabini, I take it that you and my other kit's mate are best friends. Tell me about him – and I want to know what this … situation … was the first day you arrived."

"When we arrived here, Harry was intrigued by the fact his mate was here and he walked towards him when …"

Thisisnumberwhat?

Draco shut his potions text with a groan and massaged his temples with his fingers.

"Are you frustrated Draco?" Severus smirked at his godson, "Your assignment too much for you to handle?"

Draco glared at his Professor then sighed. "I think I have a headache and with Remus fidgeting the way he is I can't concentrate."

"It is full moon in a week," Harry's quiet voice was only just audible over the sound of the scratching of his quill on the parchment before him. "That is why Remi is behaving the way he is." The young man placed his quill onto a piece of blotting paper and looked at the restless teacher beside him.

"How have the last two full moons been for you Remy?"

Remus jumped, shaken out of his throughs. "Not too good, Kitten. I was restless beforehand and in more pain than usual during and afterwards – even with the wolfsbane potion. I just don't know what is different!"

Harry looked at the man sternly. "I think I know. You haven't been drinking the tea I created for you."

Draco sniggered at the guilty look on the were's face. Severus frowned.

"What tea was this? Lupin you know better than to drink something that could react with the potion I give you!"

Harry bristled in indignation. "I know what I am doing, Mr Snape," he snapped, shadows dancing in his eyes. "I have been treating Remus for his condition ever since I was old enough to understand that a nap wouldn't cure his crankiness – and I'll have you know that this was several years before this wolfsbane potion was invented. I was the one who had to treat him while on his special assignment with Siri when he was not allowed to have access to that potion and the moment I learnt of him taking it, I had him deliver the recipe to me so I would be able to see if it would react with the tea I had him on. It didn't, so I continued making it for him, ensuring that he didn't have it for at least two hours before the potion since tea – unlike potions – leave the system after one and a half to two hours, so do not start any accusations until you know the facts – which means SOCIALISING with the person's healer."

Ignoring the stunned look on the potion's master's face, Harry turned his glare onto the red-face Remus.

"And you should be ashamed of yourself. I have been all over these rooms of yours and I have not had one sniff of the tea I make specifically for my were-friends. This means that you have not had any in stock for at least three months. There is no – I repeat – NO reason for you to have run out since I am the one to make it for you and I don't need payment for it. What have you got to say for yourself?"

Remus lowered his eyes from the cross-armed figure before him. "I couldn't get in contact with you," he murmured.

A sliver of shadow flashed across Harry's face. "Do not lie to me Remus John Lupin," he hissed, eyes sparkling dangerously. "You have seen me every weekend so you could have asked me then. If not, you could have faxed, phoned, written, owled, flooed, sent a patronus or apparated to where I was. Let's also not forget that had you not had time, Sirius would have come to pick it up, had he know you were running low."

Remus put his face into his hands, knowing it was pointless to resist talking to the boy who had named himself his healer, but he didn't want to verbalise what was going through his head.

"I'm waiting Remus."

"I – I don't know."

The answer sounded weak, even to him.

A hand touching his shoulder made him look into a pair of large green eyes. He gulped.

"You do know Remy. And I'm going to tell you what I know is happening. You are using your transformations as a punishment for what you did when you went undercover. Isn't that right?"

Remus nodded, teary-eyed. "Yeah," he whispered painfully.

"Then stop it!" Harry started to run his fingers through Remus' hair, being careful not to dig his claws into the scalp. "You need to talk to someone – so go make an appointment with a mind healer. If you are uncomfortable talking to a stranger, then talk to me or Rinie. You know that I passed that course as part of my healer's certificate and Rinie did hers for something to do."

He stopped and used a napkin to wipe the tears from Remus' face. "You are the kindest person I've ever met, Remy. You deserved so much more than what they did to you and I want you to believe you are worth more than that. Now, I am going to get you a tea and a drink for the rest of us, they you will be going to your room and either nap or relax and think over what you are going to do. Whatever you decide, you come to me and I'll sort it out for you."

With one more push of his hand through Remus' hair, he disappeared into the kitchen.

"What just happened?" Draco asked. "I think I just witnessed my gentle, shy mate scold my godfather – who just happens to be the most feared Professor at this school – and a werewolf when the full moon is close and they act like they were caught with their hands in the cookie jar after being told they can't have one!"

"That was my kit in one of his mothering moods," a voice chuckled. "At the orphanage he was called either 'Mama Pea' or 'Sweet Pea'."

Draco turned and saw his best friend with an arm around his mate's waist.

"Did he do that often?"

Hermione smiled. "Only when someone disappointed him; which wasn't often. I overheard one of the students say that he would rather go without Christmas and birthdays than disappoint Mama Pea."

Harry walked into the room with a tray of cups and two teapots. "Can you get Tom, Rinie? I know that he will want to terrorize Draco, but it can wait until after a mid-morning break."

"No need Mione. I'm already here." Tom looked at the teapots suspiciously. "The small pot isn't for me I hope."

Harry laughed softly. "No Tom, it isn't for you. Remus has been punishing himself for something he had no control over. The chamomile, Lavender, catnip and honey tea is for him. I've also told him he needs to choose between me, Hermione and a stranger to talk about it. He is going to tell me before dinner tonight or he does not eat."

Draco, Blaise and Severus' jaw dropped when Hermione sighed exasperated. "Are you still doing that? It looks as though it is a good thing we came here after all. You need a mother, Remus. For crying out loud, even Sirius talks to a mind healer when it gets too much for him to handle!"

"She's right Rem," Sirius appeared, looking tense. "In fact, do you have time to see me today?"

Hermione smiled. "Same time as usual, Siri?"

Sirius chuckled at the astounded looks he was getting from the people surrounding him. "Think there will be enough of Rem's tea for me to have a cup? I'm going to snap and kill someone if not."

Harry smiled and put a steaming cup before him. "Honeysuckle, lavender and lime blossom – just the way you like it. I also added a shot of a strong infusion of Remy's tea."

"You are a lifesaver, kit."

Harry chuckled. "I know."

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Remus lay on his bed, thoughts running through his head at light speed. He jumped when a heavy body collapsed next to him.

"Easy Rem, just me," Sirius murmured, running his hand through the sandy hair of his brother in all but blood. "You can't keep doing this, Rem. If you continue, we will end up losing you."

"Does it help? Talking?" Remus' voice was soft, almost going unheard.

"It does. Before I started going to Hermione, I thought mind healers were a waste of time. I had been to them before and they didn't impress me – what with trying to tell me what to talk about." He snorted. "One of them fainted when I walked into the room because I was a Black. Another lectured me on what a disappointment I was to my family. Another believed me to be a tyrant because Harry was in the orphanage.

"When I discovered that Harry and Hermione had become mind healers as part of their studies, I was furious. So furious I refused to talk to either of them. Hermione cornered me one day and laid into me. She got me so riled up that I exploded and told her that her and Harry had disappointed me. I ranted and raved until I wore myself our and all this time she just watched me with this small smirk on her face."

Sirius chuckled lost in the memory, not noticing that Remus was hanging on his every word. "When she opened her mouth, I started again. For nearly three hours I ranted. She looked me in the eye after I collapsed on one of the chairs and told me that she had to go because she and Harry were taking the kids to the park, but if I truly cared about Harry, her, you or myself, then she would be seeing me during the hour after lunch the next day for my next session – then she disappeared in a flash of flame."

He looked at Remus with a lop-sided grin. "I contemplated not going and before I knew it, I had been cornered again – this time by Harry. I didn't realise that he had cornered me until he had to leave. The little bugger told me he was looking for you since you had promised to tell him stories about James, Lily and Peter. It was the day you had to stay at the warehouse for a shipment and I didn't want to disappoint him, so I volunteered to do so and spent over two hours laughing and crying with him over the memories. Just before he left he turned to me and said 'Not all mind healers are self-obsessed ninnies, Sirius. I think both Hermione and I have proven that, don't you?' and he left. I stayed up all night thinking and the following morning I sent an owl to Hermione asking for an appointment with her. I haven't regretted it at all."

He stretched as well as he could since he was lying flat on his back.

"Even though Hermione is my mind healer, I do go to Harry for some things. I recommend that you go to Harry as he is the one best able to handle the violence, torture and the like. I will say that every will stay between the three of you – it seems that they share the information between them –"

"It isn't their fault Siri. You know they have been able to access each other's minds from a young age."

Sirius smirked and rolled onto his side, facing Remus. "I know. I'm just saying that they will keep it between them and you. Just think about it, won't you? Please? I can't lose you now."

Remus nodded, deep in thought. "I will think about it Siri. Thank you."

"You're welcome," Sirius muttered, rolling back onto his back and running his fingers through Remus' hair once again.

When Harry appeared to check on Remus, he discovered both men sound asleep – Remus with his head on Sirius' chest and Sirius' fingers twisted in Remus' hair.

After Harry returned from Remus' room, Tom rose. "Your turn, Mr Malfoy," he announced in his velvet-smooth voice.

Draco gulped and rose, stopping only when he heard the small whimper of protest from his mate.

"Shh, Kitten," Draco murmured. "I'm only going to be gone for a short time and I will be fine." His eyes flicked to his godfather, who moved his head slightly in accent. Draco smiled and nuzzled into Harry's cheek with his own. "How about while I'm talking with Mr Riddle, you ask Sev if he can show you his lab. He might even let you brew a potion or help prepare ingredients while he brews." He almost laughed out loud at the hopeful look in Harry's eyes.

"I will not be making any potions today I am afraid," Severus said, not looking up from his marking. "I have a class to teach – but Miss Granger and Mr …" he trailed off, realising he didn't know if his godson's mate's last name was still Potter.

"There's no 'Mr' Professor," Hermione answered when it became evident that Harry wouldn't answer. "As a submissive, he has no claim to a last name until he is mated. It's just Harry."

Severus raised an eyebrow at this and he noticed the nod Tom was giving in agreement. Severus nodded his understanding.

"Then Harry and Miss Granger are free to join me in this class so I can test them on what they know. I have my sixth years now, so there should be no problems."

Tom noticed how Harry looked at Draco for permission. He felt his heart ache at the over-joyed expression that appeared at the nod he received.

'Maybe I should give him the same chance as I did the elf,' he thought to himself, watching the way the young vampire interacted with his little Prince. 'But I need to know if he can protect my little one …' he smirked. He'd just had the best idea.

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"This test is going to be in two parts," Severus told the two demons following him. "The first is theory, the second practical – which consists of several commonly used potions of varying degrees of difficulty and complexity. So I can ensure you are safe from the class' curiosity, I am going to get the two of you to use my desk and work station."

He turned a corner, making his robe flare out around him. "I do not care if you work together or separately on the potions, I just want to see what your knowledge level is."

"Yes sir," they said in unison. They had agreed before leaving the rooms that they would say nothing but 'yes sir' and 'no sir' unless they were asking or asked a question about the test.

Severus stopped at a door and ushered them inside. "My next class stats in ten minutes and I would like to have you both started before then, so if you could aid me in clearing a place for the both of you, we can get you started."

Hermione and Harry had his desk neatened and two clear spaces ready for the exam before Severus knew what was happening. Within five minutes, both Demon had their eyes on the theory sheet before them and were reading through the questions. When they looked up, Severus nodded.

"You can start when you are ready – You have the first half of this double lesson to complete it."

Harry and Hermione looked at each other, looked back and Severus, nodded and picked up their quills at the same time. Severus watched in amusement as everything they did occurred in sync – almost like a practiced dance. He was interrupted from his amusement by an increase of noise outside his door.

He silently stalked to the door and flung it open. "What is the meaning of this noise?" he hissed. "You should know by now that the level of noise you are producing is unacceptable at the best of times. You are supposed to be SIXTH years."

He smirked internally when the small group froze.

"Before I allow you to enter the room, I am going to explain some rules to you. I have two people sitting a highly complex examination-type assessment item so you are to do your work in SILENCE. You are not to try any of your tricks on them and any attempt at sabotage or gaining their attention will result in a loss of fifty points – Yes, Miss Parkinson, even from my own house – and two weeks detention with Filch, myself or Professors Black and Lupin."

He smirked at the attempted smirks of the Gryffindors at the mention of their two favourite teachers. "As the two students are close to Professors Black and Lupin they will, undoubtedly, take offense at any and all assumed threats." He grinned at the rapidly paling faces. "So do I take that as a 'Yes sir'?"

Once he received the nods off his students, he stood to one side and waved them in. When the students saw who was sitting the exam – and where they were seated – they froze.

"Stop standing around like the Dunderheads you are!" Severus snapped, losing his very short temper. To his immense pride, neither Demon showed sign of shock or fright. He had to chuckle when he reached his desk to find that the reason they hadn't reacted was the silencing charm that one of them must have performed when the students had gotten too loud.

"How are you going?" he asked softly, watching his sixth years get their work stations set up.

"We're unsure about what you mean by question twelve sir," Hermione said, eyes and quill still on the paper before her. "Do you want to know the affect that ginger would have on the potion if it were made in full strength, half strength or toddler strength?"

"Or do you mean the effect that it would have on the potion if it was substituted for the galangal?"

"Or even how it would affect the potion when added in different forms at different times in brewing?"

Severus blinked in surprise before allowing a slow grin to develop. "How about you write what you believe it to be asking for and when I mark it, I will discuss the answers with the both of you."

Hermione nodded and Harry raised his hand.

Severus chuckled. "What is it Harry?"

Harry and Hermione exchanged looks. "Can we have more parchment please?"

Having trouble controlling his enjoyment, Severus placed a large stack of parchment between the two. "Help yourselves," he said before turning to the board. He froze. "Can you make it so they can hear me and I can hear them without it annoying you?"

Without warning, Severus could hear everything that was occurring in the classroom. He took a half-step towards his desk and the sound vanished. "My thanks."

The two younger people just nodded all their concentration on the parchment before them.

With a half-smile in their direction – not that they could see it – he flicked his wand at the board, filling it with his neat, precise writing. "Today we are going to start the skele-gro potion. Creevy! How many steps are there to this potion?"

The students all groaned. It was going to be one of those days.

Sighitsanotherline

Tom sat in the chair examining the lad before him shrewdly. "You are a vampire, correct?" he asked after a couple of minutes.

"Yes Sir," Draco answered, mentally thanking his father and godfather for their many years of training.

Tom nodded, watching the boy closely. 'Very good,' he thought. 'If I couldn't smell the fear coming from him, I would believe he was calm.' "I know very little about vampires," he said out loud. "A very secretive people."

"Yes Sir. As a species, vampires are feared and as such have been hunted for many years before the Ministry signed the treaty. We still are secretive because we are long lived with longer memories and don't trust easily."

Tom nodded. "Very similar to our kind then," he mused. "What are your intensions towards my little Prince?"

Draco didn't answer for a while, deep in thought. "My intensions towards Harry are to bond with him. I will be honest with you in saying that I am already getting the signs from him indicating he wants me to claim him and I am getting the urge to claim him as mine, including starting the bonding process. I didn't discover that he wasn't seventeen until we had our date last night and I am very happy that I have been fighting my mating instincts back every time they take interest in what is going on around me."

He inhaled deeply and looked the surprised snake Demon in the eye. "I don't know how long I can fight my instincts while I am getting the acceptance signals from my mate. At the moment the only thing that is preventing me from doing anything is the fact that I keep telling myself he is not yet ready for it – and neither am I. I want a job before I start a family. I need to know that I can provide everything for my mate and future little ones."

For the first time since he entered the room, Draco revealed emotion. He rubbed his face with his hands.

"I don't want to scare him away and I don't want to harm him or hurt him by getting carried away or by pushing him away. I feel so strongly about this that I asked my Father to come here tonight so I can discuss the options I have so I don't lose my control. At the moment the only option I can think of is using a combination of ritual and potion to bind my vampiric heritage for two or three years so the mating instinct cannot get away from me."

Tom sat up straighter. "Do you know what that will do to you?"

Draco nodded, his eyes closed. "It will cause me to become infertile for anywhere between twenty and fifty years, meaning that I may not be able to sire any children of my own. It will also prevent me from being able to sense my mate – even though he will be able to sense me."

He wrapped his arms around his stomach and leant forwards into it as if doing so would stop the pain. "I would lose who I am for them few years and when it was over I would need to go through my inheritance again." When he looked up he had tears in his eyes that were being held there by pure will. "It terrifies me that I could be forced away from him should I take this option, but more than anything I want him to be safe, particularly from myself. If you are free, you could come to the meeting between me, Severus and Father. I want to discuss the options before choosing one – and I will need to tell Harry all the options and the one that I am considering taking."

Tom returned to relaxing in the seat. "Why tell Harry? It will only upset him."

Draco sat up straight, ignoring the tear rolling down his cheek. "Last night we discussed what our favourite books were and what we liked about them. Harry's favourite book is Dinotopia and he said one of his favourite things was that the word for a close friendship and marriage is the same and that he felt the same way. When I heard that, I promised myself that I would try to become one of his closest friends as well as his mate. The basis of any friendship is trust. I trust him to tell me the truth about anything that comes up in his life, so I can do nothing less. This decision – though it is going to be me doing it – will be affecting his life just as much as it will mine. He has the right to know."

Tom looked at Draco, noticing everything in a glance. He allowed a slow smile to spread across his face. "I like you, young Mister Malfoy. I have an option to contribute to this meeting of yours, so I will come. I am also very interested in meeting the man – or men – responsible for the mature gentleman before me. Now," he said, sitting forward, "tell me about your time at this school – the classes, your grades and the like."

Icouldhaveturnedthisintoarecipebynow

Everyone in the sixth year NEWT potions class watched the two before them in awe and Severus – who would normally be ranting at them by this point in time – couldn't blame them. Never in all his years as a master of the art and science of potions had he seen anything like what the two before him were doing.

Neither Harry nor Hermione noticed that they were the centre of attention thanks to the silencing charm they had around them. They had finished the written side of their test and had just begun the practical. Before starting, they glanced at the list of potions they were to choose from and then headed towards the shelves the ingredients were on.

To the unobservant eye, the two of them started to grab at any ingredient without purpose, but to Severus' trained eye, they were grabbing ingredients to the two most commonly used potions – though he couldn't tell who was doing which. When the two of them started the potion, however, even he had to admit to being shocked.

Hermione lit the fires beneath the cauldrons with barely a though while she added the required amount of liquid to one of them. While waiting for both cauldrons to heat to the right temperature, her and Harry started peeling, slicing, dicing and shaving the assortment of ingredients surrounding them.

With barely a break in their preparation, Harry slide three slivers of newt heart into the cauldron bubbling beside Hermione while she sprinkled whole beetle eyes into the bottom of Harry's. Giving each a sir (clockwise in figure eights five times for Harry and once clockwise over two minutes for Hermione) they swapped potions with Hermione adding the juice of three pickled cabbage moth caterpillars and Harry carefully pouring the beetle eyes into a mortar and pestle with the egg teeth of two horned toads. After grinding the two together to a fine dust, Harry sprinkled a pinch into Hermione's mixture while she added the juice of a shrivel fig to Harry's cauldron, sprinkling the finely ground powder into it a pinch at a time while stirring the mixture vigorously. For every five pinches of the powdered mixture that was added to the shrivel fig juice, Harry added six drops of crocodile tears to Hermione's cauldron and a drop of dragon's blood to his own while giving the potion in Hermione's cauldron a quick stir every three minutes.

Eventually only one ingredient remained on the bench and both demon were behind their own cauldron. With a nod, they each reached for the same ingredient that had been prepared in different ways. While Harry scooped up the grated garlic/ginger combination and slowly squeezed the liquid from it drop by drop while stirring the thick, glossy paste in a slow continual fashion, Hermione was adding very finely cubed garlic and ginger a cube at a time to her potion while whisking vigorously, allowing the liquid to melt the normally fibrous spices before adding the next.

One and a half hours after starting the potions, they had finished Harry extinguished the flames with a bit of shadow and both demon bottled the potion in another practiced dance before jarring the balm.

The silencing charm that had surrounded the two of them broke as they put the last vial down. "Twenty nutrient potions and fifteen antibacterial balms for shallow cuts and scrapes," Hermione announced, stretching her aching muscles. Seeing this, Harry moved behind her and started massaging the muscles in her mid-back.

"We would be appreciative if we could have half of them to send to Mama Figg for the little ones. Can we? Please?" Harry looked at the Professor with large innocent green eyes.

Severus laughed, shocking the students out of their stupor. "I assume that you two are the potion brewers for the orphanage?"

Harry stepped away from Hermione, insulted. "Of course! You didn't expect us to allow them to use second rate potions did you?"

Severus raised an eyebrow and tossed them a jar. "Tell me what you can about that one."

Frowning thoughtfully, Harry opened it. Hermione stood behind him and wrapped her arms around him, resting her hands over his. They released a small amount of magic into the mixture and dropped it in shock.

"Where did you get this?" Hermione demanded, looking at the Professor. "And have you used it?"

Severus remained blank faced while the rest of the class inhaled sharply. The Slytherins exchanged smug looks, just waiting for their head of house to explode.

"The mutt gave it to me. Said he wanted me to examine it and test it. I deconstructed a small bit of it, discovered that it was a bruise balm. Now I use it for a very deep and dangerous bruising."

I can't believe that man! I told him to destroy the damn thing, not give it to someone else to use! It could have harmed someone!

At the hissing coming from the dark-haired teen, everyone stepped back. Hermione sighed.

Calm down, Sweetie. I will ask him what he was thinking at lunch.

Thanks Rinie.

"What - may I ask - was that?"

"That was Harry wondering whether or not Sirius had taken leave of his senses. He was asked to dispose of that balm before it harmed someone else." Hermione shook her head. "He still believes that he brewed it incorrectly rather than it was too strong for who he made it for."

Severus nodded his understanding. "Harry. The reason I was given the balm was to dispose of it. Only a certified Potions Master can legally dispose of a potion or balm. He just insisted that I look at it first. He also told me about the reaction of the person who used it. That person reacted in that way because she has an allergy to lacewing larvae."

Harry looked at the man in hope. "Honest?"

"Yes honest. Now, what about the hissing?"

Harry blushed and hid behind Hermione, who just chuckled.

"It's parseltongue. As a cat-demon Harry had some knowledge of it from when he was younger and when Tom bound us to him as his students his native tongue was transferred to us, so he taught it to us properly. Why?" Hermione absent-mindedly hugged a newly shy Harry to her, ignoring the evil smirk on one of the student's faces.

"The founder of Slytherin house was able to talk parseltongue and it has always been believed that only those of his line have the ability."

"Maybe Tom should hear of this," Hermione mused before kissing Harry on the top of the head. "May we go now Sir? And will we see you for lunch?"

Severus nodded. "Yes to both." He turned to his class. "Why have you not started" he purred dangerously. "Everyone will be failing today due to this – or I will allow you to do an eight inch essay on why you will all be attending an evening in this lab doing this potion again."

The student's hastily packed up their belongings and began to write their assignments.