I don't own Hellsing or Harry Potter, and I'm not making any money from this.

Syn had always hated waiting. It was torturous, sitting around twiddling her thumbs whilst being left out of something she should be involved in. Or… even if not directly involved, then at least made aware of. Just a vague idea would be enough. Anything would be better than this long, laborious stretch of nothing.

Alucard's mental block remained in full force, despite her intermittent prodding. She had hoped that perhaps he would let his guard down enough for her to slip in and get a glimpse of what he was doing. She should have known better. The ruddy bastard was far too perceptive to allow for such an opening. Eventually she gave up and resigned herself to waiting for his return, as she was told.

Like a good little pet, she thought with a grimace. It made her sick to be put into such a… passive position. Syn Newsom would gladly admit to a number of sins, but passivity would never be one of them.

Ylenia had woken from a nightmare not long after she got back to the manor and the redhead spent a solid hour or so soothing her back to sleep. They were thankfully becoming less frequent than they had been at first, but they were still a terror to deal with when they reared their ugly heads. A regimen of specialized potions – similar to how they treated Mihnea's nightmares – would be their best option in the long run. However, Syn was still working out a formula that would best suit the girl's physiology and things like that took time. It was just one more thing that Hellsing's lack of information on werewolves made more difficult. If everything worked out, that would (hopefully) be changing soon.

Once Ylenia calmed down enough to slip back into unconsciousness, Syn retrieved a couple of books from her office to peruse for new ideas and headed downstairs. She could do with a hot shower. Those always made her feel better. The rooms she shared with the master vampire were black as pitch when she arrived. Flipping on light switches as she went, she tossed her books onto the bed and stepped over to the dresser to dig out a change of clothes. A noise, a curious mix between a growl and a gurgle, caught her attention and she glanced at the foot of the bed.

"Your master is an asshole." She spat.

The inscription on the lid of Alucard's coffin melted away and a single large eye peeled open to look at her inquisitively.

"I don't suppose you know what's going on?"

The coffin gurgled in response.

"It figures." Syn said with a sniff. She grabbed her clothes and turned toward the bathroom. "Of course you wouldn't."

She moved to step past it, but the coffin suddenly sprouted arms and scuttled into her path. It raised itself up from the floor to rub against her legs, gibbering for attention.

"Oh, calm down, would you!" She chided, rolling her eyes up to the ceiling in exasperation. "I'm not angry at you."

The box ceased its assault of her person and an interior latch clicked, allowing the lid to rise up a few inches. The huge eye on the lid blinked at her hopefully.

Syn sighed. "I have to take a shower." She told it, and reached down to give the side of the box a pat. "Maybe later."

A deep purr of satisfaction filled the air and the lacquered wood vibrated with pleasure beneath her fingers. Apparently satisfied with her response, the lid of the coffin snapped closed and it crawled back to its previous position at the foot of the bed before returning to its normal 'inactive' state. The bloody thing might as well be a dog for all its begging for attention. At least it listened to her for the most part.

Not three seconds after turning on the water, the connection between herself and the elder vampire flared to life. He was on the grounds of the manor. The redhead grit her teeth and swore internally. He would do that, wouldn't he? Send her home with no explanation of why and leave her shut out for hours, only to show up at the very moment she was about to get comfortable. Well, screw him, she thought as she disrobed and stepped under the spray. She had done her waiting and now he could do his. Insufferable asshole.

Syn sent up a prayer of thanks for whoever was responsible for Hellsing's water system. It was a blessing sent directly from the heavens. One could leave a shower running on full blast for hours and still have plenty of hot water left over. Hypothetically speaking, of course. God knows once such behavior began to have an impact on the utility bill, the person responsible would be sought out and disciplined. However, Syn justified staying in the shower for much longer than necessary by telling herself that Integra would understand. She put up a mental block to keep Alucard out of her mind for good measure. He already knew where she was and was capable of waltzing in whenever he chose. He'd done it often enough in the past. This time, though, it seemed that he was content to give her peace. After 45 minutes of dallying under the hot water out of pure spite, she was still entirely alone in the bathroom. Syn wasn't sure whether she was thankful or disappointed.

She shut off the water with a huff, toweled herself dry, and threw on the shorts and tank she intended to sleep in. Wrapping the towel around her head to keep her mass of wet hair out of the way, she pushed open the door to let the steam escape. The slight change in air pressure and temperature sucked it through the opening and it crawled across the ceiling before dispersing into the air. Everything in the bedroom was exactly as she'd left it – save for her books. Syn peered at the empty expanse of comforter where they'd been dropped earlier. A glint of metal captured her attention and she glanced at the nightstand on her side of the bed. Her collar sat there innocently, as if she'd just taken it off and placed it there herself as she usually did. Her eyes narrowed and she turned to pad into the other room.

Alucard was sitting on his throne when she entered, one leg folded over the other. He swirled a wine glass of blood in one hand while the other flipped through a book that was balanced on his knee. One of her books. Syn crossed her arms over her chest and leaned against the doorframe.

"Interesting choice of subject matter." He said silkily. He took a sip from his glass and turned a page. "I was under the impression your research was directed toward our young wolf."

Syn crossed her right foot over her left and sniffed. "It is." She told him.

The vampire looked up from the book. "And what do the experiments performed during my imprisonment have to do that?"

She shrugged. "I'm working on a theory."

"Ah." His eyes glimmered like coals as they looked her up and down. "You are shutting me out."

The redhead made a face. "You've kept me shut out all night." She pointed out.

"I have my reasons."

"What reasons?

The book in his lap snapped shut and he set it on the small, round table next to him. "Come here." He said, crooking a finger at her.

She shook her head, knowing what he wanted. "I'll stand, thanks."

Alucard's eyes narrowed in disapproval. With a flick of his hand he sent his shadows flying out toward her. The tendrils of darkness twisted around her body and pulled her forward. They were gentle at first, but when she dug in her heels in resistance, they tugged more insistently. With a huff of displeasure, she finally picked up her feet and allowed herself to be led toward his chair. Once she was within arm's reach, the vampire planted both feet on the floor and reached out to pull her into his lap.

"There now." He purred against ear. "Isn't that better?"

Syn let out an irritated huff, which was rewarded with a dark chuckle. Her legs were pulled up and across his, then he tugged the towel free from her head and let it fall down to the floor. Sanguine hair spilled down her back and around her face, heavy with the weight of water that had yet to dry. Alucard hummed and twined a lock of it around his finger.

"I've always been fond of your hair." He murmured, lips pursed in thought. "It is my favorite color."

Syn pulled away slightly to peer at him. "Are you feeling okay?"

"Hmm?" His thumb brushed across the strands held in his grasp. "Why do you ask?"

"Because you're acting weird."

Crimson eyes moved to meet hers and one of his dark brows rose slightly. "Am I?" He asked. "How so?"

"You just seem a bit…" The redhead paused, struggling to find the right words. "Sentimental." Her lips pressed together in concern. "You're not having a mid-life crisis, are you?"

The vampire barked out a laugh that held little humor. "Such strange ideas you humans come up with." He let go of the lock of hair and laid his hand on top of her head. "Fret not, little goddess. If we have indeed reached my life's mid-point, you still have more than five centuries left to look forward to."

That did nothing to make her feel better. She wrinkled her nose. "Oh goodie." She said, then became more serious. "What happened tonight?"

His good humor disappeared and Alucard studied her silently for so long that Syn wondered if he was going to shut her out again and refuse to answer. She turned herself around in his lap so that they were face to face.

"You're concerned about something." She said.

He didn't respond directly to the statement, but she felt the twitch in his fingers when his hands came to rest on her hips. As if he wanted to grab ahold of her and not let go.

"You said you heard rumors." He said at last. "What tales have the humans been telling?"

The redhead blinked at the question, but cleared her throat to report what she knew. She told him about what she learned at the club – the news about Purgatorium being sold, the strange vampire sightings, and her initial suspicions about what they might be doing. Alucard listened to it all and nodded when she was finished.

"The encounters may be recent, but they've been here much longer than a few weeks." The vampire told her. "If they are being seen now, it is because they wish to be seen."

Syn found the idea more than a little off-putting. "Everything I heard made it sound like they're looking for something…"

"They were." Alucard confirmed, cutting her off. "And now they have found it." He pulled her a bit closer. "Our kind being brought out into the open has made it more difficult to remain anonymous. It was only a matter of time before stories about me spread beyond our little island. They have been suspicious since the war, but finally heard enough to prompt them to come see for themselves."

She went very still and stared at him. "They were… looking for you?"

"Yes."

"They were the ones following me?"

"One of them, yes."

Syn sucked in a long stream of air through her nose. "You know them."

"I do." He admitted. "To varying degrees, but the one who followed you tonight I once considered a confidant." He paused to look at her intently. "Long before any of my encounters with Van Helsing."

The redhead could do nothing but blink. Before Van Helsing meant that they had known him as Dracula – a vampire the world believed to be dead and gone. Which… he was, in a way, but not in a manner that most would understand. The Hellsing Organization's reputation had been founded on his defeat. It was why humans and vampires alike feared and respected them. She swallowed.

"What do they want?" She asked carefully.

Again, he grew quiet for an eerily long time and when he spoke again, the look he gave her was heavy and full of meaning.

" 'No Life King' used to mean much more than it does now." Alucard told her. "It has become an arbitrary title with little weight behind it… but it could be made to mean something again."

It felt like a bucket of ice had been dumped over her head. The statement brought with it a small glimpse into his mind. Ideas and thoughts slipped through the connection between them. Memories of the distant past involving the vampires he was talking about… She stared at him in shock.

"Please tell me you're not serious." She breathed.

"I'm very serious."

Of course he was. The one time when it would be preferable if he was joking would be the one time that he wasn't. She closed her eyes, trying to focus through the swirl of thoughts running through her mind. Most were her own confused attempts at understanding, but a good many were coming from him.

"How many?" She asked.

"Three that I'm aware of." He replied, his voice washing over her ears like blackened silk, giving her an anchor to hold on to. "Though I wouldn't be surprised if more begin to appear."

Syn's eyes slid open to stare at the wall to their right. "I didn't know you had so many friends." She quipped.

"I don't."

She glanced at him long enough to raise a disbelieving brow. Alucard answered it with one of his own.

"There aren't many who survive long enough to be considered elder vampires." He said. "With so few of us around, it is advantageous to be aware of each other."

The redhead wasn't fully convinced. "You don't consider a confidant a friend?"

"It's been a long time." He replied with an idle roll of his head. "And time has a way of… changing one's priorities." There was a meaningful glint in his eyes before he cleared his throat and went back to playing with her hair. "Ivan approached me alone and gave his assurance that he remains loyal. We shall wait and see." He twisted a handful of hair at the back of her head around his hand and tugged until he met resistance. The faint buzz of pain served as a warning. "Do not leave the manor at night. If you must go out during the day, take the Captain or the Police Girl with you."

Syn bristled and immediately recoiled from the instruction. She jerked herself free from his grip on her hair to scowl at him.

"If you think you can keep me locked up in here…"

He pressed a finger to her lips. "Have you forgotten what happened the last time you chose to ignore me?"

The redhead blanched as if she'd been struck. Her eyes narrowed but she closed her mouth, deciding to hear him out. When he saw that she dropped the argument, Alucard removed the finger and allowed it to drift down her neck, following it with his eyes.

"It is a temporary measure, until I have an idea of their intentions." He told her. The tip of his finger came to rest at the hollow of her throat. "I would have them know that you are not like the others. Ivan was the first. If word spreads of what happened between us in that garage tonight," He looked up and met her gaze. "I shall know where it came from."

Oh. She thought, deflating a bit. So letting him see him remove her collar was some sort of loyalty test? She shifted uncomfortably. It was funny how even with the seriousness of what they were discussing, that small thing had bothered her just as much as the rest. At least that was one less thing to worry about. The bastard could have said something though. She shoved that particular feeling to the side for the time being and took a deep, shuddering breath.

"Sir Integra needs to be told about this." Her voice was barely above a whisper.

"She does." Alucard agreed with a nod.

Syn moved to extract herself from his lap, but found herself stopped by a ring of shadow that manifested around her waist, holding her in place. The vampire leaned back in his chair more comfortably. He had no intention of going anywhere any time soon.

"But first, there is a decision to be made." He said, his voice dripping like liquid velvet poured over a block of iron. "Between us and no one else."

Syn felt a weight settle down on her shoulders. She was afraid of that.

"If you're thinking what I think you are…" She began slowly.

"I am."

The redhead pressed her lips together in a firm line, staring him down. "No."

One of Alucard's brows inched upward. "You told me once that it was possible."

A wave of nostalgia hit her and she knew exactly what he was referring to. "I was speaking hypothetically!" She hissed at him. "And there were a few conditions attached, if you'll recall!"

"Oh, I do. Vividly." The vampire replied. "Your conditions will be met. Leave her to me."

"What makes you so certain?"

"Integra is smart enough to know that that it's preferable to do something on your own terms rather than being forced by circumstance." He paused and cocked his head slightly. "The world has changed, Syn. It has become inevitable."

The redhead drew a deep breath and looked down. "I know." She breathed. Her lower lip found its way between her teeth as she scoured through her options. "This is…" She huffed and grit her teeth, frustrated with herself. "I… need time."

"How much?" He asked.

She considered the question carefully. "A few months." She replied at last. "Give or take. I have a theoretical understanding, but I'm not doing anything until I'm sure it will work."

Alucard inclined his head, satisfied. "Then we are in agreement."

The shadows holding her captive withdrew and he finally allowed her to climb to her feet. He rose smoothly from the chair himself and Syn stepped aside to let him past. She didn't have to ask what he was doing. Since it was 'officially' her night off and Alucard had been the one to encounter a potential 'target', he would give the report to Integra. She focused on the back of his head as he walked away.

"You planned this, didn't you?" She asked. "From the beginning."

It was spoken quietly and was far less accusatory than even she expected. She had her suspicions, but wanted to hear it from him. Alucard came to a halt in front of the door.

"Does it matter?" He asked without turning around.

At this point? No, it probably didn't. What's done was done, and now there were only the consequences left for them to live with. Syn let out a sigh and squared her shoulders.

"Alucard." She said, putting as much force and seriousness into her voice as she could muster. It might not do any good, but he would know where she stood. "If you make me regret this, I will never forgive you."

The vampire turned his head to peer at her over his shoulder. "Never is a long time, Syn."

"Yes it is." She agreed.

Neither of them moved or spoke for a long time. The weight of his burning eyes was so heavy that she felt as though they were piercing through her very soul. Finally, a brief glimmer passed over them and he gave her the smallest of nods. A concession. She returned the gesture to show she understood and stayed back as he turned and vanished through the closed door.

In the Gryffindor common room, a small collection of teenagers huddled together around the empty fireplace, whispering furiously at each other. All of them should have been in bed. The hour was late and they were all tired from a long week of finishing out their classes. Constance, for one, had just taken a bath and was in the middle of changing into her pajamas when Ginny tip-toed into the room she and Hermione shared with Lavender and Pavarti. The other two girls were dead to the world. Their light snores could just barely be heard from behind their drawn bed curtains. Hermione, who had been reading a book in bed, immediately perked up and set it to the side when the younger girl silently waved at them with her hands. The pair of them both grabbed their robes and went to follow her.

"The boys said for all of us to meet downstairs." Ginny explained once they got outside of their dormitory.

The three girls padded down the stone staircase that led down to the common room and exited to find Harry and Ron waiting for them by the empty fireplace. They, too, looked like they had been fully prepared for bed.

"Well?" Connie asked expectantly. "What's this about then?"

Harry and Ron exchanged a look and shrugged.

"Fred and George went out a little while ago." Ron reported to them. "They said for all of us to meet down here and they'd be right back."

To no one's surprise, Hermione wasn't pleased by this news. "Went out?" She repeated as she planted her hands on her hips. "What do you mean, they 'went out'? It's after curfew!"

Ginny gave her a gentle nudge in the side. "This is Fred and George we're talking about." She reminded her. "They've never paid much attention to things like curfew."

The older girl huffed in disapproval and dropped down onto the sofa. Connie shot a resigned look up at the ceiling before glancing back to the boys.

"Did they say what they were doing?"

They both shook their heads in response. "Just that it was a surprise." Harry replied. He perked up a bit. "I checked the map just before you guys came down and they were on the ground floor. It looked like Bassarab was with them."

The girl blinked at him. Well, that was… unexpected. She couldn't imagine what sort of 'surprise' the twins had cooked up that they managed to rope Mihnea into as well. Thankfully, they didn't have to wait for long. After being downstairs for what felt like ten minutes or so, the portrait guarding the entrance creaked open and Fred's head appeared through the opening. He put a finger to his lips when he saw them, gesturing for quiet, then looked about the room to make sure they were alone. Once assured that the coast was clear, he pushed the portrait door all the way inward and withdrew to lift something from the floor. He walked in carrying a large parcel wrapped in plain brown paper – which looked to be quite heavy from the way he handled it. George and Mihnea filed in after him, each carrying similarly wrapped boxes of their own.

The five younger teenagers gaped in astonishment as the boys piled them up on the large table by the fireplace.

"What on God's green earth…?" Constance breathed.

Fred and George performed a dramatic turn and thrust their arms out toward the boxes. "Check it out!"

"We've been gifted!" Fred exclaimed.

George raised his hands to wiggle his fingers at them. "By mysterious benefactors."

"We suffered through a long, perilous journey…"

Ron snorted. "You've been gone 20 minutes."

The twins ignored him. "Stealthily slipped past dangerous foes…" George said, picking up where his brother left off.

Ginny arched a brow. "Almost caught by Peeves, then?" She asked, not looking impressed by their display.

Fred's head snapped toward her. "And Filch!" He interjected in a scandalized tone. He exchanged a look with his brother. "Can you believe this, Georgie? We try to do something nice and look at the thanks we get! They won't even let us finish the story we came up with!"

George shook his head and wiped a non-existent tear from his eye. "So ungrateful." He agreed. "After all our hard work too."

Constance glanced past them to meet the bemused gaze of her cousin. He looked like he wasn't sure whether he found their behavior annoying or funny.

"Can we move along, please?" He asked, bringing their attention back to the task at hand.

The twins gave their up their little show with a sigh and finally explained what was going on. Apparently, Crookshanks had brought them a message earlier in the day, containing instructions to check the hidden tunnel to Honeydukes. The brief letter was unsigned, but the handwriting was suspiciously similar to Lupin's. Though they were excited by the prospect of everyone's favorite professor leaving something behind for them to find, George had, shockingly, convinced Fred it was best to err on the side of caution. They took the message to Mihnea to get his opinion on it. Once he confirmed that he believed it to be from Lupin as well, the three of them planned to meet by the secret passage after everyone was asleep to retrieve whatever might be there. Her cousin had done his part to help them avoid detection, and checked the parcels for dangerous magic before they brought them up.

Harry blinked and glanced over at the packages while the twins set to work casting silencing wards around the room. "Professor Lupin left all of that for us?"

Mihnea cleared his throat. "I don't think it's all from Lupin."

He gestured to a note written on top of one of the parcels. Harry stepped over to get a better look.

"Courtesy of Messrs. Mooney and Padfoot." He read out. His eyes lit up. "It's from Sirius too!"

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Ron asked. "Let's see what it is!"

Harry immediately grabbed the largest box and began ripping through the paper. The rest of them followed suit, making quick work of the others and soon they were surrounded by the fruits of their labor. There were chocolates and candies of every type and description, as well as a nice selection of simple magical party games. One of the boxes even held two full cases of butterbeer.

"Good Lord, did they buy the whole store?" Hermione questioned. She stared at the ever growing piles of treats with wide eyes.

Harry, who was still rifling through his box, sat up amongst the sea of paper and packages and held an envelope up in the air.

"There's a note!" He announced, ripping it open as everyone gathered around. Harry unfolded the letter within and cleared his throat to read. "This will never be enough to repay you for your help, but we felt you deserved a treat for making through this most stressful year. We picked a wide selection to (hopefully) suit everyone's tastes. Padfoot once again extends his sincerest apologies for any distress his presence caused, and his regret at not having more time to get to know each of you. It warms his heart to know that his godson is surrounded by good and loyal friends." The boy had to pause for a moment. "As you know, he is currently travelling, but will inform Harry once he has obtained a suitable permanent address. In the meantime, should you have any need to contact him, you may write to Mooney and he will see that the message is delivered. All the best, Mooney and Padfoot."

Constance found a small smile playing at her lips despite herself. It was an incredibly thoughtful gift – not just to Harry, but to everyone involved. Her one and only encounter with Sirius hadn't been the best (she would never underestimate the horrors of a hospital wing again), but he was obviously taking steps to amend any false impressions of him. She reached out and touched Harry's shoulder.

"This was very sweet of them." She said. She gave his shoulder a light squeeze.

He looked at her gratefully. "It is nice…" A flash of movement caught his attention and he straightened his spine, turning toward it. "Hey!" He called out. "Where are you going?"

While everyone else had been focused on digging through the prize they'd been given, Mihnea had been subtly easing his way toward the exit. He normally wouldn't have been spotted, but Harry was lucky enough to have looked up at just the right moment. Realizing he was caught, the Slytherin froze mid-step and looked over his shoulder.

"Back to my room." He said simply. "I only came to help carry the boxes." He waved a hand toward them. "You guys have fun with that."

He turned back toward the door and Harry frowned. "There's plenty here to go around." He offered.

Mihnea paused again, this time turning completely around to face them. "They're meant for you and your friends." He said to Harry. "There's no reason for me to be here."

"Yeah, me and my friends." The younger boy pointed out. "You're a friend, aren't you?"

Her cousin was taken aback by the question, but quickly recovered. "I don't have any friends."

"Oh, please!" Fred interjected. "That's troll dung and you know it!" He jerked a thumb back and forth between himself and George. "What are we then? Chopped liver?"

The Slytherin blinked at him. "That's dif…"

"Professor Lupin wouldn't have sent all this stuff if he knew you'd be left out." George said, not bothering to let him finish. He nimbly reached over to snatch the note from Harry's hands. "See? It says right here at the bottom: 'P.S., don't let Mihnea be a sour stick in the mud that won't do anything fun'."

From her position on the sofa, Constance could clearly see that there was no such message in the note, but she could imagine the man writing something to that effect. Maybe a bit nicer than how George put it, but the sentiment would be the same. She decided to keep her thoughts to herself, but gave Mihnea a reassuring look, hoping it would encourage him to stay. He'd probably be conflicted about it – she'd admit to not being in best mental state herself – but it would, at the very least, provide a distraction for a while. He peered around at everyone present, looking surprised at the lack of protest, before finally settling on her. When he took in the expression on her face, he shoved a hand back through his hair and sighed.

"Fine."

The twins tried to shove Ron off the edge of the sofa to give him a place to sit, but the Slytherin waved them off. He had agreed to stay and so he would choose for himself where he wanted to sit. He wound up selecting a spot on the floor where he could lean back against one of the stone columns supporting the mantle over the fireplace. Ginny, who was also on the floor, scooted toward him and offered a box she'd pulled from the pile she had been digging through.

"I found this." She told him with a friendly smile. "I'm pretty sure it's for you."

Mihnea studied her for a moment before thanking her and accepting the box. Connie didn't have a good view of the label from where she was, but her cousin looked pleasantly surprised so it must have been something he liked.

"What is it?" She asked.

He held up the box for her to see. "Blood fudge." He said. He took off the lid and looked inside. "I've never tried these before. They must be new."

Ron wrinkled his nose. "Ugh." He said without thinking. "That's disgusting. I can't believe you really eat that stuff."

Mihnea didn't even have a chance to respond before Hermione whirled in her seat to smack Ron firmly on the back of the head. It wasn't particularly hard, but was sharp enough to get his attention.

"What is wrong with you?" She demanded.

"Me?" He exclaimed, rubbing the spot where she'd hit him. "What's wrong with you? That hurt!"

"Good." The girl replied with a sniff. "I can't believe you eat half of what you put in your mouth either, so you have no room to talk. Do you even realize how you sound?"

"Merlin, Hermione, do you have to make such a big deal out of everything?" The ginger haired boy asked. He grimaced as he thought about it for a moment, then turned toward Mihnea looking a bit more contrite. "I, uh, didn't mean anything by that." He offered awkwardly. "It's just still a bit… uh…" He made a few unhelpful hand gestures.

The Slytherin rolled his eyes with a sigh and waved for him to stop. "I get it. It's weird." He said in a resigned sounding voice. "Don't worry about it."

Ron flinched as several pairs of eyes glared at him in reproach for making the atmosphere uncomfortable. The twins, doing what they did best, started cracking jokes to lighten the mood. Mihnea looked a bit self-conscious for a while – like he wasn't quite sure what to do with himself – but eventually even he seemed to lighten up and get more comfortable as time went on. It was nice, Constance thought, all of them hanging out this way. God knows they deserved it after all they'd been through, and sitting around talking about nothing in particular gave them a chance to let off steam. Getting to see her cousin come out his shell around her friends was also a welcome event. Oh, he still remained somewhat guarded and didn't behave nearly the same as he did at home of course, but he was opening up all the same. Even baby steps was making progress.

"Hey, can I ask you a question?" Harry asked him at one point. When Mihnea arched a curious brow, he cleared his throat. "What was that… thing you did? In the forest."

The Slytherin blinked at him. "What thing?"

"You know." Harry prodded. He gestured with his hands wildly as he struggled to find the right words for what he wanted to say. "That thing." He frowned in frustration with himself. "When we all met up before Sirius left. What was that? I mean… you were flying!"

This captured everyone's attention, and suddenly the air was filled with questions and comments coming from all sides.

"Flying without a broom?"

"Is that what that story about a dragon was about?"

"That was you!?"

"Dragon?"

"Was it a spell?"

"Are you an animagus!?"

"How did…"

"God, guys, calm down!" Constance exclaimed.

Honestly, she could understand being interested in something they'd never seen before, but this was ridiculous. Everyone finally shut up and gave Mihnea some room to breathe. He had initially made an attempt to answer, but gave up when he couldn't get a word in edgewise. He shot a thankful look at her, then straightened.

"I used my familiar to get us back." He said, addressing Harry since his question had been first. He cocked his head to the side. "You couldn't see?"

Harry and Hermione looked at each other. "Is that what that was?" The girl asked. "Honestly, it was so dark I couldn't make out much. Just shadows and wings…"

Off to the side, Fred and George were staring at Mihnea with open mouths. "So… you can turn into a dragon?"

"No…" Her cousin began, only to stop himself short. He thought about it. "Well, I probably could, but I haven't gotten that far yet…"

"Whoa, really?" Ron asked excitedly, cutting him off. "And you can just do it without a spell? That's kind of cool!"

Mihnea looked so flabbergasted that it was almost funny. He wasn't used to being the center of attention in this way and it showed. Of course, now that he had admitted to having the ability, everyone present began hounding him with questions about it, each wanting to know more about what it was and how he did it. While her cousin seemed unsure of how to process their interest, he at least made an attempt to satisfy their curiosity the best he could. Ginny even bravely asked if they could see the dragon for themselves. At this, Mihnea finally put his foot down. He didn't mind showing them at some point in the future, but it wasn't the sort of thing that could be done indoors. Dragons were extremely large, and letting one loose inside the castle – even if it was under his control – was asking for trouble. Constance was aware that he'd been experimenting with the various things he could do with his familiar, including summoning it at much smaller sizes, but it appeared that he wasn't comfortable enough to perform the feat in front of others without a good reason. Which was a good enough reason as any, she supposed.

They wound up staying up for the rest of the night. Tearing into the mountains of candy and playing games - doing things that normal teenagers did. Connie did her best to participate and enjoy herself, but as time wore on the paper thin feeling began to deteriorate. She found herself looking around at everyone wondering why she suddenly felt so… strange. Like an invisible veil had been dropped, keeping her separate from everything else. It gnawed at her insides, like an annoying ache that wouldn't go away. When the sensation began to creep too far into her thoughts for her liking, Constance would give herself a good shake and smile, or laugh at a joke that was told to help shove it back where it belonged. Reality could be dealt with later. This time was precious, and should be savored.

When the unfair passage of time made itself known through the chiming of the clock on the mantle, there was an unspoken agreement that it was probably time to start cleaning up. The candy was divided up amongst themselves for later. There was still enough left to last everyone for several days, if not a week or more. Harry even offered for Mihnea to take extra with him so he could share with Luna if he wanted. Her cousin finally took his leave for the night (or morning, to put it more accurately), looking decidedly more chipper than when he first arrived, and they decided that they should probably head upstairs themselves before any of their housemates woke up.

It was nearly five thirty in the morning when Connie finally crawled into her bed and settled down beneath the covers. She should have been more sleepy than she felt, but she brushed it off as being due to all the excitement. Surely, she thought, if she closed her eyes and lay there long enough, she would eventually drift off. It didn't help at all. Something about the sudden quiet made all of the thoughts she'd been avoiding come back to the forefront of her mind.

School was over. Tomorrow would see the students packing up their belongings before the end of term feast, and then Sunday they would be on the train home. And for the first time in Constance's young life, she wasn't looking forward to it.

"Are you still awake?"

Connie turned her heard toward the sound of Hermione's voice and saw that she was in the same predicament she was. Wide awake with no sign that it would change anytime soon. She sighed and nodded wordlessly. Hermione frowned in response and lifted her head to glance at the two beds across the room. Pavarti and Lavender were still fast asleep. At the sound of their light snores, the girl quietly folded back the covers and slipped out of bed. Sensing what she was doing, Constance scooted over to make room and Hermione climbed into bed with her and drew the curtains.

"You've been quiet today." She whispered as she settled into the mattress.

Connie flipped onto her back to stare up at the ceiling. "I've had a lot on my mind."

Hermione hummed in response. "You've been acting different ever since you got that letter."

She sucked in a deep breath. Had she? She thought she'd been doing a rather good job of pretending. But then, she supposed that even she hadn't anticipated just how much she was worried about all at once and miscalculated how much others would notice.

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Connie…"

"I said I don't want to talk about it." Constance repeated, a bit more forcefully than she intended.

She heard the girl's sharp intake of breath then the slow, resigned sounding exhale. "You know I'll listen if you need me to." She said.

"I know." She said quietly.

Hermione nodded once, then turned onto her back herself and clasped her hands over her stomach. They remained that way for a long time – lying next to each other without saying a word. Both of them thinking about things that no one their age should ever have to think about, much less actually deal with.

"I haven't thought much about it." Hermione said, her voice barely audible as it drifted through the space between them. "Going home. I guess I never thought much about it before either. I think it's starting to hit me that I'm not going back this time."

Constance turned her head slightly to look at her and saw her friend staring resolutely up the ceiling, her face an emotionless mask. Her heart crawled up into her throat when a single tear slipped from the corner of the girl's eye. This was so unfair. After everything they'd been through, she and Harry wouldn't even have a familiar place to go back home to. It put her own problems into perspective and made her feel guilty for being upset with her own situation. She had no right to complain when their issues were so much bigger in comparison. Wordlessly, she reached over and laid her hand on top of both of hers.

"It's going to be okay." She told her.

Hermione's fingers wrapped around hers and squeezed. "I guess so." She murmured.

A.N: Me and this chapter had a massive battle. It won. I apologize for any mistakes or awkward wording. If I didn't let it go, I would be fiddling with it forever.

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