"Aren't you glad I wouldn't let you have anymore?" Heri asked, wanting to laugh as he watched Fred trying to hug a seat in the car Herido, he friends and several other Slytherin's were occupying. "You should really be thanking me, don't you think?" He teased.

"Thank you." Fred returned as he threw his cloak over his head. "I hate you forever." The others laughed as the train pulled out of King's Cross.

"What on Earth did you give him?" Hermione looked less than impressed.

"Nothing." Heri said innocently and nobody believed him. "I didn't!" He defended, slightly offended. "Last night we had a little going-back-to-school-after-winter-break party," only those who'd spent time with his family could tell he was telling the truth; that they really were the type of family to make such a big deal out of a new school term. "and Wednesday was good enough to share some, erm, treats with Fred."

"Why would she do that the night before school?" Fred groaned, still hidden from the light.

"She's a sadist." Heri proclaimed as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Besides, you took enough at the rave to know what it did."

"I just wanted to spin… and she's hard to say no to." Was his muffled defence and his twin immediately agreed.

"We really can't be held accountable." He added as he passed water to his suffering brother. "How come she never offered me any?" Nobody missed the glower that darkened Heri's face at the question.

"Who knows?" He knew. He looked down to stroke Kounna and continued. "We'll try it the other way around next time." Damn it, he shouldn't have said 'we'.

"Herido Addams, what did you do?" Hermione demanded but then went straight back to checking through his homework in order to remove any illegal suggestions.

"Nothing!" He repeated. "But I suppose now it's happened it is interesting to know that certain states of mind don't transfer between twins." Draco cottoned on to Heri's little experiment and shook his head. "Which is disappointing." Heri added under his breath, though everyone heard. He kept the rest of his thoughts to himself – no one needed to know that the next stage of the experiment focused on the transference of pain.

"We conducted our own experiment." Draco informed confidently, but Hermione looked up immediately.

"Exposure to the prominent society is the most educational experiment you'll ever do!"

"Oh?" Heri was intrigued. When they explained what had happened between the rest of his Slytherin friends over the holidays he was surprised. Daphne's exposure to muggle technology hadn't been planned and Heri really hadn't given it much thought. After all he'd only shown her his phone and that was something all muggles took for granted. However, it turned out that Daphne's fascination with it hadn't died with his phone's battery. In the safety and privacy of their own homes, she'd shared this new world with Draco and Blaise and this led to all three of them turning up at Hermione's house demanding to be shown everything.

Draco was appalled by her home and refused to enter it for three days, and by that time they were learning so much that he just ignored the disgusting muggle abode in order to use the Wi-Fi.

The tale of how they had spent the last week of the holiday in the muggle world was spoken in hushed tones as it wouldn't do for any of their housemates to find out.

Strangely they all still held muggles in absolute distain. However, Daphne was wearing Chanel, Blaise was asking how to make digital music devices work around magic and Draco seemed overly concerned about the endless horrific things they could do… and also how convenient on-line purchasing was…

Part of Heri wanted to challenge them on this and defend the muggles. He would argue that more muggles understood the theory behind modern technology than wizards knew the theory behind modern spell craft, but in the end he realised that he didn't actually care how they felt about muggles. They had been courteous to Hermione's parents and that was all he'd have demanded from them.

Besides it was funny to hear how annoyed Hermione had been with the situation and how they had all come to blows over their opinions of her home.

It was also rather amusing to hear how much Ron had learned in the last week. He listened as the boy excitedly shared the various herbs and flavours in the thermos flask he carried with him, as well as the rude insurance investigator that made up the protein therein. Heri thought Ron's new interest in the culinary arts could be beneficial, although he'd have to learn how to cook animal meats as even Herido had standards.

As the other's all shouted at Ron that he needed to keep certain information to himself, and Fred cursed them for shouting at all, Heri thought forward to the upcoming term. He was curious about how Dumbledore had managed to stay in position. He could only assume the man had a lot of favours to call in.

The winter holidays had started early after the severed head of one Oliver Wood was found deep in the Forbidden Forest. The forest and surrounding area had been searched thoroughly, but no one was any the wiser to what had killed him or why he'd been out there in the first place. By the time January came, all parents were reassured that whatever had attacked Wood had passed through the area and the school was safe once more, with more stringent security in place around the forest, just to reassure.

Naturally, a memorial was to be held. Heri didn't see the point until he'd heard the twins threatening their brother. After they'd recovered from the shock and come to terms with their loss, they had of course been outraged by what they saw as Ron's betrayal of Gryffindor. They told him that he would be trying out for Keeper next year and if he wasn't the best damn keeper Gryffindor had ever seen, they were going to feed him to himself! Heri was intrigued to see that.

And then of course there was Snape.

He'd surprised Heri and he did so love being surprised.

Once the vow was made Snape made short work of Percy and barely noticed the horrific scene he was deleting. He could lament the atrocious ramifications of that later. He took Heri's arm and dragged him into his quarters. Heri did not like this! He pulled his arm free and sent Snape a glare so cold that the man had to take a step back.

"I just committed a crime for you, Mr Addams, so I do hope you can deliver on your end." Snape would see this through no matter what.

Heri straightened out his robe and took his time sitting down and getting comfortable. He was sorely tempted to just leave, but he had given his word.

"Six years ago Harry Potter stabbed his fat, ill-tempered uncle to death." He spoke matter-of-factly and sounded utterly disconnected and unconcerned with the subject.

"Ridiculous! The boy would have been 5 years old."

"He was angry." Heri shrugged. "You really should be careful about making 'children' angry." Snape didn't miss the threatening tone but carried on regardless.

"So perfect little Prince Potter murdered his uncle, and then what? The 5 year old disposed of the body, faked his own death and then disappeared into the sunset?" He scoffed.

"No, someone was sent to rescue him." Snape's eyes never left his as the professor searched for any sign of deceit. After all this time he wasn't entirely sure he could actually face the truth.

"Who?" He whispered out and Heri's returning smile was out and out evil.

"A dark family." He said teasingly. "Not one you'd know." Snape's fist clenched at the teasing. The child had no idea what this was doing to him.

"Who?" He repeated with more force.

"Manners, Professor Snape." Heri chided and Snape's jaw set. In that moment he was hanging onto his self-control by a thread. He was one sarcastic statement away from torturing the truth from the infuriating boy, sacrificing everything in the process and not giving a damn.

Heri laughed.

Snape's wand was in his hand within a second, but Heri's reflexes were next to none at this school and the kunai was thrown, spearing the man's wrist to the arm of his chair before a spell could be cast. Heri was under no illusions that he could win in a wand fight, not yet. Sometimes the best way to win a fight was to prevent it in the first place. Besides, there was a thousand other ways to eviscerate someone.

The stared each other down for a short moment as they considered their options, but in the end Heri was pleased to see that even though he must have been seething, Snape managed to compose himself and had the wherewithal to treat himself one handed in a way that prevented further damage. Heri knew he'd severed his ulnar artery and if Snape had been stupid enough to bleed to death, he'd have let him. The man was too brilliant for such a pathetic death.

"Care to share why this is such a sensitive issue?" Snape didn't rise to the bait, unfortunately, so Heri carried on talking as he dressed the wrist. "It's funny, but I think you already know. Somewhere in that brain of yours I think there's a truth just itching to be acknowledged."

Snape finally turned back to the boy. He wasn't sure what was being implied, but struggled to keep his building hatred of this boy at bay. His hatred of those knowing green eyes and his arrogant smirk and now prominent curse scar…

The walls fell around Snape. The ground gave way and he was hit in the face by the force of an ocean.

No. The boy was playing some cruel, wicked game with him.

There was just no way…

The fringe fell back in place and every bit of sanity Snape had screamed at him that it was a hallucination.

Heri saw the moment realisation hit. It was about 3 seconds before Snape's chest compressed and he crumpled into his armchair with a thousand yard stare.

Curiouser and curiouser, Heri thought. He was actually disturbed by the broken look overtaking his potions master and finally decided to just put the man out of his misery.

Heri slowly took Snape's hand, his arm hanging like a dead weight, and brought it up to brush away his fringe once more. Snape's fingers trembled as he ran them across the famous scar. He looked utterly drained, but his voice, though quiet, was strong and the most wonderfully deadly edge to it.

"Get out!" He said after snatching his hand back.

Heri sat back on his heels and took a moment to assess him. Even Snape's magic had never been so violently chaotic before and he wasn't sure if the professor was about to break down, attack him again or burn down the school.

He decided it might be interesting to find out and so stood to retrieve his knife, before sauntering out and returning Percy to his dorm.

"Heri!" Daphne's voice broke through his memories. "You ought to get changed soon too." Looking around it did seem like everyone else was ready for school.

"If I must." He grumbled and suddenly blackness rushed through the carriage and blinded the shocked and confused students for several seconds, but as soon as it had come, it was gone and everything was as before, only now Heri was perfectly dressed in his uniform.

"I…" Ok, so through the surprise, Daphne was impressed – that could be an extremely useful little trick! "That was rather rude, you know?" She settled for saying instead. Heri just smiled.

School continued as before, with very little changed. Flint was being pressured to re-join the Slytherin Quidditch team, yet continued to refuse.

"It's selfish of him!" Draco cried from their usual desk in the library.

"They say he has an anxiety problem." Daphne returned in much more subdued tones, as though this rumour wasn't already known by everyone in the room.

"Yeh, Quidditch is kind of an intense sport, Draco." Blaise added. "You need nerves of steel."

Draco scoffed. "He seems fine!" Whatever Flint had been through was months ago and Draco thought the older boy was almost back to his old self. No one needed to know how he had to cast silencing charms on himself every night in case he had nightmares or woke in tears.

Herido looked over to where Flint was sitting at a table, laughing quietly with a few friends and looking to the world like any other student. He strummed his fingers on his empty parchment. It was a habit all his friends had come to associate with his thinking something unpleasant and so none of them missed the tiny smirk pulling at the corner of his mouth.

"Blaise, give me that i-pad?" It had sounded like a question, but Heri never turned his eyes away from Marcus and his hand was held out expectantly, so Blaise said nothing as he dug out the object and handed it back to its owner.

Suddenly, the (relative) calm of the library was destroyed by a few simple notes ringing out loudly. All the other students looked across to the source of the music, to Heri's table, but Heri and his friends were all looking at Marcus Flint. Within a few bars of the intro he'd gone white as a sheet and hunched over at a painful looking angle, shaking violently and whimpering softly. Soon enough he looked up to find Herido Addams location in the room and Neville for one had to turn away from the haunting, hunted look of desperation and pleading in his eyes. Heri just raised an eyebrow and Flint looked down once again. By the time Madam Pince had arrived to throw Heri out, or attempt to, Flint had fallen to his knees, while his year mates tried to help him up and block him from the many onlookers.

Most didn't understand what was happening – the song was loud but catchy and upbeat.

Finally Heri paused the Libertines song and turned his smile to his friends.

"I don't think he's quite ready for Quidditch yet."

Snape had been avoiding Herido Addams since learning the truth. Everything Snape knew to be true in this world was shattered with that revelation and it had taken him weeks to even comprehend it. Every time he looked at the boy, even if only in his mind's eye, all he could see was Potter. Whereas before he thought Heri looked like a paler version of Mr Addams, now the features that had escaped his notice where blaring at him like a neon sign that flashed Harry Potter, Harry Potter, Harry Potter, again and again and wouldn't go out even when he closed his eyes.

And he still didn't know what to do with this information.

At first he'd been enraged. He'd been livid that the boy had been lying to him about something so important even though logically he knew Harry, Heri, whoever, wouldn't consider his identity any of Snape's business. He was devastated that Lily's son had turned into someone that didn't even flinch when stabbing his professor, and didn't feel any compunction in butchering a fellow student as he had seen him do in Percy's memory.

But then there had been the relief. The weight that was lifted from his shoulders in knowing he hadn't failed the boy in his childhood, that he was still alive and stronger than he could have ever hoped, and yes, selfish as it was, he was relieved that the boy was dark. Not only would he love to see Potter's face if he could see his son now, but he'd also made a promise to protect Harry Potter and this revelation made his life a whole lot easier. Well, he could only assume it would.

But then thinking of James' opinions also made him consider how Lily would react to her son and round and round the emotional Catherine wheel of Hell went. Anger, to devastation to glee to relief to sadness and all in under a second. It was exhausting.

And through it all he had to keep reminding himself that the boy was first and foremost an Addams now, and every opinion or plan he formed relating to him had to be seen through that prism. Heri had been unnaturally quick in throwing that knife and Snape had realised at the time that it could have easily been aimed at his heart and that he was therefore only alive now by the grace of a child he couldn't decide whether he should hate or hug. Not that he hugged… But the point was that even if Snape would be ready for a physical attack in the meantime, he would grow up to be one hell of a dueller with such a quick draw.

All in all, he'd had to reduced it down to fundamentals that even a baby could deal with: Harry Potter was alive – this was good; he was dark and this was also good; Lily wasn't here to see it – check 'good'; the rest of the world thought him to be dead and so he wouldn't be a target in the years to come – good; he was part of a powerful family and so couldn't be more protected; and finally, he would be spending his educational years under Snape's watchful eye where the man could honour his promise. Fire: bad. Tree: pretty. Alive: good.

But it still hurt to look at him.

Heri's sleep hygiene hadn't improved since starting school. Even in such a restrictive environment, there were still for more interesting things to do than sleep.

Sometimes he simply wandered through the forest looking for a challenge, but there never was any. A being like him would always be safer in a dark forest than a school of light. Still, he took the time to improve his mastery over certain creatures.

Sometimes he'd explore the castle, trying to find any other treasures like the Room of Requirement.

Sometimes he would simply sneak out to muggle areas or round up some animal sacrifices for his friends. He was always curious how far he could push them. Draco had impressed him by killing a centaur he brought back, but none of the other's would kill anything that seemed even slightly intelligent. Yet.

On this night he had been forced into a room near the library after almost being discovered by Filch. He wouldn't have minded, but Dumbledore seemed to be monitoring him whenever possible after Wood's death and playing with the caretaker in the middle of the halls would be foolish.

Even so the night turned out to be more interesting than he'd anticipated when he came across a mirror that vibrated with all sorts of enchantments – not a single one of which he could decipher.

He read the enscription easily enough and didn't pause before stepping before the mirror, curious to know what it would show him. He didn't think he wanted anything really, except maybe respect and he couldn't imagine how that would be visualised.

He was wrong.

What he saw hurt.

It hurt in that way he hated most. The type of pain he couldn't decide was good or bad, but kept him feeling hollowed out and alone and drew from the never ending source of his secret weakness.

In his reflection he was part of an image that could have been any of a dozen family portraits that were dotted around back home. His mother sat in her favourite chair holding Pubert and was surrounding by the others – Heri included. The only thing out of place was the two additional figures that stood slightly off to the right and who he recognised immediately as Lily and James Potter.

They held each other lovingly as they watched over him.

And their smiles showed no scorn.

And something snapped in Heri like a dry twig. His reflection was strong and confident and regal, but in reality he was being overcome by those feelings from long ago. Mostly he felt vulnerable. He'd come so far in life and this was still his heart's desire? That in addition to his beloved family, he needed acceptance from his birth parents? That he needed to know they wouldn't reject him, revile him?

Fuck that! He thought viciously. He wasn't a lost lonely little boy and he didn't need… He looked up to Lily once more, her eyes were a little sad, but that small smile was as warm and loving as his mother's and James Potter seemed almost proud to see his son standing proud as a powerful member of the Addams family.

Herido held his head for a moment, unable to tear his eyes away. He knew this wasn't real, but it was the closest he would ever get to knowing the love of that young couple. As he beheld them he could feel every minute of every year he'd spent in the darkness of Privet Drive, praying by some miracle they would come back for him, that he could be loved and wanted. He could feel the pain he'd experienced when his mother had first showed him pictures of the Potters.

He wouldn't swap his family for anything in the world, not even the Potters, but the love, relief and happiness reflected in the mirror, false though it may be, hurt like hell.

Finally, he took a deep breath to steel himself and with a cry jumped high to deliver a spinning hook kick to the mirror, only he was knocked across the room before he could land the blow. He landed in fighting stance and looked up to see Dumbledore with his hands up in the universal gesture of peace.

"I apologise, Herido." The old man began as Heri relaxed his posture and walked over to him. "I couldn't let you destroy such a priceless artefact." Heri shrugged. That was fair, he supposed. "I imagine you know what this mirror does?"

"It gives us a taste of the impossible. A fine instrument of torment, professor." He meant it as a compliment, but the man looked a little aghast.

"What did you see?" He asked before he could stop himself. Knowing what Herido Addams desired, and what had made him react so violently could be useful, but the boy just sighed.

"Sheeted memories of the past." He took a breath as if to continue, but then gave the headmaster a sad smile and turned to the door. "And thus the sad Soul that here passes, Beholds it but through darkened glasses. Goodnight, professor." And that said he left the man feeling as though he'd intruded on something precious.

Heri's quotes: Dream-Land by Edgar Allan Poe.

FaeMelody: My Addams Family are predominantly based on the 60s TV version :)

I apologise for the huge delay. This is mostly down to my inability to settle on how both Snape and Herido would react to things that happen in this chapter. I must have written half a dozen versions of the Heri/Snape reveal, but in the end thought it best to just get it done with and move on with the actual story!

Thank you for reading! xx