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//This is Parseltongue.//

Paraselenic

Elucidation // to provide clarification; explain

The moon watched over Harry as he crept across the silent lawns of Hogwarts after he had snuck away to feed. Animal blood was nowhere near as satisfying as human, but it beat the disgusting Blood Substitution potions that some vampires swore by. Though Harry kept a cache of it 'just in case', he chose not to use it unless the situation was dire.

The Hogwarts grounds seemed to glow under the ethereal light of the waxing moon, nearly full overhead. Long shadows were cast from the reflected light, lending a surreal look to the landscape. Harry felt like he was dreaming as he stayed to the deepest shadows hoping to remain undetected. He begrudged Valerian his Shadow capabilities; it would be so much easier to simply allow himself to fade in wherever he pleased. But he was not a fool; techniques such as that took a lifetime or two to learn. As much as it would be nice for it to come ingrained in his vampirism, he had to deal with what he got.

The Entry Hall was eerily silent as he slipped up the first staircase, his senses cast out to be sure he remained unwatched. He needed to get a few hours of sleep that night, because he doubted he would get any at all the night after. He had his meeting with Tom to worry about. On silent feet he made his way up to Gryffindor Tower and past the sleeping Fat Lady, ready to turn in.

Ron was snoring loudly and Harry gave a wry grin at the familiarity of it. He, Neville, and Ron had met up with Dean and Seamus after dinner, the latter three commenting boisterously on their summer. It was not strange for Harry to not join in on this, as most people were aware that he did not enjoy his summers with his relatives. But watching the three young men had given Harry pause.

He was no longer like them.

It had been niggling on his mind since the train ride, becoming more obvious through dinner, but the full weight of the revelation seemed to lay heavy on his heart in that moment. He could no longer relate to these people, any of them. He had spent ten long years being trained by ancient vampires and other intelligent immortals, and as such had adopted to the situation by becoming more like them. Now he was here with young men who had barely lived sixteen years and his heart ached in his chest. He didn't care about girls. He didn't care much about Quidditch anymore, either. He wasn't prone to angsting over the lot he had been handed in life, nor the 'unfairness' of their professors. Though he had always felt separate from his peers growing up, the ten year age difference held the truth in stark relief.

If he ever had before, he no longer fit in.

The revelation both saddened and lifted Harry's spirits all at once. On the one hand, he regretted losing the tight bond he had formed with Ron; despite the rough patches, the redhead had been a wonderful friend and had been right there beside him through so much. It dismayed him to realize the loss of his first friend, like he had suddenly lost his childhood. On the other hand, though, this would certainly make his predicted end result easier for him. He had no illusions that any of the people he knew from his years in Hogwarts would stand by him when the truth came out. If it wasn't his Vampirism, it would be his status as Dark. If it wasn't that, it would be the blood on his hands. Even if one of them was able to get past those things, one encounter with his cruel, calculating side and they would be sent running. He supposed the emotional distance that was setting in now was preferable to losing it all in one swift kick in the teeth.

Sinking into his bedding, he let the still familiar sounds of dormitory life rise and ebb around him as he drifted into a dreamless sleep.

Severus Snape tapped his fingers against his thigh, a habit from his teenage years that still manifested before he had drunk his morning tea. The listless tattoo of his fingers was silent in the din of the Great Hall, but Severus used the faint pressure to keep is mind focused on his thoughts and not on bemoaning his life as it currently stood.

His favorite student had come to his rooms immediately after the Welcoming Feast, rambling on about Potter being different somehow this year. Severus sneered both internally and visibly, cowing a few students without even trying. The brat hadn't even been in the school twenty-four hours and already he was causing new problems for the Potions Master. He wondered about what Draco described, though. That the Malfoy heir had admitted to his weakness when confronted with Potter had astounded Severus and forced him to take the blond seriously, no matter how farfetched the situation seemed. His first assumption was that the death of his mutt of a Godfather had taken its toll on the supposed 'Hero' of the Wizarding world. He had hated Black into the deepest fibers of his being, but he could imagine what such a loss would do to the cocky Potter boy.

Black eyes flickered across the Great Hall, watching the students filling the house tables and chatting away with their friends. They were all so naïve, flitting about like there wasn't a war going on outside the castle walls, worrying about their superficial lives and their petty problems. Severus hated children for this reason more than any other. Even when he had been in school he had had to deal with Death Eater meetings, James Potter and his cronies, his mother's declining health, and just surviving beyond another year. He had not had time for the trivialities of youth, and he despised all these bumbling children who believed there was nothing more to life than who had gotten a haircut over the summer and who was going to win the House Cup that year.

Black eyes locked onto eerily bright green and motion in the hall froze for one moment, Severus's breath inexplicably locking in his throat. Something in those eyes was too… too hard for a child, too dark to be normal. Potter blinked and the moment was ruined, Severus quickly pulling his eyes away.

Severus chose to ignore the chill of foreboding that lanced down his spine and went back to sipping his tea.

Harry shook off the strange feeling that had filled him as the staring contest between he and Snape came to a close, choosing to instead focus on the biscuit he had commandeered for his breakfast. He had no real need for regular food, but he liked it well enough and chose to eat it to keep up appearances.

The morning mail had been delivered and Harry lost himself in the drone around him, his fellow students chattering excitedly, or in several cases woefully, about the classes they would be taking that year. Harry had half an ear on everything around him and his eyes slanted in the direction of a bored looking Dante, who sipped a beverage without even bothering to look his way. He didn't have DADA until the next afternoon, so doubted he would get to talk to the vampire before then.

Hermione's muted gasp rang to his right, and he took his eyes off of Dante and raised an eyebrow at her. "What's wrong, Hermione?"

The muggleborn witch shoved the Daily Prophet under his nose, pointing to a minor article on the second page. "Look here, Harry! They had to Obliviate over a hundred muggles this summer! This is terrible… at this rate, the Wizarding world will be exposed!"

It was only that she sounded genuinely on the verge of panic that made Harry not burst out laughing, instead he smiled gently at the brunette. "Don't worry so much. We won't be exposed."

"How can you talk to calmly?!" she said, shaking the paper which she had yet to remove from Harry's face. "You were raised Muggle too, you know how they are! If they find out about us…"

"Hermione," he broke in with a wry smile. "Calm down. It's because I know muggles that I'm not paranoid. You know as well as I do of how ignorant they can be. You could parade a dragon in front of a crowd and we would remain undetected. Half of the people would just brush it off as a special effect. Some would join little conspiracy groups believing the government was doing genetic experiments. And the remaining of them would just go home thinking they had been dreaming. It will take a lot more than a few people ranting about our existence for the oblivious fools to see anything they don't want to see."

Hermione's brown eyes widened before narrowing, lips pursed in a trademark 'Hermione is Thinking' expression. Harry picked at his biscuit as he watched her toss the idea around in her head, obviously weighing its truths. Ron remained focused on his food, not caring in the least about their discussion. Finally, bushy hair swung with the force of Hermione's nod and she smiled. "You know, you're right. I was being a bit paranoid, wasn't I?"

Harry resisted the urge to agree. "No matter, really. I can see why people would be concerned. But I think of my uncle: he knows magic exists and he still doesn't think it is anything to worry about. So I figure we just ignore them and they'll live on in their ignorant bliss. It's a win-win situation, really."

"That's surprisingly intelligent, Harry." Hermione beamed, obviously believing that to be a compliment.

Harry rolled his eyes at her and smiled. She was massively intelligent, but even though they had improved over the years, her people skills still needed work.

"Boys! Herbology starts in ten minutes! Up, up!"

Both of their groans answered her.

Harry fought the urge to practice a few choice curses on the Ashwinder that Hagrid had assigned to their group. They would only be alive another week, and kind-hearted Hagrid was insistent on making their short lives better before they laid their dangerous eggs, and it was his sixth year students' job to help. Harry sighed as he listened to the silvery-grey snake rant in broken insults and confusing tirades; snakes that did not spend time around humans did not speak in coherent sentences. He knew better than to even attempt speaking with the annoying serpent in class, so instead suffered being the only person who could hear the curses of the short-lived beings.

Hermione was currently in Arithmancy, leaving Ron, Harry, and Seamus as the only Gryffindors in the Care of Magical Creatures class. Thankfully it was the last class of the day. Harry had failed to take into account how utterly boring going to classes would be when he already knew all the material, and just wanted the annoying day to be done with. He was rather looking forward to his meeting with Tom that night, as he currently felt like he hadn't had an intelligent conversation in years. He shoved away a tiny voice that noted that it was odd to look forward to seeing Voldemort of all people, knowing things were different now. Despite what the man had done and despite the lingering feelings of dislike that remained, Voldemort was an intelligent and interesting person, and Harry couldn't help gravitating toward that.

Harry, Ron, and Seamus worked in silence, save for the annoyed grumblings of Ron and the angry hisses from the snake. As Harry attempted to adjust the snake's bedding, it stuck out and managed to sink its fangs into Harry's hand at the base of his thumb; Harry cursed under his breath and wasn't sure if it came out in English or Parseltongue, but was sure he didn't give a damn at the moment. Though not venomous, being bitten by anything hurt, and even the scent of his own blood was enough to make him antsy.

"You alright, mate?" the redhead asked, peering over Harry's shoulder, "It didn't get you, did it?"

Harry shook his head, his hand being in his mouth and keeping him from answering as he closed the wound. After a few moments he removed his hand, "No, I just managed to hit it on the bar a bit."

Seamus, who had been sitting on the ground and thoroughly ignoring their assignment, peeked up through sandy blond bangs. "Remind me again why I'm still taking this class?"

"Because otherwise you'd have to take Divination," Ron said.

Harry chuckled. "I think it's the only reason anyone takes this class."

Seamus heaved a heavy sigh and plopped backwards into the grass. "Wojus."

Ron joined him. "Yep."

Harry just shook his head and continued the assignment for the last few minutes of class, scowling at the hissing snake.

"What's it saying?" Ron asked suddenly, and Harry blinked back his surprise. Normally Ron seemed to try and forget that his friend was a Parselmouth.

"Uhh… you really don't want to know," Harry said sheepishly as the snake let out a few expletives that would have made Mad-Eye Moody blush.

"Maybe if you told it to shut up and we could ignore it for the rest of class," Seamus said hopefully, eyeing the snake with disdain.

Again, Harry was surprised by the boys' casual comments to his 'Dark' ability, but only laughed and brushed it off. "But then its insults would be against me rather than the color of Ron's hair, and that wouldn't be very entertaining for me."

Ron pinked in indignation. "Hey!"

"What? It's not like you can understand what it's saying."

His friend shrugged and pouted. "Stupid snake."

"Just be glad Hagrid has yet to decide to ask to use one of Aragog's children."

A visible shudder went through the redhead as the end of class was announced by a pleased Hagrid, and the three boys began their trek back to the castle in the slight mist. They had nearly made it to the doors when they were stopped by a figure that stepped out of nowhere, causing Ron and Seamus to jump back in surprise and Harry to stifle a grin at Dante's less than subtle emergence.

A golden eyebrow rose as the expressionless man surveyed the trio, feline eyes darting from one boy to the next before landing with an amused look on Harry. "Mr. Potter, I have been sent by the Headmaster to retrieve you. Will you follow me?"

Harry nodded, waving off his dormmates and following his instructor into the castle silently, waiting until they would both be sure of their privacy before yanking Dante into an empty classroom. Harry quickly put up silencing and locking charms to be sure their conversation remained private, a scowl overtaking his features. "What are you doing here, Dante?"

"Hn," Dante said with a slight quirk of his lips. "That's Professor Pierce to you."

Harry growled in response.

"Fine," he drawled, flicking his fingers at Harry. "Valerian sent me along after you. You should have known he wouldn't send his favorite pet out without someone to watch over him."

"I resent being called his pet and I want to know why I wasn't informed of this. And how did he send you as well? Opening the portal for only me should have exhausted him for weeks!"

Only because Harry knew the blond so well was he able to see the long-suffering look he was given. "You're thinking linearly again, Mylläkkä," he chided. "In fact, it exhausted him for a month, and he still waited another before he sent me. He merely sent me back farther. Time is not an issue to him, you know this."

Harry shrugged and sat down on the top of a desk, surveying the room for a few silent minutes. It looked to be an old Arithmancy classroom by the charts on the wall. He pulled his knees up to his chest and rested his chin upon them, drained of anger now but still upset. "Did neither of you think this would be something important to tell me?"

Dante sighed and adjusted his position, shifting his weight to one foot and cocking his head at Harry. "It wasn't until after you left that Valerian became so worried for you that he asked me to go. You know how he can get. He never wanted you to leave in the first place, but he had promised you when he brought you to Sceaduwe that you could leave in ten years to return to the Mortal realm. Valerian would never go back on his word, but you know it hurt him to let you go."

Harry's eyes cut away. "I apologize for jumping to conclusions. But I would have appreciated a warning."

A smirk settled over Dante's face. "That was my idea, Mylläkkä. I have to keep you on your toes, after all."

Harry laughed weakly and shoved the blond, hopping up from his seat on the desk. "Whatever, Dante. How did you manage to get a job here, anyway? Surely Dumbledore knows you're a vampire."

A nod. "He knows, as will all students. It will not be hidden as it was with Mr. Lupin, and I am only going to be here for one year. He had planned, actually, to replace the Potions Master with the previous one and allow the Snape fellow to teach Defense… but the former Master had an accident. I was his only choice."

Harry laughed again and tipped his head. "Touché. I must say that this is convenient, though. I was worried about how I was going to get away with my meetings with Voldemort and not raise too much suspicion."

"Isn't Snape a Death Eater?"

"Yes, but he is also a dual spy. I can't be sure which side he is actually on."

Dante's eyes narrowed. "I hate spies."

"Oh, shut up. This isn't the same as your brother, Dante. I honestly respect Snape for being able to survive in the life he's been forced into. He's had a lot of things shoved onto his shoulders."

"Like you?"

Green eyes locked with blue. "Yeah, a lot like me."

"When is your first meeting?"

Harry pulled out his wand and cast a Tempus, frowning. "In two hours. I need to go to dinner to keep up appearances."

"We will talk tomorrow then, Mylläkkä."

"You've got to stop calling me that, Dante. You'll have to lower yourself to calling me Potter, because the name Mylläkkä will soon be as known as Voldemort. If someone heard you call me it…"

The vampire just lifted one shoulder in a small shrug. "I'll just avoid referring to you at all."

As Dante walked away. Harry smiled at both the knowledge of his friend's closeness and his impending meeting with the Dark side. Harry couldn't help the snicker that escaped him at the thought; he felt rather like a Star Wars reject. With a grin that he didn't dare showing others because of his fangs, Harry stretched his arms above his head as he walked down the empty corridor.

He didn't feel the eyes watching his every move.

Revised: 3/18/09