Nope, don't own!
I know I say it alot, but I am genuinely thrilled by the response to this story. To every one who has taken the time to review/follow/favourite/PM/read, you're all a damn inspiration! To all of you clinging on with my erratic update schedule, you all get pumpkin juice and blood pops!
I'm atrocious with timelines and I apologise sincerely for it, so if the timing of stuff is off please tell me!
-YDHP-
Vlad couldn't help but poke fun at his tutor for constantly sucking on blood pops, the battle hardened vampire warrior at the mercy of 'confectionary'. Bertrand offered him one, and Vlad was now certain he'd never want to drink blood, the blood pop was disgusting. Ingrid seemed to like them when she joined his second class of November, and Vlad made sure to make his levitating statue knock it out of her hand. He paid for it when she used hers to hit him in the face, Professor McGonogall the visiting teacher this time having to heal a scratch down the side of his cheek. She had been about to remonstrate Ingrid for it, but Vlad was laughing and saying it was normal Dracula behaviour. Bertrand had dragged them back to practice, and Vlad transfigured Bertrand's seat cushion to jelly for the sheer amusement of his face when the seat gave way beneath him. That earned him detention for mucking around too much, and Vlad finally met Mr Filch, the caretaker. Spending his friday night scrubbing cauldrons under the watchful gaze of both Mr Filch and Professor Snape was not Vlad's idea of fun, but as he was finally let go, washing his hands and dashing back up to the tower, Vlad had to admit he probably deserved it.
Finding the common room empty as he escaped detention, Vlad headed up to the dormitory. His room mates were still awake, though clad in pyjamas and taking turns tossing another new toy for Phantom to chase. The familiar purred on sight of Vlad, clambering up his robes and licking his face. "How was detention Vlad? Can't believe you got in trouble, what were you doing?" Pushing Phantom's paw off his mouth to answer, Vlad chuckled. "It was ok, just cleaning cauldrons though I have no idea what happened to the poor things. I pranked my tutor when I got bored in my private lessons, and Professor McGonogall was there to tell me off in minutes. Lesson learned!" Harry looked pale, so Vlad deposited Phantom into the boys lap and won a smile. "What's wrong Harry?" Neville replied for him, as though the boy had asked the same thing himself. "It's the first Quidditch match tomorrow, against Slytherin. He's super nervous." Vlad reached out a hand and squeezed Harry's shoulder, finally getting Harry to look up. "You've practiced, you're a natural and Slytherin won't know what hit them. You'll do great Harry!" Harry nodded up at him, and Vlad felt safe leaving him to go shower and change for bed. Phantom managed to somehow curl up in his robes, and Vlad had to dislodge the furball to dump them in the laundry pile.
Between Harry being on the Quidditch team and Vlad's frequent point scoring in class as early as their first day, and their budding friendship with the Weasley twins the first years were already somewhat popular with the older Gryffindors. The escapade with the troll only a week or so ago had cemented that, and Vlad learned how it felt to be 'cool'. The excess attention still made him nervous, but very little of the attention was negative and it was nice to be liked and even admired for something other than his future as the Dracula heir. The rivalry with the Slytherins was already heating up, and none of the boys let Harry be alone anywhere other than the bathroom as the older Slytherins were clearly out to sabotage him, there had been multiple near misses of hexes in the corridor. Professor Flitwick's words were ringing in Vlad's ears, but he was seriously concerned for Harry's safety when a sixth year boy tried to "stun" him and flicked his hand to knock the boy over. The enormous teen dropped flat on his back and the first years ran for it, not wanting to be caught fighting. Vlad and Hermione were consistently reminding the others not to get caught up in the fighting, though that hadn't stopped Seamus and Dean earning detention twice for swearing in the corridor when Ron and his two "bodyguards" started picking a fight.
Rolling his eyes at his classmates behaviours, Vlad made sure to shake his damp hair in Draco's direction and giggled as the boy shrieked in dismay. "Drying charms Dracula, you cretin!" Draco would likely get on brilliantly with Count Dracula, and Vlad thought that would be an exceptional first meeting to witness some time. Drying his hair and climbing into bed, Vlad heard Harry laughing quietly and assumed Phantom was pestering him again as they went to sleep. Harry was already gone when Vlad was shaken roughly awake by an overexcited Seamus. "Quidditch Vlad, Quidditch!" Stumbling to the bathroom to change and clean himself up, Vlad was still half asleep as he let Seamus lead him downstairs. Neville dashed back up for his Gryffindor scarf, coming back down with Phantom firmly attached to his shoulder. "Phantom, you menace!" Vlad managed to transfer his familiar to himself, dragging the irritating fluff ball along with them to breakfast. Harry was there, looking solemnly into his plate of bacon that Phantom gave interested looks at. Until she noticed the headmaster that was, at which she decided he was more exciting and jumped up to the head table. It was becoming such a regular occurrence for his familiar to invade the teachers table, and Vlad noticed she still wouldn't go near Professor Snape or Professor Quirrell. Turning back to his porridge and poking Harry to nibble at some toast, the older boy Vlad remembered was called Wood came and got Harry, presumably to go and change to play. Hermione joined them as they were dragged along to "get good seats" by most of the other Gryffindors, and Vlad copped Phantom curled around the Headmasters shoulders as he himself headed out. Only his familiar would insist on being carried to a school sports event.
Harry was sure he'd be thankful for eating at some point, but right now his stomach was rebelling against the slice of bacon and half a piece of toast sat in it. Nerves were pumping through his blood as he changed into Quidditch robes, the crimson fabric highlighted with gold. Strapping on protective arm and leg gear, Harry grabbed the Nimbus 2000 he'd been gifted to play on and followed his team mates out. "Scared Harry?" Turning to nod at Oliver Wood - team captain and 'keeper' of the goal posts, Harry answered honestly. "Yep." "Felt the same way before my first game." "What happened?" Harry really wished Wood hadn't been so honest when he answered. "Don't really remember, I took a bludger to the head a few minutes in. Woke up in the hospital wing a week later with a cracking headache." Swallowing back the urge to vomit, Harry stepped out with his team. Cheers erupted, and he heard a voice he thought may be the twins friend Lee Jordan commentating, introducing each member of both their and the Slytherins team. Madam Hooch stepped between them, asking the Captains to shake hands. The Slytherin team captain, Marcus Flint according to the commentation, was a distinctly odd looking boy. Harry wondered if he were part troll, the terrible teeth and brooding, heavy brow of his forehead not quite normal to his eyes. Mounting his broom as the chest containing the balls was opened and the bludgers released, Harry let all his anxieties stay on he ground as he lifted himself up.
The snitch was released next, but Harry had to wait for the signal. As the quaffle - the only ball that couldn't fly by itself - was tossed up between them, there was a whistle, a blur of movement and he shot up out of the sea of people. The Slytherin seeker followed him up, managing to keep an eye on Harry and on the field below. Straining his eyes against the sunlight that didn't quite belong in a November afternoon, Harry searched for the tiny golden flutter below. There were players streaming everywhere, and the constantly blurring colours made it harder to look around. Looking down at the Gryffindor stands, he could see both Vlad and Draco's pale skin reflecting the sun, Draco's near white blond hair even more stark in the sea of black uniforms. The teachers stand was almost level with him, and Harry thought he could see Phantom in the stands with Professor Dumbledore. Smiling at the behaviour of Vlad's cheeky familiar, Harry went back to searching. His broom seemed to be unhappy, vibrating in his hands and Harry gripped tighter. "Hi Harry!" followed a bludger that zoomed past him, followed closely by one of the Weasley twins. As he swerved to avoid it, his broom seemed to overcompensate, bucking him alarmingly. Gripping harder still, he tried to turn to search. The broom really rebelled then, zipping backwards and rolling him upside down. Barely holding on with the tips of his fingers, Harry tried to roll back upright. His broom was having none of it, pitching him more violently than Neville's rebellious broom had and there was no Vlad in mid air to save him now.
"What the hell is he doing?" Hagrid's booming voice sounded behind him, and Vlad turned to find the midriff of the large man. "I have no idea, but I'm guessing it isn't meant to do that?" Hermione shook her head beside him then. "No, brooms are supposed to be enchanted against sabotage as it'd be nearly impossible to spot someone doing it in mid air." Neville's binoculars were "relieved" of him by Vlad then, searching frantically against the bright light of the sun. Harry was barely hanging on, and Vlad was certain McGonogall would kill him if he brought out his "powers" now to save Harry. A black blur caught his eye then, and he zoomed in to see Phantom's eyes glowing bright green around the headmasters shoulders. Looking further along, he could see Professor Snape muttering rapidly under his breath. Leaning in close to Hermione, Vlad mumbled fast. "Phantom is up in the teachers box, and she's telling me there's dark magic up there. I think Professor Snape is doing something to Harry's broom!" Hermione slipped away, and Vlad only hoped she'd make it in time as Harry rose higher, the broom trying to buck him off more violently. Flint, the Slytherin captain, managed to score four goals with barely anyone noticing as they all stopped to watch Harry. One of the Weasley twins was trying to get hold of Harry, but the broom kept rising out of reach so both twins circled beneath him, evidently planning to catch him.
"Drop him!" "Knock him off!" Turning round, Vlad spotted the group of first year Slytherins. He was about to 'accidentally' knock them over when Neville stepped over to them. The boy was trembling slightly, but standing tall as he squared up as best he could. "Leave him alone! He's worth ten of you Ron!" The youngest Weasley boy's face turned red, twisting into anger Vlad wouldn't have expected him capable of. "Shove off Longbottom, just because he's famous doesn't mean you have to suck up to him." Torn between watching Harry and keeping Neville alive, Vlad dragged Draco along with him as Neville launched himself at the trio of first years in green and silver. Ron fell back, blood pouring from his nose where Neville must have clocked him. Crabbe and the boy he thought might be called Goyle set on Neville then, and Vlad and Draco had to both grab hold of Neville and drag him away as the two huge boys both punched him at once. Hagrid's enormous hand came down then, pushing the Slytherins away as they heaved their now unconscious friend away and turned frantically back to the game.
There was a dramatic sound echoed around the stadium as the broom gave a particularly violent shove, Harry barely grasping on with one hand and otherwise hanging free in the air. Madam Hooch was hovering level with Harry, clearly trying to work out what was going on. Turning to look and see if he could spot Hermione, Vlad saw a ruckus in the teachers box and a flash of blue flames. Several teachers were knocked off their benches as Snape stood up, faint smoke rising around him as he fumbled around. Harry's broom stopped pitching then, and the boy managed to drag himself back onto the broom right way up and a sigh of relief filled the Gryffindor stands. Hermione appeared next to him under a minute later, flushed cheeks from running back and she was clutching a jar of blue flames in one hand, a specific bundle of fur in the other. "Thank you for the warning Phantom." Vlad muttered quietly to his familiar, who preened under the praise and clambered to sit in the warmth of Vlad's robes against his chest. Holding her there carefully, Vlad turned to see Harry barreling towards the ground. As Harry rolled off his broom barely three feet from crashing into the field, they all watched with bated breath as he struggled back to his feet. "Looks like he's gonna be sick!" Vlad agreed with Hagrid, Harry looked like he was retching.
Harry barely remembered getting back onto his broom, racing down to the ground before the lump in his throat suffocated him. He turned and rolled off as he neared the ground, not trusting himself to brake in time to not crash violently. As he clambered back to his feet, he felt his throat constrict again. Clutching his stomach, he retched and heaved against the blockage. The obstruction came free, and Harry looked into his hands with surprise to find the snitch. The golden ball tried to fly away so he clung on, the little wings beating uselessly against his fist as he held up the ball. "Harry Potter has caught the snitch! Gryffindor wins!" The entire stadium erupted into cheers, and his team mates rushed to him in a pile of group hugs and screaming. Over the sounds of joy, Harry could hear Flint complaining "He didn't catch the snitch, he nearly swallowed it!" "It was in his hand before it was in the Slytherin seekers hand Mr Flint. That's the game!" Flint tossed his broom angrily aside, scowling for all he was worth as more Gryffindors poured onto the pitch to congratulate them. Harry was lifted up on his team mates shoulders and carried to the changing rooms, barely having chance to shower and throw his weekend clothes back on before he was shoved back outside to his 'adoring fans'.
Vlad and his dorm mates plus Hermione were there first, clapping him on the back and congratulating whilst berating him. "I didn't know you took flying gymnastics Harry!" Draco poked his shoulder then. "The broom went crazy, I have no idea why! Hey, where's Neville?" Vlad's eyes were bright, his usually pale cheeks flushed with excitement. "Ron and his gargantuan followers were shouting for you to drop, so Neville punched Ron in the face. Crabbe and Goyle knocked him out and Hagrid carried him off, we can see him when we escort you to the Hospital Wing for a check up." Harry suspected between the knowing looks of Vlad and Hermione they had an idea what had happened, but given there was a crowd to shed first, it could probably wait. Phantom's face poked up out of the front of Vlad's robes then, looking exceptionally proud about something. Petting the black bundle, Harry let his dorm mates and the rest of the crowd 'escort' him to the Hospital Wing. Madam Pomfrey chased off most of them, allowing the first year boys and Hermione to stay as they wanted to see Neville. It probably helped that Phantom jumped out to purr at the nurse, nuzzling her hand and generally being affectionate. "Very well Mr Potter, let's have a look at you." Harry felt a strange current move over his skin, presumably some kind of diagnostic spell. Neville was still out cold, though now Phantom was licking his face he was sure to come around soon. Professors Dumbledore, McGonogall and Snape appeared then, the smell of fire clinging to Snape's robes. Snape was even still limping slightly, and Harry wondered what on earth the man had done.
Professor McGonogall quizzed him about how he felt, and Harry saw Professor Dumbledore lead Vlad to a side room. He wasn't sure if he was imagining the... accusatory stare Hermione had trained on the Potions Professor, and suddenly he was more anxious for everyone to be ok and clear to go so he could find out what exactly had happened while he was swinging through the air. Vlad looked a little paler when he left, but there was no clear signs anything was wrong when Professor Dumbledore stopped to pet Phantom affectionately before sweeping out of the wing. The other professors soon left too, and once Neville was steadier on his feet they were let go for dinner. Harry hadn't realised how long the game had gone on for, and suddenly realised he was ravenously hungry. They were all anxious to hear what had happened, but knew it wasn't for public discussion so they each wolfed down their dinner, Vlad surreptitiously taking a bag from the Weasley twins with a wink and stuffing it in the book bag he carried everywhere. "I know you two normally hit the library now, but can we please go up to the common room?" was whispered anxiously by Seamus to Vlad and Hermione over treacle tart and Quidditch themed cakes iced with snitches and brooms. "Fine, bring cake." Vlad left first, no doubt to smuggle Hermione into their dorm before the others followed. Sure enough, when Harry rose after hiding a few wrapped cupcakes in his pockets, half the house suddenly followed which gave the other boys plenty of cover to steal more cakes.
The others had hurried up to the dorm save Neville, who was enjoying the congratulations for taking on the Slytherins on the ground. Harry eventually managed to escape by saying Neville had to rest after his 'ordeal' and they dashed up to the dormitories. Vlad or Hermione had clearly been studying locking charms, as Harry had to wait for Hermione to call out "Alohomora" to let Phantom dash in anxiously after them. The door was re-locked, the bag from the twins revealing more snacks and butterbeer gifts and they each turned out their stash of cake and the usual flask of pumpkin juice for Vlad, who still blushed when they mocked him for his love of it. As soon as everyone was settled, Harry couldn't stop the question bursting out of him. "So what the hell happened out there? I was too busy you know, clinging on for dear life to take a good look. And what did Professor Dumbledore want with you Vlad?"
"I think he noticed Phantom acting strangely up there, one of the teachers was doing something to your broom Harry. Professor Dumbledore pulled me aside to warn me not to tell anybody that secret, so I will personally hex each of you until you have tentacles if that knowledge leaves this room." They each nodded solemnly, so Vlad felt safe to continue. "Hermione did something involving Snape's cloak and those blue flames she does to warm us up in the courtyard, and there was a commotion which seemed to break what was happening up there. Then you puked up a golden ball and everyone was happy. Oh and Neville punched Ron in the face!" Neville was blushing hotly behind his butterbeer bottle as the other boys congratulated him. "Imagine Draco, if you and Ron had gone where everyone expected you to, Neville would have been punching you in the face today." Draco sipped his drink and looked deep in thought for a moment. "True Seamus, though I like to think I have far more decorum than that bog-eyed bully." Neville hesitantly placed a hand on Draco's shoulder and promised never to punch him without good reason. "Why thank you Neville, I'll remember that fondly." Sipping at his pumpkin juice while the others downed their butterbeer, Vlad wondered where all the drinks came from. It certainly wasn't the kitchens (Seamus had asked) and he doubted it was an acceptable way so he was probably better not knowing.
In spite of having eaten way more than usual at dinner, the boys were eager to make their way through the snack stash while Vlad and Hermione pulled out their unfinished essays. "Come on guys, we're celebrating!" Vlad smiled indulgently at Seamus and Dean, who had a habit of commenting on their "geeky" friends in concert. "Yes, but me and Hermione don't consider homework a negative thing. It's school guys, we are here to learn. Plus, the more we do tonight, the less we have to do tomorrow when you're rushing to finish and need our help." He got the predictable tongue-out reaction from Seamus and the other boys grudgingly pulled out their homework. The room was mostly quiet but for the scratching of quills, and Vlad wondered what their next adventure would be, as he, Harry and Hermione seemed to keep ending up in bizarre situations.
Bertrand had forgiven him for the prank in their next class, and Ingrid had even mumbled an apology for causing him injury. Vlad treasured the minute increases in their closeness, though he knew it would be put to the test when they went home for Christmas - their father had said in no uncertain terms they could not stay over the holidays, Vlad needed more vampiric influences than breather. Sighing as he imagined his father arguing to use real innards for christmas tree decorations before setting the whole tree alight -again-, Vlad turned back to his Vampire Lineage book. This night was one of his actual study lessons, and Vlad was bored but forced himself to note down Clan Leaders and their spouses. Bertrand nodded approvingly at his work at 9pm and sent him on his way. Harry and Hermione were just getting out of detention (Professor Snape had caught them out two seconds after curfew and been particularly vicious after the Slytherin defeat in Quidditch) as they met in the hall ways. They were about to set off from the second floor when they ran into Ron and his cronies, who Vlad knew had been in DADA detention for hexing a first year Hufflepuff outside the classroom (he'd been there and took the girl to the Hospital Wing).
"Think you guys are tough cus you won that match? Your friend dropped like a sack of doxies!" Vlad had no idea what doxies were, but imagined it wasn't a pleasant comparison. "Go away, didn't you learn from before not to pick on people?" Clearly they hadn't, squaring up to the Gryffindors Ron pulled out his wand. Hermione was tugging at his arm, warning them to leave. "Come on Vlad, let's go up to the tower." Shaking her grip off, Vlad felt a spark of the Dracula temper inside him. "I don't need cronies to pick a fight with a first year girl, do they hold your hand when you go to the bathroom too?" Ron's face twisted again, but Vlad knew they weren't a real match for him. "Bring it on Dracula, you pale little freak. I'll take you and scarface over there on any day." The boy before him was unrecognisable as the boy who'd been mostly cordial and friendly on the train to Hogwarts, and Vlad made a note to check in with Ingrid on what was going on in their house. "Three on two is hardly fair, pick one of your bulls or go off and play in the dungeons." He wasn't about to drag Hermione into this, and Harry had moved to stand next to him with his wand out. Vlad hadn't bothered going for his, his magic was practically better without it.
There was a flash of movement, and Hermione screamed and dropped next to him. Stunning each of the Slytherins in turn quickly, Vlad turned to his friend. She was unconscious already, and he tasked Harry with taking her to the hospital wing. "Quick, she could be really hurt!" Ron had taken off running up the stairs, so Vlad pelted after him with protective anger spiking through him. Following the distinctive red hair round a corner, he saw Ron disappear behind a door at the end of a corridor and pushed himself faster to catch up before the door closed. The door slammed behind him the second he was through, and Vlad noticed Ron had fainted. He didn't specifically blame the boy, given that Vlad had just found out why the third floor corridor was forbidden. An enormous three headed dog was growling viciously at him, bigger than he expected based on the descriptions of Cerberus' in his fathers books. The smell was unbelievable, and it's paws were bigger than Vlad. He thought he could see something beneath the dogs paw, and made out the outline of a trap door as the dog moved. This meant the huge, yellow toothed, drooling mouth was growing closer, so Vlad made a quick decision to lift Ron up and make a run for it.
The door took a good shove to open, and Vlad ran dragging Ron in mid-air behind him. The corridor was still as empty as he'd left it, so Vlad lay Ron down on the floor by the door and magically locked it behind him. He wanted to check on Hermione, but that would have been far too obvious, so he quickly dashed up to the tower and thankfully saw no-one. "Hey Vlad, you look awful. Where you been?" Ever the eloquent one, Seamus noticed Vlad's no doubt frazzled appearance. "Run in with the Slytherins, I'm gonna go shower and hit my bed hard. Night!" Still shaking with a mix of adrenaline and fear, Vlad soaked in the cleansing feeling of hot water beneath the shower. Flicking his hand to dry his hair as nobody was around, he clambered into bed and hoped Hermione and Harry were ok. Every time he closed his eyes the enormous dog and the trap door flashed across his eyes, and Vlad found sleep that night exceptionally difficult. Clearly he couldn't avoid adventure here, no matter how much he hoped to be normal. Or as normal as a magical vampire could be.
-YDHP-
This ended up going on much more than I expected, but hopefully the lengthy chapter makes up for the fact I'm about to lose computer access for a few days. I'll be back as soon as possible, I'm hoping to get a chapter up for Christmas day/boxing day but we'll see.
I can still recieve reviews/PMs on my phone, so if you have something to say I'll see it.
Until then, enjoy!(?)