Don't own the characters!
Here we go, more boys at Hogwarts!
-YDHP-
Waiting until Vlad fell asleep the next day, Harry was shaky with energy. His cloak was packed tightly in his bag, and as the sky darkened he hid behind his bed-curtains. Unusual behaviour for him, he knew that but he didn't want his bedmates seeing him still dressed. As every breath finally evened out to snores and light sleep rhythms, Harry pulled on his cloak and crept from the room. The common room wasn't totally empty, but a couple of older students were coming through the portrait hole and Harry took the chance to escape Gryffindor tower. Stealing down the stairs, he racked his brains for where they'd even found the mirror. Keeping a wary eye out for ghosts and prefects, Harry tried to retrace his steps. He was losing hope, legs aching and feet sore from all the steps when he thought he found it. Peering around the door, he sighed in relief and jumped in. The mirror was there, tall and imposing and showing him his family the second he stood in front of it.
Pressing a hand to the reflection, Harry longed to fall through, to touch his family. Sitting down in front of the glass, he stared up. There was nothing to stop him spending all night here, or coming back again tomorrow. Or even the next night. Losing track of time was too easy, and Harry nearly leapt out of his skin when a quiet voice sounded behind him. "Harry?" "Vlad!? What are you doing here?" Vlad didn't look angry, or even disappointed. Mostly he looked tired, and a little sad. "I thought you'd come back. I came to rescue you." "From what?" Harry felt the defensive edge growing inside him, Vlad had a family, he wasn't taking Harry's. "I looked up the mirror. People have died or gone mad from losing themselves in the reflection." "You're lying!" Vlad looked at him sadly, undeterred. "I wish I were, I wish I could leave you to stare at your family and know you'd come out of it fine. But I know otherwise, now please. Let's go." Vlad's eyes were wide, passive and pleading. Harry thought to himself... he could go with Vlad now, wait a couple of days for his friend to relax his guard and then come back. Stopping the smile he could feel from breaking out on his face, Harry nodded and picked up the cloak. "Fine, let's go."
Vlad ducked under it with him, leading him back to Gryffindor tower much faster than Harry had gotten there. The strange tutor passed them, awake at a very peculiar hour of the night and Harry was almost certain he knew they were there. Vlad said the man wasn't a wizard, so he didn't know what to think. Falling back through the portrait, Harry was glad it wasn't a school day. He missed Vlad slipping the cloak into his trunk as he fell asleep, barely managing to take off his glasses as he dropped into bed. He was anxious the entire next day, barely focusing on revision until Vlad started zapping him with a mild stinging hex when his attention drifted. "Less than ten weeks until the exams that determine whether we can stay in Hogwarts Harry, stop thinking of that mirror." Vlad hissed in his ear under the guise of picking up his notes, and Harry dragged himself back to re-reading Hermione's potions essays - he didn't want to be kicked out of Hogwarts.
As night started to fall the first years rubbed tired eyes, bidding Hermione goodnight and heading to their dorm. The others were barely in pyjamas before they were asleep, though Vlad went for his usual sunday night shower first. The boy came out with dry hair and in his pyjamas, dumping an ink splattered t-shirt in the laundry and being leapt upon by Phantom. "Has she gotten any bigger this year?" Harry whispered carefully, not wanting to wake the other boys. "According to Professor Dumbledore, she's gained a couple of inches and a couple of pounds in weight, but she is still tiny aren't you girl?" Phantom purred as Vlad petted her fuzzy head, nuzzling into his chest and falling asleep. "Well, I'm going nowhere, night Harry." "Night Vlad." Harry had no such intentions of sleeping, waiting until Vlad's breathing evened out before hunting for his cloak. Which he couldn't find. Looking over at the sleeping Vlad, Harry bit his lip in indecision. If he went through Vlad's things and was wrong, he'd be a terrible friend. If he got caught, Vlad would want to know why he wanted the cloak. Either way, he was kind of stuck. Warring with himself, Harry found his legs pushing him upright to go to Vlad's trunk. As soon as he'd touched it, his fingers felt like they'd been shocked.
Looking at Vlad's bed, his eyes were still closed but Harry couldn't open the trunk. Cursing under his breath, Harry wrestled with himself. If he were careful, he could probably go by himself without the cloak. But he really couldn't afford to get Gryffindor into more trouble. Sighing, he resigned himself to bed tonight and plotting how to get the cloak tomorrow. He didn't really sleep, rising before his room mates and heading for an early shower in an attempt to feel more alert. It kind of worked, and Harry dressed for the school day and headed down to breakfast, stopping to feed a mewling Phantom on his way. The familiar had saved his neck in the forest, feeding her was the least he could do. Casting one last longing look at Vlad's trunk, Harry forced himself down to the Great Hall. There were very few other students awake yet, and more than one teacher looked surprised to see Harry up so early without at the very least Vlad or Hermione, sitting quietly by himself and dumping honey into porridge. Vlad swore by porridge for energy, and the sugar would hopefully perk him up enough to muddle through class.
He had to struggle not to glare at Vlad when the boy appeared, Phantom clinging to his shoulder and darting along the Head Table. The familiar was widely accepted as a pain in the neck who went wherever she pleased, and half the school didn't seem to know she belonged to Vlad. She still wouldn't go near the end of the table where Professors Snape and Quirrell were, further confirming Harry's suspicions about the man. Vlad and Hermione were discussing possible potions they'd be tested on brewing for their exams, barely stopping to actually eat between hurried words. Sipping at a hot cup of tea, Harry let the words roll over him and yawned. "Didn't you sleep well Harry?" Harry hadn't even noticed Neville and the others arriving, and he could feel Vlad's eyes on him as he answered. "No, head too full of Charms work. Hard to sleep when your brain is full of tap dancing pineapples!" The other boys chuckled, but Harry didn't think he sounded that convincing and he doubted Vlad believed him.
Vlad felt guilty, of course he did for hiding Harry's cloak - basically the only physical thing he had from his father. But he'd looked up the mirror, worried it would see what it was and Harry would work out he was a vampire. What he'd found disturbed him further - the Mirror Of Erised could drive a man mad, wasting away like Narcissus, trapped by the reflection. He also understood the desire, his reflection that of a normal human after he was sixteen was still burning in his mind. When he woke to find Harry gone, he'd tried out one of the new invisibility spells he hadn't told Harry he'd practiced - that would stop Harry relying on the cloak. He barely remembered to remove it before finding Harry and dragging him away from the mirror, stealing the cloak and hexing his trunk for anyone but him trying to open it. He'd seen Harry try, feigning sleep as Harry gave up and went to bed that night.
He could feel the accusatory stare Harry was trying not to give him when he went down to breakfast the next morning, talking with Hermione about exams as a cover so Harry wouldn't have to look at him. Classes were slightly awkward, as most people still weren't talking to them and Harry was unusually quiet all day. Sighing as he paired with Neville in Potions, Vlad was relieved they got through without anything melting or exploding. By the end of the day, he was exhausted carrying the guilt around with him. Crawling back to the dorm, he found Phantom back from her adventures garlic knows where and lay on his bed petting her. Neville poked his head around to ask if Vlad was coming down for dinner but he declined, claiming a stomach ache and turning on his side. The door opened again but he expected it to be one of the other boys dropping off a bag, so Vlad was very surprised when a hand turned him on his back roughly, Harry's bright green eyes full of anger.
"Where's my cloak?" Vlad sat up, shrugging off the hand on his shoulder and waving his hand over his trunk. The lid lifted and Harry's cloak was folded neatly on top of his books. "Why did you take it?" "Because you were going to go back to that mirror, you're still thinking about doing it now!" Harry pinned him to the nearest wall, stronger than he looked in his anger. "So you stole it?" "Stealing implies I had any intention to use it or keep it, neither of which is true." Not wanting to actually hurt Harry, Vlad flicked his hand in the other boys direction and felt him drop under the jelly-legs jinx. Brushing off his robes habitually, Vlad lifted the jinx and stepped back from Harry. "I'm your friend Harry, I'm not going to let you destroy yourself." "I'm fine without your help!" Sighing, Vlad handed the cloak over. "If you go again I'll follow you. If I have to I'll go to the headmaster. That mirror is dangerous Harry." The door creaked open then and Harry had to stuff the cloak down his robes, Vlad locking his trunk back up and Dean regarded them both coolly. Vlad's robes were still a little roughed up and Harry's eyes were still bright with anger.
Pulling off his robes and laying them carefully over his chair, Vlad picked up a book from his bedside table and lay back on his bed reading. Harry turned away from them both, shoving the bundle of robes and cloak in his trunk and pulling his bed-curtains closed. Dean simply picked up his revision folder and left the room again looking a little confused. True to his word, Vlad stayed awake waiting for Harry to leave. He heard the sounds of Harry getting up and pulling the cloak on. Whispering the spell to cloak his body (it was temporary and difficult, he almost fainted the first time he tried), Vlad crept after Harry in the dark, both knowing the route easily enough by now. Vlad was as surprised as Harry to find the mirror gone, and his heart almost stopped a few years early as they found Professor Dumbledore in it's place. He was certain the headmaster knew Vlad was there, but didn't say anything about it. "Back again Harry? The mirror has been moved to a new home, and I must ask you not to go looking for it again. It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live."
Harry hadn't even taken off the cloak until the professor said his name, and Vlad couldn't help envying that level of sensing power. Harry looked crushed as he nodded at the headmaster, pulling his cloak back on and running off. Vlad waited a moment to see if he was to remonstrated, but while he thought Dumbledore smiled and nodded faintly at him, he wasn't sure and took off running before he could get in trouble or the spell wore off. He found Harry crying on a chair in the common room, remembering to lift the spell and sitting next to his friend. "I just wanted to see my family, why is that so wrong?" "The mirror gives neither knowledge or truth. It's designed to tempt you, to hold your hearts desire in reach and drive you mad with longing." Harry clung to Vlad, still crying and whimpering for what felt like hours. Already planning what he was doing with the week ahead, Vlad tried to comfort his friend as best he could. Harry eventually cried himself to sleep and Vlad levitated him up to bed, deciding it was worth the couple of hours he could get himself. His magic was starting to buzz with overuse so he drank a mouthful of Replenisher, barely shoving the flask away before he collapsed into sleep.
The next day he dashed off to Hagrid's during his free period, barely avoiding Harry and Hermione tailing him. "Yer alrigh' Vlad? Yer look flushed." "I have an idea for Harry, and I couldn't think of anyone else to ask." Hagrid listened, his broad face creasing into a smile. "I'm on it kid, pop down after yer exams and it'll be done." The conversation ended just in time, Vlad spotting Harry and Hermione crossing the field. "I might have ran down here." Hagrid's booming laugh filled the cabin, and his friends joined them in time to have a cup of tea before hurrying back for lunch. Exams looming, even the animosity Gryffindor felt started to ease as Harry won the third Quidditch game, though narrowly, and Vlad and Hermione earned points for constantly being ahead of everyone in their work. They were still trailing in third place for the house cup, but that didn't seem to matter as everyone panicked a little more about the testing.
Even Vlad's jam-packed brain struggled not to mix up the dates of goblin rebellions and wizarding wars. Forgetfulness Potion was aptly named, as everyone seemed to forget at least one ingredient. The tap dancing pineapple earned him extra points as he could do it wandlessly and silently and even managed to do it to a tune. The written papers were a moonlit walk otherwise, easy after the revision Hermione had poured down their throats. Relaxing in the courtyard, Vlad even got a quick hug from Ingrid, who was clearly much happier about the end of her third year exams. "I passed my blood test too, highest score in my year." Congratulating his sister, Vlad waved to her and let Harry lead he and Hermione to visit Hagrid. A quick nod from Hagrid cheered him up, telling him his surprise for Harry was ready. "'Arry, Vlad tells me yer got no pictures of yer family. So I gotcha this." Hagrid pulled out a thick leatherbound album, and Harry opened it reverently. "Wrote ter a few ol' Hogwarts graduates, people who knew yer parents. D'ya like it?" Harry's eyes were tearing up, stroking over the photos of his mother and father gently. "I love it, thank you Hagrid. And you Vlad."
The album eventually went in Harry's bag and the trio celebrated the end of exams basking in the sunlight outside Hagrid's hut. Well, Harry and Hermione probably just enjoyed it, Vlad basked in the heated light. According to multiple people he'd be able to go out in the sun with careful magic after he transformed, but his body would still resent it. So for now, he was going to enjoy it while he could. Hagrid served them something like lemonade made from dandelions, which was oddly refreshing on the warm day. "So Hagrid, how's Fluffy?" Hermione broached carefully, taking advantage of the relaxed mood. "Yer know, yer the secon' person to ask about 'im this week." "Oh? Who else other than us and Dumbledore knows?" Hagrid looked a little uncomfortable then as he answered. "I met this... breeder after Norbert went, I were lookin' for a new pet y'know? An 'e wanted to know what sorta creatures I looked after, so I told 'im abou' Fluffy." "Was he interested in Fluffy?" "O' course 'e was interested in Fluffy, how often do ya come across a three headed dog? Even in the trading business." "Who was this guy?" "I dunno, 'e kept 'is hood up, not tha' unusual in the Hogs Head pub. Anyway, like I told 'im. Trick with any beast is ter know how ter calm it. Take Fluffy for example, play 'im a bit o' music and 'e goes straigh' ter sleep. Ah. I shouldn't 'ave told yer that."
Vlad felt Harry realise at the same time he did, and Hermione was close behind. They made their excuses and hurried away from Hagrid, running through the hallways. Professor McGonogall looked surprised to find them rushing about when everyone was relaxing outside after exams. "Why is it always you three?" "We need to see Professor Dumbledore, urgently!" The professor led them to a classroom, no doubt spelling the door soundproof. "What is this about?" "We know about the Philosophers Stone! Someone is going to try and steal it." Any other time, Vlad would have enjoyed the pure shock on his professors face, she was a difficult woman to ruffle. "I don't know how you three found out about the stone, but I assure you it is perfectly well protected. Now please go back to your dormitories, quietly." The professor swept out then, and Vlad shared a look with Harry and Hermione. "There's nothing else for it. We need to go down the trap door tonight." "Why tonight Vlad?" "End of exams? First time teachers aren't expected to be always in their rooms. It's now or never."
-YDHP-
*dramatic music* we all know what's coming next!
Apologies for this story right now, I'm struggling with my head and it took me the better part of two days to write this update. Hopefully it isn't terrible!