Not my characters, I just play with them.
Sincere apologies for the fact I am a terrible, easily distracted man-child who sat down to write this update and ended up spending two days writing a dark six-shot. However, I am done with that and now I'm totally on Chosen Two!
On we go!
-YDHP-
Scanning through his own personal collection of blood magic books, the ones that Hogwarts were not specifically aware vampires had access to as magic was supposed to be kept seperate unless vampires and powers came together - like in the Dracula siblings - Bertrand found what he was looking for. Comparing it with a couple of books Madam Pince had kindly let (with perhaps some mild hypnosis) him borrow, the four-centuries old vampire sighed. He wasn't sure where this fell under his purview as a tutor, or as something akin to a staff member at Hogwarts. Was it his place to bring up? Could he be certain some people didn't know already? Hearing Vlad and Ingrid shout down to his crypt room that they were ready and waiting, Bertrand covered his skin with the strange sunblock potion, stuffing the books in his bag and heading up for his protection charms before they left for Vlad's second year at Hogwarts.
His new pet, Lily, was perfectly content to be let out to hunt day or night, and Harry had warned her to only go where she could not be seen as his relatives would not appreciate a foot long snake slithering through the house. The snake had simply hissed with laughter, saying she was fine to take care of herself. Hedwig was not happy about the snake, but they had a wary tolerance of each other so long as Lily kept her scaly little snout out of the bird cage (that's what Lily said Hedwig told her anyway, Harry didn't speak bird AND snake). His trunk packed, Harry looked at the two animal carriers in wonder. "Lily, would you mind terribly making part of the trip in my pocket or around my arm? It would be much easier to keep your tank in my trunk for the journey." Hedwig hooted indignantly as Lily slithered out to wrap around his arm, hidden beneath his jumper and he could feel her lick at his elbow occasionally. "The bird wishes to be free also." Hissing in response, Harry asked Lily to ask Hedwig if she wanted to fly to Hogwarts.
Apparently this was acceptable, and Harry felt like he was losing the plot somewhat at all this animal whispering business as Hedwig nipped his ear affectionately before soaring out of his window. Hurriedly cleaning out her cage, Harry dragged his stuff downstairs where his uncle was waiting with a still-oddly serene smile. "Ready to go Harry?" Truth be told, in spite of the ease of his summer, Harry was anxious to get away from all the strange behaviour. Vlad had said he would be on the train early again, as Bertrand was a staff member he had to get there before the students and he was accompanying them. Harry took that to mean Ingrid would also be early, but not likely with her brother. Uncle Vernon helped him load his trolley at Kings Cross, and Harry was relieved to fall through the barrier at Platform 9 3/4. Actually more than a little early himself, Harry checked Lily wouldn't be crushed as he lifted up his belongings.
Vlad's head poked out of the far window, grinning when he saw Harry. A quick glance told him the platform was still empty but for Harry and Harry felt his things grow light, floating along the platform by themselves. Chasing after them and ignoring the laughter of his new snake, Harry clambered into the end carriage. "Show off!" Vlad grinned, offering his friend a hug and Harry was surprised to find Ingrid there also. "Close your mouth Potter, nobody has to know I willingly lower myself to the company of Gryffindors if they don't see me." Shrugging, Harry rolled up his sleeve and hissed at Lily. Ingrid was watching the exchange with interest, and Harry asked for permission from the familiar first before offering his arm out to Ingrid. "She won't bite, go ahead." Ingrid reached out her arm and Lily looped around the pale arm, turning to inform Harry "she liked the other snake". Harry laughed as he relayed the message, but it seemed to cheer Ingrid.
"Where's Phantom?" Vlad indicated his backpack on the seat, a tuft of black fur in the front pocket indicating Phantom's new sleep spot. Pulling Lily's tank out for when people started arriving, Harry was amused to see Ingrid not wanting to give up the snake but wanting to get away before the flood of students appeared. "Don't worry, your secret is safe with us." Vlad got a hug from his sister, and Lily got an affectionate stroke over the scales as Ingrid passed. "Well, that's one way to win over a Slytherin!" "What is?" Harry and Vlad turned to see Neville, who had clearly been looking for them. Holding out a hand to help with the boys trunk, Harry forgot the snake wrapped around his arm. "AH! Harry, there's a snake on your arm!" Whispering an apology for Lily only, Harry carefully guided her into her tank and activated the heat mat. "Yes Neville, when I was with Vlad while he was buying Phantom's food, I got 'chosen' by a snake. Much like Vlad, I didn't get a choice in the matter, it's just that Phantom is fluffy and persistent, Lily is quiet and relaxed."
"Lily?" Harry indicated the tank. "Her scales remind me of my mums eyes, or the photos I've seen of them anyway." Neville nodded, finally letting he and Vlad help pull his trunk into the carriage. They were joined by Hermione soon after, who looked at them all closely but wisely didn't ask anything in front of Neville. Seamus and Dean stuck their heads in to say hi but hurried off to do who knows what further down the train. He and Vlad both bought a ridiculous amount of sweets, leading to Phantom getting locked in her carrier much to her displeasure when she wouldn't stop trying to eat the chocolate ice-mice (that squeaked realistically). Vlad pushed a few treats through the carrier, rubbing Phantom between the ears when she relented enough to let him touch her.
"If she didn't save our lives, I'd say Phantom was too much work Vlad." Phantom mewled unhappily, so Harry apologised before she could get offended while Hermione looked on in amusement. Packing away their leftover sweets into Vlad's backpack before it was shrunk and hidden in his pocket, Harry wondered just how much practice the boy had gotten on his 'special powers'. Phantom was curled up snoozing in her carrier, so Vlad left her to be brought along while Harry let his own new familiar curl up in his pocket. Wondering how he was going to explain this to his dorm mates as he re-packed Lily's tank, Harry followed his friends to the carriages to Hogsmeade. Vlad was standing, looking something between horrified and confused as he stared at the carriages... No, he was staring at the space in front of them. "Vlad? Are you alright?"
"What's that? Pulling the carriage?" Harry couldn't see anything where Vlad was pointing, and the older students all said the carriages pulled themselves. "Nothing Vlad. It's pulling itself?" Vlad looked around somewhat desperately before shaking his head and climbing into the carriage shakily. He didn't speak the whole time they were on their way to Hogwarts, and Harry caught Bertrand pull Vlad aside for a minute as they got in. Vlad looked much less lost when he returned, though still a little shaken as the sorting went on. Gryffindor gained three new girls and four new boys this year, all of whom looked at Harry with awe. There was a collective scream after the feast started, when Lily poked her head out of his robe pocket in interest at all the smells of meat. Harry promised the snake was fine and offered her a piece of steak, which she took happily and returned to her 'nap'.
"Harry, why do you have a snake?" Holding up the hand with two faint scars from Lily's teeth on, Harry quickly replied saying he'd acquired a familiar. "She isn't going to hurt you, but if everything smells like meat she is probably going to be interested." Trying to get on with his dinner under the stares, Harry felt prickling discomfort as everyone around him apart from Vlad, Hermione and surprisingly or unsurprisingly, Draco. He was happy to escape up to the dormitories, finding their room exactly like last year except their door now said "Second Years". Hermione followed them in like she was a second year boy regardless, already asking for a closer look at Lily. "Be nice, Hermione is a friend." Again, three of his friends looked unconcerned while the other three boys in the room looked horrified at Harry hissing. Hermione held out an arm for Lily to wrap around, and Harry felt the question rising in the air.
"You're... you're a parselmouth?" Neville was looking at Harry in horror, Seamus not far behind and Dean looking totally confused. "Well I have a snake familiar, it would be odd if I couldn't talk to her wouldn't it?" "You guys don't look so surprised." Vlad and Hermione shrugged in sync, which looked especially strange with Lily on Hermione's shoulder now. "We were there when Lily decided Harry was her new wizard. So I guess we've had time to adjust, and plus it's obviously not a Dark power if Harry has it - Harry isn't dark!" This didn't seem to appease the boys much, Lily happily transferring herself to Draco when he held a hand out to her. "This one would make a good snake, why is he not with the pale girl?" "Because he wants to be good, not that snakes are bad but Draco belongs here with us." Lily huffed and curled around Draco's neck, everyone watching the exchange with confusion except Vlad, who was now letting Phantom out.
"What does your magic cat think of the new snake then Dracula?" Vlad didn't like the tone of Seamus' voice, and Phantom wasn't a cat but after his shaky evening, he didn't have the energy to argue properly. "Draco, may I borrow the snake?" Lily, who must be sick of being passed around by now, coiled herself around Vlad's hand. Holding out the snake to Phantom, Vlad smiled as Phantom mewled and pawed the snake gently. "See?" It was still disgusting when Phantom darted off, somehow always returning with a mouse whenever she felt like it and hovering by Lily's tank. Vlad carefully dropped the snake into her tank, letting Phantom drop the mouse in for her. "Phantom likes Lily, she brought her lunch the first time they met." Seamus was still shaking his head, Neville still looking terrified.
"Are you three all Slytherins in disguise, secret Dark wizards?" Hermione looked between the two groups of three boys, and Vlad thought she looked like she might actually slap Seamus. "Honestly! Harry and Vlad almost died fighting off V-V-Voldemort last year! Why bother if they were Dark?" Seamus scowled at Hermione then, looking murderous. "Don't get too comfortable with them as friends, you know Dark wizards don't like muggle-borns." Vlad saw the flaw in Seamus' argument almost instantly and was quick to reply with "I have no magical relatives other than Ingrid, who in case you've forgotten is a Slytherin!" "Shut it Dracula!" Not wanting to reveal his 'powers' and get lynched by Professor McGonogall on his first day back, Vlad had no defense when the larger Irish boy shoved at him.
"What is the meaning of this? I could hear you boys... and girl, shouting all the way down in the common room. Do you not have your own dormitory to be in Miss Granger?" The seven of them turned to find their head of house in the doorway, looking down at the scene. "Hermione came in to see my new familiar, and then Seamus started accusing us of being Dark wizards and attacked Vlad!" Harry turned and held up the tank, Lily curled up contently now she had a stomach full of mouse. "Fighting! Detention Mr Dracula and Mr Finnegan. I expected better of you Vladimir. Mr Finnegan, if you don't like your dorm-mates, I suggest you grow up." "But Miss, he's a Parselmouth!" Seamus, already clearly annoyed at getting detention decided to pull his 'ace' out. "Is this true?" Harry hung his head as he nodded, hissing gently at Lily. "Well, are you secretly You-Know-Who in disguise?" Vlad, who managed to escape from Seamus, shook his head. "No, even Phantom likes Lily, keeps offering her mice and patting her on the head."
That seemed to settle the matter for the evening, and Seamus scowled hotly before jumping into his bed and closing his curtains roughly. "We really aren't evil or anything guys, and Lily isn't going to hurt you. I'm sorry Professor McGonogall, it won't happen again." Bowing his head towards his head of house, Vlad waited until she left before grabbing his pyjamas and hiding in the bathroom to change. He was already shaken up that evening, the skeletal, dragon-like horse creatures suddenly in front of the carriages but where nobody else could see them playing on his mind. Bertrand, who must have noticed Vlad's upset, pulled him aside to explain they were something called Thestrals, and most people couldn't see them as they could only be seen by those who had seen death. As vampires, death was an intrinsic part of their life and so Vlad, Ingrid and Bertrand could all see them anyway. Not liking that his vampirism made him yet more different, Vlad scrubbed his face clean and went back out into the dorm.
Neville was still looking shaky but after much coaxing, reached one finger to touch Lily's scales. "She's warmer than I expected." "Yeah, she loves anything warm, that tank has a magic heat mat in it and she loves it." Hermione, eventually realising she was still in the boys dorm, hurried off to her own and promised to see them in the morning. Draco, who was utterly entranced with the snake familiar didn't seem to act much different, though Vlad expected the blond was dying to ask about Harry's special language. The bowls for Phantom's food and water re-appeared like magic, and Phantom happily got stuck in to her food and water before clambering to stretch out across Neville's bed. "Nice Phantom, first night back and you're already cheating on me?" Phantom mewled happily, pawing Neville's face and curling up to sleep. "I promise I'm not trying to steal your pet Vlad, she seems like hard work." That earned him a swat on the cheek, but Phantom didn't leave so Vlad just laughed and climbed into bed.
This hadn't been the best start to the second year at Hogwarts, though Vlad expected his father would be thrilled to hear he had gotten detention already on his first night back. Sighing as he put out his candle, Vlad saw Harry still getting ready for bed, the others all settled down for the night but Harry lay dressed, hissing softly at Lily. Maybe it was because he was raised by Count Dracula, maybe it was because Vlad judged after he knew a person, or maybe it was that Lily hadn't done anything to hurt anyone since she 'claimed' Harry, but he didn't see the issue about Harry having a rare talent or a scaly pet. Trying to shake the image of Thestrals from his mind, Vlad rolled over and tried to get to sleep.
-YDHP-
Not the best update ever, but it's sort of leading up to the next chapter (which I'm hoping to get out soon but I have three other stories to update first).