Not my characters.

So, we're finally back to Hogwarts for the second year. This is where things begin to get... interesting.

On we go!

-YDHP-

Harry was woken by his non-feathered familiar hissing at him to wake up. Seamus was already gone, unheard of as the Irish boy was usually the last to wake and get out of bed last year. Vlad was predictably changing in the bathroom, either still painfully shy or just a very private boy. "Morning Harry" shoving his glasses on, Harry turned to the source of the voice. "Morning Draco." The blond was looking distastefully over at the table in the middle of their dorm room, usually used to hold whatever sweets or junk food they had. Following his eyeline, Harry found what he thought was a small, dead mouse. "I presume that's the house elves providing for Lily like they do for Phantom. Our dorm is turning into a tiny zoo." That comment earned him a face full of black fur as Phantom decided he needed a wash.

"Don't think Phantom likes your tone of voice Draco!" Vlad grinned as he left the bathroom, already dressed in his casual weekend clothes. "Why are you dressed half an hour before breakfast?" "So you sleepy heads still have time in the bathroom and I want to go look up Lily in the library?" Nodding in agreement, Harry picked up the dead mouse and deposited it in Lily's tank, much to her pleasure. "Do you need to eat every day?" "Only for a few months, as I get bigger my metabolism will shift to require larger meals less frequently." Vlad was watching with interest, the least bothered of all by Harry's new pet, and clearly intrigued by the language.

Stumbling into the bathroom, Harry cleaned himself up for the day before foraging through his trunk for clothes. Vlad still made no comment about his clothes, even if he'd made it clear he suspected something about them before. "You coming Draco?" The boy nodded, and a few moments later they were heading down to breakfast, Phantom mewling from Vlad's shoulder to Lily wrapped around Harry's neck. "Do you think they understand each other?" "Ask Lily. We know Phantom understands what we say to an extent." Harry hissed the question at Lily, who took a moment to answer. "She said it's not quite conversation, more like feelings and fuzzy subtitles but they can communicate."

"Ah, Misters Potter, Dracula and Malfoy. Would you be so kind as to report to the headmasters office when you are done with your breakfast?" "Yes Professor McGonogall." The three boys shared a look, briefly explaining to Hermione and Neville when they joined them at the table. "Well there was a fight only last night, plus I imagine you need to explain the pet Harry. Familiars are an exception to the rule of one pet each, but they'll still want to confirm that." Vlad, who was looking deeply into his corn flakes, said very little other than "I don't want to be in trouble already." "You won't be, you may still have to serve detention but the teachers will listen to your side of it." Harry tried to reassure his friend.

Keeping an eye on the Head table, the boys waited ten minutes after the headmaster and Professor McGonogall were both gone before heading up to the office. Their head of house was waiting for them, speaking the password "Sherbet Lemons" and leading them up to the office. "Ah, good morning boys. Tea?" They each shook their heads, taking seats in the three chairs clearly meant for them opposite the desk. Professor Snape was also there, for reasons Harry didn't even want to guess at. "First of all, I hear you have acquired a second pet, and apparently a unique skill Mr Potter?" Harry nodded, encouraging Lily to wrap around his arm to hold her out. "Fascinating, are the two scars on your hand from this new snake then?"

"Yeah, Lily said it was her way of claiming me as her wizard." "May I?" Harry hissed the question at his familiar, who hissed back in agreement. "Hold out your hand?" It felt strange giving something akin to an order to the headmaster of Hogwarts, even stranger when he complied. Lily wrapped herself around the outstretched arm, her tongue flicking out to scent the air. "This one is powerful." Harry relayed the message to Professor Dumbledore, who looked surprised. "So it's true, you have indeed inherited Parseltongue abilities?" "It appears so, I don't know how or why. I never realised it was strange until very recently." "Well, given that you did not actively choose the pet to get around the rules, there is not much to be done other than request you try and avoid acquiring any more Mr Potter."

They each turned in surprise when Phantom climbed out of Vlad's jumper, where she had been napping peacefully, to run over to Professor Snape. "I thought you said she wouldn't go near him?" Vlad glared at Harry for a second, making him realise what he'd just said in front of the three teachers. "Excuse me? Why is this infernal creature making sounds at me?" Scanning Phantom's eyes, they were clear and unconcerned. "Phantom is a magical creature, she reacts to dark magic and things like that." "Mr Dracula! I believe you were instructed to keep such things private." "Only Hermione, Ingrid, Bertrand and the boys in my dorm know! It's hard to hide such things when you live most of the year in one room together, I did try." Harry knew that was a lie, Vlad had used Phantom the first night to prove Draco wasn't a dark wizard, but they weren't about to bring that up.

"Which reminds me, what on earth was your excuse for the behaviour last night?" "Seamus flipped out when it turned out Harry was a Parselmouth, and when me and Draco didn't he accused all three of us of being Slytherins in disguise. When I tried to argue, he shoved me over and got more irate. That's about when you walked in Professor." Vlad was careful to keep his voice even, not letting any anger into the tone lest he look petulant or argumentative. "Be that as it may, there is no excuse for fighting. If Mr Finnegan continues to act out towards you, then one of you shall come and inform me. While it is somewhat known Parselmouth is a Slytherin ability, I think it's clear Mr Potter is unlikely to be a dark wizard." "Yes Professor."

"Will someone please get this creature away from me?" Vlad had forgotten Phantom was now pestering the Potions teacher, going to retrieve the ball of fur. "Sorry sir, but it's true, she wouldn't go near you... No! It was Professor Quirrell, it was him she avoided. You just happened to be sat next to him." Vlad realised, and there was a flash of apology in Harry's eyes that appeared to confuse Snape. "We are getting off track here slightly boys. Mr Malfoy, is anything these boys said untrue?" "No Sir, Seamus did say and do those things and Phantom did avoid one end of the Head table all last year." "I trust this information will go no further?" They all nodded in agreement. "Very well. I will contact you about your detention Mr Dracula, and ensure you arrange your sessions with Mr du Fortunesa after you get your timetables. Now off with you... quietly." Harry reached out to retrieve his familiar, Vlad still wrestling his own into his pocket again and the three of them left.

"Well, that was dramatic. I wonder why Professor Snape was there?" "I guess because he's head of Slytherin? Anyway, never mind that. Library, Hermione will be waiting." Sure enough, the girl was already immersed in a pile of books about magical snakes, smiling in greeting and laughing when Phantom dashed off to cause havoc elsewhere in the castle rather than be under the glare of Madam Pince. "So, how much trouble are you in?" "We got some stern words, a bit of a lecture and a lot of questions, but otherwise none." Vlad and Harry nodded in agreement with Draco's assessment of their time in the office, both taking books while Harry stroked the head of his snake, now napping against his wrist. "Not sure Professor Snape thought much of Phantom though." "Probably thinks she'd be better off as potion ingredients."

That won Harry a sharp poke with a book corner from Vlad, but his friend just grinned back cheekily. "You know we all love her, even if she wakes us up for food and runs around all the time." Finding nothing useful in the book he'd flicked through, Vlad cast an eye around the library. Unsurprisingly, Bertrand was squirreled away in a corner with piles of books in front of him. If Hermione was in to four hundred year old vampires in the future, they'd probably make an excellent couple. When his tutor caught Vlad's eye, there was a look of... Vlad couldn't identify it, but there was a deep emotion there and it didn't look good. Lost in thought as he was, Vlad jumped when Draco nudged him. "Vlad, you coming to lunch?" "Yeah, in a minute. I'll catch you up." His friends looked at him strangely but didn't argue, packing up their things and heading out of the library.

Hurrying over to Bertrand as soon as the coast was clear, Vlad peered around to check there was nobody nearby. "What was that look for Bertrand? Is something wrong?" "I'm not sure I should tell you." Raising an eyebrow, Bertrand had to know that would only peak Vlad's curiousity higher. "Well, now I have to know!" Bertrand sighed, pulling out a book from his pile and flicking it to a page on... Parselmouths. After a wary glance to again check they were alone, Bertrand reached into the formal coat he almost always wore and pulled out a long piece of parchment. Unrolling it, Vlad could see work on bloodlines, dating back a couple of centuries. Scanning the book first, Vlad then looked over the blood line Bertrand had clearly been studying. "You're not serious?" His tutor nodded, stiff and somber. "There's no other way."

-YDHP-

Kind of short chapter (I think, I never know until I've uploaded it to Doc Manager), BUT it's all getting interesting. Or at least, I hope you guys think it is.

Also, Chosen Two hit over 4,000 views this week, so thanks to every single one of you!