Not my characters.
So, here we go again! Thanks and welcome to the new followers here!
Still hoping someone will tell me how Year Two is going? I got a bunch of flames and compliments for Year One, but nada so far for two so yeah, tell me please? (And apologies for my need to ask).
On we go!
-YDHP-
Over the next month, Seamus was as icy as ever to the three boys he had picked a fight with, but no longer bolted from the room the second he was awake and dressed. He still didn't speak to Vlad, Harry or Draco but Harry's ability to talk to snakes didn't go further than it had the first night, so the Irish boy had not outed Harry. So Vlad left him to come to his senses slowly, not pushing. With all the secrets he had himself, Vlad was in no place to demand them from anyone else. Which led him back to eyeing up Ginny Weasley carefully, as the redhead girl still set off something in his mind but Vlad couldn't place his finger on it. She seemed relaxed enough around her twin brothers, but Ginny did not want to come out of her shell.
He considered raising the query with Harry, or at least Phantom and Lily - regardless of how silly that sounded, but Vlad had no solid proof of anything but a gut feeling. Phantom hadn't really bothered with Ginny, but that may be because the Weasley twins kept teasing her and Phantom may just be wary of redheads now. Checking his watch, Vlad realised he had training - tonight was another session with Ingrid, Professor Snape and Bertrand. He, Harry and Draco had visited the Potions professors quarters twice in the last month, and Vlad was considering telling Draco about his 'unique' talents, so they could possibly encourage Harry to enjoy potions more by discussing them in-depth - Harry was far more interested in Vlad and his special gifts than he was in Potions.
That could wait though, as he was actually excited to expand the 'detection' lessons, he enjoyed learning almost anything that didn't involve blood or murders, and getting to spend so much time with Ingrid when they were in different houses at Hogwarts was a bonus - he really did love his sister. Ingrid remonstrated him for being too happy, but she still hugged him goodbye that evening so Vlad chalked that up as a good evening. Walking back towards the tower, the corridors empty on a Monday evening after 9pm, he heard something creak nearby. Not worried about being attacked, as he was more well trained than most twelve year olds, Vlad turned to see who was there. The hallway was completely empty, and he couldn't 'feel' any invisibility magic around him, Vlad shrugged to himself. The creak sounded again, and in spite of knowing there was nothing there, he felt the hairs on the back of his neck prickling.
Throwing on a short term invisibility spell over himself, something he hadn't needed since Harry and the mirror last year, Vlad crept carefully towards the end of the hallway, seeking the source of the sound. The spell was draining, and after an intense training session, Vlad knew he needed replenisher or chocolate and rest soon - neither of which he had with him. Feeling the shaking of magical exhaustion beginning inside him, the vibrating his magic warned him with, Vlad still tried to focus his senses outwards. There was a door that wasn't plainly visible, but then Vlad remembered there were doors that only showed up when they wanted to, and even doors that only opened if you tickled them or asked nicely. Hearing the creak again, Vlad realised he was being silly hiding against the wall when he was invisible. Ginny Weasley walked past him, the air around her off in ways he couldn't word and her face blank, emotionless aside from her eyes - they were dark, glassy.
Being two corridors away from Gryffindor Tower, she should already be in for curfew - he and Ingrid had exemptions solely on their nights with Bertrand and no other times. Waiting until she rounded the corner, Vlad lifted the spell hiding him and realised the prickling on his neck had abated now she had passed. Resuming getting back to the tower, Ginny was nowhere to be seen and only Seamus and Dean were down in the common room. Neville was already asleep, or so he assumed from the closed curtains. "Vlad, you look like hell, what does your tutor do to you?" Shaking his head and digging through his trunk for his Replenisher vials, swallowing it before the colours dancing before his eyes overwhelmed him. Feeling the haze lift, he dropped heavily onto his bed.
"Just overdid it, I'll be fine with a good nights sleep guys. Hey furball." Phantom jumped on his lap, mewling and licking his hand. Stroking the black fur of his familiar, Vlad let the anxiety across his shoulders fall away. Lily was hissing rapidly to Harry, who looked at Vlad in confusion. "Lily said she and Phantom can sense dark magic around you. What were you doing in your tutoring session?" looking down, Vlad could see Phantoms eyes flashing. Remembering the weird air around Ginny, Vlad started to worry about the youngest Weasley. "It wasn't that... I don't know how to say this." Vlad beckoned the two over to sit on his bed, a tight fit but meant he could "ward" the curtains with silencing charms in case anyone walked in. "Have either of you noticed anything... strange about Ginny? More than just really shy strange?" "Like what? Are you saying Ginny is the reason you smell like dark magic? Do I even want to ask?" Cringing at Draco, Vlad shook his head.
"I was coming back from Bertrands quarters, and I felt something raise the hairs on the back of my neck. Ginny walked past me, and she looked... Out of it. She didn't even notice I was there, and something about her just felt wrong. Neither Phantom or Lily have really gotten close to her, and when the twins are around she's fine. I just... I don't know, something about her isn't right. I know that sounds bad. But I can't prove anything, so I don't even know why I'm telling you this." Draco looked confused, contemplating the words. Harry hissed at Lily, who seemed to pass on a message to Phantom. "Well neither of them think you're lying, and if we can't trust these two who can we trust?" Sighing in relief Harry didn't think he was crazy or secretly immersed in dark magic, Vlad waited for an actual answer.
At face value, Vlad sounded nuts. But Vlad looked so earnest, so concerned that Harry asked Lily what she thought. Lily said Phantom agreed that Vlad wasn't casting dark spells, otherwise they would have noticed. "So what, you think Ginny is evil?" "Not at all, I just think there's something off about her. But I can't prove it, and I am not about to start stalking an eleven year old girl." "And without proof, no teacher will believe us. I guess we just keep an eye on her, hope it turns out to be nothing? And obviously, not tell anyone Vlad thinks a little girl is playing with dark magic until we can prove it?" Vlad nodded in agreement, bright blue eyes shining even in the dim wandlight. "Draco? You with us?" He nodded shakily, not as gung ho as either of his friends but Harry knew at the very least Draco would have their backs if it came to trouble. "We should consider telling Hermione too, she's in the girls dorms and spends a lot of time with Ginny? And we know she's trustworthy."
"I agree, but not yet. Hermione is far too logical, one funny feeling is not enough to convince her." Harry nodded in agreement, and the three of them separated before anyone walked in and found the three of them in one bed, as innocent as the exchange had been it would still warrant explaining. Lily hissed at Phantom again, and Harry was fairly certain his familiar was telling Vlads familiar to keep watch on the "female fireball". His snake was a strange one at times. Most times. He still loved her, even if they had only been wizard and familiar for a couple of months. Harry hadn't understood Vlad and Phantom before he met Lily, but it quickly became apparent being chosen by a magical creature was a powerful and even emotional thing. Lily complained about him being too sentimental, but her tongue flicked out against his ear and she hissed that "the furry one does that for affection", making Harry smile.
Vlad reappeared from the bathroom, looking truly exhausted as he dropped into bed. A mumbled goodnight was all he heard after that, except a grumbling when Phantom pawed his face. Harry noticed her empty food bowl and hurried to fill it, which seemed to appease the furry creature enough to let Vlad sleep. Harry hid Draco goodnight and settled into bed himself, putting Lily in her tank and his glasses on the side table. Lying down and closing his eyes, Vlad's words about Ginny rang in his ears. Thinking on it, Harry did think she was very quiet, and only said more than a few words to Hermione or her twin brothers. But they had all assumed she was shy, and given how quiet half of them had been first thing last year, Harry figured they could give her all the time she needed to come out of her shell.
Eventually falling asleep, all Harry could remember of his dreams was hissing, snakes everywhere. Given how frequently he spoke to Lily, Harry wasn't worried as he got up and dressed for breakfast. Lily opted to sleep in her tank for the day, saying she was due a shed soon and it would make her sleepy. "Does that mean you're going to get bigger?" "Yes, I will grow on average an inch a month soon, though as I am not yet a year old I won't grow noticably for a few months. The snake professor would likely appreciate being gifted my shed skin." Presuming that meant Snape, Harry made a mental note to keep the skin if she shed soon, he delivered her morning mouse and left with Vlad for breakfast.
Ginny was sat with a couple of first years, quiet and eating toast almost mechanically. Phantom was on the head table, pestering Professor Lockhart. None of the male students were sold on the new professor, who had opened their first lesson by talking about himself for almost an hour, then scattering the entire class save for Vlad, Hermione and himself by releasing Cornish pixies and then leaving the classroom. Vlad and Hermione managed to immobilize the rogue blue creatures, and they shoved them back into the cage and even Hermione seemed a little less enchanted by the man, though she stared avidly at him constantly regardless. Finishing his breakfast tea and following Vlad to Transfiguration, Harry offered the usual passive smile to Seamus and Dean as they sat in their usual front row.
Vlad was as flawless as ever at his school work, though he was always happy to help classmates with their work too, and between him and Hermione the Gryffindor second years homework was first rate. Even Seamus and Dean joined in on homework sessions, though they only spoke to Hermione with questions. Phantom and Lily joined Harry and Vlad to go down to Hagrids hut that afternoon, and after the initial surprise and a sworn promise that Phantom loved Lily, further proved by Phantom herself, Hagrid seemed as taken with Lily as any Slytherin. "Not a snake... Not entirely human though." Harry barely remembered not to hiss in answer, not wanting to panic at Harry's special language. Given Hagrid's sheer size, Harry wasn't surprised the man wasn't pure human but it didn't really matter.
When they returned for dinner, Lily safely coiled to nap in Vlads backpack - it was magically expanded so Vlad carried it around for his books and now for Lily to sleep in, Harry caught Ginny looking perfectly normal and happy enough to be chatting to her brothers. Vlad retrieved Phantom from the head table as they left, telling her to stop trying to irritate professors at mealtimes before he got in trouble. Almost everyone who met her was instantly taken with the familiar, so Harry found it amusing that a small bundle of black fur had half the staff of Hogwarts at her mercy. They hid away in their dorm to help Neville practice his spell work, the boy was bright and definitely had potential, but he flustered easily and once he got it wrong once, it took time to build his confidence to stop him messing up from nerves. He was still accident prone, and they took about twenty minutes figuring out how to reverse him accidentally turning Vlad's hair purple when they were working on Transfiguration.
Vlad swore it was fine, saying he might try it again for Halloween with a smile and encouraging Neville to keep trying. Eventually they sat sharing the stockpile of fruit and pastries they had acquired from the kitchens in a free period, and Seamus took a cake from Vlad without accusing him of poisoning it so Harry considered that progress. They settled fairly quietly in bed soon after, and Harry felt relaxed and content as he fell asleep. Having a free period first thing when you were friends with Vlad and Hermione could only mean a trip to the library, so after feeding a sleepy Lily and a quick bowl of cereal, Harry let his geek- no, studious friends drag him along. Hermione quickly buried herself in a pile of books on Herbology, and Vlad calmly tried to work on Harry's lack of interest in Potions.
It wasn't that Harry hated Potions, but unlike the others he just didn't see "the unlimited potential" when it was so precise, so prone to issues and mishaps and even dangers. Still, Vlad helped with his work all the time, it couldn't hurt. The more interest Harry showed, the happier Vlad looked and Harry enjoyed making his friend happy. Vlad looked so serious, bogged down at times that lately this bright smile on his face was a rarity. If looking at potions with Harry made his friend happy, Harry was happy to oblige that much. Feeling eyes on him while Vlad tidied away their books to go to class, Harry turned to see Bertrand - a frequent guest of the library and awake a surprising amount in the day when Harry knew the man was a vampire. When Bertrand saw Harry looking, he offered the wizard a quick twitch of lips he supposed was a smile, or close to. There was something in his face, something deeply searching and inquisitive that made Harry almost shiver under the scrutiny. Bertrand seemed to remember himself, looking away and resuming his reading. Feeling thoroughly confused, Harry shouldered his bag and followed his friends to class.
-YDHP-
More Harry-centric chapter, I struggle writing Harry more than Vlad which is why the fic is generally Vlad centric.