It's finaaalllly done! Um...the chapter, I mean. Not...not the story...

A-Anyways, I keep forgetting to mention, in the VA timeline, this starts in...the first Bloodlines novel. So anything occurring in the later books won't happen unless I write that far into the school year.

Disclaimer: I don't own the FE cast, the VA elements and references, or any songs and/or books mentioned. Never going to happen.

Edward's gaze moved from the Moroi, back to Hermione, then over to where Volug was seated. His eyes widened, and everything else seemed nonexistent around him upon seeing the two the wolf was talking to. "There's no possible way…" he breathed, his voice somewhat shaking.

One of them, a first-year boy with sandy-blond hair, stood up upon seeing him, and made his way over through the crowd. "Edward!" he called out, bounding over to the smaller group.

Leonardo lightly shook Edward's arm, snapping him out of his trance. "Hey," he said softly. "What's wrong? Who is that?"

Edward let out a shaky sigh. "…He's my brother."

Leonardo's eyebrows raised, a seemingly melancholy look in his eyes. "Brother? You've a…brother?"

Chad furrowed his brow. "You never brought up having siblings before. I mean, I can understand that you might not want to talk about them since you've lived with Volug for years, but still…"

The first-year stopped in front of his elder brother, cocking his head. "What's wrong?"

The elder brunet bit the inside of his cheek and sighed, grabbing the other's arm and dragging him aside. Upon facing him again, he noticed that his brother was maybe only a half-inch shorter, at most; considering he himself was only about 5'3", he was fully realizing the extent of being, um…vertically challenged. "Elric, what are you and Angel doing here?" he asked in a harsh whisper.

"…It's…not obvious?"

"Clearly not, or else I wouldn't be asking," he replied, annoyance creeping into his voice.

Elric winced at his tone. "Geez, and here I thought you'd be happy to see us again."

Edward let out a short breath. He could trust his siblings. Or, at least, he could trust the way he last knew them as being. "No, no, it's not that…But you know how it is between me and Father. You ever consider the possibility you might be here to get me or anyone else here killed?" He looked away. "Because that's exactly what happened last year. A girl close to me almost got killed helping me, and I almost got exposed." He looked back up. "You have any idea how the others would treat our kind if they knew? We're despised by all forms of the supernatural." He shook his head. "…I don't want to know how it feels to lose everything I ever cared about. Not again."

The younger brother stood silent for a moment. "Well, if it makes you feel better, Dad has nothing to do with this. In fact, he has nothing to do with any of us anymore."

"W-what do you mean?"

"Mom divorced him and took us to live out here, away from any of that. You don't have to worry about him interfering in our lives."

Edward blinked. "You can do that?"

He shrugged. "Apparently. Makes me wonder why she didn't do it sooner. None of us really liked the old man, but you're the only one who took the opportunity to leave. Maybe it gave Mom the courage to act herself."

The elder teen bit his lip, hesitant to answer that. He couldn't see his mother as one with less courage than himself. She had always appeared so strong to him when he was younger.

At Edward's silence, Elric's brow creased with worry. "Are you alright, Brother?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah," he answered quickly, shaking his head. "Don't worry about it." He lightly jerked his head in the direction of the table. "C'mon, I'll get you two properly introduced."

Out of the regulars who had appeared the day before, Tormod was the only one missing when the two brothers reached the rest. Edward sighed lightly, then gave a small smile. "Angel…" he started, wrapping his arms around his younger sister, who jumped up out of her seat at his approach.

Angeline (A/N: Um…not VA Angeline. I hadn't considered that when I gave her the name…) returned the embrace wholeheartedly, her curly deep brown locks falling into her face. "Brother…it's been too long."

"…Edward."

The elder brunet turned at the sound of Hermione's voice, releasing his sister. She looked healthy compared to when he last saw her; her sandy blond hair was thick and shining, and her skin regained its previously-lost color. He hesitated at the sight of her, his words caught in his throat. He didn't expect her to even look at, let alone talk to him ever again, considering the tragedy that befell her the past year because of him.

Instead, she stepped right up to him and gave him a light kiss on the lips, keeping him from speaking, even if he wanted to. She pulled away slowly, her gaze locked with his. "I'm glad you're alright," she said quietly.

Edward could feel Xane's eyes burning into the back of his head from the other side of the cafeteria, and he mentally shuddered. They were already on bad terms the previous year, what with him being so close to the elder teen's baby sister and all. Considering the events at the end of the last semester, he was extremely surprised the dragon hadn't physically tried to disembowel him yet.

As if reading his mind, Hermione giggled lightly. "Don't worry about my brother. So long as you do nothing to betray me, he won't harm you. After all," she gave him a sly grin, "it's my word keeping him back."

The brunet gave a nervous laugh. "I-I'll keep that in mind." He wrapped his arms around her waist and pressed their foreheads close together. "Are you okay?" he asked.

She placed her hands on his shoulders and sighed. "What's passed is passed. I'm fine now, and that's all that matters." She stared at him intently. "We'll have to talk later. In private."

"Mm. Right…"

"Well, if your little moment is over," Sothe started, rubbing his temple, "has anyone seen Tormod yet today? I've got a bad feeling he's off causing trouble already this year."

The pair broke apart, and Edward managed to catch a glimpse at Leonardo in his peripheral. Did he seem…jealous? Of Hermione? Or of him? Wait, why was he even thinking about that right now? Sothe just asked him a question. "Tormod? No, I haven't. I would have expected you to know where he is before anyone else does."

"He said he had a bit of…'business', to take care of," Pelleas answered, making air quotes with his hands. "So I'm automatically assuming it has to do with causing trouble."

"What, are you rooming with him or something?" Volug asked, raising an eyebrow.

The dark sage pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. "Unfortunately, yes. And he snores. WAY too loudly."

The wolf snickered. "Sucks to be you. I got Marth. Now there's a full bookshelf somehow."

"You got Marth; I got his brother," Edward commented, sitting down with the wolf, Hermione taking a seat right next to him.

"His brother? You mean little Rickard, the kid who looks way too young to be a first-year?"

"Yeah. You should have heard him. According to Abel, he knows how to sing, but after yesterday, I SERIOUSLY doubt that claim."

"Oh no, what did he do?" Micaiah asked, rolling her eyes.

"Let's just say, 'Never let him sing Katy Perry'," Chad said, shaking his head.

"You two share a dorm?" Alexis asked them. "I'm with Catria, Amelia, and a heron girl, among others."

"I'm rooming with Tomas again," he replied.

"Well, that sounds like fun." Volug let out a humored sigh. "Remember how last year, he and Jeorge were the only two in our dorm without brown or red hair?"

"Oh yeah, I remember that. And considering the little 'issue' that arose in regards to his suspension, Jeorge and I had to swap rooms, and I got stuck sleeping in the same place as Michalis." He winced lightly. "Not something I'd recommend every night. Still makes me wonder how Jeorge lived with it so well."

Cath scoffed loudly in amusement. "Anyone else remember the dorm crisis last year? Lute roped Ross into failingly attempting magic only to destroy his entire dorm. AND the one next door. The look on Professor Reglay's face was PRICELESS."

"I remember Dad talking about that," Raigh said, placing a finger on his chin. "He said that the two ended up in detention for nearly a month."

"With Professor Panini," Lugh added, giving an exaggerated shiver.

Edward blinked between Lugh and Raigh, the only difference between them he could make out being the former in yellow and the latter in black (Well, and Raigh and Sophia were still holding hands, but that's beside the point). "Geez. How are we supposed to tell you two apart when you have uniforms on?"

"It's a lot easier than you think," Chad answered for them, slipping an earbud in. "Lugh has brighter hair and softer eyes; Raigh's are darker and sharper, respectively."

Volug raised an eyebrow. "Do you repeat this to yourself daily or something to remember?"

The second-year let out a humored breath. "When you've known them for almost ten years, you tend to notice the differences a lot more easily."

Edward tapped the table a couple times before jumping up out of his seat. "Well, I dunno 'bout you guys, but I'm getting food. Anyone coming?"

"Please." Elric stood up and followed his brother toward the lines. "I'm starving."

"Ditto." Angeline quickly bounded after the pair. "Don't you two leave me out, here."

Sue let out a small hum, watching the siblings leave. "It's not hard to tell those three are all related."

"Hey, Brother," Elric started as they walked back to their table, trays filled. "So, does no one know what you are? What we are?"

The elder boy shook his head. "Other than Hermione and Volug for obvious reasons, Professor Reglay's the only one who knows. The others all think we're a family of dhampirs." He gave his siblings a stern look. "You know you have to keep those marks covered. A lot of people here will recognize them on sight."

"Already covered (So punny, right? ^.^ …Right?)," Angeline replied assuredly, balancing her tray with her left hand to show a long, black, fingerless glove covering her right.

"Talk to Professor Reglay about getting written permission to wear that during class. The defense instructor would force you to take it off otherwise."

"Alright."

"Why does everyone paint Professor Reglay to be, like, a villain or something?" Elric asked. "I mean, if we can trust him with us, why does everyone make him seem as if he's one of the last people to go to?"

Edward sighed. "He's…strict, in a sense. He's one of those people who believe that just about everyone has untapped potential; they just refuse to attempt to better themselves. Well, there's that and the fact that he and his wife are immortal vamps – not Strigoi, obviously, but they're that weird and under-researched type that can go out in sunlight and have living, Moroi blood running through their veins. They're pretty much Moroi; they just don't age. And when you consider the fact that they weren't born as Moroi, yet both of their kids are…In fact, normally women of their kind can't even have kids, which makes it even stranger that they do."

"You sure they're their kids?"

"I met his wife once; the twins are a splitting image of her. There is no way they're NOT their kids." (…Did I seriously just put all three forms of there in one sentence…? …VICTORY!)

"Speaking of those two…" The three had reached the table; the twins, along with Sophia and Leonardo, were no longer there. "Where'd they go?"

Pelleas looked up at the question. "Feeders," he answered simply. "Sophia went for Raigh. And…that blond that was hanging around went with as well." He furrowed his brow. "Isn't he that Moroi noble from yesterday?"

Edward nodded, sitting down. "Yeah. And he's almost exactly like Sophia was last year; he has a hard time talking to other people, and even when he does, he's all stiff and doesn't say that much. Hard to believe he actually approached ME yesterday, not the other way around."

"That explains why he seemed hesitant to join us, but at the same time hesitant to leave."

Cath sighed dreamily. "I TOLD you guys he was handsome…"

Chad's eyes widened at her; he decided to actually have his music low for once. "Okay, you're seriously scaring me here."

"Oh, c'mon Cath," Volug complained. "Don't be doing that to him; I can't mess with him if you go and break up with him for that noble."

"Oh, thanks for being SO worried for me," the male thief said sarcastically, narrowing his eyes at the wolf.

"Just trying to help out a friend."

"Sure you are…"

"It's too bad for him, though," Cath continued, turning her gaze to Edward, a mischievous grin on her face, "that you're already taken."

The elder brunet blushed deeply, eyes wide. "Woah woah woah WHAT?!"

She giggled devilishly. "Oh, come on, I saw that look he was giving Hermione when you two were being all lovey-dovey to each other. He was SO jealous."

Hermione shook her head and sighed. "Don't be ridiculous. You're always over-exaggerating, Cath. How do you know that's what it is? I remember what you said about him. How do you know that look wasn't because he longed for some sort of compassion?"

"Girl, I know what lustful jealousy looks like. And that's exactly what it was. And it's not like he could be jealous of Edward for having you. He doesn't know you. He knows him."

"U-Umm…" Edward stuttered. "I'm kind of straight, s-so…h-how would that even work…?"

Volug lightly scoffed and poked the side of the younger teen's head. "If you were straight, Ed, you wouldn't be getting so flustered about the thought of another guy being interested in you."

"Enough!" He ran his hands through his hair. "That's NEVER going to happen, okay!?"

"Geez, relax. I'm only messing with you."

"Well, it's not funny!"

Alexis sighed. "You're also lucky that man isn't over here. You guys could have seriously hurt his feelings, you know. And I know that wouldn't have ended very well. He's been through enough, most likely. Don't make things worse for him."

"You know I'm not serious," Cath said nonchalantly, putting her hands up. "I've already realized that he's probably been through a lot, what with him being an orphan and all. I'm just trying to lighten the mood."

Chad fell silent at that and went right back to his sketching, turning his music up to try and ignore the others' conversation.

The word 'orphan' rang back in Edward's ears. He had forgotten about that…The image of an eight-year-old Leonardo, eyes wide and terrified, flashed into his mind; he clutched his head and clenched his teeth at the thought.

"Edward…?" Hermione put a hand on her boyfriend's shoulder. "What's wrong…?"

He shook his head and looked back up. "N-Nothing. I don't know…Please, don't worry about it."

"Well, if you're so sure…"

"Guys, hide me!" Tormod ran up to the table and ducked behind Sothe, the wall right behind him.

Sothe looked back at the redhead. "I was wondering where you had gotten off to…wait, what did you even do this time?"

"Why do you automatically assume I did something wrong?!"

The rouge gave him a pointed glare. "You're trying to hide. What other reason do I need to assume that?"

Micaiah sighed. "You didn't take his advice from this morning, did you?"

Tormod stared up at her for a second, then gave a sheepish smile. "W-Well, um, you see, what had happened was-"

"TORMOD!" The voice of a certain archsage echoed through the cafeteria, making nearly the entire first-year population grow completely silent. Everyone else continued their conversations, already knowing who the voice belonged to and what it meant, though some still looked towards the table where they knew the third-year would be, eager to see what would happen.

The redhead shrunk back further behind Sothe. "D-Do you think I'll be safe here…?"

"I don't know," the voice said sarcastically, "maybe you're such a good hider that I won't notice you cowering behind someone else!"

Tormod froze; he slowly looked behind him to see a pair of boots; his gaze moved up to the face of the one person he was trying to run away from. He let out a loud squeal and pulled Sothe up to make him into a human shield – when you consider that there's a four-inch height difference between them, it really wasn't that hard. "I-I'm sorry! Don't eat me!"

"Don't hide behind me!" Sothe cried, trying to peel the younger teen's hands off of him. He turned to the professor in front of him. "Listen, whatever Tormod managed to screw up this time-"

"He set a bathroom on fire," the archsage said bluntly, arms crossed.

The rogue stared at him, gaping, then turned quickly on Tormod. "Dude! I didn't seriously mean it!" He turned back. "Professor, Tormod took what I said WAY to seriously-"

"You told him to set a bathroom on fire?" Hermione asked, somewhat amused.

"What? No! I was only joking when I brought up the idea of it! Seriously!"

She giggled, then looked to the professor. "Come now, Erk, don't you think you're being just a little too harsh on students?"

"Not in the least bit," he answered. "And stop calling me by my first name. We've gone over this."

"Yes yes, you don't want to make it seem like there's something going on between us…little brother."

Erk rolled his eyes and scoffed, looking away. "Manaketes…" he grumbled. He sighed and looked to Tormod. "And you're not getting away with what you did. We're going. Now."

Tormod shrunk back. "B-But I…-"

"Now."

His head hung in defeat as he walked around Sothe and started following the professor. "Okay…" he mumbled quietly.

"Daaad!" Lugh ran into the scene and threw his arms around his father, holding him tight.

Erk's expression softened almost immediately, a small smile on his face. "Hey…" He chuckled and ruffled the boy's hair when they parted. "You holding up alright here?"

The first-year nodded enthusiastically and laughed, his fangs gleaming. "Yup! Raigh too!"

"Hm. That's good."

Quite a few students gaped at the complete transformation in the archsage's demeanor, Tormod included. "W-Wah…? Who are you and what have you done with…? And since when did you…?"

He sighed. "What, you didn't think I could be happy?" He gave a sly, fanged smile. "Come now, even I'm not as stone-faced as Professor Panini is."

Edward snorted and almost choked on what he was drinking. He coughed for a few seconds before busting out in laughter. "You can make jabs at other teachers like that?"

"Of course I can. I just normally choose not to." He looked to his son. "If I asked you to teach this buffoon-" he pointed back at Tormod, "-how to properly use fire magic during your free time, would you? You don't have to. But it's clear that he doesn't want to learn it from me."

The aforementioned third-year blinked at the professor, at a loss for words, considering he had somehow known the reason in its entirety for him refraining from learning magic.

"Sure!" Lugh answered, grinning widely. "It wouldn't bother me."

Erk's smile returned. "Thank you." He looked up to see Raigh and Sophia approach, still hand in hand. "There you are."

Sophia nodded slightly. "Professor Reglay."

Raigh smiled shyly. "Dad."

"What, you embarrassed or something?" the archsage asked the boy, an eyebrow raised.

The first-year blushed lightly. "Daad…" he quietly complained, looking away.

"Come now, I'm only teasing." He nodded to his boys. "If you'll excuse me." He turned and left the cafeteria, Tormod sulkily following behind him.

Elric blinked, then looked to his brother. "You didn't say Professor Reglay was British."

"Etrurian," Edward corrected. "Their accents are similar, but not quite the same."

"Whatever. They sound the same to me." He looked to Angeline on his other side. "I thought you had to talk to him about that glove."

She sighed. "I'll do it when he isn't busy with that third-year."

From behind the group, a blue-haired third-year approached and rested an elbow on the top of Edward's head. "Tormod seems to get grilled by Reglay just about every day of his school life, doesn't he?" he asked.

The brunet's head jerked up at the voice, knocking off the elbow; he quickly turned his head to make sure it was who he thought it was, a smile on his face. He jumped up out of his seat. "Ogier! You're, like, alive!"

Ogier grinned widely and embraced the younger teen. "I know. Hard to believe, right? Reglay helped the family out so I could come back."

"Yes, he seems to do that a lot, doesn't he?" Hermione said quietly, half to herself.

"Anyways," he started enthusiastically, turning his head to show the other boy the back of his neck, "take a look!"

Lugh perked up even more (if that's even possible) when he saw the small, black, jagged X, bounding over to the blunet. "Hey! That's a molnija mark, isn't it?"

"Uh-huh." He turned back and put his right fist to his chest, his other hand on his hip. "A few Strigoi decided they wanted to try and go through the wards back home, and I managed to stake one myself. I've officially become a skilled guardian."

"'A skilled guardian'," Volug repeated. He smirked lightly. "You really did that on your own?"

"W-Well, I had a LITTLE help…And…" his stance dropped; he scratched the back of his head, wincing as his hand ran over a stitched-up gash, "I kinda…got a minor concussion…"

Visible cringes were seen from the group. Sue sighed quietly and stood, moving around to the blunet's back and running her hands through his hair, searching for the wound. "If you're reacting like that, then it must have only happened within the past couple days; your injury would have healed by now if it was any sooner."

"C-Come on, Sue, do you really have to-" Ogier hissed in pain before he could finish his sentence, as Sue had decided to press hard against the gash in his head. He quickly pulled away and moved a hand to cover his wound. "Oww…What the hell?!"

"…It just happened yesterday, before you left home, didn't it?"

"W-Wha...?" He stared at her for a few moments, then heaved a sigh. "I still don't know how you do it...Yeah. A few hours before. They were actually hesitant to let me come at first. Then they figured the docs here could treat me better than they could there. That's where I was all day yesterday."

"And you were getting your mark yesterday too, I assume?" Edward asked, leaning back against the table.

"O-Oh, yeah. That too." The blunet laughed sheepishly. "Almost forgot for a second..."

Cath scoffed loudly. "You SURE you got that mark legally?"

"Oh, come on, Cath...What's that supposed to mean?"

"Don't you think that's just a little cruel?" Alexis asked the second-year.

The brunette put her arms up in peace for the second time that day. "I'm JUST saying, there's something wrong if you don't even remember receiving such a high honor for a dhampir, especially one who has yet to even complete their training."

"Um..." Angeline hesitated for a second, but decided to speak anyways. "You...think that slight memory loss might just be because of the concussion...?"

Everyone at the table turned to her. Ogier cocked his head. "Hey, Eddie, who're the two who look so much like you?"

"Oh, right. Should probably start some official introductions, huh? But first…" Edward looked around, then turned to Sophia. "Hey, Sophie, y'know that blond that went with you guys to the Feeders? Did you see him leave?"

"Oh, you mean Leonardo?" Lugh asked. "He was still there when we left. Must've been letting people in front of him or something."

Sothe stared at the little mage with his eyebrows raised. "A noble being noble? That's a thing?"

"Oh, Sothe," Micaiah scolded, lightly slapping his shoulder.

"I'm just saying. You rarely see any type of noble or royal, whether it be human, Moroi, or anything else, acting like they're a nice person." He raised a hand slightly. "And don't go bringing up Marth, because I very well know that's what most people would do. We all agreed last year that he wasn't your normal royal."

"Well, it IS a known fact that human royals are generally kinder than Moroi royals," Pelleas stated. "And Marth and his siblings are royals in their human lives."

"Well, according to Lilina," Ogier started, a finger on his chin, "their father isn't a Moroi royal, but their mother is a Drozdov. And she's far kinder than their father. I guess there really are some exceptions to the rule, aren't there?"

"Hey, remember the new queen." Raigh sat back down and crossed his arms. "Everyone says Queen Dragomir is set to be one of the greatest rulers in Moroi history. 'Alexandra's heir', they call her."

"I believe that's more because of her age than her accomplishments. They were both elected young. But…I don't think any of this really matters. All of these comparisons and speculations don't change the fact that they're still Moroi. They still come first."

"Spoken like a true dhampir." Edward sighed. "If only I could share your unshakable loyalty…"

"Well, how about this, then?" Cath put her hands on his shoulder and leaned in close to him, a sly grin on her face. "When you finally graduate, you can ask Marth or another kind Moroi royal to pull some strings and get you assigned to that noble."

He blushed deeply and quickly backed away from her. "Lay off that, already!"

"Edward?"

The brunet turned around to see none other than the aforementioned nobleman, watching him with curiosity. "O-Oh! Hey!" Ignoring Cath's smug victory smile, he stepped forward and grasped the blond's arm, pulling him closer to the group. "Come here. I wanna get you properly introduced to everyone."

Leonardo appeared nervous at the idea, but agreed anyway. "A-Alright."

"So! You already know Chad – who…seems to still not be paying any attention…" he added with a sigh. "Whatever! Anyways, the other, crazy talkative, brunette is Cath, his girlfriend." He leaned in close to whisper, "She's got a thing for tall tales and teasing, so I'd kinda be careful around her."

The Moroi managed a shaky nod after the thought of her possible antics flashed into his mind. "Okay…"

"Hey! What're you saying about me, Edward?!" Cath exclaimed, putting her hand on her hips. "I'll have you know-"

"Ignoring her ranting," Edward quickly continued, "the girl with the dark green hair and the nomadic clothing is Sue. Despite being a generally quiet person, she's reeeally smart and good at reading people. Really nice, too."

As if proving his point, Sue slowly nodded to Leonardo and said, "A pleasure. I hope we'll be able to talk more sometime soon."

"The other guy with the green hair is Sothe. He may seem a little…blunt and rude at first, but he's a good guy once you get to know him."

Sothe leaned against the table, head propped up on his hand, and narrowed his eyes at the younger teen. "I can never really seem to tell when you're complimenting me and when you're insulting me."

"Hey, I'm not trying to insult anyone. Just getting the facts out."

"Sure, whatever."

"Anyways, the silver-haired girl next to him is Micaiah. The two of them act a lot like siblings, even if they're not actually related. She's one the moral and wise ones here, but she always considers what's best for her and those closest to her first when she makes a decision. She always knows exactly what she's doing, though."

Micaiah sighed lightly. "Yes…my loved ones always come first, even if the decision isn't always quite the best one as a whole…"

"Dark underlying thoughts aside, she's an overall sweet person. Going around the circle…Sophie would be next. I had already brought up earlier how much you and her last-year-self have in common. She's a little more outgoing now, but she's still quiet and compassionate…And scary when she's mad."

Sophia sat back down in her usual spot, giggling softly and…almost…eerily… "Well, I guess it takes a lot for someone to make me mad. So I wouldn't worry about it…too much…"

Edward gulped loudly, taking a step back. "A-Anyway…Pelleas. He's smart, kind, and all around a great guy, though no offense, Pell, you…kinda have a bit of social anxiety."

Pelleas ran a hand through his hair and sighed quietly. "Right, I won't deny it…though you have to admit that I've been doing a little better recently."

"Oh, definitely. Much better than you were first year."

"I remember that…" Alexis wrapped her arms around him and rested her head on his shoulder, letting out a soft hum. "You had such a hard time getting up the nerve to move through the crowd and say hello to me…it was cute, really."

"R-Really?" The blunet let out a nervous laugh, a blush spreading across his cheeks as he returned her embrace. "I thought it was kind of embarrassing…"

"Never."

"O-kay…" Edward scratched the back of his head. "She's Alexis, and those two are obviously dating…Besides that, she's really sweet and caring towards all of us, like we're her family or something. And she already has…how many brothers again?"

She laughed softly. "In total…six. But we're not all related by blood. If we're referring to that…then two. My twin brother and younger, first-year brother."'

"Yeah, they're all related through one huge adoption that happened…11 years ago?"

"Around there, yes."

"Right. Tomas is one of them. He and his blood brother are both Moroi, by the way. But you've probably already noticed that."

"Way to point out the obvious to another Moroi, Ed," Volug joked, leaning back in his seat against the table.

"Oh yeah, that's Volug, The guy I mentioned yesterday. He's half-laguz and half-werewolf."

"What's with always using the term 'werewolf'? You know how using it on someone who's born into it is kinda…degrading."

"Well, what would you rather me say? Lycan?"

"Preferably, yes. I thought we went over this."

"Not that I remember."

"What, you get a concussion too?"

"Heeey…" Ogier glared at the wolf. "That's cruel."

"Alright, sorry, sorry."

"ANYWAYS," Edward said loudly, "Volug's…Volug. There's not too much of a good way to describe him. He's…perverted, mainly. And makes a lot of jokes that normally have terrible timing…"

"Dude…really?"

"BUT, he's loyal and still means well in the end. A good friend to have."

"Oh…oh! Well, I wouldn't go THAT far…"

"Look who's flustered now."

"Sh-Shut up!"

"Ha! Anyways, the dhampir here is Ogier. Another old friend of mine from years back. He's dependable and the guy you can count on if you have something you need help with…that doesn't involve English homework."

"H-Hey! I'm not THAT bad…" Ogier laughed sheepishly and scratched the back of his head. "It's all of those Dialectical Journals, I swear! That's my only problem!"

Micaiah gave an amused sigh and shook her head. "And when an entire unit is comprised of only Dialectical Journals and Socratic Seminars…"

"For the record, that book was one the worst ones of the entire year! How could I focus on the plot when it was written so strangely?"

"That's how books were written back then. And if you actually paid attention to the plot, it was probably the most interesting book last year."

"…I don't even remember the title of it…"

She sighed again, heavier this time. "Crime and Punishment, Ogier."

"O-Oh. Right."

Edward shook his head and smiled. "Anyways-"

"I've noticed that you say 'anyways' very often," Leonardo pointed out.

Now it was his turn to be sheepish. "O-Oh, yeah, that's…kind of a bad habit for me."

"I wouldn't say it's really that bad…It defines how you speak. There's nothing wrong with it."

"Oh! Well, that's a relief, then."

The blond chuckled deeply. "You're…interesting, to say the least, if I am allowed to say so."

Elric let out a low whistle at the pair. "Wow. Cath really wasn't lying earlier, was she?"

"SHHH!" Edward and Angeline both clapped hands over their brother's mouth, almost pitching him backwards off of his seat.

"Not. Funny!"

"That isn't necessary, brother!"

"U-Umm…" Most of the group stared at the three either in confusion or humoredly, with Cath flashing a triumphant smile at managing to bring one of the Damen siblings over to 'the dark side'. Chad had removed an earbud and was blinking at the engagement next to him. "What…just happened?"

"Well, that's what happens when you always have your music in. You're going to ruin your hearing like that," Hermione scolded. She sighed and turned to Leonardo. "Ignore what Elric said about Cath. She's a habit for gossip and stretching the truth."

"Hey!"

"But besides that…" she stood and walked over to the Moroi, holding a hand out, "I'm Hermione."

Leonardo hesitated for only a second before shaking her hand. "A pleasure…Etrurian, right?"

"Hm, technically."

"Technically?"

"I was born and raised there, but my parents are – or, were – Archanean. But…that was a long time ago…"

The blond pulled back and bit his lip, then looked down. "Oh…I…I'm sorry to hear that."

"It's fine. I've still my elder brother. Even if he IS too foolish for his own good sometimes. But…I know you've had it worse, so…I shouldn't complain to you about it."

He looked back up and furrowed his brow. "How…how do you know…?"

She gave a small, wry smile. "Secrets like these are ones no one else should ever really hear. So, naturally, the whole school knows about it."

That earned a short chuckle. "I guess that's true. Secrets can never really stay secret for long in a place like this, can they?"

"Not really, no…Listen."

"Hm? What is it?"

"I…don't wish to sound rude, but…you already seem very close to Edward."

"I…" A soft blush rose on his face, and he looked away again. "Well…he's easy to talk to. He's…open. Like I can trust him with the things I could never say to anyone else."

She slowly nodded. "I see…And your beliefs are well-founded. You can trust him. I promise you that. But…" She hesitated for a few moments, uncertain on whether or not she should continue. "He…he has his own secrets he wishes to keep hidden. From everyone. Even…" she looked back to the group, where Edward, Ogier, and Volug were engaged in a light-hearted session of pushing and wrestling, "even those closest to his heart…"

He stared at her with wide eyes. "Why…why are you telling me this?"

"Because…" she looked back and stared directly into his eyes, determination in her own, "Because I know I can trust you. I can sense that you would still accept him, despite anything and everything that he might find wrong with himself. But…that doesn't mean I'll tell you myself what it is. It isn't my place to. But…don't bring it up to him. Wait until he feels comfortable enough to confide in you his greatest secret…I know he will. It may be in the next week, or maybe not even until the end of the year. But he will. He already trusts you that much."

Leonardo moved his gaze from Hermione, over to Edward, and watched him with concern. "Greatest secret…? Just what are you hiding, Edward…?"