Fangirlfriend2 - Yes, I have all that totally planned out on my 'big events' list! But obviously, not going to tell you. Spoilers!

YokaiAngel - I really hope that was a good wow and not a "wow this is terrible why did I read this?"!

Dark Serpent Cat - I feel like you just wrote a Count/Harry bonding scene. Though I wonder how advisable fighting death eaters would be for the Count.

Happy Halloween guys!

-YDHP-

He should feel guilty, but Vlad couldn't stop the giddy excitement bubbling inside him every time he saw Susan's face crumple sadly at the sight of Harry. Apparently his hypnosis had taken wonderfully. Harry obviously felt bad, but Vlad knew he was far more upset about the negative comments Susan had made, calling him evil. He still indulged his daydreams of her untimely demise now and then... Now, for example. She had undone months of hard work of his, all in a few seconds.

Lily spent a great deal of time harassing her wizard, and he was glad to see at least Harry wasn't trying to avoid using those supposedly 'evil' gifts he had. Then he really would leave Susan unconscious in the Forbidden Forest on a full moon.

There was even a full moon soon... No. Bad Vlad. Stop that. After his mental scolding (of himself) Vlad schooled his face to more neutral, rubbing a hand through Phantom's fur where she rested on his leg and enjoyed the content look on Harry's face when Lily rubbed her tail there.

It was just them in the dorm for a couple more days, and Vlad's dreams had run wild with that fact. He may actually have to take dreamless sleep until the others came back, because being alone with Harry after his mind was full of increasingly X-rated images was difficult.

Even more so when he was woken by Harry's nightmares and he shamefully pictured Harry crawling into his bed for very different reasons. Which was doubly inappropriate when his mate was crying.

Phantom gave him a very judgmental look, and Vlad felt bad all over again, like the furry familiar knew Vlad had inappropriate thoughts and she disapproved greatly. She was right to, in all fairness.

"You ok Vlad?"

"Fine. Just worried about Ingrid."

Her transformation was less than a month off and it was anxiety inducing. He wanted to see her into the Mirror room at Stokely Castle, it was a sign of caring to be there (or boredom sometimes). However, he knew she wanted Bertrand there, and it wouldn't be tough to convince him to go for protection or something - unless Bertrand felt it too, and he was itching to be there anyway. Vlad wished he could ask.

But Vlad wouldn't leave Harry so unprotected, Vlad wouldn't leave if Bertrand was too. He needed to talk to Ingrid.

"Oh yeah. Her sixteenth is the first. Are you going with her?"

"Not sure yet. It's term time, I might not be allowed. There aren't too many rules put in place with my kind in mind."

Harry nodded, running a finger along Lily's underbelly and Vlad could only describe the hissing sound she made as a snake giggling. Harry smiled in response to whatever Lily said next, then looked up at Vlad.

"She told me off, apparently tickling snakes is a bad idea."

"I thought that was dragons?"

"No, no. It's definitely snakes according to her."

Lily got so offended she wriggled free, slinking down and over the floor to coil up the frame, then along Vlad's bed. She did lift her head to peer over the end of his bed, flicking her tongue out and keeping beady eyes on her wizard.

Vlad would have tried offending her into going back to Harry, but he wasn't sure she wouldn't bite him, so he just rubbed a finger over her head and snout, then shifted Phantom to lie next to her.

"Shall we leave the pests? It's nearly lunchtime anyway."

"Sounds good. Are you and Ingrid going out today again?"

Vlad shrugged, stepping back into his shoes to head down to the Great Hall.

"I have no clue. Ingrid will just grab me and drag me off I assume. If she does you and Hermione can work on meditation some more."

"I can barely contain my excitement."

Vlad couldn't suppress a smile at Harry's deadpan tone, his utterly unimpressed expression. It was times like that Vlad wished he could kiss away the frown, then keep going until Harry smiled and Vlad would know it was for him. Wishful thinking, he knew.

He was beginning to wonder where Bertrand was. Vlad didn't remember him going to Malfoy Manor, and Vlad had no tutor sessions during school holidays. But the vampire wasn't at meals, bats Vlad hadn't even seen him in the library. Maybe he was sleeping in the day, just because he could. Maybe he had gone to Malfoy Manor, just... stealthily.

When Ingrid beckoned him to follow her, so they could break out of the school and head to Hogsmeade, she very kindly waited long enough for Vlad to see Hermione and the Weasleys with Harry, so his mate was safe.

"I've been meaning to ask" Vlad brought it up while they were alone, pacing through the tunnel between a one eyed witch statue and Honeydukes cellar "would you rather Bertrand be there than me? To see you off for the Mirror, I mean. It wouldn't be a problem, except I doubt they'll let Harry come too and I don't want to leave him unprotected."

Ingrid stopped, and he recognised the tension in her shoulders, the way her fist clenched until her knuckles were white - no small feat with their already pale skin. He waited, wishing he hadn't had to remind her of her unfulfilled mate call so close to her transformation. He was dreading that more than the fangs right now.

"Do you really have to ask?"

"Yes. Because I know you would definitely prefer him on an instinct level, but a rational one? If you see him, when you are fresh from the Mirror, will you be able to control yourself?"

He knew Ingrid would, innately, take offence to the implication she could struggle with self control, but they both knew that their transformation could wreak havoc while one readjusted to being dead - that's why they had three days off for the Blood Mirror, not just the actual birthday.

"I know."

It was a whisper, a pained admission of just how garlic-awful their shared situation was and Vlad reached out, daring to offer comfort in this shadowed, empty tunnel. Ingrid accepted it, just for a few seconds, and Vlad knew he would never bring up the unshed tears he caught a glimpse of.

He loved Harry, but this mate thing sucked.

"Are we done with the feelings? The Slytherin in me is vomiting right now."

"You haven't answered me."

The silence was so absolute, he could have heard a ghost take a step.

"I want him there."

"I'll tell him. Don't worry, I'll sell it as me refusing to leave Harry but not letting you go alone. I value my life too much to ever insinuate you have sentimentality somewhere in there."

The stinging hex, Vlad thought, was probably earned.

It did seem to cheer her up, as causing pain often did for Ingrid. Vlad didn't take Ingrid choosing Bertrand's presence over his own - if he had to choose who he wanted to see first from the Blood Mirror, it would be his mate too.

They emerged from the Honeydukes cellar, invisible and amused with no sign of the heavy conversation that had taken place on the way over. They hid in an alleyway to drop the cloaking spells, then went about their day trip. If anyone suspected they shouldn't be out of Hogwarts, they didn't say a thing. That might have been because Ingrid was glaring at every single person that day though.

He didn't need chocolate - the Weasley matriarch had sent a ridiculous amount to Hogwarts, but he did buy the fudge Harry liked, the one that apparently tasted like butterbeer - Vlad hadn't dared try it after hearing that. The trip was for Ingrid, one of her last chances to be out under the sun without protective spells that (according to Bertrand) felt prickly, even with the potion too.

Vlad couldn't resist buying pumpkin flavoured treats, and thought maybe a new bar of Honeydukes chocolate was owed to Madam Pomfrey, for all the times she let a frantic Vlad loiter at Harry's bedside instead of panicking outside in the halls. Especially after she had done him the great favour of kicking Harry's then-girlfriend out.

Ingrid purchased so much junk food Vlad almost - almost - suspected she was trying to rot her fangs, though realistically he knew it was because even if she still liked the same things after, it would never be quite the same to her vampiric tastebuds. The 'mate' conversation picked up again on their way back, laden with joke products and junk food.

"How's the snake whisperer dealing with single life then?"

"He feels a little guilty because Susan bursts into tears, but she told him he must be evil and so he feels far worse about that. I like to daydream about feeding her to Professor Lupin."

Ingrid laughed aloud, probably at the idea of anyone being in vast amounts of pain. They separated with a brief hug, and Vlad reiterated his promise to get Bertrand agreeing to be at Ingrid's transformation quietly. He tracked Harry down in the library with Hermione, studying Healing spells until Vlad returned, and the three retired to the boys dormitory - via the Hospital Wing, where Madam Pomfrey launched prematurely into a lecture about getting hurt until she spotted the chocolate Vlad held out.

"Happy Easter Madam Pomfrey."

"Thank you Vladimir. Now, if there's nothing wrong with any of you, shoo!"

Her fond smile belied the statement, but they scarpered anyway. They had only two afternoons and evenings left to utilise the empty, uninterrupted meditation time. Hermione was already making headway, apparently her 'feeling' was beginning. Vlad only kept going for the practice in meditating, as the actual exercise the other two were engaging in was pointless for him. He felt an occasional flicker of something, something warm and weightless, but he didn't chase it. There was no point.

He focused instead on the 'magical core' trance state, curious to see if their earlier research about sympathetic magic and twin cores was actually true. It was immensely rare for any two witches or wizards to have the same representation, so there was no concrete thing to look for, only hints and tips on the feelings. If he found something, he would tell Ingrid to try it - no point adding to her stress when he was unsure yet.

Phantom disturbed the otherwise silent session by leaping into Harry's lap, reaching up to paw at his necklace that was presently un-glamoured.

"You are not helping furball."

"She is, it's an excellent excuse to stop. My legs gone to sleep."

Harry stumbled upright, lifting Phantom with him and tickling under her chin, much to her squirming delight. Hermione poked him in the knee, reminding Vlad he was staring rather obviously. It was near enough to dinner by then that Harry refused to try again, citing his growling stomach as evidence and practically glowing when Vlad handed him the butterbeer-flavoured fudge.

"I love this stuff!"

Vlad quietly melted inside watching Harry chew on the confectionary, not even dampened by Susan's sad stares between courses at dinner, or Harry wiping off a streak of ketchup that looked a little too like blood for his liking, having drowned his (double layered) cheeseburger in the stuff before devouring it.

Their next morning was a lazy homework session in the common room, with Lily and Phantom on the hearth rug and Fred and George flicking ink at each other while they 'crammed' for their OWLs. Ginny laughed while Hermione disapproved, and then it was back to meditation.

"I think I might be ready for the potion soon!"

Hermione bounced up happily, buoyed by their secret successes while Harry glared lightly.

"I haven't made it yet, it doesn't take very long but it also doesn't preserve well, so it's more of as and when needed."

"This is hopeless! All I can feel is a big black cloud of nothing."

Unhappy with the dejected look on Harry's face, Vlad contemplated what it could mean.

"Like an actual cloud?" Harry nodded, looking puzzled as his brow furrowed. "That could just mean your form is avian, or prefers stormy weather."

"So I am getting somewhere?"

"Almost definitely."

Harry's face smoothed out, and he seemed more determined now he had the prospect of 'getting somewhere' as he closed his eyes again, muscles relaxing into a meditative state. Vlad, too antsy to really sink to trance levels, indulged in watching Harry shamelessly for a little while. Hermione gave him a knowing, not quite judgmental look, then went back to her own meditation.

The finding their feeling was of course, the easiest part. Even when they knew what it was they would become, they had to learn how to transform. It required power and focus generally beyond anyone who hadn't had years of study, and both their power spurts. Though, he mused, Hermione could study more avidly than even Bertrand, and it was already becoming apparent Harry was, or would be, immensely powerful, with his basilisk blood and long, powerful ancestry.

Neither of them were any further along by the time the other students returned, and Harry and Susan's break up was the buzz in the hallways. Bertrand was still nowhere to be seen, and Draco swore he hadn't been at Malfoy Manor, which only perplexed Vlad further, but he headed to the mans quarters for his usually scheduled tutoring session. The door swung open like usual, and Bertrand looked... exhausted, was the only word for it.

"Are you alright?"

Vlad waited until the door was closed behind him to ask, quieting the urge to ask where the hell he had been for the last week and a half. For now.

"A minor blood allergy, I am already on the mend. You will have to forgive the lackluster lesson tonight, your study material is laid out. Feel free to engage me if you need, however."

He wasn't sure why, but Vlad was almost certain the vampire was lying to him. Granted, all vampires lied generally, but that only meant Vlad wondered what he could possibly be covering up. He didn't look sick, he just had the look of someone who had been plagued by no sleep and bad choices. Still, Vlad didn't have any right to push, and he was there to learn, not pry into Bertrand's psyche.

"I do need a favour. Not tonight, that is."

"Oh?"

Wishing he had rehearsed something to say, so it sounded less babbling, Vlad ploughed on anyway.

"I need you to go with Ingrid for her transformation. I would, but I can't leave Harry and I don't want Ingrid vulnerable. She's a Slytherin, bound to have come to the attention of the bad guys as a way to get to Harry through me."

Bertrand didn't answer for several beats, eyes closed and head slightly bowed as if in thought, or perhaps pain. Perhaps even prayer, though vampires didn't generally mentally converse with deities. They didn't really have deities, unless he counted Beelzebub or Lucifer. A route he did not generally let his mind wander down.

"Very well."

"Thank you."

Even as he turned to the books on blood types and fang sharpening, Vlad couldn't shake the feeling he was missing something.

Harry. Hated. Meditation.

His leg would fall asleep, or his butt would go numb. He couldn't feel a damn thing most of the time, and while logically he knew frustration would only further inhibit his ability to reach a trance-like state, he could no more forget the frustration than cut off his legs.

It didn't help that Susan saying "you must be" to Harry asking if she thought him evil rang in his ears whenever his mind wandered, making relaxation near impossible. Harry also had a terrifying notion his Animagus form would be a snake, while he loved his familiar and felt a connection to Samael - he actually missed the basilisk - he didn't want to have another massive reminder of his Slytherin genes.

Vlad telling him the stormcloud he sort of saw in his mind probably meant his form was something that flew relaxed him hugely, enough to keep trying at least. There was little progress made before the Easter holidays were over, and even though she was obviously eager to continue, Hermione enforced a rigid study schedule on anyone who would listen as their exams neared.

Everyone wanted to know why he and Susan had broken up, and honestly Harry wished he could go back in time and tell her after their first date it wouldn't work out just to save the gossip. How did people do this regularly? The whole process had been exhausting, Harry just wanted someone it wasn't awkward or "me or them" about his friends with.

Basically, he needed a female version of Vlad, but who wasn't Hermione because she was not only dating Draco, she was more like a sister to him. Sighing quietly to himself as he made study notes on Switching Spells, Harry reached for the fudge stash Vlad had given him. Butterbeer flavoured fudge was truly a gift from food magic itself, sweet and thick and chewy, rich without being sickly.

"Your girlfriend is bonkers! Nobody but her and Vlad could possibly get all this revision done in a day!"

Seamus complained loudly to Draco, the distinct sound of a book slamming shut reaching Harry's ears - he was hiding behind his bedcurtains a little. So he didn't have to share the fudge. He had raided the kitchens for study snacks, in the form of pizza with warming charms on and leftover bunny-themed Easter treats. The fudge was his.

"I know, but none of us have ever failed an exam and I have a suspicion that's mostly because she made us study until our brains melted."

"Not the point. I'm done. Phantom, stop licking the pizza!"

Harry chuckled to himself, swallowing some water and feeling Lily slither around his bed to change positions, pointing her scaly face in his direction now so she could initiate conversation.

"Vampire one is troubled. Why?"

"Ingrid's birthday is coming up, I think he's mostly worried about her, but also that she will out their family as actual vampires."

Lily flicked her tail in contemplation, slowly bringing it up to rest across Harry's foot. The others usually said she felt cold - the rare times they dared touch the growing, venomous snake - but to Harry's cooler skin she felt perfectly fine, though he supposed that could be their familiar bond too.

"Female snake is also troubled. Furry one says so."

"I don't know what's up with Ingrid if it's not the whole becoming undead thing, I would say ask Vlad but I think there's a language barrier."

The last fortnight between then and Ingrid's birthday whiled away in a haze of meditation, strange dreams about potions turning into monsters to attack him (he blamed studying) and Vlad's well-hidden but definitely burgeoning anxiety.

He followed along when Vlad went to wish her a happy birthday/good luck for the next day, Bertrand hovering about holding their (official, for once) portkey. The vampire had what he recognised as a potions case, which he supposed could contain almost anything, but most likely contained sun potions for he and Ingrid's return.

Vlad looked at the two a little strangely, as though there was something Harry was missing when the two stood either side of the rubber bat toy. Maybe he was just sad he couldn't go. Harry also noticed Severus wasn't there to bid his boyfriend farewell, but perhaps that had been done in private, the better for the potions masters cover. Draco only spoke about his holiday in the dorm, with either their dorm mates or Hermione present.

Secrecy was already becoming sacrascent.

As the two 'popped' off, Professor McGonogall looked at the sad expression on Vlad's face, then swept out of the room. In spite of the fact Vlad didn't stop Harry from getting into his bed when he had nightmares, Vlad didn't initiate much physical contact anymore. That was probably Harry's fault, when he had another 'wobble' about whether they were too close.

He felt even worse for it when Vlad looked surprised at Harry pulling him into a hug, though the vampire boy still clung to him all the same.

"You guys have been apart for more than three days before, surely?"

"Yeah, but never for such a major reason, and we haven't gone that long not seeing each other since I started here."

To most, Ingrid had left for a traditional 'coming of age' ceremony in Romania - it was technically true, but also meant fewer would be likely to go looking for her at Stokely Castle. It could also be replayed as an excuse when it came to Vlad's sixteenth birthday, even if very few places considered sixteen 'of age'.

Vlad was tense, on edge the whole three days, the charmed journal he and Ingrid had the matching set of rarely far from his hands as he waited for news. It finally buzzed, Vlad's slightly shaking hands opening it. The relief on his face was obvious, and when nobody else was looking Vlad mouthed "she's okay" to Harry. Unsure what that meant, Harry simply offered his friend a smile.

"What did you mean, she's okay? I know it's probably no picnic but it's not... dangerous. Is it?"

Vlad couldn't answer immediately - he was rinsing toothpaste from his mouth. This was the first chance they had had to talk alone, their dormitory full of increasingly-frantic studying. He spat the water out, dried his mouth and stared at his own reflection for a good two minutes before he answered Harry.

"It's a test of power, of strength of will. It's taking on our dark side without being lost to it. And while I didn't really worry Ingrid wasn't strong enough, it can actually kill us. I'm supposed to be this uber vampire in the future. I am terrified."

Suddenly Vlad's tension made much more sense. Harry hadn't known there was any chance Ingrid wouldn't make it back to Hogwarts. Or that in the future, Vlad could be lost. The thought was a painful one, lodging sharp and hard in his chest.

"You've survived face-offs with Riddle. You're going to be fine."

The hope in Vlad's eyes when he looked at Harry was so desperate, Harry wished he knew anything that could make it better.

"You think so?"

"I know so."

He didn't. Harry knew nothing of thr sort. But Vlad visibly relaxed, and that was because of him. That felt good. Realising he was still holding the toothbrush in his hand, Harry finished rinsing and watched as Vlad removed the silencing charm from the door, before following him out into the dorm.

Ingrid didn't make a huge deal (unusual for her) of her return - she was just there at breakfast the next day, as caustic and regal-acting as ever. Perhaps a little paler, though she had been very much porcelain before. Harry could also see some sort of charm on her face, remembering Vlad had mentioned glamour charms and fangs when he was fixing Harry's glasses to mask his eyes.

"It's got to be a very specialised charm, because usually survival instincts in our brains wouldn't allow it to be totally concealed."

Hermione seemed happy to carry that conversation all by herself, as Vlad was engrossed in a runic translation and Harry didn't know what she was talking about at first. At Harry's confused expression, she peered around to check nobody in the library was nearby listening before whispering.

"Ingrid's teeth."

Draco joined them for studying about half an hour later, a smudge of blackened skin telling them he had probably been at Potions practice beforehand. With less than four weeks to go before their exams started, stress levels were starting to rise and Madam Pomfrey was burning through headache potions and calming draughts rapidly according to Draco, who had been helping brew new stocks.

"The NEWT students are the worst. Expect us to be told off for breathing too loud by seventh years any day now."

As they all shared a tower with Percy Weasley, they were all very aware of that. Fred and George had taken up the personal challenge of irritating their brother into yelling at them daily, swearing it was good stress release for him. Hermione disagreed, but at least Percy had stopped yelling at the first- and second-years for being noisy.

June slid up almost without warning, finding the Gryffindor third year boys rather rowdy as they devoured the latest Honeydukes haul, the last Hogsmeade weekend of the school year having just passed by. Lily was eyeing the bag of ice mice that squeaked realistically, despite Harry's warnings she really wouldn't like them.

Quickly biting the head off his chocolate frog before it could escape, Harry felt a sharp pain in his tooth. It was gone a few seconds later, and didn't return as he tentatively took another bite. Strange. When he peered reluctantly at his teeth later, dreading more changes, he was relieved to see no visible difference.

Making a mental note to keep on top of his oral hygiene, Harry forgot all about it by the time he came out and saw Seamus and Neville having fizzing whizzbee contests - who could levitate the highest without giving in to the sour taste of the dissolving sherbet. Everyone feeling mildly sick from sugar overload, they retired to bed before the exam period started up for real.

-YDHP-

I think next chapter will be shorter than usual, but the other two for Year Three should be longer. So if you feel cheated next week, I will make it up to you!