Jon - you're back! And I was in stitches reading your reviews. Not sure how you think you can post something to corrupt my mind... I write Vlad/Ingrid fanfiction :P. I've also written a Polyjuice fic... Keep trying!
I did like your little attempt, and the stretching leather sounds hilarious because, well, what on earth is stretching it? 'Ding Dong the witch is dumped' was another highlight!
YokaiAngel & VampireHarry the 2 - thank you!
Guest with no name - thank you for reviewing! yes, the line break is to separate POV, sorry if it wasn't clear that it changed from Vlad to Harry. Nearly every chapter is split into both boys POV, unless it makes better sense to stick with just one here and there.
Notes for this chapter... probably non - canon plants and spell stuff, I think that's it...
-YDHP-
"Expelliarmus!"
Harry felt his wand jitter in his hand, but it didn't go anywhere. Jason Jones, one of the twins with a serious hero-complex for Vlad (who had admittedly rescued them and Draco from half a dozen werewolves) was occasionally invited up to their dorm, to practice defensive magic. His pronunciation was flawless, but he lacked focus and grew nervous if it didn't go right the first time.
"Try to relax. You can't angst his wand out of his hand."
"I'm never gonna get it right!"
Vlad tried to smile encouragingly, coming to stand next to the second year student. Holding out the wand he rarely used outside of class, Vlad demonstrated the correct movement.
"Don't flourish it as much, but also don't worry about aiming exactly for the wand. Close enough will do in an emergency. Go on, try again."
This time Harry's wand did jerk out of his hand, and neither of them pointed out that in a duel someone would have a much stronger grip on their wand - let the boy bask in success. Harry retrieved his wand, congratulating Jason as he beamed.
"Right. Try again, then we can move on to stunners."
As a clearly exhausted second year ambled off - having drunk a glass of water Vlad had dosed with a small amount of replenisher - Harry offered him a grin.
"You're so patient with younger students considering you're the little brother."
"Exactly. If I have the patience to deal with Ingrid, who can't I handle?"
Laughing, Harry gave him a friendly shoulder-shove then went back to his Herbology essay. Both Vlad and Draco had to be conveniently absent from one of their lessons - both being allergic to wolfsbane. Of course, Vlad would only get very sick - Draco would die. As best he could tell, that was the only class he would have to miss, and Draco would only have to be 'off sick' from a lesson later on in the year about silver-thorn roses. A valuable potions ingredient, but mildly sentient and with a bad habit of spitting thorns if disturbed.
Professor Sprout didn't miss a trick - the woman kept a constant supply of wolfsbane growing, as it had to be fresh each month for Draco's potion. It was the fifth year classes responsibility to tend to the crops constantly, their fourth years class merely an introduction to the magical properties of an otherwise rare plant.
"Who ever discovered bubotubers? They are truly disgusting."
"Someone who made the mistake of getting too close. And got spat on. At least, I assume that's how one discovers such a pungent yet useful plant."
Bubotuber pus was useful in a variety of potions and ointments - even one for acne - but had to be extracted the right way, and smelled like petrol on a good day. However, the plant also spat defensively, and the defensive spray left one with mild burns or huge blisters. At least, that's what his textbook said. Vlad would take it's word, not having any desire to go annoying the tubers.
Still, Vlad would take a whole month of bubotubers squeezing over attempting to care for blast-ended skrewts. They periodically spat sparks out of what Vlad could only assume was their rear-end, burning anyone behind them but it was impossible to tell which end was which until that happened. According to Hagrid, the ones with suckers on the bottom were female, and the ones without were males, and would grow scorpion-like stingers.
Hagrid constantly had them try to tempt the skrewts with various foodstuffs, but so far they had turned their nose up (metaphorically speaking) at raw meat, every kind of vegetable, a dead ferret and even spat out where they bit students (which Madam Pomfrey got annoyed with, as the bites swelled up and blistered in seconds). So far, out of a hundred, they had already lost ten and Vlad suspected they were simply eating each other.
"Jus' need ter figure out wha' they like! Now, pop 'em in their boxes."
Fighting not to roll his eyes, Vlad joined the attempts to convince the slimy, smelly creatures into boxes Hagrid had lined with frilly cushions, then added blankets. The lids were nailed on, and they all blissfully escaped to Charms class smelling strongly of burning. Next he would be putting collars and leashes on them like happy little puppies.
"Today students, we will begin work on summoning and deflecting charms. Notably, the accio and the depulso charms. We are going to start with these cushions, for obvious reasons. Do try not to set them alight Mr Finnegan..."
Seamus visibly scowled, and Vlad half expected him to try transfiguring the cushion to stone before using the Depulso charm to fling them at Vlad. Vlad had already mastered Accio, and magical or not he would be able to summon or artfully throw things away from him post-transformation. However, he couldn't show that off. He also had an inkling why they were learning Depulso rather than Expulso - Expulso was far easier to overpower, and could be used on people. Sure, Depulso could be used to fling an object at someone, but it couldn't fling a human.
Though right now, Vlad bet Seamus wished otherwise. Several cushions hit him, followed by challenging stares a Dracula should never ignore or back down from. All of which Vlad forced himself not to react to, keeping an eye instead on Harry and Draco to make sure their fluctuating powers weren't too obvious - all of their year had gone through the first power spurt, it would be somewhat suspicious if they displayed new magical strength on top of their physical changes Vlad heard many commenting on.
The jealous scowls he made hearing girls squeal about how 'buff' Harry was getting were completely irrelevant of course.
"Don't get me wrong, I don't miss the 5am wake up calls but I miss Quidditch. When does this bloody event start?"
"Uh. I think the other schools arrive on Halloween. At least my test has been arranged for the week before, to ensure the VHC don't cross paths with the visiting students."
"How many more after this?"
"Just the one, when I'm fifteen. They used to make us take four, but then realised it was pointless to make us take one after we get our powers, since the point of them is to ensure we are competent to handle having them."
Harry nodded to show he understood, eyes on Samael where he was working on his latest gigantic meatball. Both of them being in the trunk was something of a risk, but most students were out enjoying a rare indian summer day in late September. Harry was itching to visit the serpent, and as usual Vlad was powerless against the emerald eyes.
Phantom was at the doorway of the bathroom, watching her paw make tiny ripples that slowly spread over the mammoth body of water. Smiling fondly at his brave familiar - her eyes flashed red when she stood on Samael's enormous head, but otherwise she seemed remarkably at home down here - Vlad watched Harry hiss quietly to Lily. Sometimes, he wondered how everyone wasn't utterly, painfully in love with Harry James Potter - he was beautiful, inside and out.
"Lily said the furry one thinks this year will be a test of sorts. Samael concurs."
"Well, the Triwizard Tournament challenges are tests of skill, courage, bravery and apparently being able to dance the line between death wish and adrenaline junkie. One champion died against a manticore. I'd rather go up against a pack of wolves at the full moon."
"Vlad. You have done that."
"Oh yeah. Ok. Without a thestral. Speaking of which, I should go visit them soon."
They lapsed into silence while Samael finished eating, then poked his enormous head out of the archway to look at them. Even knowing he was magically protected by Harry, Vlad felt somewhat unnerved by the huge yellow eyes. He trusted Harry to know Samael was safe, but those eyes had killed a boy, petrified others. It was Riddle's fault of course, but Ingrid's frozen face and the abject panic that they may never have been able to cure her crept up on him sometimes.
Forcing himself up, Vlad ran a hand across the scaled snout. Samael made a low hissing sound, but Harry didn't seem concerned by it so he figured he was safe for now. It was a little easier to accept the docile nature when the nearly seventy foot serpent was somehow able to resemble a purring cat. The absurdity of it all amused him, and Harry appeared next to him, hissing softly before placing a hand next to Vlad's.
"He needs to sleep now, digestion takes it out of him. Thanks for coming down here with me. I know it was tough for you to deal with what Riddle made him do to Ingrid, I appreciate you making the effort to keep him in my life."
Well, now Vlad was essentially liquid on the inside. Harry's expression was softened, did funny things to his heart even if it was mostly aimed at the basilisk next to him. Vlad almost forgot how to talk, managing to get a fairly steady couple of words out.
"No problem."
He got the distinct feeling Lily, Phantom and Samael were all painfully aware of the effect Harry had on him, the way his heart was doing somersaults and how it was taking every single atom of effort in his body not to just blurt out how he felt.
"Come on then Phantom, let's leave the very large snake to sleep."
His familiar clambered up onto his shoulder, allowing Vlad the privilege of carrying her up the ladder while Harry satisfied himself with making sure Samael made it to his heat lamp. A quick check satisfied him nobody was about to see both Vlad and Harry exit from his closed bedcurtains, hopping down to the ground and watching Phantom chase her tail like she had never before noticed it's existence.
Harry came with him the next time he went to visit the thestrals, relaxing further the more time he spent with them and eventually smiling when a foal let out a high-pitched rattle and bumped his leg gently.
"You really like these things, huh?"
"Wouldn't have gotten out of that pack of wolves without these guys. And they are thoughtful, intelligent and morbidly beautiful. What's not to like?"
His mate gave him a bemused look, but raised a hand to pat the thestral nearest on it's boney nose with a sort of smile. Another bumped Vlad's shoulder, whinnying happily when Vlad rubbed it's head. He hadn't yet learned how to tell males and females apart, they were all roughly the same size at full maturity, and there were no gestating females. Nor was he about to go rooting for more obvious signs... it wasn't that important.
Each thestral turned in one direction, eerily in sync and perfectly silent as more delicate hoofs sounded. When Vlad saw the faint glow emanating from its pure white body, he knew he needed to move before the unicorn tried to gut him. Searching for a hasty escape route, he felt something dig uncomfortably between his legs, then jerk him up and back to land rather painfully on a thestrals back.
"What's up?"
"Unicorns and vampires. Bad mix. Their blood is basically poison to us, and they would usually like nothing better than to run me through."
Rubbing the thestral soothingly, and in gratitude as they defended him from the passing unicorn herd who glared angrily in his direction, Vlad indicated Harry to join him just in case. If it meant Harry slid his arms around Vlad's waist for stability when their steed pattered and stomped in warning to the unicorn nearest? Well, that was merely a happy coincidence.
"Thank you guys. I better get out of here before they come back, but I'll come see you soon ok?"
A couple ruffled their huge, leathery wings, rattling and nudging him gently with their heads. Vlad had taken that to be affectionate, since they hadn't eaten him yet. And continued to keep him safe.
"We study unicorns in fifth year Care of Magical Creatures."
"I know. They don't let male students near them anyway, but I'll have to be careful anyway. At the very least use a scent blocking charm, and be glad they don't have proper horns when they are still foals."
Harry's heartbeat thrummed steadily against his back, making Vlad feel very warm for a cool October afternoon. Still, it would become suspicious if he didn't move soon. Harry dropped back down first, leaving Vlad feeling cold inside for a second as he followed.
"I've got tutoring tonight, let's get you back to the castle before you find your way to trouble."
"It finds me!"
Chuckling, Vlad almost forgot himself and reached for Harry's hand. What was wrong with him? Harry didn't mind him gripping his wrist, but they had certainly never held hands. Shoving them in his pockets to make sure they behaved, hastening to get out of the forest before the unicorns found him.
"I wonder if your patronus would be a thestral."
"Who knows? I never got around to learning it. Maybe that's on my to-do list."
"Focus on your test first!"
Bertrand assured him over a book on Vampire Lore that Vlad was prepared for his test, and uttered warnings to be careful when the visiting schools arrived soon. Vlad was more concerned about the vampiric side of his life at that moment - he knew that, being the chosen one, at some point in the future he would be expected to become Grand High Vampire and lead the whole race. It wasn't a hugely appealing thought.
All the same, his test passed fairly quickly and he was thrilled to see the back of the coffin loiterer who came to administer his test - with Professor Tonks and Bertrand watching closely to ensure the vampire didn't go wandering and snack on a child. Leaning back in his chair and scrubbing a hand over his face, he sighed with relief.
"One to go. Cannot wait for this to be over."
"You say over. Don't you become an actual vampire afterwards?"
Vlad mock-glared at his DADA teacher, who merely grinned in response. She was peculiar but intelligent, magically powerful but also insanely clumsy - he had lost count how many times she walked into her desk, tripped over her chair or coughed/sneezed and turned her hair a different colour. At least she didn't seem fazed by teaching vampires and werewolves, she wasn't even giving Bertrand sidelong, wary glances.
"Better prepare for the impending chaos. Bloody Triwizard Tournament. I should get back to lesson planning."
Tonks made to leave, somehow catching her boot on the doorway and stumbling. A huffing sound, a warning "say nothing" glare and some straightened shoulders later, the woman was on her way out. Bertrand shook his head, retrieving his hourglass from the table to return to his quarters.
Halloween approached with an increase in the fervour around Hogwarts - the other schools would be arriving soon, which meant the tournament would begin. Vlad wasn't a big fan of Halloween - Ingrid enjoyed it, and their father celebrated it like breathers did Christmas - enthusiastically. Harry hated Halloween, the anniversary of a madman murdering his parents. Only a long time talking with Samael seemed to cheer him up, and at least he was smiling.
"Come along! We have to be outside to greet them!"
Hermione poked her head in their dorm, shooing at them to get a move on and subtly handing Vlad a folded piece of parchment. Pretending to double back for his shrunken-down backpack, he unfolded it with only Harry still in the room. Automatically, he recognised Bertrand's solid, neatly compacted writing.
Will be Dark Marks. Headmaster warns not to make a fuss or give yourself away.
It was probably good he had been warned, but it made his skin crawl to imagine more of Riddle's cannon-fodder-minions infesting the castle. Crushing the parchment as his fist clenched, Harry gently prompted him to start walking. At least they didn't have to wear uniforms for this meet and greet, and Harry was looking utterly edible in his green shirt, paired with the black jeans that fit his legs like they were custom made for the job.
They took their spots in the fourth year Gryffindor line, and Vlad caught Ingrid wearing sunglasses and looking utterly bored. He wasn't totally sure what they were looking for - portkey? Someone just strolling through the gates? It definitely wasn't flying horses he expected, something straight out of a fairytale as they pulled an enormous carriage along. He expected many students, but that turned out to be a wrong assumption - the size of the carriage was to allow for the huge headmistress. She was even a few inches taller than Hagrid.
Almost certainly another half giant. Who Hagrid was being really rather unstable about checking out, and Vlad wondered to himself if it tickled where Dumbledores hat touched just below her chin as he stepped up to greet Madame Maxime.
Many of the boys started acting like fools as the Beauxbatons girls alighted the carriage, all flawlessly dressed, perfectly made up and exuding elegance and grace. One of them was certainly not pure human, her scent carrying hints of fire and a sickly sweet floral note. Her hair shone almost unnaturally, and a collective sigh ran through most boys when she merely looked in their direction, smiling with perfect teeth.
Oh, Ingrid was going to hate her.
Vlad wasn't feeling too charitable toward her either - Harry was in on the mindless staring. It was clear she sensed that there were other humanoid-creatures around her, subtle but definite stares fixing on Draco, himself, Ingrid and then Bertrand. Then the 'lovely ladies' stood in a clearly choreographed but somehow effortless looking formation, and they all awaited the arrival of school number three.
Many of them looked skyward, as though the next school would come swooping in on dragons or something. The wrenching, squelching racket came instead from the lake, a frighteningly huge whirlpool opening up without disturbing the surrounding water. The gap essentially spat out a - perfectly dry - ship, the deep red, black and brown colours reminding him of the Bulgarian Quidditch team, and Vlad suddenly knew his fear of Durmstrang had been realised.
"If he's here I'm going to feed him to Samael."
Only Harry caught his whisper, everyone else focused more on the spectacle over in the Great Lake, snorting with laughter even as he tried to soothe Vlad.
"Seventeen and over. He's our year, why would he be here?"
Vlad relaxed for a moment, then felt anger flare as he caught a flash of flaming orange hair amongst mostly ashy blonde and various shades of brown to black. His attention was torn between that and the sense of Dark Mark pulsing in waves off of the headmaster of Durmstrang, a weedy looking man with a scruffy goatee and eyes that unsettled Vlad.
Quite a few of the Durmstrang boys obviously knew what Vlad and Ingrid were, though he didn't know what gave them away but he remembered being told most magical vampires ended up in Durmstrang, where dark magic was part of the curriculum and dark creatures part of everyday life. A few more students gave off a similar Marked vibe, though not as strong as the man their own headmaster greeted as 'Igor Karkaroff'. He practically jumped at the sight of Bertrand, and Vlad heavily suspected the man had flashed his fangs again.
For whatever reason, the Hogwarts students were sent in first, and Vlad caught a chilling glance to see Ron Weasley was certainly there. Ingrid was going to flip. As they got in, he caught her sitting between Blaise Zabini and Theo Nott - perfectly likeable boys in his experience. The visitors came flooding in after, and it took a concerted effort not to hex Weasley from across the Hall when he blatantly sought out Ingrid.
The only saving grace was that Bertrand looked as surprised as Vlad was to see the defective Weasley, because if the tutor had known and not said, both Vlad and Ingrid would stake him - mate or not. He caught sight of the main attraction Durmstrang had to offer - Viktor Krum, the Bulgarian seeker. He looked even more severe and dour in person, wrapped in the fur cloak and thick uniform the other boys had on. It would be cold in Bulgaria, he imagined. Ronald Weasley was tall and gangly, not dwarfed by his older peers but still skinny, weedy-looking next to the broader, more mature Durmstrang men.
Beauxbatons settled amongst both the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tables. Durmstrang sat with the Slytherins, which didn't honestly surprise him, but Viktor Krum did. He caught the way Ron tried to worm his way into seats near Ingrid, grabbed two of what he presumed were his friends and monopolised the three seats opposite Ingrid and her two guardian Hogwarts students. Against his will, Vlad's opinion of the seeker climbed up a notch.
Harry noticed remarkably little - he was eyeing the Beauxbatons girls still. Rolling his eyes at the idiot he was apparently destined to spend eternity with, Vlad tried to turn his attention to the Head Table, where the huge golden box resided. It was like an ornate, bejeweled, upright coffin really. As everyone sat down, settling, a heavy silence settled over the hall in anticipation.
"Eternal glory, that is what awaits!"
Dumbledore waved his wand over the big gold box, which melted away into thin air, revealing a fairly rudimentary looking goblet. It was half the size of the container that had housed it, and looked to have been roughly carved out of wood. Only a series of dark, circular stones pressed deep into the wood gave it any air of importance, and it gave off quite an aura of magic that hummed through the hall.
"The Goblet of Fire! Anyone wishing to submit themselves to the tournament need only write their name upon a piece of parchment and throw it in the flame before this hour on Thursday night. Do not do so lightly! If chosen, there's no turning back. As from this moment, The Triwizard Tournament has begun."
Almost as if it had been perfectly timed, the goblet lit itself - a flickering but sustaining blue-white blaze hovering a few inches in thin air, casting nearby faces into a harsh glare. Whispers filled the hall, Hogwarts gossip already buzzing and several students clearly declaring they would be entering. With everything else going on his life, Vlad couldn't imagine anything worse. He was infinitely glad Ingrid was too young - she would enter on principle, and Vlad didn't want her dying for pride.
Eternal glory... Lifelong fame... Harry had already nailed that by existing as a baby who somehow survived a killing curse. He hadn't asked Samael about that much, preferring to attempt to drag facts and thoughts on the future out of him.
He was jerked out of a quiet reverie by Vlad pestering him - naturally - to go do some homework.
"Come on. Library. It'll be mostly empty with everyone stalking the visitors."
Vlad had a wry grin playing across his mouth - knowing Harry himself had been a little distracted by the pretty girls. Still, Vlad was probably checking out the big muscly Bulgarian boys.
"Let's go."
Vlad settled in behind a towering pile of books on Arithmancy, so Harry left him to bore himself rigid and pretended to study his Healing texts. There were a couple of quiet giggles, appearing to come from absolutely nowhere as he looked around. It became apparent quickly what the cause was - Viktor Krum was sat staring intently at a book, and occasionally a girl would peer around a hidden bookcase.
Harry hadn't heard the Quidditch player speak a word, but Vlad seemed to watch him now and then - Krum always sat near Ingrid, keeping the awful surprise of Ron Weasley far away from the Slytherin girl. Harry still remembered that rage, safely contained in the trunk with Samael where he could fire off some angry hexes and colourful expletives before Harry got the actual explanation.
"Wanted to see his family. Slimy little git, his family are the ones who sent him away. He's been ordered to stay away from Ingrid, but he was still smirking. Me and Ingrid both told the professors warning us - us! - to stay away from him that if he goes near her, she's going to tear his throat out. Smug bastard. I still want to drag him down here. He'll be lucky if all he gets is his other wrist broken."
Vlad didn't get angry often, Harry hadn't seen him like this... ever. Vampires didn't get mad - they got even. He didn't even relish causing pain, but Harry was actually a little worried - not for Ronald Weasley, but that Vlad would eventually regret losing his temper at him. Samael, by contrast, appeared to be finding Vlad's explosive anger hilarious.
"Why Samael? Just strap him to a thestral and ask them to drop him in the acromantula territory again?"
"Don't tempt me."
He caught the red tinge in Vlad's eyes, the vampire inside his usually mild-mannered best friend showing and Harry distinctly remembered being very confused by the mild shiver that ran down his spine. He wasn't scared of Vlad - Vlad would, in his own words, bathe in garlic and dance in front of Ingrid before he ever hurt Harry.
All the same, Harry half expected to see fangs appear even though Vlad had well over a year before he got those.
Shaking himself back to the present - Vlad studying, Viktor Krum loitering and a horde of fangirls stalking him - Harry wondered about Igor Karkaroff. From the Weasley twins, he was painfully aware the man was an 'ex death eater' - Voldemort didn't seem like a ditchable date - who had escaped Azkaban by naming several more. Who thought he was a candidate for moulding young minds? It boggled his.
"You're not even studying."
"Because I don't take Arithmancy, and I left my Charms essay upstairs."
That won him the usual eyeroll, and as he continued perusing the library, Harry couldn't help wondering - was Krum... was he checking Vlad out? It was hard to tell, dark eyes under thick eyebrows, but he kept looking over. And not at Harry. Though, maybe he was just trying to work out how Vlad and Ingrid were related - they weren't all that similar.
Students entering the Triwizard cup became quite the spectacle, from the girls fawning over Durmstrang to the boys ogling the Beauxbatons girls. Hogwarts entries included Cedric Diggory, Katie Bell and Angelina Johnson. Diggory seemed to be the popular choice - girls who weren't drooling after Krum and co were giggling and fussing with their hair whenever the Hufflepuff passed.
More spectacular were the underage students - to ensure nobody under seventeen could enter, the Headmaster had drawn a thick white circle around it, which everyone called an age line. Nobody under the age of seventeen could so much as cross it. Or so they thought.
The first to try was a girl from Ravenclaw that Harry thought may have the surname Fawcett, and at first there was awe and wonder as she stepped over the line no problem. She stepped around, then reached to add her name to the goblet. Almost as soon as her parchment touched flame, the slow burn became a hissing whip of fire that slid beneath her feet and tossed her into the opposite wall at speed with an enormous bang.
It quickly transpired the wall had a cushioning charm of some sort, as the girl was relatively unharmed. Except her pride. Fred and George, on the other hand, were convinced they could trick it. Hermione, comfortably leant into her boyfriend on the benches Harry felt had been added solely for this particular entertainment, was their biggest nay-sayer.
"Dumbledore himself drew this. You really think you can outsmart him, particularly with something as dimwitted as an aging potion?"
A few Durmstrang students were sat with Ingrid, clearly waiting for the spectacle to begin - they had already clocked the Weasley twins were pranksters and class clowns. They also appeared to hugely dislike the youngest Weasley boy - he mostly sat alone, scowling unless the headmaster was around. Then most would - blatantly faking it - act cordially toward him, and that didn't sit right with Harry. What did Ron Weasley have that Igor Karkaroff wanted?
"That's why it's so brilliant."
"Because he wouldn't suspect"
"Such a dimwitted attempt."
"Watch, ye of little faith!"
They played to the crowd, eating up the cheers as they strolled around inside the age circle. There was even a few seconds delay as their parchment was absorbed by the magical flames. This time around, when they were flung the length of the hall and stumbled upright, it was impossible to miss their 'new look'.
"They've gone as Dumbledore for Halloween!"
George Giles and friends were in fits of laughter a few rows down, watching as Fred and George Weasley straightened up with identical long grey hair, complete with matching long grey-white beards. They immediately began to blame each other for the mix up, scrapping on the floor and it made for an amusing sight - stray beards being flung around and a flurry of scruffy hair obscuring them from face to shoulder leaving only random limbs to shoot out from the chaos.
"Ah, it would be those two."
Harry turned to see Professor McGonogall next to their bench, rolling her eyes as she strolled towards the kerfuffle. A soundless spell forced the two apart, and they both scrambled to their feet under their head of houses glare.
"Let me guess. Aging potion?"
"Yes Professor."
"Sorry Professor."
"You're not the first. Madam Pomfrey is currently treating two third year Hufflepuff students with similar... issues. Off you go. Detention Saturday for unauthorised potion use."
The twins chorused "yes professor" in sync, then hurried in the direction of the staircase to presumably get a shave and hair dye from the school nurse. Attention was diverted as Viktor Krum finally entered, the international Quidditch player escorted by his headmaster as though he couldn't possibly manage it all by himself. Even his classmates cheered, which confused him a little as surely they each wanted to be chosen too?
"Please let me hex him."
"No. Too many people."
"Okay, who are you and what have you done with my rule abiding girlfriend?"
Harry snorted with laughter as he overheard Vlad, Hermione and Draco - it didn't take much work to guess who they were talking about, Ron Weasley offering Vlad a challenging stare from his safe spot hiding behind the Durmstrang Headmaster. Even Ginny wanted nothing to do with her youngest older brother, so his 'family' excuse had fallen utterly flat but now the arguement was that he couldn't be sent back alone.
Vlad's suggestions had merit.
"Lock him in a stone coffin and drop him down that whirlpool. See where he ends up. Cover him in baby spiders then use an engorgio charm. Dip him in single malt whiskey and feed him to Madame Maxime's horses."
It was a little odd hearing Vlad sound so much like Ingrid or Samael all of a sudden, and he was rather creative with his various ideas on how to get rid of Weasley. None of which he could put into play, as there were eyes on him for just such events. Vlad could probably easily and painfully hex the little worm from where he sat, silent and wandless, but that was as good as doing it in the open to Professor McGonogall - nobody else had such extensive capability with their magic.
At least, nobody who wanted to hex Weasley to Merlin and back.
When they made it back to the tower that evening, and Vlad was back from tutoring, he had a new book in hand. Perching on the end of Vlad's bed, Harry peered closely at the cover while he could ask - the others weren't up yet.
"Occluding the mind? What's that when it's at home?"
"Occlumency" Vlad put on his 'pompous' voice, his usual way of jokingly impersonating his prim and proper tutor "is the magic of protecting ones mind. Vampirically speaking, this is a similar branch of powers to protecting ourselves from hypnosis and telepathic intrusions. With your powers yet to come and your status as yet unknown, it is imperative you begin to learn such protections sooner rather than later."
Unable to stop himself chuckling, Harry tickled Phantoms soft underbelly and received several digs of claws that probably ought to have done more damage than they did. He decided not to think about it, in case he began to panic that his hardening skin was preceding him growing scales.
"How does it work?"
"Ideally, I would be taught by an actual Occlumens, but he's you know, away. So I read this and practice emptying my mind at night, then I learn to repel intrusions, and then to have a constant barrier of protection. It sounds very dull, but also pretty useful I guess. I don't want the VHC figuring out who I am anytime soon. I gotta shower, I smell like old books."
"You could go seduce Hermione?"
"Mmm. Rabid wolf on my hands. Pass."
Harry waved him off to the bathroom, then scooped up Phantom to transport her to his bed. The notion he and Vlad were more than friends definitely wouldn't die if he was found waiting on the other boys bed. Lily popped her head out of her tank, flicking her tongue out and grumbling about how Harry hadn't brought her extra breakfast for a few days now.
"I'm terribly sorry your highness. Anything else?"
"A heat lamp like king snake along the ceiling. The innards of my enemies in a serving bowl."
"Your enemies? How do you make enemies? I'm the only person you even talk to."
"Furry one. Hissssss."
Phantom mewled in complaint, then padded up to Harry's face and licked it before sitting on his chest. Practically daring Lily to come over, but Harry could see by their attitude it was all done in jest and the two just liked to antagonize each other.
"I don't even need to ask to know she's being a little menace. Come on you, stop annoying Lily."
Vlad's hair had grown a little, curling beneath his ears and brushing over the back of his pyjama shirts collar. It suited him better, Harry decided quietly to himself before shaking off the random thought. Phantom nuzzled into the crook of his neck affectionately, and Vlad smiled down at her fondly.
The next time they were in the library, Harry spotted Viktor Krum and his entourage of fangirls again. As they got up to leave, Vlad looked his way for a brief second and out of the corner of his eye, Harry could have sworn something like a smile was aimed at his friend. Apparently Vlad had an admirer. Harry didn't know why that prospect confused him - Vlad was a perfectly likeable vampire.
The anticipation began to build, reaching fever pitch by Thursday dinner and that ministry official Vlad looked at funny was back, loitering in the shadows as food melted away from plates and every eye turned to the goblet of fire. Unsure what they were expecting - would it talk, like the sorting hat? - several students jumped in surprise when the usual calm flames began to roil and flicker angrily.
Eventually, the flames shot straight up into the air, a slightly smouldering piece of parchment falling down as the fires calmed again. Dumbledore caught it deftly, turning it in his hands before his carrying, clear voice filled the hall.
"The Hogwarts champion is... Cedric Diggory!"
The hall erupted, positively deafening at the badgers table as Cedric stood, walked up to the front and was directed to a side room. Almost as though the firey selector knew the time frame, it started to hiss and spark again before launching up, and Harry strongly suspected that this was the Beauxbatons champion - Durmstrang didn't seem the type for delicate blue paper.
"The Beauxbatons champion is... Fleur Delacour!"
The undoubtedly-most-attractive girl from that school stood, gave a sort of curtsey that had probably been ingrained in etiquette lessons to the applause of her schoolmates, then followed the same route Cedric had. By now, they only had one left to choose.
"The Durmstrang champion is..." Harry wondered if the headmaster practiced dramatic pauses "Viktor Krum!"
The deep grunting cheers of a group of boys in their late teens was drowned out by an almost-violent chanting of "Krum! Krum!" from Igor Karkaroff. He saw Vlad staring at the spot being vacated, his shoulders clearly relaxing when the students around him merely slid closer to cover the space created.
"And now, we have our three champions! The Triwizard Tournament can now-"
The whole hall fell silent aside from a few shocked gasps as the fire started up again, every eye fixed as it shot up and spat out... a fourth name?
"Vladimir Dracula."
Anarchy broke out all around, but if Harry was sure of one thing from the expression on his friends face, it was that he was just as surprised as Harry was.
-YDHP-
I envision irritation... You'll just have to trust I know what I'm doing.
This ended up loooong, and I even finished writing this before I started this weeks Rules To Bend chapter... That's never happened before.