Jacob clung tight to Aubrey as they descended the stairs to the main floor. As Severus came into view, they noticed another woman along with Lacy. This one was a little older and she was almost as intimidating as his father…almost.

The three of them looked up as the boy and his…protector descended the last step.

The older woman was the first to speak. "There you are boy. I do hope you earn your keep at this new boarding school you’re going to. I don’t expect to see you ever again."

Aubrey caught the tone the headmistress was taking and it immediately sparked his ire.

He stepped in front of Jacob protectively and scowled at her. “Madame, the only thing we expect from him is to behave, learn his subjects, and do well on exams. He won’t need to earn his keep.”

The woman glared at him. “Watch your tongue boy. I don’t tolerate impudence from anyone, least not from you.”

Aubrey stood his ground. “If I were you, Madame, I’d watch my step. If anyone were to find out that you’ve been mistreating an autistic boy, you’d be looking for another job by Halloween.”

The Madame sniffed imperiously at him. “You’re not even fully grown, you have no standing with anyone least of all the people in charge.”

“He doesn’t,” Severus said as he stepped between them. “But I do. I have more then one contact in the ministry to help carry out my threat. My peers would be chomping at the bit to remove you by the time I tell them all that I’ve discovered here.”

“Not without proof, you won’t. I keep a tidy and orderly orphanage. The brats here know better then to step out of line with me around.”

“Nothing is hidden from me,” Ambrosias said as he finally stepped into view.  “The shadows are my friend, Headmistress. I can go anywhere undetected and find out just what injustices are done here. Remember that when you run this orphanage. I can go places and influence people that others can’t.” He grinned coldly at her, fully effecting her with his vampire talents.

“If anymore children come to any harm from you or your staff, I’ll know.”

That was enough to drain the pallor from the old woman’s face. She shuddered and then backed away practically throwing Jacob’s folder at them. Severus caught it neatly and tucked it under his arm. "No worries, madame. He’ll never be at your mercy again."

“Be on your way then, and leave us be.”

Ambrosias grinned at her showing his fangs. He cut Lacy a courtly bow and then followed his family and their new charge out the door.

When they were gone, Ambrosias vanished again, keeping to the shade before taking on his bat form again and flying back to the hotel.

“Who was that?” Jacob asked.

Aubrey grinned down at him. “That’s my twin…he’s got a skin allergy.”

Jacob nodded and was quiet again. He wanted to ask the big man more questions but found himself suddenly shy and instead looked ahead as they Leaky Caldron soon came into view.

Aubrey sensed his distress and put a comforting hand on his back. “It’ll be okay, now. We’ll be looking after you now. You’re whole life has changed and it’ll be a thousand times better then living at the orphanage."

"Because I’m a …."

Yes,” Severus answered…immediately Jacob shuddered and tried to burrow into Aubrey’s cape.

The potions master stopped immediately and continued walking, not really sure how to tackle this new crisis. Thankfully Aubrey stepped in smoothly. He stopped and knelt in front of Jacob. He spoke in soft comforting tones. "That man in black is my father and he’s not as scary as he seems. It was his idea to send me to pick you up and bring you down to him. I know it will take you a while to get comfortable with him. "

“He’s tall and wears dark clothing…he’s scary.” Jacob whispered for the first time looking directly into his protector’s eyes.

Aubrey chuckled softly. "You’re not the only kid to think so. He scares everyone at first. But I can promise that you’ll be safe and secure at Hogwarts."

"We still need to get your school supplies and some new clothes before we board the train tomorrow. For now, stick close to me and we’ll get through this day together."”

Severus blew out a breath. That would give him some more time to figure a way to get within the child’s circle of trust.

"Once they entered the Leaky Caldron, they all made for the back entrance . Just before touching his wand to stones, Severus, still keeping his distance, addressed his son. “Apparently my presence is not helping Jacob overcome his shyness. You and Darcy will take him for his supplies and his wand. You may also get him a familiar if you’d like. You may charge everything to our account and the Headmaster will settle everything when we get to the school tomorrow. Can I trust you two teenagers to not go overboard?”

Aubrey nodded. “You have my word.”

Severus nodded back and then touched his wand to the wall.

Jacobs eyes widened as the stones folded back to create an arch.

When his father left, Aubrey felt his new charge sigh in relief. “Just stay with me, and you’ll be fine. Now, we’re going to meet my cousin, Darcy. Then we’ll start shopping.”

In response, the small boy’s stomach growled. He looked up with a little trepidation and then relaxed when his strong protector grinned. “It’s okay really. We’ll find a nice little restaurant to eat at.”

That’s where Darcy found them about 20 minutes later. They had settled down at a nice little restaurant called Morgana’s Café. It was a newer restaurant and a little high end as price went, but from what the concierge had told them, the food was well worth it as well as the service.

Jacob’s eyes were everywhere as magic butterflies flitted above their heads and the flames in the wall sconces and the giant chandelier changed colors repeatedly. He shrank back against Aubrey when three menus floated over to them.

“Darcy, this is Jacob Mason, the boy that we picked up at the orphanage. We’ll be getting his supplies and some clothes today. He’s new to anything magic, we should take it slow with him.”

The newcomer smiled at him as he plucked his menu out of the air and opened it. “Hi Jacob, pleased to meet you. All this magic may seem daunting, but you’ll get used to it soon.”

Jacob didn’t know if that would ever be true…but he trusted Aubrey. He had to admit that Magic was slowly fascinating him. After eating, they all began the shopping expedition.

It was all going as expected and the two older boys were soon flooded with questions, which they answered as best they could. It was nice to see him coming out of his shell a bit, even though he still clung to Aubrey’s side.

They ended up buying him clothes similar to their own but in smaller sizes. The packages would be delivered to their hotel room while they continued to shop.

It didn’t take long for Darcy to be accepted as a protector as they visited shop after shop. The only shop they didn’t visit was Slug and Jiggers as Severus was in there and told them he would get the boy’s potions supplies himself, to be sure that he got the freshest ingredients.

Soon they found themselves at Olivander’s and they went inside, Darcy whispered to him. “This is where you’ll get your wand. It’s a bit of a process so we’ll just take it slow.”

Jacob nodded and took a deep breathe before approaching the counter. He was a little unnerved when the man looked over the counter at him.

Welcome sir, how may I be of service?”

“This is my charge, Jacob Mason. He’s in need of a wand.”

The intimidating man peered down at him. "I see. Please step up. I’ll need some measurements.”

While this was happening, the young boy didn’t say anything, he was feeling a bit overwhelmed. But before long, he was trying out wands. It wasn’t long before one chose him. The boy’s eyes widened as sparks shot out. He looked up at Aubrey for an explination.

“The wand’s chosen you. It’s yours now.”

"Ah yes, 12’ made of willow bark with a core of unicorn hair taken from a fine stallion. The roots of the willow tree are very strong. This would do well at defensive spells. May I offer you a holster?”

They bought him a hip holster made of fine dark leather. After paying for the wand they walked out and headed towards Familiar Creatures. This is where things got interesting for the trio. They browsed the store for a while looking at the owls (not that he would need any) and passed the rats to the snakes. The boys seemed unusually fascinated with them. What happened next was unforeseeable.

The snakes began hissing at the boy.

Draco looked at them confusedly….but Aubrey understood every word.

:Ssss…..another sssserpent ssssspeaker.:

“You can sssspeak to me?”

:yessss….you have the talent:

A great big garter snake was speaking to them. :If itsssss a familiar you are ssssseeking that small ssssnakling would be a good match for you. Hessss very sssshy…been here for more then a year.:

The both of them looked at the cage next to the garter snake. A very skinny snake was peeking out at them. A garden snake. Its little red tounge flicked in and out nervously tasting the air. It scales were vividly green and seemed to shimmer.

Jacob looked at Aubrey. “Can I have him?”

Aubrey grinned. "Yessss"

Darcy looked between them. “He’s a parcel mouth too?”

Aubrey nodded as the shopkeeper approached them. “We’d like the snakling in this cage.”

The jovial man grinned at them. “Brilliant choice. I was hoping someone would adopt him. He’s not venomous at all and he’s magical so you won’t have to worry about him slithering off on you.” Saying this, the man gently picked it up and handed it to the Jacob. They all watched as the little snake licked his skin and then wrapped around his wrist.

“Now he’s bonded to you know. If you’ll come up front we’ll get him paid for and I’ll throw in some food for him.

Jacob grinned as he gently stroked the beautiful scales. I’ll name you Emme. You remind me of the green jewel I saw in a movie once.” The snake licked him again. Then Emme looked up at Aubrey. :he protectsssss you?:

The young boy nodded. “Yesss….he ssssaved me from the headmisssstressss. Sssshe was mean to me all the time. Aubrey found me and took me away from there. I’m never going back.”

Once Emme was paid for and they all headed for the last stop of the day. By now it was dusk and the trio once again found themselves joined by the mysterious boy in the cloak.

“Hey Ambro. Nice piece of work this morning.” Aubrey said as they hugged. They paused when Jacob clung to Darcy’s side who put a comforting arm around the small boy.

“I’m Ambrosias. Forgive me for scaring you earlier, I only did it to intimidate that creepy old hag. I’m not really that scary and I’ll never harm you…ever. Can we be friends now?”

The boy hesitated…then bravely stepped forward and held out a hand.

Ambrosius smiled at him and clasped his forearm. Then stepped back. "Is the shopping spree all done?”

Nearly. We saved Madame Malkins for last. The majority of the patrons are gone now. Lets get to her before she closes.

They were the last of the customers. She shut the door after then and then locked it up.

“Now, what can I do for you?”

“We need to get his school robes.” Aubrey said as he held out his hand for Emme…the snake licked his palm and then easily slipped from hand to hand, wrapping around his wrist.

“… and an all weather cloak.” Ambrosias added a moment later

“Why do I need so many robes? What’s the difference between them and the cloak?” Jacob asked in confusion as the Madame took out several black robes with the Hogwarts crest on them and began to hem them up.

“Well, the robes are what you wear while at school and they go over youre uniform.” Darcy explained. “The cloak is for wear outside, while not in classes. They’re charmed with magic to keep you warm and comfortable no matter what the weather is like outside.”

Oh, okay.” the boy said after a few moments. They all stood in companionable silence as the alteration’s continued.

“What’s the train like?”

Darcy grinned. "The Hogwarts Express is the name of the train we’re all taking tomorrow. There are compartments for everyone to sit in and talk. There’s also a nice witch with the snacks trolley. You buy snacks and drinks from her. It’s a lot of fun to ride even if it takes all day to get there. But we’ll be riding with you the whole way…and I’ve brought my gobstones and the exploding snap deck. It’ll pass quickly that way.”

Jacob thought it all sounded so wonderful. He could hardly wait to go on the train the next day.

“Itsss a long ssstory and not one that I would sssspeak of in front of mixed company.” Aubrey answered.

Thankfully the snake didn’t ask any more questions.

After the seamstress had finished with them, she neatly folded them all into a large box and cast an anti wrinkle charm on them and then shrunk it down to a manageable size.

Once everything was paid for, they all headed for the hotel.

When they arrived back at the room, they discovered the packages were waiting for them…as well as a new trunk with the Initials JM in fancy script.

After adding another hammock for Jacob, they ate their last meal for the night and then they all went to sleep for the night.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

That night, Ambrosius woke to hear a soft moaning, as if the youngling…

The youngling! The young vampire sat up in bed and looked over to his brothers side of the room. Sure enough, the child was in distress and was close to falling out of his ‘nest’. Silently he padded over to the child and gently shook his shoulder.

The child woke with a start and looked at him with unmasked fear.

"Shhh… you were having a nightmare. There’s nothing to fear now that you’re awake."

“The masked men, the ones who killed mum and dad…they’re real aren’t they?”

Ambrosius didn’t know what to do. He gently carded the boy’s hair. “Why don’t you tell me what the dream was about, then I’ll tell you everything you wish to know.”

Jacob looked at his hand. “I’m thristy…can I have some water?”

Ambrosias nodded. I’ll get you something to drink but you need to tell me what the dream was about.”

Without waiting for a reply he walked to the far corner where an ‘ice box’ kept their drinks cool. He retrieved a bottled water and walked back to the child. He handed it over and then stood, waiting patiently.

After taking a few sips, the boy began to tell his story.

“My family was killed by masked men, last year. I thought they were burgelers until they pulled out their wands. I heard my mum crying and my dad getting angry when he tried to fight them off. One of them men had long white hair and he said some funny words…green light came out of the stick and killed them really fast. He killed my brother too. I know he slept in my parents bed that night."

The child paused and took another sip of the water then he contiued the story. 

"I hid from them under my bed. I don’t know how they missed me. But after they left, I went outside and saw a giant skull with a snake above my house. I was scared so I went back in the house and hid under the bed till Scotland Yard’s men found me. I tried to tell them what happened to me, but they didn’t believe me. They sent me to the orphanage after that.”

"I have nightmares from that night. I can still hear my mom crying and my baby brother scream…and then the green light.” Jacob shuddered and was instantly pulled into the older boy’s arms.

Ambrosius let the boy cry on his shoulder for several minutes and when the crying had ceased, the boy pulled away flushed with embarrassment. Aubrey answered him.

"Yes, they’re real. In our world, we call them Death Eaters. They are much like the Nazi’s that served Hitler. The man with the long hair was called Luscius Malfoy, he was the leader of them and conducted the raids on Muggles."

"Was?" Jacob asked.

Ambrosias nodded. "He’s dead now and he can’t hurt you anymore."

"What about the rest of them? There was this lady that laughed really loud and…she had this crooked wand…"

“She’s dead too. "That symbol you saw in the sky was the Mark of the Dark Lord. But you don’t have to worry about any of that tonight. Now, if you’d like, I can get you something to help you sleep."

“Can you keep the night mares away?”

Ambrosius nodded all the while hearing his father’s instructions through their ‘link’ and headed to the potions cabinet in the loo and soon returned.

He handed over the vial to the boy. "This is a dreamless sleep potion. Only take a few sips and it’ll make you fall asleep. You won’t be having any more dreams tonight."

Jacob looked at the vial and then took a few steps and then handed it back to the vampire. Within seconds he was asleep.

Sighing in relief, Ambrosias fixed the boy’s covers and headed to his own bed, falling asleep in seconds

Back in room, Severus lay in bed thinking about the boy. He looked forward to seeing his lover the next day.

They’d be meeting in the lobby the next morning.

He could hardly wait.