Slowly, Harry walked down to the dungeon classroom after his classes were over to go to his detention with his brother. Though he still thought it incredibly unfair as he replayed yesterday's events over in his head, he had to say that he may have been partially responsible for Severus's actions. He hadn't been paying attention to his potion, instead he was focused on arguing with Ron over the Quidditch World Series, but that didn't give Severus the right to start screaming at him like he had. His brother had lit into him like never before and Harry had let his anger get the better of him. Before finding out that Severus was his brother, he would have considered anyone who started yelling at Professor Snape completely and utterly insane. But when his brother started yelling at him...well it had turned into a really messy argument that almost dropped to the level of childish name calling before Severus gave him detention and class ended.

Reaching the door to Severus's office, Harry knocked quietly and waited until he was bidden inside before entering. Fred and George were sitting across from Severus, who was sitting behind his desk. The twins briefly turned to look at him when he entered before turning their attention back to the professor.

"If you have no further questions you may go start on the potion I outlined for you," Severus said distractedly to the twins.

"No, no questions, Professor," replied George, rising from his seat.

"Go easy on Harry, though, sir," Fred said as he too rose from his seat and they began walking towards the door leading to the classroom. He winked at Harry before continuing. "After all his dad is the History professor, in case you hadn't heard."

Before any more could be said the twins dashed out the door, not having to look back to know that matching pairs of black eyes were glaring at them.

Severus tore his glare away from the now closed door in order to look at his brother expressionlessly.

Harry tried, but couldn't help shifting nervously from foot to foot under his brother's gaze.

"Sit," commanded Severus firmly, but not unkindly. Once Harry had taken a seat across the desk from him, he took a deep breath before continuing in a smooth, but softer tone. "I might have been a bit harsh yesterday and for that I want to apologize; however," Severus paused for a moment to glare at his brother before continuing in a harder, more threatening tone. "However, that doesn't excuse your blatant lack of respect. We may be brothers, but in class we are professor and student and you will treat me with just as much respect as you show any of your other professors."

Harry nodded, not meeting his brother's eyes. Without looking up, he asked a question quietly and slightly unsure. "Are we brothers now, or are we professor and student?"

"Right now," began Severus quietly, "we are brothers. This means I don't feel bad at all saying that if you ever yell at me in class like that again Dad will find out."

Harry nodded fervently, while saying, "Right, no yelling at you in class." Instead I'll wait until we're both alone with dad, thought Harry with an internal smirk.

"That said," continued Severus once again distractedly, "I won't make you do anything for detention this time, but don't get used to it."

Harry couldn't help but to smile as his brother said this, but his smile quickly faded as he realized his brother's mind was elsewhere. As it had been a lot lately, actually, ever since the first day of school. Harry swallowed before cautiously speaking to his distracted brother. "Sev, what's wrong?"

"Nothing," snapped Severus his mood taking a sudden turn for the worse at what he felt was a breach of privacy.

Harry flinched a bit at his brother's tone but was not swayed. He wanted to know what was wrong with Severus so that he could help. "Liar... something is wrong."

Severus focused angry eyes on his younger brother and clenched his fist as he tried to control his temper. Eventually he felt that he had a good enough grip on his anger to speak. "Get. Out. Now."

"But..." Harry began not understanding his brother's sudden change of moods.

"GET OUT!" Severus screamed rising from his desk and though Harry rushed out of his office it took a moment for his heart rate to slow.

Once his temper was under control, he sat back down at his desk. With a lazy wave of his hand, the door to his office was closed and all the doors locked. He put his elbows on the desk and hid his face in his hands, taking deep, slightly ragged breaths. He couldn't keep doing this. What kind of father would he be if he couldn't even speak civilly to his baby brother? How could he care for a small child if he couldn't keep his temper when talking to Harry? He couldn't do this.

He couldn't be a father.

After several minutes and more time than it should have taken to clear his mind, Severus was, at last, able to obtain control of his emotions and expressionlessly went into the classroom where Fred and George were working.

............................

Harry raced out of his brother's office as though he were being chased by a dragon. Actually a dragon would have been preferable to his irritated older brother. Racing down hallways and upstairs he put his best seeker skills to good use, dodging in and out of students and taking corners at full speed. However, as he turned a corner on the third floor he felt himself trip and fall forward landing on the stone floor of the castle with a thud. Before he could pick himself up off the floor he heard and distinctive clearing of a voice.

"Hemm, Hemmm." Professor Umbridge stood over him putting her wand away and smiling forcefully as she waited for Harry to stand up. Once he was standing, she immediately launched into a high pitched, overly cheerful lecture. "Well, now, Mr. Potter, running in the halls as you know is not permitted. Ten points from Gryffindor and detention tomorrow after classes are over. Good day."

Harry stood still as she walked away wanting more then anything to pull out his wand and curse her all the way back to the Ministry. Instead, however, he swallowed hard and clenched his fist as he hurried to his common room.

Once there, he found Ron and Hermione seated in front of the fireplace. Hermione was, surprisingly, reading a book and Ron was playing a game of chess. Plopping down on the large couch, he caused Hermione to jump and Ron to look at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Harry," Hermione's concerned voices was the first to reach his ears. "What's wrong? What happened in detention?"

Harry glared at the fireplace as though it was its fault he had gotten in a fight with his brother...again. "I don't know ‘Mione." He finally answered slightly snappish, but more angry. "I went for detention and he apologized. He said he over reacted and he wouldn't tell dad, but...something was wrong he just seemed so...out of it. I asked what was going on and he just flipped out on me and told me to get out."

"That sounds strange...even for Snape." Commented Ron even as his castle moved to check-mate his opponent's king.

"Yeah," commented Harry morosely. "Then on the way here Umbridge caught me running in the halls and gave me detention for tomorrow."

"Wow, mate," commented Ron shaking his head. "At this rate you're going to beat Fred and George's record for the most detentions in a year."

"Ron!" exclaimed Hermione.

"What?" asked Ron confused.

Hermione rolled her eyes and went back to reading.

Ron shook his head and mumbled something about girls.

Harry glanced back and forth between the two of them with a smirk and a raised eyebrow before chuckling and getting prepared to lose a game of chess against Ron.

...........................

Once the twins had made the assigned potion to his satisfaction and he had assigned them their first research paper, to be completed with personal experimentation, Severus dismissed them and began a slow walk to his father's office. Though his pace was deliberately slower then usual, the few students he met in the halls scattered at his angry appearance. It was quite easy to look angry when one has had as much experience as he had. Eventually he made it to his Dad's office, raised his hand to knock on the door, then lowered it turned around and began walking back to the dungeons. He made it about five steps before stopping himself and after a moment of internal debate, turned back around and walked towards his father's office once more. This time he didn't hesitate in knocking and quickly opened the door and entered the office when his dad bid him to do so.

Severus entered the office and sat in the chair directly across from where his father was grading papers. His dad looked up when he entered and the older mans eyes followed him as he took as seat and continued to study him for a minute before he turned his attention back to the papers on his desk.

The potions master remained sitting and watched his father without really seeing him. He didn't notice as he slumped into the chair a bit or when his elevated heart rate began to slow. All he could think about was what had just transpired, just over an hour ago with Harry.

Several minutes after entering his fathers office he cleared his throat and taking a deep breath spoke to his father in a soft voice that held so many emotions it was difficult to tell which was which. "Dad, may I speak to you, please?"

Tobias finally lifted his eyes from his papers and nodding his head yes slowly got up and walked around the desk towards his obviously distressed son. "Yes, Severus, of course. Would you like to talk here are in my quarters?"

"Your quarters, sir," Severus answered quietly and overly respectful.

Without coming to close to his son, Tobias made his way to the door and held it open for his son. Once both men were in the corridor Tobias closed and locked the door before leading the way to his living quarters.

The short trip there was made in silence and as soon as they entered the comfortable looking sitting room, Tobias sat down at the end of the sofa and asked Saz to bring them tea. Severus sat down in the large armchair and stared blankly down at the floor. Even as the tea arrived and Tobias pressed a warm cup into his hands, he didn't stir.

Resigning himself to wait a while longer, Tobias leaned back against the couch and sipped on his tea.

...............................

It was, finally, time to begin feeding again. The journey to answer the call had been a long one, but now it would pay off. Now it was time to feast.

And what a feast it would be. The place the call came from was filled with food. Around every corner, down every hallway, it seemed as though the massive stone walls were producing a never ending amount of food.

But hunger always existed, no matter how much food there was, the caller would never allow the total eradication of the seemingly endless hunger.

Not yet, at least. A great feast had been promised once the caller deemed the mission complete, but until that time came the hunger couldn't be extinguished fully.

But some relief to the desperate hunger pains would come tonight. Tonight, feeding would begin.

.................................

Harry, Ron, and Hermione were walking down the nearly empty corridors on their way to the library. It was getting late and this part of the castle seemed unusually dark. Hermione had insisted that they hurry to the library before curfew to check out a few books in order to start on their potions essay.

They made it in and out of the library in record time, considering the school book-worm was with them, and began their trek back to the common room. Ron was the first to notice the deep crimson liquid on the floor.

"Hermione?" questioned Ron, in a worried voice, not even realizing he was interrupting her.

Hermione seemed to ignore him as well and continued to walk and talk for a moment, even as Ron and Harry both stopped to stare and the drops of blood leading into a deserted classroom of the equally dark and deserted corridor.

After a moment, realizing she was leaving her friends behind she stopped and turned around to were they were still looking at the spots on the floor. Walking back over to them she looked down and took notice of the discovery. "Is that...blood?"

Harry swallowed and felt a growing feeling of dread in his stomach. He was quite proud when his voice didn't waver as he spoke. "I think so, and it looks like it's leading down the hall."

"Well, come on then," Ron said determinedly and began following the trail of blood down the hall until they stood outside of a deserted room.

Once outside the door, the trio stopped and looked at each other in silent communication before drawing their wands and pushing the door open.

...............................

They had been sitting in front of the fire for quite some time in complete silence, save the crackling of the fire. Tobias had finished two cups of tea and was beginning to feel the need to use the bathroom. Severus had taken a few sips out of his own cup, but for the most part it was still being held in his hands, forgotten.

This was always the most crucial yet hardest part of Severus's little sulking ritual. It was when Severus was the closest to breaking, at any moment he would begin talking and enlighten Tobias as to what had him so upset. At the same time, however, the wrong move would scare him away, the slightest interruption would cause him to stop talking and it would be even longer before he was willing to talk again.

Therefore, when Dumbledore's head popped into his fireplace looking for Severus, he could have easily ripped the old wizard through the hearth and slapped him. Severus was visibly startled out of his silence and almost dropped the cup he was holding. After Dumbledore delivered his message and he disappeared from the flames, Severus and Tobias both rose from their seats and hurriedly headed to the infirmary.

.............................

The snack had been delicious and it had taken more restraint to stop its feast before the creature died than it ever had before, but that was to be expected. A full meal was a luxury these days. The caller had not been pleased when the creature nearly died, but the hunger was still present.

The pain had been so intense, however, when the caller finally permitted feeding that the fear of the light hadn't even slowed down the process much. But the stony walls made many areas dark even when they shouldn't be, so very little damage had come from emerging into the light.

Having been partially sated, the waiting would begin once more. Soon it would be time for another snack.

..................................

In the hospital wing Tobias stood with a hand on Harry's shoulder as he, Hermione, and Ron told the adults present what had happened. By the time Tobias and Severus had arrived in the hospital wing, Dumbledore and McGonagall were already present and talking with the three teenagers. Madam Pomfrey was behind a curtained off area, summoning various potions to her as they were needed. Tobias breathed a bit slower, seeing Harry standing upright - a bit shaken, but no worse for wear. He wanted to walk over to his son and pull him into a tight hug, but knew the boy would not appreciate such a display in front of his friends. So he settled with a placing a hand on the boy's shoulder and standing a bit closer to him then normal as they told their story.

Apparently, the three teenagers had been walking back to their common room from the library when they had noticed a few drops of what appeared to be blood. Instead of immediately running to get a professor, they had investigated themselves and come across the unconscious form of a Slytherin first year. Hermione had conjured a stretcher and they had brought the girl to the infirmary where Madam Pomfrey had summoned their head of house, the headmaster, and eventually the injured girl's head of house as well.

"Did you see anything in the room with her to cause such injuries?" asked Dumbledore in his quietly concerned way.

The three teens shook their heads, but Harry's quiet voice was the one that spoke. "No, sir, just her. She was just laying there; bleeding...there was so much blood. We thought she was dead at first."

Dumbledore smiled reassuringly then and in a much brighter tone, though slightly forced he spoke to the fifth years. "Well, I must say, you all behaved excellently under the circumstances; therefore, I believe ten points for each of you shall be awarded to your house. Now, perhaps you should all go to your common room and get some rest for your classes tomorrow?"

Tobias felt his teeth clench at Dumbledore speech and shot the man a glare that could have easily pealed paint. When he spoke however his voice was soft, albeit, slightly commanding. "If you three would wait a moment before you go, I'd like to have a private word with you, Harry."

Harry turned towards his dad a bit and nodded allowing himself to be lead off to the mediwitch's office. Severus followed, and soon all three were alone. Tobias wasted no time in pulling his son to his chest in a tight hug. Severus watched with an unfamiliar feeling tugging at him. He couldn't identify the new emotion, but felt his throat constrict and swallowed hard in order to force the emotion back down.

Once Tobias released his youngest son, finally satisfied that the boy was unharmed, Severus stepped up and engulfed his young brother in his strong arms as well. Though the hug didn't last as long as the one between father and son, it was equally tight and Harry found himself returning it with all his strength, which wasn't much when compared to the strength in the arms surrounding him.

After Severus released him, Harry and stood back his brother and looked at his brother and father questionably. He couldn't understand what all the fuss was about. He was perfectly alright - It was the first year that they found who was injured.

Tobias saw the look on Harry's face, but instead of explaining his actions he began lecturing his son in a quiet yet firm voice. "Harry, next time don't go into the room. Call a professor, but do not just open a door against an unknown force. What if whoever did this was still in the room?"

Tobias would have continued, but was interrupted by Harry who spoke indigiantly. "We had our wands! Besides, what if she was about to be killed and if we left, she would have died? Or what if we did go after a professor only to come back and find out it was nothing but a nose bleed.

"Then you would have been safe!" Tobias nearly shouted as he watched his son's mouth snap shut. "Don't you understand Harry?" Tobias spoke much more quietly. "While I do care about the safety of the other students, you are by far the most important to me. But unless you want me following you everywhere you go, like a toddler, then I have to trust you will look out for yourself and not put yourself in unnecessary danger. Please, Harry, just promise me next time, if there is a next time, you will immediately find a professor."

Harry swallowed as he nodded unable to tear his eyes away from the pleading look in his dad's eyes. "Yes sir."

"Thank you," was Tobias's heart felt, sincere reply.

"Harry," Severus's thick, almost gruff, sounding voice reached Harry's ears next and when he turn his eyes to his brother he saw some indefinable emotion residing deep within the man. "Harry, I'm sorry about earlier. I shouldn't have lost my temper...but, Harry sometimes...I...I'm sorry, Harry."

Harry was rather confused by his brother's apology, but a quick glance at his dad silenced any questions or comments. In response he merely nodded his head.

"All right," Tobias spoke somewhat more elatedly, though it was forced, and yet his voice willed any present to obey. "Let's go, I'll walk you and your friends back to your dormitory."

The three left the mediwitch's office and Harry, Ron, and Hermione were escorted back to their common room by Saz, because Dumbledore wished to speak to Tobias, Severus, and Minerva before leaving the hospital wing.

"What did this Albus?" asked McGonagall, scandalized, once the infirmary doors closed.

"I'm not sure, Minerva, but I think it's safe to say it was the same thing that visited the Dursleys over the summer."

"How is the girl doing?" Severus asked emotionlessly.

It was the voice of the hospital wing matron that answered in a business like tone. "She'll live. She had nothing more then cuts and bruises, but there were so many of them...and they won't heal with magic. I've managed to stop the bleeding from the lacerations but they will have to heal on their own."

"But how did this thing get in the castle? And more importantly what is to be done about it?" asked Tobias firmly, wanting answers.

Silence filled the room. No one had an answer. It appeared as though Hogwarts now faced a new danger, and unlike any in the past hundred years, this one had never been seen or heard of before.