THIRD POV

Professor Ripmav felt his smile drip off his face as he caught sight of an angel. It's wings rose elegantly above it's head, wreathing deliciously sharp antlers and soft doe ears. A beauty no mortal should posses, and yet, it was presented before him like a gift from the gods. Alucard felt a deep ache pound in his empty heart, which fortunately caused him to be jerked out of his awe-filled trance. In less than a second, he masked the slip as confusion before a small frown melded his face downwards. "Excuse me, but, you four, why are you all sitting at the same table? The maximum capacity of a table is supposed to be two." The angel looked up with eyes made of emerald, and Alucard couldn't help but be drawn to the figure, but before what happened moments ago could restart, another boy stood up. The brunette that had been sitting directly to the left of the mysterious male was trying to grab all his things as his hands shook terribly, nearly causing him to spill his inkwell in the process. "S-sorry P-Professor Ripmav. I'll just move." The angel had caught the inkwell before it could fall and gently grabbed his own things, as well as anything left behind by the brunette, and followed the stuttering boy to a table in the back. Both males sat down and the angel gave the boy a sweet smile before they both turned their attention back to their new Professor. "Yes, thank you. Could I please know your two names?" The boy's eyes widened in fear before the angel hummed something quietly. Straining his hearing, the Professor could barely catch the high notes of a lullaby, before it ended and the boy relaxed. "His name is Neville Longbottom and I am Harry Potter, Professor Ripmav." The Professor felt a small pang of disappointment at the identity of the angel, knowing he wouldn't be able to openly claim him as his without consequences, but it was overridden by the beautiful song of his voice. "Thank you, Mr. Potter. Now, next time, please do not sit more than two students to a table." The Potter Heir and Longbottom boy both nodded their heads while the redhead they were sitting with before rolled his eyes. Brushing it off, the teacher walked back into his connecting office, grabbed his pre-tests, and walked back out. "Alright then class, as much as I bet you all hate tests, I need to know where you all are in your curriculum, as your years here has been a bit... half-baked. Please try your best on this, so that I can teach you all things that you will need to know for the future." Walking swiftly throughout the room, Alucard tried his best not to allow his gaze to lay too heavily on the Chosen One, even forgoing the ruse to breath while he passed, just in case. Returning to stand back in front of the class, Alucard checked to make sure all the tests were passed out before a small smile reappeared on his face as he took out his pocket watch. Noting the time, the man straightened and regally nodded his head at his new students. "You may begin."
Ronald bumped into Harry's shoulder non-too-gently as they exited the classroom, looking like he could burst any second. It took him merely three steps out the doors before his mouth opened. "What a weird guy, who has a last name like Ripmav? And he was so skinny, I bet he'll only teach us theory. What a waste, I thought this last year would be fun." Hermione sent a glare at her boyfriend, and he rolled his eyes in response, but Harry only shook his head, conveying a sense of fondness he did not feel. Ron huffed when Harry didn't reply right away, annoyed that the male was ignoring him. "C'mon, what'd you think mate?" Harry shrugged his shoulders, casting a glance at his shoes as he thought on why the man seemed familiar. He stayed silent for a few moments before Ron's aura started getting dangerously sharp. Shaking his head to clear his mind, he quickly thought back on the whole period. "I dunno I guess, he seemed like a responsible teacher to me. It was pretty smart of him to try to figure out what we did and didn't know so he could teach us everything. Plus, being lean doesn't mean you can't handle creatures." Hermione nodded her head like that was what she was going to say the whole time, the suck-up. "Exactly. You need to learn that our last year at school won't be fun, if anything it'll be so stressful we won't know what to do once we get out." The bushy haired girl cast a poorly-concealed glance at Harry, causing the male to feel rage burn his cheeks. So they thought they could just instill thoughts of hopelessness into him before school ends to make him more willing to kill his neck to destroy Voldemort? Harry couldn't wait to see their faces when he tore them down brick by brick with the help of 'Voldemort'. Ron and Hermione's auras quickly blended to greed before slowly letting a bit of smug satisfaction leak into them. Harry shook his head again as the two traitors shared another 'secretive' glance behind his back as he walked down the stairs hopefully leading to the Great Hall.
Walking between the large double doors, Harry perked up from his rage when he spotted Draco and Severus eating. It was a small comfort to see his mates and know they were at least eating correctly. Relaxing a bit, Harry almost missed the red in his Zorro's aura as he unconsciously walked to his normal spot at the Gryffindor table. Deciphering the man's face, the submissive felt concern swim in the bottom of his stomach. It was pinched and a scowl rested predominantly on it, but that was normal with his acting persona. No, it was his eyes that belied the truth, they kept flicking to the man sitting at the end of the staff table, one Harry instantly recognized. Why would Severus be angry with Mr. Ripmav? Harry let his mind ponder the question for a few moments before Ronald sat next to him, already chattering about the Quidditch tryouts. The submissive sighed and pushed the thought to the back of his mind, noting that he would just have to ask Severus.
A few hours later, Harry was sitting behind spelled curtains, gently petting Selene and chatting with Calli when he felt his mirror heat up. Opening it with an excited glint in his eyes, Harry smiled broadly at seeing the three faces of his mates in the silvery shine. Harry chirped a happy hello while Draco and Tom chuckled, Severus only twitching a lip in response. Seeing the troubled look in Severus' eyes, Harry opted for an innocent look as he remembered his earlier question. "Sevvy, is everything alright?" Draco choked for a second at the nickname, but Tom smirked and Severus rolled his eyes before the Potions Master settles for a more serious face as he sighed. "I don't know. Tom, there's a new DADA Professor here again and his name is Alucard E. Ripmav. Dumbledore didn't tell us much about him, but he is most definitely a creature." Tom's face darkened a bit as he worried for his two littlest mates' safety. "Can you tell?" Severus shook his head. Harry cast a worried glance at Draco in which the blonde returned. "He acted oddly today in class. He was smiling and perfectly normal until he saw Harry, Neville, and those two sitting at a table together. He went wide-eyed for a second before donning a mask of disapproval." Harry nodded as he remembered seeing seemingly random emotions flit across his face, and his aura was so strange... "That reminds me. I had practically forgotten about it, but his aura was weird too. It was content, if darkened by sadness, but then the sadness battled with love as he looked at us." Tom, Draco, and Severus' eyes darkened as they thought on what Harry said. "Harry, I want you to stay away from him as much as possible." Draco and Severus growled in agreement, and the littlest submissive had no problem with that. "I will, my King." Tom hummed in approval, a proud glint entering his eyes. Harry couldn't help the smile that lifted his mouth as a wonderful feeling encased his heart. "I hate to bring it up now, but how are you doing with the weasel and worm?" The smile fell a bit before he remembered another thing that happened. "They kept my godfather from me." Draco's and Severus' eyes widened as Tom hissed. "But your Gringotts test says he is deceased." Harry shook his head sadly, rage leaving him with the emotions broadcasted by his mates. "They must have done something. Maybe traveling through the Veil counts as dying? Or Dumbledore could have done a ritual. Or Sirius had a stunt double go to the Ministry for him?" Draco and Tom sighed to themselves as Severus groaned. "That's why he needed moonstone infused with thestral hair." Tom smashed a fist onto a table, presumably, as only the sound filtered through the mirror as he hissed again. "Damn that old fool! Always meddling in places he shouldn't be!" Harry felt tears prickle the back of his eyes as Draco gently cooed. "No, it's alright Petit, don't cry. I'm sure Black didn't mean to hurt you." Harry sniffled despite himself as he angrily wiped at his eyes, causing Selene to slither up and lick them off his face. Severus' eyes grew into slits as he thought of something unpleasant. "Well, as much as I hate to say it, we can't rule out the possibility of Black being under potions as well. We all know how he made us act differently than we normally would, and Black is as strange as someone can get." Draco nodded solemnly, immediately agreeing with the Potions Master. Harry stared at Severus' reflection like a baby doe for a few moments before another smile blossomed on his red cheeks. "Oh, thank you Sevvy! I didn't think of that!" The three mates chuckled at the energy suddenly found in their tiny submissive. There were a few moments of comforting silence as each mate basked in the sight of the other. They had only been separated for the worst part of two days, but they had grown closer than they thought over the summer, and the dull aches in all their hearts healed when listening to each other. The mates all knew that this year was going to be one of the most trying to come, and they only hoped that they would make it through in one piece. "How have things been on your end, Animus?" The accompanying groan was met with two fits of laughter and a soft chuckle. Yes, they would survive.