The following day Y/N and Hermione were stood on the outskirts of Hogsmeade with Hagrid. It was a very quiet Sunday morning and the two second years were stood with their hands linked next to the half giant. They were looking down at an ominous well.

"So the Kelpie is in there?" Hermione asked concerned. Hagrid nodded:

"She is, and we need ta get this on 'er"

He spoke with an excited smile and held up a leather bridle.

"And until she has that on she's a man eater" Y/N said emotionless with a look of intense concentration on his face.

"You're whispering with her?" Hermione asked with a worried tone.

"I am" Y/N replied, his eyes closed as his head turned on an angle.

"Wha' are ye gettin'?" Hagrid asked excitedly.

"Well, she's wondering how tasty I'll be. She's also not alone."

"There's two Kelpies down there?" Hermione asked with great concern.

"No... there's.... there's someone else there, but it's not quite a creature... it's... strange"

Y/N opened his eyes and smiled, kissing Hermione on the head. She wasn't going to like what came next.

He walked over and took the bridle from Hagrid, placing it over his shoulder as he sat on the edge of the well and swung his legs over.

"Y/N!?! What are you doing?" Hermione gasped loudly as she walked quickly towards where he sat.

"Hagrid won't fit. You're not going down there" Y/N answered calmly.

"Yeah but-"

Hermione was cut off as Y/N took her hand and kissed it.

"Someone's got to put this bridle on the girl down there, from what I can gather the well opens to a large basin. I'll be fine. We can't leave her down there. If the Ministry gets wind the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures will just as likely kill her as go to the bother of rehoming her. I can't use the placement charm to affix this bridal to her, you need a line of sight for the charm to work, so that only leaves one option..."

Y/N smiled as he finished speaking and before Hermione could reply he had slipped off the edge and into the dark void below.

Hermione shrieked, looking down the well as Y/N disappeared into the murky blackness that swallowed him up. She looked up at Hagrid, furious:

"Did you know he was going to do that?"

Hagrid stood there, staring down at this thirteen year old witch. She was barely half of his height and a tenth of his weight soaking wet, and yet he was the one intimidated out of the pair of them. He answered nervously:

"Well yea'... Y/N suggested it."

"Of course he bloody did" Hermione replied, rubbing her temples as Hagrid cautiously patted her shoulder.

-~-

Y/N had to act quickly. He non verbally cast the bubble headed charm before splashing into the freezing abyss. His hunch was right, there was a huge basin feeding the well, and as Y/N quickly dove down he heard in a whisper:

Dinner!

As he felt something in the water tear towards him. He quickly unsheathed his wand, cast lumos, and then fixed his wand to his belt just as he saw a large mouth flying towards him through the water, teeth bared from a green horses head. Y/N just managed to dart to his right, avoiding the Kelpie's bite, as he threw his left hand out. It stuck to the Kelpie's back and he was dragged along through the water.

-~-

Hermione had stood there concerned, looking down into the well. After five minutes she began to fret. After ten she began pacing back and forth.

"Where is he?" she whimpered quietly, Hagrid offering her a sad smile and a gentle:

"'E'll be ok 'Ermione. Y/N knows wha' 'e's doin'"

Hermione nodded as Hagrid patted her back.

-~-

Y/N had been stuck to the back of the Kelpie for close to fifteen minutes. His left arm was wrapped round her neck, his legs round to her belly desperately clinging on. If Y/N lost his grip he was dead, he would be eaten almost instantly. His heart was racing, his blood pumping, his adrenaline soaring through his body.

This was a true life or death situation. He hadn't been this happy or excited in a long time. He knew it now, really knew it- he lived for the fight, the danger, the thrill.

As the marine demon desperately attempted to throw Y/N from her back, he pushed against the force of the water in his face, lifting the bridal and desperately trying to get it over the Kelpie's face and mane.

-~-

Twenty minutes.

Twenty earth shattering, heart breaking, gut wrenching minutes Y/N had been down there. Hermione was terrified for the worst. Hagrid was beginning to panic but didn't want to alarm Hermione when they heard a small pop from the ground between them. They turned and smiled in sheer relief, Hermione diving onto Y/N as he laid, not caring for a moment he was soaking wet.

Y/N was laughing to himself as he hugged the bushy haired girl who had dove on him, saying:

"Man, what a rush!"

"Did you get it?" Hagrid asked.

"Are you ok?" Hermione blurted at the same time.

"Yes and yes" Y/N chuckled, holding his hand up towards Hagrid who, once Hermione had stood, helped Y/N to his feet. Y/N levitated a tiny 88 gallon drum from his pouch and magically returned it to its original size.

"I don't even want to ask why you had that in there" Hermione giggled.

"Have to plan for every possibility" Y/N chuckled as he pulled his wand from his belt, cast nox with a nonverbal flick of his wrist and then pointed his wand at the well, his left hand seeming to guide something at the same time.

Hermione and Hagrid both looked astonished but ecstatically as a ball of water lifted from the well, a small green Kelpie within it, and slowly and gently floated over into the drum.

"Let's get this girl to her new home" Y/N said happily as Hermione rushed him with a tight hug. Hagrid lifted the drum and was about to gush praise on Y/N when the boy stopped in his tracks and turned back to the well.

Hagrid and Hermione turned and their mouths gaped in horror at what they saw.

An unearthly pale hand gripped the top of the well as a girl seemed to drag herself out, moving strangely- jerkily and unnatural.

She stopped in front of Y/N- slimy, covered in seaweed, her thick jet black hair dangling down her face and covering one eye. Her other eye shot upwards, staring intently into Y/N's eyes.

A whisper could be heard, not a whisper like with other creatures, but an audible one, even though the bizarre girl didn't make a peep from her mouth.

Y/N looked down in saddened realisation as Hermione and Hagrid looked at the girl in terror. Y/N finally spoke, muttering:

"You're a Shade!"

"A what? Hermione asked with concern.

"A Shade, 'Mione. A Shade blurs the line between spirit and Magical Creature. They aren't a ghost, they never lived, they aren't quite a Magical Creature, hence why I couldn't whisper with her fully, but they are exceedingly rare."

Y/N smiled looking into the Shade's eye as she stood there staring into his eyes without emotion on her face.

"Why?" Hermione whispered.

"They ca' only be formed during an eclipse, when an acta' tragedy and desperation occurs" Hagrid added.

"They search the world desperate for some kind of peace and acceptance, a reprieve from the pain and loneliness they feel, but it's almost impossible to find. Humans run from them in terror, often they try to bond with Magical Creatures" Y/N concluded as he smiled at the girl/ghost/creature.... entity in front of him.

Y/N spoke again, this time with compassion as he looked at the ghost girl.

"I think you look like a Samara to me. Would you like to come with us Samara? We have a Creature Reserve, where we are taking the Kelpie. You can be safe and happy there, and Hagrid and Hermione and I will visit when we can."

Y/N extended his hand out to hold. Samara's visible eye opened wide before a shy smile broke out across the Shade's face as she took Y/N's hand in her slimy one.

-~-

It was almost dinnertime when Hermione and Y/N left the Creatures Reserve. They had got the Kelpie, which Y/N had named Hessie, settled into the Lake Biome and Samara the Shade settled into the Perennial Dusk Reserve. She smiled lightly as she bonded quickly with the Chupacabras in the biome. Both species understood the other, both being labelled as monsters when all they wanted was love and acceptance.

"I think Samara will be happy there 'Mione; and Hessie is already settled happily, I definitely think that was a successful day" Y/N smiled.

"Definitely Y/N. Remind me again how you came to decide on Hessie though?" Hermione giggled.

"Well Nessie lives in Loch Ness, Hessie lives at Hogwarts... made sense in my head" Y/N replied with a chuckle, and Hermione giggled again and squeezed his arm.

-~-

Six weeks flew passed and there had been no other signs of whatever danger was present at Hogwarts.

Y/N had gradually become slightly more relaxed, still on guard, but not panicking every five minutes. Hermione had reassured him- she had the bracelet from the Centaurs, she had Y/N's 'Extra Eye', she had the Garroting Gas. She had the earrings and she had him. There was nothing else they needed to do.

Goyle had returned to Hogwarts after a fortnight and Crabb a couple of weeks after that. Both boys were shaken and not the same arrogant selves they had been. Y/N delighted in torturing them- sneaking up behind them and saying "boo" loudly. He thought it was funny as hell.

-~-

The five friends were walking towards the Great Hall, hoping to catch the end of the Halloween Feast.

They had missed it having been invited by Nearly Headless Nick to his Deathday Party. He had asked Y/N to attend as a L/N heir, hoping to impress the committee for the Headless Hunt he was so desperate to join.

Y/N had accepted, happy to help Sir Nicholas out and also to attend Lady Fraser's first ever Deathday Party. Y/N greatly wanted to be there to support her.

The invitation had extended to the other four members of their friendship group, and while Hermione and Lavender had been happy to attend, Harry and Ron needed more... direct coercion.

The implied threats of bodily harm did the trick and all five Gryffindors attended. The party had apparently been a raging success, and Y/N's endorsement had won the Head of the committee over.

As a boy the Head had been stablehand for the 12th Archduke of Magical Britain and was fiercely loyal to the L/N family still. Sir Nicholas had been over the moon and thanked Y/N profusely as the sole five living guests left the party.

They were currently walking down a hall on the way to the afore mentioned Feast when suddenly Y/N and Harry stopped in their tracks.

-~-

Y/N was walking hand in hand with Hermione, smiling, his guard probably the lowest it had been in the two months they had been back at Hogwarts when his world suddenly stopped dead. He heard a distorted and disjointed voice, a whisper:

Come... come... come...

Y/N's heart dropped in his chest. It was the same voice from his vision. The same one Harry had heard all those weeks earlier. Y/N looked over at Harry and it was obvious the bespectacled boy heard it too.

Fuck.

Come to me. Come to me.

"Fuck are you hearing this too Harry?" Y/N asked in a panic.

Harry looked at Y/N, half fearful, half relieved the voice wasn't in his head as he nodded before asking:

"Yes. Wait you hear it too Y/N?"

Y/N was looking around, desperate to find the source of the voice as Hermione, Ron and Lavender stood bewildered and shocked at the two boys.

I smell blood. Let me rip you. Let me kill you.

"Fuck. If I'm hearing it then it's a creature. I don't know why you're hearing it but that doesn't sound good" Y/N yelled.

Harry ran to the hallway wall as Y/N continued to scan the hall, his wand out. Harry yelled to his friend:

"I think it's in the walls, Y/N"

Y/N turned to the others. His face was deadly serious as his second wand descended:

"This voice is talking about killing. All of you wands out. Hermione, you've got the Gas in case. I'll take point, Harry you cover me, Ron you guard the rear, girls in the middle".

The four looked at Y/N like he was from another planet.

"Ugh bloody civilians!" Y/N groaned.

"I'm in the front, Harry you cover my back. Girls you two stay behind Harry. Ron you watch our backs. Don't let anything near my girl!"

Y/N snarled, before clarifying when Lavender cleared her throat.

"Or Lav!" Y/N added before he stoped and tilted his head.

Kill. Kill. Kill. It's time.

"Fuck it's on the move. Stay close!"

Y/N took off down the corridor, the other four in close pursuit. Y/N ran until he stopped upon reaching a flooded hallway. He peered around with his wand drawn and pointed, whispering to the others:

"It's gone quiet."

Y/N moved forward slowly, wands at the ready. He was prepared to fire a killing curse at a moment's notice. He looked down to notice an extremely bizarre sight- a line of spiders were walking along the floor, up the wall and out a small broken window, moving in unison.

"Weird. I've never seen spiders do that before" Harry stated from behind Y/N.

"I was just thinking the same thing Harry"

Ron whimpered from behind the group:

"I don't like spiders."

Hermione rolled her eyes and gave him an aggravated look of frustration.

Ron continued to whimper before he looked up and screamed. The others looked up as well, seeing writing on the wall.

"Looks like it's written in blood" Y/N said staring up at it before he heard Harry whimper:

"Oh no. It's Filch's cat. It's Mrs. Norris".

Y/N looked down at her. She was stiff as a board, but it seemed too soon for rigor mortis to have set in. He placed a hand on her side and muttered:

"That's strange"

"What is it Y/N?" Hermione asked with fear in her voice.

Y/N continued to rest his hand on the cat as he spoke:

"Dean closed a vault a couple of years ago where students and staff were turned to stone. This isn't that. She's not dead... there's no faecal evacuation and she still feels warm- but she's not stone either."

Y/N stood and backed up still pondering the situation as Hermione ran up and buried herself into Y/N's arms.

"Hey it's ok baby, it's ok. I'm not gonna let anything happen to you. I'll die first" Y/N said resolutely.

Hermione squeezed tighter. Just at that moment, at the worst possible time, the students of all four houses approached, attempting to get to their common rooms following the feast. They looked in shock at the five students, the cat and the blood on the wall.

"Enemies of the heir beware?"

Draco yelled out derisively but before he could continue Y/N had sent him his most obscene image yet. Draco quickly turned and vomited on Pansy Parkinson next to him.

Hermione slapped Y/N on the shoulder. Before he could reply Filch had pushed his way through the crowd. He saw Mrs Norris and exploded, roaring "You've killed her! You've murdered her!"

He grabbed Harry and started shaking him as he yelled. Y/N was over in a flash, ripping Filch off, getting an inadvertent flash of Legilimency as he did. He gasped:

"She's a Maledictus... she was your wi-"

"What is going on here?" Dumbledore bellowed, arriving with the other teachers.

"They killed her Albus... because I whipped him. They killed her!"

Y/N was still recovering from feeling Filch's overwhelming grief, only able to speak calmly with some internal effort as he said:

"No Filch, if I had wanted revenge I would have taken it, on you. I wouldn't have hurt her. I would never hurt an innocent.. uh... soul"

Y/N calmed himself sufficiently in time to keep Mrs Norris's true nature hidden. The Headmaster joined him in pleading for calm, raising his hands to his Hogwarts caretaker:

"Argus, Y/N is right, please calm yourse-"

Dumbledore cut himself off as he looked up to see the writing on the wall. He glanced at Mrs. Norris before turning to Y/N, asking:

"What is this Y/N?"

"We arrived to find this Headmaster, I was investigating when-"

"He murdered her. I want to see some punishment!" Filch bellowed

"Argus she's not dead" the Headmaster attempted to reassure him again.

"No...." Y/N said as he knelt down again. "She's been petrified. But this isn't like the Stone Vault sir."

"No Y/N, it's not" Albus replied.

"Ahh what a pity I know just the thing that could have stopped her being petrified" Lockhart said loudly, speaking up for the first time.

Y/N was seriously not in the mood for this egomaniac right now. He stood and started yelling:

"The greatest wizard since Merlin is standing there..."

He pointed to Dumbledore

"...and he can't do it. But you can? Go ahead knock yourself out"

Lockhart looked at Y/N with a look of terror, stuttered and stammered before slowly backing away.

"Dickhead!" Y/N snapped loudly, getting another slap on the arm from Hermione.

The Headmaster spoke up loudly:

"All students are to return to their dorms. Except you five."

Y/N nodded and added:

"I need to speak to Snape and McGonagall as well Headmaster"

Albus nodded and muttered... "Very Well".

-~-

The eight headed to Albus's office, before the Headmaster could speak Snape asked with a concerned tone:

"You weren't in the feast Y/N, where were you?"

"We were at Nicks Deathday party. He can vouch for that. We were heading back to try and catch the end of the feast when Harry and I both heard a voice, it sounded like it was in the walls" Y/N answered.

"Both of you?" McGonagall asked shocked.

"Yes. Me hearing it leads me to believe it was a creature, but why Harry heard it, I have no idea" Y/N replied.

"What did it say?" Dumbledore asked. He was hiding his concern but Y/N picked up on it as he answered:

"Nothing good. Come to me. I smell blood. Let me kill you. And it was the same voice. The same voice I've been hearing for months in my dream or vision or whatever."

Y/N sighed and walked over, hugging Hermione tightly:

"I'm worried Headmaster, beyond worried. But this is what the training was for. All the blood, sweat and tears. I won't let anything happen to you sweetheart, I promise."

Y/N spoke calmly... reassuringly... decisively...

He leant down to kiss the top of Hermione's head as she squeezed him tight. Everyone smiled, except Ron and Harry who made disgusted faces.

Albus spoke with a smile:

"I thank you for your honesty children. It would have been easier to lie. Minerva will you please escort them back to their common room now. And for the time being let's keep this conversation to those of us in this room."

As they turned to leave Y/N nodded at Albus, then at Snape, holding Hermione's hand with interlocked fingers as they exited.

It was go time now. Y/N couldn't panic anymore. Y/N couldn't afford to fret or hesitate. It was time to become a beast unleashed. Time to be stoic and strong. This is what all his training was for. Hermione was scared. Y/N had to be strong for her.