Self Study

They met back up with the Grangers who already broke the news to Hermione how Trenton was getting a pet and she wasn't. Compensating with more books in return. her dad now held a small mountain of books that were beginning to strain him.

Hermione ran over to Trenton who was holding the sleeping pup who was soon awoken by her unthoughtful squeal of approval- "Oh my gosh, he's so adorable, whos adorable, your adorable, yes you are, yes you are." she said baby-talking the poor pup who was rudely woken and then assaulted by this strange girl, but a few soft pets later and he forgave her as she rubbed his belly causing his leg to involuntarily kick that made everyone smile.

Trenton told her about the pet store which she pouted to her parents that she didn't get to go.

Trenton then asked- "So what kind of pet would you want when your parents decide to let you have one?"

Hermione looked up in thought, putting a finger to her chin while thinking out loud- "Well as cute as Rocky is, I think I would go for that cat you told me about."

They found their way out through the leaky cauldron and hired a couple of taxies to take them back home.

Much to Trenton's joy, his parents let him drop out of school and self-study for Hogwarts.

Hermione was also pleased when her parents agreed to drop out since she didn't wish to be behind anyone, fearing she wouldn't be up to the standards of wizard kids who grew up around magic.

They often studied together, though Hermione would clash with Trenton when he wished to try a bit of magic. He managed to persuade her by pushing on her fear of being behind which made her cave but only agreeing to small tests outside with simple things like push and pull to get a feel for how magic works.

A warning letter later and Trenton never heard the end of it from Hermione.

During one study session, Trenton finally sat down and read up on vampires to learn about the creature some might confuse him for should his real eyes get exposed.

He got a little angry at the thought of being singled out again because of his eyes and threw the book to the side and grabbed Rocky who came over to comfort him, feeling his master unhappiness.

Hermione knowing what he was feeling, took the book and read out loud- "Homo Nosferatu Vampiris or Vampires as they are more commonly known as are a high tier species of undead. A dark creature, commonly able to wield various degrees of shadow magic with the strongest of them being able to use a special form of blood magic.

They are usually pale with sharp fangs for puncturing the throats of their victims. The best way to spot one, however, is by their most notable blood-red eyes, said by many to contain the souls of those they kill, though this has never been proven.

Vampires have a very strong aversion to sunlight, preferring to stay indoors and usually only travel out once dark. They drink blood, though they are apparently also able to eat other foods such as pasties.

The one glary weakness being light magic in all its forms, can be negated to a degree by their shadow magic.

The wizarding world also set guidelines to prevent exterminating vampires outright to end the war."

Trenton quietly petted Rocky while listening.

Hermione tried to cheer him up- "Well from what I read they can only use shadow and blood magic, so no will suspect you once they see you using light magic which they can never use."

Trenton frowned- "I doubt anyone will think much past the red eyes once they see them, did you see what they put... The souls of their victims, they even came up with guidelines to prevent wizards from wiping them out."

Hermione went over and sat beside him putting an arm around him while leaning her head on his shoulder- "Don't worry Trent, I'll never abandon you."

Trenton leaned his head on hers- "Thanks, Hermione."

_____________________________________________________________________________

Hogwarts was coming just around the corner and with it another year was passing.

Trenton woke up one day and found himself remembering things he should not know, his memories from his past life were starting to come back.

Trenton went over to the mirror checking his looks again to compare it to the memories of his past.

"Hmmm, I look the same except for the hair color which I wanted so I could stand out to her, but the eyes, I never asked for the eyes, I wonder what's that about. It seems red eyes are not a sign of ones touched by darkness as the wizards believe but ones touched by death."

Laying back in his bed he tried to organize his thoughts while playing with his wand, twirling it back and forth in his hand.

He always hated carry and using a wand, he wished he didn't need one, but while he did often use magic without one and became quite proficient. It still wasted far too much magic, which is why wizards used wands as mediums to condense it down and focus it better.

This was also the reason they outlawed wands for magical creatures they beat, in order to prevent future threats. For no matter how powerful they were with magic, without a wand they wouldn't be able to do anything of note.

His personality didn't change much since he only gained a fraction of his memories back, but those around him could tell he seemed slightly more mature, not as energetic as his old self.

Rocky grew to the full size of an adult Vizsla much to Hermione's dissatisfaction at losing her cute puppy friend, though she and everyone else still found him absolutely adorable.

Rocky was much smarter than your average dog and could pretty much understand everything Trenton said, though he liked to play cute sometimes and act like he didn't know by tilting his head in confusion which always got a smile.