Lord of time (chapter 41-107)

49

Hadrian flicked his wand, removing the weeds and various other plants that had wound around some sort of stone statue? A small smile made its way onto his face, as his fingers trailed down it; it was the Peverell coat of arms with a lion standing proudly its mouth open just a little on top of the coat of arms shield. There was another one at the other side of the gates, dirty, mouldy and filled with all sorts of weeds and vines that had wrapped around it over time. He had just spent an hour cleaning up the water fountain, which had a proud place in the very middle of the grounds, when he'd poured water into it he'd been very surprised to see it suddenly switching on, until he noticed the small runes at the base of the fountain.

"Scourgify," and just like that the statue that had been completely disgusting, with caked on bird droppings, mould and all manner of things looked brand new. Crouching down at the base, his fingers ran over the date, it must have been when the manor was built; it didn't surprise him that it was as old as the date suggested. Although there had been definite upgrades over the years, until the manor was abandoned completely. "There," he muttered to himself in satisfaction.

Moving over to the other statue, which he knew was probably an exact replica of the one he'd just cleaned, "Scourgify," and it was indeed the same, to the very date inscribed at the bottom. The wards on the property were very strong, but that might be something to do with the fact he was one to harness them as Peverell blood, Tom too actually, they were 'Lord's' of the manor so to speak and could evict people, tighten the wards so it was completely inaccessible anything they wanted.

Hearing hooting he glanced up observing an owl swooping down, first to the gate posts then to the Peverell shield. It hadn't been the first owl this morning, nor would it be the last. He had spent last night perusing the owl order catalogue and getting absolutely everything he'd need to get the manor up and running as soon as possible. It had put a little dent in his vaults, but he wanted to make it a home so he didn't mind. In fact the funds would be replaced quite soon, Ironclaw was very good at his job.

"Thank you," Hadrian said, smiling softly at it, stroking its feathers before removing the package that had obviously been shrunk and made lightweight for the journey. He slid it into his pocket without looking at it, he would find out what it was soon enough. He often thought about getting another owl, but it felt wrong, he wanted Hedwig, and unfortunately he had no idea if she was even alive...or if she would ever be alive things had changed after all. "Go get something to eat before you go back." he had no idea if the owl understood, Hedwig always had but he had always felt she'd been smarter than the usual owl. It flew away regardless, and his attention turned away from it as he gazed critically around the manor grounds, most of the front had been done.

Ambling away from the front gates he'd just done, he found himself drawn to the trees, which took him a good few minutes, crouching down he picked up an apple and grimaced, it was completely rotten. Flicking his wand yet again he made the fallen/rotten apples disappeared and cut the grass and repeated the process 'Evanesco' and the grass that had just been cut disappeared without trace. These would be perfect for making apple pie, which might not be his favourite but it was far from something he didn't like.

Sighing softy, he decided he'd had enough of doing the gardens for now, he would continue tomorrow, a few hours each day was enough to get it up and running. As he walked towards the manor his thoughts shifted. When they left Hogwarts, Hadrian was determined to bring the basilisk with him; he would need to make sure it had somewhere to go though, the trees at the back of the property maybe? With somewhere it could burrow down or maybe create a secret entrance into the manor where it could get warmth if it needed it. There was also the added benefit of a security that nobody would see coming and it definitely would be the last thing they ever saw if they trespassed. This place, Hadrian was adamant would be very secure, this was his home now.