It was rather strange walking around the castle after the announcement of his participation in the tournament.
Before, many of the students would nod as they pass by in acknowledgement, and yet now they avoided him like the plague.
Only the Slytherins remained loyal, and the Gryffindors took great joy in pointing out the fact that he had lost all of his protegés' trust. The second youngest Weasley only further deepened the wound.
"Hey Riddle! Still moping alone, like always?" Weasley yelled from the other side of the corridor.
"Hello young Weasley. Good day to you too." Hadrian responded in fake cheerfulness as they grew closer.
"Tch. It's alright, you can throw the insults now. No one cares about you anymore." Weasley sneered. Hadrian sighed quietly and started walking on.
"Hey! Don't think you can run away from me you queer!" At that, Hadrian stopped in confusion. Queer? When did the rumor start that he was gay?
"What?" Hadrian asked, turning his head slightly.
"You heard me. Everyone knows that you're a queer. Why else would you spend so much time with guys and never with girls?"
Thinking back, Hadrian did notice that he tended to spend more time with the same sex than the other. And maybe he often would shove off girls attempting to flirt with him, but that was only because he found them annoying.
Besides that though, why was being gay weird?
"Why do you?" Hadrian asked, throwing the question right back at him.
Weasley sputtered, horrified that he would ever suggest such a thing. Face turning red in anger, he turned on his heel and stalked away, but not before throwing back one last thing.
"Like anyone would ever want to have your kid anyway."
Hadrian's brows burrowed in confusion. Draka had never explained this part of wizarding society to him. Were gays even accepted?
Shrugging it off, he continued to the dorms to get ready for bed.
~•~•~•~•~
That night was lonely for Hadrian. His father was still disappointed in him, Draka was nowhere to be seen in the castle, Draco was avoiding him for some reason, and Ash was still gone from the world of the living. He had no one to ask.
Of course, this didn't mean he was completely alone. He still had himself, right? Though, assuming that he was a normal person, that wouldn't count. But then, he wasn't normal.
Getting up from bed, Hadrian decided to go to the room of Crouch to figure out what the first test would be. Shadow stepping out of the room, he swept through the halls as a phantom and enjoyed the caresses and whispers of the shadows of Hogwarts.
One could easily become lost in the pleasure of the shadows, and that was when Hadrian realized that he was never alone. The shadows would always be there, as long as there was light.
He finally found the room, and entered to see Crouch pacing endlessly, muttering incoherent words to an unknown beat. Sliding into the man's shadow, he focused on a select few words and pieced them together.
'Boy' was a recurring word, as well as 'tournament' and 'Dumbledore'. Then, he finally picked out the key word. 'Dragon'. Pulling back, he went through the halls again and collapsed on his bed, exhausted. Melding with a person's shadow took more out of him than circumnavigating the world, which was quite a feat.
Taking a breath, he ran a hand through his now tousled hair and changed into nightclothes while flicking his hand to clean his teeth. In the morning, he would take a shower, but for now, he would sleep.
~•~•~•~•~
There was darkness. Only darkness. Hadrian stood up from where he was lying and tried to walk forward, only to trip over something. Looking down, he saw white. A scream was heard. Hadrian, face white with shock, stumbled back as he saw the body.
Snow white hair framed a pale face, and golden eyes surrounded by black stared blankly up at him. The usually white cloak was now splattered with blood, for once giving him color.
There was no indication of murder except for the ripped open torso, which exposed the man's vital organs. Intestines were strewn about, and Hadrian caught a glimpse of a kidney and heart before turning around and puking.
It looked as though Ash had been ravaged by a wild dog, and yet Hadrian knew that was not the case.
Residual black magic floated in the air, telling Hadrian all that he need to know. Tortured and killed, Ash had been brutally murdered by a creature not of this world, for no mortal could have such potent magic.
Shaking, he stilled as he suddenly felt liquid running up his leg. He turned around slowly to see the blood flowing out across the floor, surrounding him with red. In panicky movements, he scrambled away from the blood, only to hit a wall behind him.
The blood slowly rose rose higher, creating a pool of red. It eventually engulfed his senses, drowning him. He flailed around, running out of breath quickly until his movements slowed to a stop, and he felt himself sink to the ground.
Just as he hit the bottom of the room, blackness overtook him, and he found that there was no way out of it. Yet the darkness was comforting, and he only wished to stay there.
He never noticed the tendril of light, slipping into his mind and putting him to sleep.
~°~°~°~°~°~°~°~°~°~°
Happy Oscars! I'm so excited that Whiplash and The Imitation Game got so many awards! I absolutely loved Miles Teller on the drumset, and you can never get enough of Benedict Cumberbatch! Hope you liked the chapter!
Amber Silverwood