The Three Schools
"Longbottom?! Longbottom!" shouted a voice.
Frank heard nothing, his body frozen and his eyes unseeing as he stared at Percy's unmoving corpse. They sent him back with the corpse.
They sent him back with the corpse.
They sent him back with the corpse.
They sent him back with the corpse.
They sent him back with the corpse.
They sent him back with the corpse.
"Frank.." he could feel Dumbledore's hands on his shoulders and registered someone attempting to grab Percy.
"NO!" he exploded, tearing up once again as he held onto the lifeless boy. Silence ensued around Gryffindor tower and Dumbledore's grip tightened. "Franklin let go. We need to get him cleaned up. Please let go son." he murmured quietly and Frank's grip weakened as he found himself crying into the old man's robes. His sobs ugly and loud. All round the students of Gryffindor stared at the gruesome sight that was Percival Weasley's body.
The third eldest had been beaten and mutilated beyond recognition. His head a mass of flesh on his shoulders and his skin blotchy and red, purple bruises staining his once fair skin. Now he was cold as ice, nothing but his robes to identify him. The prefect badge on his chest stained with blood. Madam Pomfrey and Severus Snape covered the corpse as they levitated it up onto a stretcher, carrying it past the nosey students. Frank continued to cry, hardly caring when Dumbledore held him up by his shoulder and began dragging him off toward his office.
Whispers ensued and soon Gryffindor House began speculating who could have done that to the Weasley boy.
The most obvious would be Fred or George, even Ron himself, however they were Slytherins and Percy would never leave with them willingly unless they were with their parents. There was also the fact that one could not leave Hogwarts with apparation so it could have only been an ambush of sorts. This caused several young Gryffindors to write their worries to their parents, in turn an explosion of questions would be raised the next morning for Albus Dumbledore. However at that very moment, the old wizard was more concerned about Frank and the information he could give in that moment.
"Frank you have to tell me what happened. Was it the Dark Lord?" questioned Dumbledore, his grip on the boy too firm, almost suffocating as Frank shook with his tears. He knew Hadrian was no ordinary child but this was..that was..what Fred did was the work of a monster. If all of Hadrian's friends were like that, if the Dark as a whole was like that, they had no chance. And Dumbledore expected him of all wizards to defeat the bloody Dark Lord? He couldn't even beat the Dark Lord in the making let alone the original.
"No.." he found himself saying, his voice hollow in his own ears. He didn't understand why Dumbledore was questioning him when all he wanted to do was hide in his bed for a few months. Anything to get Percy's screams and cries out of his head. To forget the images burned into his mind.
"Then who was it? What was it? A dark creature?" pressed Dumbledore, the usual twinkle in his eyes gone and an urgency in his movements as his thin fingers dug into Frank's shoulders. Frank knew he couldn't lie to Dumbledore but he couldn't tell the truth either. "I don't know- it was dark and.." Frank trailed off, shaking his head and Dumbledore was silent for a beat. "Where were you?" he asked slowly and Frank made a face. "I can't say without losing my magic." he replied honestly and Dumbledore cursed under his breath.
"How many of them were there?" he tried and the younger wizard held his head, wishing he didn't have to deal with this right then. "I don't know..I think six or seven. I can't see them. Their magic was powerful..it was..terrible. They held me back. Made me watch them.." the boy's voice grew weak and Dumbledore sighed, realizing he would not be getting what he needed from the savior right then. "Go back to your dorm. Get cleaned up and get some rest. I'll have Madam Pomfrey send down a sleeping draught." he said and Frank looked relieved as he stood on shaky legs.
He pushed past Dumbledore and the old wizard stared after him, eyes narrowed in thought.
Only seven? he thought, staring out the window of his office tower. Seven nameless wizards killed Percy. Were they Death Eaters or..? His mind wondered to a certain raven haired young man and he frowned deeply. Hadrian couldn't have left Hogwarts..and if he did he'd always leave with his Royals, as they were called. And from what he knew there were more than seven of them. There were twelve. But to move twelve wizards would be suspicious. So how did they pull this off?
Dumbledore briefly wondered if old age had finally caught up to him because he finally remembered that you could port out of Hogwarts. So how did they get back in? But even with this revelation, there was no way to prove that it was indeed Hadrian that killed Percy Weasley.
Dumbledore sighed and took his seat, stroking his beard in thought.
He was getting far too old for another war.
~^~
"Is it true?" questioned Daphne as Hadrian looked up from his latest book on dark magic. It was a rare sight to see both the Royals and the Court in the same space for more than a few minutes but there they were, seated around the fireplace, Hadrian at the center as always. "Is what true?" smiled the raven, tilting his head and Daphne gave him a pointed look, though there was no intent behind it. "Did you kill Percy?" she questioned, and now the others had tuned into their conversation, obviously curious themselves.
"Actually, I did not kill Percy. Fred did." said Hadrian with a small shrug and Daphne's eyes widened, Tracey turning to look over at the elder twin. He was holding onto Luna, the girl snuggled into his lap while George played in her hair. They looked very cozy right then. "You killed Percy? Your own brother?" remarked Wayne, a brow raised as Fred rolled his eyes. "Yep. It was easy, I never liked nor loved him as family to begin with and he was worse than mum at times. But of course I had Hadrian's permission first."
"He was an idiot to accept the duel. He had too much faith in Dumbledore." remarked Cedric, his expression one of disgust. "And Dumbledore doesn't care what happens to anyone other than his Golden Boy." said Lisa, stretching out onto the soft carpet and staring deep into the flames of the fireplace. "It's ironic that the Dark treats its followers far better than that of the Light." came Sebastian's voice, his sharp green eyes looking up from a large sheet of parchment. Like the rest of Hadrian's friends, the handsome young wizard had begun to fit in perfectly.
His dark brown hair was styled to perfection and that day he wore a white collared shirt over black trousers and shoes, topping it off with his Slytherin robes. Beside him was Graham Montague, the elder Slytherin wizard discussing something with Adrian Pucey on his other side. "Loyalty and ambition is rewarded in our ranks. Dumbledore does nothing to make the Light seem even remotely favorable. There are no pros to being light." said Draco, leaning forward in his seat to scratch Solaris' ears.
"That's very true. Since joining you, I've gained power and respect, admiration and knowledge I hadn't had before. Even my opportunities for work after school have opened, much broader than before." chimed in Cedric, a smile gracing his lips, to which Lisa and Lee Jordan nodded in agreement. "I've had students come to me for tutoring and all sorts of things. Professors have recommended me jobs I didn't even think about before." grinned Lisa, obviously excited for her possible future, Hadrian humming as he tapped his lithe fingers against the arm of his chair.
"And don't forget, Draco and I will be ruling at the Dark Lord's side. Spots in the ministry are almost guaranteed for us. The power we hold is almost unimaginable." he smirked, avada kedavra green eyes gleaming in the warm glow of the fireplace. "We could never, my King. Why, I wouldn't be surprised if our Lord had a crown made just for you." teased Neville, Ron snickering when Hadrian's eyes narrowed. The room erupted in low chuckles and Hadrian sighed, smiling toward his friends. "Imagine our darling Hades in his Queenly robes." fawned George, pressing the back of his hand to his forehead and Blaise choked on his laughter, Lee patting his back gently.
"Queenly?" muttered Hadrian and scowled at his friends' laughter. "Don't worry Hades we'll make sure they're the finest robes you've ever seen." said Parvati, winking and Hadrian rolled his eyes, glancing at his watch briefly as he stood. "Unfortunately, it's dinner time. However, tonight Durmstrang will be joining us. Let's greet our future allies, yeah?" he remarked, smiling fondly as the group made noises of agitation. "I suppose." sighed Draco, stretching as he stood. He felt Hadrian's eyes and he smirked toward his Consort, Hadrian raising a suggestive brow in response.
"You spend too much time with Tom." said the blonde, taking Hadrian's hand in his own and Hadrian laced their fingers together gently. "Maybe."
The Hollows left first, the group seeming to slip into the shadows as they dispersed, leaving Sebastian impressed. "I'm glad they aren't like how our Lord's outer circle used to be. There would be no use for them." he remarked, standing to the right of Hadrian as they left the dungeons, the group letting the raven take the lead. As they went they felt the admirable stares of their peers and could hear the usual rumors going around.
It was all very amusing to Hadrian. Yet none of them could be proven true. Their reputation was growing rapidly and he hoped it would continue to until Dumbledore and his light wizards were flushed out.
"I heard the other schools will be putting on small performances and Remus was in charge of our own performance." said Sebastian as the doors to the Great Hall opened, revealing the house crests above as well as large chandeliers and streamers. The room smelled of the feast that would soon be served and all around students had begun to take their seats at their house tables instead of sitting with their friends in other houses like they usually would.
Upon seeing the Inferno, all of Slytherin table rose, waiting as Hadrian took his seat first, followed by the Inferno. The Slytherins sat in order from first to seventh year all but Hadrian and his own friends who sat in the center of the table. Hadrian could feel Dumbledore's gaze but chose to ignore it as he looked out on his peers. The Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws had taken notice of the way the Slytherin House held themselves and did the same as they too took their seats.
By the time the Hall was filled, all was silent, thousands of eyes staring up at the head table, awaiting Dumbledore's speech.
"Good evening students and teachers alike. As I said at the beginning of the year, Hogwarts will be hosting the Tri-Wizard Tournament this year. We will be joined by our rival schools, Beauxbatons and Durmstrang. To remind you, the Tri-Wizard Tournament is a competition in which three wizards, one from each school, will be chosen to compete for fame, glory and various prizes. Once your name is in the Goblet, you must compete. If not you will lose your magic. However, only students who are of seventeen years of age may put their names into the Goblet." he called, meeting the eyes of each and every student.
"Now please join me in welcoming the lovely ladies of Beauxbatons and their Headmistress Madame Maxime!" the students turned as the doors opened once more to reveal several young women dressed elegantly in pale blue. They smiled and dipped, small blue jays fluttering along beside them as they made their way down the aisle, gasps of awe in their wake. The witches in the lead did a series of flips and finally a tall woman in patterned robes stopped just before the podium, Dumbledore taking her hand and kissing it gently.
"A giantess." remarked Ron, surprised and Hadrian nodded. "It is surprising with how the ministry is with dark creatures." he said.
"And now please welcome the proud sons of Durmstrang and their Headmaster, Igor Karkaroff." called Dumbledore as the applause died down.
The sound of rhythmic thumping could be heard and silence ensued as the students of Durmstrang stalked through, slamming staffs against the stone floor so hard sparks could be seen. Their voices came together in low, echoing noises, almost like the sounds of living drums. They spun their staffs a few times then rushed forward, all eyes on them as they reached the end, doing their own series of flips before showing off an impressive display of fire manipulation.
"And now, our own little performance." smiled Dumbledore, though Hadrian could see he was anything but happy about whatever was about to happen.
To Hadrian's intrigue it was Cedric and George who stood from their seats, Luna and Ginny doing the same. Lee Jordan stood as well and Hadrian realized Remus had chosen a student from each house. The raven's eyes never strayed from his friends as they stood at the front of the Great Hall, facing each other, wands at the ready. Remus stood, the room darkening as he thrust out his wand arm, a bright white light shooting out from the tip of his wand.
The others did the same in unison and Hadrian saw that they had all produced their patronuses for everyone to see.
The room vibrated with magic as the animals above, a proud eagle, a loyal badger, an elegant snake, a quick hare, a strong stallion and finally a shifty fox; danced in the sky. Dipping and flying by the candles, diving onto the tables and sending the room into various choruses of awe. Remus shot out another spell, the room exploding with brilliant blue flames. Cedric did the same, yellow flames mixing with blue and soon each of Hadrian's friends had shot out a jet of flames. They collided and mixed with Remus' original flames to create a black fire.
The fire morphed and shaped itself into the Hogwarts school crest, white flames dancing underneath, that upon further observation read, "Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus."
The doors of the Great Hall flew open and the ghosts whisked by, Cedric shooting a spell into the air, causing shimmering light to fall all around. Remus lowered his arm and the group faced Igor Karkaroff and Madame Maxime, bowing deeply and calling in perfect unison, "We welcome you to Hogwarts: School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."
And just before the applause erupted, Severus shot a spell into the sky, the ghosts flying up as stars exploded and fell all around.
Igor and Madame Maxime seemed fairly impressed as they clapped, the students of Hogwarts standing and breaking out into loud applause.