"Neville!" Hermione exclaimed, looking to Hadrian with a cold glare as she hissed, "What have you done to him?"
"Opened my eyes," Neville answered, before, to the amusement of the Slytherins and their sovereign, the Longbottom Heir dropped to one knee and bowed his head before Hadrian, his voice calm as he explained, "Thank you for setting me free from myself: I, Neville Franklin Longbottom, pledge myself to your service and your teachings, my King."
Chapter 6: Cracks in the Armour
It was a confident Hadrian Potter that returned to the Slytherin Common Room following their Flying lesson, some of the snakes with him still laughing at the look on Granger's face when their King's new warrior had revealed his true self to them. There were also some that whispered in silent tones about the scare they'd received when Hadrian had actually smiled for the first time since they'd known him.
Once the entrance to the dorm closed behind them, Hadrian stopped dead in his tracks, the other first-years stopping with him before he turned and, looking to each and every one of them, he took a deep breath before he spoke, "Nott, come here."
The weedy boy who had spent the past three weeks as his King's pet and servant stepped forwards with a hint of fear to his expression; stopping in front of Draco and looking down at Hadrian's feet – as he considered himself unworthy to look his Master in the eye – the boy gulped and clenched his fists to stop their shakes.
"Kneel."
Theo obeyed instantly, dropping to his knees and bowing his head as he waited for Hadrian's commands or words.
"Three weeks ago," Hadrian exclaimed to the assembled Slytherins, "This boy, Theodore Adrian Nott, challenged your King's authority and chose to think himself as my superior and consider me as his pet and slave. For this, he was punished by magic and by me and spent his days as my pet: now, Theo, tell me: do you still consider me your lesser?"
"No Master," Theo replied, his voice steady despite the way that his heart pounded in his chest.
"Have you seen that I truly am worthy of the crown and my place as your dorm-mate?"
"Yes Master."
"When you look at me, do you see a half-blood?"
"No Master."
"What do you see?"
"I…I…"
"Look at me."
Theo's eyes looked up, meeting the cold, unforgiving glare of the Slytherin King before he spoke, "I see a warrior, a sorcerer and a sovereign: one who is worthy…no, more than worthy of being one of the children of Salazar. I see the future of our House who, beyond good and evil, would even give the reign of the former Slytherin King a run for his money."
"And tell me," Hadrian asked, his voice hardening with a hint of rage as he asked, "Do you know who that last King was?"
"The…The Dark Lord," Nott answered, the other Slytherin first-years seeing their King's eyes harden just as his voice had done.
"Yes," Hadrian hissed, the word almost turning the blood in the veins of the snakes to ice, "Lord Voldemort…"
As expected, there were a few flinches from the Slytherins at the mention of the accursed name before Hadrian continued, "He Who Must Not Be Named; You Know Who; all names of pathetic weaklings who fear their own shadows rather than fear the true evil out there. After all, for a big bad Dark Lord, he didn't seem to fare too well against the true Slytherin King…and I was but a baby too. Does this tell you that I am equal to Voldemort in any way?"
"No Master," Theo replied, his own voice almost hardening with a cold indifference as he explained, "You're worse!"
"Good answer," Hadrian smirked, the look on his face making the half-blood look like a real pureblood before he continued, "Now that we have that down to a T, I have news for you, Nott: later in that same week that you foolishly challenged my power, I gave you a mission: do you remember it?"
"Your orders were to bring the Gryffindor Squibling out of his shell and over to our…I mean, your side," Theo answered, a part of him feeling like he was being bathed in dark light as he took a guess at what was coming.
"And in three weeks," Hadrian continued, looking up at the other Slytherins as he explained, "The Squibling did indeed come out of his shell thanks to my loyal servant's assistances. Then, this very afternoon, he proved the strength of his resolve to me when his magical command to the broom at his feet matched the level of my own power. And so, I took him aside and discovered a truly dark soul within the outcast of Gryffindor: I discovered a soul that desired the power to show those who opposed him about the real lion that dwelled inside him. With a little Slytherin cunning and a small piece of deception in making him believe I was jealous of him, I released that dark soul and now, like the flowers of the night, the soul will bloom in the darkness."
"Salazar himself couldn't have done a better job, Hadrian," Blaise muttered, earning a few nods from the others while Hadrian smirked again.
"True, Blaise," Hadrian agreed, then returning his attention to Theo as he added, "And now, because of that darkness, Neville Longbottom is one of us…figuratively speaking. And so, with your answers being both sincere and well-spoken, I know that you have learned your lesson at last, Nott: you kneel a servant, but now, as the Slytherin King, I command you: rise a Slytherin once more and return to your peers."
There was a round of applause from the first-years as a stunned Theo rose from his knees and, with a wide-eyed glance to Hadrian, he stepped back into the fold of Slytherin, though not without a last warning from the Slytherin King:
"Don't make the mistake again, Nott…because next time, you won't be my pet…you'll be target practice!"
Darkness Is My Ally
"He's done WHAT?"
Ron Weasley, returned from the Hospital Wing, looked over at the Dark Lion of Gryffindor, Neville Longbottom, as Dean and Seamus finished explaining the situation to him. While the two other Gryffindor first-year boys weren't too worried about the reactions from this, both of them had to admit that they'd seen a change in their dorm-mate ever since he'd publicly announced his siding with Hadrian Potter.
"Why would you do that?" asked Weasley, addressing Neville, who was leafing through one of his textbooks rather than listening to the boy's whining voice, "With Potter betraying us, you're the last hope for a realGryffindor Golden Boy: why would you betray everything your family stands for and side with that…that…Death Eater?"
"Because I choose to," Neville answered, his voice devoid of any signs of stammer or nervousness and instead speaking with a note of true strength to him. "And as for betraying everything my family stands for, Weasley: I don't see how I'm doing that since almost each and every member of my family was either a member of either Hufflepuff and even Slytherin: I'm the first Longbottom in a long time to join Godric Gryffindor's ranks and, if you think I'm turning against that legacy, then you're wrong. I'm simply embracing what some of my ancestors worked with back when they were members of this school."
"But…but…we were getting on well," Ron argued, unaware of the roll of the eyes from Neville, "I would have given you a chance, Longbottom: you could have formed the new Golden Trio or something."
"And who would have been our third member?" asked Neville, peering over the top of his book as he asked, "The bibliophilic? You can't even stand to work with her for longer than necessary, so why would I even bother? When she's not shrieking like some malignant harpy about authority and showing respect, she's quoting some obscure text like we're meant to give a damn. If it's a choice between that and standing alone while siding with my true allies, then I'm sorry, Weasley, but I choose option two."
"Then why are you still here?" asked Ron hotly, pointing to the door to the dorm as he demanded, "Get out: we don't allow traitors in here!"
"Correction," Neville replied, closing his book before he rose from the bed and, crossing the room, he prodded Ron in the chest, the single motion making the red-headed Troll Brain fall to the ground as Neville added, "Youdon't allow traitors in here, but since this House is called Gryffindor and not Weasley, I don't need to care about what you think. And neither should you," he added, turning to Dean and Seamus before he explained, "Cause it doesn't matter what they may say, I'm not going to stop working with the Slytherins or being a friend and ally to Hadrian Potter: I mean, for Godric's sake, Finnegan, he even has one of his Slytherins working with you…and do you have a problem with it?"
"Not really," Seamus answered, looking down at Ron who was now left feeling like the spare wheel as he added, "Truth be told, Nev; the only real problem that I have with the Slytherins is that…well, most of them became…His supporters."
"Maybe," Neville agreed.
"Yeah," Ron snapped, going with this information as he added, "Like Malfoy's Father…or how about the one who made you into the Squib you are, Longbottom? What was her name?"
"Don't go there," Dean whispered, but Ron didn't listen.
"Oh yes, I remember now: Bellatrix Lestrange!"
Neville…snapped!
Twisting around, he swung his foot out and let it collide with Ron's head, knocking the idiot into unconsciousness while Neville snarled, "Don't you ever think you can use my parents against me as you would have done him, Weasley! You're just as pathetic as I've always heard: you don't understand anything about me and you never will! And if you everuse my parents' torment against me again, I will break you in half, do I make myself clear? Well?"
"Erm…he's kind of…unconscious right now, Nev," Seamus explained, both him and Dean seeing a whole new side to the so-called Gryffindor Squib as he held a look of utmost rage and fury.
And, unlike the unconscious git, they weren't all too quick to get on the wrong side of this new Lion…
Darkness Is My Ally
"I see…that's quite an interesting bit of information, Tracey."
"Finnegan told me during our last Potions lesson about it," Tracey explained as she described the events told to her by her study partner to the Slytherin King.
It was a week after Neville's conversion and his reaction to Weasley's jibes and the Slytherin King was quietly studying from one of the non-Hogwarts syllabus books in the Study Annexe as Tracey explained the situation. "Apparently, Weasley went to a place that seems to be a sore spot for Neville and…long story short…he paid the price; when his Prefect Prat of a brother tried to make something of it, Neville threatened to give the same to anyone who thought he was here to be a carbon copy of his parents. It cost Gryffindor thirty points and Neville has a detention tonight with Professor Snape, but…well, I thought you'd want to know about it."
"So the Dark Lion is starting to show his fangs earlier than I thought," Hadrian mused, the mention of the name associated with the outburst bringing an air of concern to the young Slytherin as he linked his fingers over the open pages of his book.
"What would you like us to do about it?"
"Nothing," Hadrian answered, narrowing his eyes as he explained, "But…take Theo and bring Neville to me for a little chat; yes, I do mean here into the dorm," he added as Tracey's eyes widened with shock. "All who join our Court will be welcomed amongst the Slytherins and anyone who has a problem with that can take it up with me!"
Tracey didn't need to make any sort of remark in retort to the unspoken threat: she simply acknowledged the commands of the Slytherin King and, turning on her heel, she left the dorm, pausing only once to stop and collect Nott for their retrieval.
Hadrian, meanwhile, made a note of where he'd left the book before he closed it and, rising from his seat, he moved to the dorm where Blaise and Draco were also studying on some homework pieces. Seeing the Slytherin King walk into the room, both boys rose with an air of respected salute before Hadrian told them, "Don't worry, guys: this isn't official. In fact…"
He paused as he closed the door before, drawing his wand, he cast a low-level privacy ward around the door and locked it to ensure that nobody could walk into the room and disturb them.
Once Hadrian was done, he turned back before he asked, "Blaise, when we were younger, your Mother was a good friend of my guardian, Miss Sara, you remember?"
"I do," Blaise answered.
"Did you ever ask her why?"
"No," Blaise admitted, looking to Draco, who seemed to be worrying about whatever it was that was about to be said. Returning his attention to Hadrian, he asked, "Why? Do you know about it?"
"I do," Hadrian answered, drawing his wand on his first and only real friend as he added, "But if you're to learn the truth, then I want you to swear a wizard's oath to me that you will tell no-one else about this until I'm ready to reveal the information to them."
Blaise, sensing the hint of command in the words used by his friend, looked again to Draco before he asked, "Does this…I mean, is this anything to do with how our numbers are growing?"
"In a manner of speaking," Hadrian answered, before nodding once as he added, "Yes, Blaise: Draco already knows what I'm about to tell you, but only when you swear your silence to me. I've always known your loyalty to me was never in question: will you change that now?"
"No," Blaise answered, looking back to Hadrian as he explained, "You were my only friend at that place and I know that I've only ever been yours in return: I would never abandon that loyalty, especially not after how you used the darkness in you to protect me from the other kids."
"I didn't protect you," Hadrian argued, "They were just in our way; that's all: insects deserve to be crushed and that's all that needs to be said."
Not for the first time did Blaise shudder at the icy tone that escaped Hadrian's lips as he knew that his friend and Slytherin King wasn't easy to read, which meant it was very hard to tell if he was actually covering for something with those words.
Drawing his own wand, Blaise asked, "What do you need me to say?"
"Only that you will never reveal what I'm about to tell you without my express permission," Hadrian explained, "And that, if you do, you are prepared to accept whatever consequences my magic deems necessary for you to learn your lesson."
Draco's eyes widened now as he heard Blaise swear the oath: for some reason, the Malfoy Heir knew that Blaise wouldn't lose his magic if he betrayed this oath like a normal wizard's oath would ask in payment.
But, at the same time, from what he'd seen from the Slytherin King and his power, Draco could wager that Hadrian's punishment would make Blaise wish he had lost his magic.
When the flash of magic lit up the dormitory, Hadrian lowered his wand before he looked to Draco and, with a curt nod, he explained, "It's all right, Draco: we can trust him now."
"If you say so," Draco reasoned, watching as Blaise also sheathed his own wand before Hadrian gave the revelation:
"The woman you know as Miss Sara is just a well-hidden glamour disguise: her real name is Bellatrix Lestrange!"
Darkness Is My Ally
When Neville was escorted by Tracey and Theo into the Slytherin Common Room, there were a few stares from the higher years before Tracey silenced their questions as she explained, "He is here at the request and order of the Slytherin King."
Though they didn't like it, the higher year students returned to their work without another word while Tracey led Neville over to the Study Annexe where Hadrian was seated in one of the few lounge-areas, a few glasses of fresh soda in front of him on a table while Blaise, Draco and Pansy were with him.
"Neville, welcome," Hadrian remarked, straightening himself up in his seat before he explained, "Take a seat: Tracey, Theo, you can join us too if you wish."
"No thank you, Hadrian," Theo replied, giving the Slytherin King a curt bow before he turned and left the area, Tracey repeating the dismissal moments later while Neville took his seat, a part of him then aware of Blaise's almost nervous glance in his direction.
"Is…is everything all right, Zabini?" asked Neville, noticing Hadrian's warning glare being sent towards the boy, who just coughed before he regained his posture.
"Just fine, Neville…and it's Blaise," he added, smirking with a nod of his head as he explained, "All members of the Court are on a first-name basis with each other."
"Never mind that for now," Hadrian remarked, picking up one of the glasses in his hand before he explained, "I called you here, Neville, with regards to what I heard happened in the Gryffindor Dormitory last night: anything to say before I address why I felt it was essential that you were to be brought here personally?"
"No, Hadrian," Neville answered, taking his own glass before he took a soft drink, a part of him suddenly feeling pretty light-headed as he added, "I did what I had to do to protect my family's honour and teach my enemy a lesson he wouldn't forget: I offer no excuses."
"I see," Hadrian reasoned, watching as Neville blinked a few times before he shook his head; hiding the smile that tugged at his lips, Hadrian then asked, "Neville, given that I am who I am, I understand all too well the rage you feel for anyone who insults your family: however, if you are to become stronger and remain as the first Dark Lion of our Court, you will need to be a bit more…cunning in future: Gryffindors think with their actions, but we of Slytherin…we think with our minds and instincts."
"I understand," Neville replied, the light-headed feeling passing over him as he added, "I'll be more careful in the future with my enemies and their punishments, Hadrian."
"I also understand why you feel a need to let your anger show its face whenever the cause of your abandonment is mentioned," Hadrian continued, taking a drink of his own as he asked, "However, I must know, Neville: what is it about the name of the one who destroyed your family that angers you so? Did you not say to me that you wished to be something more than just someone who's seen and admired for your parents?"
"I did," Neville answered, his voice steadily calm once again as he explained, "But please understand, Hadrian: I cannot forgive or forget just how my life was destroyed by that psycho-witch Lestrange: after my parents died, my grandmother watched me like a hawk and actually allowed my Great Uncle to torment me in the hopes of showing some major levels of magic. Even after that, she drilled me in the knowledge of the craft for hours on end without rest and, when I couldn't prove I was eligible to be recognised as someone of power, she gave up and let that man humiliate me with the toad and my Father's wand. It was like all I was to her was a pawn to exact revenge on behalf of some misguided notions of familial honour: sometimes, I couldn't help but wonder if she wanted my parents to survive and for me to be lost to the ether in their place."
His voice actually seemed to become steadily harder with rage as he let out his frustrations, his eyes almost glowing with raw magic as he hissed, "She wanted me to destroy myself before I became too powerful: she knew that, given the chance, I could forge my own destiny and make myself something greater than her pathetic Hufflepuff son ever could have been. So what did she want? A martyr, an avenger…a damned pawn in her game against the Dark and that is why I will never let anyone target me."
"So if it is your Gran that you feel the rage against," Hadrian asked, choosing his words carefully as he asked, "Why do you feel such hatred towards the one who took your parents? It may seem like a rather pointless question, I get that, but it seems to me that your hatred should be more directed at the ones who tormented you: after all, from what you say, it sounds to me that this…Lestrange helped ignite your fires long before you could understand what they could mean."
Neville, eyes wide with disbelief, actually felt his rage ebb away as he muttered, "I…I never thought about it like that."
"So," Hadrian continued, "Why aim to hate the one that gave this Dark Lion its life before I unlocked it for you when, instead of hating it, you should seek this person out and, I don't know, have her help you to release more of that rage, the darkness in you that, through my own prison and dark past, also burned in me!"
Hadrian seemed to pause and take another drink before he explained, "Now, I don't know about this Lestrange woman per se, but look at who I have as my allies: the son of the most faithful Death Eater that still walks this earth. Do I hate Draco for that? No; do I hate his Father because of the half-blood pretender that he served? No; do I hate, I dunno, Crabbe, Goyle, the Carrows or even Pansy because their parents were also suspected Death Eaters? No."
Draco and Pansy both felt shock enter their hearts as they listened to Hadrian's words, both of them then realising just why Hadrian's ambition had been to become the Slytherin King.
It wasn't to just take over what You-Know-Who started: it was more than that; it was about revenge by using the one thing that half-blood relied on most of all: his followers.
'Now that's Slytherin thinking,' Draco thought as he listened to Hadrian continue with his explanation.
"The only one I hate, and I mean reallyhate is…apparently…dead! If we were ever to meet, I wouldn't hesitate to slay him and send him straight to hell where he belongs, but not before making him realise that, like a certain doctor of fictional infamy, his actions gave life to a real monster!"
"But I can't do that with her," Neville argued.
"Why not?"
Once again, the newly-christened Dark Lion felt surprise as Hadrian looked at him from over the top of his glass; taking a drink from his own glass, Neville coughed once as he asked, "I'm sorry?"
"Why can't you do that?" asked Hadrian, setting down his now-empty glass as he asked, "After all, was it this Lestrange woman that actually hunted your family down? Why exactly were they targeted if not just for the fun of it? And why so soon after my parents were murdered and taken from me by Franken-Mort? Have you never wondered why they weren't protected?"
"I…I guess I never thought of that either," Neville agreed, looking up at Hadrian as he asked, "But from what you say, it's like you're expecting me to just…just forget about it and actually look for Lestrange."
"Or you could take that revenge," Hadrian reasoned, looking to Blaise with an air of reminisce as he explained, "Take all those feelings of hatred: for your parents, your Gran, your Great Uncle, hell, even take it for whoever it was that decided such a proud family like yours would be safe without protections. Take it all, Neville and then, when you have it burning inside you like Vesuvius about to burst forth and flood the land below in fire and destruction, when you feel that you have reached that point where you're ready to show them the monster they created just like Voldemort created me, then you can really say whether or not you still feel like you have a bloodlust for the one that hurt your family."
Hadrian seemed to ease up with his hardness in his tone as he asked, "After all, who is it that's actually trying to be more worthy of revenge? Your Gran wanting you to get it for your parents or you, Neville Longbottom, wanting to get it for everything your Gran and Great Uncle did to you: everything those Gryffindors did to you in thinking you a Squib and mocking you because of it. Who reallydeserves to feel your revenge? Someone you've never met, but only heard of through painstaking magic lessons…or the one that really tore you up inside and made you believe you were only ever worthy to hold hand-me-downs and joke pets?"
Setting down his own glass, Neville linked his fingers before he asked, "But…how can I do that?"
"Technically," Hadrian mused, "You're already doing it, right? By joining me and coming over to the Slytherin Court, you're already on your way to making that decision for yourself: no-one's influencing you…all I'm doing is showing you the doors and giving you one key…but which door do you choose?"
Neville closed his eyes: in his mind's eye, he saw the doors that Hadrian had described and, beyond them both, he could hear voices and feel great magic pushing out from both sides. The one on his left was his Gran and his Great Uncle and, as he listened, he heard them: their mocking tones, her disapproving voice whenever he got a question wrong or failed a practical; his taunts about how Neville's magic would stop the torments and then how he was only worthy to hold the toad.
"Toad for a toad," Great Uncle Algie had laughed.
Neville felt rage build inside him as he heard that remark: the mocking laugh, the insistence that he'd never be good for anything but being stepped on.
No; that wasn't the way forwards.
The second door: that was the way: taking his subconsciously-crafted key, Neville put it in the second door, unaware of the aura that surrounded his physical body thanks to a few little aides from Hadrian hidden in the glass and the drink. Turning the lock, Neville found only white light and green flashes of energy striking him in the chest.
He felt a great power burning inside him: a power like he'd never felt before: it was like a dam being burst and flooding him with all the magic he'd ever been meaning to feel. In this mindset, he saw his Uncle's torments and used his magic to deal with them; the locked door in the dark closets? He blasted it off its hinges.
The holding under the water to trigger some sort of magic: Neville turned his Uncle's water to ice and covered his tormentor in it.
The holding of him outside the window?
A quick Switching Spell had Neville dangling Great Uncle Algie out of the window now, his eyes boring into the man's skull as he glared at him before asking a simple, dark-edged question:
"Who's the toad now?"
Then, he dropped him…and opened his eyes, feeling the rushes of power still flowing through him, ready to obey his commands and work with him instead of against him.
And there, seated proudly upon his throne, was his new lord, his sovereign, his Dark saviour and his mentor: Hadrian Potter, the Slytherin King.
Yes, Neville knew once and for all who he was and where he stood.
"I've never felt so much power!" Neville laughed, lifting his hands and clenching his fists as though he could see the aura that had burned around his body.
"And you shall have even more," Hadrian told him, linking his fingers before he gave that shark-tooth smile of his as he explained, "But first, you must prove your loyalty to me!"
"I'm listening," Neville hissed, his dark-brown eyes shining with raw magic that now powered him on to his own destiny.
"Neville!" Hermione exclaimed, looking to Hadrian with a cold glare as she hissed, "What have you done to him?"
"Opened my eyes," Neville answered, before, to the amusement of the Slytherins and their sovereign, the Longbottom Heir dropped to one knee and bowed his head before Hadrian, his voice calm as he explained, "Thank you for setting me free from myself: I, Neville Franklin Longbottom, pledge myself to your service and your teachings, my King."
Chapter 6: Cracks in the Armour
It was a confident Hadrian Potter that returned to the Slytherin Common Room following their Flying lesson, some of the snakes with him still laughing at the look on Granger's face when their King's new warrior had revealed his true self to them. There were also some that whispered in silent tones about the scare they'd received when Hadrian had actually smiled for the first time since they'd known him.
Once the entrance to the dorm closed behind them, Hadrian stopped dead in his tracks, the other first-years stopping with him before he turned and, looking to each and every one of them, he took a deep breath before he spoke, "Nott, come here."
The weedy boy who had spent the past three weeks as his King's pet and servant stepped forwards with a hint of fear to his expression; stopping in front of Draco and looking down at Hadrian's feet – as he considered himself unworthy to look his Master in the eye – the boy gulped and clenched his fists to stop their shakes.
"Kneel."
Theo obeyed instantly, dropping to his knees and bowing his head as he waited for Hadrian's commands or words.
"Three weeks ago," Hadrian exclaimed to the assembled Slytherins, "This boy, Theodore Adrian Nott, challenged your King's authority and chose to think himself as my superior and consider me as his pet and slave. For this, he was punished by magic and by me and spent his days as my pet: now, Theo, tell me: do you still consider me your lesser?"
"No Master," Theo replied, his voice steady despite the way that his heart pounded in his chest.
"Have you seen that I truly am worthy of the crown and my place as your dorm-mate?"
"Yes Master."
"When you look at me, do you see a half-blood?"
"No Master."
"What do you see?"
"I…I…"
"Look at me."
Theo's eyes looked up, meeting the cold, unforgiving glare of the Slytherin King before he spoke, "I see a warrior, a sorcerer and a sovereign: one who is worthy…no, more than worthy of being one of the children of Salazar. I see the future of our House who, beyond good and evil, would even give the reign of the former Slytherin King a run for his money."
"And tell me," Hadrian asked, his voice hardening with a hint of rage as he asked, "Do you know who that last King was?"
"The…The Dark Lord," Nott answered, the other Slytherin first-years seeing their King's eyes harden just as his voice had done.
"Yes," Hadrian hissed, the word almost turning the blood in the veins of the snakes to ice, "Lord Voldemort…"
As expected, there were a few flinches from the Slytherins at the mention of the accursed name before Hadrian continued, "He Who Must Not Be Named; You Know Who; all names of pathetic weaklings who fear their own shadows rather than fear the true evil out there. After all, for a big bad Dark Lord, he didn't seem to fare too well against the true Slytherin King…and I was but a baby too. Does this tell you that I am equal to Voldemort in any way?"
"No Master," Theo replied, his own voice almost hardening with a cold indifference as he explained, "You're worse!"
"Good answer," Hadrian smirked, the look on his face making the half-blood look like a real pureblood before he continued, "Now that we have that down to a T, I have news for you, Nott: later in that same week that you foolishly challenged my power, I gave you a mission: do you remember it?"
"Your orders were to bring the Gryffindor Squibling out of his shell and over to our…I mean, your side," Theo answered, a part of him feeling like he was being bathed in dark light as he took a guess at what was coming.
"And in three weeks," Hadrian continued, looking up at the other Slytherins as he explained, "The Squibling did indeed come out of his shell thanks to my loyal servant's assistances. Then, this very afternoon, he proved the strength of his resolve to me when his magical command to the broom at his feet matched the level of my own power. And so, I took him aside and discovered a truly dark soul within the outcast of Gryffindor: I discovered a soul that desired the power to show those who opposed him about the real lion that dwelled inside him. With a little Slytherin cunning and a small piece of deception in making him believe I was jealous of him, I released that dark soul and now, like the flowers of the night, the soul will bloom in the darkness."
"Salazar himself couldn't have done a better job, Hadrian," Blaise muttered, earning a few nods from the others while Hadrian smirked again.
"True, Blaise," Hadrian agreed, then returning his attention to Theo as he added, "And now, because of that darkness, Neville Longbottom is one of us…figuratively speaking. And so, with your answers being both sincere and well-spoken, I know that you have learned your lesson at last, Nott: you kneel a servant, but now, as the Slytherin King, I command you: rise a Slytherin once more and return to your peers."
There was a round of applause from the first-years as a stunned Theo rose from his knees and, with a wide-eyed glance to Hadrian, he stepped back into the fold of Slytherin, though not without a last warning from the Slytherin King:
"Don't make the mistake again, Nott…because next time, you won't be my pet…you'll be target practice!"
Darkness Is My Ally
"He's done WHAT?"
Ron Weasley, returned from the Hospital Wing, looked over at the Dark Lion of Gryffindor, Neville Longbottom, as Dean and Seamus finished explaining the situation to him. While the two other Gryffindor first-year boys weren't too worried about the reactions from this, both of them had to admit that they'd seen a change in their dorm-mate ever since he'd publicly announced his siding with Hadrian Potter.
"Why would you do that?" asked Weasley, addressing Neville, who was leafing through one of his textbooks rather than listening to the boy's whining voice, "With Potter betraying us, you're the last hope for a realGryffindor Golden Boy: why would you betray everything your family stands for and side with that…that…Death Eater?"
"Because I choose to," Neville answered, his voice devoid of any signs of stammer or nervousness and instead speaking with a note of true strength to him. "And as for betraying everything my family stands for, Weasley: I don't see how I'm doing that since almost each and every member of my family was either a member of either Hufflepuff and even Slytherin: I'm the first Longbottom in a long time to join Godric Gryffindor's ranks and, if you think I'm turning against that legacy, then you're wrong. I'm simply embracing what some of my ancestors worked with back when they were members of this school."
"But…but…we were getting on well," Ron argued, unaware of the roll of the eyes from Neville, "I would have given you a chance, Longbottom: you could have formed the new Golden Trio or something."
"And who would have been our third member?" asked Neville, peering over the top of his book as he asked, "The bibliophilic? You can't even stand to work with her for longer than necessary, so why would I even bother? When she's not shrieking like some malignant harpy about authority and showing respect, she's quoting some obscure text like we're meant to give a damn. If it's a choice between that and standing alone while siding with my true allies, then I'm sorry, Weasley, but I choose option two."
"Then why are you still here?" asked Ron hotly, pointing to the door to the dorm as he demanded, "Get out: we don't allow traitors in here!"
"Correction," Neville replied, closing his book before he rose from the bed and, crossing the room, he prodded Ron in the chest, the single motion making the red-headed Troll Brain fall to the ground as Neville added, "Youdon't allow traitors in here, but since this House is called Gryffindor and not Weasley, I don't need to care about what you think. And neither should you," he added, turning to Dean and Seamus before he explained, "Cause it doesn't matter what they may say, I'm not going to stop working with the Slytherins or being a friend and ally to Hadrian Potter: I mean, for Godric's sake, Finnegan, he even has one of his Slytherins working with you…and do you have a problem with it?"
"Not really," Seamus answered, looking down at Ron who was now left feeling like the spare wheel as he added, "Truth be told, Nev; the only real problem that I have with the Slytherins is that…well, most of them became…His supporters."
"Maybe," Neville agreed.
"Yeah," Ron snapped, going with this information as he added, "Like Malfoy's Father…or how about the one who made you into the Squib you are, Longbottom? What was her name?"
"Don't go there," Dean whispered, but Ron didn't listen.
"Oh yes, I remember now: Bellatrix Lestrange!"
Neville…snapped!
Twisting around, he swung his foot out and let it collide with Ron's head, knocking the idiot into unconsciousness while Neville snarled, "Don't you ever think you can use my parents against me as you would have done him, Weasley! You're just as pathetic as I've always heard: you don't understand anything about me and you never will! And if you everuse my parents' torment against me again, I will break you in half, do I make myself clear? Well?"
"Erm…he's kind of…unconscious right now, Nev," Seamus explained, both him and Dean seeing a whole new side to the so-called Gryffindor Squib as he held a look of utmost rage and fury.
And, unlike the unconscious git, they weren't all too quick to get on the wrong side of this new Lion…
Darkness Is My Ally
"I see…that's quite an interesting bit of information, Tracey."
"Finnegan told me during our last Potions lesson about it," Tracey explained as she described the events told to her by her study partner to the Slytherin King.
It was a week after Neville's conversion and his reaction to Weasley's jibes and the Slytherin King was quietly studying from one of the non-Hogwarts syllabus books in the Study Annexe as Tracey explained the situation. "Apparently, Weasley went to a place that seems to be a sore spot for Neville and…long story short…he paid the price; when his Prefect Prat of a brother tried to make something of it, Neville threatened to give the same to anyone who thought he was here to be a carbon copy of his parents. It cost Gryffindor thirty points and Neville has a detention tonight with Professor Snape, but…well, I thought you'd want to know about it."
"So the Dark Lion is starting to show his fangs earlier than I thought," Hadrian mused, the mention of the name associated with the outburst bringing an air of concern to the young Slytherin as he linked his fingers over the open pages of his book.
"What would you like us to do about it?"
"Nothing," Hadrian answered, narrowing his eyes as he explained, "But…take Theo and bring Neville to me for a little chat; yes, I do mean here into the dorm," he added as Tracey's eyes widened with shock. "All who join our Court will be welcomed amongst the Slytherins and anyone who has a problem with that can take it up with me!"
Tracey didn't need to make any sort of remark in retort to the unspoken threat: she simply acknowledged the commands of the Slytherin King and, turning on her heel, she left the dorm, pausing only once to stop and collect Nott for their retrieval.
Hadrian, meanwhile, made a note of where he'd left the book before he closed it and, rising from his seat, he moved to the dorm where Blaise and Draco were also studying on some homework pieces. Seeing the Slytherin King walk into the room, both boys rose with an air of respected salute before Hadrian told them, "Don't worry, guys: this isn't official. In fact…"
He paused as he closed the door before, drawing his wand, he cast a low-level privacy ward around the door and locked it to ensure that nobody could walk into the room and disturb them.
Once Hadrian was done, he turned back before he asked, "Blaise, when we were younger, your Mother was a good friend of my guardian, Miss Sara, you remember?"
"I do," Blaise answered.
"Did you ever ask her why?"
"No," Blaise admitted, looking to Draco, who seemed to be worrying about whatever it was that was about to be said. Returning his attention to Hadrian, he asked, "Why? Do you know about it?"
"I do," Hadrian answered, drawing his wand on his first and only real friend as he added, "But if you're to learn the truth, then I want you to swear a wizard's oath to me that you will tell no-one else about this until I'm ready to reveal the information to them."
Blaise, sensing the hint of command in the words used by his friend, looked again to Draco before he asked, "Does this…I mean, is this anything to do with how our numbers are growing?"
"In a manner of speaking," Hadrian answered, before nodding once as he added, "Yes, Blaise: Draco already knows what I'm about to tell you, but only when you swear your silence to me. I've always known your loyalty to me was never in question: will you change that now?"
"No," Blaise answered, looking back to Hadrian as he explained, "You were my only friend at that place and I know that I've only ever been yours in return: I would never abandon that loyalty, especially not after how you used the darkness in you to protect me from the other kids."
"I didn't protect you," Hadrian argued, "They were just in our way; that's all: insects deserve to be crushed and that's all that needs to be said."
Not for the first time did Blaise shudder at the icy tone that escaped Hadrian's lips as he knew that his friend and Slytherin King wasn't easy to read, which meant it was very hard to tell if he was actually covering for something with those words.
Drawing his own wand, Blaise asked, "What do you need me to say?"
"Only that you will never reveal what I'm about to tell you without my express permission," Hadrian explained, "And that, if you do, you are prepared to accept whatever consequences my magic deems necessary for you to learn your lesson."
Draco's eyes widened now as he heard Blaise swear the oath: for some reason, the Malfoy Heir knew that Blaise wouldn't lose his magic if he betrayed this oath like a normal wizard's oath would ask in payment.
But, at the same time, from what he'd seen from the Slytherin King and his power, Draco could wager that Hadrian's punishment would make Blaise wish he had lost his magic.
When the flash of magic lit up the dormitory, Hadrian lowered his wand before he looked to Draco and, with a curt nod, he explained, "It's all right, Draco: we can trust him now."
"If you say so," Draco reasoned, watching as Blaise also sheathed his own wand before Hadrian gave the revelation:
"The woman you know as Miss Sara is just a well-hidden glamour disguise: her real name is Bellatrix Lestrange!"
Darkness Is My Ally
When Neville was escorted by Tracey and Theo into the Slytherin Common Room, there were a few stares from the higher years before Tracey silenced their questions as she explained, "He is here at the request and order of the Slytherin King."
Though they didn't like it, the higher year students returned to their work without another word while Tracey led Neville over to the Study Annexe where Hadrian was seated in one of the few lounge-areas, a few glasses of fresh soda in front of him on a table while Blaise, Draco and Pansy were with him.
"Neville, welcome," Hadrian remarked, straightening himself up in his seat before he explained, "Take a seat: Tracey, Theo, you can join us too if you wish."
"No thank you, Hadrian," Theo replied, giving the Slytherin King a curt bow before he turned and left the area, Tracey repeating the dismissal moments later while Neville took his seat, a part of him then aware of Blaise's almost nervous glance in his direction.
"Is…is everything all right, Zabini?" asked Neville, noticing Hadrian's warning glare being sent towards the boy, who just coughed before he regained his posture.
"Just fine, Neville…and it's Blaise," he added, smirking with a nod of his head as he explained, "All members of the Court are on a first-name basis with each other."
"Never mind that for now," Hadrian remarked, picking up one of the glasses in his hand before he explained, "I called you here, Neville, with regards to what I heard happened in the Gryffindor Dormitory last night: anything to say before I address why I felt it was essential that you were to be brought here personally?"
"No, Hadrian," Neville answered, taking his own glass before he took a soft drink, a part of him suddenly feeling pretty light-headed as he added, "I did what I had to do to protect my family's honour and teach my enemy a lesson he wouldn't forget: I offer no excuses."
"I see," Hadrian reasoned, watching as Neville blinked a few times before he shook his head; hiding the smile that tugged at his lips, Hadrian then asked, "Neville, given that I am who I am, I understand all too well the rage you feel for anyone who insults your family: however, if you are to become stronger and remain as the first Dark Lion of our Court, you will need to be a bit more…cunning in future: Gryffindors think with their actions, but we of Slytherin…we think with our minds and instincts."
"I understand," Neville replied, the light-headed feeling passing over him as he added, "I'll be more careful in the future with my enemies and their punishments, Hadrian."
"I also understand why you feel a need to let your anger show its face whenever the cause of your abandonment is mentioned," Hadrian continued, taking a drink of his own as he asked, "However, I must know, Neville: what is it about the name of the one who destroyed your family that angers you so? Did you not say to me that you wished to be something more than just someone who's seen and admired for your parents?"
"I did," Neville answered, his voice steadily calm once again as he explained, "But please understand, Hadrian: I cannot forgive or forget just how my life was destroyed by that psycho-witch Lestrange: after my parents died, my grandmother watched me like a hawk and actually allowed my Great Uncle to torment me in the hopes of showing some major levels of magic. Even after that, she drilled me in the knowledge of the craft for hours on end without rest and, when I couldn't prove I was eligible to be recognised as someone of power, she gave up and let that man humiliate me with the toad and my Father's wand. It was like all I was to her was a pawn to exact revenge on behalf of some misguided notions of familial honour: sometimes, I couldn't help but wonder if she wanted my parents to survive and for me to be lost to the ether in their place."
His voice actually seemed to become steadily harder with rage as he let out his frustrations, his eyes almost glowing with raw magic as he hissed, "She wanted me to destroy myself before I became too powerful: she knew that, given the chance, I could forge my own destiny and make myself something greater than her pathetic Hufflepuff son ever could have been. So what did she want? A martyr, an avenger…a damned pawn in her game against the Dark and that is why I will never let anyone target me."
"So if it is your Gran that you feel the rage against," Hadrian asked, choosing his words carefully as he asked, "Why do you feel such hatred towards the one who took your parents? It may seem like a rather pointless question, I get that, but it seems to me that your hatred should be more directed at the ones who tormented you: after all, from what you say, it sounds to me that this…Lestrange helped ignite your fires long before you could understand what they could mean."
Neville, eyes wide with disbelief, actually felt his rage ebb away as he muttered, "I…I never thought about it like that."
"So," Hadrian continued, "Why aim to hate the one that gave this Dark Lion its life before I unlocked it for you when, instead of hating it, you should seek this person out and, I don't know, have her help you to release more of that rage, the darkness in you that, through my own prison and dark past, also burned in me!"
Hadrian seemed to pause and take another drink before he explained, "Now, I don't know about this Lestrange woman per se, but look at who I have as my allies: the son of the most faithful Death Eater that still walks this earth. Do I hate Draco for that? No; do I hate his Father because of the half-blood pretender that he served? No; do I hate, I dunno, Crabbe, Goyle, the Carrows or even Pansy because their parents were also suspected Death Eaters? No."
Draco and Pansy both felt shock enter their hearts as they listened to Hadrian's words, both of them then realising just why Hadrian's ambition had been to become the Slytherin King.
It wasn't to just take over what You-Know-Who started: it was more than that; it was about revenge by using the one thing that half-blood relied on most of all: his followers.
'Now that's Slytherin thinking,' Draco thought as he listened to Hadrian continue with his explanation.
"The only one I hate, and I mean reallyhate is…apparently…dead! If we were ever to meet, I wouldn't hesitate to slay him and send him straight to hell where he belongs, but not before making him realise that, like a certain doctor of fictional infamy, his actions gave life to a real monster!"
"But I can't do that with her," Neville argued.
"Why not?"
Once again, the newly-christened Dark Lion felt surprise as Hadrian looked at him from over the top of his glass; taking a drink from his own glass, Neville coughed once as he asked, "I'm sorry?"
"Why can't you do that?" asked Hadrian, setting down his now-empty glass as he asked, "After all, was it this Lestrange woman that actually hunted your family down? Why exactly were they targeted if not just for the fun of it? And why so soon after my parents were murdered and taken from me by Franken-Mort? Have you never wondered why they weren't protected?"
"I…I guess I never thought of that either," Neville agreed, looking up at Hadrian as he asked, "But from what you say, it's like you're expecting me to just…just forget about it and actually look for Lestrange."
"Or you could take that revenge," Hadrian reasoned, looking to Blaise with an air of reminisce as he explained, "Take all those feelings of hatred: for your parents, your Gran, your Great Uncle, hell, even take it for whoever it was that decided such a proud family like yours would be safe without protections. Take it all, Neville and then, when you have it burning inside you like Vesuvius about to burst forth and flood the land below in fire and destruction, when you feel that you have reached that point where you're ready to show them the monster they created just like Voldemort created me, then you can really say whether or not you still feel like you have a bloodlust for the one that hurt your family."
Hadrian seemed to ease up with his hardness in his tone as he asked, "After all, who is it that's actually trying to be more worthy of revenge? Your Gran wanting you to get it for your parents or you, Neville Longbottom, wanting to get it for everything your Gran and Great Uncle did to you: everything those Gryffindors did to you in thinking you a Squib and mocking you because of it. Who reallydeserves to feel your revenge? Someone you've never met, but only heard of through painstaking magic lessons…or the one that really tore you up inside and made you believe you were only ever worthy to hold hand-me-downs and joke pets?"
Setting down his own glass, Neville linked his fingers before he asked, "But…how can I do that?"
"Technically," Hadrian mused, "You're already doing it, right? By joining me and coming over to the Slytherin Court, you're already on your way to making that decision for yourself: no-one's influencing you…all I'm doing is showing you the doors and giving you one key…but which door do you choose?"
Neville closed his eyes: in his mind's eye, he saw the doors that Hadrian had described and, beyond them both, he could hear voices and feel great magic pushing out from both sides. The one on his left was his Gran and his Great Uncle and, as he listened, he heard them: their mocking tones, her disapproving voice whenever he got a question wrong or failed a practical; his taunts about how Neville's magic would stop the torments and then how he was only worthy to hold the toad.
"Toad for a toad," Great Uncle Algie had laughed.
Neville felt rage build inside him as he heard that remark: the mocking laugh, the insistence that he'd never be good for anything but being stepped on.
No; that wasn't the way forwards.
The second door: that was the way: taking his subconsciously-crafted key, Neville put it in the second door, unaware of the aura that surrounded his physical body thanks to a few little aides from Hadrian hidden in the glass and the drink. Turning the lock, Neville found only white light and green flashes of energy striking him in the chest.
He felt a great power burning inside him: a power like he'd never felt before: it was like a dam being burst and flooding him with all the magic he'd ever been meaning to feel. In this mindset, he saw his Uncle's torments and used his magic to deal with them; the locked door in the dark closets? He blasted it off its hinges.
The holding under the water to trigger some sort of magic: Neville turned his Uncle's water to ice and covered his tormentor in it.
The holding of him outside the window?
A quick Switching Spell had Neville dangling Great Uncle Algie out of the window now, his eyes boring into the man's skull as he glared at him before asking a simple, dark-edged question:
"Who's the toad now?"
Then, he dropped him…and opened his eyes, feeling the rushes of power still flowing through him, ready to obey his commands and work with him instead of against him.
And there, seated proudly upon his throne, was his new lord, his sovereign, his Dark saviour and his mentor: Hadrian Potter, the Slytherin King.
Yes, Neville knew once and for all who he was and where he stood.
"I've never felt so much power!" Neville laughed, lifting his hands and clenching his fists as though he could see the aura that had burned around his body.
"And you shall have even more," Hadrian told him, linking his fingers before he gave that shark-tooth smile of his as he explained, "But first, you must prove your loyalty to me!"
"I'm listening," Neville hissed, his dark-brown eyes shining with raw magic that now powered him on to his own destiny.