A/N I AM SO SO SOOO SORRY THAT IT TOOK ME SO LONG TO PUBLISH THIS! I truly have been trying to write more of this story and I haven't really had the motivation for the past few months until now, and I truly do not know why. BUT I am back and I will not leave this story, so thank you all so much for being so patient and enjoy the chapter!
Also before we begin I just want to ask yall whether yall think I should do this story in a series, like have each year be a different book- like the actual HP books were, or just have it all in this one book?
Side note; I can't remember if I put in what I want/imagine each of the characters to look like, so what I'm gonna do is each chapter I'll include two collages(?) Of the boy's and girls from each house. First up? The most noble house of Slytherin!
Letters/Writing
'Thoughts'
"Speech"
~Perseltongue~
<Beast Speech>
{Goblin Language}
[Demon Speech]
《Dragon Tounge》
*'Lady Hogwarts'*
"Hadrian i-... I'm so sorry..."
The Warlock in question simply raised an elegant brow and waved the apology off.
'"It's not like you did anything of your own accord, Riddle. The only one I am angry with is the Headmaster."'
Quirrel's face was pale in shock, shame and anger towards both himself and the man in question.
"I-... I die...."
Hadrian's eyes became soft as he turned his gaze towards the professor.
'"At my own hand, yes. I am sorry, Professor, if I had known the truth- as I do now, it would have been Albus Dumbledore that were to die instead of you. Which, is why I came back. To make sure no innocent people die, except for maybe the Mudbloods. They can all rot in hell with my Step Father for all I care."'
Tom made a face in confusion at this, but before he could ask, Quirrel made a comment of his own.
"I do not blame you, Hadrian. In fact, I thank you. Even if neither of us were ourselves, I would much rather die then do the bidding of that maniac."
Hadrian nodded his thanks to the man for his forgiveness.
"Yes yes that's all well and good, now going back to the part were you said you hated Muggles and how your Step Father is in hell??? Who in Merlin's name is your Step Father?!"
Hadrian's eyes grew clouded over, and his voice remained monotone as he spoke.
'"Thats because I do hate muggles. The reasoning behind that being they kill every last man, woman and child that could even have a single drop of magic in them. They murdered and maimed their own children for even saying the words 'Wizard,' 'Warlock,' 'Druid,' 'Witch,' 'Magic,' etcetera. They started an entire war with our race simply because they didn't understand what we could do. And, as is Muggle logic, what they don't understand, they fear. And what they fear?"'
"They destroy."
Tom finished his explanation, already completely understanding where Hadrian was coming from.
"But... are you sure that they could actually do that to us? They are only muggles."
Hadrian's neck snapped as he went to stare at Quirrel in shock and somewhat calmed anger.
'"I was forced to watch as their bombs rained from every angle of the sky. Forced to feel every. Single. Bullet, that they shot at our people. I watched as Hogwarts herself was blown to smithereens, no living thing left standing within a 75 mile radius of impact. They sent in spys to figure out our weakest points, and all we could say was 'they're only muggles, what can they do?' They hung, decapitated, burned, shot, electricuted, raped, beat, tourtered, and used us as slaves for well over 150 years. I was given every possible death sentence, their methods of torture and death far exceeding your darkest imagination. But every time that I felt death come closer, I woke up once again. Always somewhere far from where I had just died. Always with new scars. And always running. Never was I given a moments rest. Never was I given a single ounce of mercy. I was always met with anger, discust, and hatred. Raw and pure hatred. Even the few other Wizards and Witches that survived the bombing and raids didn't trust eachother. We were on our own, truly. And... when the last of the food across earth finally died as well, the muggles saught to eat the only other thing that they could. Us. They did it while we were alive, ripped piece's of our flesh off our legs and arms before making their way inward towards our heart and face. They found the best part to eat, was the magical core. That string of glowing magic that rested in all of us, even the Squibs. Sometimes, they just ripped us open just to get a peice of our cores, before sowing us back up and wait for them to regenerate.
'"After another 20 or so years, all the others had died off. While I kept coming back to life, they simply... never woke up. I met a lot of amazing Wizards and Witches in those days. Some still held out hope that someone would save us, so they fought and fought until they couldn't fight no more. Others gave up hope long before the muggles started destroying their own planet. They had given up hope, yes, but they never stopped fighting. And... while I did admire them for their courage in the darkest of times, we all knew that no one was going to save us. They had hoped that 'Harry Potter, the savior of the Wizarding World,' would save them. But even before I actually knew the truth, I always felt... off. Like the name was... someone else's.
'"They asked me to save them, even if they knew they were asking too much of me, they still expected it of me, because I was their 'savior.''" Hadrian scoffed. '"You'd think after 200 years that people would forget about one stupid prophecy that wasn't even real."'
Suddenly realizing how off track he was getting, he shook his head to brush off the memories.
'"I apologize, my memories of my past life like to randomly catch up to me."'
Hadrian sighed and turned his attention from the shaking, pale faced Quirrel, to the less suprised Riddle.
'"Going back to the second half of the question, Tom, my Adoptive Father is not just in hell, he's the King of it."'
Tom's eyes went so wide that they could have fallen out of his newly gained sockets.
"Your father is Satan?!"
"Did you really expect anything less? I mean, his nickname is literally Hades! Well, sort of..." Draco cut in, drawing the attention away from the angry and depressed Warlock towards himself.
Hadrian silently thanked Draco for always knowing when he needed an escape from the attention. Draco was the first and only person that could recognize when Hadrian was too uncomfortable or when he just needed a moment away from prying eyes. Draco was also the first to actually do something about it.
Tom was left to sputtering out random noises in his shock, which made Draco and Hadrian laugh at his expense.
Casting a silent Tempus, Hadrian saw that they had spent a lot more time answering questions and getting Tom's body back then training, and now it was nearly 8:15 AM.
'"Shit. So sorry to cut this short gentlemen, Caeli, but Breakfast has almost started, and we have about 15 minutes to get Tom out of Hogwarts grounds before Albus becomes aware of your presence here and before the other students start to wake up. Tom, I'm going to send you with Caeli, she can take you to my Castle in France. Caeli, do try not to kill him, as he is going to be our guest and I'd rather not have to do any more paperwork. When you get there, Tom, you are to treat all creatures and being's there with respect, as they will be showing you around the grounds and you are going to get lost without them, am I understood?"'
Tom gulped in fear at the threatening look in the Warlocks eyes, but nodded nonetheless.
'"Good. Professor Quirrel, I suggest you head to your classroom and prepare for the day, as it is definitely going to be an eventful one. Draco, would you like to walk or travel through the shadows back to the Common Room?"'
"Oh shadows please! My feet were killing me after walking up all those stairs!"
Hadrian simply chuckled at his friend.
'"Thank you, Lady Hogwarts! Terribly sorry I could not put your beautiful stage to good use."'
The castle chuckled softly.
*'No need to apologize, Hadrian, you and your guests put on quite the show. I will make sure Tom and Caeli go undetected in their travels.'*
Hadrian smiled upward in thanks, knowing that the sentient castle could see him, but not sure where from.
'"Thank you, Lady Hogwarts."'
And with that, the trees and mountains slowly morphed into that of a small room that looked much like the rest of the castle.
"Thank you, Hadrian, for everything. I am not sure how I could repay you." Tom's eyes were glazed over with tears that threatened to fall.
"You can start by helping my friend's godfather be less mopey all the damn time, he misses you."
Tom's eyes once again went wide, but this time in joy at hearing that his mate was still alive and well, if only a tad annoyed at having to wait so long.
'"I will have Severus floo call you tonight, Tom, but you really must be going before Albus wakes."'
"Yes, yes of course. Again, thank you, truly."
Hadrian only nodded his head towards the Dark Lord and signalled for the grumpy Caeli to take Tom home.
<Why must you always wake me for such pesky tasks?>
'<Because you're lazy and I need you to watch after the others. Well? Off you trot!>'
Caeli mumbled under her breath but was smirking playfully as she slowly morphed into her Pheonix form and made her way to the stunned Tom.
'<Love you tooooo!>' was shouted by Hadrian as the two vanished into thin air.
'"Well then, shall we head back, Draco?"' Hadrian held out his arm for the blonde, and the boy rolled his eyes.
"Why must you be so proper at the most inproper of times?"
'"What can I say? I live with a bunch of overdramatic magical creatures."'
Draco rolled his eyes, but a small twitch of his lips was sign enough that he found amusement in Hadrian's words.
Draco grabbed hold on Hadrian's extended arm and with a uneasy skip of his heartbeat, Draco was once again standing in the Slytherin Common Room.
"Ugh, I nearly forgot what side-shadow-walking felt like. I think I left my stomach back at the Room of Requirement..."
Hadrian chuckled at his friend.
After a bit of stumbling around from a dizzy Draco and some more laughing from Hade, they both went back up to their respective rooms to take showers and finish getting ready.
Nearly Thirty minutes later, Draco, Blaise, Daphne and Pansy exited their rooms to see their King speaking with a creature on the other side of the window.
Ostium was draped around his shoulders once again, looking at the creature with a trident gripped tightly in its hand with amusement in his dark black snake-eyes.
Hadrian, without even looking in their direction, greeted them all politely, ignoring the glances of awe as he made himself float mid-air.
"How are you doing that?" Asked Theodore, who was already downstairs.
Hadrian didn't even glance at the boy as he said, '"doing what?"'
"Floating! There's enough space below you that Hagrid could walk under you and you never would have noticed! And you're wings aren't even out!"
Hadrian stopped signing to the Merfolk Princess at the exclemation, turning around to look at everyone that stood below him, and chuckled good heartedly.
'"It seems you are correct, Mister Nott, I was too caught up in my conversation with Princess Echo here that I barely realized that I had assembled a crowd. As for the how, a simple first year spell that we should be learning in Charms soon enough."'
Hadrian slowly let his feet softly land back on the ground, turning around one last time to say his goodbyes to Echo.
"That was a Princess? But she looked horid!"
Hadrian's eyes hardened as he narrowed down the 6th year that whispered this to one of his friends.
'"What is your name, Sixth Year?"
"M-Me?"
Hadrian scoffed. '"No, the first year behind you. Yes, you. What is your name?"'
"U-uhm, Forrest, Elliot Forrest, my King."
'"Well then, Mister Forrest, I must ask you not to insult one of the rulers of the lake that you sleep under. Princess Echo and her people, the Merfolk, are good allies of mine. They have been cursed centuries ago to look the way they seem, and I aim to lift that curse. Should you, Forrest, or anyone else in this house insult anymore Creatures based upon mere looks, will find themselves with the curse the Merfolk found placed on them; the Curse of Contrarium. Do I make myself clear?"'
There was a hush at the mention of the curse that made oneself turn into your complete oposite. If the Merfolk look like zombies that had been dragged through hell twice and came back, the complete opposite of that would be-... well, it'd be angelic.
The entirety of Slytherin swore to never think lowly of a Creature just because of their looks; Merfolk and Fae were a clear example of that.
The Slytherin's that had gathered bowed their heads to the Slytherin King, showing him that they understood without having to actually say anything.
Hade nodded his acceptance at their bowed heads, still slightly pissed off that one of his own insulted an ally.
Hadrian put on his Potter look before walking towards Draco and his friends.
"You okay, Hade? You seemed really on edge there..." Draco asked his friend, eyes searching for any reason as to why Hade would be this agrivated.
Hadrian simply waved it off.
'"I'm fine, just a little stressed. Those dreams are getting to me, I just wish I knew who she was."'
Draco's eyes softened slightly at his friend. He of course knew what dreams Hadrian was talking about, he had explained it to him in as much detail that he could remember, asking if he had any clue as to who this girl was.
"Don't worry Hade, I'm sure you'll find her soon enough. You're the son of Mother Magik for fucks sake, I trust that she won't let you be alone for much longer. In the mean time however, we have a old coot to deal with."
Hadrian smirked at Draco's words, he always forgot how happy he was in this time line, and it always made him beyond grateful to Death and his Mum for their gifts.
Hade nodded to his friends and dusted off imaginary lint before leading them all to the Great Hall for breakfast. They weren't the first ones there this time, but they were definetly one of the first few, especially seeing as the entire Slytherin House trickled in behind him.
Hadrian wore a different outfit from everyone else once again, standing out even more then before.
Today he was going a bit more casual and comfortable, with some tight fitted tops and trousers, showing off every curve in his shoulders and chest. He could tell from just walking in, he had everyone's attention.
Ever since his reveal that you just needed to have your House emblem on your person, the other houses had quickly taken it to their advantage.
Most of the other students even did it one better by walking up to him and asking if they could add their house emblem onto their clothes, so they could be comfortable and not get into trouble.
Just by sitting down at his usual seat at the Slytherin table and waiting for the other students to walk in, he could tell many of them had taken that loophole to heart, half the school was now wearing their favorite sweaters or blue-jeans to classes, while the other half had written home to ask for their own clothes to be sent to them.
Very few students hadn't taken a single care for this loophole, such as Hermione Granger, Percy Weasley, and Ronald Weasley. The Weasley Twins had taken the reveal in full stride, going to the extremes to show off their personality in every single thing they wore.
Their outfits were... odd, to say the least. With Fred sporting a purple undershirt, yellow sweater, light orange trousers, a dark blue tie, and light red shoes. George looked more like a watermelon, with a dark green undershirt, light pink sweater, green trousers, light green tie, and dark pink shoes.
Again, they both looked fairly odd, but Hadrian supposed he shouldn't have expected anything less from the Weasley Twins.
On a different note, once it got out to the other students that Hadrian had drawn the Crest that he wore on his shirt, others had asked him to draw the Crest for their houses as well. Which he did- not like he had much else to draw, anyways.
Currently, he was sketching up the Ravenclaw Crest. He'd add more detail and coloring in-between classes.
"That the Ravenclaw's Crest, Hade? Looks pretty damn good if you ask me."
Hadrian looked up from his drawing pad to see Theodore Nott gazing at his sketch with awe. Hadrian simply shrugged.
Not my best work as of yet, but I'll add more detail later.
"Not your best work?? Hade, you gotta be shiting me, that looks amazing!"
Hadrian simply smirked and waved off the praise, randomly picking at the grapes on his plate as he continued sketching.
As other students slowly made their way into the great hall, Hadrian quickly took note as to who glared at the Headmaster and who wore their own choice of clothing. Quite a bit of said students even looked to him with apreciative looks and awed glances, to which Hadrian either nodded or smiled sweetly at them, knowing that he'd need allies in all houses if he wanted to keep an eye on the old coot.
Speaking of said coot, he finally made an appearance at 9:10 AM, which left him only 5 minutes to eat.
'He seems to be in a pissy mood... let's see if we can make it any worse...'
With a wicked grin and a gleam in his Killing Curse Green eyes, he looked across the hall towards the two Weasley Twins, who were glancing at him from time to time, and he winked.
With a simply glance at their pristine Headmaster, Hadrian exhaled a slow breath in Albus Dumbledore's direction, releasing a bit of his magic and letting it settle onto Albus' Gryffindor Red robes.
With one last glance at the Twins, they simultaneously raised an eyebrow at him, curious as to why the Boy-who-lived winked at them, when they saw it.
Albus Dumbledore's bright Gryffindor Red Robes slowly turned into a dark Slytherin Green with silver snakes and silver words spelling out "I love Slytherin!" And "Go Snakes!"
The twins had to keep in their awe and burst of laughter as the Headmaster's face suddenly became very red in rage and confusion.
"Seems we have a new prankster in our midst, Forge."
"Seems we do, Gred, and one after our very own Dumblee-dee to boot."
"What should we do about that, Forge?"
"Hmm... let's leave the new King be, for now... see what else he's got up his sleeve."
Fred simply nodded to his twin before giving his attention back to the show layed out before them.
Albus Dumbledore was not having a good day. He woke up late with a killer migraine and he had ran out of his special Lemon Drops- how sucky is that!? Just to make his mood worse, it seemed that half of his students had taken Harry's words about the loophole in the rule book to heart, as only a select few still wore their Hogwarts robes. 'Idiot boy! Why must he ruin everything! The robes were supposed to help separate the houses, and now look what he's done! I saw some Hufflepuffs sitting with the Slytherins for Merlin's sake!'
By the time he sat down in his throne like chair and got his eyes sparkling in their grandfatherly way again, he felt something change...
Dumbledore stood much faster then anyone thought him capable, and his golden throne was thrown to the grown behind him as he looked down at him robes in rage.
Someone had spelled his robes to support that Snake House! And he was wearing his favorite Gryffindor Robes too! Whoever did this would pay!!
The entire hall erupted into choked laughter and hushed whispers as they all took notice of the Headmaster's newly developed sense of style. Even the other Professor's seemed to hide their own smiles behind their hands, and his rage grew tenfold.
He quickly scanned the hall with a clouded gaze, glaring at any and all that dared laugh.
His eyes locked onto one boy sitting at the Slytherin table, seemingly ignorant of the glare that bore into his long dark brown hair.
Albus moved onto the rest of the Slytherin table, so sure that his pawn wouldn't dare embarrass him in this way, and as he found no one sitting at the Green and Silver table with a hint of guilt, he adressed the entire hall through clenched teeth.
"Whoever did this... step forward now, and the punishment will be light. Stay silent, and I will figure out who did this, and you will, be expelled..."
Those at the the head table blinked at the Headmaster in shock, was he being serious? He'd expel someone after such a harmless little prank? Seriously?
Severus and Minerva were the ones most surprised by this revelation. Severus was mostly hurt; Albus would seriously expel someone after they did something as simple as change the color of his robes? Was Albus that disgusted with the Slytherin House that he didn't even want to wear their colors?
Minerva, however, was insulted. This was a school for children and teens, of course there were bound to be pranks played, and there was definetly ones more severe then this, was Albus honestly that biased against the house of Salazar Slytherin that he was willing to expel his own students over such a simple prank?
The other professors had similar thoughts, most were either insulted, hurt, or disgusted with how their Headmaster was reacting.
No one moved as Albus glared at the students sitting infront of him, shock and hurt flared across many of their eyes, he even saw a few Hufflepuffs looking teary eyed at him in fear. He wanted to sneer at them and their weak link in the grand Hogwarts school, honestly he wasn't sure why he still allowed the house of Hufflepuff, as they were mostly the leftovers from the other houses.
((Just an fyi, I hate it when people say that. Hufflepuffs are more then that, they are loyal and kind to those deserving. Most of my friend group is hufflepuff, and I just hate it when people insult their house by saying they are just the "leftovers." Anyways, just needed to put that out there. Back to the story!))
"No one?"
Albus' magic flared around the hall, he was trying to force the one that did this to him to forward, but all he did was make the students of Hogwarts cringe away in disgust and fear.
Hadrian simply glared at the man with a new flame of hate. He was trying to force the students to do his will, and Hade wasn't going to let that happen.
He sent out a thin but strong layer of his magic to help ease them and protect them from Dumbledore's rotten and tainted magic, and he saw everyone relax slightly as a new sense of warmth and comfort fell over them.
Very few were able to see the magic that protected them, but those who did? They knew who helped protect them from the sickly magic of the Headmaster, and they weren't going to let their King's efforts go to waist. Even after just three days, Hadrian had protected them time and time again.
The students couldn't be more grateful.
Albus, meanwhile, remained completely unaware of the safety Hadrian was giving to the students, and thought instead that maybe, just maybe, he needed to take a fucking chill pill.
So he attempted to do that.
Key word; attempted.
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, then smiled slightly. Glancing around the hall once again, he still saw the looks of fear and disgust. This of course made him angry once again, but he ignored that anger and instead focused on the hideous spell that was placed on his favorite robes.
Taking out the Elder Wand, he cast a simple wordless spell on his robes and waited for them to return to normal.
They didn't.
Infact, they just got worse.
Panic decided to settle in after a few more attempts, and still his -before Gryffindor colored robes- remained Slytherin green and silver.
He was about to demand that the one to embarrass the Headmaster in this way remove whatever spell, when the bell rang.
The Hufflepuffs clambered out of the hall in their fear and need to just escape the Headmaster's ugly aura.
The Ravenclaw's were a bit more elegant in their hurry to escape from Dumbledore's rotten magic, but they all but ran out in their need to get as far away as possible. And of course to figure out whatever spell the culprit used- hey, you never know when it could be useful!
The Gryffindor's took a very different aproach. They were screaming bloody murder in their attempt to climb over eachother and run from the Headmaster, if only to figure out who would do such a thing to the 'most powerful wizard since Merlin.'
The Slytherin's were much more graceful, but still left the hall as quickly as wizardly possible. Each of them wore sneers of disgust at the Headmaster's reaction to sporting their houses colors, and each and every single one of them lost whatever miniscule respect they held for the 'Great Headmaster Albus Dumbledore.'
Hadrian neatly closed his sketch book and slipped it into his bag, helping Sally and Tracey stand from their seats with a gentle hand extended to both them. Draco doing the same with Pansy -much to her delight-, and oddly enough, Theodore did the same for Blaise, making the dark skinned boy blush a dark red. The other Slytherin's slowly followed suit, with Millicent helping Daphne, and Vincent dramatically extended his hand for Crabbe to help his brother-in-all-but-blood stand from his seat, attempting to lighten the mood.
It worked, and the other Slytherin's chuckled good heartedly at the duo. Normally, the House of the Snake's would never show such emotion while out in the open, but they didn't care all that much right now- they needed the laughter that Hadrian and his group brought.
Hadrian smiled as Vincent rolled his eyes at his friend, but grabbed his hand nonetheless. The pair, followed by the rest of the upper year Snakes, all went arm in arm behind the Slytherin King and the two girls, all feeling slightly better with their chosen partners.
The Professor's watched the Slytherin's walk from the hall with their heads held high and amused smirks on their faces. That was not the reaction Albus was expecting, nor was it the reaction he was hoping for. He was expecting shouts of rage and disrespect to come from the Slytherin House, and maybe someone to step forward and take claim for the atrocious prank done to his favorite robes.
Severus just about snorted at the shock written as clear as day on the Headmaster's face. That old man needed to stop expecting his house to act like the obnoxious Lions that he so dearly loved. If he kept doing that, Snape might just slap the old coot himself.
Minerva watched the Snake's go with a blank face, awe buried deep within her eyes. She couldn't help but envy Severus' House for their 'respect me or else' air about them. Her Lions were getting further and further away from what their founder expected of them, and each year she grew more and more disappointed, discouraged, and depressed with her Cubs rash actions. Moments like this, watching Salazar's House stride from the Great Hall with such confidence and grace, not a single hint of annoyance on any of their faces... she couldn't help but sigh. Yes, moments like this made her wish she had listened to Alastair and be sorted into her second option; Slytherin.
Hadrian led his house back deep into the dungeons and into their common room. No one said a single word until their King stood infront of them all, and everyone sat or stood comfortably in the common room in tense silence as Hade made his way to the front of the room.
Hadrian sighed.
'"As you can see, Albus Dumbledore's hatred for this house is starting to ripple out and effect his Grandfather facade that he puts forth for the other students of this school. What I need from the rest of you, as members of my ancestors great House, is to not let anything that vile man says get to you."' He paused. '"Salazar Slytherin was a kind Warlock, and let nothing anyone said about him get to him. He let no man nor woman insult his family, and that is what I expect from all of you. We are a family, and we protect our own. I need everyone to move in pairs, I wouldn't put it past Dumbles to seek to start something if one of us were found alone. I am proud of the United front we put on this morning, and I can safely say that we have already proven that point to our esteemed Headmaster."' Hadrian sneered as he said this. He could tell none of his house held any sort of respect for that senile old man, but he added one last bit to make sure any doubt about him being king fadded.
'"If anyone has any sort of problems with the other houses or Professors, Gryffindor's and Dumbledore in particular, I need you all to bring it to me. I am aware that a few of you still doubt my ability to lead you all, but I promised my Ancestor that I would bring his House back to its rightful glory, and I will not fail him. As king of this house, my first concern is my people. What we, as Slytherins, need to focus on is making sure we get all those top marks. I am confident in each and everyone's ability to do such, but even the greats had their worst subjects. As such, I am always open to help any of those in need. If a friend of yours from another house needs help, again, as long as you find them trustworthy, my door is always open. I may be a King, but my people's needs come first, and if any of you have any concerns, of any kind, whether it is a simple question about tutoring, your doubts, fears, or maybe just a question about what hair product I use, again; my door will always be open."'
Hadrian smiled slightly as a few upper years stared at him with a newfound respect. Their previous King(s) had never exactly given two shits about the other students' grades or alliances, they only cared for their own throne that they themself made. Xavior, for example, beat others down while he made his way up the heiarchy, and as such- he lost all respect and friends he had gained in his previous years while at Hogwarts. Hadrian had given them all hope, that maybe things would change.
He had yet to prove them wrong.
Draco, Blaise, Daphne, Theo, Millicent, Sally, Vincent, Greg, Pansy and Tracey all went to stand by their King and friend. Once again exceeding all expectations by proving that Hadrian had already created strong ties with these other powerful families.
Hadrian couldn't help but smile wide at his friends that stood beside and behind him. How he had ever thought that Granger and Weasley were all he needed for friends, was beyond him. All he knew now, was that he had his entire house backing him up; no matter what.
And that's all he needed for now.
--- Meanwhile ---
Hermione Granger was not having a good time. She promised her parents that Hogwarts was safe. That everything was going to be okay, as long as she got to go and learn how to control her magic.
Her parents believed her. Because well, why wouldn't they? They didn't know anything about magic, they didn't know if there was anything dangerous in this new world, they didn't know that their daughter would lie to them if it meant she could gain riches and fame and knowledge beyond everything they thought possible.
Hermione never gave them any reason to question her, she was a good little girl growing up, and she never gave them a reason to doubt anything that wasn't that perfect little Princess face that she showed them.
So why question her now?
'I'll tell you why! It's all Potter's fault!! If he had just been that stupid little boy that he was supposed to be, none of this would have happened!'
Well, that was what Hermione kept telling herself.
'And who in Merlin's name was that shadow guy thing! How the hell did he know what my plans were, and how the hell did he take my magic?!'
The buck-toothed girl subconsciously rubbed her chest where the man's hand ribbed out her core. She felt a chill go down her spine at the mere thought of that deep silky voice that spoke with so much malice that it cut any other thoughts out of her head, and those eyes... those golden eyes that shined with untold hatred... she couldn't help but want to see them again, if only to hear him speak her name, if only to watch him scan her body like a predator stalking it's prey.
She knew, as an eleven year old, that she should definitely not be thinking those thoughts. But she couldn't help it, those eyes drew her into untold fantasies and that voice made her knees weak.
Now all she had to do was find him, and make him hers.
'He is powerful... that much was obvious, even if it wasn't with the fact that he is, apparently, the King of Magic. Ohh, but that would make me Queen!' Hermione couldn't help the almost squeal that came from her mouth at the thought of being queen.
'Now all I have to do is find him, because obviously his name isn't really Rex Magik, I'm pretty sure someone would have pointed him out if that were true. After I find him, I just have to make him see how smart and useful I can be to him, and then he'll give me my magic back, and I'll be Queen! Simple as that.'
Hermione suddenly felt a whole lot better. She had a goal now, and one that didn't involve one rude red-head and a famous boy-who-lived. Maybe she could convince Headmaster Dumbledore that she could do this new plan, instead of befriending the boy who obviously wants nothing to do with her.
Despite what many believe, she was aware of her surroundings, and she knew that she came off as an obnoxious know-it-all, but that's why Headmaster Dumbledore approached her for this task. To help the famed Boy-who-lived to the right side of the war, and help him in his studies. She also knew she was gonna make a lot of enemies if she went along with the old man's plans, but he promised her protection, knowledge, wealth, and fame.
What more could an only child of two dentist want?
--- Tiny Time Skip ---
Hadrian was looking forward to his first Defense class of the year- with Quirrel actually being able to think for himself again, maybe he would actually be a good teacher. From what he's heard, Quirrel's stutter was slowly fading as well.
"Thank Merlin. I wasn't sure I was gonna survive the year with that fake ass stutter." Was murmured by Draco when he found out, and it seemed the other students agreed.
Herbology was a silent afair, they worked on identifying different plants by their smells and sounds - for the ones that actually made sounds. As it was with Ravenclaw, it went by smoothly.
Now, however, they had Defense with the Gryffindorks. Yay.
Hadrian was not looking forward to seeing the Weasel and the Beaver, not looking forward to it at all.
Hermione had somehow convinced the other students that she had gotten away with everything without a single point taken or detention given. Which was technically true, but she didn't exactly get away unscathed either.
The Gryffindor's had started to look at him as if he had sprouted a Scorpion tail and a third eye. Which was... an odd image if you thought about it...
Ron had awoken this morning in the hospital wing with his fist fully healed (unfortunately) and very confused, much to the Slytherin's amusement.
As per Hadrian's orders, the Slytherin's had began to move in groups of three or four, while still continuing to make inter-house allies. It was only the second day and many Ravens and Puffs had begun to act a lot friendlier and open to the house of the Snakes.
Now all Hade had to do was get the Lions to see reason.
Which was... easier said then done.
"Hey, Potter!"
Definetly easier said then done.
"Potter! Hey! I'm talking to you!"
Hadrian finally stopped dead in his tracks and slowly turned to face the Weasel and Beaver as they ran to catch up with the group of Snakes.
"What do you want, Weasley? We are trying to get to class."
Ron glared at Millicent, who was the first to speak up.
"Nothing from you, Bulstrode! I came to challenge Harry in a Wizards duel!"
Hadrian almost burst out laughing at the headstrong look on the red-head face.
That look was whipped right off his face as a dark, deep chuckling sound vibrated around the walls of the hallway they were standing in.
Hadrian couldn't help himself. He smiled.
You think it wise to challenge the wizard that has already put you down twice?
At Ron's oblivious but steady nod and red face, Hadrian's smile widdened.
Very well.
Name your time and place, as well as your stakes and your second.
Weasley's eyes widened. Headmaster Dumbledore said that the boy was raised by muggles! And that he didn't know anything about their world and their ways! So how did he know about Wizarding Duels?!
Hadrian's eyes brightened with mischief and power, and they seemed to glow in the dark hall that they stood in. He, of course, could read young Ronald's thoughts as if he himself was shouting them with the Sonorus spell.
Ron suddenly seemed to remember that he was supposed to state the stakes of the Duel, so he spoke the rehearsed speech that Dumbledore had told him to say.
"Tonight. Midnight. Astronomy Tower. Hermione will be my second. Winner takes the all of losers belongings, even Heirships and familiars. Do you accept?"
Hadrian almost scoffed. It was obvious that this was a last ditch attempt by Dumbles to get his money, and maybe even get rid of his beloved Basalisk Familiar - of course, they didn't know that Ostium was a Basalisk, and it was definetly going to stay that way.
Even if Ron somehow does defeat him, Ostium would kill Ron before he ever got the chance to touch the beautiful snake.
~Awww, Hatchling, you flatter mee~
'~Nothing but the best for my King of Serpentsss~'
I accept. Draco will be my second. Goodluck.
Oh, and Weasley? Might want to get your second a magical score test, I doubt she'll be able to cast a simple 'Lemos' with her weak core.
See you tonight~
Hadrian couldn't help but chuckle darkly at the red that overtook both of their faces, before he turned on his heel and walked into the Defense Against the Dark Arts Classroom.
They were just barely on time, which was unfortunate, as they had planned on getting here early so he could speak with Quirrel, but Ronald and Hermione had stopped them on the way here.
The bell rang only one minute after the entire first year Slytherin's had taken their seats, with the Lions walking in minutes after the bell had rang.
Hermione and Ron were the last to walk in, which was odd, as they had stopped Hadrian right outside the classroom door.
'Weasley probably questioned Granger on what I meant. Good. Break their trust in eachother early.'
Professor Quirrel had been waiting at his desk the entire 5 minutes that it had taken the Gryffindor's to get seated, and then another 10 minutes that it took for them to shut up.
"F-five points f-from each stu-student that w-was late! A-a-and ten points from Gr-Gryffindor f-for continuing to talk a-after the bell!"
The lions all moaned at the 'unfairness' of that, but Quirrel quickly shut them up with a cold glare that could maybe rival Snape's - except not as hate filled nor menacing as he still wore the purple turban.
~He reeksss of garlic sstill, you musst tell him to stop ssoaking that hideous turban in it, or you will sstart to feel it'ss affects.~
'~I will let him know, thank you for reminding me.~'
~You are welcome, Hatchling.~
"N-now, onto the leason f-for today. If you didn't know, m-my name is Professor Quirrel, and while this is m-my first year teaching th-this subject, I can assure you that I have enough knowledge on Defense and teaching to make s-sure that you all can defend yourselves. A-any questions so far?"
A quiet girl in the very back corner of the room slowly raised her hand.
"Y-yes, Miss...?"
"M-Moon, sir, Lily Moon."
Quirrel smiled slightly at the timid girl.
"Yes, Miss Moon?"
"W-Well, I was just wondering, you see th-there were some rumors, sir, a-and..." She shook her head frantically to shake off the nerves of everyone staring at her, and tried again in an even tone. "Why do you wear the turban?"
Quirrel smiled brightly at the girl.
"That, is a very, very long story, Miss Moon, and I am afraid it will have to wait for another day to tell it, but, I suppose it would be rude of me to keep it on while teaching, as it reeks of garlic- I may or may not have dropped it into a potion, but don't tell Professor Snape that. He'll have my head if he found out." The professor chuckled good heartedly, as did the students as they found this teacher to be a bit more relaxed then they previously believed.
"Any other questions?"
This time, Hermione raised her hand, and spoke before he could call on her.
"Where has your stutter gone?"
Quirrel blinked at the rude question.
"As I'm sure you had heard, this is my first year teaching this subject, it is only right for me to be nervous, is it not, Miss Granger? And as a Professor, and your teacher, that was a very rude question, was it not, Miss Granger?"
Her face grew red as he laced every word with untold hatred, and she slowly lowered her hand.
"I was only curious..."
Hadrian just about scoffed, but it seemed Pansy beat him to it.
Quirrel turned his attention towards her.
"Is there something wrong, Miss..?"
Pansy sat up straight with her chin held high and Pureblood mask on.
"Parkinson, Pansy Parkinson, sir. And no, nothing is wrong, it's just-..." She cut herself off, suddenly very aware that she was about to speak out against an enemy of her King, and she didn't want Hadrian to be upset with her...
She suddenly grew self-conscious, and shrank up on herself, before looking up and daring to meet her King's emerald green eyes.
Her eyes begged for forgiveness and permission, and his eyes shone in comfort, silent support and acceptance. She smirked. Her King just gave her permission to slander the Granger bitch, and she was determined to not let him down.
"It's just, what, Miss Parkinson?"
Pansy looked back up again, a dark glee hidden in her eyes as she said, "Well, surely you noticed it, sir, she was accusing you of something."
Quirrel raised an eyebrow, attempting to bite back a smirk.
"And how can you be so sure, Miss Parkinson?"
Pansy shrugged.
"It wasn't very hard to see, sir. As the Heiress to the Parkinson House, I was raised to notice small things in people's body language and voice. In fact, I think all Pureblood's that were trained in the old ways were tought that skill. As Heir's and Heiress's of Noble and Ancient Houses, we have to be able to tell when someone is trying to pull a one over on us, or use us for their own gain."
Hermione glared at Pansy as she spoke, eyes trying to dig a hole into the back of her skull, but Pansy only continued to calmly speak, eyes facing the Professor as she explained.
"I see... and what, exactly, did you notice about Miss Granger that lead you to think she was accusing me of something?"
It was Blaise that answered.
"Well, for one, she spoke urgently, as quick as possible, which either means she was just reaaaally excited to ask you that, or like she just wanted to get it out of the way. Or both."
Sally spoke next.
"Second, she didn't wait to be called on, proving what Blaise just said."
"That also means she holds no respect for the teacher she interupted, which I guess technically we are doing now, but you asked us a question, and we answer." Daphne.
"Also the tone in her voice, it was dark, like she knew something no one else did. Which, I guess you could just pass off as her 'know-it-all' persona that she wears like a heart on her sleeve. But, then what about the dark tone that she said it in?" Theodore.
"If you were to dismiss the 'know-it-all' way of speaking, then I guess it sounds more like she was threatening you. Or blackmailing you." Vincent said, tapping his chin in thought.
"Yes, and what of the way she watched the Professor as prey? Scanning and sizing him up like she was looking for flaws?" Millicent.
"That could pass as she was just seeing if the professor was a good teacher, although it was a bit creepy..." Draco feigned a shiver.
"And the way she glared at Miss Moon when she was picked first, makes me believe that she is used to being first chosen, which adds to the reasoning behind why she spoke without being called on." Greg.
"Her overall tone and sizing you up glare was a bit unsettling, and that's not even mentioning how quick she was to except your answer." Pansy.
"Knowing Granger, she, more likely then not, would have had more questions and scrutinized you until she got an answer she wants, so for her to just immediately accept what you said and acting all sheepish and playing the 'muggle girl craves knowledge' persona she adapt when around teachers." Blaise.
"Said persona is getting rather annoying, by the way, just incase you weren't aware that literally no one believes it. The glint in your eyes says it all, really." Sally.
"Glint in my-?! What in God's name are you talking about, Smith?! I only want to learn about magic, nothing more!" Granger stated, feigning ignorance rather well, all things considered.
Pansy sneered at the bushy-haired girl.
"What she means, Granger, is you always block out the peices of information that don't suit to what you want. You mix up facts and change words around until they make up something that works to your benifit. That said, I'm surprised your not in Slytherin - although, you do have a rather big mouth, and refuse to back down even when you are in the wrong, and those sound like Gryffindor qualities to me."
Hadrian almost scoffed. Gryffindor wasn't always the house for the brash, stupid and loud, it used to be a well respected house for those that followed their heart and fought for what they believed in - and still knowing when to admit defeat. 'A brave man acknowledges the strength of others.' Is a quote Godric said when James would give him odd looks when the red-head complimented Sal.
Hadrian sighed - A long, deep sigh and he suddenly felt his age. He'd have a long way to go if he wanted to repair his ancestors house and legacy.
Shaking out of his thoughts, Hadrian brought himself back to reality and the heated argument that was still going between Granger -he refused to think of her as Hermione any longer- and Pansy.
Quirrel, meanwhile, seemed to just be letting the girls solve it themselves, even though everyone in the room was well aware that Pansy had a point.
Hadrian gave him a incredulous look, signalling he was done listening to the bickering of a child, even if it was semi-entertaining.
Quirrel sighed before raising a hand, quickly snuffing out anything that Granger was about to say and regaining everyone attention.
The man eyed the muggle-born with, if you knew what to look for, malice and hate in his eyes. He understood why his 'student' hated the child, more then he thought he would actually, and Quirrel couldn't help but share that hatred towards the bucktoothed girl that questioned his authority.
Oh, he had noticed each and every one of those details that the Snakes pointed out, he simply knew that he couldn't act on them without gaining the suspicion of the Gryffindor's, plus he was curious if anyone from the Snake house saw the same things he did.
"As intertaining as watching two first year girls argue about something everyone here knows as a fact, I do have a leason to teach, and I would like to do it today." Quirrel raised an unimpressed eyebrow at the bushy haired girl as her face went red in a mix of embarrassment and rage.
Pansy bowed her head to the professor in apology before she turned away from Granger and gave the man all of her attention, ignoring the murderous gaze of the muggle-born.
The Lion huffed in annoyance before sitting down in her seat with a defiant cross of her arms and grumbling angrily about "Stupid slimy prats!"
Quirrel simply sneered at the girl before continuing on with his lesson.
"As I was saying, I am Professor Quirrel, and while this is my first year teaching this subject, I assure you I am very capable of defense and, if I may say so, I've had enough experience in my life to teach it. Today, we will not be attempting any spells for the simple fact that you must first understand the spell. For example, can anyone tell me what the incantation for the Leg-Locker Curse is?"
Granger immediately raised her hand, and waved it around wildly when Quirrel barely glanced over her and towards the other students who raised their hands calmly.
"You, Mister...?"
"Zabini, Sir, Blaise Zabini. And the incantation is Locomotor Mortis."
"Correct, 5 point to Slytherin. Now, can anyone tell me what Locomotor Mortis means?"
"Means, sir?" Asked Daphne, confused.
"Yes, what do the words 'Locomotor Mortis' mean in English terms, because obviously those aren't words we use everyday, so what do they mean? And how do those definitions influence the spell and what they do?"
When no one raised their hands at that, Hadrian sighed and started writing in the air;
Locomotor is an English word meaning relating to locomotion, and Mortis is a Latin word, meaning death.
The two words put together, basically mean "death of motion."
Quirrel's mouth twitched in amusement at his bored look, but understood the Warlock's annoyance of no one knowing the answer.
"Correct, Mister Potter, take 10 points for Slytherin."
Hadrian bowed his head in thanks and made no move to do anything else as Quirrel continued to explain the power of words and why their ancestors chose Latin as their base for spells, and it was clear to Hadrian that the man held everyone's rapt attention as he went to speak in fluent Latin and then switched to Greek, doing spells in both to prove the difference and power of both languages.
"Not many Witches and wizards today see any reason to learn different languages fluently, as they already know the most common one - English. But, I disagree. There is a unique power in each Language; French creating more delicate and beautiful, German a more stern and strong, Spanish a detailed and heated, and Russian creating a colder and darker spellwork. They all do they same thing as long as you basically say the same thing, but if I were to do the Orchideous spell in French, it may make a more elegant outcome. Orchideous!" A bouquet of beautiful white orchids sprouted from the end of his wand, to which he gathered and handed to Lavender Brown with a bow of his head.
"Orchidée!" He did the same wand movements as the previous spell, but this time a bouquet of dozens of flowers in a beautiful arrangement appeared. Quirrel conjured a white ribbon, tied it around the stems of the bouquet and handed it to Daphne, who was starring at the flowers in amazement and awe.
"As you can see, a simple switch of the language changed the outcome quite a bit. If I were to do the same spell in Greek, the outcome would, more likely then not, be a bit more ancient or vintage looking, simply because Greece is an ancient place, yet still beautiful and strong. Icelandic would be a bit more... strange, yet eccentric and lunar. Spanish would be a bit more romantic, as one of the more romantic languages, and a bit more on the rocky and old fashioned side. Make sense?"
Quirrel received awed nods, most of the students still starring between the two bouquets and excitedly writing down what he was saying, while the others showed their amazement in only their eyes at this newfound knowledge. Hadrian was sure that if Quirrel got this reaction from the Lions and Snakes, then the Ravens would be sure to soak all this up like a dry sponge and fire off questions in waves.
Hadrian almost pitied the Professor for when that happened, yet the Warlock supposed that the man would expect it from his past house.
The class ended after a few more examples and answering a few questions, and the Lions all whispered excitedly to eachother about this knew tip that would help some spells become more detailed and 'extra', as Pansy would say.
"You're fluent in Russian, right?" Vince asked him as the Snakes all spoke of what languages they knew.
Hadrian smirked, and nodded.
"Really? I tried to learn it, but it's a very... rough language..." Sally shrugged, uncaring that she didn't take to the language of the north when she easily took to the language of their neighbors down in Africa; Arabic.
Hadrian shrugged.
I've always found different languages interesting, so it wasn't really hard for me to get into learning all of the different ways to communicate.
I think I know more about the Russian language then most Russians themselves, if I'm being honest.
Sally laughed, and Greg asking if he knew any other languages.
I know many, it would take too long to list them all, I think, but if you were to list some I could give the affirmative or the negative.
Hadrian heard Draco scoff and mumble, "Like there's any that you don't know!" To which he only smirked and winked.
"Latin?" Nod. "Ancient Greek?" Nod. "Spanish?" Nod. "Icelandic?" Nod. "Arabic?" Nod. "German?" Nod. "Croatian?" Nod. "Chinese?" Nod. "Lithuanian?" Nod. "What about Slovak?" Nod. "Thai?" Nod. "Korean?" Nod. "Bulgarian?" Nod. "Romanian?" Nod. "Danish?" Nod. "What about-"
And Draco was right, he nodded to every single language they listed, because he knew them all. They were all ingrained into his mind by Rowena, even the ones lost to time and the ones spoken by the magical being's that died out long ago - he didn't mind though, he enjoyed spending time with the wise woman who was like a mother to him. Honestly her and her mate were both the only mother figures that he knew until he met his real mum - and no, he didn't count Molly Weasley, she was a lying and greedy hag (no offense to hags) who forced her way into his life and took advantage of his abusive childhood.
No, Molly Weasley was not someone she looked forward to seeing again, for he was afraid he wouldn't be able to contain his rage if he were to meet her eyes.
((Word Count : 9700))