In his room, Hadrian looked in the mirror at his dark reflection, the candle at his bedside being the only source of light. His green eyes shown in the night, and his raven hair cast a shadow over his face.
He had grown in the past years, no longer a child. All baby fat had disappeared, and he had grown even taller, now standing only a few inches shorter than his father. Draka, too, had grown. Now eight feet long and with a girth of half a foot, she had taken to sliding on the floor next to him, rarely on his shoulders anymore. For this night though, she would.
Opening the door, he stepped out of his room, cloak billowing and the light shining on Draka's scales.
"~You will be late.~" Draka said. Hadrian nodded.
"~I know.~" They walked in silence the rest of the way, and by the time they reached the double doors, it was exactly two minutes past. Sighing, Hadrian pushed the doors open, silence falling as he walked in.
"My followers! My son, Hadrian, will be joining us this night and forward. You will respect him as you do me." Marvolo said as he stood up, gesturing for Hadrian to come forward. He stopped in front of the stairs, looking down at the Death Eaters.
"My Lord, I hardly think a child should be with us during-" A Death Eater started. Hadrian stepped forward, cutting the man off. He slowly walked to the man, the others parting the way for him as he advanced.
"What is your name?" Hadrian asked quietly in a whispy voice.
"D-Devlin, Alec Devlin. Young Lord." The man sneered, though still on the ground.
"Devlin. I've heard that name before. You're a half-blood, are you not? You're mother was a mudblood, and your father left the wizarding world for her?"
"Yes." Devlin smirked.
"Why are you here?" Hadrian asked bluntly, cocking his head to the side. Draka moved on his shoulders, showing off her head as she flicked her tongue out.
"~Stupid humans. Waking me from my sleep.~" Draka hissed.
"~So sorry dear Draka. This fool thought it funny to insult me.~" Hadrian cooed.
"~Then I shall kill him.~" Draka snapped, sliding off his shoulders and to the ground, rearing up before the man.
"~Calm, Draka. I must instill fear within them without your, or father's, help.~" Hadrian replied, holding out an arm and letting Draka slide back up his body.
The man was shaking now, feeling Hadrian's magic sweep over the room.
"Now Alec, don't be afraid. It's not like I'll kill you or anything." Hadrian started, crouching down to be eye level with the man.
"Well, I certainly didn't expect you to. You're only, what, fourteen? You probably haven't killed in your life." Devlin sneered. Something flashed in Hadrian's eyes, making him tighten his hands into a fist around his wands.
"I'll have you know, Alec, that I only kill those who are worth the trouble. No one has shown up yet, unfortunately, that has offered me a decent fight for life." Hadrian sneered.
"You sure are full of yourself." Devlin replied.
"Get up." Hadrian ordered, turning around to walk closer to the steps.
"Wha-"
"UP!" Hadrian yelled, flashing back around and raising the yew wand which was in his left hand. Going into the stance he had made, Hadrian kept his left arm out and brought his right arm to his side, bent at a forty five degree angle. The left hand, which held the yew wand, was ready for defense as the wand was made to. The elder wand, strengthening his magic, was prepared for attacking as the shield was up. There were no flaws because he was ambidextrous, able to use both hands equally as well.
His legs spread shoulder length, bent slightly and ready to move as his body turned to face sideways. Devlin raised his own wand, eyes narrowing in anger.
"You'll regret this kid." He said. Hadrian scoffed in amusement.
"We'll see about that." Hadrian replied, and put up a sheild quickly as Damon threw the first spell.
Do not make me regret letting you do this. Hadrian heard Marvolo in his mind, the warning clear. If he lost this duel, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Don't worry then. Hadrian replied, and went back to the duel.
Throwing a curse at Devlin, Hadrian switched to an offensive position by turning his body to face the other direction. The elder wand went back and forth speedily, curses being fired every second. Devlin was quickly overpowered, and when he was finally on his knees, Hadrian stopped.
He bent down to lift Devlin's face up, grabbing the scruffy jaw.
"Who's regretting now?" Hadrian whispered, bringing his wand up slowly to throw out one last curse.
"Avada-" Before Hadrian could finish, Devlin jumped back and drew his wand again.
"Morsmordre!" He yelled, the green light fast approaching Hadrian.
What? That's not a curse, that's a charm to show Father's mark. Hadrian thought as the light leaped towards him. Just before he was hit, Marvolo appeared in front of him, throwing off the curse and gliding over to Devlin swiftly.
"One of the first things I teach my Death Eaters is that only I mark my followers. Any other who does will die. And not by me, but by the magic drained from them. You, Alec Devlin, are a disgrace to the Wizarding World. Avada Kedavra!" Marvolo yelled, killing the man.
Hadrian stood in shock, watching as the man was killed. Marvolo turned to face, worry in his eyes only.
"Let this be a warning to you all. Hadrian is far more powerful than you, as you have seen. As well as that, my curse mark is not for insufferable fools to use. From now on, only my inner circle will be permitted to use it. To the rest of you, Obliviate!" Marvolo finished, raising his wand toto the ceiling and mass obliviating everyone but his most trusted followers.
~•~•~•~•~
"How was it?" Marvolo asked. The meeting had finally finished, and everyone had left except for the inner circle. They were currently in the his office, while the inner circle was waiting in the dining room.
"Boring. All I did was listen to idiots ramble on about their accomplishments." Hadrian sighed, resting his chin on his hand. Marvolo breathed out a laugh, agreeing.
"Yes, the meetings with my inner circle are much more interesting." He replied.
They got up and walked back downstairs, entering the dining room and sitting down, Marvolo at the head and Hadrian at his right.
"Now, let us begin."
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IMPORTANT NOTE HERE, PLEASE READ
Hello again! I hope you all liked this chapter, as I did my best to get it up as soon as possible because of the delay of the lest one. I'd also like to mention that I'm taking oneshot requests now. Any pairing (Death/Hadrian, Marvolo/Xerthea, etc.) is accepted, and I'll do my best to post it as soon as I can after you request it. I'll even do outlandish ones too! (Marvolo/Hadrian, Death/Marvolo (though that isn't outlandish), etc.). Thanks!
Amber Silverwood