Tom's Surprise
Halloween rolled around much quicker than anyone expected and unfortunately for the rest of the school, Hadrian was not in a good mood.
Not only were they celebrating Samhain, the muggle way, but Granger had been a huge thorn in Hadrian's side and if she even looked his way he thought he might snap. His friends were especially careful around him since it was the anniversary of his mother's death and the day his father was put in Azkaban.
"Sir, I really don't think the Headmaster would approve of this." came Granger's snobbish voice and Tom held his temples, suppressing the urge to curse the girl in front of the entire class.
Defense was their first class that day and he was trying to let them practice the spells they learned but apparently some of the Gryffindors, Granger in particular, thought it was too dangerous.
"Ms. Granger, raise your hand when you wish to speak, I'm sure your parents taught you that much, at least. As for the Headmaster, I'm sure he would agree that this class is for defense, yes? It would make sense to practice the spells you are learning to defend yourself from dark magic." said Tom, a certain edge to his voice and Granger's face went red as she cleared her throat.
"R-Right. Sorry sir." she mumbled and he gave her a tight lipped smile.
Of course, she didn't need to know that he was teaching them the dark spells for defense which were much stronger than the light.
"Ron I adore you, I really do, but you call that a protego?" muttered Neville as he watched Ron attempt to raise the protection shield around himself and Ron's face reddened. "Well excuse me, I'm better at attacking." he bit back, throwing a silent cutting spell at Neville's shield, the boy's eyes widening when the shield was down in one cut.
"Very good Ron. But Neville is right. You need to learn how to cast a proper shield. It wouldn't be in your best interest if Hadrian was hurt because your spell was weak." uttered Tom lowly and smirked at the determined glint that appeared in the red head's eyes as he nodded.
Tom went around to Hadrian and Draco and almost felt bad for the young blonde as Hadrian tossed spell after spell at his shield. Draco's face was flushed with the effort to keep his shield up and Hadrian looked irritated.
"Dragon. I know you aren't weak. Don't just stand there and let me break your shield. Attack and defend. You're good at both." said the raven, his tone commanding and felt pride from his connection with Tom when Draco immediately changed stances. Following Hadrian's orders with ease.
You're already such a good leader, little King.
Hadrian began to smile for the first time that day, until he was hit with a spell from behind and went flying into a wall.
Draco's eyes widened and Neville and Blaise immediately rushed to the raven's side, helping him up.
Anubis, who had been silently observing from Tom's desk, immediately hissed, his head turning toward Granger.
The bushy haired witch looked pale, her eyes wide. Longbottom looked sick as the entire Slytherin side were now shooting them deadly glares, Draco especially. Parkinson shot a spell at Granger and before Tom could comprehend what was happening, there were spells being tossed all around.
A few of the Gryffindors began shrieking, having been hit with hexes that were extremely painful, and Tom felt his agitation reaching an all time high.
"Parkinson-" he started, ducking when something went flying across the room.
"Totalus petrificus!"
The entire room seemed frozen in time, students floating all around, their eyes wide and Hadrian found himself snorting with laughter.
Tom sighed, his lips twitching with a smirk and glared over at the immobile Gryffindors.
"Thirty points from Gryffindor for terrible aim and control. And ten points from Slytherin because Parkinson thought it would be intelligent to start a duel in front of a teacher. When I release you all, I expect this room to be as orderly as it was when you first entered." he stated firmly and released the spell.
The Gryffindors dropped like rocks and most of the Slytherins managed to land carefully on their feet.
Everyone began cleaning, shooting each other glares but careful not to do anything other than that lest they spark Tom's fury. Hadrian attempted to help but Draco and the others immediately kept him back. "It's fine Hades. We've got this." said Ron and Neville nodded in agreement.
"Fine." he sighed and took a seat in a random chair, his legs crossed and his chin resting in his hand. Tom thought he looked very much like the little King he was meant to be.
"Hadrian, are you alright?" he asked quietly, looking the raven over for any sign of damage and Hadrian felt his face warm, his earlier agitation subsiding for the moment. Tom's crimson eyes were soft, a sight Hadrian was sure no one could boast of seeing.
"Fine. Mostly agitated. But fine. Those blood traitors have terrible aim." he muttered and Tom chuckled quietly. He reached forward, as if he might run a hand through Hadrian's soft curls, only to stop and sigh. "Good. I know you aren't in the best of moods right now but I have a surprise for you later tonight." he said.
At this Hadrian's expression turned to one of curiosity and Tom almost smiled.
"What is it?"
"You'll see, serpent." he replied and Hadrian sighed but nodded, standing up when the class was almost halfway through with their cleaning.
"Teacher's pet." muttered Longbottom, only to flinch at the scowl he received from Neville in return. Once everyone was seated, Tom looked them over, then sighed. "Class dismissed and happy Samhain." he said and smiled at the chorus of, "Happy Samhain." from the Slytherins.
The Gryffindors looked confused and annoyed and Hadrian rolled his eyes as he followed his friends out of the classroom.
The rest of their classes ended fairly well, though the tension between the Slytherins and the Gryffindors could have cut air. "I won't bother with class, since most of you seem to be far too excited about this evening's festivities. You may leave," said Severus at the beginning of Potions, and the Gryffindors rushed out the door so fast Hadrian almost thought they were on brooms.
"But, you should know that there will be a quiz on Monday." finished the brooding male, a smirk on his usually expressionless face and Hadrian chuckled along with the Slytherins that had stayed behind.
He and his friends stood and Hadrian smiled when they let him out the door first.
"I suppose the feast will be early then." said Theo and Ron nodded. "Yeah, seems like it. My family and I didn't celebrate Samhain but Bill and Charlie talked about it once." he said and Hadrian sighed. "We were supposed to this year. The Malfoys and I, we did it every year since I began staying with them. So far I've only talked to a few of my family members. I haven't had the chance to summon mum yet." he murmured and almost smiled at the sympathetic looks he received from his friends.
"And because Dumbledore is running the school, we can't do the ritual without getting in trouble. He says we should do everything the muggle way to make the mudbloods feel comfortable." sneered Neville and Draco grimaced. "He's turned this school into some sort of propaganda for his muggle movement. It's sickening what Hogwarts has become." said the blonde and there were murmurs of agreement all around.
"Don't worry too much, Dragon, everyone. Remember, this is only temporary. Everything will change. And we will be the cause of it." at this Blaise looked sceptical. "Us? What can we do?"
Hadrian chuckled at this. "Everything Blaise. Do you trust me?" he asked and the young Slytherins shared a look before meeting Hadrian's luminous gaze and nodding firmly. "Of course we do, Hades." said Draco.
"It's weird but, I've trusted you since the day on the train." smiled Ron, looking sheepish and Neville's stare was intense as he gazed at Hadrian. "I trust you with my life, Hades. You've never let me down. Ever."
"You're definitely smarter than me. I don't doubt you for a second." said Blaise and Theo gave a smile. "I'm offended that you'd even ask that question."
Hadrian's magic surged forward, filled with pleasant currents and his friends seemed to relax, their expressions ones of adoration as they gazed at the raven. "Good." smiled Hadrian and the group of young Slytherins entered the Great Hall, glowering at the decorations all around.
Once they were seated, Fred and George joining them from their places at the end of the table, Dumbledore stood to give some speech no one really payed attention to, then they were eating.
"I think we should go now." muttered Longbottom, unaware of the snake underneath the table, listening intently. "How? Everyone would notice if we all just got up at the same time." whispered Thomas and Granger smirked smugly. "Not with the notice-me-not spell. I've been practicing since learning about it. It should last long enough to get us out of the Great Hall."
Anubis slid from up under table, careful to avoid bumping into anyone's feet as he made his way toward the head table. Tom spotted the black and red snake and was perfectly still as it climbed up his leg and onto his lap, raising its head just enough to meet Tom's crimson gaze.
~The blood traitors are leaving now.~ hissed Anubis, Tom humming in response. Anubis dropped back down onto the stone floor and the Dark Lord stood, excusing himself to the restroom.
Hadrian, your surprise is ready.
Oh?
Yes. It's behind an old wood door on the third floor. The very last corridor. It won't be hard to miss, serpent.
Hadrian looked up from finishing off his treacle tart and met Draco's gaze. "If anyone asks, I returned to the dorms because I wasn't feeling well." he said and the blonde nodded, but frowned. "Okay..but where are you going? Shouldn't one of us come with you?" he asked quietly, worry clear in his voice and Hadrian shook his head.
"I'll be fine. The Dark Lord wants to show me something." and Draco's eyes widened as he nodded quickly. The raven stood from his seat, holding his stomach in a show of sickness and slowly left the Great Hall.
"Foolish children." sighed Tom, smirking dangerously at Granger as the girl quivered in the corner, her eyes wide and face pale. Longbottom and Thomas were passed out on top of one another in another corner, leaving Granger all alone. "You! You're working with You-Know-Who!?" she stammered and Tom rolled his eyes.
"Are you an idiot? I am You-Know-Who." he yawned, chuckling as Granger's mouth dropped open and her eyes widened so far that it looked as if they might pop out of her skull. "T-That's impossible! Dumbledore said-"
"Dumbledore said this and Dumbledore said that. Your voice is so annoying." muttered Tom, placing a hand on the Cerberus' head and smiling when it growled in delight.
"You know, I don't usually hurt children. I may be, evil, so to speak but I'm not a monster. I enjoy teaching. And teaching young minds such as yours always gives me satisfaction. But you, must be the exception. Not only has your existence annoyed me, but your constant targeting of my serpent has..well, angered me, so to speak." murmured Tom in his smooth voice.
"What do you mean?" asked Granger, her voice wary. Her eyes were on her discarded wand and Tom clicked his tongue, the wand appearing in his hand as if it had been there the entire time. "It doesn't really matter. Since you won't be alive long enough to even think of telling Dumbledore. But I suppose you deserve something for your futile efforts of destroying me." responded the Dark Lord.
He reached into his pocket and Granger looked faint as she stared at the blood red stone in between the man's lithe fingers.
"I've already retrieved the stone. My serpent doesn't know yet. It's a bit of a surprise for him. The one of many I'll be gifting him with." smirked Tom, just as the door creaked open. He slipped the stone back into his pocket, his cold heart melting at the sight of his curious little King.
"Tom?" questioned Hadrian, glancing around. "Hadrian! You have to get Dumbledore! This man is the Dark Lord!" shrieked Granger desperately. Hadrian was a Slytherin but surely he didn't want Voldemort taking over the world. He would see past his hatred for her. Right?
Right?
Wrong.
Hadrian raised a brow, stepping over the sleeping lions and going to stand beside Tom. "Tom? Where's my surprise? I hope you don't plan on letting Granger ruin it." he said, looking up at the Dark Lord and Granger choked. "To-"
"Silence!" hissed Tom, Hadrian shuddering at the dark magic that Tom was unknowingly giving off. Granger flinched back, looking sick and Tom took a breath, reeling in his magic once more. "Well that's just it. Granger is your surprise. Fluffy, dinner time."
At this Granger darted for the door, gripping the handle and trying to force it open, only to find that it wouldn't budge. It was locked with magic.
Fluffy, the Cerberus, lunged at the mudblood, his large paws holding her down, sharp claws digging into her soft skin and causing her to let out a scream of agony. Hadrian's emerald eyes bled crimson and he smirked cruelly as the crunching of bones was heard. Fluffy had just bitten into her legs.
"This surprise is quite satisfying." he sighed, gazing at the drops of red that splattered across the stone floors and walls. He wondered how Tom managed to get the Cerberus to listen to him.
"Do you like it?" asked Tom, watching as Hadrian crept closer, peering down at Granger as she twitched and writhed in pain, silent screams dying in her throat, unheard by the world outside. "I love it. It's been quite some time since I've seen blood. Unfortunately I'm only allowed a few victims at a time at Draco's because the ministry likes to check in at the most inconvenient of times."
"When I have my body back, I'll make sure the dungeons at Slytherin Palace are stocked with as many play things as you wish." said Tom and Hadrian looked over, eyes wide with excitement. "Slytherin Palace is still standing?"
"It is. I wish to share it with you. To share everything with you, my little King." murmured the Dark Lord, an intense emotion coming through the bond and Hadrian found himself getting lost in Tom's crimson gaze, until there was a low groan of pain.
Thomas and Longbottom were waking up.
"Get to the dorms, serpent. Anubis should be there waiting. I hope you will be in better spirits for the rest of the night." said Tom and Hadrian resisted the urge to hug the man. After all, he was still in another's body.
"Goodnight Tom and...thank you for this." said the raven as he approached the door.
"Anything for you Hadrian."
Hadrian gave the man one last look of what Tom was sure was longing, then left.