The Boy Who Disappeared

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
August 2002

Hadrian had been right and wrong about Hermione meeting Jacob. She had not picked at Bella the way that Hadrian had thought that she would, which meant that she had known from the beginning that Bella didn't like Hadrian as more than a friend.

Regulus had taken and dropped the three teens and two Inu off at the reservation and gone to run errands or something. Hadrian had told them about Dumbledore still running the school in England and that it sounded like he had gotten a student killed. They had seemed pretty upset that the man was still in charge of children and apparently not giving up on some idea that they wouldn't go into detail with Hadrian about. He figured whatever they were doing today had to do with that.

They had been dropped off and Jacob bounded outside to greet them. Hermione had elbowed Bella who had blushed furiously and then she stuck her hand out for the dark-skinned boy to shake.

"You must be Jacob. It is very nice to finally meet you. Bella talks about you all the time. Like all the time. Never shuts up really," Hermione told him. Then she smiled and turned her head to Hadrian. "He is very dreamy isn't he?" Which caused both Bella and Jacob to blush.

"You know I have been looking for the perfect word to describe him when I talk to people about him. Dreamy is a great description. I think I am going to use that from now on," Hadrian said with as straight of a face as he could manage. "Oh, wait until the boys hear about it." Jake picked up a rock and tossed it him. He of course dodged it. It hadn't been meant to hurt him after all.

"You better keep your mouth shut, Hadrian Black," Jacob threatened. "Or I will drown you in the ocean."

"You would never drown me. I am your very best friend in the entire world, and you would mourn me," Hadrian said dramatically falling into his best friend's arms.

Jacob might be younger than Hadrian, but he was taller by just a little. Hadrian knew he would have a growth spurt, and that Hadrian would be far shorter than him in no time. His Dad was short and pretty in a way that a lot of men weren't. Hadrian was positive that he was going to take after his Dad.

Jacob indulged him for only a moment before shoving him down. Hadrian sat on the ground and laughed as Hermione helped him up while she was laughing just as hard.

"Come on, let's get to the beach. We are spending the afternoon swimming and then maybe we can come back up to the house and play a few games," Jake said and took off walking. Bella was walking beside him and Hermione and Hadrian walked behind them still laughing.

"How has your Summer been so far?" Jacob asked and bumped his shoulder against Bella's.

"Jake you already know the answer to that. This isn't the first time that I have seen you this summer. Don't let Hermione get you flustered, just be normal. She is just like Hadrian, honestly," Bella told Jacob.

"Well, I guess that explains why you two are such good friends," Jake said with a smile.

"Yeah, I didn't really think about that. It is definitely going to be like having two Hadrians around," Bella groaned and Jacob started laughing.

"You got us into this," Jacob teased.

"Hey, you know that we can hear the two of you right?" Hadrian called up to them.

"Quite rude of them to talk about us like that. I think having two of us around is going to be quite fun," Hermione added.

"I find that I have to agree with you, Mione," Hadrian retorted. "Twice the fun."

As soon as the beach came into view, Toga and Kimi took off running and headed straight for the water. They started splashing and playing in the water. The four of them quickly made their way closer and got ready to swim. Hadrian and Jacob took off their shirts so that they were only in their trunks and the girls took of their swim covers. Hadrian was barely out of his shirt when Jacob grabbed him and tossed him over his shoulder. Hadrian squealed and laughed as he was taken and thrown into the water.

Then the wrestling match was on.

"Boys," Hermione and Bella said together before laughing and making their way to the water at a much slower pace.

"So, Hadrian likes boys, right?" Hermione asked. Bella nodded.

"Yeah, why?" Bella answered. Hermione nodded her head at the two boys in the water.

"You don't think he likes Jacob, do you? From what I gathered yesterday they spend a lot of time together and they know each other pretty well," Hermione asked. Bella laughed.

"Nah, Hadrian thinks of Jake like he thinks about me. Jacob is like his brother. We have actually talked about it when I first realized that I liked Jake and Hadrian realized that he liked guys. He doesn't actually like anyone right now. He thinks the boys he goes to school with are stupid and doesn't really want to date someone without magic, he thinks that it will make life complicated," Bella explained what she and Hadrian had talked about.

"Well, that makes sense. He would have to hide too much about himself and his life until after they were married and then he could risk them leaving when they found out," Hermione explained. The statute of secrecy was pretty strict here in America.

"Hey, are you girls going to keep standing up there gossiping or are you going to get into the water?" Hadrian called up to them.

He was grinning and struggling while he held Jake underwater. Two seconds later Jake had thrown him off and they were back to splashing and wrestling. The Inu had also joined in on the wrestling match and were pushing Hadrian and Jake around. The girls laughed and then waded into the water to join the fray with them.

The day was spent like that.

When lunch time came around Jacob's older sisters brought down a picnic lunch for all of them to share. They laid on a blanket in the sun to dry off and ate lunch. When they were finished they headed back up to Jacob's house. He showed them a few things that he was tinkering with in his garage. Hadrian thought that if he kept it up he would be really good with mechanics as he got older.

A few hours later they were picked up by Charlie and had dinner at the diner in town.

"I thought my Dad was going to pick us up?" Hadrian asked while they were waiting for their food.

"He called me to let me know when he was going to pick you up and I remembered your dad making a comment that it had been a while since they had gone to dinner just the two of them," Charlie started and Hadrian grinned.

"So, you volunteered to come and get us so that they could have a date night. They do know that I am old enough to stay home alone or even stay with you or Uncle Siri. They don't have to wait so long between date nights," Hadrian said with a laugh.

"Aww, it's cute that your parents still don't want to leave you alone to date. My parents have no issue asking the neighbors to watch me so that they can go out once a week," Hermione teased him. Hadrian stuck his tongue out.

"Maybe you should suggest that they have a regular date night," Bella offered. Hadrian nodded.

"Yeah, that sounds like a really good idea. I can give them the whole night. I can stay with Uncle Mooney and Uncle Siri once a week," Hadrian told them as their food arrived.

"You could also stay at my house, Hadrian. You have stayed over before when you needed to, even when Bella wasn't there," Charlie reminded Hadrian.

"Thanks, Charlie. My Dads deserve to have private time for each other. I don't want to be the reason they don't have it," Hadrian said.

"You are a good son, Hadrian. Your dads are very lucky," Charlie stated and then they all dug into their dinner.

"Oh, will you text my Dad and tell him that I am going to stay at my uncle's house so that they don't have to worry about hurrying back home for me?" Hadrian asked Charlie. He pulled out his phone and sent a text. Hadrian and the girls laughed at how slow he was typing out his message. Then he put his phone away and they continued to talk about their time with Jacob.

About twenty minutes later when they were finishing up, Charlie got a message from Regulus giving his ok for him to take Hadrian to Sirius's house if he didn't mind. Which he didn't. So, Hadrian was dropped off with Toga and Kimi. Sirius was waiting for him outside excited.

"Hello, favorite Nephew," Sirius said and pulled him into a headlock. Hadrian heard Bella and Hermione laughing from the open windows of Charlie's truck. Sirius drug him into the house and into their living room where he had exploding snap out for them to play.

"I am your only nephew, Uncle Siri so it doesn't count. Where is Uncle Mooney?" Hadrian asked as he settled in across from Sirius.

"He is supervising the girls taking their baths and getting them ready for bed. They will come down for goodnight kisses before bed and you can say hi to them then," Sirius told him as he settled himself down on the floor and they got ready to play 'exploding snap.

Hadrian always enjoyed the game the most when he played with Sirius. His uncle always did something at some random point in the game to cause all of the cards to explode or to cause Hadrian's cards to explode in his hands. It had taught Hadrian to be on his toes and extremely observant when he played with him.

"Daddy!!!" Cassy and Cori called out, and just as they did Sirius grinned and banged the table into Hadrian, who had his hand over the cards. He ended up slamming his hand into the entire stack and causing a loud explosion that he barely managed to pull his hand back from. He scowled at Sirius as he busted out laughing and was tackled by the twins.

"Got you again didn't he? He was probably waiting for that the entire time. You have to learn to be ready for those things, Pup," Remus said as he leaned over and ruffled Hadrian's hair.

"Yeah, I know. I will be ready for him next time. Plus, I have the whole night to cause mischief in your house. He will be a paranoid mess trying to figure out what I messed with while he was sleeping. In fact, he may not figure it out for days. I have been working on some good pranks. I have to make The Marauders proud," Hadrian said with a smirk at his Uncle Mooney.

Mooney groaned and rolled his eyes. He really should have expected this. Sirius and Hadrian could never be together for longer than a few hours without one of them pranking or threatening to prank.

"Just don't tear up my house, Pup," Remus stated. Sirius gasped dramatically and held a hand to his chest.

"You aren't going to tell him not to torture your loving husband?" Sirius cried. Cassy and Cori were laughing so hard on either side of him. Hadrian and Remus both rolled their eyes.

"Like you aren't excited to see what he comes up with this time," Remus scoffed. "You have been grooming him to be your partner in crime since he was five."

Sirius grinned and winked at Hadrian. Because of course, that was true. He had taken to teaching Hadrian the art of a great prank since he had met him and realized that Hadrian had a mischievous streak as long as himself.

"Just wait until we team up instead of competing," Hadrian said with a grin. Remus made a face that showed how much he was not looking forward to that.

"The day you two team up, I might file for a divorce and run away to Alaska or somewhere far away," Remus told them both. Hadrian and Sirius laughed and high-fived.

"What does 'divorce' mean?" Cassy asked. Cori nodded and they both looked up at Remus.

"Let me start this off by saying that, I was only joking. I would never divorce your Dad. Do you understand?" Remus stated very seriously. He was not trying to have his daughters overreact because they thought he would leave Sirius. They both nodded their heads.

"Ok Divorce is what married couples do when they don't love each other anymore or for some reason decide they don't want to be together anymore because they aren't happy. It means they don't want to live together or be together anymore," Remus explained.

"Like Bella's mom and dad, right?" Cori asked. Remus nodded.

"Yes, Darling like that," Remus confirmed.

"But your Papa and I have been together since we were fourteen. We were forced to be apart for four years, so we know what it feels like to be without each other. We are never getting a divorce. If we live to be two hundred years old we will be wrinkly old white-haired men together side by side until we leave this world and still in the afterlife we will be together always," Sirius told his children.

Hadrian loved how open his family was with expressions of love and affection. He wanted to love someone that deeply. He would hold out until he was fifty if he had to.

"Your Dad and I are soulmates. It means that no matter how many lives we live, in every one of them, we will find each other," Remus finished. The three kids were grinning.

"What about us Papa?" Cassy asked.

"What about you, Darling?" Remus asked.

"Are we yours in every life too?" Cori answered for her sister. Sirius pulled them in tightly.

"Of course, you are. Your Papa and I knew from the moment that we met you that you were ours," Sirius responded.

"Hades, too right?" Cassy stated.

"Absolutely," Hadrian answered her that time.

"All right you two. Say your goodnights and let's get you tucked in," Remus said.

"Can we have a treat first instead?" Hadrian asked and then all four of them were staring up at Remus with puppy eyes. He huffed and then grinned.

"Fine, but nothing messy. You two have already had your baths. You know, I actually bought a treacle tart from the bakery today," Remus stated and Hadrian jumped up with a shout and a fist pump and beat everyone to the kitchen. Treacle tart was his favorite. Kreacher made it the best of course, but the bakery in Pike's Place was pretty good too. He heard the others laughing at him as they followed him in there.

"I wonder if Hadrian likes treacle tart?" Sirius fake whispered to the girls who giggled. Hadrian grabbed a fork and threw it at him. Sirius, of course, caught it and then proceeded to use it to eat the tart that Remus floated to the middle of the table for them to enjoy.

"Beat you to the first bite, brat," Sirius taunted with his mouth full of the treat. Hadrian grumbled and then rushed over to make sure that he at least got the second.

They laughed and joked around while they devoured the treat and then said their goodnights. Sirius went with Hadrian to the guest room to make sure it had everything that he would need for the night before joining Remus tucking the girls in. Hadrian sighed, he was tired after the long day on the reservation and was asleep the minute he felt Kimi join him on the bed. He knew that Toga would be sleeping near the door. They were guardians after all.

Hadrian woke up to the smell of Bacon and got dressed quickly to head down to breakfast. He would eat here and then he would head home. He wanted to see how his dads enjoyed their date night. They were usually quite affectionate with him and each other after a date night.

It was like all of the stress that they dealt with daily just melted away and didn't matter for a few days after getting to spend the evening alone together. It was one of the reasons he was going to suggest that they make it a point to spend more time together like that instead of waiting until they were too stressed to function properly.

He let his Inu out to do their morning business and then joined the others at the breakfast table. It was a good morning. Sirius offered to walk him home before he left for work, but Hadrian declined. It wasn't a far walk and their property lines literally touched. It wouldn't be a big deal. Plus, he would have Toga and Kimi. So, after breakfast, he said his goodbyes and headed home.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hadrian grinned at his parents. They looked relaxed and close, and Hadrian was really glad that Charlie had insisted that they have a date night. It looks like it had done them some good.

"Good morning," Hadrian said happily. "You two look like you enjoyed your date night."

Regulus smiled and scooted over and patted the spot between him and Severus. Hadrian happily sat between them. Severus wrapped an arm around his shoulders and Regulus held his hand. The three of them just sat there in the quiet together for a few minutes.

"So, Hermione says that her parents set aside one day a week for a date night and that they never miss it unless there is an emergency. She says that it really does them good to have that time together, that it was like resetting themselves for the coming week. I think you two should do that. You are both always so much happier and more relaxed when you go out together and take some time for just the two of you," Hadrian finally told his dads.

“Are we?" Regulus asked. Hadrian nodded.

"Yeah. You start getting a bit snippy with each other or other people or just a bit distant from each other. Then someone will finally convince the two of you to go out or just spend some time alone together in the garden and both of you will just relax. No more snipping and much more cuddly with each other. More hand-holding and all that," Hadrian told them sincerely.

"How long have you been watching us so closely?" Severus asked amused. Hadrian shrugged.

"I don't know when I really started to notice or even put two and two together. I just know that I realized it about the time I turned twelve. I really think that you two should consider setting aside a night every week to 'recharge' just the two of you. Hermione said that it is just something that couples that have been together for a long time forget that they need to do," Hadrian told them. Severus squeezed his shoulder, and Regulus held his hand a little tighter.

"I hadn't really noticed that we did that, Hadrian. But thinking about it, you are right, Love. Today is the most relaxed and affectionate I have felt in at least a month or two. Maybe we should consider a regular date night," Regulus suggested.

"That sounds like a good idea. When did you get so grown up?" Severus asked his not-so-little boy. Hadrian just rolled his eyes and laid his head on Severus' shoulder.

"Papa, I am a teenager now. I haven't been a baby for a long time. Plus, you, Dad, and Uncle Siri have basically insisted that I observe everything around me all of the time. What did Uncle Siri say his old Auror mentor used to say?" Hadrian paused to remember. "Oh, right, 'Constant Vigilance'. I don't think I could, not notice at this point."

"You know, I think it is time to start teaching you to duel properly. Potions isn't the only thing that I have a mastery in," Severus stated. Hadrian grinned up at his Papa who winked at him when Regulus groaned. Hadrian had been begging his Papa to start teaching him to duel since he was ten. He had been outvoted every time.

"YES, I am so excited. I can't wait to start learning properly. Uncle Siri brought me home a few books about dueling that I have read cover to cover a few times," Hadrian exclaimed.

"My idiot brother did what now?" Regulus asked. Hadrian looked at him and quickly backtracked.

"He only gave them to me as long as I promised to never try and cast anything before you guys said it was ok. I swear all I have done is read them and practice the wand movements with my old kid's wand. I swear," Hadrian told both of them. Regulus still looked like he was ready to hex Sirius. Severus reached over and brushed a hand across his cheek.

"He swears, Reg. Sirius made him promise and you know that we have taught our boy that a promise should never be broken. A man's word is more precious than gold. Don't kill the Mut. In this instance, he did us a favor. That is what Uncles are for, Darling," Severus told Regulus who took a deep breath and looked less murdery. Which Hadrian was grateful for. He had just wanted to let his Papa know that he was ready and eager to learn.

"I want to see the books, Son. I want to see what you have been teaching yourself so that I know if it was proper knowledge or if we need to start from scratch. Bring the books down, I will take them with me to work. We will start dueling lessons as an extracurricular when school starts back," Severus informed Hadrian.

"All right, Papa. I will run and get them now," Then Hadrian was up the stairs and digging the books out of his closet. He ran into his Papa at the bottom of the stairs. He was ready to leave for work. "Here you go. Thanks, Papa for thinking that I am ready to start learning this. I won't let you down," Hadrian told Severus.

"I know you won't, Dear One. Now I am off. Your Dad seems anxious to spend some one-on-one time with you today. You know how it bothers him to think you might feel left out," Severus told Hadrian as he pulled him into a hug. Hadrian smiled.

"I will ask him if the two of us can go shopping and maybe see a movie or something together. And just for the record, I don't feel left out. I am old enough to know that alone time is important for the two of you. Don't worry I will let Dad know. I love you, Papa. Have a great day," Hadrian said and hugged Severus again before heading to the living room where his dad was still sitting. He plopped down across his lap dramatically.

"What do you say the two of us go shopping and maybe see a movie or play putt-putt?" Hadrian suggested. He watched his dad's face light up.

"You don't already have plans with Bella or Jake?" Regulus asked to be sure. Hadrian shook his head no.

"Nope, I am free and happy to spend the entire day with my Dad," Hadrian assured him. Regulus beamed down at him and ruffled his hair.

"Well, what kind of parent in their right mind would ever turn down a day out with their teenager?" Regulus said and the two of them got up and put themselves together to spend the day out and about. They were going to take the car so that they could shop around muggle Seattle first before heading to the magical community to shop. It was going to be a great day with just Hadrian and his Dad.

He even convinced Regulus to stop by the muggle and magical joke shops so that he could pick up a few things to mess with Uncle Siri. He found a book in the magical joke shop that had potions that could be brewed to change skin color or hair color. Different things like that.

Hadrian was super excited about it because it was brand new, and they had just been putting it on the shelf. This gave him a leg up on his uncle. He was going to start this evening or first thing tomorrow on trying to brew them. The potions all seemed easy enough, honestly. This was going to be so much fun. There were tips on baking the potions into treats and stuff also.

The possibilities were endless. Sirius would be so proud.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"That looks good, Son," Hadrian looked up from the purple swirling potion and grinned at his Papa. He was looking over Hadrian's shoulder reading the joke book and seeing if Hadrian's potion was turning out the way that the book said it would.

Regulus had told Hadrian that the only way that he would allow him to use any of the potions in the joke book on Sirius was if Severus supervised him and confirmed that he had done everything right. So, when Severus had come home from work Hadrian had asked if he would brew with him after supper.

"Thanks, Papa. After this, we can bottle it and then brew the counter potion. I can't wait to use this on Uncle Siri. It says that it turns the skin different colors and patterns every time it is taken. The possibilities are endless," Hadrian laughed as he gave the final stir and turned the burner off. They set up empty vials and put labels on them while they waited for it to cool. If it turned to a bright pink when it was cool it meant that Hadrian had done it properly.

"Clean up your work area while it cools. Once it is clean you can start setting up your ingredients for the counter potion. You must always, what?" Severus asked. Hadrian rolled his eyes. His Papa always slipped into teaching mode when they brewed.

"Yes, Papa, I know. I will get it all cleaned up. No magic. Because it can affect the magical make-up of the next potion," Hadrian said with a grin. Severus ruffled his hair.

"Don't get smart, Brat," Severus said lovingly and flicked Hadrian's nose. "Repetition is the best way to remember things."

"Yes, Papa," Hadrian said. It was a normal discussion.

Severus had always insisted that repetition was the key to productive learning. He started the second year by having Hadrian write down every potion that he learned the first year by memory on how to brew them and what the ingredients were. Hadrian had gotten most of them correct. And the ones that he hadn’t, he had been made to rewrite those particular potions over and over until he had been able to write them all by memory.

His Dad and Uncles had insisted on the same thing from him.

They had done a crash course over the first year to see if Hadrian retained everything important. He had done pretty well for the most part. His dads had told him that they were proud of how much information he had retained after the summer. Hadrian thought it was annoying but he would do it anyway because they were doing something correctly because Hadrian was passing everything with pretty good marks.

Hadrian cleaned up his workstation and chatted with his Papa about the dueling books that Sirius had given Hadrian. Severus thought that they were really good and covered a lot of the relevant information. Then he handed Hadrian another book.

"What is this?" Hadrian asked. "I thought you said the stuff that Uncle Siri gave me was good?"

"It was all very good information. This will have some of the same information, but it goes a few steps further and covers more areas. I want you to start the meditation exercises in chapter four. They will help you start building what is known as a mindscape. It will help you to be more in tune with yourself and the world around you. It will help you react quicker and think more clearly in the middle of a duel. It serves another purpose as well. Starting after Christmas break, I am going to start teaching you occlumency," Severus explained to Hadrian.

"Oh, that is so that my mind will be protected from Legilimency. Are you going to teach me that as well?" Hadrian asked excitedly. Severus chuckled.

"Not for a few years yet. You are not old enough to be messing about in people's minds. Now, it should have been plenty of time for your potion to cool. Check on it and see," Severus instructed. Hadrian nodded and leaned over his potion to see it was pink which exactly matched the example in the book. Hadrian smiled and looked over at his father.

"It matches the color perfectly and smells exactly like it said it should. I did it," Hadrian said and Severus nodded after taking a sniff of the potion.

"It looks perfect, Hades. Good job now fill your vials," Severus encouraged. Hadrian nodded and then grabbed a funnel and a ladle.

He filled twenty vials and placed them in the shelving area that Severus had designated for Hadrian. Only the potions that Hadrian brewed and wanted to keep went up on those shelves. Regulus had his shelves as well. Most of the shelves were Severus'.

His father brewed the things that he sold when he was at work. The stuff he brewed in their basement potion lab was far more dangerous and often experiments to see if he could invent or improve other potions. Hadrian was quite proud of Severus and the potions that he had contributed or improved for the wizarding world. It was why he was so popular as a Master that so many wanted to apprentice under.

"Why don't we call it for the night I will go to work late tomorrow and brew the counter with you in the morning?" Severus asked Hadrian. Hadrian was busy reading off the instructions in his book and didn't see Regulus standing in the doorway giving Severus a look. Hadrian looked up at Severus and followed his line of sight to see his Dad.

"Hi, Dad," Hadrian grinned and waved. Then he turned to Severus. "That sounds like a good idea, Papa. I am actually feeling a bit tired, and you always say that brewing when tired is just asking for an accident and we don't want any of those."

"Very good choice, Darlings. I have lavender tea ready in the family room," Regulus said and then walked back out of the basement.

"I think we almost got in trouble, Papa," Hadrian said while cleaning the cauldron he had just emptied. Severus smirked.

"Yeah, Brat. We almost did," Severus said and then threw an arm over his shoulder as they headed up to the family room where Regulus was waiting for them.

Hadrian took the teacup that his dad handed him then he settled on the floor between Toga and Kimi. Severus settled next to Regulus and wrapped an arm around him pressing a gentle kiss to his lips before taking his teacup from him.

They sat and talked quietly about their day and what they planned to do tomorrow. Hadrian was going to brew the counter potion with his Papa in the morning and then he was going to get with Hermione and Bella to talk about how to get it to Sirius without being obvious that he was pranking him. He also wanted to spend some time with Jake, so he got Regulus to agree to take them out to the reservation after lunch sometime.

They said their goodnights and then headed to bed. Kimi on the foot of Hadrian's bed and Toga at the door of his room. He only had about a week and a half left before school started back and he was even busier than the last two years. He was planning on working hard on his dueling class so that maybe starting the next year he could convince his dad to let him go the the beginners duels that were set up. He knew muggles did something similar with karate where they competed.

His Papa would never be able to convince his Dad to let him do that if he didn't show that he was ready when the time came to ask. He was going to be able to prove that he was ready.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"This is a great book," Bella said excitedly while she was flipping through the prank book. Hermione was smiling a bit softly.

"These things remind me of a set of twins that went to school at Hogwarts. They were huge pranksters and so fun to be around. I kind of miss them," Hermione told them.

"So write to them," Hadrian said with a shrug as he pulled the two vials out of his pockets and set them on the table. "I have already brewed one of the potions with my Papa last night. I want to find a way to get this to my uncle without being obvious that it is a prank.”

"Which one did you do?" Bella asked excitedly while Hermione picked up the vial to examine it.

"This one will change his skin color. I don't know how, because it is different every time it is consumed. It might make his skin pink this time and green polka dots next time. It is perfectly harmless and has a counter potion," Hadrian explained and set the second clear vial on the table. Hermione looked more accepting of it.

"Good, you don't want to do anything that could affect his job. Plus, you all live in a muggle town that you are very much part of, it would be a bit inconvenient for him to have colored skin," Hermione pointed out.

"Yeah, I know. That is why I chose something that could be countered easily after I have had my fun," Hadrian told her.

"Bake it," Bella said suddenly.

"What?" Hadrian asked.

"Bake it. Like into a cake or a pie or something. Or it says that the flavor if brewed correctly is tasteless, put it in a drink and give it to him," She clarified.

"That is so obviously simple. I don't know why I didn't think about it. I didn't read the part about it being tasteless," Hadrian told them bashfully. Hermione huffed.

"You didn't make sure to read everything about the potion before you decided to use it against your uncle?" Hermione asked.

"Well no, honestly it is in a joke shop that children can buy without a parent's consent. I just assume that means it has been looked over and deemed safe for children to use on other children," Hadrian told her with a shrug. Hermione sighed and but didn’t let it go.

"It won't always be that simple. Make sure that you read everything about a potion before you decide to brew it and use it on someone," Hermione insisted. “You could hurt someone.”

"Very good advice, Hermione," Regulus said from the doorway. "It is time for lunch and then I will take you lot to visit Jake. I am going to stick around this time. Billy wants company."

"All right, Dad thanks," Hadrian said and then stood up after Hermione gave him a pointed look. He smiled at her. He was safe with potions.

"Just for the record, 'Mione," Hadrian said as they sat at the dining room table. "I am always careful when I brew or do anything with potions. My Father is one of the top renowned, Potion Masters in the States. I would never embarrass him by not doing my absolute best every time that I decide to brew. I work extra hard in potions because my grades will reflect on my father. I mean I work hard on all of my work because my instructors are my family, and I want them to be proud of me. But for my Papa it is different. He is an expert in his field, and I am so proud of him and what he has accomplished for himself. I want him to know that, so I show it in my dedication to my coursework." Hermione and Bella were grinning at him when he finished and looked up at them.

"Well, I bet every father would give an arm and a leg to be able to hear their children talk about them like that." Hadrian jumped and turned around to see Severus standing in the doorway smiling softly at him.

"I am proud of you, Papa. I want to show you in the only ways that I know how. By excelling in potions even if I never want a mastery in it. I won't embarrass you, Papa," Hadrian told him. Severus ruffled his hair and pressed a kiss to his head.

"Such a good son, Hadrian. Just so that you know, you could never embarrass me. I know that you always do your best and if an accident occurs it is just a part of life, and I would never be embarrassed by you. Your dad and I are more than proud of you," Severus told him.

"What are you doing home?" Regulus asked as he walked back into the room.

"Forgot something in my office that I needed to pick a new apprentice. I decided to check and see what was for lunch while I was home," Severus sat down. Kreacher came in and snapped his fingers to place two plates of lunch on the table for the two of them.

"Good, then let's dig in," Regulus stated. The five of them enjoyed their lunch and then Severus headed back to work and the other four and the two Inu loaded up and headed to hang out at the reservation for a few hours.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I love your family," Hermione said when they were sitting around playing a card game on the beach. Hadrian looked up at her when no one else answered.

"What?" Hadrian asked confused. Bella and Jake laughed.

"Your family. It is very loving. All of you are so open about your affection and love. It is very open and trusting. My mom and dad love each other very much but there is still a bit of hesitancy to talk to them when I feel something is a bit embarrassing or I feel like they won't like what I have to say. It isn't like that with your family. I really like that," Hermione explained her train of thought. Hadrian shrugged.

"I didn't know that it wasn't normal?" Hadrian asked a bit confused. His uncles were the same way.

"He truly doesn't," Bella said and Jake nodded.

"What do you mean? If you can't be open and vulnerable with your family then who can you be?" Hadrian asked still confused.

"Hadrian, when you decide that you want to get into a relationship and it gets serious, who are you going to talk to when you start wondering about sex or kissing or anything like that?" Jacob asked.

"My dads, of course," Hadrian answered automatically.

"That right there is what we mean," Bella replied.

"Who will you all talk to?" Hadrian asked.

"Not my mom or dad," Hermione said and the others nodded. Hadrian did not understand that. His dads would talk to him about anything, and he trusted them to always be honest.

"Weird," Hadrian told them. "I trust my parents to always have my best interest at heart even if I don't agree with them. They love me and they want me to succeed in life."

"And that is the reason that we love your family. Most teenagers don't trust their parents like that. It is just how it is," Bella told him. Hadrian was once again so grateful for his family and the way that he was raised.

"Well, if you three ever need an adult to talk to that you trust, you are welcome to borrow either of my dads or my Uncle Mooney," Hadrian told them.

"Not your other uncle?" Hermione asked. Hadrian and the other two laughed.

"Definitely not. He is like another teenager honestly," Jacob answered her. They all shared a laugh and continued their game.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They spent a lot of time with Bella and Hermione and had a large barbeque the day before she had to leave to go back home. Hadrian got Sirius the day before the barbecue. He spent the entire day blue since it was a Saturday and he didn't have to work. Hadrian gave him the cure the next morning only five minutes before people were supposed to get to Hadrian's house. Sirius had been so proud that he had pulled off something so cool.

Then it was back to Bella, Hadrian, and Jacob spending as much time together as possible. It was a great summer, and the boys would be glad that it was such a nice summer. Bella didn't come back the next summer. She went on vacation with Hermione and her family to France in August. Apparently, they had a summer home there that they used sometimes.

That summer had been a little rough on all of them, but especially Charlie. He seemed to be a bit depressed but Hadrian and Jacob made it a point to visit him often and still made sure he was invited to everything they did, even if Bella wasn’t with him. Hadrian helped Charlie keep his house clean and brought him meals sometimes so that he wasn’t always eating at the dinner or frozen dinners. Jacob would come and take care of his yard for him when he got to busy to tend to it on his own.

Hadrian understood spending time with friends, but family was important, and he hoped Bella didn’t forget that in her excitement to do new things. Hadrian and Jake stopped hearing from her so often as she got busy with her life at school and in Florida. It was upsetting for both boys.

In the meantime, life went on for those in Forks. Even if Hadrian and Jacob were a little apprehensive about the summers now. They never knew if Bella was going to come back for a visit or not.