Chapter 23
‘Godric's Hollow is a frankly unimpressive place’ thought Tom while looking around the little magical village. The streets were filled with children in monster costumes and houses covered in muggle Halloween (‘Samhain’-Tom) decoration. The entire place was too boring for his tastes, the houses all looked too generic, there were muggles running around and the people here had no respect whatsoever for manners.
‘We are schedule, let’s start moving," murmured Regulus while stepping around him to lead them to the cottage that hid their son. The further they went into the village the worse it got, there were muggles everywhere. It would be almost impossible to raise a magical child there, their accidental magic could reveal the whole wizarding world if done at the wrong place or time.
The closer they got to the Potter cottage the clearer they could see it. They knew immediately that this was the house, even without feeling their son’s magic, the house looks boring among a village of boring houses like someone was trying to make it inconspicuous but did their job too well. The flowerbeds were too perfect, the colors matched too well, there was a list of things that irritated the wizards about that particular house.
“Bring our son home.” That’s all Regulus said before turning invisible with his brother and Severus, leaving Tom to get their son back.
Without wasting a second, Tom applied his glamour and moved closer to the front door. The Potters were awake it seemed, the sound of their laughter coming through the door. Tom didn’t care much for who was in the way and blasted the door into pieces.
The family inside were shocked into silence before the fat ginger baby in Evans’s hands started screaming, snapping the adults out of it.
“Lily take Godric and go!” was all James Potter could say before a spell hit him from Voldemort and made him lose consciousness. Lily was already half-way up the stairs when the thud of a body hitting the ground hit her ears. She glanced back only for half a second to see James’s unconscious body on the floor before speeding up and running into the upstairs nursery to call for help.
Moving away from the body on the floor, Tom made his way upstairs to follow the woman who had stolen his son. Upstairs there were 3 rooms, 2 bedrooms and a bathroom. ‘It’s quiet, too quiet for a house having screaming child problem’ thought Tom, analysing the rooms. Upon realising that the door labeled GODRIC in big gold letters was covered in enough silencing charms to silence an orchestra he magicked the door open. This time not blasting it because there was a good chance his son would be in there.
The scene that greeted him in the room made his ears hurt and burning hot rage shoot through him. There he was his beautiful son who he hadn’t seen for months sobbing his little heart out in standing in a nearly collapsing crib while Lily Potter was shushing her son and sending a patronus.
He moved forward intending to take his son and leave. “Give me the child and you might get out of here alive” Lily Potter didn’t even hesitate before she started screaming and crying back to him joining the children “YOU WON’T TAKE MY GODRIC HE IS MY PERFECT BABY AND HE HASN’T DONE ANYTHING WRONG” Where she got the idea that he wanted the Potter child he had no idea but that didn’t matter “I don’t want him, I want the child behind you”
Hadrian had stopped crying while that exchange happened and while still tearful was now holding his little hands out towards Tom, clearly recognising his Dada and wanting to be picked up.
“Why would you want him? I don’t even want him anymore but Dumbledore said that I have to raise it now because I asked for it. Though I do suppose he would be a good toy for Goddy to play with growing up” mused the women, clearly forgetting the increasingly angry dark lord in the room with her.
Having had enough of her, Tom quickly shot her with a spell and floated the crying child she was holding to what he assumed to be his bed, though it looked more like a king size bed with bars around it. After the screamer was spelled to sleep he quickly moved towards his son who was now smiling up at him. Hadrian started giggling and squealing “Dada, Dada, Dada!” the moment he reached him and bent down to pick him up. When he was high enough to reach, little Hadrian wrapped his hands around his neck and refused to let go, now quietly repeating Dada to himself and occasionally asking “Papa?”.
“We will meet him soon little Prince, Papa is waiting for us, he misses you so much” Said Tom softly while kissing his son’s head and bouncing him. ‘He has grown so much’ thought Tom with amazement and a touch of sadness while hugging his son closer.
“Let’s go meet Papa” said Tom while picking up a random beige blanket to cover his son so that he doesn’t get a cold while they are outside.
Tom holding Hadrian stepped out of the house and signaled for Regulus and others to go home and that he would be right behind them as everything went according to plan. Hearing the pops of others apparating, he was about to apparate himself and Hadrian when he heard that voice.
“And where are you going with the Potter child, my boy?” Asked Dumbledore’s obviously fake grandfatherly voice behind him. Tom didn’t answer him instead trying to apparate away, to his frustration he discovered that Dumbledore has set up anti-apparition wards. The silence however frustrated Dumbledore who isn’t used to being ignored, being Merlin’s blessing to wizards around the world after all. *Insert eyeroll here*
"Give me Harry, Tom!" demanded Dumbledore, now getting angry from not getting his way, he had his wand in his hand aimed at Hadrian.
The only thought going through Tom’s head right now is how to get his son out of there. He decided to stall for a bit to try and activate the emergency portkey he had taken with him just in case. “And why would I do that Albus, you have a whole school full of them, what makes this one special?" Tom asked, hoping that Dumbledore didn’t know whose child Hadrian was and thought he was some random dark family offspring.
Tom, after making sure that his son would not be hit if Dumbledore decided to start firing spells, gripped his son tightly to his chest. "My boy, you must understand I can not let a child be raised by dark wizards who knows what they will teach him. Give me Harry so I can make sure he is raised right. And what purpose do you have for a child ?" droned the oblivious headmaster. He was oblivious to Tom readying to activate a portkey, as he was still going on about his “greater good”.
“Tenebris regnabit”
And before Dumbledore could even think of firing they were gone. They were back home where they belonged, protected, loved and safe.