Carpe Noctem
He was exhausted. He just wanted everything to be okay, and it wasn't. He looked into the red eyes and sighed, letting his head drop. He would accept his fate. He always welcomed Death as an old friend if only said friend would take him. He knew at 14 that likely sounded depressing, but it was true.
"Are you ready to die, Potter?" the man known as Lord Voldemort asked in parseltongue.
"I am, My Lord." said the young teen in the matching language.
The man stopped dead in his tracks. Three things made notice in his mind that night. First was the willingness to die. The second was the parseltongue ability. Third, yet not least, was the boy calling him his Lord. Turning to him, Crucio red met Avada Kedavra green with stunning eyes.
"You called me your Lord.." He stated softly. It felt wrong for the child. As if he was not supposed to be below him in some way.
"I," he paused before sighing once more. "My name is not Harry Potter. It is actually Hadrian Thomas Peverall. I am the direct descendant of all three Peverall brothers. My parents are"
"Do not say it.." whispered the man nearly beggingly.
"James Fleamont Peverall nee Potter and Thomas Marvolo Peverall nee Riddle."
There was the truth laid bare. The one Lord Voldemort did not wish to accept. That James truly did not leave him. That his mate did not betray him and have a child with that witch. That he killed his mate and nearly killed his child. A child he did not know existed.
Looking back, he saw the child drop what he supposed were glamours. He had pale skin with sharp features, his eyes a darkened hazel, and his hair dark brown and still wild. He still looked so much like James that it hurt. His mind then changed to think of Pettigrew, who was still cowering nearby.
"WORMTAIL!!" shouted the Dark Lord furiously. "Give me your arm, no, the other one!"
He summoned his free followers except for two: Bartemius Crouch Jr. and Severus Snape. Them both being at Hogwarts was more important currently. Watchung one by one as his followers returned, he tried to keep his anger at bay. He scared them slightly before truly beginning.
"We have a traitor among us. Someone who cost me my mate and almost my child. Someone amongst you lied to me about my mate having a child with Lily Evans." He paused, letting his words sink in before turning to his right. "Wormtail, do you have guilt for lying to your Lord?"
"Y-y-yes, My L-Lord!" stuttered the man.
"Hmm," he turns and releases his son, letting the child fall into his arms. "What shall his punishment be, my son?"
Harry Potter was always a kind soul, but Hadrian Peverall was a Slytherin with a want of justice for his Godfather, so he smirked. "Send him into the ministry. I wish for my Godfather to be free."
"HOW DO WE KNOW THAT IS YOUR SON?" yelled a lowly Death Eater.
Hadrian sighed, having expected this, and pulled a parchment from his robes. On it laid his proof. Of course, it held the Gringotts symbol. One that could never be forged.
BIRTH CERTIFICATE:
REAL (FAKE)
Name:
Hadrian Thomas Peverall
(Harry James Potter)
Date of Birth:
July 31st, 1980
(July 31st, 1980)
Mother:
James Fleamont Peverall Née Potter
(Lily Jean Potter Née Evans)
Father:
Thomas Marvolo Peverall Née Riddle
(James Fleamont Potter)
Godfather:
Sirius Orion Black the Third
(Sirius Orion Black the Third)
Godmother:
Bellatrix Druella Lestrange Née Black
(Alice Marie Longbottom Née Fawcett)
Godbrother:
Leo Sirius Black
(Neville Franklin Longbottom)
Godsister:
Cassieopia Bella Lestrange
(None)
"There, my son, your Dark Prince, has provided proof to me. Anything else before I plan your death?"
"N-No, my Lord."
That was the last thing Hadrian heard before blackness took over.
When Hadrian woke next, he was in a large room. He also noticed he was in a bed that had black sheets and a dark forest green comforter. To his right was his Sire in a chair, sleeping very uncomfortably.
The man looked a bit disheveled from where Harry sat. His hair was all over the place, and his clothes were wrinkled. It made the boy wonder how long he had been there.
"He has been there since you both arrived, My Prince." called out a feminine voice softly.
Looking to the door, he saw Severus Snape and Narcissa Malfoy. Narcissa looked pleased and happy. He couldn't quite understand why, however. Severus looked sour. Of course, he quite expected that.
"H-How long?" Hadrian asked.
"A week," Severus stated as he began a diagnostic spell. "Dumbledore is displeased. Granger and the two youngest Weasleys don't care. The twins have been glaring at me. Longbottom, Finnigan, and Thomas keep whispering to each other and making life hell for Granger and the two youngest Weasleys."
"Thank you."
"For what, you insufferable boy." Snapped the man. "For simply telling you what you wanted to know without you asking? For healing you?! How dare you come and act as if you are our Prince! I am on to you, Potter!"
"Severus!" Gasped Narcissa. "How dare you speak to him in such a way!"
"Yes, Severus," came the tired voice of Lord Voldemort. "How dare you?"
In the better lighting, Hadrian could see where he got his pale skin, sharp features, and darker eyes. He could also see where he gained his glare from. It was quite infamous back in Surrey once he learned his heritage.
"My Lord, I, erm."
"He provided proof, not that it is any of your business." The man rose and applied a straightening spell on his clothes. "Hadrian, son, I have some business to attend to, but I will be back in a few hours at most."
"Father," Hadrian watched as his Father paused and turned to him. "W-What are you doing?..."
Thomas smiled softly before sitting next to him. He wrapped an arm around him, pulling his son close. He chose to ignore the flinch yet fight to embrace it. He chose to simply be there for his son at this time.
"I am going to Gringotts, then the Ministry, to make sure you are able to be recognized as my son." He says softly. "I refuse to let anything else happen. When I return, however, I will tell you how your Papa and I met?"
"Papa?.." Hadrian asks in a tired whisper.
"That is what James wanted you to call him. I would also prefer Dad over Father. James and I didn't wish to have you be snob sounding." Thomas sighed softly. "James would be so proud of you, Hadrian. Merlin knows I am. So very proud."
"Really?"
The desperation in his son's voice reminded him of how he was with Arcturus Black when the man said he was proud of him. It was the first time an adult had truly said it to him. So for his son to have the same response killed him inside.
"Really, truly, I am." He said, kissing his son's forehead much as Melania Black, Orion's mother, did to him all those years ago. "Get some more rest. I'll be sending you back to Hogwarts tomorrow."
"Must I?...." He asks despairingly.
"Yes, you must. I still have yet to find up a lie for why you disappeared with Diggory."
"Malfunction of the portkey could work. It hadn't been used in centuries, right?"
"My little genius!" Thomas exclaimed happily, hugging his son. "I'm glad you have my brain for such things. Your Papa couldn't come up with such plans unless it was done impulsively."
"We could also say you found us which, as you recognized me immediately, you took us to safety." Hadrian continues. "But you wanted to give us time to heal. Speaking of Diggory, though.."
"I am here, Harry!" Cedric Diggory called out as he ran into the room with a healer chasing him.