Chapter 12
Chapter 12
Venomous Tentaculas
After testing was over, September bled into October and classes started in earnest. Along with classes came the start of Hadrian's Prefect patrols, which were thankfully uneventful.
Hadrian received several letters from his friends back at Hogwarts, including Draco, Theo, and Fred. He'd written back and admitted to missing them horribly, even if Hadrian felt the relief of being back at Beauxbaton was stronger than the longing he felt for Hogwarts. Aside from the students, the thing Hadrian missed most from Hogwarts was the starry ceiling above the Great Hall.
October wasn't much more exciting than September had been, though his friends seemed to be really excited about Halloween. Not that he minded, of course; his life had been forever changed on October 31st all those years ago, and Hadrian was sure all three of his parents would want him to be happy on Halloween despite the stain of their deaths residing on it.
That was why he smiled despite his exhaustion when the day before they started chattering his ears off and excitedly talking about the lack of Nymphs. On Halloween, all of the Nymphs in the castle would leave so the students could celebrate during meals as much as they wanted. For Amelie, that was one of the things she was really excited about. Hadrian liked the way her new hair looked, but her entire dorm still sort of hated her.
"Can we come?" Jaecen asked as Hadrian started towards the north exit.
"Sure, but I meant it when I said I was going to read." Hadrian smiled.
"I know, but maybe Henry will play us. D'think Trollman plays at all? I know Trill does." Amelie said thoughtfully.
"I wouldn't put it past him, but I also wouldn't hold your breath." Hadrian told her. "You can ask them when we meet everyone."
"Finally!" Jaecen pumped a fist, "A Sunday we don't spend studying because Hadrian wants to spend time on a broom."
"I'll still be studying, technically." Hadrian shrugged, "I'm taking Magical Creatures with me."
"Isn't that book focused more on Dark creatures?" Amelie frowned, "Monsieur Dupont probably won't be teaching anything from there."
"Yeah, but there's not much else I can do." Hadrian grimaced, "He didn't give us a textbook so I can't read ahead."
"You mean learn ahead." Jaecen corrected teasingly as they reached the lounge and their friends, "Is being in Year 4 really that bad?"
"No, I just don't like it." Hadrian said, and then sighed. "Hey guys."
"Hadrian." Trollman nodded. "Why're we studying today?"
"Actually, I'm going to the Quidditch pitch to read on my broom." Hadrian smiled at them, "Amelie and Jaecen want to throw around a Quaffle or something, so they're coming too."
"Oh, I want to come!" Trill said immediately, "Jaecen and I make a great team." That was kind of obvious, since they were both Beaters.
"I don't really play, but I don't mind messing around." Henry laughed, "I'm down."
"I'll just read with Hadrian." Trollman shrugged.
"On a broom?" Henry raised an eyebrow at his friend.
"Just because I don't like Quidditch doesn't mean I don't know how to sit on a broom." Trollman rolled his eyes. "Besides, it's not like it's hard. It's just balance."
"I can't read and balance at the same time." Amelie volunteered with a grin. "So ha, it is hard." Trollman gave her a pointed look, and she laughed.
"Let's go!" Jaecen grinned.
Hadrian laughed as those who played to play ran off to their dormitories for brooms and maybe Quidditch robes. He was glad they were so happy.
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On Halloween, which was a Tuesday, Hadrian and his friends enjoyed talking quietly during their meals and laughing about what had happened in previous years. Hadrian also took the time to talk about Hogwarts in more detail than he'd ever given them previously. Jaecen and Amelie were happy to listen, and he was happy to tell them.
They did tell him 'Happy birthday', but they also knew he didn't love celebrating it. Hadrian liked Halloween, but celebrating his birthday on a day that definitely wasn't his felt really weird.
Before dinner, during slot four, Hadrian and Henry walked to Year 6 Herbology outside the South exit, a class which they'd been enjoying since the start of classes.
"Take your seats please." Monsieur Habsan called, clearly counting heads as he went. "Yes, everyone, please find a garden bed to sit at."
"This is suspicious." Henry muttered, kneeling down next to Hadrian and eyeing the plantless soil.
"Okay! As you can see, there is nothing in the garden beds." Monsieur Habsan smiled, "Today we'll be planting Venomous Tentacula, and everyone will have their own. For the next four months you'll be learning how to take care of a Venomous Tentacula, and avoid the dangers that go with them. Now, can anyone tell me what a Venomous Tentacula is?" Hadrian raised his hand. "Black!"
"A Venomous Tentacula is a minorly sentient Carnivorous Plant that uses a variety of offensive methods to catch prey as well as defend from predators." He recited, "They have venom, poison, spikes, and nettles that work in tandem to help the plant hunt and survive."
"Excellent Lord Black, thank you." Monsieur Habsan nodded in approval. "The seeds themselves are rather special as well. Can someone tell me why? Yes, Redrea?"
"They rattle even when completely motionless because they're speculated to be moving inside the outer shell even before being planted." Heiress Redrea answered evenly.
"That's right." Habson grinned. "Now, I'll come around and hand out your seeds. Everyone needs to plant them exactly six inches below the surface to start, and then encourage them to grow using the Herbivicus Charm. Let them peek out of the soil, but do not let them grow any further. Be careful."
"Venomous Tentacula? Really?" Henry sighed. "I hate those."
"You've seen them before?" Hadrian demanded, "When? Where?"
"We have them at home." Henry blinked, "Father keeps them as pets."
"Lucky." Hadrian groaned, "Venomous Tentacula are one of the coolest Carnivorous Plants out there!! They have so many protections and they hunt so well."
"Only you Hadrian, only you." Henry sighed.
"Here, treat them well." Monsieur Habsan smiled as he handed them each a seed. He moved on and Hadrian stared at the seed happily.
"It does rattle." Hadrian gasped in delight, holding it up to his ear. "Fascinating."
"You're ridiculous." Henry rolled his eyes at him so Hadrian stuck his tongue out.
"I wonder why it's six inches…" Hadrian muttered as he started digging vertically downwards. "Does it impact the Tentacula's growth if it's buried under too much soil? Or maybe if it's too close to the surface something will interfere with it and contaminate the seed?"
"Why don't you just ask?" Henry looked at him funny, and Hadrian grinned.
"What's the fun in that? We're going to be studying them for months."
"Nerd." Henry muttered, and Hadrian snorted.
"There." He dropped his seed into the hole and gently replaced the soil, not packing it down on top and letting it remain loose. "Herbivicus." Hadrian murmured, pointing his wand at the hole.
A small green sprout poked out of the ground, and Hadrian stopped. He studied the stem closely, leaning over the box.
"I wonder if they have vines and things growing underneath the soil." Hadrian said quietly, "It could be just roots, but–"
"They do." Henry confirmed, and Hadrian looked up at him in surprise. "Under the soil they have their signature red spiked vines to protect the seed. Even once it's fully grown, the vines under the surface make it nearly impossible to repot or dig up. It's why they're so invasive, and why infestations are so hard to get rid of."
"Cool." Hadrian grinned. "What do you feed the ones you have back home? I know Tentacula’s eat Chizpurfle, but they’re so small I don’t know why anyone would use them as a main food source.”
“We mainly Doxies.” Henry shrugged. “They’re easy to get from most Creature shops.”
“Oh, Biting Fairies.” Hadrian nodded, “I can see why they’d like those.”
“Mother keeps the Doxies as pets too.” Henry paused to mutter his Herbivicus Charm before continuing. “They reproduce so quickly they’re actually sustainable as both pets and a food source.”
“Your parents sound like they like Magical Creatures and Plants.” Hadrian laughed.
“Mother’s a Herbologist, but she did a lot of training in Magizoology when she was in school.”
“Did you learn a lot about Magical Beings growing up, then?” Hadrian asked, tilting his head.
“Naturally.” Henry grinned, “Father also works with Plants, in a way. He works with Potioneers as an advisor, because he’s good with ingredients but not Potions, so they tag-teamed teaching me about plants.”
“Wow.” Harry blinked, “Why don’t you have your Mastery yet?”
“I don’t really have any interest in plants.” Henry shrugged. “I’m perfectly happy to go with my age group and make my way to a Mastery that way.”
“That makes sense.” Hadrian nodded in understanding. He shifted to sit more comfortably before adding, “Have you given much thought it’ll what you’ll do after school?”
“Not really, it’ll come to me when it comes to me.” Henry shrugged, “What about you?”
“Something involving Magical Creatures.” Hadrian said immediately, grinning brightly. “Anything works. Helping take care of them at sanctuaries? Love it. Hunting down rogues and giving them to sanctuaries? Absolutely. Studying new ones in the wild? I’m down.”
“Yeah, that sounds like you.” Henry laughed. Hadrian nodded happily, and they both turned to Monsieur Habsan as he started talking again.
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Hadrian gasped awake and tried to breathe through the pounding of his heart and the ache in his lungs. It wasn't easy.
Hallways. Hadrian didn't know why, but he was seeing hallways. Dark and twisted hallways that he did not understand. They seemed to spiral forever, the barest minimum of light peeking through between the cracks under doors and making the light on black walls shine and dance.
It… probably wasn't Voldemort. It wasn't the same as the visions he'd seen from him. Hadrian vividly remembered how violent and painful those had been, and the dreams weren't like that. The hallways came from somebody else, someone who could penetrate his Occlumency walls while he was sleeping and use that against him. But someone so powerful shouldn't be wasting their time showing him hallways. It just made no sense.
Despite that fact, Harry still woke up shaking and gasping for the fourth night in a row. If it didn't stop soon, he'd have to ask Med Witch Triosh for Dreamless sleep Potions. They were highly addictive, which was why Harry hadn't ever considered it before. But the hallways…
"Hadrian." He startled and whipped his head to the side, swinging into the darkness, and he saw Jqecen's face. He was standing next to Hadrian's bed, gently parting the curtains so he could step into Hadrian's area. "Are you okay?"
"What're you doing up?" Hadrian was glad his voice wasn't too hoarse. It was proof he hadn't been screaming in his sleep.
"I was listening for you." Jaecen shrugged, "I wanted to see if it would happen again."
"What?" Hadrian couldn't help how small it sounded as he spoke, and Jaecen came to sit on the edge of his bed.
"Look, I thought maybe you were just stressed and that's why you were having trouble sleeping." Jaecen ran a hand through his hair. "But that's not it, I think. I don't know if it's been more than just three nights, but you always wake up around two in a panic. I can hear you crying sometimes, but usually it's just muffled hyperventilation."
"I don't know what to say." Hadrian shook his head and looked away from his friend.
"Look, I know I'm not any good at any of this stuff, but I'm here for you." He looked back at Jaecen, who was wearing a sheepishly embarrassed expression that made Hadrian want to laugh a little. "Do you want one of your books or something?"
"No, thanks though." Hadrian smiled tiredly. "I should probably try to go back to sleep." Jaecen gave him a look that meant he knew Hadrian didn't go back to sleep after waking up.
"I'm staying then." Jaecen declared, "Shove over." Hadrian blinked at him, but he scooted to the other side of the bed to allow Jaecen to slip under the covers and lay down. Hadrian had previously been sitting up, but he joined Jaecen laying flat again.
"Why?" Hadrian asked, confused.
"I have three younger siblings." Jaecen smiled, putting his arm under his head. "When they have nightmares and wake up crying, I'm the one who puts them back to bed. My parents work a lot to support us, especially because of how young my siblings are."
"They're not at Beauxbaton?"
"No, my sister is eight and the twins are only two."
"Wow… that's quite the age gap." Ten years between Jaecen and his little sister.
"Yeah." Jaecen sighed. "When they have nightmares, I make us all a huge blanket fort and we all go to sleep on the floor of their playroom together. Being together like that… it helps them sleep."
"Oh." Hadrian realized. Jaecen was helping him the only way he knew how. "... Thank you."
"Yeah, sure." Jaecen sighed, and then closed his eyes.
Hadrian and Jaecen laid facing each other, close enough to feel the warmth coming off the other but not touching. It was odd for Hadrian. He'd never shared a bed with anyone before, but he found he didn't mind. Jaecen's soft breathing was an odd sort of comfort.
Hadrian didn't fall back asleep, but he also didn't spend the rest of the night trembling and desperately trying to figure out the puzzle and maze of the hallways in his mind either. It wasn't perfect, but it was an improvement. Baby steps.