Chapter 4
Chapter 4
Hadrian's First Task
Hadrian was disappointed in Madam Maxime for cheating and immediately headed to Fleur without even thanking the woman. He was on a free period, but Fleur was not.
He was used to Madam Maxime being his Headmistress. She wanted her people to learn, to grow. She hated cheating. However, not this time. This time she wanted her students to survive. He understood, and the cunning in him knew it was a good move. However, the perfectionist in him was livid. Bagman had said it was a test of daring! Cheating wasn't daring!
"Fleur Isabelle Delacour!" He yelled, slamming the door to Fleur's 7th level Potion lesson open. "Did you know about the Dragons?" He demanded in french, "Because what Madam did was blatant cheating!" Fleur looked floored.
"How else are we supposed to win?" She asked, astonished.
"By not cheating! Merlin, what does it matter if we win, if we win by cheating!?" He exclaimed.
Professor Snape didn't understand what Hadrian was yelling, but he saw the burning anger in his eyes and his tone and merely stood there, reminded of Lily quite suddenly. The students just gawked, the French ones in disbelief.
"How many of you knew about the cheating?" Hadrian demanded, facing the few students in Beauxbaton blue. Each one immediately started denying him in french, waving their hands in denial and apology, a few looking on the verge of dramatic tears. He huffed, turning back to Fleur who was looking thoroughly scolded.
"I can't exactly stop you from doing it again, but just remember that I am of the House Ombrelune. I am not above manipulating people when I need to, but this is a Tournament! You're a Papillonlisse and you should be more thoughtful towards others!"
"Hadrian, I-" He simply glared, and she fell silent.
Hadrian turned and bowed to Professor Snape. "I apologize, Professor," He announced, accent heavier after the yelling. "Fleur and I needed to have a conversation. It could not wait." With that, Hadrian stormed off slamming the door behind him.
He found himself plopping down next to Nott in the library, and closing his eyes to breathe.
"You okay, Lord Black?" Nott asked quietly.
"Just call me Hadrian." He sighed, head falling into the table. "Fancy titles sound stupid in libraries."
"Alright, are you okay Hadrian?" Hadrian opened an eye and saw sincerity looking back at him. With a wave of his wand they were safely covered by a muffling spell.
"Madam Maxime cheated, and told me and Fleur what the first task is going to be." Hadrian fumed. "She said the point of the Tournament is to cheat to win, but I think that's disgusting. How will it be fair if only we know what the first task is? I'm definitely telling Cedric." Nott nodded slowly.
"You don't want an unfair advantage." Nott concluded.
"No I don't." Hadrian agreed. "Even if it costs me winning. I just can't condone cheating like this." He huffed and picked up a book. "I'll tell Cedric after dinner." Nott nodded and went back to his book.
Feeling Nott's approval, Hadrian relaxed and tried to focus on his books before dinner.
"Cedric, a word?" Hadrian grasped his sleeve. Cedric turned and looked at the younger boy, even though they were the same height Hadrian seemed almost delicate.
"Sure." He agreed easily. Hadrian let go of his sleeve and walked away, Cedric followed.
When they stopped in the courtyard, Cedric felt Hadrian put up muffling wards before facing him nervously, fingers fidgeting. Hadrian cleared his throat.
"My Headmistress cheated," Hadrian admitted, eyes on the stone at their feet, "and I know what the first task is. I hate unfair circumstances, so if you want to know what it is, I'll tell you." Cedric finally identified why Hadrian was nervous when he lifted his eyes to Cedric's. Hadrian was afraid Cedric would be angry with him.
"Hadrian," He stepped forward, "I'm not mad. I'd also really appreciate knowing what the task is." Hadrian's hands were still clutching his own robes, but the boy took a deep breath.
"I'm glad you're not mad." Hadrian told him. Cedric gently pried Hadrian's white-knuckle hands away from his blue robes and cupped then gently.
"So what's the task?" Cedric prompted, still gently holding Hadrian's hands.
"Dragons." Hadrian breathed. "We need to steal a Nest Mother's egg." Hadrian looked miserable as he made eye contact with Cedric again. "I swear it is, Madam Maxime somehow found out and she -" Cedric silenced Hadrian by squeezing his hands.
"Thank you for telling me." He breathed deeply. "I'd been really worried, so it's kind of good to know. Even if it's cheating and I don't approve of what your Headmistress did. Either way, it's not your fault and I'm not mad." Hadrian nodded shyly with a smile.
"I'm glad." He sighed. "Should we tell Krum?"
"What are the odds Karkaroff found out the same way Madam Maxime did?" Cedric prompted pointedly. Hadrian deflated.
"So Dumbledore was the only one who wasn't going to cheat? How is that more fair?" Hadrian huffed.
"Hogwarts is like that." Cedric shrugged. "Lucky we're friends, huh?" He winked.
"Yeah, friends." Hadrian's smile wobbled. "I have friends at Beauxbaton." Hadrian admitted softly. "But before school, I was abused, actually." Cedric's eyes widened. "I had nobody, and I'm terrified of going back to that." Luminous green eyes in a pale face greeted Cedric and a blush formed against his will. "You're my friend, and I'm afraid to lose you."
"You're my friend too. I'd never let you go back to being alone, or abused." Cedric reassured, squeezing his hands. "Let's go back inside, yeah?" Hadrian nodded, dropping his wards and their hands fell apart.
"Can I have a hug?" Hadrian asked slowly.
Cedric just stepped closer and slid his hands around Hadrian's waist. Hadrian wrapped his arms around Cedric's shoulders and pressed his face into Cedric's neck. Cedric realized that Hadrian was actually an inch taller than him, maybe two. He had just been so nervous he seemed smaller during the conversation.
Hadrian stayed there in the hug, just breathing, until he was sure Cedric wasn't mad and released him with a smile.
They walked back to the school, and Hadrian felt lighter knowing the weight of cheating he carried wasn't being carried alone.
In the morning he ended up in Transfiguration with the 4th year Gryffindors and Slytherins. As he walked in he caught sight of the back of Nott's head and strode over.
"Nott, Malfoy." He acknowledged, and then thoroughly plopped down between them. "Whoever you were saving this seat for has been evicted." Hadrian announced.
"Poor Blaise." Malfoy clicked his tongue.
"Call me Theo." Hadrian turned to see Nott looking at him dead on, face a little pink. "Yesterday you said I could call you Hadrian. So, call me Theo." Hadrian grinned.
"That's adorable, it suits you." He smirked as the boy went a little redder before turning to face the front where McGonagall was watching the clock, counting down until the last few Gryffindors were late.
The next few days were spent planning on what to do about the dragon, and Theo worrying over his shoulder.
"But what if they give the dragon free rein of a field? A protego shield won't save you for long." Theo fluttered from where he was looking at Hadrian's book, behind him.
"Theo, sit down." Hadrian ordered. "We have two weeks, getting anxious won't fix it." Theo swallowed, and walked around the table to plop down with his arms crossed.
"I'd feel much better if you just ran away from the thing. You're two years younger than the others!" Theo complained.
"Running away, no. Mobility? Absolutely." He turned his gaze back to Charms of Defence and Deterrence by Catullus Spangle. "Is there a spell to fly?"
"I wish you were allowed a broomstick. You're a great flier." Theo muttered, annoyed. Hadrian blinked and looked up.
"Why didn't I think of that?" He exclaimed. "I'll use my broomstick!"
"Didn't I just say those aren't allowed? Seriously, my complaining was pretty clear." Theo frowned. Hadrian laughed.
"But my wand is." He grinned, and Theo's eyes widened.
"Oh! Accio!" Theo then beamed.
Satisfied, the two hashed out where the best place to Accio it from would be, considering that the Task would likely be outdoors. They settled on leaving it on the Quidditch pitch. Accessible, in a relevant location, outdoors. Hadrian then put the whole thing completely out of mind.
Just when Hadrian started forgetting about the Tournament again, Theo reminded him.
"You know the First Task is tomorrow, right Hadrian?" Theo asked one day at the library, leaving Hadrian blinking.
"Is it?" Hadrian smiled lightly.
"It is. Tomorrow." Theo said again.
"Oh okay. I hadn't realized I'd been here nearly a month." Hadrian accepted easily. "We have a plan." Theo nodded, and they both went back to reading.
Hadrian didn't get nervous that night before bed. He didn't get nervous at breakfast, or during his lessons. He wasn't nervous as he was sitting at lunch and Madam Maxime came to fetch him and Fleur.
The nerves and fidgeting hadn't started until he was pushing away a heavy flap and entering the Champions Tent, Fleur by his side. She plopped down on a low stool, pale and shaky. He'd never seen her lose her composure in such a way.
Cedric was pacing badly while Krum sat looking sulky, which Hadrian assumed was nerves.
Hadrian stood himself between Fleur's chair and Cedric to stave off his own nerves, grabbing one of their hands each with his own shaking ones. Cedric froze and squeezed his hand, stopping his pacing. Fleur smiled wobbly from her seat.
Ludo Bagman came in enthusiastically as ever. "Everyone's here, good-o!" He was wearing odd yellow and black robes with a huge Wasp on his chest. It looked ridiculous. "Well, now we're all here, time to fill you in!"
Hadrian fidgeted, holding the two hands and shifting from foot to foot.
"When the audience has assembled I'm going to be offering each of you this bag from which you will each select a small model of the thing you are about to face!" He held out a small purple silk bag, and shook it happily. "There are different, uh, varieties, you see. And I have to tell you something else too.... Uh... Yes! Your task is to collect the golden egg!" He beamed.
Cedric nodded, and then let go of Harry to restart his pacing. He was looking more green by the second. Fleur and Krum didn't react, and Hadrian followed their example.
As they waited, Hadrian heard footsteps and laughs from outside as people made their way to the stadium. They joked and cheered as they stampeded by, and Hadrian couldn't help but think of how different they were from him at that moment.
Bagman was soon back and beaming, opening the purple bag. He held it out to a pale Fleur Delacour. "Ladies first."
Her hand shook as she reached in, and she seemed to be repressing a flinch as she pulled out a tiny model of a dragon. It had a number 2 on its neck. She wasn't surprised. Krum went next, pulling out a dragon labelled with a 3. He didn't blink, didn't react, just sat down heavily and stared at the ground.
Cedric swallowed as he reached in, drawing out a dragon labelled 1. Hadrian went last, extracting a menacing looking dragon with a very deadly looking tail. It stretched and bared its fangs. Hadrian knew nothing about the different types of dragons, and had no idea what the names of each type were. He glared at his tiny dragon as if it would help him somehow to do so.
"Well there we are!" Bagman beamed at the shaky Champions. "You have each pulled out the dragon you will face, and the number refers to the order in which you are to take on the dragons, do you see? Now, I'm going to leave you in a moment, because I'm commentating. Mr. Diggory, you're first, just go out into the enclosure when you hear a whistle, alright?" Cedric nodded, green as ever. Bagman left.
"We totally got this. Right?" Hadrian said, breathing deeply. Cedric didn't reply and Fleur put her head in her hands.
A whistle blew and Cedric scrambled to the door. He was then gone, and Hadrian stared after him. He soon heard a roaring crowd, signaling Cedric's arrival.
As cheers and gasps and screams echoed in his ears, he distracted himself by watching Fleur pace where Cedric had. Around and around while Krum stared at the floor. He ignored Bagman the best he could as he announced vague and frustratingly neutral things.
"Ooohh narrow miss there, very narrow!"
Fleur making a lap around the tent.
"He's taking risks, this one!"
Hadrian tapped his foot, unblinking and eyes burning, watching Fleur's skirt flutter as she moved.
"Clever move, pity it didn't work!"
Krum staring at the floor.
Time ticked down, fifteen minutes flowing by before a deafening roar that could only mean the Hufflepuff had succeeded. Hadrian sighed in relief while Fleur began trembling. He stood and grabbed her hand.
"Very good indeed!" Bagman's voice boomed. "And now the marks from the judges!"
"It's okay." He whispered to Fleur. "You've got this." He squeezed her hand and she grimaced at him. He felt like she regretted volunteering. He was solid knowing he'd been forced, but she didn't have that excuse. A whistle sounded.
"One down, three to go! Miss Delacour, if you please!" Bagman's voice was cheerful, but Fleur looked as if she'd faint. She left head held high and wand in a white gripped hand.
He sat in Fleur's seat and waited.
"Oh I'm not sure that was wise!"
He gripped the stool, and shut his eyes.
"Oh nearly! Careful now.. Good lord I thought she'd had it then!"
Deep breaths and steady heartbeats, ignoring the sulking company.
Ten minutes this time, the crowd cheered deafeningly and Harry sighed in relief. There was clapping and then a pause, and more clapping. Finally, a whistle.
"And here comes Krum!" Bagman was announcing before Hadrian knew it. The boy slouched out, still very sulky. Hadrian wondered if he was always like that.
As he waited he had his eyes shut, firmly listening but also ignoring everything. Hadrian had to remain calm, and he planned to.
"Very daring!"
A deep breath and a tentatively practiced smile. He could do this.
"That's some nerve he's showing, and, yes, he's got the egg!" Hadrian's eyes snapped open in surprise. Applause spilled into his head, crashing like waves all around him. He sighed as the whistle blew once more.
He exited the tent and walked through the gap in the enclosed area, a fence maybe. He smiled the smile he'd practiced, and was proud it seemed only slightly shaky. Everything around him was a sea of color.
Faces in a crowd.
Cheers in his ears.
A shimmering barrier distorting the outside.
Yellow eyes in a massive black body.
The dragon was thrashing her spiked tail back and forth, eyes on him but not moving. She stood protectively over her eggs, half curled up, wings out and around her precious treasures.
He held out his wand to the side and summoned his broom wordlessly. Accio Firebolt. He ordered mentally, reaching for his magical core. He waited, eyes narrowed as he watched the dragon and it watched him right back. Hadrian finally heard a whoosh and his broom zoomed into the space next to him, stood stock still at mounting height. He grinned, and hopped on quickly.
Zipping into the air he ignored everything apart from the dragon and the wind. He watched her carefully. She was squatting over her eggs but if he went low enough...
He dove, aiming for her head until just before she blew fire at him. He rolled then, lower, and flew under her head and over a wing, weaving towards the eggs.
"Great Scott he can fly!" Bagman was screaming. "Are you watching this Mr. Krum?"
Hadrian tightened the dive further, trying to dodge a sweeping and spiked tail that just barely caught his robe. It ripped at the shoulder, but he tucked in tighter, missing the rest of the spikes. Sharp front claws in his way, eggs could be seen between them.
Hadrian felt completely insane, but he let go of the broom and rolled between the claws as the dragon shrieked and the crowd roared.
He snatched the egg and dove out of the way as she moved her claws, dodging the spiked tail when it came for him as he ran. He held out a hand instinctively and the Firebolt was in his grasp again as he went soaring away.
"Will you look at that!" Bagman exclaimed as Hadrian reappeared, grinning as he held up the egg. "Our youngest Champion is the quickest to get his egg! This is sure to shorten the odds on Mister, I mean, Lord Black!" The crowd was screaming as he moved to the gap in the enclosure, dragon tamers rushing forward.
Hadrian lingered in the air, smiling and waving. His heart was pounding and his head was spinning from adrenaline. He acknowledged that he had everything under control, but that didn't lessen the fear and exhilaration of facing a dragon.
Hadrian soared down and dismounted to exit the arena. He nearly walked right into the Hogwarts medwitch, Poppy Pomfrey, waiting in front of a nearby tent.
"Dragons!" She exclaimed, waving him inside. He entered, pushing back the flap to study the area. It was divided into cubicles, and he could see Cedric's shadow through a screen. He was sitting up, at least. There were potion bottles and colorful creams and pastes strewn around the place, carts with towels and bandages in every cubicle.
Hadrian was ushered into his own cubicle, and she insisted he sit on a bed and everything. The medwitch examined the slash in his sleeve and Hadrian slid the sleeve off to expose his shoulder.
"Last year dementors, this year dragons, what are they going to bring into this school next year?" She squinted, seeing no damage to him and huffed. "You're fine. I'd best go tell them." She then turned and bustled away.
Theo and Malfoy came into view, throwing aside the tent flap hurriedly. "Hadrian, we saw you get swiped!" Both of them were pale.
"You saw my sleeve get swiped." He grinned, showing them his flawless shoulder. "Not even a papercut."
"Jesus, whoever entered your name must really be trying to kill you. That dragon was massive!" Malfoy exclaimed, running to his side and hovering anxiously.
"I'm okay, cousin." He grasped Malfoy's hand and squeezed it, before releasing it. Theo eyed them. "Let's go. Scoring, and all." He rolled his eyes and stood. Hadrian thought faintly that the Pomfrey at Gringotts was better than Poppy, as he left her tent.
Hadrian and his two escorts walked to the gap in the enclosure and looked up at the five judges he could suddenly see. Were they hidden before...?
"They score out of 10." Theo whispered.
Madam Maxime pointed her wand in the air and a silvery 9 appeared above her head, twisting out of her wand. Theo beamed and Draco grinned.
Mr Crouch also gave him a 9, as did Dumbledore and Bagman. Karkaroff gave him a 6, positively scowling. Hadrian saw Krum standing nearby, arms crossed. Hadrian wondered briefly if Krum had said something to his Professor. He had beaten Krum in Quidditch afterall. He smirked as the crowd went absolutely wild. He got 42 points out of 50.
"You're first!" Theo beamed. "You did it!" Hadrian grinned at him.
"I still think it's a pointless death sport." Malfoy laughed and Theo stuck his tongue out.
"You're the only champion to be uninjured." Theo huffed.
"Lucky me." Hadrian rolled his eyes. He paused seeing Cedric walk up, covered in orange paste. "Cedric!" He rushed over and hovered worriedly, resisting the urge to grab the boy.
"Nice flying, Hadrian." Cedric grinned, and laughed nervously.
"What happened to your face?" Hadrian's hand touched Cedric's unblemished cheek. It became tinged with pink at the contact and he pulled back with a sharp breath. "Sorry." Cedric cleared his throat.
"Ah, my strategy didn't work so well. I transfigured a rock into a dog to distract the dragon, and it worked, I got the egg. But it came back at me and got me with fire." He grinned sheepishly. "Anyway, we're needed in the Champions tent now." Hadrian nodded.
"I'll see you later!" He hugged the Slytherins and they smiled as he walked away with Cedric, waving.
They shoved into the tent, and took seats on stools as they waited. Fleur and Krum came in together, followed by a bouncy, beaming, Bagman. "Well done all of you! Now, just a few quick words. You've got a nice long break before the second task, which will take place at half past nine on the morning of February 24th, but we're giving you something to think about in the meantime! If you look down at those golden eggs you're all holding, you will see that they open... See the hinges there?" Hadrian squinted at the eggs and saw small seams in the gold, and the top did look a little like a clasp. "You need to solve the clue inside the egg, because it will tell you what the second task is, and enable you to prepare for it! All clear? Sure? Well, off you go then!" He shooed them out quickly with a beaming smile.
He exited with Cedric and Fleur, and began drilling them on what they did. Fleur had apparently Charmed the dragon to sleep to get the egg, but it had blown out a small flame and caught her skirt on fire. She'd been given 30 out of 50, putting her in last place.
Hadrian was told Krum cast a vicious spell into the dragon's eyes and it had trampled around the arena, blinded. He'd been docked heavy points for it because the blinded dragon had smashed some of the real dragon eggs. The dragon tamers were furious. He still received 40 points, because Karkaroff had given him a 10 regardless.
Cedric talked more in depth about his own run. Apparently his dog-used-to-be-rock had worked well in the beginning. Cedric had gotten all the way to the eggs before the dragon had lost interest in the dog, thus his burned face. He got 38 points in total.
Hadrian was in first, Krum in second barely, Cedric is third and Fleur in last. He complimented their strategies heartily, and they both beamed. They seemed happy he was acknowledging their efforts, which, obviously he would. They had done well.
Hadrian glared heavily as he saw Rita Skeeter jump out at the three Champions. "May I have a word? How do you feel about the scores?" She was in acid green that clashed horribly with her nails.
"Here's a word, bye." Hadrian said coldly, and promptly dragged the other two away.
In the following days Hadrian utterly ignored his egg, focusing on his Hogwarts lessons until Theo poked him hard enough a full week later.
"The sooner you figure it out, the sooner you can get back to studying." He'd said. Hadrian hated to agree, but reluctantly focused on the egg for one day.
He erected a silencing ward around himself one day as he sat in his carriage, mindful that the others on break between classes wouldn't want to be involved with whatever his clue was.
Clutching the top and wrenching it to the side, the whole thing spun open in multiple parts. He might've tried to study it, if there wasn't earsplitting wails emitting from the egg. Suddenly he was very grateful his schoolmates couldn't hear him.
Hadrian shut his eyes and tried to listen for anything in the tangle of shrieks. He heard screams and wails, shrieks and cries, warbled notes and broken sounds. He was hearing syllables, meaning it was a language. Hadrian shut the egg, briefly mourned his headache-free morning, and set off for the library. He was not good at creature languages, so he needed books.
"Ms. Pince?" He called lightly to the librarian, "Can you tell me what languages might be heard by humans as a series of screams, or shrieks?" She glared at him.
"Many underwater languages sound like high pitched shrieking, as well as some dark languages. Gobbledegook is often described as garbled growls." She pointed to one side. "There's a dark creatures dictionary in that row."
"Thank you so much!" He beamed and headed for the indicated row, skimming the titles as he went.
A Guide to Dark Creatures
Dark Languages
Merpeople: A Comprehensive Guide to Their Language and Customs
Dark Creatures And Their Lives
Which Dark Creatures Deserve Rights and Why
Dark Creatures Dictionary
Creature Languages and How Common They Are
Hadrian chose Creature Languages and How Common They Are, and Dark Languages before plopping down next to Theo. He was starting to think Theo skipped classes or something. The boy never left the library.
Nott eyed his books but said nothing. Hadrian spent the next hour skimming the books before he narrowed it down to just a few languages.
Gobbledegook: The Goblin native language is very hard for humans to learn. Most commonly, a human must grow up learning the language in order to speak it as an adult. It is often described as a warbled language, head in growls or shrieks.
Mermish: The Merfolk or 'Mermaid' language is said to be as beautiful as bird song, when listened to properly. It's understood immediately by any human or creature no matter their native language(s) when listened to underwater. When exposed to air above ground, it's a horrifying sound made of screams and shrieks.
Troll: Many people believe Trolls don't have an official language. It sounds like grunts and snarls and sometimes growls, but it does indeed contain learnable syllables and words. It's an uncommon language most people don't invest much time in, since Trolls have no interest in talking to humans.
Parseltongue - Basilisks: Basilisks are snakes, and speak the snake language known as Parseltongue. However, it's a slight variation. People who learn Parseltongue but aren't naturally attuned to it will find it difficult to speak in the presence of a Basilisk. However, natural born Parseltongue speakers will have no issues. The language sounds like a sliding hissing, sometimes as harsh as a high pitched shriek.
Examining each description carefully, he nodded and decided. "Mers. Of course, the lake." Hadrian muttered. He then stood and walked back over to the shelves for Merpeople: A Comprehensive Guide to Their Language and Customs.
He plopped back down and opened it, scanning for confirmation.
Merpeople have their own language, Mermish, and their culture is heavily loving of music of their own creation.
Evidence that the Merpeople have their own culture has been seen though their highly organised communities and dwellings. They contain usable housings made of stone, and have been known to domesticate aquatic creatures nearby like the Grindylow, Hippocampus, and Lobalug. This is reminiscent of how wizards domesticate their own pets.
"This is it!" Hadrian exclaimed. "Of course." Theo looked up at him.
"Pardon?" The boy reached over to get a look at the book. Hadrian blinked at his hand, and then beamed. Grabbing Theo's hand in excitement, he pulled it towards the book and set it down on the paragraph. Theo stood, stared, and looked down at the merfolk description.
"I figured it out, the lake!" Hadrian beamed. He squeezed Theo's hand excitedly and then released him. "Thanks Theo!"
"For what?" He heard the boy call, but Hadrian was already headed for the lake. He'd been warned to avoid the lake, of course. Madame Maxime said it had mermaids and squids and demons. Perfect.
To double check, he stuck the egg into the lake, and watched as Mers came to him. Lifting it still open out of the water, it shrieked and so did the Mers as they surfaced.
Hadrian thanked them and apologized in french, ignoring the fact that they almost definitely didn't understand him. He immediately headed for his carriage that held a communal male bath. He needed to listen to it underwater!
Not even bothering to strip, Hadrian stepped in fully clothed and dunked the egg under. He opened it and watched it glow for a moment before shutting his eyes and putting his head in the water, listening to the message.
"Come seek us where our voices sound,
We cannot sing above the ground,
And while you're searching ponder this;
We've taken what you'll sorely miss,
An hour long you'll have to look,
And to recover what we took,
But past an hour, the prospect's black,
Too late it's gone, it won't come back."
Hadrian listened to the haunting chorus of voices twice, before firmly shutting it and exiting the bath. He discarded his soaked blue silk jacket, and left the carriage still dripping wet. His white blouse was pasted to his skin with water, but he didn't particularly care. Not bothering to cast drying and warming spells, Hadrian walked through the castle in search of a Hufflepuff. Several students choked and stared as he walked by, but he ignored them, grin firmly in place.
He beamed when he spotted Cedric and ran over before grabbing Cedric's hand and squeezing it in excitement. Cedric turned from his friends in surprise, ignoring how his friends regarded Hadrian with wariness. He was sopping wet after all, they were bound to be confused.
"Cedric, did you figure it out? The clue?" Hadrian asked excitedly, his accent thickening. Cedric frowned.
"The egg? No, it shrieks." Hadrian's eyes sparkled. "Why are you all wet?"
"It was a prank." He waved his free hand in dismissal. "I figured it out! Theo's been bugging me about ignoring it, so I solved it." He beamed at Cedric's amused and unsurprised face. "I also checked the rules. It says Champions cannot seek outside help, but allows the Champions to work together. Obviously I'd love it if you worked it out yourself, but if you haven't by the end of January I'll tell you. Sound fair?" Hadrian proposed.
"For the record, I'm not surprised it was so easy for you." Cedric informed him. "The next Task isn't for three months, right?" He asked as Hadrian wiped water out of his eyes.
"February 24th." Hadrian nodded. "I'd essentially be giving you a month to prepare after telling you." Cedric grinned.
"I can respect that. I agree, thank you." Hadrian beamed again and released his hand.
"Bye Cedric." He said. Hadrian gave Cedric's friends a wink before walking away.
Cedric was left staring after him, as always. His hand and sleeve were soaked, as was the floor and hallway Hadrian had come from and stood in.
"Jeez, I can see why you're crushing on him. He is a dream." Malcom whistled. "Does he always walk around like that? Not everyone can pull off looking like a drowned rat but that French boy's abs…" Cedric smacked his friend lightly as the surrounding Hufflepuffs laughed. Cedric grinned, reassured his friends didn't hate the new person he'd claimed, and approved the friendship.