Chapter 7
Chapter 7
Shenanigans Galore
The next morning he sat with his school at Ravenclaw, laughing with Fleur who apparently had sampled the spiked punch one time too many before she disappeared with Roger. Hadrian was unsympathetic as he blatantly laughed at her woes. Cedric approached him with 15 galleons, and Fred ended up handing over 5 Sickles. Hadrian always won his bets.
The next few weeks were uneventful as New Years passed and he waited for January to be over. He mentioned the egg to Cedric, but the boy was stuck.
"I've tried everything I can think of." He was ranting one day coming back from an actually informative lesson of Care of Magical Creatures. Apparently the huge teacher was 'indisposed' because of some article. Hadrian didn't particularly care considering the new teacher was more competent.
"You're stuck then?" Hadrian grinned.
"I tried a language translation spell and it came up with nothing, I tried a silencing spell and tried to see if it had something inside it, I even tried breaking it! Did you know how f-freakin indestructible the thing is?" Hadrian laughed as he stumbled over his words.
"I did notice, yes." He smirked. "Only two more weeks Ced. I believe in you." Cedric sighed.
"I'm considering just giving in and asking for the answer early." He slumped.
"We made a deal." Hadrian clicked his tongue and crossed his arms. "You're not getting anything out of me early!" He huffed a laugh at Cedric's exaggerated eye roll.
"Yeah yeah, whatever." Cedric shoulder checked him and Hadrian scowled playfully.
"I've got Defense and then I’m headed for the library. What class do you have next?" Hadrian peaked at the folded schedule near falling out of Cedric's bag.
"I got Charms." He sighed. "Malcolm is gonna kill me if I'm late. See ya Hadrian!" He called and then ran off down the corridor. Hadrian huffed and headed to class.
"I expect a foot of parchment on curses by Tuesday." Professor Moody was growling. "Dismissed!"
Hadrian grabbed his bag and stood, walking out in the middle of a pack of chatting Ravenclaws. His eyes surveyed his path as he wove between students, headed for the library.
He caught sight of a gaggle of Gryffindors, two tall redheads included, and beamed. They were wearing Quidditch robes too, which seemed very interesting.
"Fred, George!" He took off running, and the twins turned with nearly matching grins. Fred stepped forward arms out and caught Hadrian in a tight hug, laughing as he did. "What're you up to, strangers?" He grinned as he was released.
"We're headed to the Pitch," Fred said quickly, gesturing to his red Quidditch robes and gear.
"Some light-hearted Quidditch nonsense since the Quidditch Cup was cancelled." George finished.
"Care to join us, beautiful?" Fred winked. Hadrian giggled and nodded.
"I'll meet you there, let me grab my broom and robes!" He quickly kissed Fred's hand and ran off laughing.
Hadrian waved to Theo as he ran by him on the way to his carriage, and changed. He took off his Beauxbaton uniform and replaced it with flowing Quidditch robes in bright silver. He grabbed his Firebolt and ran back through the castle. People stared as he raced by, clearly readied for Quidditch, and soon people were cheering in excitement. Hadrian laughed freely. Let them watch. This wasn't a competition, he was playing just because it was fun.
When he got to the Quidditch pitch, his redheads were waiting. They both had Beater’s bat over their shoulders and grins on their faces. Fred held an extra at his side.
"Heya stunning," George waved.
"I've missed those silver robes of yours." Fred winked.
"Not looking so shabby yourself, boys." He laughed as he stopped in front of them. He bounced on his toes. "What'll we be doing?"
"Fancy a Beater’s game?" Fred smirked, holding out his extra bat. "I know you said you wouldn't show off anymore, but…" Hadrian tilted his head in curiosity, eyes lit with excitement.
"Rules?" He took the offered bat and stepped back to twirled it in his hand, adjusting to the weight of it.
"Simple, we have two Bludgers and two teams." George grinned.
"Each team smacks the Bludgers around and tries to knock the other team off it's broom." Fred's eyes flicked to the stands which were slowly filling with students.
"First team to lose a member loses the game." George swung his bat dramatically and Fred ducked, glaring at his twin good naturedly.
"Interesting. I've never played Beater before." Hadrian hopped in place, swinging his bat at his side. "Let's do it!" The twins cheered and hopped on their brooms. Cleansweep Fives, if Hadrian was right. He swung onto his own broom and shot into the sky with a laugh.
Ignoring the cheering crowd he watched the twins glide over to the commentator box. There was a black boy sitting there with pretty dreadlocks, and he had a Quidditch ball box with him. The twins said something to him and he nodded before they flew back to Hadrian's position.
"Lee will release the Bludgers." George reported, coming to a stop.
"Get ready, let's see how talented you really are!" Fred exclaimed teasingly.
Two angry balls shot at them, and Hadrian grinned. As one neared him, Hadrian prepared brought bat back over his shoulder and then slammed it into the ball as hard as he could. He watched Fred repel the other and laughed at the feeling.
Hadrian zoomed away as the ball rounded on him again, and as it came at him he smashed his bat at it to test the angle. It went spinning away from the twins and he laughed, exhilarated. Red hair flashed and a ball came zooming at him. Switching dominant hands he smashed the ball back, it shooting once again in the complete wrong direction. They laughed at him, and he giggled.
The wind was in his ears, whistling as he laughed. Hadrian saw Fred's eyes tracking the closer ball and took the moment to memorize the expression he made. It was one of easy joy, lighting up his face the same way it had when Hadrian had lifted him at the Ball. Hadrian didn't want to forget his face like that. The twins really were excellent Beaters, and fliers.
The balls circled Hadrian and he swung his bat in a circle, hitting them both at awkward angles. They went spinning away and Hadrian zoomed towards the twins and winked as he flew by. The balls followed, and the twins had to swing their bats out as the two balls came at the boys.
Hadrian once again slammed his bat at an aggressive ball, this time more accurately. It zipped by Fred, who dodged with a yelp. A second ball came while he was steadying himself and George smacked it away from his brother.
"This is amazing." Hadrian whispered, wind whistling in his ears as he slammed his bat into another ball.
A Bludger came from behind him and he barrel rolled with a grin to avoid it.
"Cheap move, use the bat!" George yelled mockingly.
"All is fair in love and war!" Hadrian shouted back, delighted. He shrieked as a ball came zipping by him and slammed into his shoulder.
He was nearly thrown clean off his broom, only to catch the handle with one hand to prevent falling off. His shoulder ached where the ball had hit it, and it wasn't improving due to the fact he was hanging from that same arm. Swinging his legs back over, he let go with his hand to hang from his broom upside down by his knees instead. Hadrian readied his bat as the ball came zipping back. He shut his eyes and breathed deeply.
Completely focused, he opened his eyes and slammed it towards the twins as the second ball was already headed for them. One was repelled by George, the other slammed into Fred’s stomach.
With a yell he toppled off his broom, Cleansweep buckling underneath him. Hadrian swung back onto his broom fully, and dove. He caught the redhead with a smirk.
"I win." He breathed over the wind and crowd.
“I’ve fallen for you.” Fred laughed as they drifted down to the ground and Hadrian set him down. George zipped over and landed as well.
"Jesus, you're as good a Beater as you are a Seeker!" George yelled.
“We worship the Quidditch god!” Fred picked him up and spun him around, both laughing with joy.
Hadrian beamed at him. He was happy the way he was, but a part of him yearned to be on a Quidditch team with these boys, slamming Bludgers at Hufflepuffs and protecting teammates. Instead, he enjoyed Fred's laughter and George's chattering about the game, ignoring the screaming from the stands, and letting the tension inside him uncurl a little with his joy.
The next day he plopped down next to Nott, ignoring Granger and Weasley who were already sitting nearby. Weasley seemed to be trying to get Granger's attention, but she was reading. Hadrian intended to keep his word, and ignore Weasley. No drawing wands.
"Hadrian." Theo nodded, not looking up.
"Theodore." He grinned. Theo cracked a smile, eyes still on his book. "Woe is me, my friend is ignoring me." He put a hand on his forehead dramatically, hopped up onto the table, and splayed himself across the table and put his head atop of Theo's book. Theo gasped and leaned back.
"Hadrian!" He exclaimed. Hadrian laughed, hands coming up above his head, spanning the whole table.
"That's me." He beamed up at his friend. Theo huffed, looking amused. Hadrian was mostly guessing, considering he was upside down. He ignored Weasley's angry muttering in the background.
"Can you get off? I'm researching merpeople and their culture." Theo complained. "That book you had a while ago was really good!"
"Well you can do that later." He sassed "I want to teach you to ride a broom." Theo frowned.
"Why would I need to do that?" He tilted his head and Hadrian decided it looked rather funny upside down.
"Because I want to read while flying today." He declared. “I flew with the twins yesterday, and I want to fly again today.”
"How does that involve me?" Theo rolled his eyes.
"Well I want you to be with me." He admitted. "Reading without you isn't the same anymore." Hadrian pouted, and Theo's eyes widened before he looked away, ears pink before sighing.
"Fine. Off to the pitch we go then." He sighed. Hadrian beamed.
"Okay so to start, mount the broom and hold it with your knees. If you need, stabilize yourself with your hands. Don't worry about the book falling out of your pocket, I'd catch it." Hadrian explained. Theo was glaring at his broom but did as instructed.
"Like this?" Theo looked up at him. Hadrian frowned and walked closer.
"No, use your thighs." He put a hand on Theo's back and one on his thigh. He moved the broom to sit between Theo's legs higher up. Theo squeaked.
"Hadrian-"
"Sh." Hadrian said, concentrating as he shifted the broom. Theo squeaked again but said nothing. "Okay better. See the position of the broom?" He glanced to see Theo staring at the broom intensely, face bright red. "It's between your thighs, but it'll be trapped by your knees. See?" He whispered in Theo's ear. The boy shivered but he nodded.
"I think I got it." Theo breathed. He slid into the air, arms wobbling but not touching the broom. Hadrian grinned and hopped onto his own broom before darting up to Theo.
"Steady." He murmured as Theo wobbled, eyes narrowed in concentration. He then looked up at Hadrian triumphantly as he came to a stop a significant height above the ground and stabilized. "Perfect!" Theo grinned. "Now, just stay put and pull out your book." Hadrian demonstrated easily. "If you start to fall or wobble at all, squeeze your thighs and knees and put a hand down if you really need to. The book is the priority, obviously." He added sarcastically. Theo laughed nervously as he got out his book.
"This is relaxing for you?" Theo asked as he opened the book, wobbling once before stabilizing.
"Yeah. The wind and solitude means a lot when I'm needing space from everything." He admitted. Theo kept his book open but didn't start reading as he studied Hadrian. Their brooms were nearly side by side, Theo looking forward but a little to the side.
"Is that why you wanted to come up here? To get away from everything?" Theo asked carefully. Hadrian smiled sadly.
"Hogwarts is a lot." He said softly. Theo listened attentively. "My first year at Beauxbaton I had just left my abusive home, and wasn't prepared for all these people to actually like me." If Theo was surprised, he didn't show it. Like calls to like after all. "The language barrier was hard, but I caught on fast. At first I was taught a language translation spell by the teachers, and I slowly stopped using it throughout the year. Second year I didn't use it at all, but there were a lot of words I didn't know. I carried around a dictionary." He laughed quietly. "But for the most part, I spent my time alone. In the library, in class, in the dorms, I was alone." He tilted his head back and shut his eyes, breathing in the cold breeze.
"What changed?" Theo whispered, as if speaking too loudly would ruin the soft atmosphere.
"Third year I was basically fluent, my English accent fading to a French one as I grew up and learned. My elves speak whatever languages I do, and so I was literally always surrounded by French." Hadrian huffed. "But, then I started branching out and trying to make friends. People liked me." He said, still a little in awe of it. "Apparently people hadn't been leaving me alone or avoiding me, they were giving me space because they knew I wasn't ready for people to push themselves into my life before then."
Theo smiled at him and Hadrian continued. "Third year was the year I got to find out who I was. I knew I wasn't an arrogant or angry person, but was I really a quiet bookworm, or was that who I'd trained myself to be because I thought I was alone?" Hadrian tilted his head. "Turns out it was a little of both. I love books, and sometimes I need to escape and be alone. However, being around people and having a good time like at the Yule Ball? I really appreciate that."
Hadrian then laughed. "I figured out I liked flirting when a 5th year flirted with me and I just copied him right back. The guy was so flustered, and I was thrilled by the feeling of making people react that way. I know people stare at me, but I also know that if a person values me for more than my looks, they won't mind it. They might even enjoy it and flirt back." He laughed. Theo huffed.
"I'd be surprised if you haven't flirted with all the guys in school by now." He grinned at Hadrian.
"Ew, not Ron Weasley." He made a face and Theo burst out laughing, nearly dropping his book as the broom he was on wobbled. Hadrian grabbed the broom with a hand to steady it, grinning. "I mean come on, you think I wanna be near that foul mouth, Theo?" Theo wheezed, shutting his eyes and leaning forward as he laughed. Hadrian smiled fondly as he plucked the book out of Theo's hand and tucked it away to safety. "Like seriously, not everyone is as beautiful and kissable as you, Theo." He teased. Theo gasped for breath before straightening and smirking at Hadrian.
"Look who's talking." Theo teased, grabbing Hadrian's broom and pulling them closer. "French accents are the definition of kissable." He said as they floated chest to chest.
"If I didn't know better I'd say you were flirting with me." Hadrian grinned, mimicking what he'd said the night of the Ball. Theo laughed and released his broom. Hadrian kept a hold of Theo's for support, but let them glide apart.
"C'mon, give me my book. We wanted to read, right?" Theo smiled at him, and Hadrian realized he'd definitely needed this with Theo. He handed the book back, and sighed in contentment, relishing in the feeling of laughing with a friend like Theodore Nott.
"Draco!" The blond turned in surprise and saw Hadrian running up to him. "Hold up, jeez. Stupid tall people." Draco smirked.
"C'mere." Draco laughed fondly. He stepped forward as Hadrian collided with him, and lifted him up for a hug. Hadrian giggled excitedly and was set down.
"Just because you're tall doesn't mean you're better than me!" Hadrian stuck his tongue out. He was about 5'10" or 11, only an inch taller than Diggory. Draco on the other hand was 6'2", an inch or four taller than him. Nearly as tall as the twins, who were two and a half years older.
"What's the hurry, Hadrian?" Draco teased. Pansy frowned at the French boy as he came to a stop in front of them while Blaise waved. "Just wanting to be held?" Pansy looked horrified while Blaise looked interested. Hadrian grabbed his hand as Draco continued walking, making Draco walk slower. He complied.
"Yes, always." Hadrian smirked. "I wanted to ask about the Black Lake." Draco eyed him with open curiosity.
"Why? Thinking of going swimming, you maniac?" He quipped. Hadrian swatted his shoulder playfully.
"Yes, actually." He said pleasantly. "Is there anything in there besides mermaids? I saw them, y'know. Beautiful and vicious little beasts." His eyes sparkled and Draco studied him, impressed.
"You know about the merfolk and still want to go swimming? Ballsy." He said. Hadrian smirked up at him. "Well there's the Giant Squid, but it's mostly domesticated. First years float over the whole lake before sorting." Draco informed him as they walked through the halls. Draco had potions, and he was not risking being late.
"So is that it?" Hadrian asked, tilting his head.
"No, I'm pretty sure there are also grindylows." Draco admitted as they descended into the dungeons. "Our third year Professor, Lupin, mentioned them being there while teaching us about them during the year."
"Water demons. Fascinating." Hadrian muttered quietly. Draco glanced at him. "Revulsion jinxes should fix that, easy." He nodded to himself. They were really only dangerous when they grabbed your ankles. Relashio broke their grip, and they'd release you. "Anything else?"
"Not that I can think of." Draco said. "You're seriously going swimming?"
"Absolutely! Perfect way to cool off." He winked as he released Draco and stepped back. "Have a good time with Professor Snape." He smiled affectionately at his cousin.
"Less fun without you." Draco drawled, ruffling his cousin's hair. Hadrian stuck his tongue out childishly and bounded off. Draco smirked after him and then continued as if nothing happened.
"What was that?" Pansy asked, rushing after him.
"Pansy, everyone knows Hadrian Black. He literally introduced himself." Blaise rolled his eyes.
"No, obviously I know that's Black." She growled. "I meant since when are you courting that idiot?" Draco blinked dumbly, before laughing at her complete misunderstanding. How did she miss that they were cousins?
"Don't be ridiculous." He scoffed, rolling his eyes. Pansy sputtered and Draco quickly entered the potions lab before she could collect herself.
Hadrian did go swimming in the lake, in fact. He often saw Krum do the same, and was elated by it. The boy never smiled at him, but he looked less sulky when he was swimming. Maybe he'd smile if Granger went swimming too?
Hadrian wore warm pants and his white Beauxbaton blouse, but had no shoes or socks. He decided against a swimsuit until he was sure he could handle the water better.
His first dip was shocking, and he was completely iced to the bone. The water was freezing, but Hadrian shook the feeling away and strode from the shallower beach towards farther into the Lake. Once he was far, about shoulder depth, he ducked under to explore and found the visibility to be horrid. It was a dark and foggy landscape in which he could barely see 5 feet in front of his own outstretched hands.
He surfaced for a breath, wiping icy water out of his eyes and frowning. Hadrian wondered briefly if there was a way to see better underwater, but dismissed it as he continued to explore.
He found tiny minnows, forests of kelp, and vast meadows of underwater grass. This is when Hadrian discovered that water grass equals water demons. Draco wasn't kidding about the Grindylows.
Hadrian ventured into the tall grass but stayed only about 7 or 10 feet from the surface. The visibility in the grass was even worse, and he barely entered the habitat before things went wrong.
He quickly found his ankles being grasped by small horned demons, three in total. Hadrian squirmed as he freed his wand from the holster, but they held firm. They seemed to know he couldn't breath underwater, and were pulling him further down harshly. Their goal was probably to get him deep enough he'd drown before he could free himself.
Relashio! He ordered mentally, lungs starting to burn. Instead of purple sparks coming out of his wand like he expected, boiling water spilled out in a stream that seared their angry faces and tightly gripped hands. They hissed and spat at him, but loosened their hold on his ankles with fierce glares. Hadrian yanked further away and made for the surface, escaping as more grindylows swarmed the ones he'd hit with the Jinx. Breaking the top he gasped, lungs screaming.
His head pounded from lack of oxygen, and his heart was beating out of his chest. Hadrian tucked his wand away again, and then realized too late he was camping right above a grindylow zone. Wicked little demons didn't take well to be burned.
Yanked under once again he shrieked into the water, losing valuable air. Regretting putting his wand away he tried to release it from the holster, water sticking the mechanism. He flicked his wrist as he was tugged deeper, four or five demons grabbing his ankles and shins, but his wand wouldn't budge.
Giving up on his wand he ignored his burning lungs and focused on his core. Hadrian wrapped his intention around it, and willed Relashio! wandlessly and wordlessly. Boiling water shot from both hands down his legs and hit three out of the five demons. Hadrian kicked out and they hissed at him.
One more flick of his wrist and his wand shot free. With his wand, he could aim better. Relashio! Relashio! Relashio! He hit them over and over until they released him completely, and he swam for the way he'd came originally.
Hadrian surfaced outside the grass zone, and gasped. Black spots dotted his vision as he swam for the surface, and stumbled soaking wet in search of his cousin.
"Draco!" Draco was once again minding his business, when his cousin came sprinting up to him. His blouse and trousers were soaked, sticking to him and making his tones body stand out in a way that made nearby Slytherins stop walking and stare. Hadrian threw himself at Draco, who caught him with a sharp gasp.
"Hadrian, what the hell!" Draco stuttered as Hadrian collided with him. "You're soaking wet, and freezing!" Draco noticed Hadrian's eyes were a little unfocused, breathing a little off kilter.
"I was in the lake!" Hadrian gasped. "I was grabbed by some Grindylows." Draco set his cousin down from the hug, but didn't release him as he swayed on his feet.
"Oh were you?" Draco tried for nonchalance, letting go of Hadrian and looking at his own now soaked clothing. "How was it?"
"Excellent actually! I nearly drowned. Did you know that casting the Revulsion Jinx underwater causes a boiling stream of water?" He grinned, tilting his head a little crazed. "I had no idea."
"Me neither." Draco admitted. "However, you are definitely going to the hospital wing." Hadrian blinked, and then sighed.
"Yeah, I figured." Hadrian swayed on his feet and leaned on Draco. "The floor is not supposed to move, and your face has black spots on it."
"You're oxygen deprived." Draco told him fondly. "Let's go, you maniac."
Draco escorted him to Madam Pomfrey, and made sure she fixed him up. He also made sure Hadrian told him when he went in the lake from then on, so at least one person would know if he'd drowned one day.
Hadrian went back to the lake often after that. He was also often caught by grindylows, but never had a repeat of the drowning incident. It was like exposure to lower the risk, since he couldn't waste time drowning during the Second Task. Even if that was unlikely, since when Fleur found out she forced him to perfect his Bubble Headed Charm.
However, for all his future excursions, he had his cousin watching from the lake shore protectively, magic anti-drowning charm be dammed. Each time Draco showed up just to sit and watch Hadrian dive and surface over and over again, patiently watching and occasionally doing homework on the bank as he waited, Hadrian felt truly loved for the first time since looking into that pensive and seeing his parents. When he realized this, he ducked under the water as he began to cry, and made sure to give Draco an extra big hug.
"Thank you." He'd murmured in his cousin's ear. "Thank you for caring." Draco's only response was to squeeze him harder, freezing and soaking wet and all.