Chapter 3
Hadrian pouted as he was redirected to the forest. Kari and Ilene had decided to go deal with their grandfather while he was escorted by Madeline, Jax, Keary, and Jimmie to protect him. While he thought it was a bit much, he understood their insistence. When the gods tell you to do something, you should probably do it. Walking with them to the clearing, he looked around. He could sense four creatures nearby. Walking to the centre, he sat down. Their souls and magic felt familiar. That was when he spotted a small dragon make its way over to him. He caught the dragon in his arms. "Whoa, calm down, little one," Hadrian teased. Looking at it a bit more, it looked exactly what he would think a fae dragon would look like; it was no longer than the length of his fingers to his shoulder, instead of scales, and the dragon had small feathers, almost like hairs. Instead of webbed wings, they were like fairies or a butterfly and instead of hard longhorns, the dragon had a set of long ears. But what really got him to hyper-focus was the colouring. The fae dragon was almost all sandy brown. Looking at the dragon's eyes, his breath hitched. Staring back at him were a set of golden intelligent eyes.
Golden eyes, brown colouring.
Gold brown.
Goldbrown.
Goldbrowngoldbrowngoldbrown.
Remus Lupin.
Moony.
Moonymoonymoonymoonymoonymoonymoonymoony!
"Moony?" Hadrian whispered weakly. How could this be possible?
"Chirrup!" The fae dragon seemed to become excited, wiggling around in Hadrian's hold. Hadrian felt a small poking at his magic so he let his magic accept the bond and he felt their magics flare out.
"Oh, you bonded with one!?" Madeline cheered. "What's its name?" she asked excitedly. Hadrian stared at the fae dragon and the creature nodded his head in permission.
"Moony," Hadrian said confidently.
"Really? He doesn't have anything to do with the moon, though?" Jax teased.
Hadrian pouted as he glared at Jax. But before he could say anything, he was tackled from behind. The creature obviously knew to avoid his wings, which had surprised Hadrian a bit. Looking over his shoulder, he saw a grim. Though, not just any grim, he would know this beast anywhere. That mischievous look in its silver-grey eyes confirmed it for him.
Black and silver.
Blacksilverblacksilverblacksilverblacksilver.
Sirius!
Godfather!
Padfoot!
Padfootpadfootpadfootpadfootpadfootpadfootpadfoot.
"Padfoot," Hadrian said weakly. But how? Lady Magic said he couldn't pass on with them. Was this some sick twisted game to them?
"That's a grim... Jimmie...go get our parents..." Madeline whispered.
"All of them?" Jimmie tried clarifying.
"Yes, all of them," Madeline said with a nod. Jimmie nodded his head before bolting off as quickly as he could. Once Jimmie was gone, Madeline spoke up. "Hadrian?"
Hadrian looked behind him at his siblings, showing off his glowing, green eyes that had tears falling. "Madeline?" The voice sounded distorted and almost split in two. One half sounded sad and almost heartbroken. The other side sounded terrified and afraid.
"Is the grim one of your familiars?" she asked, terrified and worried at the same time.
"Yes, his name is Padfoot," the saddened tone said as he cuddled the hellhound. If this was some twisted part on the god's end then he would just have to suffer.
"You haven't made a connection with him, cub." Hadrian was surprised to hear Remus in his head. Slowly looking at Moony, the tears flowed faster. "The connections are a lot stronger in this realm. They allow us to understand each other," Moony explained. Hadrian was losing his shit. Remus was actually here. If he was here, then this really had to be Sirius, right? Only one way to find out.
Hadrian sighed as he looked at Padfoot, who was panting. He cuddled into the hellhound once more before their magic connected. Like before, it sent out a flare of magic. Nothing physical changed with these two connections for Hadrian but Moony and Padfoot both had a black and white dot under their right eye.
"Harry!" Padfoot cheered as he tackled Hadrian and licked his face repeatedly.
"Hadrian, actually," both voices said together correctingly as he cuddled into Padfoot. "Should I expect any more surprises?" Hadrian asked teasingly as he pulled away with a weak smile. His body felt a bit more connected to his soul, so he assumed whatever was working was doing its job in grounding him to this realm.
"Two," both Moony and Padfoot chimed out. That was when he heard a noise in the bushes. Looking over, he spotted a fox...no that fox had more than one tail, it was a kitsune. But then again, Hadrian wasn't seeing things normally.
The kitsune sat away from him as she observed Hadrian. Hadrian took this time to look over the Kitsune. Another surprise. So it must be someone he knew. Red Fur...that could be any of the Weasleys. But looking at the eyes made everything in his mind stop. It felt like his world was shattering and putting itself back together repeatedly.
Green eyes. Just like his. There was only one person he knew that had green eyes like his.
Redhairgreeneyesredhairgreeneyesredhairgreeneyesredhairgreeneyesredhairgreeneyesredhairgreeneyes.
Mum.
He didn't dare move. He felt like if he did, then this reality would break. He also couldn't just call her that. He watched as the kitsune got up and walked over. Hesitantly, Hadrian reached out his hand. The kitsune, without even sniffing it, laid her head on his palm. Hadrian weakly laughed as more tears fell. The kitsune climbed into his lap and licked away the tears. When Hadrian felt the kitsunes magic poke at him, he allowed the connection with a flare of magic. "What do I call you?" he asked weakly.
"Call me what you wish. I can no longer be called mum, someone else holds that title now for you," she said as she looked to the side. Hadrian got curious and looked to the side, seeing his mum and all his fathers were here looking at him worried. "But the moment they hurt you, I shall rip their heads off their bodies. You are still my cub, after all."
Hadrian laughed weakly. He had the perfect name for her. "Okay, Spitfire. If...If Padfoot, Moony and you are here...is the last one Prongs?" Hadrian asked hopefully.
"Yep! And he's totally badass!"Padfoot yipped out excitedly.
"What Sirius means to say is that James is dangerous and will probably scare your current family," Moony grumbled.
Before Hadrian could ask, there were loud footsteps. It sounded like a huge beast was coming this way. What confirmed it was the wailing scream of what sounded like a dying dragon. Papa seemed to get scared because he quickly shouted out orders. "Madeline! Take your siblings and get back to the house!"
"Come, you heard Papa," Madeline ordered as she managed to get Jax, Keary, and Jimmie to follow her. "What about Hadrian?" she called out.
"We have Hadrian, go," Father hissed out.
Before anyone got any farther, what looked like a decaying dragon appeared through the trees. "Hadrian! Come here!" Pa called out.
Hadrian glanced back but the dragon growled. Hadrian looked at the dragon. "Padfoot, Moony, Spitfire...go to my parents, please." The three creatures did as asked and Hadrian was left in the centre facing the dragon. "Hello, Prongs," Hadrian’s saddened voice called out. The dragon lowered his head slightly. Hadrian felt the prod of magic and he accepted it. A Flare of Magic flew through the clearing.
"Prongslet," the Dragon rumbled.
"Can you explain?" Hadrian asked, confused. His head felt like it was splitting in two and mending itself back together repeatedly.
"Hadrian?" His mum called out worriedly.
"Magic and Death told us about how you would not be joining us in the afterlife. We didn't take it well, but they gave us an option. We could be your familiars and bound to your cycles until you pass on. Magic also told me of the connections you made.I am not surprised that I am seen as the God of War. I was violent in the battle with Voldemort. This form just proves it. Lady Magic told us our forms would be a reflection of our lives," the decaying dragon rumbled.
"I'll have to tell them," Hadrian informed. "I don't want to keep things I don't have to away from them," the scared side of his voice said worriedly.
"I would expect nothing less from you, Prongslet," Prongs rumbled out. Hadrian whimpered as he held his head.
"Hadrian..." Paa called out.
"There isn't anything to fear, Paa," the saddened side said as he looked back, showing the four coloured diamonds under his left eye. A red diamond clearly symbolised the decaying dragon. A black diamond symbolised the grim. A green diamond symbolised the fox and a brownish bronze diamond for the fae dragon.
"I'm afraid because you are casually standing next to a deathstalker," Paa growled out.
"Well that makes sense, he was the War God in a past life," Hadrian’s mixed tones replied together causally.
"T-the war god? Why has he been resurrected?" Father asked worriedly.
"Make something up," Prongs growled out.
"Seems like, if a chosen one needs familiars, the gods are asked who wishes to have a life as a familiar. War god got bored and brought his companions along the way. That's how I knew them," Hadrian explained.
"Prongslet, we still have things to address," Prongs pointed out. Hadrian turned and looked at the deathstalker. "Do you wish to proceed with being Death and Magic's chosen?"
"Not like I have a choice, Prongs. They've picked me. But…But it hurts," Hadrian pointed out to the male.
"Let me rephrase that, do you want to do this for them? We can stop the pain another way," Prongs asked.
Hadrian was silent for a moment. He looked at his 'familiars' and then his newly gained family. He was scared of this constant pain and the possibility of hurting even more, but the possibilities were practically endless. He could have a giant family as he wanted, he could have mates that loved him, hell, he could have his old parents back. Sure, they were in the form of familiars but he still had the chance to get to know them on a personal level. He felt like he would insult the gods if he didn't do this. He didn't want to lose anything. "I do. After... After what I saw..." after his last life, "… it would be an insult if I didn't do this. Besides... It gave me you guys, right" Hadrian said with a weak smile.
Prongs nodded his head and laid down comfortably. "We will have to do a ritual, then. Your acceptance will only be recognised in that way," Prongs rumbled out.
"What do I need to do?" Hadrian asked as he stood up and dusted himself off. He felt a bit more stabilized after that talk with Prongs.
"I'll get it set up, you go over to your parents," Prongs directed.
Hadrian nodded and walked over to the group. "Hadrian, what's going on?" Dad asked.
"I'm stabilized but to keep it like that, I need to accept the role. Prongs is getting it set up for me" Hadrian explained.
"Is he really the God of War?" Papa asked curiously.
"Yes. Oh, interesting fact, Spitfire and Prongs, they are the parents to the Rebellion God," Hadrian said with a teasing tone. "So they tend to act like parents...When I first saw Spitfire...I got flashes of emotions from the Rebellion God... All of the familiars here that bonded to me...actually were in the Rebellion God's life somehow. Padfoot was his godfather... Moony was his teacher."
"Wow," Daddy said, amazed. Hadrian knew his elven father would love more information.
"Prongslet, it is done," Prongs rumbled. Hadrian looked back to see a circle with runes carved around it. Something was familiar about that... What...Oh no. Covering his mouth, he looked at Spitfire.
"Yes, it is the same rune circle that I had carved in the walls. It was a backup ritual in case my first one didn't stick. If Voldemort killed you that night, Voldemort would have had a very nasty surprise," She growled with her hackles raised.
"Why are we using it here, though?" Hadrian couldn't help but ask.
"Because it's the only ritual that calls Lady Magic and Lord Death to appear and judge the person properly," Moony chirped in. "Found it doing some light reading."
"Light reading, he says," Padfoot teased as he trotted forward.
"Will this have any chance of killing me?" Hadrian found himself asking as he stepped closer to the ritual circle.
"Not unless you are on Death's bad side," Prongs said calmly.
"Okay. What do I have to do?" Hadrian said as he carefully stepped into the ritual circle.
"Follow your magic, what does it say to do?" Spitfire asked.
Follow his magic? If he did that, history would just repeat itself. Looking at Prongs and Spitfire, and then Padfoot and Moony, he knew they didn't expect anything from him. But looking at mum and his fathers, he saw the same looks. They expected nothing of him. Sure, they looked worried but they had no expectations. Just for him to live. Before he knew it, something was welling up inside him. Opening his mouth, words started to spill out. "No time for rest." The words were sung out in a broken sob. Those words were nothing but the truth. Hadrian, even as Harry, had never had time to just relax and be himself. "No pillow for my head." He's never had any comfort, and when he had attempted, it had always been taken from him in both lives. "Nowhere to run from this." There was no getting out of being Master of Death. He was stuck in this role until Death felt it was time for him. "No way to forget." Unbeknownst to him, Hadrian's eyes were glowing a bright green on his left side and a dark green on his right side. Each of the familiars stepped forward and put a body part on the lines that had risen from the ground in a glowing, green light.
"Around, the shadows creep," Hadrian said as he looked around at all of his familiars. "Like friends, they cover me." This line had all four of them perk up; Each of them had a different reaction, but the overall feel was light and happy. "Just wanna lay me down and finally try and get some sleep," Hadrian sang out tiredly. Prongs seemed to relax more at this and hunker down some. "We carry on through the storm," Hadrian carried on as he sang out. The doe and crow from before strolled in but kept quiet. "Tired soldiers in this war," Hadrian complained as he looked at Prongs. "Remember what we're fighting for," he sang out as he looked at Spitfire.
"Meet me on the battlefield," Hadrian whispered as if it was something taboo to say. After saying that, his shirt seemed to disintegrate. Upon his wings, twin golden wires wrapped around him and made an intricate design, strengthening his wings and creating an armour-like base. On the sandy brown fae dragon, the same happened in black wire. The brown diamond on Hadrian's face seemed to outline in gold. "Even on the darkest night," Hadrian sang as he looked at Padfoot. A set of earrings appeared in his ears made of white gold and white diamonds. The base of the earring had a star-shaped diamond that had two white gold chains coming off it, one hanging down idly with another star-shaped diamond, the other leading up to the ear cuff that had a crescent moon diamond sitting there. The black diamond on Hadrian's face seemed to gain flecks of silver, making it look like a starry sky. On Padfoot, he got two ear cuffs on each of his ears. "I will be your sword and shield, your camouflage." Hadrian looked at Spitfire. On Hadrian's arm, white gold wire seemed to wrap around and around, creating an overlapping design of swirls and flares. In the centre of it was an emerald green circle. The green diamond on Hadrian's face seemed to fade into a small red diamond in the centre of it. On the kitsune, she received a jewelled necklace with an emerald teardrop. "And you will be mine." Hadrian looked at the Deathstalker. On Hadrian, his head was wrapped in white gold wire that slowly looked like it was a pair of dragon wings with the body being a ruby. "Echoes and the shots ring out." Harry choked out a sob. "We may be the first to fall," he whimpered. His mind was racing as he looked at all of them. "Everything can stay the same, or we could change it all," he sang, a little hopeful. Just seeing how each of them looked, he seemed to figure out exactly what he wanted. "Meet me on the battlefield," he sang in a firm tone as he straightened up.
"We're standing face to face,"Hadrian declared. He could feel the two souls merging completely. "With our own human race." He had to face the here and now, he couldn't linger on what had been. "We commit the sins again, and our sons and daughters pay." If he lingered now, then his family would suffer for it, both new and old. "Our tainted history is playing on repeat," Hadrian sang bitterly as he looked at the four familiars. "But we could change it if we stand up strong and take the lead," Hadrian said as he looked at Prongs, who seemed to be pleased with what Hadrian was saying. "When I was younger, I was named." Hadrian's voice turned bitter once again as he looked at Padfoot. "A generation unafraid," he sang out as he looked at Moony, his voice getting lighter with each word. "For the heirs to come, be brave," he sighed out as his tone turned hopeful. But before he could continue, his body, along with Spitfire, Padfoot, Prongs, and Moony's bodies, pulsed before they collapsed onto the ground and passed out.
Before Hadrian's parents could move, the doe walked forward. Walking over to the kitsune, she pressed her snout to the kitsune's temple. The kitsune started to glow with a ghostly blue aura before a woman appeared.
Without hesitation, the ghostly figure started to sing. "Come little children, I'll take thee away," she cooed. "Into a land of enchantment," she called out as she cupped the air in front of her. "Come little children," she called out, insisting they listen. "The time's come to play," she cooed as what looked like a magical anchor appeared. "Here in my garden of shadows," she growled out, shooting the anchor. The chain wrapped around Hadrian before locking into Hadrian's soul. The female was shoved back down into the kitsune and was made to sleep.
The raven flew over and landed on the fae dragon. A male with a magnitude of scars appeared. "Follow sweet children," he continued on, his voice deep and raspy."I'll show thee the way," he called out soothingly. He, like the Kitsune, cupped his hands in front of himself. "Through all the pain," he gasped. The ghost looked like it was on the verge of crying and fighting the whole world. "And the sorrows," the ghost sang out, resigned."Weep not poor children," he tried to coo out. It was clear the ghost had been through a lot. "For life is this way." The second anchor that appeared shot out and latched onto Hadrian. "Murdering beauty and passions." The ghost was shoved back into the fae dragon and the raven shook its body as it watched the doe.
The doe walked over to the grim on the floor and nudged it with her hoof. A male ghost appeared with long, wispy hair. "Hush now dear children," he cackled out. "It must be this way," he called out before seemingly going sober as he cupped his hands in front of him. "Too weary of life and deceptions," he sang tiredly. "Rest now my children," he called out as he looked at Hadrian and the anchor formed once again. "For soon, we'll away." He sounded a bit better as if he was trying to be happy for Hadrian as the third anchor shot and locked itself into Hadrian. "Into the calm and the quiet," he cooed out before he faded back into the grim. The doe stepped back, allowing the raven to land on the deathstalker.
The last spirit rose up from the deathstalker. "Come little children," he sang calmly as he looked at Hadrian."I'll take thee away," he called out softly, giving Hadrian a soft look." Into a land of enchantment." The Spirit didn't cup his hands like the other three but the chains that were bound to Hadrian were rattling. "Come little children." The spirit opened up his arms widely as if commanding the chains to move. "The time's come to play," his voice raised up some as the chains launched. All three chains hit the same mark. Right where the heart would be. "Here in my garden of shadows," the spirit cooed before he and the chains faded.
The doe was silent for a moment and all you could hear was the humming of the magic. "I bless these connections of creatures. May the boy seek out the help of his familiars throughout his life and may he help them in kind," she said before walking out of the clearing with the raven.
Once they were gone, Hadrian gasped out for air as he held his throat. His head wasn’t hurting anymore and it felt like he was properly in his mind now. He could feel the old Hadrian in his head, too. The boy was scared but he was thankful. He tried to figure out why but when he did, he felt a wave of dizziness flash through him. Hadrian tried getting up and would have fallen if it wasn't for Prong's quick thinking. "Moony, get our cub’s father."
"You're his father, Prongs," Padfoot teased lightly.
"You know what I mean,Pads," the dragon grumbled.
Moony shook his head and flew over to the draken and gave out a series of chirps before flying back to Hadrian. This prompted Smaug to move. Hurrying over to his child, he picked Hadrian up. "I have you, little one," Smaug cooed out softly. Hadrian cuddled into Smaug's warmth with a coo back.
Prong's, seeing his child being cared for, got up and started to leave.
"Wait!" Prongs looked back to see it was in fact the draken who had called for him. "Aren't you staying?" Smaug asked worriedly.
Prong's opened his mouth. "I have no need." The words were spoken with a rattling tone. Apophis, Fang, Aldon, Luci, and Tori were all surprised but Aurora knew by Smaug's ramblings that old dragons had the ability to speak multiple languages, though speaking the human language was hard on them. It just showed how long the dragon had been alive. It probably was reincarnated right after its death for this situation.
"Hadrian will need you, though!" Smaug protested.
"Hadrian does not need me," Prongs growled. "He needs you. Are you calling yourself incompetent?" the dragon growled out.
Smaug held Hadrian but his wings rose up in anger. "No! But you're his familiar! You're supposed to protect him!"
Padfoot, Moony, and Spitfire all winced, knowing Smaug had hit a sore point. "We already failed him." It was clear he was about to say more but the kitsune jolted forward and glared at the dragon. "Love, we can't-" The Kitsune growled dangerously. The dragon's bones groaned as he laid back down and rested his head on the ground. "I failed him once, love, I can't do that again," the dragon protested. The kitsune chirped lightly and the dragon sighed deeply as he relaxed. "There is no getting out of this, is there?" Prongs questioned the Kitsune. Spitfire smirked and turned before hurrying over to where Moony was. Prongs huffed as he got up. "This is why you should have gotten married, Padfoot. Mates settle the soul." The grim growled in protest, making Spitfire bark out a laugh, Moony chitter, and Prongs rumble. "I shall stay, until the cub no longer needs me."
"That will never happen, he's always been a fragile child," Smaug declared making Prongs chuckle.
"A fragile body for a fragile but strong-willed soul," Prongs almost cooed. Prongs got back up and he groaned. "Where will we be staying? Padfoot and Moony will insist they stay with the cub, but I cannot make myself smaller and my mate will want to stay with me," Prongs explained.
"Well, Padfoot and Moony can stay with Hadrian, I can put you two in the closest enclosure next to our house," Smaug offered.
"How far is that from your house?" Prongs questioned.
"Not far, about the length of your body," Smaug said with a huff.
"That will do, we should lay him down, let him rest," Prongs said as he looked at Hadrian.
"What were those chains?" Smaug asked as he started walking back to the house.
"Each anchor did a different thing. One was for anchoring him to his 'duties' though I can tell you that Hadrian would have done them regardless. Another was binding him to us and us to him. The last one was anchoring him to this time," Smaug explained.
"So they were to protect him?" Smaug clarified.
"Yes," Prongs said as he moved along at a slower pace.
"Love?"
Both Prongs and Smaug looked up to see Aurora, who was next to Spitfire. "Yes, darling?" Smaug asked curiously.
"Everything good?" Aurora asked curiously.
"Everything is fine, Hadrian needs to sleep, though," Smaug explained as he led the group closer to the house.
"Papa! What is that?!" Jax hissed out as he glared at the familiars.
"Your brother's familiars. Fang, can you take Hadrian back to his room? The grim and the fae dragon will be accompanying you," Smaug explained. "I have to take these two to Enclosure 1," Smaug finished.
"I have him, Smaug," Fang said as he carefully grabbed Hadrian and carried him off to his room followed by Padfoot and Moony. Getting to the room, he laid Hadrian down. "You two hopping into his bed?" He watched Moony and Padfoot jump into the bed, Moony curling up next to Hadrian's head and Padfoot curling up at the end of the bed. Fang nodded his head and he walked out after whispering a simple, "sweet dreams".
When Hadrian woke up for the second time today, he grumbled as he turned his head and cuddled into the soft object next to him. There was a soft snicker and someone saying to shut up. Hadrian opened his eyes and winced at the light but kept them open to see two unknown people...wait no. He knew them. "Faust, Marnie... Leave me alonnee," Hadrian whined as he curled up more.
"Sorry, Haddy, I tried to keep her quiet. Your twins are currently helping set up. They asked us to stay in here in case you woke up," Faust said calmly.
Hadrian groaned as he opened his eyes and playfully glared at the male draken. "First you steal my friendship, and then you steal my brother," Hadrian said playfully.
Marnie giggled as Faust groaned. "That's not fair, you knew I had a crush on him," he complained.
Marnie shook her head with a smile. "So you finally inherited. What are you, exactly... if you don't mind us asking?"
"Fae draken," Hadrian answered. Hadrian's memories told him that this was Marnie, who was a submissive cat sith. This was Keary's chosen mate that he was courting. The draken next to her was Faust. He was a submissive male draken who was courting Jimmie. Both of them were his friends before they started courting his brothers. He teases them about it all the time so Hadrian knew it was a safe subject. "Why are you two here? I thought you guys went to school with Jimmie and Keary?"
"Your parents talked to Lady Hufflepuff about your courtship trials. Three days? Really?" Faust complained.
"Not my choice. I'd have it done within an hour if it was up to me. The council is making me do it," Hadrian muttered softly.
"Probably trying to extort your parents again," Marnie huffed out with a pout.
"No, this time it's all about me," Hadrian grumbled. "Submissive male and combined creatures? Yeah no, they want to make me an attraction. They demanded I do it at the end of the month and that we need to have a three-day festival," Hadrian grumbled.
"Yeah, sounds about right. The council head's family member is presenting soon... that probably has something to do with it, too," Faust grumbled.
"Probably," Marnie nodded her head. "But anyway, we are here because we are technically part of your family. We are courting your siblings and since we have gotten so far in our relationship, it's best to just assume we have to be here, too," Marnie explained.
"And as you know, family members are required to be there for the first month of someone's inheritance," Faust said with a motion of his hand, indicating that they have been over this before. "So we got to come along with Ivory, Dex, Victor, Snow, and Kory," Faust explained.
"What is everyone up to?" Hadrian couldn't help but ask.
"Well, your mum decided to break up what needed to be done and separate people into groups," Faust explained.
"Who's where?" Hadrian asked curiously.
"Well, your mum, Kari, and Gyles are all in the garden, getting it in tip-top shape and re-arranging things in there," Marnie explained.
"Ivory, Dex, Kory, and Victor are out hunting to help get everything, while Snow is talking with her family about the vegetables and fruits," Faust listed off.
"Your daddy, Chalice, and Henry are getting the pens ready for the creatures," Marnie rambled on before fixing Hadrian with a stare. "Don't think I didn't see your four new additions, either. We will be talking about that," she practically demanded.
"Madeline, Ozzy, Liam, and Fiora are all in the ballroom practising their dancing. Or well, Madeline is dancing, the other three are flopping around like fish," Faust teased.
Hadrian snorted. " Okay, what are the others doing?"
"Anscom and Tashia went over to your mum's, mum's place to work out the music, your dad contacted his clansmen and your paa and father are talking with them about the entertainment side of things," Marnie listed off her fingers.
"Then your papa, pPere, and Ilene are in control of the teen and kid's activities. Jack and Willy are helping them with the kid's activities while Sharman is helping with the teen's activities," Faust explained calmly.
"Your father, Ualtar, and Liam are working on finding the dunk tank they stored away. Leaving Faust, You, Laura and I to set up the trial areas. Oh, Jax, Keary and Jimmie are on guard duty. They were pulled away to help organise until you woke up," Marnie finished off explaining.
Hadrian sat there for a moment as he thought about what was said. So mum had taken charge and organised everything. Hadrian remembered that the male tended to do this for all the courtship trials so it wasn't any surprise. He had wanted to spend more time with his parents though. "Did Mum say when we had to start?" Hadrian asked curiously.
"He said that we could relax a bit if you were feeling off. We honestly just have to mark off where you wanted them to appear, what exactly you wanted to do for the chase, and then figure out the third trial?" Faust said, confused.
Hadrian knew his mum had worded it like that to keep Faust and Marnie out of the loop. "Padfoot."
The grim lifted his head and looked at Hadrian so quickly that Faust let out a little shriek and Marnie gasped as she jumped off the bed. "That's a grim," Marnie whispered out, “I thought it was just a black hound."
"Where exactly are Jax, Keary and Jimmie?" Hadrian asked Marnie and Faust.
"T-The kitchen," Faust said as he kept looking at the grim.
"Padfoot, go check up on everyone for me? Then head to the kitchen and get the ones that look like me, alright?" Hadrian asked softly. Padfoot stood up shaking his body before walking over and licking Hadrian's cheek before taking off.
"Okay, can we please! PLEASE, talk about that now?!" Faust demanded.
Hadrian chuckled softly before nodding his head. "Yeah."
"How do you have a grim?" Marnie whined.
Hadrian sighed "It's no worse than the deathstalker I have, or the Kitsune, or the fae dragon...well the fae dragon and kitsune are relatively tame.." Hadrian managed out.
"DEATHSTALKER?!" both Marnie and Faust exclaimed.
Hadrian sighed as he laid back down. "Yes, a deathstalker. I know it's a dangerous dragon but it's a sweetheart, just protective," Hadrian tried to explain.
"Deathstalkers can kill a whole valley with one breath!" Faust tried to reason.
"Their breath is highly toxic! Not to mention their venom! You would think a basilisk has deadly venom but the deathstalker beats it!" Marnie whined.
"Good thing it's my familiar then, huh," Hadrian grumbled. "He can control his toxic breath and he hasn't bitten his mate either," he explained.
"Mate?" they both questioned.
"Yes, the deathstalker is mated to my kitsune familiar," Hadrian explained.
"Maybe that's why there aren't any deathstalker babies," Marnie tried to reason.
"They aren't born Marnie, they are made. The dragon has to be an ancient dragon that is killed by a mage to become a deathstalker," Faust reasoned.
"I see someone has been hanging out with Professor Gryffindor again," Marnie teased.
"He is my uncle, Marnie," Faust said in the same tone as before. The one where Hadrian knew that this has been talked about before.
"I can't wait to go to Hogwarts," Hadrian admitted.
"It's wonderful there, Hadrian," Marnie cooed as she flopped back onto the bed.
"Can I bring my familiars?" Hadrian questioned hesitantly.
"I mean... I think it would be okay...? I mean, if you let Professor Slytherin have some of the venom and some of the toxic breath then I don't see why not," Faust reasoned.
Hadrian nodded his head. "Other than that, my other familiars are fine; grims are only an omen, kitsune like tricks but aren't deadly, and a lot isn't known about fae dragons," Hadrian explained.
"I'm sure Lady Hufflepuff will ask if she can cuddle the grim," Marnie said with a soft giggle.
"Yeah, she really loves animals," Faust said with a soft smirk.
"HADRIAN!"
Hadrian looked up to see Jax had barged in followed by Keary and Jimmie. "Yes?"
"Your grim came and got us, everything okay?" Keary asked worriedly.
"Oh I just wanted him to let you know I'm up...I guess I should have sent Moony," Hadrian said with a thoughtful tone.
"No, I understand, I'm glad you're up. We were all worried about you after you found your familiars. What do you want to do right now?" Jax asked curiously.
"How long was I asleep?" Hadrian asked, knowing he should have asked earlier.
"Hmmm, you fell asleep yesterday afternoon. It's morning now, just after breakfast," Keary said with a wince.
"Food, I want to get some food...maybe check in with the parental units," Hadrian said as he looked at his siblings.
"Mama, Dad, and Father are on breakfast put up duty. So we can talk with them when we get breakfast. Dad wants to have a couple of words with you about your familiars. I should also inform you that Lady Hufflepuff is here. So you should get dressed into something a bit more... well... more," Jax explained.
"Alright, can you guys wait outside for me? Even you, Moony," Hadrian said with a look to the fae dragon. Hadrian watched as Moony flew over and landed on Jax's shoulders. "I'll be out in a couple of minutes," Hadrian said with a smile.
"Scream if you need us," Jax demanded.
"Of course I will. Mum would kill me otherwise," Hadrian said teasingly.
"Damn right, he will!" Keary said as he left the room. Hadrian watched the others leave as well before he sighed deeply.