Off to Hogwarts
- The months passed in the blink of an eye for Hadrian after that. He spent most of his time with Theo and Draco, his best friends, and saw Blaise, Pansy and Daphne at least twice a week too. They were all well ahead in all their lessons, and had started learning third and fourth year spells just for fun. Hadrian had picked up a penchant for runes, much to Regulus and his boyfriend Barty's delight, and he wasn't very impressed to learn that he couldn't take it as a subject until third year.
Amelia Bones had tried as hard as she could to set Dumbledore's trial date for the summer, but he had pushed back and made excuses, so it had been set for the following summer instead. Hadrian was really not impressed that he would have to spend his first year in Hogwarts with the man still firmly holding onto the position of Headmaster, but Walburga and Orion had him learn every single loophole in the school charter to ensure that the man would not be near him unsupervised.
Before he knew it, a week before his eleventh birthday, his Hogwarts letter arrived by owl. He let his grandmother reply for him, as he ran off to floo Draco and Theo so they could arrange a day and time to do their shopping in Diagon Alley. They made their plans to go the following day, with Sirius, Regulus and Narcissa to supervise, as Apollonius (Theo's grandfather) and Lucius had to attend a Wizengamot session. Dumbledore was trying to subtly pass more anti-creature legislation, whilst publicly championing for creature rights- and that simply would not do.
When they arrived in Diagon Alley the next day, they decided to get wands out of the way first- going to a wand shop in Knockturn Alley meant getting custom wands, and they would need to allow for time for their wands to be crafted. Hadrian was amazed by the shop when they entered, looking around with utter delight.
"Ah," a female voice came from the back of the store, "Welcome, welcome. Soon-to-be first years I take it?"
The three boys nodded, still looking around the store in awe.
"I'm Helene Beauvais, it is a pleasure that you all have came to me today. Too many young wixen risk limiting themselves with pre-made wands from Ollivander that may not be the perfect fit. Not to mention that pesky trace. Heir Black, has your new wand been serving you well since you left Azkaban?"
"Just as good as my first wand did, if not better, Madam Beauvais. Thank you," Sirius replied, respectfully inclining his head.
"Wonderful, I'm delighted to hear that. Who wants to go first?"
After looking to Draco and Theo, Hadrian stepped forwards, "I will, if that's okay Madam."
"Of course, of course. Now, follow me over to this display. This is the selection of woods I use for wands. Run your hand over the top of them, and lift which calls to you."
Hadrian followed her instructions, and stopped at a dark-coloured wood.
"Ah, Ebony wood. Supple. A good choice, Heir Successor Black. Ebony wands are well-suited to combative magic, and work best in the hands of wixen who hold strong to their beliefs in the face of external pressure. Now, moving over to this display, we have wand cores. Simply repeat the previous process- running your hand over the top."
Hadrian did as he was told once more, and felt a pull towards two different cores. He held a hand over each one.
"Two cores? Very impressive. Don't worry, you don't need to choose just one- I can work with both. Now, let me see. Horned Serpent Horn- exceptionally powerful. This core is particularly sensitive to parseltongue and parselmagic, and can admit a soft, musical tone to warn of danger. And... Rougarou Hair. Impressive. Rougarou Hair cores have a particular affinity for the Dark Arts. I sense you will become a very powerful wizard indeed, Heir Successor Black. Now, just allow me to take some measurements so I can decide upon a length for your wand... ah yes, 11 and three quarter inches, I believe."
Theo went up next, ending up with Yew wood and Rougarou Hair, 13 inches. Draco had Hawthorn wood and Basilisk horn, 11 and a half inches. They were instructed to return in three hours to collect their wands.
"Why, what a fine trio of Dark Wizards we have before us," Sirius said with a grin, as they left the store, "Hogwarts won't know what's hit it. Shall we go to Flourish and Blotts whilst it's still early? I imagine it shall get rather packed later on."
Thankfully, compared to Hadrian's first experience in the bookstore, they didn't run into any redheads. They got the required schoolbooks swiftly, before moving to other stores- Amanuensis Quills, Obscurus Books, Potage's Cauldron Shop, Scribbulus Writing Instruments, Slug & Jiggers Apothecary, Wiseacre's Wizarding Equipment, Twilfitt and Tattings, and, finally, Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. Narcissa explained that Madam Malkin had an exclusive deal with Hogwarts- meaning that her store was the only one that stocked the Hogwarts uniform. Draco was rather unimpressed with that, and asked if they would still be good quality, which made Hadrian and Theo snort.
Upon entering the store, they met a rather unwelcome sight- Molly Weasley, accompanied by Charlus and her son Ronald. Mrs Weasley was fussing over Charlus as Madam Malkin measured him, and Ron was waiting nearby- looking quite jealous. Hadrian had heard the Weasley family were rather poor, but he was still mildly surprised that the youngest Weasley boy was not getting a uniform set for himself. Draco was failing spectacularly at holding back his disdain for the boy, which Theo rolled his eyes at.
Madam Malkin eventually noticed them, too busy fawning over the honour of serving the Boy-Who-Lived. Mrs Weasley looked rather livid at their very presence in the store.
"Ah! Good afternoon, Hogwarts I assume?"
"Yes," Narcissa said, "First years. They'll each require a full uniform set each, the three robe set, with temperature charms and growing charms- in case they shoot up during the year.
"Of course, Lady Malfoy. Please wait just a moment whilst I finish with Mr Potter here."
"Heir Potter, Madam," Hadrian said, politely, "He does have a title."
"Oh goodness, my apologies, young man. I was unaware."
"I don't have a title," Charlus scowled, "None of that ridiculous pureblood stuff."
Hadrian looked at his twin in disbelief, before looking at Ms Weasley, "You mean you haven't told him? Brother dearest, you're the Heir to the Potter family. You became eligible to collect your Heirship ring from Gringotts on our tenth birthday. Your Heirship ring allows you to remove money from your trust vault with just a stamp, and it usually protects you from compulsions and potions. It's not a ridiculous pureblood thing, or a dark thing, it's actually really important. Having read through our lineage, I believe you should also be Heir Gryffindor."
"Oh- well-" Charlus stammered, "Molly, can we go to Gringotts today then?"
Mrs Weasley fixed her hands on her hips, levelling Hadrian with a look of disdain, "I don't believe you need such a thing so young, Charlus darling. Maybe when you're a bit older. Don't listen to that boy."
"Mrs Weasley, if I may," Regulus said smoothly, "Preventing a Heir from accessing their family rings amounts to line theft, which I'm sure you cannot possibly be attempting here. With Heir Potter being such a notable young wizard in our society, he needs his Heir rings to protect him from compulsions and potions urgently. Preventing him from accessing these protections is highly suspicious. Not to mention, he should have received his Heir rings a year ago- the later a wizard receives them, the harder it can be to attune to family magics. If left later, he may fail to be accepted by them."
Mrs Weasley turned a ferocious bright red colour, "Fine, then. Charlus, we shall go to Gringotts before we go home. Now, I believe we're done here, boys, let's go. Good day."
"Good day, Mrs Weasley. I'll pass along your regards to my grandfather," Sirius said, with a polite smile as the woman stormed past him.
"Uhm, well, would one of you boys step forwards to be measured for your robes, please?" Madam Malkin asked.
"Of course," Draco said, gliding forwards, as if the previous confrontation hadn't happened at all.
•••
The rest of the summer ended far too quickly for Hadrian's liking.
He had another small birthday with his friends, Corvus included, their families and his own families- receiving far more gifts than he knew what to do with. Mainly books. Most excitingly, beginners Dark Arts books! Once he had his own wand, Hadrian was allowed to begin practicing some spells- not just learning the theory. He found that he picked them up rather quickly, probably aided by the Rougarou Hair in his wand. Sirius and Regulus had both managed to find Parselmagic books for him, and Hadrian took to them equally as fast- his wand warming excitedly in his hand as he practiced. Sirius had warded his trunk for him, making sure that it only opened for him, and then additionally warded a hidden compartment that would only open to him with parseltongue, for any extra-curricular books he may want to bring. The most exciting part of his birthday, however, was definitely developing his Metamorphmagus abilities though. Hadrian had quickly learned how to change all of his facial features, but it took a lot of concentration to maintain.
The 1st of September came all too quickly, and Hadrian could admit that he was nervous. He had never been away from his family for longer than a night spent at one of his friends homes, and three months before Yule break was far too long. The fact that he already had a friend group before entering Hogwarts helped, but he couldn't help but feel sorry for the mudbloods- entering this new world of magic all alone. He shuddered to think of what it would be like if he had never accidentally killed off Uncle Vernon- would that have been him? Boarding the Hogwarts Express with minimal knowledge of what he was getting into? He imagined he would be so easily influenced like that- open to manipulations. He shuddered at the thought.
At ten o'clock, he gave his trunk one final check before levitating it downstairs behind him- meeting his grandparents, Sirius, Regulus and great-grandfather Arcturus in the drawing room.
"My, Hadrian, look at you! All grown up in your Hogwarts robes!" Walburga said, with a warm smile, "Kreacher! Fetch the camera please. I want you to take a photo of the family marking Hadrian's first year. You can put it in the hallway, beside the photos of Sirius and Regulus' first days."
Hadrian grinned at that, his nerves lessening slightly. He posed for the photograph, standing in between Sirius and Regulus.
"You'll behave, Hades, yeah?" Sirius asked, "No getting caught. Oh, and don't forget- we love you no matter what house you're sorted into! But if you're a Gryffindor, we aren't redecorating your room to be red and gold. It'll clash horribly with the rest of the house."
Hadrian giggled, "I definitely won't be Gryffindor. Slytherin, most likely. Maybe Ravenclaw."
“Sirius is correct, Hadrian, we are proud of you no matter where you end up," Arcturus said, with an amused smile, "But I personally bet on Slytherin, much to your Aunt Cass' disdain- she bet on Ravenclaw."
"Grandfather?" Regulus said in disbelief, "You're betting? At your age?"
"One is never too old for a good-natured bet. Come now, we don't want to keep the Malfoys or Notts waiting."
Platform 9 and three quarters was incredibly busy, even 45 minutes before the train left, and Hadrian was lucky that his male relatives were tall enough to see over the crowd to spot the familiar silvery-blond hair of the Malfoys. Draco was practically vibrating with excitement, and Theo looked incredibly unimpressed by everyone around him.
As they made their way towards the Malfoys, Sirius slowed, a smile making its way onto his face before he schooled his expression.
"A fine morning, isn't it Molly?" he drawled, "Lovely shawl, that was all the rage for widows in 1938, yes?"
Regulus snorted, covering it up with a cough as he placed his hand on Hadrian's shoulder to keep him moving.
"Heir Black," Mrs Weasley snarled from just behind them, "I would say it's a pleasure to see you here this morning, but of course I would much rather see you back in Azkaban."
Hadrian snickered at this, thankfully still within earshot to hear Sirius' response.
"Ah, careful there, I'm sure you aren't trying to start that blood feud my grandfather warned you about! No? Alright, good day then! Send Arthur my greetings, yes?"
Sirius caught up to the everyone else as they stood with the Malfoys and Notts, and Walburga scolded him- but did admit that Mrs Weasley's shawl was an absolute sight.
"Half an hour until the train departs, children. I think it's time to say our goodbyes," Lucius said, checking his pocket watch, "You'll want to find a good compartment- the ones in the fourth and fifth carriages are usually where Slytherins tend to sit, if you're looking for your other friends or Corvus."
Hadrian was very proud of himself for not tearing up as he said his goodbyes to his family, and before he knew it, they were stepping into carriage number five. They found Blaise waiting just inside, and he beamed at them.
"There you are! Pansy and Daphne sent me to wait on you, we found an empty compartment!" he said.
"Lead the way, Blaise," Theo said, gesturing forwards.
They all got settled in for the journey- Hadrian sat beside the window, with Theo beside him and Draco beside Theo. Facing Hadrian was Blaise, with Daphne facing Theo and Pansy facing Draco. Soon enough, they were joined by Millicent Bulstrode, Tracey Davis and Alexander Avery- filling up their compartment nicely. Millicent elected to sit on the floor of the compartment with her kitten, as she didn't want to keep her cooped up in a cage.
They were all in high spirits during the journey, laughing and chatting and passing around sweets. Corvus checked in with them, as did Fred and George Weasley and their friend Lee Jordan. Halfway through the journey, the compartment door was yanked open without so much as knock, and they were greeted by a young girl with slight buck teeth and bushy hair glowering at them. Her unmarked robes marked her as a first year.
"I don't suppose any of you have seen a toad?" she asked.
"No, sorry," Hadrian said, barely looking up from the book him and Theo had been reading together.
"No? You aren't going to help? Disgraceful. We'll clearly all be in the same year together and you can't even aid us?"
The boy she was with, who Hadrian hadn't noticed beforehand, shook his head, "Leave it, Hermione. You shouldn't expect anyone to help, they don't have to. My apologies to you all."
"No worries, Heir Longbottom," Draco said with a nod, "There's no need to apologise."
"Heir? What does that mean? That seems quite pretentious, if you ask me. There's nothing about that in Hogwarts: A History. I'd know- I memorised all the first year books for a head start!"
Ah, Hadrian realised, a mudblood.
"You won't find Heirs and Lords mentioned in a first year curriculum book. You'll need one on Wizarding culture- there should be some in the school library," Hadrian explained, "It is quite a shame that Wizarding culture isn't taken as a class anymore- Dumbledore replaced it with muggle studies in the 1970s."
"Well of course, he was right to do that! Muggle studies is an important class! Wizards need to know about muggles!"
"And you think that wixen, who will likely never enter the muggle world unless they have school friends with connections to the muggle world, need to know about muggles more than mud- muggleborns need to know about the magical world they've recently entered?" Theo asked, raising an eyebrow.
The girl frowned at that, "Dumbledore is a great wizard, and he wouldn't have replaced the class if it was actually necessary."
"If you insist," Blaise said, rolling his eyes.
"A pleasure meeting you, Heir Longbottom," Hadrian said, "Good luck in finding your pet toad. I recommend finding a prefect who could use a summoning charm for you."
Heir Longbottom nodded, "Good idea, thank you. A pleasure meeting you as well, Heir Successor Black- and the rest of you too, of course." He swiftly pulled the rather annoying girl back out of the compartment and closed the door. Hadrian heard her fire questions at Heir Longbottom as they walked down the carriage, and he felt rather sorry for him.
"You can do a summoning charm, can't you Hadrian?" Pansy said, with a smirk.
"Yes, but I wanted that mudblood gone before someone said something that would get us all in trouble. Theo already nearly slipped up."
Theo went slightly red, batting Hadrian's arm, and muttering "Force of habit."
"I know, but it's one we will all need to break. In public, anyway. Regulus told me that Rabastan got a weeks worth of detentions from Professor McGonagall when they were in fourth year for calling a Hufflepuff a mudblood outside her classroom, and she made him clean her classroom top to bottom without magic. Personally, I don't fancy that."
Theo shuddered, "I'd rather not, yeah."
"All eyes will be on Hadrian, anyway. The Boy-Who-Lived's evil twin," Draco said, amused.
"Don't remind me. Dumbledore will be looking for any excuse to have my head."
"You sure?" Millicent asked.
"Draco, Hadrian, Blaise, Daphne, Pansy and I spent half of summer in Occlumency lessons- even though Hadrian's a natural Occlumens anyway," Theo explained, rolling his eyes, "Our families weren't taking any risks- Dumbledore always tries to use Legilimency on students from Dark families. If you haven't started lessons yet, then there should be some books in the library. Don't make eye contact with Dumbledore at any cost."
"Merlin, that's a scary thought," Alexander muttered.
•••
"Firs' years! Firs' years over here! No more 'an four to a boat!" called the largest man Hadrian had ever seen in his life.
"Who in the fuck is that?" he muttered.
"Hagrid. He's the gameskeeper and groundsman, or something," Draco replied.
"Is he a half-giant?" Blaise asked, with thinly veiled disgust.
"I hadn't heard that, but now that you mention it..." Draco trailed off, seemingly in thought, as they both climbed into the boat that Hadrian and Theo had gotten into. In the boat to their left was Pansy, Daphne, Alexander and Millicent- with Tracey being called over to a different boat by a pair of girls she must have known. Hadrian was pretty sure it was Parvati and Padma Patil.
"You'll get yer firs' look at Hogwarts just round 'ere!" the probably-half giant called.
Hadrian was in awe. Photos truly didn't do the castle justice. It was incredible. He couldn't say he'd exactly mind spending the next seven years here. Not at all.
They clambered out of the boats soon after, with Hagrid knocking on a door.
"The firs' years, Professor McGonagall."
"Thank you, Hagrid. I'll take them from here. Follow me."
The entrance hall they stood in was intimidatingly large, and Professor McGonagall left them there after explaining the houses and inviting them to smarten themselves up. Hadrian noticed that awful Weasley boy standing beside Charlus directly in front of them and sighed.
"Fred and George said you have to fight a troll! I dunno if I can do that..." Weasley said, shifting nervously.
"Are you insane, Weasley? Or just stupid?" Draco scoffed, "Obviously, they were joking."
The boy whirled around to face Draco, his face as red as his hair, "As if you’d know any better, Malfoy!"
"We do, actually," Hadrian interjected, before Draco could say something particularly scathing, "We're sorted into houses by putting on an enchanted hat, the sorting hat. It reads our thoughts, and decides what house we're best suited for. Something tells me you certainly won't be Ravenclaw."
"Of course not! Us Weasleys always go to Gryffindor!" he said, proudly- seemingly not picking up on the blatant insult of his intelligence.
"Other than two of your brothers, in case you had forgotten," Draco said.
"Best of the bunch, I'd guess," Theo mused.
Weasley scowled, and opened his mouth to reply, but Charlus pulled his sleeve to turn him around as Professor McGonagall opened the doors to lead the first years into the Great Hall.
The sorting hat sang a song, which was mildly entertaining, but Hadrian was a lot more focused on the enchanted ceiling. He snapped back to attention as the sorting began- wanting to clap for his friends.
Alexander went to Slytherin, soon followed by Millicent and Tracey. Daphne, Draco, Theo and Pansy soon followed them. He learnt that the annoying mudblood from the train earlier was called Hermione Granger, and she somehow went to Gryffindor- he was sure she'd be put in Ravenclaw. No matter, he knew what was coming next.
"Potter, Charlus!" Professor McGonagall called.
Hadrian was immediately irritated by the chattering of the other students as Charlus stalked up to the front of the hall. Seriously, he was an eleven year old boy! He didn't defeat the Dark Lord when he was one- their mother did! With highly illegal sacrificial blood wards from the Black family library! He was sure there wouldn't be so much hero worship if the public found that out.
It took all of about 30 seconds before the sorting hat called out "GRYFFINDOR!". The cheering from the house's table was absolutely defeating, with chants of "WE GOT POTTER!", and was enough to make Hadrian wince. Never mind that, it was his turn now.
"Potter-Black, Hadrian!" Professor McGonagall called.
There was just as much whispering this time- a lot of it not seeming very positive. Mostly about his family- the Blacks. Hadrian lost count of how many whispers he heard about Sirius and Death Eaters and Dark Wizards as he walked forwards. He heard one girl ask the boy beside her what the chances were that Hadrian had inherited the Black family madness. That one was quite amusing, at least. Dumbledore was watching Hadrian like a hawk, his eyes narrowed slightly, as if he expected Hadrian to spin round at any second and start hurling curses.
He sat down on the stool with his posture perfectly straight, and the hat was placed on his head.
"Well, what have we got here? You're nothing like your twin, no. Gryffindor and Hufflepuff are immediately out of the question, you'd eat them alive! Ravenclaw or Slytherin... hmm. It's not really a tricky decision, is it? You have a thirst for knowledge, yes, but your cunning and ambition... my, my. Yes, well, I think we both know where you belong. Better beSLYTHERIN!"
Hadrian smiled as the hat was lifted off his head. There was even more whispers now, but the Slytherin table was clapping and cheering- with someone (potentially the twins' friend, Lee Jordan) calling out "We got the better Potter!"- and his friends were waiting, so Hadrian didn't particularly care. He did notice his brother looking rather outraged.
Hadrian sat down between Theo and Draco at the Slytherin table with a grin.
"45 seconds, Hadrian. Take it there wasn't much competition, no?" Theo asked.
"Gryffindor and Hufflepuff weren't even an option, the hat literally said I'd eat them alive. My thirst for knowledge doesn't outweigh my ambition or cunning, so Slytherin it was."
"Yeah, well, my desire to not answer all those bloody riddles half asleep just to enter a common room was the deciding factor between Slytherin and Ravenclaw," Theo said, grinning back at Hadrian.
"Aunt Cass bet against my great-grandfather that I would be in Ravenclaw. I'm sure the amount of galleons she owes him now could buy the Weasleys out of poverty," Hadrian said lightly, and Draco choked beside him.
As the sorting ended, with Blaise joining them in Slytherin, Dumbledore stood up and welcomed them before giving some rather ominous warnings about the third floor corridor and violent deaths. Odd.
"Now I suppose I shall say a few words for you all. Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Now- we feast!"
"Is he mental?" Hadrian asked.
"Absolutely barmy," Draco said, frowning.
"Do you really need to ask?" Theo asked.
"No, I suppose not," Hadrian said, before beginning to fill his plate. He went with roast chicken, roasted potatoes, yorkshire pudding and peas- with gravy, of course. He wasn't a savage. He filled his goblet with apple juice, and went to take a sip- but his Heir rings heated up on his hand.
"Uhm, guys? Has anyone taken a drink yet?" he asked. The other first years shook their heads.
"Try to, if you have a Heir ring. Does it warn you, or is that just me?"
Draco, Theo, Blaise, Pansy, Daphne, Alexander and Millicent all lifted their goblets, and swiftly set them back down.
"That's- yeah. My ring heated up," Blaise said.
"Yeah."
"Should I not drink mine either?" Tracy asked, panicking, "My brother is the Heir, not me."
Daphne lifted Tracey's goblet and frowned slightly, "No, yours is fine."
"We're all drinking different things, so it can't be the juice that's enchanted, it's specifically our goblets," Theo said, looking rather worried.
Hadrian looked around the table, "There's plenty of other people wearing Heir rings that are drinking just fine. It's just us."
"What do we do?" Pansy asked, looking quite stressed.
"We tell Professor Snape, and we write home about it. Tell our families not to cause havoc just yet. We can tell Corvus too, and ask him how to transfigure our own goblets and then use Aguamenti to fill them with water. Tracey, you should either ask one of us to check your goblet before you drink or do the same as us. Tell your parents about what happened to us, and ask if they can send you protective jewellery. The rings would detect anything in our food too."
"Good decision, Hades," Theo muttered.
"I can't believe it!" Pansy exclaimed, "It's our first night here and Dumbledore is already trying to potion us!"
"What's going on here?" Corvus asked, appearing behind Hadrian.
"Our Heir rings are warning us there's potions in our goblets," Draco explained.
"That fucking-" Corvus began, "Merlin. Alright. No one drank anything?"
"No, we're going to tell Snape and our parents. Can you teach us how to transfigure our own goblets?"
"Right, good. I can teach you, yeah. This happens every sodding year. I can't believe I forgot. No one in Slytherin has been caught out yet, but I pity the other houses. It doesn't tend to happen after the welcome feast, but I'll teach you all how to create those goblets. I'm sure Professor Snape won't mind the firsties staying up a little bit later tonight."
"I'm sure Professor Snape would mind, in fact, Mr Lestrange. What is the meaning of this?" came the voice of the professor in question.
"Every first year except for Miss Davis has detected potions in their goblets, sir. I'm hoping to keep them up a little bit later tonight to teach them how to transfigure goblets themselves."
"Almost every first year- Salazar, give me strength. That's worse than previous years. I'll be having a word with the house elves. I don't care who tells them to put what in who's goblet, if they do it to another Slytherin then it will be on pain of death... but yes- you may keep the first years up later tonight, Mr Lestrange," Snape said, before stalking back to the staff table. Professor Quirrell flinched at the look on his face.
"Well, anyway, welcome to Hogwarts!" Corvus said, "I promise it isn't all bad, you just need to watch out for Dumbledore."
"We know," Theo said darkly, stabbing a roast potato particularly viciously with his fork.
"Yes, we did pay attention this summer," Draco said, "It was only said to us, oh, I don't know, maybe fifty times?"
Corvus rolled his eyes, "With good reason, Draco. Merlin help my father, I'm going to mention this in my letter and he's going to have to stop mother from marching in and cursing the old man sterile."
”Let him do it,” Hadrian muttered.