Desperate Times Call For Desperate Measures

Summary: Isolating himself after his defeat of Voldemort, Hadrian spends three years by himself as a self inflicted punishment for his guilt over the Final Battle. He receives a letter that manages to bring him out of his seclusion, if only temporarily.

Chapter 1: Gringotts

The sound of fingertips drumming on a tabletop was the only sound permeating the air. A young man; barely recognizable, was the source as he mulled over his current situation. Hadrian Potter had vanished from the Wizarding World without a trace, leaving immediately after attending the funerals of those fallen in battle. His only contact with the outside had been with the Weasleys and Hermione, but even then it was just a quickly scrawled message every few months stating he was still alive, Hedwig being under strict orders not to wait around for a reply.

Hadrian's once emerald eyes, dulled to a jade over the past few years due to his rather dim surroundings, scanned his so called home. It wasn't much really, a cave he had dug himself with magic on the side of a cliff that was only accessible by flight. But being that he had isolated himself to a muggle territory in the States, he felt relatively safe trip ay from prying eyes. Though that didn't stop the mild compulsion ward he had set up to fend off any owls trying to bring him letters. The only thing only post he hadn't been able to ward off were those from Gringotts, bloody Goblin magic could penetrate damn near any ward.

Unconsciously give running a hand through his shaggy and unkempt hair, Hadrian stood from his desk, turning towards the mouth of the cave where he felt the wards being tripped. 'Bloody Goblins.' The thought ran through his head quite bitterly, he had worked damn hard on that runic sequence!

Pacing towards where he knew the owl would enter, he scanned the surroundings of his dwelling. The walls of the cavern towered up to the peak of the cliff that he resided in, several outcroppings and ledges for Hedwig to roost and stretch her wings. Hadrian hadn't taken to much decorating, not even having many items to decorate with in the first place. There was a large bed he had conjured nestled away in the corner, one of the few luxuries he had allowed himself after spending so many years cooped up in a bloody cupboard. At the foot of his bed laid his trunk, housing several pairs of mostly similar clothing as well as his most treasured items including the Marauders Map as well as his Invisibility Cloak.

He had smoothed out the back half of the cave, easily equalling one hundred yards, to be used as a training ground. Large stone targets were littered across the area with large runes etched into the back of them allowing them to be repaired after being destroyed.

The other luxury that he allowed himself was a kitchen. While he didn't have electricity, magic was surely a wonderful replacement. Even so, he preferred to cook the Muggle way. He had found a sort of peace when he was working over the fires of the stove. While he had hated cooking for his relatives, that was only because they forced him to do all of their cooking. However, when cooking for himself he certainly found much more enjoyment out of the art.

The last area of interest was what he called his study. Even if hough it was the smallest section of the cave, it easily held the most objects. His desk measured ten feet long and was cluttered with several rolls of parchment, some blank but most filled with his heavy scrawl of notes about different branches of magic. The shelves attached to the wall above his desk held a few books that he had collected in the States, most notably being his tomes on Ancient Runes.

He swept his arm up just in time as a large, regal looking Horned Owl glided effortlessly before making a landing on his outstretched arm. Immediately sticking its leg out towards him, the owl gave him a knowing look as if saying, 'Hurry up already.' Chuckling silently to himself at how he could interpret an owl's mannerisms so easily, he removed the owl of its load, not even flinching as the bird took off back towards the Wizarding Bank.

Unfurling the parchment, he scanned the contents with hardly a note of interest. 'Probably just more vault statements.' As he continued to read the message, his eyes slowly began to narrow as the implications began to set in.

Dear Mister Potter,

Your presence has been requested for an audience with our Senior noting Manager at the time of Eleven O'Clock on the morning of August 16th, 2001. Please proceed to the London Branch of Gringotts Wizarding Bank and ask for Ragnok upon your arrival. We have important matters to discuss.

No response will be necessary, we shall be expecting you on time.

Signed,

Griphook

Executive Banker

Gringotts, London Branch

"Fucking hell." His voice sounded rugged, if a little scratchy. Almost as if he hardly spoke, which was the truth. Besides talking to Hedwig (A totally sane thing to do, he had managed to convince himself) he didn't have any other reason to speak. He had managed to hone all of his spellwork to silent casting, even the new ones he managed to pick up in his solitude. Runes; a subject he found an immense passion for in his studies, didn't require any form of speaking unless they were keyed to activate with a specific word.

As Hadrian's train of thought wandered for a moment, his mind suddenly snapped back to reality. He cast a wandless 'Tempus' and realized to his luck that the damn owl had managed to deliver its letter a mere two and a half hours before his scheduled appointment based on the time difference between London and Oregon.

Letting lose a stream of mumbled curses, Hadrian conjured up a mirror and took in his appearance. His hair, which was already near impossible to tame had only become more unruly and now fell down around mid-back. His lack of a shave was quite obvious as a rugged beard extended several inches off of his chin, a mustache also being present as well. The last thing he wanted was to be noticed, and walking into Diagon Alley the way he looked now was the perfect way to do so. Even during the middle of August, when the alley would be swarmed with Hogwarts students. He doubted even Ron or Hermione would be able to recognize him in his current state.

Shucking off his work out clothes, he made his way to his trunk and ruffled through the few possessions that he had brought with him. Finding a pair of black pants that didn't have too many rips as well as a gray shirt that fit him well enough, he donned the outfit before lacing up a pair of black combat boots that had seen better days.

As he started to leave his cave, a soft trilling called out to him, causing him to turn around and see Hedwig with an inquiring expression. "Sorry girl." He rubbed her feathers affectionately as she leaned into his touch, "You're too recognizable. If I show up in the Alley with you I'll never make it back in one piece." His English accent had all but vanished, showing how much time he had been away. "I'll come back as soon as the meetings over, alright?" Hedwig playfully nipped his fingers before taking off for the skylight he had opened up for her to hunt. Shaking his head at the Snowy Owl's antics he made ready to leave again, stepping past the warded cave mouth and turning back towards his dwelling. He raised an arm, lowering it while focusing his magic as the mouth to the cave closed down. The process left his home looking as if nothing was there besides the side of a cliff. With a nod of satisfaction that everything was still set, he gazed down from his perch. His cave sat on the coast of Oregon, giving a spectacular view of the Pacific Ocean. The waves crashed against each other as he faintly noticed some muggle surfers on the water trying their luck with nature. Focusing on his destination, he quickly spun on his heel with his destination at the forefront of his mind and promptly vanished without a sound.

August 16th, 2001 | Leaky Cauldron | 10:27 AM

As he sat in the newly redecorated pub waiting for service, he glanced around. A lot had changed since he left, the lighting wasn't so dim and it appeared someone had run over the place with more than a few cleaning charms. His thoughts were cut off by an overly bubbly female voice, "What can I get for you sir?" He looked over to find an attractive young witch, probably around his age. Dark brown hair pulled back into a ponytail with light blue eyes. The name tag pinned to her uniform pocket reading Tracey.

"Whiskey, please. A double." His eyes met back with hers as she nodded and went to fetch his drink. He had barely begun brooding over his impending meeting with the Goblins before she returned, drink in hand. "Thank you, miss." He smiled at her, paying for the drink and giving her an extra galleon.

She smiled at the tip, "Thank you sir. I've never seen you before, not to mention your accent. You wouldn't be from the States would you?"

He nodded, "Just apparated in from Oregon." He thought he recognized this girl from Hogwarts. One Tracey Davis, out of Slytherin if his hunch was correct. Another good reason for his disguise. Luckily he had never been within five feet of Tracey so she wouldn't recognize him. He was pretty sure how friends wouldn't be able to either, but he didn't really feel like testing his luck. That usually ended up not being in his favor.

Her eyes lit up at his response, "My family is originally from Washington! We moved over here a few years before I started at Hogwarts." She suddenly flushed in embarrassment before extending a smooth, manicured hand. "Apologies for being so rude, my name is Tracey Davis. Welcome to London!"

He chuckled softly at her behavior, not exactly very Slytherin like. "No need for apologies, Tracey. I'm Hadrian, it's a pleasure to meet you." He technically didn't lie, that was his real name after all. He just hated going by it as a kid, however it has managed to grow on him in the last few years.

"Nice to meet you, Hadrian. I need to get back to work now, have a nice stay!" She smiled one more time and turned on her heel heading towards the kitchen to pick up another order. Finishing his drink in one gulp, Hadrian sighed as he stood up and made his way towards the Alley, quickly realizing that he only had about fifteen minutes to arrive at Gringotts, and Goblins most certainly had no patience for tardiness.

As Hadrian walked towards the towering white building, he couldn't help the slight smile that graced his lips. The Alley was busier than he had ever seen it, and people didn't look scared anymore. If there was one thing to be thankful for, it was the fact that these families could walk out I'm broad daylight without fear of getting attacked by Death Eaters at any moment. His temporary good mood was quickly soured by remembering all the families that were now broken over the war, because he didn't sacrifice himself for the cause.

Shaking his head of those annoying thoughts, he entered the bank and was greeted by the sight of hundreds of people standing in queues, waiting to go to their vaults. He looked around before walking up to a Goblin that was seemingly identical to the others sitting behind a desk, "Hello, Griphook." Hadrian spoke respectfully, bowing to the Goblin while making sure to keep eye contact.

Griphook merely raised an eyebrow before giving a short bow in return, "I never thought that I would meet a wizard that would recognize a Goblin that they had met only once before." The Goblin stood up and motioned Hadrian towards a hallway adjacent to the room they were currently in, "Come. Ragnok is expecting you." Hadrian followed Griphook to a large oaken door, a plaque reading 'Ragnok - Branch Manager'. Hadrian looked down at Griphook as he spoke, "Knock and he will let you in when he is ready." Griphook then turned around once more and left the hallway, leaving Hadrian alone.

Hadrian knocked on the door three times, only slightly alarmed as a deep voice responded, "Enter." He opened the door and stepped into the office, noting a very Spartan workspace. There was no personal effects to be seen, thought Hadrian wasn't sure what Goblins would have in their office besides gold or perhaps the skull of an enemy they slayed. Hadrian immediately tuned his attention to the one sitting behind the desk and bowed in the same manner he did to Griphook. Ragnok himself bowed back before speaking, "Mr. Potter, it is good to see you enter the walls of our fine establishment after so long. It is refreshing to have a respectful face behind my desk rather than the usual crowd that I am accustomed to."

Hadrian stood up straight before sitting in the offered chair, "Lord Ragnok, I have done much studying in my time and your people have never shown me any disrespect. Even after the incident with the he dragon a few years ago." Hadrian mentally cringed at that memory, not exactly his finest moment. Although, he had managed to pay off the debt too the Goblins in full.

"Yes well that's blood under the bridge now, the reason I have asked you here is a bit of a...concern with your vault." Ragnok clasped his hands together in front of him. "You see, it appears that someone has managed to break into your vault. There is nothing left."

Hadrian's eyebrows rose into his hairline as he stood up in alarm, "You're telling me that the entirety of my inheritance is gone?!" He ran a hand through his hair, a look of complete shock displayed on his face. It wasn't that he cared that much about money. He knew he would never be able to spend that much money in three lifetimes. But the fact that there was nothing left? None of the items that had been from his ancestors remained in his vault? "How did this happen?" He spoke calmly, resolving to figure out what the hell had happened.

Ragnuk sighed, "We are working on that, we have our best investigators down at the vault tracing the crime scene with our best magic. But until then, we don't know how this happened. We didn't want this to leak to the Prophet so we felt it would be wiser to speak to you in person. We of course will keep you updated on our search and inform you once we learn of anything."

Hadrian nodded absently and bowed once again, repeating the Goblin farewell back to Ragnuk before adding, "I've trusted Gringotts with my finances while I've been away, I trust that you'll figure out who did this." He then turned and exited the room, stalking aggressively out of the bank.

Hadrian was puzzled, perhaps more so than he can ever recall being. 'The only other Gringotts break in to date was on the vault with the Philosopher's Stone. But that vault was empty.' It doesn't explain how someone managed to get into his vault, much less remove everything that was inside. Hadrian huffed in annoyance as he reentered the Leaky Cauldron, quickly pacing back out towards Muggle London, not noticing another figure get up and follow him on his way out.

"HARRY JAMES POTTER!"

Hadrian froze, seconds before disapparating as he took stock of the situation. He could pretend he wasn't himself, but that obviously wouldn't go very well. He sighed, turning around with a half smile on his face, running a hand through his mane, "Hey 'Mione."

And that concludes the first chapter of Desperate Times Call For Desperate Measures! This is my first attempt at writing anything so hopefully some of you will enjoy it. Just a few things about this fic.

Length: I plan on this story to eventually be epic in length, at least 300k words but probably more.

About Hadrian: He will be powerful. Not overpowered, and not gaining power at a crazy fast speed but he will be able to do work.

Bashing: There will be none. I don't mind bashing but most of the time it's too extreme, so there won't be any bashing in this story for no reason.

Pairing: Most likely Harry/Daphne, but I haven't decided quite yet. It won't happen right away and she won't be the only woman Hadrian gets with.

Name: I hate the name Harry, so I'm not using it. I've seen other artists use the name Hadrian as well so credit goes out to them.

Canon: Everything up to the Final Battle is canon with the exception of two things. One is Harry's new name, and two is Hedwig being alive. Really hated how anticlimactic her death was in DH plus she had no reason to die.

Rating: Rated M for blood, violence, sex, and all that other cool stuff. Be warned now.

Disclaimer: I'm only saying this once, I do not own Harry Potter. If I did, that epilogue sure as hell wouldn't have happened.

Next chapter should hopefully be up within a week, maybe sooner or maybe later.

Also this was written on a tablet so please forgive any mistakes!

Please review and let me know what you think! Peace.

-JangoStarkiller

Edit: Added some details about Hadrian's cave. Next chapter hopefully ready tonight!