Chapter 2 – Hadrian and the Dark Magic
"Get out of the way, Peirce!" Hadrian grunted as he was slammed into the wall. The books in his arms dropped to the ground from the impact, scattering across the hallway floor. The two Slytherin fifth years didn't spare him a glance as they continued walking past him.
Hadrian sighed as he bent down to retrieve his fallen items before they were kicked further away by the students walking by. No one even so much as glanced his direction, continuing on as if they hadn't seen anything.
This wasn't anything new. Everyone at Hogwarts knew Harry Peirce as the weak and unremarkable Slytherin fifth year. Harry was average in all of his classes and his brown hair, brown eyes, and short stature gave him no rememberable features that drew attention. Not to mention that the 'Mudblood' name automatically made him despised among his blood supremist peers. The only time other students, mainly other Slytherins, would pay him attention was when they needed something from him—which had only happened a hand full of times—or were angry and needed someone to bully.
Not many people bothered with the affairs of other houses, and no one wanted to ire of the Slytherin House for butting in. Besides, with no friends, it wasn't like there was someone who was going to stick their neck out for him.
Hadrian finally gathered up his remaining items and hurried along to Transfiguration. The invisible markings on the plain silver band on his left hand shimmered ever so slightly in the rays of the sunlight as he passed by the arches leading to the quad. The ring, while simple in appearance, was the Peverell heir ring. Engraved on the ring were the runes he used to conceal his magic and alter not only his ring's appearance, but his appearance as well.
As per order from his parents, it was Hadrian's job to graduate from Hogwarts without drawing attention, especially from the Dark Lord and Ruler of the Magical World, Lord Voldemort. Thus, Hadrian Peverell used a disguise and the name Harry Peirce while at school.
Luckily, since Voldemort had an entire magical world to rule, Hadrian didn't have many chances for encounters with him. He only visited Hogwarts a couple times a semester to give announcements, check on student's progress, and teach private lessons to the 'elite' sixth and seventh year students.
Hadrian arrived at class just before the bell rang and slipped into his seat in the back row. Today they were learning how to change a dinner plate into a mushroom. As heir to one of the most ancient and powerful families in the magical world, this was child's play for him. However, there was no way Harry Peirce would already know how to do this.
Hadrian waved his wand in the appropriate motions while he watched as the other students like Draco Malfoy, Blaise Zabini, Theodore Nott, and the rest of his Pureblood groupies showed off their transfiguration prowess by correctly completing the assigned task within minutes. Hadrian waited until about half of the class successfully completed the transfiguration before tapping the plate with his wand and doing so himself.
Sometimes it was like a game to him. When he was bored, he would watch and see how well the other students would understand the material and see if he could get a score exactly in the middle of the rest of the class, whether it be exams, homework, or in-class practice. After all, what else was he supposed to occupy the slow in-class hours with?
The bell rang, signaling the end of the rather uneventful period. Hadrian and the rest of the class began gathering their things when they were stopped by the professor.
"Remember students," Professor McGonagall said loudly, "all fifth years are to report to the Great Hall after breakfast tomorrow morning for your magic aptitude testing."
Hadrian tensed at McGonagall's words. He had almost forgotten about the test. It was near the end of their fifth year, so the Dark Lord was going test their magical cores. If he thought their cores were strong enough, he would add them to the 'elite' group of students that the Death Eaters, and sometimes he himself, taught personally.
Students that got into the 'elite' group were almost guaranteed a spot in within the Death Eater ranks. It was the most privileged group anyone could ever hope of getting into, and only about five students every year got in. Even the children of the current Death Eaters were not guaranteed a spot. Entry truly depended on natural magical ability.
Normally, Hadrian wouldn't be too concerned with passing through unnoticed, even with the Dark Lord himself conducting the testing, but lately his magical core has been growing erratically, to the point that even the runes on his ring were struggling to contain the random bursts of magic. Hadrian didn't know why this was happening, and his ventures through the library books couldn't explain it either. Natural magical growth was supposed to be gradual, with increasing intensity until the child was of age at seventeen.
"Are you nervous Draco?" Zabini's voice snapped Hadrian out of his thoughts and reminded him that he was still loitering in the classroom. He quickly resumed gathering his things while the other Slytherin's were conversing.
"Of course not." Draco's haughty tone would have made Hadrian snort if he wasn't already trained in social etiquette. "My father's part of the Dark Lord's inner circle. He knows what the Dark Lord is looking for and is already sure of my acceptance. Besides, I'm already the top student in our year. If I don't get in, nobody in our year will."
"I wish I could say the same." Nott's dejected voice carried through the room as Hadrian walk out. "This isn't exactly something you can study for…" The conversation faded as the distance between Hadrian and the room increased. Since this was his last class for the day, he wasn't going to be expected anywhere until curfew so he time to himself.
Hadrian made his way to the seventh floor, and after glancing down the hallways to make sure he was alone, he summoned the entrance to the Room of Requirement after walking past the wall three times. He slipped inside and locked the door—he wasn't going to take any chances incase another student just happened to know of the hidden room.
The room looked like it typically did when he needed a calm and relaxing private place. The walls were bare, but the floor was covered in a lush carpet with a pile of pillows in the center. The soft glow of the fireplace lit the room from just beyond the pile.
Hadrian set his books down and dropped onto the pillows. He closed his eyes and cleared his mind to begin meditation in order to connect more with his magic core. His magic slowly spread out, allowing him to feel the thick magic of Hogwarts surrounding the castle.
His increase in magic sensitivity was a pleasant surprise for him after he began meditating. It wasn't something he was born with, but with the growth of his core, his magical abilities seemed to be growing in unison. The meditation helped him develop the ability by allowing him to practice with a calm and controlled mind.
At first it was hard to feel anything besides the suffocating thickness of the ancient magic of Hogwarts, but the more he practiced, the more he could feel through it. Over time, he began to feel the magic of the students, and with this, he was able to find the general location they were in. He still couldn't feel much magic outside of the meditative state, but it was getting stronger by the day. Although, he could now feel Hogwarts and some of the more powerful professors, like Snape's, magic outside of meditation.
He let his magic spread further and felt through the school, it was almost like routine now. His magic almost reached its current distance limit when a sudden cold feeling came over him causing him to shiver. Before he could react, a dense, dark, unfamiliar magic brushed against his own thinly spread one.
Reacting to the touch, the dark magic suddenly struck out and reached for his. It grabbed at his magic and began tracing it back toward its source. Hadrian quickly snapped out of his meditative state. He frantically grabbed his wand and tapped it to the ring. The suppression runes glowed fiercely as he activated the stronger ones that he used when he had accidental magical outbursts. He had to make sure his magic signature disappeared before the owner of the dark magic could trace it back to him.
Hadrian waited, not sure what he was expecting, but nothing seemed to happen in the minutes that followed. He finally allowed himself to relax and fell back against the pillows. Now that the adrenalin was dying down, he realized that he was shivering.
Hadrian wrapped his arms around himself since, without his magic, he couldn't cast a warming charm. The coldness from the dark energy must have gotten to him when it grabbed at his magic. He wasn't sure whose magic it was, but whomever it belonged to was powerful. Generally, the student's magic was light and wispy, easy to brush through, but this dark magic was thick, like a blanket of darkness.
The person must have also had strong magical sensitivity. They felt the light brush of his own magic and reacted almost faster than Hadrian could retreat. It wouldn't do to be discovered when he was only two years away from graduating.
He laid there for a while, until he got his shivering under control. The warmth from the fireplace really helped. It was already getting late by the time he felt ready to get up. He felt weak without his magic, but he didn't want to risk releasing it until he was sure that the dark magic user was no longer looking for him.
He grabbed his books and headed back to the Slytherin dorms. The dorm room was empty when he entered, not that his roommates would have noticed him anyway. He was lucky that he didn't end up rooming with Malfoy and his groupies in the first year. He ended up with some rather unremarkable year mates that didn't bother him so long as he didn't bother them.
Hadrian laid down to sleep. He canceled the extra suppression runes and relaxed into the comforting feeling of his returned magic. He was tired from today's events and it wasn't like he had homework anyway. The course load was easy enough that he was already weeks ahead in his classes, even the more difficult ones like Ancient Runes and Arithmancy.
Just before he fell asleep he remembered to put up the wards around his bed to keep out unwanted visitors.
Hadrian wasn't sure what woke him, but he felt almost sick as he drifted back to consciousness. He shivered from an odd chill in the air that even the thicker blankets on his bed didn't keep out. It felt like there was something dense in the air around him, something unusual.
Hadrian jerked awake when he realized what the feeling was. It was same thing he felt from the dark magic from yesterday while meditating. Just as he reached for his wand to activate the runes, the magic dissipated.
He threw his curtains aside and got up to see if he could sense it, but the magic was long gone. A quick glance at his roommates told him that they still slept soundly and were unaffected by the strange magic. Hadrian sighed as he cast a quick Tempus to tell him the time. It was just after six in the morning and too late for him to go back to sleep, so he decided to get dressed and head to breakfast early.
A few Ravenclaws were sitting at their table by the time he arrived but the rest were void of students in the early hours. Hadrian sat down at his house table and started on some homework to keep his mind occupied. He grabbed a piece of toast to eat as he worked. He needed to keep his energy up after all.
Students began trickling into the Great Hall as time passed. The hall soon filled up with eager and nervous fifth years who were anticipating the upcoming magic test. Even Draco, for all the confidence he showed yesterday, appeared nervous. His normally pale skin was even paler, and his hands kept fidgeting with anything he could get a hold of. Hadrian would have laughed if he didn't feel the same nervousness himself.
"Look! Look! It's him!" The eager whispers of two excited witches caused Hadrian to look up. Standing up by the teachers table was none other than the Dark Lord himself.
The Dark Lord was a very attractive man. For someone supposedly in his seventies, he appeared to be around his late twenties. His dark hair and high cheekbones showed traits of a Pureblood, but nobody knew what his true parentage was, not even his closest followers.
The most unique characteristic though was his piercing red eyes. They looked over the crowd of gawking and starry-eyed students in neutral interest, but Hadrian could swear he looked almost bored. Just like he expected, the Dark Lord glanced over him like he didn't even exist.
The hall quieted down as the Headmaster, Professor Snape, walked up to the podium at the front of the hall. "All fifth-year students are required to remain for testing. The rest of you are to head to class." The hall suddenly filled with the sounds of shuffling students as they stuffed the last of their breakfasts in their mouths and quickly grabbed their things. They hurried out of the hall as to not incur Snape's wrath and get detention.
When the students had left, except for the forty some fifth years, the tables were vanished, leaving the hall rather barren. "Line up," Snape all but snapped at them in irritation and the students hurried to comply.
They ended up standing shoulder to shoulder, reminding Hadrian of an army line up. Although, when he thought about it, it wasn't very far from the truth.
The air practically vibrated with nervous energy as the students fidgeted in anxious worry. Hadrian himself was no better. He hoped that his anxious state wouldn't trigger any accidental magic bursts.
Ideally, he would have activated the stronger suppression runes on his heir ring, but the complete lack of magic from a student at Hogwarts would be even more suspicious. All he could do now what wait and see what would happen next.
The Dark Lord walked up to the first student—Neville Longbottom if Hadrian remembered correctly—and waved his wand in an intricate and unfamiliar manner. A dark purple ball of light appeared above Longbottom's head.
The Dark Lord remained passive at the results, although Hadrian swore he could see the corners of his mouth turn down slightly in a frown. "No." The simple statement, although said quietly, could easily be heard by the eager students watching.
According to the older students, the darker the color was the lower the magical ability of the wizard. Seeing as how the purple color above Longbottom's head was almost dark enough to be black, Hadrian concluded that he must have very little magical aptitude.
Longbottom's face colored red in embarrassment, and Hadrian could see how he clutched his hands in agitation. Longbottom was no fan of the Dark Lord. After all, the boy's parents died fighting a losing battle for the Order of the Phoenix leader Dumbledore. His parents were powerful Aurors under the old Ministry of Magic, but apparently Longbottom was nowhere near as capable as his parents.
The Dark Lord continued down the row of students, most of the results yielding a medium purple color much to the student's disappointment. When the Dark Lord reached Draco Malfoy, the usually medium purple was exchanged for a very light one.
"Impressive," the Dark Lord said. "As expected though, considering who your father is. Congratulations on being the first capable student this year."
Draco practically glowed at the Dark Lord's praise. His arrogant attitude coming back so fast that Hadrian had to fight not to roll his eyes.
The Dark Lord continued toward the end where Hadrian was, and as expected the 'elite' students so far where Draco Malfoy, Blaise Zabini, Daphne Greengrass, and a quiet Ravenclaw named Sue Li. Sadly for Nott, he wasn't deemed strong enough and his disappointment shown evidently on his face.
Finally, the Dark Lord came to stand before him. Hadrian kept a straight face, avoiding looking at the man by staring at the ground instead. At the close proximity, Hadrian could sense a familiar dense, dark energy. The sick feeling from this morning returned with vengeance, and he had to fight hard not to shiver at the coldness.
He tensed when the realization hit. The attack from last night and the feeling this morning was the magic of the Dark Lord himself. Hadrian nearly blanched, what if he recognized his magic?
He was distracted as he felt his own magic wanting to react to the abundant energy in the air. He gritted his teeth and clenched his hands into fists while trying to control his wayward energy. He felt the runes on his ring heat up in warning.
Had Hadrian looked up, he would have noticed the Dark Lord's eyes flicker to the silver band on his hand as a small glowing light caught his eye.
Faster than Hadrian could blink, the man had snatched his left wrist in a crushing grip and yanked it toward himself. Hadrian winced and stumbled forward at the sudden pull. Pain lanced through his wrist at the grip. Just a bit harder and Hadrian was sure the man was going to break it all together.
The Dark Lord examined his ring in interest, but, luckily, by now the runes had stopped glowing, disappearing into the silver band. "What is this, child?" The Dark Lord's unnerving red eyes stared at him impatiently.
"A-a gift from my father." It wasn't hard to play the role of the meek student with the Dark Lord. The man's presence could easily make anyone nervous. He kept his eyes downcast to avoid any chance of legilimency.
"I see," the Dark Lord said in a drawn-out manner. He studied the band for an extra moment before he must have deemed it unworthy of further inquiry because he suddenly let go of Hadrian's wrist and stepped back.
He waved his wand in the same intricate manner that it had done many times that day. A medium purple ball presented itself above his head. "Not enough." It was hard to place the change in the Dark Lord's tone. Was it disbelief? Annoyance? Disappointment?
He turned abruptly and walked back up to the front of the hall. The overwhelming magic presence retreated with him, allowing Hadrian to finally relax a little.
"Those who I have told to stay behind will remain here," the Dark Lord said addressing the students. "The rest are dismissed." The students, along with Hadrian, quickly made their way out of the Great Hall, leaving the new addition to the 'elite' class with the Dark Lord.