1983
It had been two years since Harry – or now known as Hadrian, lived with his grandfather. And he could say that life with Charles, a kind but firm man, was interesting. Charles had taught him the history of the Potter family and their standing in both the muggle world and the magical world.
The House of Potter was the most ancient and noble house that originated in ancient Rome. During the time of the Roman Empire, the entire world feared the image of a black dragon in a field of red – the banners of the House of Potter. Civilians and most enemies of Rome alike surrendered once they saw an inkling of the House of Potter
The House of Potter also produced many war mages, making the family reputation as a war monger grew in both the Romans and the Roman Senate. It was their fear that led the Roman Senate to try to end the family by sending five Roman legions to the Potter land. The attack on the family had failed because rather than fighting the Potters, the legion joined.
The Senate foolishly believed that the legion would fight against their own general when their loyalty had been cemented to the family. Soldiers believed people who had gone through hell with them more than cowards who hide behind a wall.
The Potter and the legion then quickly joined with Julius Caesar went he cross the Rubicon together they march to Rome. After the victory of Julius Caesar and the potter in the civil war, the potter family reputation as untouchable and powerful mages was cemented with the death of the Senate and the beginning of the Roman Empire the potter power was unrivalled.
It wasn't until the Roman Empire was split in two that the potter moved to Britain – or Britannia, as the Romans knew it at the time. The House of Potter quickly was able to integrate themselves with the original Roman settlers and the locals.
During the centuries that the Roman Empire split, the Potter family moved to Britain. The Potter family then started growing their wealth, creating many potions that were used until this day, making the Potter family one of the richest families in the world.
The Potter family were also married to many ancient families, muggles and wizards alike; the most significant families were the Peverells and the Gryffindor family. The Peverells was a family known in ancient times for their practice in obscure magic – magic like necromancy and other fields that pushed the boundaries of reality and time itself. The Peverell family came from ancient Egypt, with many of them being Pharaohs and the Egyptian high priests and priestesses.
The most notable thing the Peverell family ever created was the Deathly Hallows: three items said to be blessed by Death itself; the elder wand, the resurrection stone, and the cloak of invisibility. This item, if joined together, made the one who united them the master of death. Many had tried to become the deathly hallow but most failed.
The other thing the Peverell family created was the book of the death. A book that was said contained the evilest and vile thing that was ever created. The book itself was made using human skin and its text was written in their blood. The book contained many ancient curses and ritual in ancient Egypt.
The Peverell family married into the Potter family during the twelfth century, with Iolanthe Peverell marrying into the Potter family. She was the granddaughter of Ignotus Peverell, the youngest brother of the three brothers that created the Deathly Hallows. In the absence of male heirs, she, the eldest of her generation, had inherited her grandfather's legendary invisibility cloak. It was Iolanthe that explained to Hardwin the tradition in her family that the possession of this cloak had to remain a secret, and her new husband respected her wishes. From then on, the cloak was handed down to the eldest in each new generation.
The Gryffindor was a family that was the descendants of the Viking invader of Britain. The family was known as a family that practice battle magic; the most well-known and powerful of their family was Godric Gryffindor, one of the four founders of Hogwarts. Godric Gryffindor daughter married into the Potter family before he died.
The family continue living in secrecy and building the fortune. The most notable thing the Potter family did during this time was the donation of their land in Scotland to be used to build Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry; and rebuilding and moving their ancestral castle to Dover as they created another magical village in Britain, Pottersville. The castle and village itself were created inside a magical forest that was filled with magical creatures like trolls, giant, centaur, and other creature.
The Potter family also started joining in the British expansion in the 17th century especially in North America, India and Asia. During the American Revolution, the Potter family was split in two when the heir apparent at that time joined the patriotic country in their war for independence, while the Lord Potter at that time was a part of Britain army.
That marked the start of the Potter family civil war, causing many of their Bannermen and family members to die. The Potter family finally reunited after the death of Lord Potter and his heir. The youngest son of the previous Lord Potter took the title of Lord Potter and married his niece to finally unite the house.
It wasn't until the Global Wizarding War that the banner of the black dragon was fear again. During the early rise of Grindelwald, his grandfather was one of his followers believing his word of wizard ruling the muggles. But Grindelwald obsession with the deathly hallow and finding out that the Potter family as a descendant of the Peverell brother order the capture of his great-grandfather Fleamont potter in Paris. The kidnapping failed, resulting in the death of Fleamont and Euphemia potter.
His grandfather was in the Russian empire at the time of the attack, attending to his sister, Elizabeth Potter's wedding with the Russian prince, Alexander Romanov. He was also there to try to gain the support of the Russians for Grindelwald.
When he heard the death of his father and mother in the hand of Grindelwald, his wrath knew no bounds; Charles quickly took charge of the Potter family and raised its banner. He joined forces with the Russian legion and bathed Europe in flames.
His grandfather had gained the title 'Butcher of Leningrad' when he had killed every Grindelwald follower in Leningrad. Charles then started retaking every conquered nations in the hands of Grindelwald and carved a bloody path through Europe for Grindelwald's head.
But before he can kill Grindelwald Dumbledore join the war and defeated Grindelwald in what many call the duel of centuries. His grandfather change of vengeance was rob through his hand the only solace he can have is that he was chosen as the Russian chief warlock and by his wife Dorea Potter.
The Global Wizarding War marks the return of the black dragon. That is one the reason that Dumbledore wanted to have his father to join Dumbledore order of Phoenix. The Potter family have the biggest personal army in the wizarding world and the muggle world and have the financial power to wage war for fifty generation. Making anyone they support have a better chance of winning any war.
A knock was heard at his bedroom door before a voice spoke, "Young Master Hadrian has been called by Master Charles to the drawing room."
Hadrian exited his room to head to the drawing room. The place that Hadrian and Charles were staying at was a mansion that Charles built; every brick in the manor was enchanted by Charles, making the place a literal magical fortress.
The manor itself was made of black and red bricks that were enchanted and fortified by his grandfather. The hallway to the drawing room was filled with portraits and his grandfather trophies. Many suits of armours also lined the hallway.
But what many people didn't know was that the suit of armours that lined inside the hallway was one of the manor protections. The armour could come to life if the manor was under attack. His grandfather used the spirit of death Grindelwald follower to make the armour live. Since for him, death is too easy for them.
Hadrian knocked the door to the drawing room when he arrived there. Hadrian heard a muffled voice voicing allowance to enter the room before he went inside.
The drawing room was styled like rooms during the Victorian era; the most noticeable object in the office was a skull of a Ukrainian Ironbelly behind his grandfather desk. Charles sat behind his desk, talking to a raven-haired individual.
"Ah, yes. Hadrian, do come in," Charles said, as he gestured towards the empty chair near him.
"Yes, Grandfather." Hadrian walked towards the chair and took a seat, drawing his gaze towards the stranger talking amiably to Charles.
Charles smiled at the boy, a kind smile that would lower the guard of any child who didn't knew of his past. "I would like to introduce you to my friend, Vlad Tepes." Charles motioned his hand towards the imposing raven-haired individual.
Hadrian was shocked; the thought of Dracula, a myth in the muggle world and a legend of the wizarding word, the king of Wallachia and all vampires, sitting inside this drawing room was a thought he never entertained. Vlad took a sip of his vintage wine, enjoying the look of shock on the young man's face. Vlad knew almost everyone who met him would be shocked; most of them had watched too much TV, thinking of Bram Stroker's interpretation of Dracula that depicted him as ancient being when he didn't even look a day above his forties.
Vlad chuckled, a low and guttural sound that wasn't quite unpleasant. "I think that is enough joking around; it is time we tell you why I am here," Vlad spoke, his voice as smooth as silk.
"Yes, I believe so." Charles' eyes narrowed as he stared at Hadrian, a hint of displeasure found on his expression. "Hadrian, stop acting like a fool and start looking like the heir to the House of Potter."
"I apologize, Grandfather." Seeing his grandfather's stern gaze, Hadrian quickly schooled his expression.
"The reason I called you here is because you have been accepted at Blackwood Academy."
Hadrian's eyes widened, his mouth slightly agape as he received the news.
Blackwood Academy was the most prestigious magical school in the magical world. It was the first magical school ever built, holding knowledge from thousands of years ago. It only accepted half-blood and pure blood; no muggleborn was allowed to enter because they started training children from age five. And muggleborn was only known to be magical when they were eleven, when their magic had matured.
The only way you could enter Blackwood Academy was by having a powerful background or a large magical potential. Many of their alumni became world leaders or successful businessmen.
Vlad took out a letter with the Blackwood seal on it and a seemingly ordinary ring, giving it to Hadrian. "Here is your acceptance letter and the portkey that would take you to the academy.
"A pleasure meeting you again, Charles. I hope we can talk more in the future." Shadows seemed to devour his body greedily, leaving nothing as Vlad left the premises.
With his guest gone, Charles turned towards Hadrian and asked, "When does it say the portkey activates, Hadrian?"
"Nine in the morning, Grandfather."
"I will tell Molby to pack your belongings. Go and rest, you have an eventful day tomorrow."
"Yes, Grandfather." After bidding Charles good night, Hadrian left for his room.
1985
It had been two years since Hadrian entered Blackwood Academy, and he could positively say that it was an interesting experience. The school encouraged competitiveness and didn't allow giving up; failing only meant one needed to try again until one could do it.
Today was the day he would get his heir ring, which signifies the person wearing it to be an heir of a House. Receiving an heir ring was only possible on a person's seventh – and its multiples – birthday. If he didn't get his heir ring today, it would only be possible to receive it on his fourteenth birthday, or twenty-first birthday, and so on.
He was currently in the Gringoth branch of London, walking with a young goblin named Griphook towards the Potter account manager office. Since his family vault resided in Britain, he could only take the ring from there; the Russian Empire and most Eastern European countries used the Dwarf bank rather than Gringoth, and since receiving the ring could only be done in person, it was not possible to take the ring in Russia.
They arrived in front of large double doors made of oak with a large dragon carved on it. Griphook knocked thrice before a voice called, telling them to enter the room. Griphook opened the door, allowing Hadrian passage into the room. The first thing Hadrian saw was the white marble floor and the gold dressing the ceiling, a luxurious room worthy of a Gringoth bank.
Hadrian spotted his grandfather sitting with another man in front of the Potter account manager, Bloodfang. The man looked quite agitated in the presence of his grandfather. The man had black unruly black hair and grey eyes; when he turned towards Hadrian, Hadrian felt the man looked familiar to him.
"Harry," said the man, his eyes wet yet no tears dropped.
Hadrian couldn't shake off the feeling of familiarity as he gazed at the stranger, as if he had met him a long time ago. Though he could not remember when, the feeling was strong. "It's Hadrian now."
"Hadrian." The man smiled as he spoke Hadrian's name, testing the word on his lips. "Hadrian, do you remember me?"
"No," Hadrian scrunched up his face, vivdly trying to remember but to no avail, "should I?"
"No, I suppose not." A rumbling chuckle escaped the man lips, a look of longing etched into his expression. Even though it was to be expected, he was still disappointed Hadrian could not remember him. "I am your Godfather, Sirius Black."
Something clicked in Hadrian's mind; he remembered a man who used to visit him when he was still with his parents – when Hadrian Potter was still Harry Potter. The memories of the man, an animagus, turning into a canine were vivid in his mind.
"Padfoot?" Hadrian asked warily, still reluctant and unsure, but hopeful about the man in front of him.
With a large grin and tears in his eyes, he dashed forward, enveloping Hadrian in a bear hug. "Oh Harry, you wouldn't believe how much I missed you!" said Sirius, unaware that he had reverted to calling Hadrian by his old name.
"If the both of you can take a seat, we can start our business soon," Bloodfang spoke, annoyance rolling off of his tongue. Goblins weren't overly sentimental beings, only caring about money and a good fight. The display of affection in front of him might be heartwarming to others, but it was merely irritating to him.
Sirius sniffled, a goofy smile on his face. "Our apologies, Master Goblin."
"Now we can begin. Just to clarify, our business today involves the granting of the heir ring to Hadrian Potter, correct?" Bloodfang asked as he turned towards Charles.
"Yes, that is correct."
Bloodfang took out a porcelain bowl with a rune carved on it and handed Harry a knife. "Five drops of your blood will be enough to confirm your identity."
Hadrian didn't hesitate; he cut a small wound into his finger, dropping exactly five drops of blood into the bowl Bloodfang presented. As soon as Hadrian was done, he healed the cut with a minor healing spel
The blood then started to arrange it self to words in the bowl. The goblin's eyes slightly widened as he read it . "Well, this is interesting."
"What is interesting?" Charles asked as he also saw what in the bowl.
Hadrian Potter
Sonof James Charles Potterand LilyPotter nee Slytherin
The heir apparent to the most ancient and noble House Potter
The heir apparent to the most ancient and noble house of black
The heir apparent to the most ancient and most noble house of Slytherin
Shock was an understatement when Charles read that Hadrian was the heir to Slytherin. The Slytherin family originated from India, and many of their family members became High Priests and Maharajas. The family was infamously known of practicing illusion magic, dark arts, and parseltongue magic. The Slytherin family had a trait that marks a person as a descendant of their family: parseltongue, the language of serpents.
Many had claimed to be an heir of Slytherin, with the most notorious of them was the Gaunts and Voldemort himself. But the truth was the Slyhterin family was rumoured to die during the seventeenth century. The last known descendant was Isolt Sayre's, the founder of Ilvermorny, School of Witchcraft and Wizarding, children, one of whom was a squib while the other vowed not to marry.
But it seemed Lily was a descendant of the squib. This was also supporting evidence of the theory that muggleborn were descendants of magical squibs. But to truly test this theory, Charles whipped his wand out of it holster, chanting the words, "Serpentsentoria." A black viper sprung from Charles' wand.
"Who dares to summon me?" the serpent hissed, yet only Hadrian could hear the words it spoke.
"Stop," Hadrian hurriedly spoke, surprising the occupants of the room as it was a language only the serpent was proficient in.
"A speaker," the viper hissed, staring at Hadrian with slitted eyes. "It is an honor to meet you, Speaker." It bowed its head towards Hadrian, showing respect to the young boy."
"What do you mean by "speaker"?"
"It is what we serpent called a human who is able to speak in parseltongue the language of the serpent." The snake rattled the tip of its tail.
Sirius stared at the serpent dangerously close to Hadrian, his legs bent, ready to intercept should the serpent prove to be an enemy. He kept his eyes trained on the serpent as he asked, "What does this mean for Hadrian?"
"This means Hadrian had one of the largest political power in the Wizarding World," Charles replied, narrowing his eyes slightly as a grin tugged at his lips, but faltered a second after. "But it also means that he is a target."
Sirius' head snapped towards Charles. "What do you mean?"
"House Potter is one of the most influental families in the wizarding world, while House Black also had quite a powerful reputation. With Hadrian being the heir to both houses, and the heir to one of the four founders, his political power could be considered one of the most powerful." With his back straight and his chest proudly puffed out, Charles steeled his gaze as he looked at Sirius. "But if knowledge of Hadrian being the heir of House Slytherin becomes common, not to mention assassins, even Death Eaters would come knocking at our door."
Charles turned towards Bloodfang, who had been standing there, watching Hadrian with a frown. Charles, too, frowned. "Do you have the rings?"
Bloodfang ripped his gaze from the young boy's figure to meet Charles' gaze. "Yes, I've already ordered my subordinates to retrieve the Slytherin ring from the vault, while both the Potter and Black rings are already in my possesion."
"How come I'm the heir to House Black?" Hadrian asked, watching the three adults talking amongst each other.
"It's because I was disowned by my father, and because Grandfather Arcturus doesn't want the Malfoys to get it." Sirius approached Hadrian and kneeled on one knee, bringing himself eye to eye with his godson, but keeping the serpent in his line of sight. "You are the heir to House Black, Hadrian, until the day when you take the title of Lord Black."
"Master Goblin, the heir rings," Charles beckoned.
"This" – Bloodfang placed a ring that had a drawing of a dragon on it and the Potter family motto "Natus Vincere" on Hadrian's hand – "is the ring of House Potter.
"This" – another ring that was held in Bloodfang's hand was given to Hadrian, this time with a drawing of a raven and the words "Toujours Pur" on it – "is the ring of House Black.
"And finally, this" – Bloodfang raised a ring with a basilisk and the words "Scientia sit Potentia" engraved into it – "is the ring of House Slytherin."
After receiving the right to succeed the three houses and bidding Bloodfang farewell, the trio used an Apparition to Potterville to get Hadrian a wand.
Potterville was created during the eleventh century to house the Potter family's personal army families. Unlike other magical villages or shops in magical villages in Britain, Potterville had no restriction in selling items. Potterville itself was where the Potter family business headquarters was located in, with many of their residents working there.
It was one the biggest tourist attractions of magical Britain, both foreign and local tourists. Unlike other villages that only used British architecture, the village was created using both Roman and British architecture, creating a unique and novel feeling that attracted tourists from all around the world.
Many grey and dark Houses would rather shop here rather than Diagon Alley because they believed that Potterville was more exclusive since not many muggleborn go there. A part of the village was also a gambling den, providing entertainment for those who loved gambling.
A amphitheatre was build in the city for enternaiment They were used for events such as war games, chariot races, venationes (animal hunts). A basilica was also built in the city for the courts were held, as well as serving other official and public functions.
There is also a large quiditch stadium outside the city that was called the Colosseum. The quiditch stadium was the home of the Puddlemere United the quiditch team that is own by the potter family.
They arrived with a pop outside a wandcrafter shop with a sign that said "Wandcrafter" to match. The wandcrafter stood behind a desk, his eyes lazily gazing at the people passing by his shop. The man's features were common in this part of Britain, with greying brown hair and eyes – so average that people wouldn't be able to notice him in a crowd.
But Hadrian knew a secret; the plain man lazily gazing at passersby used to be a killer. John Smith was his grandfather's right-hand man before he took over his family business. The Smith family had been a family of wandcrafters for generations like the Ollivander family.
The difference between the Ollivander and Smith family was that the Smiths liked to experiment with their wand. Another difference was their disregard to the British ministries' rule of implementing a tracer into a wand.
Only purebloods and halfbloods would purchase a wand from the Smiths; most pureblooded and halfblooded family chose a second wand from a Smith wandcrafter due to their wands being custom made, unlike the premade ones the Ollivanders sold.
"Lord Potter," John amiably smiled at the trio, "what brings you here today?"
"A wand for my grandson, John," Charles spoke as he lightly pushed Hadrian in front of him.
John directed his gaze towards the small boy, carefully examining every inch of Hadrian. A slight frown appeared at the end of his visual inspection with one of his brow raised. "Isn't he a little to young, my Lord?"
A proud grin emerged on Charles' face. "He's attending Blackwood."
A glimmer of recognition and understanding was present in John's eyes as his smile widened. "Well, that changes everything!" He turned towards Hadrian with an interest that was not present before. "Young Lord, if I may ask, what is your dominant hand?"
"I'm ambidextrous, Sir," Hadrian simply replied.
"Interesting." John kept his smile on his face as he jotted down a few ideas of the wand he was going to be building. "Now, go to the backroom and pick out a piece of wood and a core that feels... natural to you."
Hadrian did as he was told; searching the wand wood and core that he felt a pull to in the backroom. It took a full hour for him to finally find not two, but four items Hadrian felt becking him. He took all four items and carried it to John.
John stared at the items Hadrian brought for a while before breaking out into a racous fit of laughter. "You... are an interesting person, Young Lord Hadrian."
"What do you mean?" Hadrian asked, the expression on his face was one of bewilderment.
"The wood you chose is an elder, the same wood the legendary elder wand is rumoured to be made of; the heartstring of a dragon, but not just any dragon, the dragon that was your family banner; the feather of a thunderbird, and lastly, the horn of a basilisk that an ancestor of yours killed.
"This wand will be a masterpiece of mine, I can already feel it. Come back in an hour, I'll finish the wand by then."
After leaving John to craft Hadrian's wand, the trio walked around Potterville looking at the attractions it provided and buying a couple books for Hadrian at a local bookstore. After an hour had passed, they came back to "Smith's Wandcrafts" and found John with his usual lazy smile on his face.
"Young Lord," John said as he presented an exquisite wand to Hadrian, "your wand."
When Hadrian took the wand into his hand, he felt completed as if a part of him that had been missing had been found. Hadrian could faintly hear the sound of his grandfather thanking John for the wand, but his attention was fixed on the wand in his hand. Not long after, they left John to his own devices.
1988
Today was the day that Hadrian met House Potter's bannermen for the first time. He had already graduated from Blackwood Academy a month ago and was currently in House Potter's ancestral castle in Dover.
The castle was huge, with it being bigger than Hogwarts itself – heck, there was even a moat surrounding the castle. The castle was made from black stones that were fused with dragon fire; each and every brick was enchanted with powerful spells and runes.
The entire castle screamed wealth and power, with its interior being made from white marble and heavily decorated with gold and jewels from all around the world. Many statues and armours lined the walls and hallways of the castle; like his grandfather's manor, the statues and armours also acted as a defence mechanism if the castle was ever under attack.
Hadrian was currently walking to the guest room where Charles was waiting for him to greet their bannermen, where they would later be sent to the dining room to form connections with Hadrian. Like the entire castle, the dining room was also heavily decorated with many jewels hanging on its walls.
"Good, you are here. The guest will arrive in a few seconds now," said Charles.
The floo roared to life, signalling the arrival of House Potter's first guest. The man that stepped out of the fireplace was a black-haired man wearing a tuxedo. He then went to his grandfather after cleaning some of the dust on his clothes .
"Lord Potter," the man said to his grandfather while putting a fist over his heart as he bowed, a greeting from a lower house to a higher house.
"Lord Frost, a pleasure to see you again," Charles said to the black-haired man.
The Frost family was one the principality bannerman of house potter, having followed them since the time of the Roman Republic. The frost family controlled the biggest cosmetic company in both the muggle and the magical world. They are also known for their elemental magic, especially their ice magic, hence their name Frost. Their house symbol was a wolf on a white background and the words is "Loyal till Death" underneath it.
"Young Lord," Lord Frost greeted Hadrian with the same respect as he did Charles before the floo roared to life again. This time, a woman walked through it.
"Lord Potter, Young Lord," the woman greeted his grandfather and him the same way Lord Frost did.
"Lady Isabel, Lord Frost, welcome to Potter Castle. Missy will show you to the dining room," Charles said as a house elf came to take the pair to the dining room.
The floo roar to life again; another man walked out of the green flames created by the floo powder.
"Lord Potter," the man greeted.
"Lord Mortem, welcome to Potter Castle," Charles said
The Mortem family was one of the principality bannerman of house potter. House Mortem was known as one of the darkest houses in the entire world. They were known for their cruelty to their enemies, their symbol was a flayed man on a red background, their words "Death is Mercy".
"Mimpsy will show you the dining room," Charles said to the lord of house Mortem before he left to join the other lord and lady present.
The floo roar to live again and this time, a man and woman exited the floo together.
"Lord and Lady Dawn, welcome to potter castle''.
The Dawns, like the Mortem family and the Frost family, was one of the principality bannerman of house potter. They were known for their hospitals that they owned in Potterville and in Sweden. In the magical world, the family was famous for being healers. Their symbol was a setting sun in a black background their word is "Light in Darkness; Hope in Despair".
"Wirby will show you the dining room," Charles said to the lord and lady of house dawn.
The floo roar to live again with this time a man exited it.
"Lord Glover, I welcome you to Potter Castle."
The Glovers, like the Dawn, Mortem, and Frost family, was one of the principality bannerman of house potter. They were known as a family that practice battle magic and their impressive height. Their banner was a giant with their world "We are Fury".
"Dimpsy will show you the dining room."
The floo roar to live again this time a man and a woman exited the floo.
"Lord and Lady Winter, welcome to Potter Castle.''
The Winter family, like the other houses, was one the principality bannerman of House Potter. The family was known as breeders of magical creatures and they owned the magical zoo in Potterville, one of the most successful attractions there. Their banner was a Hrimfaxi above the words "Righteous in Wrath".
Many other bannermen came to Potter Castle, mostly in pairs or alone, but some came with their children. The rest of them weren't principality bannermen like the first five as they had only became House Potter's bannerman sometime after the Roman Republic, but each and every one of them were well known in the magical world.
When the floo roared to life once again, a quartet emerged from the green flame produced by the floo powder in the fireplace. These four looked extravagant with their high-end clothing and caught Hadrian's attention as he glanced at the four of them.
Two adults and two children, who looked to be around his age and were twins, judging from their height and appearance. Still, looks could be deceiving in the magical world, as wizards aged like fine wine compared to humans, though Hadrian was sure they weren't that much older than himself.
" Charles," said the blonde woman of the group, wearing a fine red dress as she curtsied, smiling at Charles amiably, "it has been a while."
"It has been far too long, Elizabeth." Charles enveloped the woman, Elizabeth, in a brief hug before turning to her husband. "It is good to see you as well,Alexander."
"It is a pleasure to see you again, Charles," started Alexander, a curly-haired Russian man with a muscled figure, before he looked at the ten-year-old boy standing rigidly next to Charles. "And this must be young Hadrian."
"Uncle alexander, it is an honor to finally meet you," Hadrian greeted as he bowed to the tsar of Russia, Alexander Romanoff. Charles had told him of the connection House Potter had to Russia's royal family, but this was the first time he had seen the tsar and his family in person.
A racous laughter came out of Alexander mouth as he stared at the nervous boy. "Hahaha, do not be so nervous, Nephew. We are family, royalty does not matter in the face of kin." He patted Hadrian's shoulder with his large, callous hand.
"Hadrian," Charles called, gaining the attention of both alexander and Hadrian, "come meet your cousins."
The two teens were pushed forward by their mother, one of them male while the other was female. The male was taller than Hadrian by half a head, though the female was the same height as Hadrian. Traces of annoyance and unwillingness could be seen under a veil of politeness on the boy's expression, but the girl only had curiosity on her face.
"I am Nikolai Romanoff, grandson of Alexander Romanoff and Prince of Russia," Alexander introduced himself to Hadrian, politely smiling at the ten-year-old boy. "It is nice to meet you."
"...My name is Katya Romanoff, grandaughter of Alexander and Elizabeth Romanoff nee Potter." The girl curtsied to Hadrian, demurely looking at him with interest. "It's nice to meet you."
Not one to find trouble with the taller sibling's hidden attitude, Hadrian simply introduced himself and bowed towards Katya as she curtsied. Charles, finding their introduction to be satisfactory, called them to join the adults to move to the dining room.
When they arrived, all of the bannermen gathered here were already seated at their own tables, socializing amongst each other. Everyone knew of anyone inside the dining room, but some weren't as close to each other as others were. This event was meant for them to socialize amongst each other, among other things.
As the doors to the dining room opened, the sounds of chatting and talking reduced to silence as the Potters and Romanoffs moved to their own seats in front of everyone. Charles stood when everyone was seated, holding a glass of wine – though the children were given grape juice instead – in his hand as he spoke.
"First of all, I would like to thank everyone for coming here. It is a pleasure of mine to see many of my family and friends gathered together in this dining room. To the people who have took time from their busy schedule to attend this gathering, once again, I thank you.
"Now to the matter at hand. As you might or might not know, three years ago, my grandson, Hadrian Potter, had received the heir rings to House Potter and House Black, who couldn't attend to today's gathering due to unforeseen circumstances. Nevertheless, as he had just graduated from Blackwood Academy a month ago, I believe it was time for Hadrian to learn the duties of the Lord of House Potter.
"I ask all of you to cooperate with and aid my grandson in his journey to become Lord Potter, and stay loyal to him as you did to me. To the future of House Potter and the heir of House Potter!"
Everyone cheered the last sentence Charles had spoken, raising their own glasses to sip at the drink provided by House Potter. After the cheers, Charles called house elves to serve the dishes that were made specifically for this night and encouraged everyone to start eating. They ate as some of them chatted amongst themselves, and when the majority were done with their meal, they visited the heir of House Potter, Hadrian.
Nikolai watched as adults sucked up to his cousin with disgust; despite being a prince, Nikolai was given no attention which irked him to no end. So what if Hadrian graduated from Blackwood Academy? He did too! So what if Hadrian was the heir to House Potter and House Black? They couldn't compare to the royal family of Russia!
"Aren't you going to talk to him too, Big Brother?" asked Katya, his adorable little sister. Irritation filled Nikolai to the brim when even his own little sister was interested in Hadrian; someone as lowly as Hadrian shouldn't get more attention than he did.
With that thought in mind, Nikolai left the dining room, leaving Katya alone and her question unanswered.