I meant to have this up on Sunday night because I was gone for the weekend, but then the log-in was shut down and things happened, so I'm uploading in the middle of a class instead. Sorry that this is mostly information, and rest assured that most of the chapters are longer than this one. Thanks to everyone who reviewed and added.
Chapter Two
When Hadrian awoke the next day, late morning sunlight was streaming in through his window. He had returned to his room late at night, and realized now that he was probably already late for his morning tutoring session, but he did nothing about it. Instead, he rolled over onto his stomach and clenched his eyes shut. He didn't care much about his tutoring; he had already progressed far beyond the normal school curriculum levels, anyway. It wasn't as if whoever was supposed to be teaching him at the moment could complain either, as that person now had the morning free. He might be in trouble for skipping dinner last night, if anyone important enough to care about such a thing had been around to miss him.
Ten minutes later, Hadrian finally rolled himself out of his immensely comfortable sheets, showered, dressed in a muggle t-shirt and jeans, and left his rooms.
Hadrian had a good amount of muggle clothing in his wardrobe, more than was considered proper for him to have. He had added more to his collection with each of his forays into muggle London, and he wore it whenever he could get away with it, donning wizard robes only when they were required. He didn't necessarily prefer muggle clothing, but wearing it made him feel closer to his mother, who had grown up in the muggle world and retained a fondness for many of its customs. It was also an easy way to irritate people like his father and his aunt, Bellatrix. He knew that Bellatrix had, at some point, sent one of her own house elves in to burn all of his muggle outfits, but he had thought ahead and charmed his wardrobe so that no one except himself and his own favorite house elf from Slytherin Manor could open it. Still, he wore mainly dress shirts and trousers when he was around the manor, and only put on jeans and t-shirts when he was "sneaking out" to visit muggle London. Even he had standards to maintain, after all.
"Still wearing those muggle rags, I see, nephew." Bellatrix's shrill voice echoed in the corridor as she approached. "You hardly look better than a house elf."
"And your voice is still as pitchy and owl-like always, Aunt Bella," Hadrian returned. Childish insults were practically a ritual between Hadrian and his aunt. "I can hardly understand how my father bears your company when you speak." He sidestepped her and continued down the hall.
Bellatrix called after him, "You should change your clothes unless you want him to see you that way."
Hadrian stopped, both reluctant and curious, and turned back to her. "He's coming here, is he?"
"Oh, yes," Bellatrix replied with wicked glee. "The Dark Lord is arriving at the manor in an hour, and will be present for the rest of the day."
"Oh, goodie. You know I'm always thrilled to pieces to see Daddy dearest."
Hadrian's sarcasm quickly flipped his aunt's grin to a scowl. "How dare you speak of the Dark Lord in that manner! He's given you everything, boy, and he shows you such mercy, too. Why, if you'd been my child, I would've tossed you out the minute you touched that clothing, but our Lord has kept you well in this house. You should be on your knees thanking him, and instead you run around acting like a disgusting muggle!" Hadrian merely raised his eyebrows, and waited for his aunt to finish her tirade.
"It must be the bad blood from your mother," she continued. "Why my father ever claimed the bastard child of some stupid muggle whore I'll never know."
Hadrian's eyes narrowed. Any words directed at him could be easily rebuffed, but the one thing he could not stand was someone degrading his mother. Scarlett Sable had been a brilliant witch, quick-witted and powerful, but yet she was looked down upon because of her heritage and upbringing. The product of an affair between Cygnus Black and an unidentified mother, she had been adopted and raised by muggles who gave her the name Lily Evans. After learning of her adoption and being accepted to magical school, she had quickly reverted to the use of her birth name and assimilated into wizarding culture. How she came by the name Sable was unknown, as the last branches of the pureblooded Sable line were supposed to have died out decades earlier. However, the circumstances of her adoption had led many to believe that her mysterious mother, Hadrian's grandmother, had been a muggle or a squib. This, to any pureblood of standing, made Scarlett Sable barely valuable, at best. Hadrian had spent countless arguments defending her to anyone who dared to insult her or her heritage.
"You shouldn't speak about my mother that way, or you'll be the one answering to my father." It wasn't an entirely empty threat. The Dark Lord had forbidden any mention of Scarlett Sable's unknown heritage when he had chosen her to bear his children, but it was an order that most of the Death Eaters, especially the ones from ancient pureblood families, ignored whenever they thought they could get away with it.
"I'll speak about that dirty bitch any way I want, little boy. You can't do anything about it, and you know it," Bellatrix snapped. Hadrian glared at her.
"Oh, poor Hadrian," Bella said, faking a pout. "Daddy dearest isn't here to protect your whore mother's name. And if you tell him, who do you think he'll believe? One of his highest ranking Death Eaters? Or his dirty-blooded, disobedient failure of a son?"
Hadrian had nothing to say. He knew that, in this one instance, Bellatrix was probably absolutely correct. His father wouldn't listen to him even if he did want to tell.
"Your mother was a source of shame and disgrace to the House of Black, and so are you, though least one of you has turned out right. I suppose I can only wait for Domitian to be chosen as the Heir: then we can dispose of you properly. An ugly death is no more than you deserve." She smiled wickedly again as she finished.
"If you're quite done making useless noise, Bellatrix, I have somewhere to be." Hadrian brushed past Bellatrix and turned the corner, walking a few more hallways to be sure that he was far away from anyone who would notice him leaving before stepping into an alcove and disapparating.
Normally Hadrian sneaked out for the express purpose of wandering muggle London on his own, but today Hadrian had a strange desire to be somewhere different, so he apparated to a quiet, concealed corner just inside Knockturn Alley before leaving it and heading for its friendlier, more legal counterpart, Diagon Alley. Bellatrix's news had suddenly made it seem like an exceptional day to stay out of the manor for a very long time.
