Chapter Two: Diagon Alley
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter the series or the movies. They belong entirely to the genius work of J.K. Rowling and the Warner Bros. If I owned the series, you would still be waiting for the final book to come out, I'm a huge procrastinator.
Warnings: BoyXBoy!, Albus!Bashing, Dark!Winning, and LEMONS!(A lot of them too)
Thanks to my amazing Beta, LeArtemis 1234 (Flattery gets you everywhere)
A/N: Normally you won't see a lot of my notes before the chapter begins, but I'm going to answer a couple of questions asked by FraggleGaggles (interesting username)
Tom Riddle Jr. is eleven in this story, about the same age as Hadrian but a few months older. Albus Dumbledore just came from visiting Tom at Wool's Orphanage to talk to Hadrian.
Yes, Grindelwald has already been defeated by Albus, but he's not headmaster yet. However, Grindelwald's followers are still out there and wanting revenge for their fallen lord.
Now on to the story!
'Italics'- thoughts
Emotionless viridian eyes battled with terrified dark grey, the owners of each set stood in an eerie silence. The war seeming to go on for days, yet in reality only lasted a few minutes; it ended with the emerald green eyes triumphant. Continuing to stare into submissive grey eyes, Hadrian slowly wrapped a hand around the tarnished knob of the front door. He managed just to stop himself from wrenching open the door and sprinting out onto the crowded sidewalks for he had come to this room with the intent of getting permission from Mrs. Anders. Quickly becoming impatient with the unresponsive matron, Hadrian cleared his throat and jerked his head towards the door.
"Mrs. Anders, may I have permission to leave the orphanage to get my supplies for school?" he politely said through clenched teeth.
Shaking her head, the proprietor of the orphanage replied, "I'm afraid I can't grant you permission, Hadrian, for the first term of this school starts on September the 11th. Why must you go so early to retrieve your supplies?"
"I just want to get it out of the way, Mrs. Anders." Hadrian said misleadingly, when truthfully, he just wanted to see what kind of competition he would have with magically raised children. Seeing that the stubborn hag wouldn't change her decision, Hadrian came to the conclusion that he should act quickly; he swiftly gathered his magic around him and focused it to channel from his body to crowd around Mrs. Anders's head. Holding the eye contact he had with Mrs. Anders, he slowly entered her mind. Immediately he was bombarded with her trivial thoughts, most of them stating how stunning he looked with victory shining in his eyes; he sifted through them until he got to a relatively clear area of her brain. With the power he had gathered, he unhurriedly coaxed her brain to accept his commands. Let Hadrian leave the vicinity, let Hadrian leave the vicinity, let Hadrian leave the vicinity; over and over again those five simple words were repeated until he felt the order was imprinted in her thoughts adequately. Cautiously retreating out of the woman's mind, he returned to the present and surveyed the results of his work. Somewhere in the process of entering her mind, Mrs. Anders had fallen to the floor, slumped against the wall; a little bit of drool hanging from her lip, her mind clearly unable to cope with the intrusion. Smirking at the wonderful sight, Hadrian silently strode over to the pathetic woman and struck her hard in the face. The ringing sound of skin hitting skin resonated in the empty hallway, and then soon after came the sharp cry of pain from the frail woman on the ground. Hadrian rapidly dropped the cruel smile and put on a concerned frown, getting on his knees to gain the injured matron's attention.
"Mrs. Anders? Mrs. Anders? Can you hear me? You're fine, you accidentally fell and hit your hand on the staircase," he said in neutral tone that to the keenest ear showcased his displeasure while placing a hand on her shoulder in comfort.
"Wha- what am I doing here Hadrian? The last I remember was talking to that man, Albus Dumbledore." She replied in a confused manner.
"You were about to give me permission to go get my school supplies from downtown, when you suddenly passed out. I was going to go call the hospital but I didn't want to leave you unattended. Now that you seem fine, may I leave the orphanage for the rest of the morning?" Hadrian asked sweetly.
"Of course dear, thank you for attending to me, you may go but be back before sunset." She said hurriedly while walking towards her office.
"Thank you Mrs. Anders, and please get your head checked for trauma. We don't want you to have any permanent damage, now would we?" he questioned with a sadistic smile aimed at her turned back. Spinning to face the cedar door, he placed his hand on the knob and twisted it to the right. With the fresh morning air blowing in his face, Hadrian sauntered down the worn steps and off onto the concrete sidewalk, joining the mass of people, all heading exactly where he was going, with ease. Just letting the current of people drag him to his destination, Hadrian casually took in the sights that have been "home" to him for six years. On the right side of the street, across from the orphanage, was a police station and lawyers' office; while on the left side of the street, the side he currently was on, laid the orphanages all lined up together. It's fitting, I suppose, for if a person saw abuse in an orphanage, they can just walk across the street to a police station and report what they saw. Abuse is so common around here in these orphanages that no one really gives a damn anymore. Seeing that the seas of pedestrians were nearing his target destination, he quickly made his way to the edge of the throng and broke out onto clear path. He walked swiftly down the walkway until he stopped right in front of an old, russet ramshackle building. With his head tilted to the side, Hadrian studied the writing on the door; The Leaky Cauldron it said. Shrugging his thin shoulders, Hadrian stepped forward and pushed open the shabby door to find an equally shabby decor inside. The small room was dimly lit with candles that seemed to float above the tawdry tables, a bar was on the west side of the room, filled with people laughing and ordering drinks. Dissatisfied with his findings, Hadrian strolled up to the bar to talk to barkeeper. Catching the attention of the man standing behind the saloon, he strode up to take a seat next to an obviously intoxicated man.
"Excuse me sir, but can you open up the entrance to Diagon Alley?" he asked graciously.
"Ah! A Hogwarts student, of course lad I'd be glad to show you the way," he answered cheerfully, putting down the glass he was drinking the golden frothy beverage from; he scuttled around the bar and ambled to a door in the back. Turning around to face Hadrian, he unlocked the door and stepped inside. With an impatient gesture to come in from the older male, Hadrian strode through the door to find them in a courtyard outside. Keeping his attention on his surroundings, he walked forward to look at a plain, brick wall.
"Now watch real careful son, it's a complicated pattern." The man stated while tapping the bricks with his wand he seemed to procure from his pocket. Finishing what he was doing, he stepped back and watched the bricks move away to reveal an alley bustling with people. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the boy's eyes widen in surprise.
"Here is the entrance to Diagon Alley, I trust you'll find your way around." He told Hadrian as he gestured towards the magical Alley, prompting him to walk through the archway. Hadrian, nodding a thank you to the barkeeper, quickly moved into the alley filled with witches and wizards. Looking around at all the colorful shops, Hadrian pulled out his Hogwarts school list and started reading the contents on the page. Deciding to go get the books first, he walked into Arian and Ariat's Books for Every Occasion. With the little bell ringing to announce his arrival, all the books on the towering shelves surrounding him in a circle instantly overwhelmed Hadrian. While he was walking around, surveying the book titles to try to find what he needed, certain names caught his attention. Titles like The Dark Arts Unleashed or Combat Magic: Necessary or Not? particularly piqued his interest. Shaking himself out of the want to buy the books, Hadrian found what he need and quickly walked to the counter to check out. Minutes later found Hadrian in Madame Tulane's Robes for All Sizes, standing on a stool while an attendant worked on fitting his school robes. Hadrian, trying to find something to look at, stared out the display window; looking at all the people walking up and down the cobbled stone road. A polite cough signaling that his fitting was done caught his attention and he put his body into motion to pay at the counter. Quietly saying thank you to the woman, Hadrian joined the mass of people walking through the alley. Looking at all the crossed off items he had on his list, he saw the one thing he was most looking forward to, getting the wand. Staying on the pathway until he stopped in front of a narrow and shabby shop, flaking gold letters read Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C. With a raised eyebrow at the date of the store, Hadrian pulled open the creaky door and stepped into a dusty room filled from wall ceilings with shelves crowded with long, rectangular boxes of various colors. Stepping up to the counter without a sound, he patiently waited for a worker to appear.
"Hello there, are you here for your wand?" a soft voice asked from behind him. Twirling around quickly with his magic ready to obey his will, Hadrian faced a man as old as time itself. Long, scraggly white hair covered the man's head with a surprising quantity, and a tall, bony, and wrinkled body made up the rest of his appearance.
Pulling himself together, Hadrian smoothly replied, "Yes sir, what exactly am I to do to find my wand?"
"So polite. I'll hand you different wands made up of different wood and cores, if the wand in your hand reacts in a positive way, then it is yours to keep. Now let's begin shall we." He said while turning his back around and wandering down the shelves' aisles with searching hands. Making a lunge at different spots to pull out several boxes, ambling back to where Hadrian was standing, he put the down on a chair.
"Now which hand do you write with?" Ollivander asked urgently.
"The right, sir." Hadrian replied back, holding out his right arm. Watching as the old man opened one box and pulled out a long piece of brown wood, handing it to him. Grabbing the handle carefully, Hadrian held the stick of wood for who knows how long, waiting for something to happen. Just as he was about to open up his mouth to comment, the wand was snatched out of his hand and another shoved back in the empty space. This process repeated several times until Hadrian had enough of it, refusing the wand that was offered to him, he gathered his magic and let it fill the shop. With his magic searching for the perfect wand, Hadrian strolled down each aisle surveying any difference in the silence. Faintly he heard a rattling coming from the aisle across from him, the rattling, getting louder and louder, wouldn't stop until Hadrian opened the box up and pulled out the long and thin wand. With the wand in his hand, the room lit up to unbearable brightness. Going back to the old man, he held out his wand for him to examine. Ollivander, with shaky fingers, reached out to grab the black piece of wood.
"A very unusual wand, Mr. Cruor. Made out of holly and phoenix feather, 11 inches. Very strange for this wand had a brother I sold today. Yew and phoenix feather, 13 inches, a very powerful wand. You are destined for great things, should they be done for good or evil that's for you to decide, however you and brother wand's owner are meant to do those great things together." And with that being said, Hadrian gave him the required galleons and dashed out of the shop, eager to get away from the creepy man and to sort out his thoughts. Exiting The Leaky Cauldron, Hadrian walked back to the orphanage. Quickly reaching the rusty front gates guarding the building, he slipped through an opening and entered the facility. Sprinting up the old stairs to his room, he lay down on the creaky, spring mattress and took out the letter that started it all. Pulling out the ticket to the train that would get him to Hogwarts, he studied the writing on the thin piece of paper. Putting it down on his pillow, he turned to face the calendar hanging up on the wall opposite of him, pulling out a stolen marker and crossing off another day on the already marked paper. 1 more day down, a whole lot more to go. Hadrian sighed and returned to the bed, staring up at the rotten wooden beams and peeling paint.
Man, that took a LONG time to finish! Sorry if I had you waiting for so long. The Hogwarts school list is basically the same as it is in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. The underline part is taken directly from J.K. Rowling's first HP book. Please review, favorite and follow.
-LoudAndProud