Author's Notes: I know that the first few chapters were a little dry to get through, but I had to give some background to his years growing up. I always hated stories that glossed over too much stuff but I get that it's also bad when you get too much about the pre-Hogwarts years. Sorry it has taken so long to get to this point. Hopefully, you all will enjoy where this goes from here on out.

Another shout out to DanielHimura and especially, Fee-fi-fo-fum. Thanks again for the advice and helping to keep me out of some of those writer pitfalls that others make.

WARNING: The last chapter had some minor changes to it to compensate for a mistake I was making. I hate when stories make Hadrian a mature teen at 11 and I found myself falling into that trap, so I clarified some conversation. Namely, Hadrian was knowledgeable about the other nations store of knowledge because he researched them with Ambrose and Acacia because he wants to travel there some day. Hadrian is smarter and more mature than most 11 year olds, but he is still not an adult and I am trying not to make him seem too mature.

Please take into account though that if you are isolated for 3 years with only centuries old druids for company and you spend the vast majority of your time learning, then you will definitely be mature for your age. Hadrian's intelligence is a factor of those years of study on top of his critical thinking and occlumency studies when first meeting Ambrose and Acacia. I didn't go into detail on occlumency because I didn't want to give details on the same things every other occlumency fanfiction says, thus the reason for me glossing over it for 'the good stuff'.

A Druid in the Making
Chapter 7: The Dragon Staff & Magical Neighbors

Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore was sitting at his desk deliberating over the past few days and how much he has bungled all of his carefully laid plans. It was during this time of reflection that Alastor Moody came through the floo and made his way into his favorite corner of Albus' office. Alastor has always been paranoid and needed to be in the best position to act should an attack occur. In all fairness though, it had saved his life on several occasions so maybe it wasn't too paranoid a precaution to take.

Moody growled out, "Alright Albus. You have got some serious explaining to do because I just left after having lunch with that kid and I can't even fathom what kind of cockamamie plan you've conjured up this time."

Albus Dumbledore sighed heavily as he looked up to his bonded phoenix, Fawkes, and stroked his feathers while answering, "You have to understand, I have done many things that were not always honorable, but everything I have ever done was with the best of intentions for the greater good."

"I know Albus. We fought together against Grindelwald's forces on many occasions as well as Voldie's Death Eaters. We both did many distasteful things for what we considered the greater good. What does that have to do with you manipulating and ruining that boy's life?"

Dumbledore internally winced at the choice of words, for that is exactly what he had done, "I sent Harry to his Aunt first and foremost to be away from knowing he was the Boy-Who-Lived. But equally important was for him to have a rough childhood." Seeing that Moody was about to explode, he held up his hand to stop him, "BUT I never imagined anything half as bad as what he described. You know as well as I do that adversity in childhood helps to foster a greater magical ability. That adversity would help him to grow and become stronger.

"Look at the two of us. Among the most powerful within the magical community. But the difference between us and him was that I was going to give him a reliable support base to help him, something neither of us had.

"When he was to turn 10, I was going to take him away from his rough childhood and bring him to the Longbottoms, since Alice Longbottom is his godmother and he should have gone there without my … interference. There he could be taught his heritage and I could teach both him and Mr. Longbottom about magic to get them started on what they need to advance their schooling properly. Saving Harry from his childhood and teaching him about magic would have left him with complete trust and confidence in me and we could have worked together. As you well know, it didn't turn out quite the way I planned."

"What do you mean Longbottom? Their will stated that the kid was to go to the Lovegoods, so where do the Longbottoms come in?"

"I didn't know. When I spoke with James and Lily, I was under the impression that Harry was to go to Frank and Alice in the event of their death and vice versa or Sirius after that, given their status as godparents. They must have changed their will after our conversation. I never knew what their will said until the reading the other day."

Moody just growled in frustration, pinching the bridge of what was left of his nose, "Let's put aside the fact that you knowingly put a child into a likely abusive situation purely to manipulate him into following you unquestioningly. Why in the flaming hell did you let Sirius Black rot in Azkaban without a trial?"

"Sirius still killed 12 innocent muggles and Pettigrew. While Pettigrew may have betrayed James and Lily, that did not give him the right to kill. Besides, Sirius Black would not have been the best parent for Harry. He is a wonderful uncle but his first instinct was to leave Harry and chase after Pettigrew, not even caring about anything else. Not only that, but he would have been more concerned with women and pranks than giving the boy a proper education. He made his own bed, I just did nothing to help him out of it."

"Alright, next item, did you really steal from that boy?"

"What I said wasn't a lie or a stretch. James really did tell me to sell his vacation properties, and all of that money went to help support the relief aid to those that were ravaged during the war. Lily said that they had no need of vacation homes when so many were suffering and James agreed, so told me to put the money where it would best serve. I did just that."

"And exactly why is all of this even necessary? Why did you feel it was so important to gain his trust that you would ruin his childhood? Why does he need to be trained?"

Albus looked at him pointedly, "You know why Alastor. Voldemort is not really gone. I suspected it from that very night. I have spent years studying and researching and lately I have suspected it even more. I have laid plans to set a trap that will surely lure him out if he is indeed still around. By the end of this coming school year, we will have our answer to that question."

"Do you have any idea just how bad all of this sounds Albus? You may have had the best of intentions, but you really buggered yourself with your methods this time old man."

"Please Alastor, need you be so crass?"

"I CAN DAMN WELL BE AS CRASS AS I BLOODY WANT TO, GIVEN THE SITUATION! I have supported you through a lot Albus, but this is just a little too much. If you had only checked on the boy then this entire situation could have been avoided. You do realize that, don't you?"

Albus could only nod his head in understanding, so Alastor Moody growled out, "I know you did what you thought was best, and I will be there in the boy's camp and try to help him understand that. Don't expect anything to happen soon. His anger is far too raw right now. I suggest you start making plans to retire from the Wizengamot and the ICW. It will help you save some face and it is what the boy is hoping to accomplish anyway. Do that, and I won't feel the need to start up a report. I'm still an active Auror, Albus, so I can't look away from this if you don't put forth any effort."

Albus just nodded his head sadly as Alastor continued, "Hopefully you can show the boy that you are a tad bit remorseful given you didn't show any at Gringotts. I think that is what pissed Amelia off more than anything. I know that we have both been through a lot, but you can't just shut out your emotions like that and put on this brave face. You come across as too much of a manipulative old goat."

Albus didn't react, "You may be right, old friend. I appreciate you coming here to at least hear me out. Your consideration lifts my heart immensely."

"I've told you this numerous times Albus, stop all your manipulations. Try acting like a Merlin be damned human instead of trying to seem like a modern Merlin. I know that you miss Ariana and that you have been doing everything you can to be the best in the world to make her proud of you. But you can do that without manipulating events and especially people."

With that, Alastor Moody left Albus Dumbledore stroking Fawkes in thought, "Well Fawkes, it seems I have my work cut out for me. He will be arriving for the school year, please keep an eye on him when you can. Maybe if he sees us associating it will call him to question what he thinks and allow me to explain myself to him."

With a sorrowful cry, Fawkes rested on his shoulder in a show of support.

-A DRUID IN THE MAKING-

Shortly after noon and for the third day in a row, Hadrian and the Lovegoods walked into Ollivanders where they were promptly directed into his back room. Everyone's attention was immediately drawn to the staff that was standing up unsupported by anything in the middle of the ritual circle in the room still giving off waves of magic.

Walking up to the staff, Hadrian saw that the woods looked like they were all lined up next to each other and twisted shifting from black to light tan to a slightly darker tan. Near the top of the staff, the shaft transitioned into the body of an intricately carved dragon of near black wood. The dragon was lifting its head up with its mouth open similar to when Verdis released flames in agony over her dead mate. Only this time, instead of flames, the Aldrnari was sitting in the dragon figure's mouth. The dragon's mouth was big enough to surround the orb at the base but only went half way to the top of the orb.

Mr. Ollivander seemed to notice him examining the Aldrnari and explained, "The focus is now fused with the staff and it would be almost impossible to remove it."

Hadrian couldn't help but stare in awe at the power that was radiating from the staff. The Aldrnari before had a good chunk of the magic from the dragon when it was alive, but it was always muted or stagnant even. Now, the orb was positively thrumming with magic and it was much stronger than the dragon when he was alive. Hadrian finally reached out and grasped the almost 6 ft tall staff at eye level with his left hand while attuning to it at the same time.

The orb let off a bright light and a heat similar to when he first received the orb, only this time the light matched the black light with a green epicenter. When the flare died down, Hadrian could feel a current of fire swirling around him and after basking in it a moment, quelled it. Hadrian finally turned around to see the stunned faces of Pandora and the dreamy smile of Luna.

"This is absolutely fantastic Mr. Ollivander! This staff feels so wonderful that I can't imagine anything resonating with my magic more than this. I can't thank you enough for this."

"Simply doing what I do Mr. Potter. But to be honest, I should be thanking you for the opportunity to not only see an Aldrnari, but to hold it, attune it, and use it for a staff. It was a truly unique experience I will never have again in my life which is saying something considering the life druids lead. I have never spent as much time on a staff before as I have this one."

Hadrian looked sheepishly at Pandora, "Um, Aunt Pandora, I don't want to be rude, but can I have a moment to speak with Mr. Ollivander alone?"

Pandora looked concerned for a moment but answered, "Of course you can. We will wait at the front of the store for you."

Once they left and shut the door, Hadrian looked to Mr. Ollivander, "I wanted to ask you a personal question, but I'm afraid it might be considered rude."

Mr. Ollivander looked mildly amused, "Well, you won't find out until you ask."

"How old are you, Mr. Ollivander?"

Ollivander just looked at him surprised, "Typically, I would say that is a fairly rude question, but I can understand why you want to know. You didn't know about our lifespan when we spoke yesterday, did you?

Hadrian just shook his head, and Mr. Ollivander answered, "I am currently 722 years old. Soon, my son will return from his travels and will take over the shop and I will spend the rest of my years roaming the land with my inner brethren."

Hadrian smiled at him sadly, "Thank you Mr. Ollivander. I have only attuned 1 major ley line, but I am wary to continue my studies because I don't want to spend my life alone or with people who will die while I live on for centuries."

"Ah. I see. Well, you understand that it is attuning to ley lines that increases our lifespan so much. The simple answer is to find an individual that shares in your desire for nature and ley line magic and if they have an aptitude for it, they can study it as well.

"That is actually how I became married. My first wife, Ophelia, had a thirst for knowledge and my family has always been known for its knowledge. She came to me asking some questions about creatures and nature magic so she eventually learned about ley lines and she wouldn't rest until she had mastered 1 major ley line, though I warned away from doing any more. It started as a friendship, but a couple years later, something inside me clicked and I realized what I had in front of me.

"I asked her out and she told me that she had been waiting for years for me to ask her." Chuckling, he shook his head in amusement as did Hadrian, "We were married a year later and she remained my wife for 386 years. 386 wonderful years. She was aware of what I am and my lifespan and told me not to get hung up on her after she is gone. I promised her that I wouldn't but that I likely wouldn't go out seeking another woman.

"I never did. But unsurprisingly, the very same thing happened again. I was quite shocked. People came to me often throughout the years seeking knowledge and to apprentice with me or my father when he was still alive. But, again, a woman came to me seeking knowledge and we fell in love and got married. Tina and I have been married for 249 years, though we are both close to our time. Not for a decade or two yet, I think, but still close."

Mr. Ollivander laid a hand on Hadrian's shoulder, "I understand your desire not to be alone, but don't let your fear of the years keep you from doing what you want. I have been blessed with two wonderful women in my life, not including the children we had. If you love studying the ley lines, then don't let it stop you.

"I won't lie to you and tell you that it doesn't hurt when they start to die and you remain looking 40. But even that pain is nothing compared to the thought of having not had any time with her at all. It is your choice to make, but I hope that you will follow your heart rather than your head when it comes to the matters of love."

Hadrian was nodding his head a moment before looking up, "Thank you. May I ask you something else? If druids live so long then there have to be a fair number of druids, right? So how come it sounds like there are so few?"

"There are many that have druidic magic flowing through them, but it is not only the magic itself that extends your life. It is the interaction with nature and ley line magic that truly extends your life. If a druid were to never learn or train with ley line magic, it wouldn't be any different from a normal witch or wizard. You have already started studying nature and ley line magic, so you have already extended your life exponentially. The more your magic attunes to ley line magic, the more powerful your magic will become and the slower you will age.

"But just because druids age more slowly, doesn't mean that there are a lot of us. There is maybe 1 druid born in each generation and not always from druid parents, though that does help. The problem now, is that most don't know they are druids or, if they do know, don't want to study ley lines for the very reason you are afraid to continue studying it.

"I don't think there are much more than 100 true druids in the world at any time. Because of Britain's numerous ley lines, we tend to have a bit more druids than the rest of the world. But druids are often wanderers and will rarely settle down in one place for long."

After waiting a moment for Hadrian to process everything he was told, Mr. Ollivander continued, "I understand that lately, you have been learning a lot of hard to swallow information. If you ever have any questions, then please don't hesitate to send me an owl and I will help you as best as I can."

Hadrian smiled at the man, "Thank you Mr. Ollivander."

Mr. Ollivander smiled warmly at the boy, "When we are alone like this, please, call me Garrick. Not many do and I do so miss having others I can respect call me by my given name."

"So long as you call me Hadrian. Thank you again Mr. – er, Garrick. I'll send you an owl if I have any additional questions."

Hadrian put his staff in his mokeskin pouch to keep it out of sight for now, and Hadrian left for his new home with Pandora and Luna.

-A DRUID IN THE MAKING-

Once they all returned home, Hadrian turned to Pandora, "So I only just now realized, but you said you work and you haven't gone to work since I have been around. When do you normally go to work?"

Pandora chuckled, "When we left Gringotts after the will reading, I owled in and told them I was taking the week off. I have to go back in on Monday, but I won't be working all day until you both go to school."

"Oh. Well, thank you for taking time off work to help me."

"Of course, Hadrian. How else can I help take care of you if I'm not around? Now, why don't you and Luna go find something to bond over."

Hadrian took Luna to his room and he helped her start on meditating to find her magic within herself. Once he helped her get started in front of Ambrose and Acacia so they can help her, Hadrian went to his own spot on the floor of his room to attune with his staff.

The staff felt immensely powerful and seemed twice as powerful as the Aldrnari before it was attached to the staff. It was also much more … aware than it was before. Hadrian was confident that it would not permit anyone he did not approve of to touch it. Attuning to the staff was more rewarding than any other experience thus far. It was almost like attuning to another side of himself and his magic, it was such a wonderful feeling. The staff felt like a part of him and he couldn't ever imagine feeling more attached to anything, including his parents' possessions, he was sad to admit.

-A DRUID IN THE MAKING-

Three days after he picked up his staff was a Saturday and the day that they were supposed to meet the magical neighbors. Hadrian was slightly nervous because he didn't want to be the center of attention of so many people and decided to go on a bit of a longer run that morning, which Pandora cursed him for.

Hadrian spent the morning attuning his magic with his staff and wand since he wouldn't have a chance later in the day while Luna spent it trying to learn to attune to her magic. Neville and Susan came over early so they could all talk a little more and get to know each other better.

After everyone was sitting outside near the creek that Hadrian enjoyed attuning by, Hadrian asked his new friends, "So, I get that this might be a little personal, but would you all be willing to tell me about your parents? I understand if you don't feel comfortable, but I just want to get to know you all better."

Luna smiled at him first, "I guess we haven't talked about that yet have we? Well, my daddy was always obsessed with finding magical creatures and learning more about them. He would travel often in search of them to write about. My daddy is one of the biggest reasons I love magical creatures so much.

"Anyway, one day he came home with an erumpent horn, thinking it belonged to a crumple horned snorkack, and while he was casting a few spells on it, it reacted poorly. The horn exploded and my dad didn't make it. Since then, it has been just me and mum. She was really sad at first and started to really throw herself into her work." Though Luna looked sad for a moment, she suddenly brightened up, "But one night, she came into my room to wake me while I was sleeping and talked to me about what I want to do and learn and she started teaching me all about magic and whatever I wanted to know the next day.

"That was when I really started to learn about magical creatures so that I could learn everything my daddy did. He started a magazine company, The Quibbler, to publish everything he learned about different magical creatures and conspiracy theories and just anything that sounded interesting to him.

"After he passed, it stopped the conspiracy theories and focused more and more on different magical creatures and some obscure points of magic that most people don't care about."

Hadrian set his hand on her shoulder since she was sitting next to him, "I'm really sorry that happened Luna. I'm really glad that Aunt Pandora was there for you though and she started teaching you. And remind me later to get a subscription to The Quibbler. I should definitely read something I own part of. So, what did you do while she was at work?"

Luna quirked an eyebrow at the mention of The Quibbler, but responded, "Oh. Well I went to a non-magical school because she wanted me to continue learning about the world and not just the magical one. I enjoyed it since my dad was a first-gen and I felt closer to him for it. Mum made sure that she was off work when I didn't have school and she took most of summer off so we could spend more time together."

Susan said, "I'm really glad that you were able to have that Luna. My parents both died during an attack of the last war but it was before I could remember anything. I have a few pictures of them from Aunt Amelia, but no memories of them. Aunt Amelia took me in but because of her work with the DMLE, I spend most of my time with my best friend, Hannah Abbott. Her father works on the Wizengamot and has a few businesses so he was able to do most of that from home to watch us while Hannah's mum worked as a healer for St. Mungos.

"When Aunt Ami was done with work, she would floo their house and I would go home and spend time with Aunt Ami talking about this and that. She would help me understand how to be observant of my surroundings and how to defend myself. She would frequently have different aurors over for dinner so I think I have met at least every auror in the DMLE at least 3 times."

Hadrian smiled sadly, "I'm really sorry Susan. I can understand how you feel though. It's the same with me. I have no memories of my parents and I only know them through their journals. Do you have journals from either of your parents?"

Susan smiled, "It's alright. It really sucks sometimes, but I have my Aunt Ami and the Abbotts, so I know that I can always rely on them. I do have one from my father because he was a pureblood and was given one when he went to Hogwarts. My mother was a first-gen though, so she didn't have one. How did your mum know to have a journal if she was a first-gen too?"

"She got lucky and a neighbor of hers was a wizard. He told her that she was a witch years before going to Hogwarts and gave my mum a journal of her own."

Luna asked, "You mentioned that your Aunt taught you a lot about defending yourself and being observant. Is that something you enjoyed or just something that is expected of the niece of the Head of the DMLE?"

Susan chuckled, "A little of both actually. It started out as something she wanted me to do to keep me safe and everyone expects me to be like her, but after a few lessons, I found that I really enjoyed learning what she had to teach me and it has been really useful. I particularly enjoyed her lessons on being observant because you can learn a lot without anyone realizing it."

Luna was looking at Susan's nose when she said, "Oh. That explains why you have so few blinkins."

Neville asked, "What are blinkins, Luna?"

Luna looked at his nose for a moment, "You don't have many blinkins either, but you have a few more than Susan does. Blinkins are little creatures that like to flit around people's nose to distract them from seeing what is in front of them." Luna looked at Hadrian's nose, "You have the most blinkins. But you shouldn't feel too bad, it's still much better than most people, especially the Weasley's. They all have lots of blinkins. I wonder if they attract each other and can spread from being so close."

Neville said, "Well why don't you try paying attention to it then. If we are going to Hogwarts, take note of how many they have now and if anyone who hangs around them has more blinkins the more they hang out."

Luna smiled at him warmly and Neville blushed a little at the attention, "I think I'll do that. Thank you, Neville Longbottom."

After a moment, Neville cleared his throat, "Well I guess it's my turn."

Susan cut him off before he could continue, "Only if you want to Neville. If you don't feel comfortable, then you don't have to say anything."

Hadrian and Luna quickly agreed, but Neville spoke up, "No, I do want to. I trust you all not to go sharing this with anyone. I'm not comfortable with everyone at school finding out, but I trust you all.

"Well, my mum and dad were Aurors during the war, the same as your Aunt, Susan, and your dad, Hadrian. As I understand it, they were all really good friends who bonded over their shared dream of protecting each other.

"Shortly after You-Know-Who was gone, death eaters went to my home. I was with gran for the night for some reason I don't know, and though my parents were attacked by 10 death eaters, they killed 6 before they were eventually beaten. Bellatrix Lestrange, the Lestrange brothers, and Crouch Jr used the cruciatus curse on my parents so much that their minds snapped. They are currently in the long-term care ward of St. Mungos without any idea who they are or who I am. They act more like toddlers than anything. Gran and I go to visit them every Christmas holiday and often on Halloween as well."

Though his voice didn't break, he never looked up from his hands that were now stained with tears. When a hand grabbed his, he looked up to see bright, intelligent blue eyes and a clear voice unlike any they had heard from Luna before, "I can't imagine how difficult that must be for you. If you would like, I will accompany you the next time you go to visit them."

Neville froze at the contact and never once looked away from Luna's heartfelt gaze. More tears did find their way down his face though and after a moment, he felt a hand on each of his shoulders to see his other friends.

Susan said, "I will be there for you too Neville."

Hadrian added, "You aren't alone Nev. You're my brother, and we're all family now. Any support you need is yours if you let us help you."

Neville just started crying more and both Susan and Luna moved in to hug the crying boy. After a few minutes, Neville finally calmed down and started nodding his head.

"Thank you all so much. It's been really hard seeing them so broken. I would love to have my family with me when I visit them this hols."

Hadrian smiled, "Then we will be there for you to keep you company when you go to visit them." Hadrian frowned a little, "Um, maybe if you all would be willing, you could join me when I visit my parents. I have never been able to visit them."

Susan moved closer to Hadrian and wrapped him in a soft hug, "I'm so sorry Hadrian. I will definitely be there for you. I tend to visit my parents around hols as well, so maybe we can all go visit our parents together?" Susan looked to Luna, "Do you ever visit your dad Luna?"

Luna looked to the creek and smiled, "I visit him all the time. But my dad isn't buried. He didn't want to be buried in the ground somewhere but wanted a non-magical custom. It's called cremation. His body was burned so that it was left as nothing but ashes and his ashes were scattered nearby so that his remains will be free to explore just the same as he always did."

Hadrian smiled at that, "That actually sounds really smart. I don't think I would want to have dead body buried either. The thought of my ashes being free to be blown in the wind is very enticing."

Neville looked thoughtful, "I can't wait for this holiday. We can make a day of it and visit all of our loved ones."

Hadrian smiled, "Sounds like a wonderful day. We can visit Susan's parents, then mine, then spend some time with Neville's. After that, we can come back here for a small lunch wherever Luna goes to visit her dad then we can all go to get ice cream to cheer us up before returning home. What do you all think?"

They all agreed that sounded perfect and Susan would get her Aunt to arrange it since her schedule is usually the busiest. After it was agreed, they all smiled at their shared plans to comfort each other during holiday when Hadrian jumped up, "Good. Now to lighten the mood, it's time to do some flying. Flying will lift all of our spirits!"

Neville paled a little, "Um, I'm not very good at flying Hadrian."

Hadrian just smiled and held out his hand, "Then we'll teach you. That's what families do right?"

-A DRUID IN THE MAKING-

Neville was flying around the house comfortably when Hadrian reminded everyone to call him James so that he could get to know the neighbors before they learned he was the Boy-Who-Lived.

The Diggory's were the first to show up and they were introduced to Amos who worked as the Head of the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, and his son, Cedric. Cedric was fairly tall and had dirty blonde hair with blue eyes. Hadrian figured him to be a rather handsome boy, but that was mostly because of the dreamy look that Susan got when she saw him. It was hard to tell if Luna had the same dreamy look or just her normal dreamy look, but since she was looking at him too, he guessed it was the former.

Hadrian was brought out of his reverie when Cedric shook his hand and started talking to him, "So, James, are you familiar with quidditch?"

Hadrian smiled, "Kind of. I grew up with muggles until just recently so I haven't seen a game. All I know is what I have read from books, but it sounds really interesting and fun. I have at least gotten a chance to fly which is something I love to do, but haven't done anything other than fly around."

"We will have to remedy that. My dad brought our portable goals from home, so when the Weasleys get here we can play a bit if you are interested. I play for my house team at school and pretty much the entire Weasley clan is really good on a broom. The oldest, Bill, was a great chaser; the next oldest, Charlie, was a seeker who could have gone professional; next oldest, Percy, doesn't really play; then the twins, Fred & George, who will be starting 3rd year with me, are exceptional beaters. I have only played once with the youngest son, Ron, but he seemed a decent keeper, and I have yet to see their sister, Ginny, play but she is also a year younger than you."

"Wow. That is quite a stacked family. What position do you play in Quidditch?"

Cedric grinned with pride, "I play seeker."

Hadrian grimaced, "That is actually my least favorite. For one, it seems boring. Your entire job is to search for the snitch and catch it. Games rarely finish in under 2 hours and can last days and you are supposed to spend that entire time searching for a snitch? I would get too bored and distracted. The other thing I dislike about it is the points for capturing it. 150 points just for that? Catching the snitch can earn just as many points or even more in the game as the 3 chasers combined. One person getting that many points seems a bit lopsided to me."

Cedric grinned at his annoyance, "I guess I can see where you are coming from if you don't understand the game. See, when you are in school, I completely agree with you because the matches don't last as long and the chasers don't score as often as professional. In Hogwarts, the seeker usually determines who wins the game and the chasers determine by how much they win.

"BUT, when you start playing professional, it's a whole new beast. Because the snitch is a lot faster in professional, the games rarely take less than 3 hours and the points are more evenly distributed and it's not uncommon for a good chaser to score more than 150 points in a game, especially when the game does last all day."

Hadrian thought about it a moment, "Fair enough. I suppose it would be close minded of me to begrudge your position based on the time at Hogwarts and not quidditch overall."

Cedric grinned in victory, "Glad you are starting to see it my way."

"But it still sounds horribly boring just trying to find a snitch while everyone else is focusing on their task."

Cedric just chuckled, "Well that's if you play that kind of seeker. I usually do, but there are plenty of professionals who play a more interference style of seeker who will disrupt enemy chasers and sometimes even assist their own chasers in scoring in the middle of searching for the snitch. It's a lot more difficult because the snitch might show up while you are distracted, but a good seeker can pull it off."

Before Hadrian could respond, the Weasleys all showed up and Hadrian was introduced to everyone, starting with Arthur Weasley who worked in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement with the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts office. Apparently, he is some kind of non-magical fanatic and wanted to ask a lot of questions about them and their way of living, but thankfully, his wife cut that off.

Hadrian learned that the two oldest Weasleys, Bill and Charlie, worked overseas and rarely get a chance to visit home. Hadrian thought curse breaker and dragon handler sounded like really cool jobs though. Either exploring different magic and trying to unravel the puzzle of magic left behind or taking care of dragons. Hard to go wrong there.

After the introductions, Cedric convinced his dad to set up the portable quidditch goals so they could play a game before lunch. Apparently the portable quidditch goals were rings that were enchanted to grow from the size of a bracelet to the regulation size and enchanted to float at the appropriate height wherever they are set.

Since the Weasleys only had 3 brooms, Ginny looked a little despondent at not getting to play, so Hadrian asked, "Would you be interested in playing Ginny?"

Her head shot up and looked surprised and hopeful, but looking sad again, "No. It's ok. You all should play. I'll stay with my mum and watch."

Hadrian just shook his head, "Nonsense. If you want to play, I have a few extra brooms. DAP!"

*POP* "Yes, Master James?" Hadrian didn't forget to warn Dap this time about what to call him when others are around.

While the neighbors looked at Hadrian surprised and in the Weasley's case, jealously, Hadrian spoke to his house elf, "Dap, can you please bring the rest of the serviceable brooms I own."

A few seconds later, 2 brooms were laid at Hadrians feet, "Well if you want to play Ginny, take your pick. Neville and Susan are already using some of mine, so there is no reason you can't as well. Personally, I would suggest the Nimbus Cloud. It's not the fastest broom of the ones I own, but it has exceptional handling and lateral movements that make for some really fun aerial maneuvers."

Ginny smiled at him and picked up the suggested broom, "'Lateral movements and aerial maneuvers' huh? Sounds like you have really broken this thing in then."

Hadrian grinned at her, "I did. After my 2000, it's my favorite broom to fly on. And the only reason I like the 2000 more is the outrageous speed. If the Cloud were faster, I would rather fly that. I'm still waiting for them to upgrade the Cloud."

Ginny just gaped, along with the everyone else who heard about the 2000. After some exclamations and wanting to hold his broom and requests for rides, they all finally decided to start their game.

Neville came over nervously and volunteered to referee the game because he wasn't comfortable playing yet and Hadrian, not wanting to push him, didn't argue. Percy didn't want to play either and elected to converse with the adults.

Before they could decide on teams, a shriek that could only come from a banshee, or so he thought, filled the air, "GINEVRA WEASLEY WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING?"

Hadrian assuming the problem stepped in to help, "Oh! That was my doing Mrs. Weasley. My family had a lot of brooms lying around and I don't mind if she has that one. I wouldn't do anything with it anyway. It would just gather dust. This way, it gets put to use. Besides, I would feel really bad if she were the only kid sitting out of the festivities. What kind of person would I be if I let a new friend sit on the ground while everyone else is playing?"

Molly seemed to consider him a moment before shaking her head, "That's very nice of you dear, but it's entirely too dangerous for her."

Hadrian adopted a confused look, "You mean flying? But aren't all of her brothers really good fliers? I heard that everyone but Percy was practically professional level and Charlie could have actually gone professional."

"That may be true, but it's not the same thing. I don't feel comfortable with her up there."

Hadrian was thoroughly confused now, "Well why not? Do you not want her to play because she is a girl and your only daughter?"

Molly spluttered, "That has nothing to do with it!"

"So, she can play with her brothers?"

Before she could answer, Mr. Weasley spoke up, "She'll be fine Molly. We are both right here to watch her the entire time and Pandora is skilled at healing. Why don't we grab a couple medic potions that Pandora keeps on hand, and have them ready, then watch her fly. Besides, we won't be able to keep her away from playing quidditch forever. Might as well let her start when we can supervise her and look after her, right?"

Molly turned to him looking utterly betrayed but as he talked, she calmed down and reluctantly nodded her head.

Hadrian took to the air and joined everyone else in the air who was watching their exchange. Ginny flew over and in a hushed voice said, "Thank you James! I would totally hug you right now if I weren't afraid of what my mum would say. I really owe you for convincing her to let me play. She normally lets me fly but never lets me play because she is afraid I will get hurt."

"Well technically, your dad was the one to actually convince her. You should thank him. Besides, your mom only gave in because of the circumstances. If you want to play after today, you will have to kiss up to your dad."

Hadrian suggested they start off with Hadrian and the girls versus the other boys stating that with Ron keeping, Ginny would be flying against the most experienced fliers and would have the least chance of getting hurt. Besides, it's the warm up game.

The others reluctantly agreed and Hadrian winked at Ginny. Hadrian and the girls all gathered around their goal on their brooms and Susan agreed to be keeper for their team. Hadrian convinced Luna to play defense and she could allow herself to be distracted until Susan warned her, where she would have to wake up to help until they got possession again.

Hadrian spoke with Ginny, "Alright, this is going to be difficult, but we have a chance if we can get in their heads early in the game. Your brothers will likely fly nice around you and underestimate both of us. I will use that to my advantage and score early. When they start focusing on me, then you can come out to shine. If we can get a few quick goals on them, we can get in their heads and psyche them out. Ready?"

Ginny grinned at him evilly, "Oh, I'm ready alright."

After getting into their positions to start, Neville tossed the ball in the air. Hadrian shot forward and was able to zoom past the older boys, who weren't expecting the burst of speed, and got a quick shot to the left goal. Ron was only a few inches away from the quaffle when it flew through the hoop.

Hadrian flew back and got ready with Ginny as they waited for them to recover the quaffle. As soon as Ron threw the quaffle in, Hadrian made a grab for it and barely got it away from Cedric. Ron noticed him coming in and moved to stop the throw that he assumed was coming to the right hoop directly in front of Hadrian. But Hadrian flew in the direction Ron came from and before Ron could turn around, shot for the middle hoop and scored again.

Grinning at them, Hadrian flew close to Ginny and warned her, "Ok. They will be on their guard around me now. Let's feed you the quaffle, but if you can, try to seem unassuming when I pass to you for now."

Ginny grinned and nodded her head before getting into position, same as last time. But this time Hadrian was playing closer trying to make them nervous. Unfortunately, they weren't nervous at all, just focused, so Hadrian backed off a little hoping to catch a pass. Though the pass from Cedric was good and one of the twins caught it, they didn't protect it well and Hadrian stole it, immediately finding Ginny waiting for him.

Hadrian thought she did a good job of flying well but still looking uncomfortable on her broom but her aim was spot on and Ron thinking it wasn't going to go into the left hoop in front of her made a half-hearted attempt to block it and failed. Ginny turned around grinning to hear one of the twins, "Come on Ron. I understand missing the first two since that caught us all off-guard, but don't half arse it just cause it's your sister. This is quidditch, so play like it!"

Ron look irritated but more at himself than anything, "Alright, alright. You just worry about holding on to the quaffle this time, yeah?"

This time, Hadrian wasn't able to stop them getting to their side of the pitch, but they forgot about Luna who stole a pass and Hadrian took off receiving her pass. Seeing Ginny, he passed and as Ron was moving to block her, she passed back giving Hadrian an open shot at the right hoop.

Hadrian grinned and went to Ginny, "Great job keeping them guessing on your skills. I doubt it will last much longer though, best to pull out all the stops." Hadrian then turned to Luna, "AWESOME STEAL LUNA! REALLY GREAT PASS, KEEP IT COMING."

Luna looked away from the clouds, "Huh? Is it time to play again?"

Hadrian just laughed at his sister and turned to see the twins and Cedric right in front of them. Hadrian was able to turn and harass them, but couldn't get the quaffle. Ginny, did good preventing one of the twins from receiving a pass, but Hadrian and Luna couldn't stop Cedric from taking a shot, but Susan saved it by a hair.

She threw it in to Hadrian and he was able to get a clear path and threw the quaffle way ahead of all of them hoping that Ginny would reach it. She did and with her momentum threw the quaffle through the right hoop, 50-0.

Hadrian smile, "Well done Ginny! I was afraid you wouldn't get there in time. Glad I was wrong."

"Nice pass James. I'm surprised you were able to make it. Leading passes that far on brooms are really difficult when they can fly over 60 mph."

"Thanks. Get ready, I doubt they are happy."

Indeed, they weren't. They came out fast and though they tried, Hadrian and Ginny were unable to stop one of the twins from scoring. Not wanting to give them a chance to recover, they quickly got the quaffle moving again and zoomed passed the boys who barely kept up with him. Ginny gained some height and guessing that she was trying to create space, Hadrian threw to the spot she just created, hoping he was reading her properly. Sure enough, Ginny came swooping down and gathered the quaffle make it in the center hoop bringing the score to 60-10, their lead.

Ginny congratulated him on seeing the opening and Hadrian congratulated her on creating it. They were unable to stop them from bringing the quaffle forward again, but Luna was able to hit this one away and Hadrian saved it from dropping. He passed to Ginny as she was diving then gathered height and got a pass similar to Ginny's last score and Hadrian aimed for the left hoop but Ron was able to block it and threw it in to a twin before Hadrian could stop it.

Hadrian cursed his miss but flew to catch up. Hadrian caught the pass just as it left the twin's hand and Hadrian immediately reversed direction and got a clean pass to Ginny who scored again. Hadrian was rapidly coming to the realization that Ginny was the better scorer than he was but he was hands down the better counter-attacker/passer.

Hadrian tried for an aggressive grab on the inbound but missed, putting his team at a bad disadvantage. Hadrian tried to catch up, but Cedric kept blocking him from getting back into play and he was forced to watch Cedric pass and one of the twins score again. Ginny got the inbound this time and took off with the twins hot on her tail. Hadrian got a pass and kept Cedric behind him giving him an opportunity to score and though Ron looked like he grazed it, the quaffle still made it through the hoop. Susan blocked their next shot, but Cedric stole the inbound and was able to score before anyone could do anything.

By the time their agreed upon hour long game was over, Hadrian's team won 180-170. Since the game was over, they decided to break for food before starting a new game. Though Cedric wasn't great at scoring, the twins were. Apparently swinging a bat at a bludger gave them pretty good accuracy and Cedric's reflexes as seeker helped him get a few steals when Hadrian was reckless or didn't pay attention. Susan made a good keeper though and Hadrian was really happy with his team so he went to his teammates and gave them all high 5s telling them they did great.

As they landed, Molly ran up to Ginny and asked if she was ok. Ginny rolled her eyes but hugged her mum and said, "Thank you for letting me play and have fun with my friends and brothers. I had a blast, and yes, I'm fine. Not a scratch on me. I might need to get myself some gloves though so my hand doesn't hurt so much from all those passes. James has a pretty strong arm."

Hadrian heard her and just grinned before striking a pose with both arms out and pump his arms in a strongman pose, "Grr. And don't you forget it." Though he tried to make his voice sound deeper, it just sounded silly, and everyone laughed.

Cedric finally spoke out what everyone was likely thinking, "Alright James. Time to fess up. You were holding out on us earlier. You made me think that you were a novice, but that was some amazing flying. Honestly, I think you could even make it on one of the house teams. Your turns and maneuvers were amazing, and I don't think it was just the broom."

Hadrian grinned at him, "I have spent quite a few hours flying on my broom. I really enjoyed pulling off crazy maneuvering schemes and only threw the quaffle at the empty goals a little bit since it was boring throwing at the empty hoops. I guess that's why my counters were better than my scoring."

One of the twins spoke, "Yeah, mate. Cedric is spot on, you could definitely play for a house team. Even if you got put in Gryffindor, Wood would want you as a reserve at the least to get you ready for when you do take up your mantle on the team."

The other twin added, "You indeed showed off quite a bit of skill up there. But – "

"We can't help but wonder – "

"Just how it is – "

"Our sister got so good – "

"That she outscored – "

"Everyone." The ended together.

Ginny grinned at them, "I'm a Weasley." As if there was nothing else that needed to be said and everyone got a few chuckles before turning to their meals and chatting about quidditch and jokes that Fred and George played on their siblings and others in Hogwarts.

Once they were done, they continued playing Quidditch for the rest of the afternoon, constantly switching teams and having a blast. All in all, it was the best summer Hadrian ever had.

-A DRUID IN THE MAKING-

Hadrian entered his room and pulled the shrunken portrait of Ambrose and Acacia out of his enchanted pocket. After finishing his occlumency exercises and attuning his magic to his staff he asked his teachers, "Did you both catch my friends' stories? Namely, Neville's?"

Ambrose and Acacia both looked at each other nervously but Acacia answered, "Yes. Why do you ask Hadrian?"

"Well, I was wondering … You have more knowledge and experience than just about anyone possibly could. Is there a way to heal Neville's parents? He said their minds snapped under torture. Can it be fixed?"

After exchanging looks, Acacia sighed, "It's not that simple. It is impossible for us to determine if it is possible without examining them and we obviously can't do that. But you should know our philosophy. Anything is possible with magic."

"So, can you teach me about healing?"

"This isn't something we wanted to talk to you about for many years yet, but we agreed not to lie to you and to always answer your questions. We can teach you healing, but druids also heal differently than most witches and wizards. Where witches and wizards will use spells and potions to treat injuries, druids tend to use their own and their patient's magic to heal them. You see, your magic inherently knows your body and will, for lack of a better word, "remember" what your body is supposed to be like.

"Your magic will often speed up your recovery because it knows what is wrong and how to fix it. Druids take advantage of this by helping to prod their patient's magic and supplementing it with their own to help the healing process. But it is a very difficult and advanced art. It is not taught to many, mostly because of the pain associated with it."

"What do you mean pain?"

"Druidic healing is extremely effective and can heal almost anything so long as the intended is not dead. But part of that process also requires that you attune your magic with the patient's and it is impossible to avoid sharing their pain while you heal them. Attuning your magic in such a way brings forth all of the pain they have ever felt and condenses it into moments.

"To perform druidic healing, druids will go through intense … training, to help prepare them for that eventuality. Throughout that pain, you must focus on the task at hand. Animals are significantly easier than humans, but they are no less painful or dangerous.

"If you are not careful, then you can damage either yours or their magic. Most druids will learn traditional healing and will not learn druidic healing either because they can't handle it or they do not have proficiency for it and don't consider it worthwhile. There are several tomes in the private library about druidic healing.

"BUT! I do not want you to research the topic yet. We can readdress this topic again after you have taken your O.W.L.s alright? I have learned druidic healing and I will teach you, but not until after your O.W.L.s at the earliest. Understand?"

Hadrian nodded his head, "Yes Acacia. I understand."

-A DRUID IN THE MAKING-

Hadrian spent the next month following his new routine. In the morning, he would run with Pandora then they would all eat breakfast made by Tipsy. After Pandora left for work and Tipsy cleaned up to return to Potter Retreat, Hadrian and Luna turned to attuning their magic. Luna was still working on meditating and finding her magic so couldn't quite attune her magic yet. Hadrian spent most of that time attuning with his staff. After lunch prepared by Tipsy, they would continue reading, or talking and on occasion, playing quidditch with Cedric and the Weasleys.

The month passed quickly for Hadrian and both him and Luna were ecstatic over getting on the train for Hogwarts the following day.