Disclaimer: obviously, I only own the idea of my story and not that of the original author of this series.
'French thoughts'
"French speech"
'English thoughts'
"English speech"
This method is reversed in flashbacks
Not even going to try putting French accents into the English portions
Chapter 10: A Nice Chat
The pair of wizards rode the stairs in silence. Dumbledore seemed to be happy with humming his own tune. There was a large difference between the output mood from either of them. Dumbledore seemed without a care in the world, and in fact seemed lost in one of his own creation. Hadrian, on the other hand, was solemn and silent as if waiting for the signal to start before going at whatever was in his way. The ride ended shortly as the staircase reached its destination. Hadrian looked over at Dumbledore and was met with a genial smile and a sweeping arm that finished pointing at his office. Hadrian followed the only direction he could. He came across a sturdy oak door and was about to grab the handle before it swung inward.
Walking through, Hadrian was greeted to the sight of numerous small trinkets covering a table that was to the right of the doorway. His gaze swept over the rest of the room. It roamed over the stacks of paper on the desk to the shelves of books that reached up into the second story of the office. His wandering gaze was interrupted when a small chirp was made and his attention was brought to the source of it. When his eyes fell upon the source of the noise, he was greeted with the sight of a phoenix with its chest slightly puffed up and a calculating eye looking back at Hadrian. Hadrian just stared at the avian creature. Dumbledore's voice rang through the office and brought him out of his inspection of the phoenix.
"His name is Fawkes. He's such an interesting one. His kind represent the cyclical nature of the world. Start and end. Birth and death. Creation and destruction. The rise and fall. They are truly marvelous.". He took a pause to break out of his reverie. "But you aren't here to listen to me prattle on about these sorts of things. You are here because you were entered into the tournament. Whether of your design or not is yet to be seen". Dumbledore took a seat in his armchair. His fingers were steepled in front of his face and he had a serious look on his face.
Hadrian inwardly snorted. He idly wondered how many times the old man had tried this on people. Probably a lot. No one survives to be over one hundred without learning to lie directly to someone's face, especially if they were involved in politics. It probably had a better chance of working when people were working with less information and insight than he had. Most people didn't get magic like he did. 'It's remarkable how people can use something without trying to understand what it is. I would think there would be more people who would want to find the connections between power, usage, and rules to see how we could better use it.'. Even though his thoughts had started to get off topic, he hadn't stopped following what Dumbledore was trying to convey.
With his face staying on the same stone slate look that had been there since the beginning of the conversation, Hadrian replied with aggression. "Cut the bullshit. I know it was you. I don't have the time or patience for your song and dance. I would rather not be here at all, but you seemed to have something else in mind. Which begs the question, why? What need was so overwhelming that you just had to bring me here? I hope it wasn't something as arbitrary as your want for my family to be reunited." His last comment ended in a scathing tone, giving Dumbledore a good guess of how likely that last scenario was to happen.
Dumbledore looked offended as each accusation was being made. "However much I would be pleased at having you and your family reunited, I don't have any hand in getting you here. I have no idea how you got in this tournament Harry, sorry, Hadrian." He said like he hadn't remembered Hadrian's name. "If we could find out how you were put in, then maybe we could get you out. Without knowing the exact process of entry, we don't know how iron tight the contract is in your specific case." Dumbledore looked sheepish. "I'm very sorry that something like this happened within the walls of a school that I am supposed to be guarding. I can assure you that I will have Alastor Moody start an investigation to see if he can find any information." Dumbledore said in an assuring tone.
Hadrian had to refrain from rolling his eyes at the statement of Moody doing any investigation that gave out any significant results against Dumbledore. The world would have to be ending at the Headmaster's hand before the veteran auror would change his stance on that. An investigation would help his ability to leave this competition anyway. He could feel the binding agreement that would force him to compete. There weren't any weak areas in it, in other words, no out clauses. Dumbledore didn't need to know that he knew. He didn't need to know how in tune he was with his own magic. It could make him even more cautious in the future, something he didn't need.
He broke himself out of his musings. It hadn't been more than a few seconds from Dumbledore's final statement. He gave him an easy smile and said sarcastically. "Oh, that makes so much better." extra emphasis and length was put on the so. "Something happens under your nose and you have no knowledge of how it might have happened. It lends thoughts to how fit you are to lead the school. Not one but two underage wizards were entered into a tournament where you were the one to put protections specifically against that happening. How are other supposed to trust in your ability to contain the actual tournament's happenings if you can't control the selection?".
A minute tightening around the eyes was the only reaction that gave off any annoyance that he had. It was imperceptible to anyone who wasn't looking for it. Dumbledore gave a slight dip of the head. "As I said earlier, I am sorry about the predicament that you find yourself in.". His eyes gained a steely look and a pressure weighed down upon the room as his next comment was said. "But don't ever think that I don't put the safety of my students first. Mistakes made by me have more consequences than others because of the level I sit at, but the safety of any and all the students are my top priority. I find it demeaning that you would even mention that.". The statement was said with absolute conviction. Not the smooth talking of a lie and not the uncertainty of a person trying to establish their views. This was one of long standing belief and dedication to that belief that was being put in question.
Hadrian was actually surprised at the amount of anger held within Dumbledore's statement. He had expected a response that tried to shift blame or an assurance, not a heated defense of a mocking comment. He had looked for any signs of deceit during the tirade, but could find none. People tended to slip on their control more when they had to inflect emotion into a lie.
A low croon of the from the avian creature made Dumbledore come back to his senses. Dumbledore released a heavy breath as he sank into his chair. "I'm sorry for my outburst. The safety of all the students that walk these halls are of my utmost concern. Every single person within this school will change the world we live in. Whether it is in a small way like just settling down with a nine to five job and family or for the one who becomes the minister. They all effect the world around them and it is my job to make sure that there are no hindrances to those multitude of changes in the future. It makes me frustrated when people take for granted that I am a human who is not perfect, one who can make mistakes like the rest of us. I guess people are blinded when their children are involved."
Hadrian couldn't help but agree. People reacted brashly when they perceive that their child is unfairly treated or in danger, whether it is real or not. People did it for different reasons. Some did it out of love for the child. Some don't want the child, but keep the child because the other parent is deceased. Others did it out of protection for their family line without much love involved. The last circumstance was seen mostly in select few traditional wizarding families.
"Yes, they certainly do. I wouldn't know firsthand, but I have certainly seen the protectiveness a parent can have for their child." Hadrian threw the jab at the Potters.
"Is this really going to be something argued about when they aren't here?"
Hadrian just gave a deadpan stare. "I'll throw it in wherever I can. Just to remind people of their mistakes."
Dumbledore just looked imploringly at Hadrian. "Hadrian please, your parents made a mistake. They see that and they want to make it up to you. Is it really fair to keep punishing them after they already beat themselves up over it?"
"Mistake?" he replied with vitriol. "A mistake is giving your kid a broomstick and not watching them closely enough so that they get hurt. A mistake is forgetting to go pick him up from a friend's house for a few hours. A mistake isn't neglecting to care for or spend time with a child. A mistake isn't handing the duties off to a house elf so that they are taken care of. That is a decision. One they made and a bed they will have to lie in. Besides, it seems as if only one of them is actually sorry. The other one doesn't seem to want to weigh himself down with a guilty conscience. He has his perfect son and doesn't need another one. Why should I bother trying to reconnect when I'm perfectly happy away from them?"
Dumbledore rubbed his temples. It wasn't that this discussion wasn't going in a likely place, it was just that it was happening. "That decision of a slight focus towards Thomas might have been partially my fault." Hadrian raised one of his eyebrows. Dumbledore answered the unasked question. "I told them that he might need some extra attention as he was growing up. I wanted to see if the residual dark magic had any effect on him as well as anything that might happen later on in life. I didn't mean for it to get to that point. If anything, I should at least shoulder some of the blame." Dumbledore said regretfully.
Hadrian internally smiled. It was subtle, just a small nudge. Giving him something to throw his anger at and give him an easier time reconnecting with at least one of his parents, who were in Dumbledore's corner. It all led back there at some point. If he wasn't looking for any miniscule fault, that nudge might have slipped his mind. He liked when he was given the chance to have a battle of wits with someone who actually had some amount of brains.
Outwardly, Hadrian just gave a grimace. "I'm done talking about my family. I also came here to find out about what the tournament entails as well as anything I need to do for it." He said sternly.
The aged wizard gave a small nod in agreement for the direction of the conversation. "The tournament is broken into three currently unknown tasks. The first task will take place on November 24th. You are allowed a wand. The rest of it relies upon your magical skill and wits. It is a test of quick thinking and bravery of facing the unknown. There will be a wand weighing ceremony the 11th of the same month. It is to make sure your wand is working properly."
Hadrian was at ease with that. He had almost a month to research patterns of what the first task held. It shouldn't be too hard to come up with a game plan to tackle the task. It would be fun to test himself against others around his age. One's that were supposed to be prodigies. He usually got to fight adults who had experience. It tended to make some of them repeat the same actions because it had worked before. They stagnated in skill and became obsolete. Younger prodigies generally tried to come up with their own ideas to see if they could beat their teachers with different strategies. They were the ones that would present more of a challenge.
Dumbledore continued on after he finished giving him the tournament information. "Now, onto the issue of rest quarters. I can sort you and get a bed ready in whatever house you are in.". Dumbledore gestured at the hat.
"No." Hadrian stated.
Dumbledore looked taken aback. "Sorry. What do you mean by no?"
Hadrian just stared back at the bearded wizard. "I said no. I don't need a bed or meals here. I was entered into this tournament, not enrolled in this school. I'll show up when necessary, but I don't need to stay here longer."
"I must insist that you stay. If any new information comes out….."
"You can send it in a letter by owl." Hadrian cut in.
"If anything about the tasks change close to or at the date, we might not be able to reach you in time. This might have the adverse effect of something happening with your magic." Another nudge, this one a little less subtle. Cause panic in the other to try and get their eye off of the ball, to make them slip up.
"That's a risk I think I'm fine making. Your ministry spent a lot of time planning out this tournament, I doubt they would try to change anything drastic."
Dumbledore couldn't seem to make any argument against that fact and went with another approach. "What about meeting other kids your age. You don't seem one to have a lot of friends." Dumbledore attempted at persuasion.
"If I had wanted that, I would have enrolled at the school. Now if it isn't too much of a bother, I got the information I needed and I will be back for the wand weighing ceremony. Other than that, I bid you a good day." Hadrian said as he got off his chair and his wand slid out of its holster. He then flicked it at the door, causing it to open. He was almost at the door frame before it shut rather violently. Hadrian had felt the magic being channeled and decided not to block it. If Dumbledore wanted to show force in his statements, he better be able to receive as well as he got.
Hadrian turned to see a standing Dumbledore who was stowing away his wand. The headmaster put his genial smile back on his face and pointed towards the chair in front of him. When he spoke next, it was with a tone that told Hadrian it was a suggestion. "As I said, we haven't finished speaking."
Hadrian just stared hard at the old wizard. He had never been particularly good at following orders from people he didn't like. His patience was also starting to wane. These factors, along with the whole problem of being stuck in this tournament had put him at a close to boiling point. Dumbledore was just continuing to add fuel to the fire. 'Or is it salt to ice.' Hadrian thought as his eyes turned sharper. They took on a faint glow and turned to a frostier emerald.
Dumbledore felt the sharp feeling of stepping out into a brisk winter morning and trying to take a breath. He looked down a bit and saw his breath. He stood up and slowly moved his hand into his sleeve where his wand lay. He didn't want to be caught off guard. From a few feet away from the elder wizard, an immortal firebird was squawking at the sudden change in temperature. Hadrian had made no attempt to move from his place, and just continued to exude his aura.
When he spoke, it was eerily reminiscent to the teacher who had his classes in the dungeons. "I came here so that I could get information on the tournament. A tournament which, let me remind you, I was entered in either by you or beneath your nose. I didn't come here to have a pleasant chat with the headmaster of a school I don't go to. Are you going to insist on keeping me here?"
Dumbledore was leaking some of his own power to counteract the pressure being exuded. He put his voice as close to carefree as he could. "I implore you to calm down. I just wanted to have a civil conversation with a potential student. I am sure that once you are here for a few days…"
Hadrian had tuned out Dumbledore's response. He had felt towards the door and could tell that it was resistant to magic. However, it wasn't warded against brute force. Hadrian whipped his wand out and levitated two of the objects just sitting on one of the tables. With a flourish of his wand, the objects gained a slight orange tint and flew towards the door. Dumbledore's speech trailed off when he saw the wand movements. He tightened his grip on his own and prepared for an assault when he saw the two trinkets fly at the door. He briefly recoiled when the objects impacted the door. The reason for this being that the objects exploded on impact. Splinters from what used to be the door flew across the room.
Hadrian had started walking and put up a shield as the trinkets connected with the door. He walked the final few steps out of the door frame. Once he had made it through, he turned back to face the headmaster. "I don't like being forced into things. I will be here for the wand weighing ceremony." He continued his way towards the spiraling stairs.
Dumbledore watched the retreating teen with a calculating expression. He reached into the wards and located the portion that the stairs were tied to. He made an attempt to turn it off, but felt his attempt be rebuffed. He furrowed his brow in confusion. He could feel Hadrian close enough to the bottom where even getting it turned off now would be of no consequence. He felt out for the gargoyle guardians at the doorway to his office. Again, he felt them slide open against his wishes. He finally gave up on trying to get the young Potter to stay. He made his way back to his chair and negligently waved his wand at the door and watched as the pieces of wood fit themselves back together. He sat down with a pondering look on his face, reviewing the meeting with young Hadrian in his mind. He was trying to glean any information he may have overlooked in the heat of the moment. He also pondered on why the wards didn't respond as they should have.
Hadrian came storming out of the archway, gargoyles jumping aside before he made his way through. There was a decent number of students hanging around in the surrounding hallways, milling about and talking. When Hadrian came out of the office, most of the talking stopped and the students turned to look at him. He scanned the various students he passed as he continued walking towards the exit. He saw that most of the students were from Hogwarts, but there were two or three from both of the two visiting schools.
He saw a group of students whispering vehemently towards each other before one broke away from the group and proceeded to get in Hadrian's way. Hadrian did a slight check over the boy. Slytherin, brutish, decent robes, lower magical power. Overall, just an annoyance. Hadrian just gave a blank look at the boy ahead of him. The confrontation seemed to bring the interest of all who had been staying in the halls.
"Is there something I can help you with?" Hadrian asked of the boy.
The wizard from the house of snakes sneered back. "You can tell us how you cheated to get into the tournament. Given how your brother was also entered, I bet this is some ploy by the Potter family to show off the return of their son that has been missing." A sense of loathing coated every word that came out of his mouth.
Hadrian raised an eyebrow. "I'm surprised that you even thought about the problem that much given the vacant and idiotic look on your face, or maybe your friends gave you that theory. I have no idea. I only know two things at this moment. One, I have no desire to be in this tournament and I was entered against my wishes." The boy looked like he was going to argue before Hadrian raised one finger. "I gave you your chance to speak, now shut up while I have mine." The boy's face was turning red and his fingers flexed like he was physically stopping himself from going for his wand. Hadrian the raised a second finger. "Two, if you don't move out of my way soon we will have a problem.
The boy firmly set himself into a more balanced position. "And what are you going to do if I don't." he said in a smug tone, as if nothing could touch him at this moment. "You're in Hogwarts. Even if you try and hurt me, my friends will just come an…"
He was cut off by the sudden feeling of weightlessness as he was thrown at high speeds down the corridor, flipping arse over teakettle. He bounced a few times before getting stopped when he smacked into a wall. He let out a groan, mostly from vertigo. 'I wish I didn't have to cushion his fall. I would have rather had him in the infirmary for the foreseeable future, but directing the ire of the headmaster and potentially someone in the Wizengamot isn't on my to do list.' Hadrian thought. He slowly continued his walk and started to speak out, not necessarily to anyone in particular. "Would anyone else like to take their chances? If you do, I must warn you that I will not cushion you like I did with that moron." He output some of his aura. Not enough to make it visible but enough so that the students would be able to feel the pressure, even if they didn't know the exact source of it.
Nobody made any movements to get in his way towards the front doors. He read the looks of the students as he passed them on his way out. The most common looks on their faces were fear, nervousness, anger, and curiousness. There were some who came just to watch the spectacle and didn't necessarily mind what happened, they just wanted more information on who they would be around in the next several months. He was almost at the door before he heard a sharp voice from behind him.
"Mr. Potter. What do you think you are doing against my students?" the voice came from an elderly lady, most likely a student from her earlier words. He also didn't have the desire to deal with an authority figure.
Hadrian made his way out of the double doors before turning around briefly and waved his wand. A large portion of stone rose from the ground and blocked access from the door. He turned back around and found himself in a courtyard. He continued on his way out. Just as he was about to make it out of the ward line, he felt a slight pull from the wards onto himself. It felt like someone who was gently pulling on your sleeve to get you to not leave. He brushed it off as Dumbledore's manipulation of the wards and continued his way on the road to Hogsmeade. The wrought iron gate was still open as he made it to the ward line. He walked through the frame of the gate and quickly disapparated from his spot.