Darkness Is My Ally
Disclaimer: SEE FIRST CHAPTERS
Plot: Dumbledore's worst nightmare seems to have come to pass: finding Harry at Wool's Orphanage and then seeing him in Slytherin, the headmaster is faced with the prospect of another Tom Riddle, but the real truth about Harry is darker than he could ever imagine.
Author's Note: Now, before I get onto this story, I can take a guess at what you're thinking: DZ2, where did THIS come from?
The answer to that is that, lately, I've been working on Supernatural-themed stories and so, with a bit of imagination, I decided to complete what I call the dark trinity of Supernatural characters: Vampire, Werewolf and now…well, you'll see when I write it. Beyond that, I only hope my readers enjoy the story and enjoy how I add to my dark repertoire.
As always, I'm not going to rant this time, but if you don't like it then DON'T READ IT!
Dedication: I'd like to dedicate this story to my friend Winged Seer Wolf, who has always encouraged my dark side to show itself; my recommended reads are Demon Contract by 9foxgrl, Hadrian Potter, Darkness Rising by AvatarVecna and The Rise of A Dark Lord by Little Miss Xanda; three amazing Dark Harry stories.
Eventual Hadrian/Pansy – but it'll be a long while yet
Eventual Neville/Hermione
Other Pairings TBC
Normal Speech
'Thought'
'Shadow Speech'
/Parseltongue/
Review Answers:
Ptl4ever419: There aren't as many Horcruxes this time around: I don't want to say too much more without giving it away, but that's a good assumption;
WhiteElfElder: The answer's actually in a previous chapter: it's only Hadrian who was surprised/outraged by the actions;
StormyFireDragon: Chewed and spat out? Given the ally that Hadrian's about to gain, I think that'll be possible;
T4: Yep and this chapter will reveal the how and why behind that, old friend;
"Thank you," Hermione replied, putting her arms around Neville while their wands were extinguished;
Leaving the two Gryffindors to be swallowed up by the darkness once and for all…
Chapter 11: A Matter of Honour
The first week of his second-year status at Hogwarts was like déjà vu from his first year for Hadrian;
The biggest reason for this sensation was that, by the end of it, Hadrian had found something else that annoyed him more than interfering old men and people thinking him a hero and saviour of the masses…and its name was Gilderoy Lockhart.
Every morning, right from that first morning's feast, the man seemed fixated on Hadrian with a stare of longing and hope that, if he was being honest, made the Slytherin King feel a little uneasy. Thankfully, he was safe in the knowledge that the guy couldn't really do much without aggravating some of his incredible power or the rage and fury of one of his Brotherhood members.
Besides that, Hadrian found himself remembering Luna's words when he'd asked her about something that would annoy him to no end: Lockhart would be gone by the Dark Night, which, for Hadrian, was the darkest night of his life: Halloween.
'And even then,' the Slytherin King added in thought when he considered these revelations, 'That's if I let Lockhart live that long.'
And, speaking of Luna, despite her placement in Ravenclaw, the blonde-haired enigma soon started spending her breakfasts and other feasts amongst the Slytherins, which prompted Hadrian to inform the other snakes that she was an honorary member just like Hermione and Neville. Knowing what it meant for their King to consider someone as an honorary Slytherin, there weren't many of the emerald-clad students that argued against his point.
Another annoyance for Hadrian was a Gryffindor first-year named Colin Creevey who, right from the word go, seemed intent on bothering him and his brotherhood to no end. During their first lesson of the week with the Gryffindors, which was Herbology, Neville told his leader of how the boy had flashed his camera at every little piece of magic and boasted about sending them home to his Dad.
When Hadrian gave Neville a command to deal with him, the Dark Apprentice took it to heart and destroyed all of the pictures with a quick spell, but that didn't stop the little idiot from bothering Hadrian. From an anonymous source that Hermione and Neville had a feeling they knew the identity of, Creevey then learned that the dark duo were close friends with Hadrian and, after learning this, the two were badgered with questions and requests about meeting the Boy-Who-Lived.
Secretly, Hermione shared a madness that Hadrian compared to her Mother at the thought of Creevey meeting Hadrian, but the madness only really came from how she considered just how long the boy would sleep after calling Hadrian by that accursed title.
While Neville did his best to keep the brat from Hadrian, he couldn't stop the almost hero-worshipping glances that Creevey sent Hadrian when he saw him in the corridors or whenever he saw how the Slytherin King commanded his followers and his friends. Like Hermione, Neville also held a secret sense of amusement at the thought of the boy meeting Hadrian, only to have his hero-worship turned into his worst nightmares.
If it wasn't for the fact that both Gryffindors knew how much Hadrian would really make them remember their mistake in letting the little idiot get close to him, they probably would have acted on those thoughts as well.
The final annoyance of Hadrian's week came from the fact that, ever since his sister was sorted into Slytherin, Ronald Weasley had made it his life's mission to blame Hadrian for this fact by proclaiming loudly whenever the boy was in earshot of how his sister had dreamed of marrying the Boy-Who-Lived.
While Hadrian felt a similar mild disgust that he compared to the way he'd felt about Lockhart's fawning stares, his fears were grounded when Draco turned on Weasley's boasts and warned him, "You should be careful then, Weasley: if Hadrian gets close to your sister, imagine the chaos she could cause for you!"
"And that's a big if," Hadrian muttered in response while Draco went on to brag about Weasley's sister showing her good taste by breaking from the warren that her family had forged and knowing where to show true loyalties.
However, it was the day of the backlash from this remark that had Hadrian really showing his ire…
Darkness Is My Ally
It all happened on the exact same day that Hadrian and the Slytherin second-years would have their first lesson with Gilderoy Lockhart and Hadrian used the term lesson very lightly as he'd been told by some fourth-years of how Lockhart wasted their lessons with extracts from his books and had them either answering pop quizzes about the books or worse, acting out the scenarios.
"If he tries that with me," Hadrian had growled to his Brotherhood on their way to breakfast, "I reserve the right to snap his spine in two!"
Not one member laughed in jest of this: they all knew how serious Hadrian's threats were.
Sitting down at breakfast with the rest of the House gathered around him, Hadrian was then surprised to find a note set down on his plate; picking up the note, the Slytherin King's eyes searched the table before he opened it and, at the exact same time, he dropped it with a growl.
"What's wrong?" asked Neville, both he and Hermione having followed Hadrian and the Slytherins to their table.
"Dumbledore wants to meet with me," Hadrian answered, linking his fingers as he added, "Suddenly I've lost my appetite…or maybe that's because Weasley's table manners haven't improved much."
"Why do you think we stay over here?" asked Hermione, earning a shrug from her honorary brother before she began to eat her own breakfast as the post arrived. While a few of the owls just swooped down with letters and packages, Hedwig flew down to her master where Hadrian allowed himself a small smile as he stroked her feathers and let her feed from his plate.
However, at the same time that Hadrian's smile vanished from his face, a lop-sided owl suddenly crashed right into Hedwig, knocking her from Hadrian's side while the lopsided owl landed in front of Ginny.
"Can't you even get your hands on a decent owl?" demanded Hadrian, picking up Hedwig gently before he glared at Ginny, "You're one of us now, Weaslette: shape up or ship out!"
With that, Hadrian set himself back down while Ginny, fingers trembling at the rage in her idol's eyes, reached for the owl, Errol's, legs where a blood-red envelope was tied.
"Uh-oh," Neville whispered, drawing his wand rather quickly before he cast a silencing ward around them, "Weaslette's been sent a Howler."
"I wonder why," drawled Hadrian as he watched a recovered Hedwig fly off through the window.
As Ginny struggled with the clasp on the letter, a magnified female voice suddenly roared from within: "GINEVRA WEASLEY! HOW DARE YOU JOIN SLYTHERIN HOUSE! WE ARE ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTED! YOU ARE A FAILURE AS A DAUGHTER AS WELL AS A WOMAN, IT SEEMS: THEREFORE, YOU ARE NO DAUGHTER OF MINE! I WILL NOT HAVE SOME DEATH EATER PRODIGY AS ONE OF MY HOUSE: YOU ARE HEREBY DISOWNED! ENJOY YOUR LIFE AND LOOK FORWARDS TO AZKABAN, BECAUSE THAT'S WHERE YOU'RE HEADING!"
Then, with a flurry of action like the letter was trying to eat itself, the envelope and the papers within were shredded, leaving Ginny to tremble even more furiously; at the same time, Hadrian looked across the table to where, for once, Ron Weasley wasn't eating Hogwarts out of house and home. Instead, he was looking at the Slytherins and smiling as though he'd achieved some sort of victory over the snake pit and his now ex-sister.
"You bastard," hissed Hadrian, a few members of the group looking nervously in his direction as they felt his magic spiking; rather than calm himself, Hadrian then addressed Ginny, "Don't you dare show tears, Ginevra! We do not let our enemies see our weakness: stand up, take your things and follow me!"
With a look from Ginny that seemed to ask if he was being serious, Hadrian rose from his seat and left the Great Hall, flanked as always by his Brotherhood as well as Ginny, each of them making their way down into the dungeons where Hadrian stopped before he turned to face the red-head.
"Now you can cry," he told her, earning a whimpering nod from the girl as he added, "Don't expect to hear me say this too often, but…it would seem I owe you an apology for my outburst before. Rest assured that the real guilty party will not get away with this: I can promise you that! As for what you do now, you hold your head high and keep up with the rest of us: Slytherin is your home and we are your family. It will take time to arrange, but I believe I can come up with a reasonable solution that will benefit all of us. In the meantime, Blaise, you will help Ginny survive her sadness and, as a favour to me, you can provide her with new equipment so she does not have to suffer the indignity of being an outsider."
"Yes, Hadrian," Blaise nodded, removing his outdoor cloak before he put it around Ginny's shoulders.
"Contact your Mother for me," Hadrian then commanded, leading the others into the dormitory while he spoke to Blaise, "Explain the situation to her and inform her that I will personally reimburse her for this if it is what she wants. Otherwise, if not, tell her that I appreciate her help and let her know that this thanks comes from the Slytherin King himself!"
"Of course."
Sitting Ginny down, Hadrian then stepped around the red-head before he asked, "Now, before I go and endure hell on earth, I think we should have a little talk about hero-worship, don't you, Ginny?"
"Y-Y-Yes, Hadrian," Ginny stammered, before she sniffed once and looked up at him, "Thank…thank you."
"I lost my family," Hadrian told her, his voice still as cold as ever as he explained, "Unless I personally create the misery that leads to it, I won't allow anyone else to suffer the same fate: don't believe me? Ask Hermione."
Ginny looked to Hermione, who just nodded with unspoken agreement before the red-head ex-Weasley listened as Hadrian began to talk with her.
On that day, Ginny Weasley died…
What took her place was a Slytherin sorceress that no-one would forget.
Darkness Is My Ally
"I never thought I'd see kindness from you, Hadrian."
"It wasn't about kindness," Hadrian explained to Draco as they walked towards their first lesson with Lockhart, "It was a matter of honour: a cry-baby amongst our ranks is not the image of Slytherin I'll allow us to represent."
"Whatever," Draco remarked, but said nothing more as he received an icy glare of warning from Hadrian, the meaning behind the glare as clear as day as Hadrian just scoffed before he walked towards the door that led into their Defence classroom. As soon as he walked through the door, however, Hadrian felt a sickness rise inside him that not even having to put up with hero-worship could match.
The Defence classroom's walls were covered in portraits of their professor, each one smiling and waving fondly as though they expected some sort of positive response: there were framed certificates and trophies along one wall that looked like they'd been personally forged while, at the top of the steps that led to the teacher's office, the real Lockhart looked just as nauseating. Dressed in robes of forget-me-not blue and holding a smile that Hadrian wanted to eviscerate from his face, the man spread his arms dramatically before he addressed the class.
"Let me introduce you to your new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher: me! Gilderoy Lockhart: Order of Merlin, Third Class; Honorary Member of the Dark Force Defence League and five-time winner of Witch Weekly's Most-Charming Smile Award, but let's not digress: I didn't get rid of the Bandon Banshee by smiling at her."
There were a few titters from the Gryffindors while Hadrian and the Slytherins all had looks like they were going to blow chunks; thankfully, Lockhart continued rather quickly as he explained, "Now, be warned, it is my job to help you defend yourselves against the foulest creatures known to wizard kind! For all you know, you may find yourselves facing your worst fears in this room, but do not be afraid: know that no harm will come to you while I am here."
"Except for the mental traumas," muttered Hadrian, earning a few sniggers from the Slytherins as Lockhart held a cloth over a large object.
"I must ask you, then, not to scream: it might provoke them!"
With a dramatic flourish, Hadrian saw Lockhart remove the cloth to reveal a cage filled with blue-skinned creatures that had tiny wings and small, beady eyes. They gnashed their fangs and seemed to chatter and squeak excitedly while a few members of the class laughed, Seamus Finnegan summing it up as he asked, "Cornish Pixies?"
"Freshly-caught Cornish Pixies," Lockhart answered, earning a few more laughs while his hand went to the door of the cage.
"Oh no," Hadrian whispered, "Even this ponce isn't that stupid."
"Laugh if you will, Mr Finnegan," Lockhart advised him, "But pixies can be tricky little blighters: let's see what you make of them!"
Then, just as Hadrian had feared, the man pulled the lock off the door and let the creatures loose: there was pandemonium in the class with that one action as the pixies began throwing books, bags and stools all over the place, a few of the students ducking out of sight while, like he was caught in the centre of the storm, Hadrian just stood there, the Brotherhood keeping the pixies away from him. At the same time, Lockhart insisted, "Come on now, round them up: they're only pixies."
"Don't tempt me," Hadrian whispered, watching as Lockhart drew his wand.
"Peskipiksi Pesternomi!"
"You are thicker than baloney," muttered Hadrian as nothing happened: instead, the pixies grabbed Lockhart's wand and began causing even more mayhem with it.
Lockhart, meanwhile, ducked out of the way and, seeing a few students making for the doors, he seemed to laugh as he explained, "Yes, good plan: I'll leave you lot to just round them up, eh?"
When he was gone, Hadrian sighed before he told the others, "If you want something done right, you do it yourself."
"What are you going to…" began Hermione, but stopped when the air around them seemed to compress with a thickness that pressed in around each of the hearts of the Brotherhood. To each member, it was like they were looking at a truly murderous individual about to launch a killing spree: the bloodlust in the air was ripe with hatred and redness that could only be described as…as…hunger!
"Nobody move," Draco whispered, looking to Hadrian who, with a lift of his head, snapped his eyes open, his magic releasing itself out across the room: when the magic met the pixies, the little creatures seemed to cower and prostate themselves before the dark force that dwelled in their midst.
"Put…this room…back," snarled Hadrian, his words getting frantic, fearful nods from the pixies as they repaired the damages they'd caused almost as quickly as they'd destroyed the place. "Now…back into your cages and don't come out again until I give you permission to do so!"
The pixies moved so fast that one of them even shut the cage door behind him while Hadrian, turning his own chair upright, turned to his friends before he told them, "Early leave, I suppose: come on, we can get started on Snape's homework."
As they followed behind him, Hermione grabbed Draco's arm before she asked him, "What…what in Mordred's name was that, Draco? The darkness: the bloodlust: I…I actually felt like…like…"
"Like you wanted to take your own life," Draco replied, nodding in agreement as he explained, "That's Hadrian's power for you, Hermione: it's something you might need to protect yourself against should a certain someone you know side with his enemy."
"Mum would never do that," Hermione argued, earning a shrug from Draco, "She loves him like a son: she'd never betray Hadrian."
"For her sake," Draco whispered, "I pray that you're right."
Darkness Is My Ally
Though he felt a bit better after managing to show Lockhart a thing or two about power and who had it, Hadrian's ire only returned after dinner when he was reminded about his impending meeting with Dumbledore. As a precaution, the Brotherhood members suggested that they could escort him there, but Hadrian shook his head as he told them that everything was going to be all right.
When he approached the gargoyle that blocked access to Dumbledore's office, Hadrian just folded his arms and, leaning casually against the wall near the gargoyle, he smirked knowingly before he asked, "So…any clue as to your password or am I just wasting my time?"
When the gargoyle didn't reply, Hadrian shrugged before he added, "That's what I thought; bye then."
With that, he turned on his heel and left, smirking all the way as he returned to the Common Room…
Darkness Is My Ally
Up in his office, Albus Dumbledore watched as his monitoring charms revealed Hadrian approaching his office and, instead of going through a thousand and one guesses for the password, he simply stood there, looked right at the spot where the charm revealed to Dumbledore who was outside and then left.
"Harry," Dumbledore whispered, seeing the couldn't-care-less attitude of his prime weapon against the Dark, "Why won't you just listen to reason?"
His only sign of an answer was a knowing chuckle from the Sorting Hat, but, when Dumbledore turned, the old hat just made a negative sound as he explained, "You know you can't milk my secrets from me, Albus, so don't even try: all you need to know for now is that you're so far past the point of no return, you forgot what it looked like when you passed it."
Dumbledore felt both a sense of hopelessness and rage rise in him at the insinuation of the hat's mocking tone…
Darkness Is My Ally
"Erm…H-H-Hadrian?"
Looking up from the text that he was reading through, Hadrian was half-surprised to find Ginny No-Name standing in front of him, her hands holding a wrapped parcel as she waited for his approval or retort.
"Something wrong, Miss Ginny?"
"B-Blaise's mum has…has offered me…a place with her…until y-y-you sort out," Ginny explained, her shyness only amplified by the worry she felt about being in the Slytherin King's presence, "But, erm…I was…I mean, I wanted to say thank you for standing up for me and…I don't know why, but…" she then held out the package in her hand as she explained, "I think that this is better off with you. It was given to me by…someone I don't know back in the Alleys and…I only wrote in it once, but…when you helped me…it was like I couldn't do it anymore."
"I see," Hadrian replied, taking the package from Ginny before he asked, "Is that it?"
"Yes."
"Thank you," Hadrian remarked, his speaking-about-the-weather tone making Ginny feel worse than she already did as he added, "And for the record, if my plans succeed, you'll have the necessary help by Halloween. When you have it, you can then consider yourself a true Slytherin, but don't forget what we talked about."
"I won't," Ginny replied, giving him a curt bow as she told him, "You're not him, I know that now…but all the same…maybe I could prove myself worthy of…of being in your circle?"
"We'll see," Hadrian answered, dismissing Ginny with his words; once she was gone, Hadrian pulled the paper off the parcel that she'd given him and, with a raised eyebrow, looked upon a leather-bound black book. There was nothing special about the book, though when Hadrian turned it over, his eyes narrowed as he found a small inscription on the back: T M Riddle.
"TM?" Asked Hadrian, looking up to the Slytherin Common Room before he added, "There's only ever been one Riddle I can think of: Tom Marvolo Riddle…"
Looking back down at the book, Hadrian drew his wand before he carved three words into the air:
TOM MARVOLO RIDDLE
"I knew it was inevitable," he whispered, waving his wand once before the letters rearranged themselves;
I AM LORD VOLDEMORT
"So…" Hadrian then added, looking back down at the book in his hand, "You're back…but the question is…why?"
Taking a quill from the table next to him, Hadrian opened the diary to its first page and, dipping the quill into the inkwell, he wrote on the page: Hello again, Voldemort.
'Who is this?' The writing responded, the sentence structure and style of writing so similar to Hadrian's that it was scary, 'How do you know my real name?'
'Oh, I know more than that,' Hadrian replied, smirking knowingly as he asked, 'So you've come back again…didn't you learn your lesson last time?'
'Last time?' asked the book's owner, 'Who are you? What do you mean?'
'Oh, it seems we're playing games then,' sniggered Hadrian, almost carving the words into the pages as he wrote, 'I am Hadrian Potter, Slytherin King and the one who will do what you could not: silence the Light and send it to Hell.'
'Interesting,' the book replied, Hadrian almost imagining a snigger coming from the owner as he wrote, 'And you say you are the Slytherin King? Congratulations.'
'Thank you,' Hadrian replied, 'Now, here's my next question and it'll decide whether I let you stick around or whether I use your precious diary for kindling.'
'I'm listening…'
'Give me one good reason I should let you live…and you will,' Hadrian replied, 'Otherwise, let the fires burn.'
There was silence from the book before the sniggering sensation came to Hadrian's mind as the writer responded, 'You truly are the King, Hadrian Potter: very well, I'll give you a reason…and a means to have some fun as well: interested?'
'Very.'
'Then tell me,' asked the spirit of Tom Riddle, 'What do you know…of the Chamber of Secrets?'
Chapter 11 and it seems Hadrian has been captured by the diary, but is that what's happened or is this part of the King's plan?
Plus, what is Hadrian's plan for Ginny and can he help turn her into a true Slytherin sorceress?
Keep Reading to Find Out…
Next Chapter: Halloween night brings a surprise for Ginny and a discovery for Hadrian as he deals with one of the problems in his life: plus, Pansy decides to voice the concerns she's had all summer and beyond while Neville talks with Draco about Hadrian and his guardian; also, as Halloween leaves them behind, Hadrian has more words with Tom...
Please Read and Review…
AN: I've changed the content for the next chapter as I've decided NOT to use the Chamber and simply have the year as an apparently-ordinary year with a few twists; the Tom in the diary will be returning, but not as Voldemort as things will be different come third year.