Sooooo sorry about the long wait guys - remember that time when I said uni was going good? Hahaha, yeah that didn't last long. I'm drowning, but that's alright, but here is chapter 21.

EDIT (24/04/17): To clarify for those people that might have read the chapter already and have some questions about the possibility of a sexual relationship between Hadrian and Riddle, the story is marked as Harry/Tom for a reason. Rest assured that they will develop a sexual relationship eventually. The two of them have a lot of bad blood between them.

Tom killed James, forced Lily and Harry into hiding, essentially fucked up his life and is directly and indirectly responsible for the way Lily raised Harry. There are a lot of issues that need to be fixed before we even begin to delve into actual romance. I really want CS to be worthy of all the love you guys are giving it, and to do that the development of Harry/Tom needs to be natural and most importantly, realistic, which means time and a bucket load of patience.

Now in regards to smut scenes - I don't have any actually planned out at the moment, but that could change as the story goes on. If it feels right, I'll give it my best shot, however for the most part, it will be a lot of UST as the two dance their way around each other.

So. Yes, Harry/Tom will happen, yes it will get physical, though they might not go all the way, and yes, there will be kissing for those of you that might ask. Just because I said I probably won't write a sex scene, doesn't mean they won't be in their own twisted version of a relationship.

And for those of you that are disappointed, fear not. Just because they likely won't have a scene like that in CS, there is every chance I will be writing a couple in the sequel (which, yes, is already planned out but will be a long time coming hahahah).

Anywho, hope you guys enjoy~ (P.S. be prepared for another wait - Game Development is a surprisingly heavy course :D )

Side note: Cheers to dailydreamer597 for what you did, flamers don't particularly bother me but you certainly brightened my day darling xoxo

Claire paced back and forth the length of their room with all the grace of an agitated lioness. Her stunning features were twisted into a small frown as she, yet again, made her way passed where Raina was lounging on her bed.

The dark haired girl did not even bother glancing up as her friend made another lap, content to simply read through her charms textbook. Claire had been in this state since Hadrian had awoken yesterday for mere moments, pensive and constantly murmuring to herself.

Raina knew better than to intrude on the other's thoughts when she was like this. She was happy to wait until Claire was ready to talk about whatever was clearly bothering her.

Raina's eyes ran over the passage she had been reading for the last three minutes, minorly frustrated that her mind was so preoccupied that she had not even taken anything in. It was just so difficult to do something as mundane as study, when her thoughts were never far from the hospital wing.

Or rather, the boy lying prone on one of the sterile beds there.

The past week had been agonising, waiting listlessly for any sign of Hadrian waking up. Each day that had ended without change had been disheartening, as they all felt his absence keenly.

Everything was…dull and uninteresting without Hadrian prancing around. At least to her things were. She had not even realised how quickly she had grown to enjoy the new rapport between the two of them until he was gone.

So seeing that smallest flash of green eyes yesterday had been like a balm on her fraying nerves. It was enough to loosen the stone in her stomach and let her truly breathe.

The knowledge that Hadrian would be up and about soon was the only thing that kept her from joining her friend in her pacing.

Claire passed her once again.

Raina refrained from sighing. Any second now.

"How can you be so calm?" the part-veela said, spinning to stare down at her with her arms crossed.

Raina flipped her textbook closed and rolled to face the other. "I see no point in working myself up over something I have no power to change. Hadrian is recovering, what more can I ask for?"

"But you don't find it at all suspicious?"

"Find what suspicious, Claire?"

The incredulous expression on her friend's face quickly morphed into something scornful. "You cannot be that daft, Raina."

"Excuse you?" she sat up, eyebrow arched and eyes daring the insult to be repeated. Claire pursed her lips and wisely carried on.

"I merely meant that no one but me seems to find the fact that he was in a coma for a week – with no justifiable reasons – strange."

It was Raina's turn to stare at Claire. "'No justifiable reasons'? Claire – he's lucky to be alive!" Raina's hands came up, but they hung pointlessly in the air, "His side was torn open, his skull was fractured, his magic exhausted…it's a miracle they managed to put him back together at all."

"I know that," Claire snapped, "that's not – I meant-" she stopped forcibly. "With the amount of treatment Hadrian got, a week-long coma is just…it's wrong. A day or two would be understandable, he was injured severely. But he should not have been unconscious for that long."

The blonde turned and moved to her desk, plucking a cream folder from its place and flicking it open. "Hadrian is in peak physical condition, and there is nothing from his family history that would indicate any problems medical-wise."

Raina's eyes widened. "Is that his medical record? How…why do you even have it?"

"It's just notes," Claire clarified. "not even I have access to student medical records. But that does not matter. The point is, with his overall physical health, plus his magical level, there is no way he should have been unconscious for as long as he was. It does not make any sense, and that is what I find suspicious."

"So, what?" Raina asked, curling her legs underneath her. "I might not have your level of understanding with healing, but I do know that sometimes things like this happen. No situation is black and white. Sometimes patients react unpredictably to treatment. It does not mean that something untoward is happening."

Claire lowered her folder and narrowed her eyes at her, displeasure written all over her. Raina rolled her eyes, gesturing with her hand sharply, "Fine, fine, continue. What, exactly, do you think is going on then?"

"I do not know." She admitted, sounding horribly frustrated at her lack of information. "But whatever it was, it has to be more than just the physical wounds and the magical exhaustion. Someone of his age and strength would have woken within two, possibly three days. Hadrian took more than twice that to even show a flicker of consciousness."

"Maybe it was induced then?" Raina suggested, but Claire was already shaking her head.

"The healer would have mentioned that when Amelia asked. He had no idea why Hadrian was not awakening either."

Raina frowned thoughtfully, "That is…odd."

"Exactly. I just cannot understand what is going on. People like Hadrian do not just fall into a coma unless something else occurred."

Raina felt unease build in her. "There is talk that the manticore attacking Hadrian as it did was part of a plot against France."

"To what ends? Killing-" her face screwed up, "-killing Hadrian in such a way would do nothing but strain relationships."

"Maybe someone does not want our countries to form an alliance."

The two girls stopped, sharing a dark look. This was dangerous talk.

A knock at the door distracted them.

As she was already standing, Claire moved to open the door as Raina stared down at her duvet.

"Jacob?"

Raina's head lifted sharply, eyes straining to glimpse around Claire to see if their guest really was the Korin heir.

"Are you alright? What are you doing here?" Around the handle, Claire's hand tightened fractionally.

"Claire," and that was most certainly Jacob's voice. "may I come in?"

"Of course," the blonde opened the door wider and smiled kindly as the other entered. Raina tossed a polite nod his way when their eyes connected, unable to ignore just how awful Jacob looked.

Ever since the falling out with Hadrian, Jacob had progressively grown – not withdrawn, but subdued in a way that he had not been before. It made her more curious as to what exactly had occurred between the two of them.

Jacob smiled back, though it was done absently and his eyes were flicking away from her within seconds. "I am sorry for intruding ladies."

"Nonsense." Claire sat on her bed, looking up at Jacob with the same pleasant quirk to her lips. Raina almost rolled her eyes at the barely concealed adoration in her friend's eyes. "What can we do for you?"

Jacob ruffled his hair, swallowed, and shifted. His other hand slipped into his pocket and his eyes roamed the room distractedly. He was terribly flighty, and Raina watched him with concern. She had never seen Jacob in such a state before.

"I was wondering if you had any news on Hadrian."

"Oh," Claire looked at her, eyebrows raised questioningly. Raina shrugged, seeing no need to keep the information a secret. "did no one tell you yet? He woke up yesterday."

The boy's shoulders drooped in relief, and his eyes fluttered closed. "Good. That's – that's fantastic."

"I'm sure he will be even better tomorrow." Raina carried on lightly, eyeing him shrewdly. She could not help but pick. "You could come with us when we visit him."

Jacob jerked backwards slightly, panic flaring briefly over his face. "No." He said too quickly, "No. That would not be a good idea. For anyone. I am sure Hadrian would prefer to recover in peace."

"He almost died," she said idly, noting how he flinched and disregarding the sharp looks Claire was giving her. "I am sure that whatever childish squabble you broke up over can be overlooked in this case."

But Jacob was already shaking his head. "You do not understand," he said quietly, "I cannot."

"Why?" she pushed, suddenly annoyed at both boys. "Why can you not? What stupid little thing is stopping you from visiting your injured friend?"

She stood, hands perched on her hips. "Hadrian could have died – for the love of the gods, he was almost skewered! Do you really think him so petty as to hold whatever you did against you even now?"

"Not petty. But I can tell you now that seeing me will do nothing but make him angry. I would prefer to avoid pissing him off further thank you very much."

"So you are happy to let him waltz into these dangerous tasks without closure? You do not want to fix whatever went wrong?"

"Of course I want to fix it!" Jacob shouted, startling them. "But it does not matter what I want – Hadrian made it perfectly clear that he had absolutely no interest in repairing our relationship."

Claire slid between them, "But Jacob, maybe Raina's right. Many people tend to have a change of heart when confronted with danger like Hadrian was. Perhaps he will reconsider?"

He laughed bitterly, "Trust me. Hadrian almost dying will only make him hate me more."

"You are not making any sense!" Raina hissed, arms thrown wide. "Hadrian knew the risks when he nominated. We all did. He can hardly blame you for his accident."

Again, Jacob's face twisted unpleasantly. "But he can." He murmured, and it brought the two of them to a halt.

"What are you talking about, Jacob?" Claire placed a hand on his arm, frowning.

"I cannot…I sworn I would not say anything." He tried to step away, but Claire tightened her grip.

"Jacob," she said softly, "please. You are hurting, and keeping this to yourself is clearly making it worse. Let us help you."

The boy wavered, and Raina wisely allowed Claire to take over. The part-veela was better equipped to coax an answer out of Jacob than she was.

"What happened between you, Jacob?"

He glanced at her, conflicted. But after only a brief moment, he opened his mouth. "Hadrian did not enter the tournament. He did not want to be champion. I -" he choked off, tears prickling at his eyes. "I nominated him behind his back. I was the one that did it. I betrayed him -"

The sharp crack of Claire's hand slapping his cheek cut through the air.

Raina stepped forward and grabbed the other girl, stopping her follow-up hit even though she burned to do the same.

She could not believe what she had just heard.

Hadrian…Jacob.

Jacob wisely did not turn his head back to them. "I'm sorry." He whispered.

"We are not the ones you should be apologising to." Raina said, still stunned at the admission, before it gave way to fury. "Get out."

Jacob nodded, taking a few seconds to straighten his uniform before he moved to the door. He opened it, and jerked to a stop before he could leave. His entire body pulled taunt.

"Oh, Jacob," Albert said, voice pleasant. "good afternoon. Are the girls in?"

"Obviously." Jacob bit out, sliding his way passed the other boy and down the hallway. Albert watched him go for a few moments, smile fading into something almost angry.

"Well at least their fight makes more sense now." He commented lightly, ducking in to see them. "You should really think of putting up more privacy wards, you are lucky it was me and not anyone else that overheard that drama."

"What are you doing here? I thought you were watching Hadrian?" Raina asked, arms still loosely holding Claire.

"Well I was, but I'm afraid I was kicked out by the decrepit healer."

"What? Why? Has something happened?" Claire asked, her expression still showing traces of her temper.

"'Something', indeed." Albert grinned at them. "Boy wonder is awake."

And just like that, their bubbling anger was replaced by overwhelming relief. "We need to go see him then, come on -"

Albert blocked their path, his face tight. "That is, unfortunately, not an option. Hadrian has been put in isolation."

"Isolation? Why on earth would he be in isolation? He's healed!"

He shrugged, "I am only the messenger. All I know is once the healer found out he had woken for almost twenty minutes, his mother and I were all but banished and told that no one was to see him until they verified how…extensive the damage to his mind could be."

"His mind?" Raina piqued up, confused.

"They are worried the hit to his head could have caused some permanent damage to his brain." Claire said, hands wringing her skirt. They all knew how important Hadrian's mind was to him. His intelligence was one of his most prized possessions. The thought of him having damaged his most valuable tool was disturbing for all of them.

"How did he seem? When you were talking to him, Albert? Did he show any signs of damage?"

The dark skinned boy nibbled at his lip. "He switched between English and French a little, but he has done that plenty of times when he was just tired. His speech and mannerisms were all the same from what I could tell. He could remember everything up until he was hit, and had me jumping through hoops within a few minutes."

He smiled softly at them, "He was very snarky as well, honestly, a terrible patient, so demanding." His expression became thoughtful. "Although, he did have one moment." He looked down at them, confused. "I was merely telling him what had been happening in the last week, when he went horribly pale and started throwing up."

"That is not entirely odd, his body could have still been processing what had happened and it caught him off guard." Raina suggested, but Claire was frowning.

"Did you say anything to him that could upset him? Enough to cause a physical reaction?"

"I told him about the manticore, but that was a good couple of minutes passed. I was in the middle of telling him about Professor Riddle's lecture when he just." Albert rolled his hand in a way that was clearly supposed to mimic throwing up.

"It could have been a delayed reaction." Claire murmured, and Raina rolled her eyes.

"Look, Claire, who cares why he was sick. He is awake. And the moment he is released from the hospital wing we will be there to welcome him back. And," she continued darkly, "have a long chat about Jacob's actions. I want to know exactly why Hadrian saw fit to keep this from us."

OoO

"My Lady?"

She glanced upwards from the report in front of her, blood-red lips pulling back into a smile. "Yes?"

"The latest report on Evans' state has arrived."

"Indeed? How has my darling champion fared?"

"He has awoken, and appears to be in fine health, considering his injury."

Her smile widened, eyes glinting dangerously. "How fortuitous. I would have been terribly upset if little Hadrian had been lost to us. He shows such promise, don't you think?"

"Yes, my Lady."

"Without a doubt my favourite." She continued, fingers brushing tenderly over a photo of the boy in question.

"Do keep me informed should anything develop further. I can't have him being poached by that false Lord. The last thing I want is him tainted."

"Of course, my Lady." With a bow, the man left her study as silently as he had entered.

Letting out a delighted sigh, she leaned back in her chair, allowing her relief to wash away the other, unpleasant emotions that had been filling her today.

Her dark eyes looked over the report she had been reading, mouth twisting upwards as she once again reread the title.

Grindelwald Dead! – Nurmengard's Last Prisoner

Oh she could hardly wait.

Her fingers played with the end of her necklace, tracing the pendant there fervently.

She glanced back at the picture of Hadrian Evans, tongue tracing her lower lip as she took in the boy's features.

This was going to be so fun, as long as a certain imposter left her boy alone.

A scowl came over her brow as she thought on her greatest obstacle.

Tom Riddle. An arrogant little prick, in her opinion. Also sticking his nose where it had no place.

Well, she would just have to teach him a lesson.

OoO

The next two days were torture.

Albert had not been joking when he had said that the healer was irritable. The gruff old man seemed to possess some form of sixth sense when it came to his patients; because whenever Hadrian so much as shifted too close to the edge of the bed, he appeared from nowhere with darkness promised in every crevice on his face.

Not even the healers back home were this unyielding. Typically, he could sweet talk his way out of the hospital wing within hours of waking up if there was nothing seriously wrong with him.

He would not dare to even attempt that with this one.

Not only because he looked more leathery than any human should, but because he had a horrible feeling that there was more keeping him here than just a concerned old healer unwilling to let his – admittedly grievously injured – patient loose before he was healthy.

'More' being a certain Dark Lord that now knew Hadrian Evans and Harry Potter were one and the same.

He was not even allowed any visitors – the old man claiming that they needed to evaluate his mental health, and having people disturb him could risk his recovery.

Which was complete and utter shit. Hadrian knew his limits and mind very well, and seeing his friends was not going to do more than alleviate his crushing boredom.

He was being isolated for a reason, and the longer he was left alone, the more anxious he began to feel. He had taken to tracking the healer around the empty hospital wing, hoping to unnerve the old man into submission.

And while he was having very little success on that endeavour, it at least kept his thought preoccupied from his other worries.

Namely why he was still breathing.

He did not know what Voldemort's game was, but the complete lack of control he had right now honestly scared him. His very existence rested in the hands of the man who had murdered James Potter, who had been hunting for his mother and him for years.

And Hadrian could do nothing, trapped in this stupid bed without any way to even send his mother a warning.

He did not even know if his mother was still alive. Surely someone would have been by to inform him if something had happened to her, but he could not be sure. A lot could happen in two days, and she had no idea of the amount of danger she was in.

He needed to tell her about Riddle, and cursed himself for being so weak when he had first awoken as to waste precious time on a hug. He was not five years old anymore. He should not be so easily reduced to such a state.

But what bothered him more though was how betrayed he felt.

It was ridiculous, and childish, but he had truly liked Riddle. He did not trust the man – was hardly that stupid – but the potential had been there. A few more weeks, a couple of months, and he might have actually thought of Riddle as a possible friend.

Hadrian had to bite his lip to stop the hysterical laughter from escaping.

How close he had come to falling for it. Gods, how often had he ignored his instincts when speaking with the man? How many times had he pushed his doubts and concerns aside, purely because he was too curious?

He had always held a small amount of fascination towards Voldemort, it was natural to be curious about the person your entire life revolved around, after all. He had hoped coming to Britain would give him more information about his enemy.

He had never intended to get this close.

Hadrian rubbed at his eyes, jaw clenched as his headache made itself known once again. He sighed as his hands fell into his lap, and a glint of silver caught his eye.

His fingers traced over the bracelet that now enclosed his left wrist.

It had to have been put on him when he was unconscious, and while a part of him was eternally glad he had not been aware when Voldemort had come to do it, another part raged at the thought that Voldemort had been near him when he was so weak.

Having the man looming over him, holding his arm, studying him…he shuddered.

He was not used to being prey – and he was prey right now. He was helpless, just stewing in tension, waiting for the man to approach him. He had to know he was awake by now.

The fact that he was still alive was concerning enough, but Hadrian knew that Voldemort's distance was not a good thing. The man was planning something, and he likely needed him for it to work.

Which begged the question of just what the man had in mind. For the life of him, he could not think of any reason as to why Voldemort would risk it; but whatever the man was planning, Hadrian sure as hell was going to fight it every step of the way.

He would not allow the man to hold this leverage – could not afford to – so he had to get the upper hand quickly. He just wished there was some way he could prepare himself for whatever was coming.

"Mr. Evans?"

Hadrian looked over to the healer, not bothering to mask his disdain. He might be able to acknowledge the man's role in his recovery, but Hadrian was far too wound up to check his attitude.

"Minister Lécuyer is here to see you."

He straightened as much as he could, eyes brightening when he saw the familiar face of his minister just behind the healer. "Merci beaucoup." Lécuyer said as she slipped passed the man and seated herself by his bedside. "You may leave, monsieur."

With a quiet huff, the healer did as he was bid.

Hadrian smiled at the minister, honest relief plainly written on his face. "Minister, you have no idea how grateful I am to see you."

She grinned good-naturedly at him, decades falling from her features. "As grateful as I am to see you, I imagine," she reached forward to place her slim hand over his. "you had many people worried, Hadrian."

He relaxed back onto his pillows, hiding a wince as his healing muscles twitched uncomfortably. Even though the wound was long healed, the area was still tender. "My apologi -"

"No." She cut him off, borderline snapping at him. Hadrian blinked at the vehement protest. "Do not apologise. Do you hear me? What happened to you was not your fault. It should never have occurred."

He dipped his head in acknowledgement, wrestling the second, instinctive apology from the tip of his tongue. Lécuyer gave him a look that told him she knew exactly what he had been on the verge of saying.

"Now, how are you, truly? I have received nothing beyond the occasional update since you were placed in isolation." Much like Albert before her, Lécuyer somehow managed to look completely comfortable in the stiff chair.

"I am…fine." He sighed, and smiled slightly at her dubious look. "Honestly, Minister. My side still twinges every so often, but I do not even have a scar. I would offer to show you, but I hardly think that would be appropriate." He said wryly.

"Undoubtedly, though you are hardly my type, Hadrian."

"It's the hair, isn't it? I knew I should have dyed it blond."

She chuckled softly at him, "More like several decades too young."

Hadrian felt some of the tension in his vanish that longer they spoke. There was just something unfairly calming about Lécuyer. Either that, or it was the fact that he doubted Voldemort would stop by when the French Minister was here.

"Other than that," he continued, "I am good."

"No head trauma? No blackouts or memory gaps?" She peered closely at him. "You were in a coma for a week."

Hadrian rubbed at the back of his head, quietly tracing where his skull had clipped the rocks and marvelling at the smooth skin. Magic never ceased to amaze him. "My magic shielded my skull enough to keep the damage at a minimum, thankfully. As for the coma -"

The Dark Lord knocked me out when he ripped himself free of my mind with all the grace of a flubberworm, and it took me a week to recover from the damage.

"- I believe it was my magic keeping me unconscious, to protect me." He was hardly in the mood to cause an international incident by revealing that. Not yet at least.

Lécuyer hummed, looking away from him with a small frown. "That is excellent news then." She turned back to him. "I am very pleased to hear that, Hadrian. And while I hate to do this, we must discuss the second task."

Hadrian took a deep breath, nodding in understanding, even though he hardly wanted to.

"You have been out of commission for a week, and that is a week your fellow champions have had to decipher their clues. Now the second challenge is a little more than a month away, after Yule, but we both know that you will need all the time you can to prepare."

Gods, was it almost December?

He had hardly noticed the creeping chill in the rush of the past month. Glancing out the window, he could see the heavy clouds blanketing the sky, and knew snow would be close.

"The box, the one I had to collect – where is it?" This was just what he needed to occupy his roving thoughts, to distract himself until Voldemort made his move.

"The Dark Lord has been holding it, you will have to get it from him, I'm afraid."

And just like that the pit in his stomach was back.

"The Dark Lord. Right."

Lécuyer sighed lightly, her expression briefly contorting before smoothing out again. "I also feel the need to warn you." Hadrian looked at her curiously. "There is quite a lot of, hmm, contention at the moment between France and Britain. Your accident has caused a stir."

"How so?"

"There are some mutterings of it being deliberate."

Hadrian started at that, eyebrows shooting up. "Assassination? Really? That's completely ridiculous."

Lécuyer clearly shared his opinion. "Unfortunately, these thoughts have a habit of lingering. I trust I can count on you to do your best to negate these whispers, if you encounter them?"

"Naturally."

Assassination, Britain would not dare. Hell, Riddle told me point-blank he wanted me to survive the challenges. That was long before Voldemort discovered who I was, so he had nothing to do with the manticore attacking me.

He bleakly noted that he could not say the same for the following tasks.

"Good."

"Minister Lécuyer?" he asked just as she stood, calling her attention back to him. "My mother, have you seen her lately?"

Lécuyer quirked a little smile at him. "Of course, I saw her only an hour ago at lunch. I was told your isolation will officially be ended tonight, so you should expect a flood of visitors tomorrow morning."

"If I am still in isolation why are you allowed in?"

She straightened her robes and gave him a mischievous wink. "Maybe one day I will tell you. Have a good day, Hadrian."

Lécuyer left the hospital wing, taking his good mood with her.

OoO

Sirius had officially lost his mind.

He walked as confidently as he could through the hallways, but his hands – buried deeply in his pockets, one curling around the little glowing trinket – were trembling.

He had been a mess of concern and anger since Harry's match, having resorted to keeping in his suite for fear of letting something vital slip.

He had been so very proud of the boy, it was like a fierce storm in his heart that rose whenever the boy did anything.

Naturally, he had been terrified when the manticore had first struck out, but his fear had melted into intense excitement as his godson – his godson – danced his way through the arena, outsmarting the creature at every step.

The doppelgänger had thrown him, and it was only the fact that he had glimpsed the disillusioned figure as it moved towards the pillar that had stopped him from jumping into the arena to protect Harry when he had been caught.

Even knowing it was a distraction, Sirius had had to turn away from the sight of Harry ripped open and bleeding on the floor.

Because it was so easy for him to replace that face with another, and the feeling of failure had choked him so thoroughly that he had honestly missed Harry even reaching the pillar.

He had snapped back just in time to see his godson be swatted into the wall though, and Sirius knew he was not the only person in the crowd that had flinched at the sound of the impact.

His heart had frozen when Harry had slumped to the ground and had not gotten up. It had felt like a part of him had died in that moment, because his entire reason for being here was to protect Harry, and he could not even do that properly.

Sirius had leapt into the arena, and gods did it rankle him that he had not been able to go to Harry's side. Because some fucking Death Eater had already slithered his way there. He had been unable to do anything, because after Voldemort had ruptured the manticore's head, the Dark Lord and Rookwood had already secreted Harry away.

Sirius had visited during the week. Whenever he could get away with it, he had sat and simply stared at his best friends' son and thought of what could have been.

He had found the silliest thoughts coming to him.

What was his favourite colour?

Did he enjoy flying, was he a prodigy just like James?

Was he a bookworm like Lily, did he sometimes get so lost in his books that hours slipped passed him?

What was his laugh like, had he ever laughed so hard he was gasping for breath with tears in his eyes?

Who was his first crush, his first kiss?

Such little, insignificant things but dammit he should know those things. He should know them.

This was his godson, his nephew in all but blood. He should have been there for every one of those milestones.

He should have been the one to torment the kid with gross stories, he should have been the one to sneak him his first drink, he should have been there to laugh at the awkward puberty years.

He felt cheated. He had missed so much of this wonderful boy's life, and he hated that he had not been allowed to see him grow.

And as much as Sirius wanted to blame Lily for stealing that from him, he knew he had no right to judge her when he had no idea what her reasons were.

Which was why he was finally doing what he should have done the moment Amelia Evans had stepped foot in Hogwarts. He was going to get his answers.

Sirius refrained from tapping his foot on the staircase as it swung to the next floor, but still darted off before the two connected completely.

He made his way to the suites of the visitors, having already memorised which one was hers from the night before.

He came to a stop, chest lightly heaving as his hands clenched and unclenched rapidly. He was breaking so many orders right now.

This is it.

He knocked on the door as politely as he could.

"One moment, please."

The door swung open after a few beats, and Sirius stared into the familiar yet strange face in front of him. "Can I help you?" She asked softly, the faintest trace of an accent coating her words.

Sirius blinked heavily, his tongue thick in his mouth.

There was not a flicker of recognition on her face, he knew with his glamour on she would not, but at the same time…

"Lily." He croaked out, watching as her eyes widened and something very much like fear sparked in them.

"It's me. It's Sirius."

OoO

There was someone near him.

Hadrian very careful controlled his breathing, and made sure not to move in the slightest. There was nothing that gave away his transition into awareness.

It was late, and the hospital wing was quiet; the healer having departed to his quarters across the hall for the night.

There was no need for anyone to be in here other than him, let alone someone sitting right next to him.

His stomach twisted uncomfortably, and he opened his eyes to meet bright crimson.

Riddle smiled down at him.

"Hadrian," he purred, "I believe it's time you and I had a little chat."

The Dark Lord gently closed the book he had been reading.

"Tell me, what do you know of the Order of the Phoenix?"