Chapter 8

A/N: Hi all, thank you so much for the reviews, I finally managed to get to a part that most of you have been waiting for! Although this story has mutated and taken a life of its own as this is not what I had initially planned for the story.

…Harry's POV…

Hadrian cursed as a spell left Marvolo's lips before he even removed his wand from its holster but froze as he realized that Marvolo had merely cast Finite Incantatum.

Nothing about the scene changed though and when Marvolo was about to cast it again or try something else, Gellert's voice rang out.

"I gave you the first one as a freebie, to see what you would do, but I warn you…cast one more spell in my direction…even a harmless one…and I will not hesitate to retaliate."

At Gellert's words, something seemed to change in Marvolo's eyes and the tension in the air became so thick that Hadrian was sure he could cut it with a knife if he wanted to.

Both Dark Lords glared at each other, and Hadrian could practically see the wheels in their heads turning with thoughts of…I need to show that he can't mess with me…or…This world isn't big enough for two Dark Lords.

It was sad how predictable they were so Hadrian did the only thing he could do… he interfered.

Both men let out a yelp before looking at him in surprise as he toyed with his wand and they both got the message that he would jinx them again if they didn't stop.

And this time it wouldn't be a simple stinging jinx.

A few minutes later they all sat down to finish breakfast and although the atmosphere still felt heavy, Hadrian could feel both Dark Lords glancing at him cautiously before turning to their own food.

As if HE was the dangerous one!

He then noticed that the two were having some kind of silent conversation while they ate and by the time breakfast was done, the two had nodded as if in agreement and the atmosphere lightened up quite a bit.

The problem was that the agreement could be anything from coexisting to agreeing to duel each other when his back was turned.

This was why he didn't want the two to meet in the first place!

Which brought him back to his other problem.

What did the Dark Lord want with him now that he found out that Harry Potter was still alive, and why had he been in such a hurry to find him?

Gellert excused himself for a while after casting a spell on the dishes and although Hadrian was certain that the man was going to eavesdrop from the next room, he appreciated the thought at least.

The air turned somber as Marvolo noticed this and Hadrian was surprised to find that the man's entire body was tense.

Neither spoke for a while but Hadrian gave the Dark Lord some time to get his thoughts in order.

"I did something bad to someone."

Well, that wasn't how Hadrian expected the conversation to start, but he kept quiet.

"I'm sure most of the public knows the story of my fight with Harry Potter, and how it ended."

Hadrian nodded although he couldn't explain the sudden tightness he felt in his throat.

"At that time my soul had been split and my sanity along with it, but after I regained a piece of myself, I realized what was happening and I gathered the rest as well, although I am still looking for a small sliver of my soul that I had somehow lost without knowing where."

Hadrian had the sudden urge to rub the hidden scar on his forehead, but he twisted his hands together instead.

Where was Marvolo going with this?

"When I dueled Harry Potter that night, I kept asking myself why I was doing this, but he always drove me up the wall, so I made myself believe that he was the only obstacle left in my way, yet the moment the killing curse left my wand and he disappeared, something inside me broke."

Hadrian guiltily hung his head, but it wasn't as if he could jump up and say hey, I'm here, I'm still alive.

If he hadn't done what he did then the Dark Lord would have killed him anyway, but this made him wonder whether he had done the right thing in pushing the Dark Lord to attack him instead of trying to find some other way.

Too late for regrets now though.

"After that night I threw myself into work to try and forget, but it kept haunting me and I told myself that I simply wanted the chance to show him what I had intended for the wizarding world. So, I started researching ways to bring him back."

Hadrian suppressed an angry shudder at that logic. You can't just kill someone and bring them back to life when you feel like it!

"I finally gathered all the elements I needed to make it work, but something stopped me, and I asked a Death Eater to go look at the area we dueled in once more."

Hadrian couldn't help but realize that the Death Eater probably found the trinkets that he had left in his rush to get away.

Marvolo suddenly grabbed his one hand and Hadrian looked up at him in worry, but the man's attention seemed to be somewhere else as he spoke.

"The Harry Potter I fought with is dead though. In order to remove himself from the war, he did a ritual that would destroy his being before putting it back together in a way that would remove most of what made him Harry Potter."

Hadrian subconsciously rubbed his chest at the reminder and a phantom pain shot through his body. As much as he had wanted to live…he had been begging for anyone to kill him during that ritual.

He looked up and caught Marvolo looking straight at him.

"I don't really want to ask this, knowing that you probably think of me as a monster at this point for allowing that to happen, but please help me find him."

Hadrian's body jerked slightly in shock at the words, but he pushed himself to speak through the choking tightness in his throat.

"What do you plan on doing to him once you find him? As you said, he might not be the same person…"

The Dark Lord grimaced before nodding.

"I just want to talk with him, if possible, find out if there is something he needs, find out that he is ok."

Hadrian could feel that there was something the Dark Lord wasn't telling him, but he could fill in the blanks by himself.

Marvolo had probably found out about the abuse and connected it to what he had experienced in the past at the orphanage.

It was only after his 'death' that the healer realized that people thought he had grown up pampered and loved and that his misadventures had merely been a way to keep the attention on him.

He was sure that even Voldemort and his Death Eaters had thought he lived a life of luxury in some safe house that Dumbledore had requested.

Hadrian just didn't know why it affected the Dark Lord so much.

The man had killed for less and he really didn't like people.

Was his obsession with Harry Potter really that bad?

Hadrian almost wanted to feel jealous of himself for having so much of the Dark Lord's attention.

Maybe it was time to tell him? Severus would kill him though.

A searing burn suddenly ran through his scar, and he gripped the armrests in pain, only to find the Dark Lord hissing in pain as well.

Marvolo shot out of the chair and Hadrian noticed him looking around frantically for something.

"I need to get back to the Castle! Someone is attacking it!"

With wide eyes, Hadrian immediately reached into his bag for a portkey, but a third pair of hands grabbed onto them just as the portkey activated, and Hadrian was left staring at Gellert in shock as the man straightened himself with a grin on his face once they reached Hadrian's house.

"Are you crazy! You could have been killed!"

Gellert gave a huff and crossed his arms, "You would have left me there if I hadn't grabbed ahold of you and I haven't seen this much action in years! You really think I'm going to miss out on it?"

Harry barely had time to reply when Marvolo grabbed hold of both of them and apparated them to Slytherin Castle.

The scene that met them was chaos but as Marvolo was about to start throwing about curses, Gellert grabbed his arm, "The ones in black robes are yours, right?"

Hadrian watched as Marvolo nodded and a truly terrifying grin spread across the older Dark Lord's face as he took out his wand and donned a similar outfit.

A clear sign of the Deathly Hallows was etched into the mask though and then he was off with Hadrian wondering how many people would actually make it out alive tonight.

He turned to Marvolo, but the man was already charging into the fray again and Hadrian had no choice but to follow, the Dark Lord seemed to falter at seeing him at his side though and Hadrian could see that his thoughts were running wild.

"Don't worry, I know how to take care of myself."

The Dark Lord nodded, and they charged in together.

It didn't take long for Hadrian to notice that he didn't recognize any of the people they were fighting against though.

Sure, there were a few familiar features but no one he outright recognized until he saw Fenrir fighting a familiar-looking man. Arthur?

As he took a closer look, he realized that most of the people they were fighting against, seemed to be relatives of people he had known, some who had even died during the war, and his blood ran cold.

He found he could now easily pick out the ones that had apparently been under the influence of Dumbledore's spell, but hadn't it been cured completely?

They must have been using spells to hide their features he thought as the enemies around him started looking more and more familiar.

Someone charged at him from the side and Hadrian was surprised to see an angry-looking Luna tackling him to the ground just as another spell flew over their heads.

"Hadrian! We have been looking all over for you! Didn't you get Severus' message?"

Hadrian nodded, but barely had the time to speak before she sent a stunner at someone who looked a lot like Kingsley Shacklebolt.

"Someone got their hands on some of the stuff Dumbledore used once they found out and everything has been crazy here since then! You need to get to the Dark Lord; he is their target."

Hadrian was about to ask, which one, but instead he charged forward to the spot where he had last seen the Dark Lord fight.

The man seemed to have been informed about the situation because except for a missing limb here and there, most of the people had simply been left unconscious.

He also saw that a similar path had been carved out towards the opposite direction of the castle and he winced when he realized that Gellert was making full use of the chaos to play around with a few new spells Hadrian had taught him.

At least it seemed like no one had died…yet.

…Marvolo's POV…

After seeing the chaos during their arrival, Marvolo immediately noticed that he had made a big mistake in bringing Hadrian with him, but it had been instinctive.

Now he fought to get back to the other man's side as Lucius' words rang around in his head. The curse has somehow been reactivated. Someone else took control though and they think that Hadrian is Harry Potter.

It was silly of course. Marvolo had established that himself, and although the man's reactions as he told him about Harry Potter hadn't been ones of disgust, he had still looked suitably shocked so what was he missing?

Another stunner left his wand before he lost his patience and set off a bombarda maxima, which had all his enemies jumping out of the way and he took on his mist form in his haste to find the other man.

He couldn't stop fast enough once he spotted him though, so he merely grabbed a hold of him and made his way to the study where the fighting hasn't reached yet.

Hadrian looked ready to murder him for grabbing him like that, but the important thing is that he hadn't been captured by the enemy yet.

He looked the man up and down, but except for a bit of dirt, he seemed unscathed. He moved to wipe away a few grains of sand from his forehead, only to see Hadrian flinch as his fingers encountered hardened skin.

He stilled and his breath caught, but Hadrian took a deep breath before he lifted the sleeve of his robe to wipe slowly but harshly at the area.

Marvolo felt rooted to the spot as Hadrian slowly removed his sleeved hand and a very familiar scar made itself known.

"I tried to tell you before…"

A/N: Yay we finally reached the part where Marvolo finds out! Just what will his reaction be though?