In between light and darkness

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"Hello." Hadrian said- Person speaking

Hello. Hadrian thought- Person thinking

§Hello.§ Hadrian hissed- Person/snake speaking in Parseltongue

Last time on in between light and darkness

Anyhow Hadrian made its first large step by claiming heirship of the most ancient and noble Houses of Slytherin, Ravenclaw and Peverell. That was the case even if nobody knew it. After all the goblin conversations with their clients are protected by client confidentiality. Hadrian was actually rather glad nobody knew that he was the heir of three Houses. If someone knew they would try to influence and manipulate him. It would almost guarantee him the attention of Albus Dumbledore. He didn't want his attention... yet. Just thinking about that man made Hadrian's blood boil. For now, he would stay hidden, work in the shadows and step into the light when the time is right. He could not stay hidden forever after all.

Realizing that people could still see his ring he quickly muttered the words, "Ostendo mihi logo Slytherin Ravenclaw Peverell" and then after those words, the word "evanescet". The result of said words being spoken were that the ring's logo merged back into a combo of all three Houses and that he turned invisible on Hadrian's right hand.

"Time to go shopping." Thought Hadrian as he left Gringotts with 500 gallons in a sack which he carried with his right hand.

Chapter 3: Settling in my new life

Hadrian walked through Diagon Alley and let the sight wash over him. At first he went to the local owlery and bought a young Hedwig. She was still a cub at that time one who had just learned to fly, but he wanted her none the less. Owls in the magical world usually lived for around seven decades. How they managed to stay alive so long when no other animal possible could. Simple, they fed off and used the magic of their owner to live that long. As soon as the Slytherin-Ravenclaw-Peverell stepped into the owlery she flew down the branch she was sitting on and landed on my arm which I had stretched out a second earlier. Hedwig instantly began nuzzling against him, like she usually did.

In Azkaban Hadrian would have literally given anything for a companion like Hedwig. She was loyal, strong and would always peak you when you- at least in her opinion had done something wrong. Her assessment was accurate most of the time though.

It were moments like this that got Harry wondering, was Hedwig more than just an owl. She from time to time seemed to grasp the situations more than some people did. Some people being Ronald Weasley. Or did animals just know stuff some humans did not. Could she somehow sense that I was her owner in the future?" Hadrian thought.

"Oh, she never does that." Said the salesman in the shop. "She seems to instinctually like you. Most people who even look at her get their eyes picked out of their sockets." He exaggerated.

Hedwig just looked glared at the salesman, huffed, and turned her head away from him as if understanding the conversation. The salesman in return just chuckled, pointed at the owl, and said, "See what I have to deal with."

"Well seeing that this young cub obviously has an unknown affection for me I would like to buy her."

"Are you sure, I mean the owl can be pretty aggressive from time to time. I sure as hell wouldn't buy her." The salesman stated.

"Isn't it your job to sell her to me?" Hadrian asked with a deadpan. The salesman just looked at me oddly. "Fair enough." He eventually said. "Would you like anything to buy anything else?"

Hadrian took a moment to consider before answering. "Yes, I'd like to buy a guidebook on how to handle, what to feed young cubs like Hedwig and so on. Of course, I'd also like to buy food for Hedwig."

Hedwig hooted in appreciation at the last one. The former Potter just petted her. At his touch, the young cub just leaned in.

"Very well. I'd advise you to buy the book '101 basic facts about owls. It is a guidebook that should teach you how to handle your owl. As for food, I'll give you a package we have here at the owlery that contains dead mice, shrews, voles, and other food for your owl. That package should keep your owl well feed for a month. Try to rationalize, so that it will suffice for the month. Oh, and a piece of advice, let your owl, even if she is a cub at the time, out. She needs to fly and build muscles, learn how to hunt, develop her instincts and much more. The owl would cost 20 gallons, the book 4 Gallons and the food for your owl 7 Gallons. All things combined would cost you 31 Gallons."

"I'll take the book, the food and lovely Hedwig." Hadrian said. "31 Gallons please." The Slytherin- Ravenclaw-Peverell took out his sack, which he stashed, into his right pocket after he left Gringotts, gave the salesman 31 Gallons, bid the salesman farewell, and left with his newly acquired stuff. Hedwig was still sitting on his shoulder, the sack with now 469 Gallons in it stashed away in his right pocket again, the book lying on top of a wooden box which carried all of the young cub's food. Fortunately for Harry the box had an anti- smell charm on it. Dead mice certainly doesn't smell nice. Outside the shop, Hadrian looked Hedwig dead in the eyes. Her eyes were still small for a cub, but you could still clearly see her amber, yellow eyes. He said the words 'Meus es tu'. Pushing magic into the owl her eyes flashed green for a moment. The kind of green Harry's eyes were. Eventually Hedwig eyes turned back to their original color- yellow.

'Meus es tu' was Latin and translated meant 'You are mine.' in English. With those words you could bound an owl to you. It wasn't even a spell it was more of a ritual if there ever was one. The ritual was fairly easy. It only consisted of two steps.

Step one: Look the owl you want to bind to yourself dead in the eyes. Step two: Mutter the words 'Meus es tu' out loud. If you have done the ritual right your owls' eyes should momentarily turn into the shade of your color before returning to its natural state. Seeing that the young cub was now bonded to him, Hadrian moved through the crowds to his next destination.

This ritual only worked on owls, no other animals. Owls were largely breed for post-delivery services. Meaning for wizards. All owls who were sold at an owlery had an enchantment on them that bonded their magic. Otherwise, when a wizard or witch would push magic into the owl, the owls magic would reject to the try to bond with her. Only after a wizard or witch bound with the owl would the enchantment be lifted.

Yes, even owls had magic. How else could they track down every person in the world? Now that Hadrian thought about it, he wondered, how did they actually do it. I mean you would give them a letter, and they would deliver it to the person you wanted it to be delivered to. More, how could they track down every person in the world. More importantly, however Hadrian began to wonder if wizards could somehow however the owls did it use the method to track down persons. Certainly, an idea worth looking into. Hadrian mused in thought. The British DMLE (Department of Magical Law Enforcement) would pay millions of gallons to get their hands on such an invention. So, would many other law- enforcing governing bodies in the world. The ICW (International Confederation of Wizards) for example. Each law enforcement organization in the entire world would pay a hefty amount of money for such an invention. The DMLE, ICW and other governing bodies would use it to track down criminals. It would make the job of an Auror or hit wizard that much easier.

Though owls had magic and could track down any person in the world they still had a relatively low amount of magic running through their veins when compared to other animals. That was the reason the ritual was only performed an owls. Even if you bound the magic of an animal that wasn't an owl then chances were still high that when you tried to bind with said animal that the animal's magic would be unbound and would reject your attempt to bind with it. Animals with a little bit more magic than owls would just brush of your attempt to bind with them. Magical animals however such as dragons, basilisk's, phoenixes etc. would not react so kindly. They would attack you for such an attempt. And magical creatures were something that you shouldn't ever upset. Because if you do, you will most likely end up dead. If you were lucky you would end alive but with one body part or more missing. It would be a six in the lottery, an intervention by a higher power or sheer dumb luck if you managed to leave the encounter with a magical creature unscathed.

Having arrived at his next destination, Flourish and Blotts, he entered the shop. Seeing Flourish and Blotts was still as impressive as ever. The shelves in the store were stuffed to the ceiling with leather-bound books as big as sidewalk tiles, others were small as stamps and bound in silk. Flourish and Blotts was as impressive as ever. The bookstore was incredibly large. So big, in fact, that many people got lost in it. Those who wanted to look something up or just had a thirst for knowledge went to Flourish and Blotts. It was a very old library. The co-founders were Rowena Ravenclaw and Cadmus Peverell. Flourish and Blotts existed long before Hogwarts was even an idea in the minds of the founders. Long before the Wizengemont. At the time Flourish and Blotts was founded there were only guilds of wizards and ancient wizarding families.

As soon as he entered the shop he walked through the library and picked several books he wanted to buy. All seven books in the Textbooks of Spells series by Miranda Habicht. A book about the Wizengamot, politics in the wizarding world, etiquette among ancient wizarding families and so on. One book about the history of wizards and witches. Another for the basics of potions. Hadrian also bought the book transformation for beginners by Emeric Wendel. And finally, a book written by Quirin Sumo by the title 'Dark Forces: A Course in Self-defense'.

Walking to the Cash Register, the saleswomen looked at the six-year-old a bit oddly. In all of her years she never saw a six-year-old walk into the bookshop, pick a bunch of books and then walk to the Cash Register. She wanted to ask what a six-year-old think he is doing by not being in the supervision of his parents or if he even had the money to buy all those books he held in his hands. But the boy gave her a look that clearly said: don't question it. Shrugging she did exactly that. Though she had to admit the young snow-white owl that positioned herself proudly on his right shoulder looked kind of cool. And the young cub was gorgeous.

"That would make 97 gallons in total." The saleswomen said. Hadrian pulled his sack out of his pocket, counted off 97 gallons, and pressed the gold into the cashier's hand. Harry took the books and laid it on top of the guidebook on how to care for his young owl. It got hard to carry all those books. After all he hadn't yet developed the muscles of an adult. The former Potter by blood was still a six-year-old at the time after all.

In the end, Harry still managed to carry all those books towards the Leaky Couldron. He walked in, moved through the crowd and into the fireplace. He loosened his grip with his right book on the pile of books he held in his arms but leaned back, making sure that the books would not hit the ground. He grabbed the Flo powder pronounced the words, "Slytherin Castle" clearly but not loud enough for anyone to hear and let the Flo powder fall to the ground. Not even a moment later and the Slytherin-Ravenclaw-Peverell was engulfed in green flames.

Slytherin Castle, Edinburgh, Scotland

Harry arrived what seemed to be in the middle of nowhere. He looked in front of him and saw… drums please… nothing but grass and a few cows. He looked around left and right and there was still no castle in sight. Looking beneath him, he saw the fireplace. "Nice." He thought. Beneath him there was no grass there was stone. The fireplace was placed on the floor.

Hadrian liked having the fireplace on the floor. Having it in its living room, just made it weird when people all of a sudden entered the house through the fireplace. It made him feel like he didn't have privacy, considering that people could just barge into his living room via the Flo network at any time they wished. Having it outside the house ensured that the person at least had to knock on the door.

Turning around, Hadrian saw it. On the top of a high mountain, it stood. Slytherin Castle. It was an impressive castle. Of course, it could not compete with Hogwarts, but what castle could. Still, it didn't stop Hadrian from dropping the books he was holding in his hand after looking at the castle for the first time. His mouth hung open at the sight of the castle. Hedwig, who had fallen asleep on his arm after shopping at Flourish and Blotts, woke up and flew away, startled by the 'bang' caused by the falling of the books. After a few seconds, Hedwig flew back in Harry's direction and then took a seat on his right shoulder again.

This is all mine? Harry asked himself, with a touch of doubt in his mind. Slytherin Castle was magnificent. On top of the mountain stood the castle. On the mountain jerked trees and bushes. But they did not dare to approach the castle. Most likely because of the Wards left by my ancestors. Ancestors, Harry said out loud. He still couldn't believe it. Maybe it was just a dream. Yesterday Hadrian was a prisoner of Azkaban and a Potter, today he was a free man, a Slytherin-Ravenclaw-Peverell, time traveler, lord of three of the oldest wizarding families of all time and owner of most-likely three more than magnificent castles. It seemed too good and unrealistic for Hadrian. If it's a dream, I never want to wake up again, Hadrian thought to himself.

The mountain was dominated by a castle with many rooms and doors. The castle and the castle wall were most likely built of volcanic stone. From Hadrian's point of view, on the right side of the mountain, one could see a house that extended far beyond the wall. In the center of the mountain was a huge bonsai tree that also extended far beyond the wall and was visible from Hadrian's vantage point. On the left side was a settlement and in front of the settlement was a tower. Behind the settlement seemed to be a huge colosseum. Behind the house on the right was another huge house like the one behind the bonsai tree. Between the back house on the right and the colosseum was also a chapel? The owner of the castle really wasn't sure what this building was supposed to represent. The castle was much larger, but from Hadrian's point of view, that was all that was visible. Hadrian wondered what else the castle had that he couldn't see at the moment. But he was giddy to find out.

The fireplace on which Hadrian stood was covered with moss. The castle was not just a castle in Edinburgh, it was the castle. Hadrian remembered the fact that the castle was started to be built in the 7th century and over the centuries something was always added or changed until the castle looked like it does today. Hadrian wondered how often the castle was entered in the last centuries. How was Slytherin Castle even connected to the Floo Network? I mean the castle and the fireplace was older than the Ministry of Magic. How was it even possible that it was connected to the Leaky Couldron. Questions upon questions for which the Slytherin-Ravenclaw-Peverell had no answers. But he was more than ready to get his answers. Harry answered with power and knowledge when the higher power asked him what he wanted if he had a wish in Azkaban. In retrospect, Harry didn't know if that was the right answer, but he knew he had made his decision and now had to make the best of it.

Harry bent and gathered up the books and the box of Hedwig's food and made his way to the entrance of the castle. Ahead of him was a paved path, which Hadrian followed. He assumed it would lead him to the castle. Where else would it lead him? As Hadrian followed the path, he noticed a few things. The path was lined with lanterns, which had candles in them that glowed. Some glowed the color of a normal candle, orange, others glowed red, green and some even black. Hadrian could only explain in one word, or rather think, why these candles had been shining for centuries, have not yet gone out, and very likely will not go out in centuries. Magic. Beside the path were many plants and tree species. There were many acacia trees, bonsai trees, golden vinegar trees that made the tree look almost like the skin of a Phoenix. Beside and between the trees there were also a lot of bushes. The ground was partly grass, partly earthy, partly stony. After all, the house was located on a mountain. So far Hadrian was already enthusiastic. Just the way to the castle was incredibly beautiful and breathtaking. Whoever designed and built the road to the castle had Hadrian's respect.

Suddenly, the Heir of Slytherin heard a hiss. He looked in the direction of the hiss and realized it was coming from behind him. Hadrian gulped and his breathing became uneasy. Slowly he turned around and saw a snake, but not a normal snake - a basilisk. The deadliest kind of snake. Hadrian could feel even young Hedwig feeling fear. She sprouted her wings, showcasing her ability to flee any moment she wanted too. She may be an owl, creatures who usually hunted snakes and ate them, but the human as well as the animal in question doubted her ability to take on the snake if it came to a fight. It would be far more likely that the deadly snake would devour the young owl then the other way around.

The basilisk was two meters long. All at once Hadrian felt that the garden as a place was no longer breathtakingly beautiful, but deadly. All at once he wanted to leave the garden only with his life intact. A basilisk demanded respect just by its presence. Every wizard and witch knew what a basilisk was. Children were told to run as fast and as far as they could if they were ever unlucky enough to encounter a basilisk. Basilisks were snakes that were said to be able to kill you with a single glance. A single basilisk could take on probably 300 Aurors. For this reason, there were very few basilisks in the world. Witches and wizards feared them and what dark wizards could do to them for a chaos. Basilisks are incredibly dangerous and could only be controlled by parselmouths. The problem is that the most famous parselmouths were all tyrants who spilled an incredible amount of blood. Herpo the Foul was a parselmouth. And he had half of Europe under his control in the 9th century and is responsible for 22 million deaths. He was a tyrant who killed anyone who dared to oppose him. Today, the gift of speaking with snakes is considered a sign of a dark wizard. Voldemort -another parselmouth- did not do good to the reputation of the parselmouths.

§Who dares to walk into Salazar's garden?" the snake spoke in Parseltongue.

§That would be me, Hadrian Slytherin-Ravenclaw-Peverell. I am descendant of Salazar Slytherin by blood and magic and his rightful heir.§ Hadrian hissed back in Parseltongue. The snake recoiled for a moment.

§You are a speaker. One who speaks our tongue. Interesting, very interesting. I haven't seen a speaker or anyone for that matter in the last five centuries. And your magic smells of no deceit. Very well then. To truly confirm you as a descendant of Master Salazar, you will follow me. If you lied concerning your lineage, I'll eat you.§

Harry believed the snake. God knows he did. It's not that hard to do, after all. After all, it was a basilisk that made the threat. And basilisks were vicious by nature. Hedwig, meanwhile, still had her wings spread and a look of absolute fear in her eyes. Hadrian assumed that she was simply afraid of what the basilisk might do to her. The basilisk slithered away, gliding beside Harry, and leading him and the very frightened owl to the entrance of the castle. Hadrian and his faithful owl entered a bridge made of volcanic rock. To the right and left of the bridge was a ring wall that prevented anyone from falling off the bridge. It was slightly higher than Harry was at that moment, which meant that Harry could not see over the wall. Harry dutifully followed the snake, because he or she, Harry wasn't quite sure if the snake was a male or female. Either way, it didn't seem to matter. It led him to a huge archway. Above the archway there were two windows, between the two windows there was a sign. The Slytherin seal. Inside a huge beautiful emerald stone was a gray snake. Of course, this snake was a basilisk, what other kind of snake had the Slytherins made their house symbol? The snake had its mouth slightly open, so it was easy to see how sharp and deadly the basilisk's teeth were.

Next to the archway stood two statues. One of the two statues had the wand in his right hand. The figure to Harry's left, however, had a phoenix sitting on his shoulder. §Come and grant the supplicant his right, Master Salazar," hissed the serpent as we arrived at the entrance to the castle. The ground shook for a moment before a pedestal slowly emerged from the ground at the entrance to the castle. Hadrian looked around frantically for any danger as soon as the ground shook as did his companion who sat on his shoulder, but both let out a sigh of relief when the ground stopped shaking and the pedestal emerged. §Put your hand on the pedestal.§ commanded the snake. Hadrian did as it commanded. Hadrian felt foreign magic enter his body and after a few minutes leave his body again. Hadrian was used to foreign magic entering his body because of the house rings he was supposed to put on not an hour before at Gringotts. Even though he was used to it, it still felt strange. Suddenly the doors to the castle opened and the pedestal disappeared back into the floor.

§You may enter, milord. My name is Serena. I served under Master Salazar himself.§ the snake spoke, now addressing me respectfully. Hadrian guessed she would treat anyone as an intruder until they prove themself otherwise. Hadrian had done just that. He had proven himself as the heir of Slytherin. That he could enter the castle was fundamental to that fact. Hadrian's thought about Voldemort for a moment. He was a descendant of Salazar Slytherin as well, why hadn't he entered this place. And what about his parents by blood? Why had they never entered the castle before. Serena said that she hadn't seen anyone in the last five centuries. Were his parents by blood squibs? Weren't they aware of their heritage or their prestige their name had in the wizarding world.

Either way, it would not really matter to Hadrian. He would move forward into the future, trying to make the best of it like he always did. But Hadrian also frowned. He was the future lord of three most ancient and noble Houses in wizarding society. Problem was, these weren't just any wizarding houses. The Slytherin, Ravenclaw and Peverell lineages were all thought to be extinct. Hadrian knew that he from this moment forward had a lot of responsibility on his shoulder.

Every conversation, every word he spoke was put on the gold scale and sharply analyzed by but not only by politicians. Hadrian decided that he would take a break from the wizarding world for two years because firstly he wanted to see a mind healer to deal with the effects Azkaban had on him, secondly he needed to learn what responsibilities he now carried by being the heir of House Slytherin, Ravenclaw and Peverell and lastly he wanted to learn magic.

In the other timeline Hadrian too had a thrive to learn all sorts of magic. He was especially good at potions, charms, and transformation. But Hadrian absolutely excelled at Defense against the Dark Arts. Unfortunately for Hadrian he always had the worst teachers when it came to 'DADA'. I mean his first-year professor was possessed by Lord Voldemort himself and his only other DADA professor he ever had was a fraud. It wouldn't surprise the Slytherin-Ravenclaw-Peverell if his second-year professor couldn't even use the simple disarming spell (Expelliarmus).

That was another question how would he let those events play out. Surely not like last time. Hadrian thought. He would under no circumstances take up residency in Azkaban once again. That would not happen. What about Hadrian Potter? What about him?. He needed to die. Hadrian quickly came to this conclusion. As soon as he traveled back in time, Hadrian Potter died. No one should assume that Hadrian Potter was alive. He was Hadrian Slytherin-Ravenclaw-Peverell from this day to the day he dropped dead. He didn't want to be mixed up with Hadrian Potter.

Hadrian Potter needed to die not just in Harry's mind but also in the eyes of the public. But how should he arrange it?

§Speaker, Speaker!§ Serena raised her voice, effectively stopping Harry's thought process. §Sorry, Serena just got lost in thought, it won't happen again.§

The snake gave a small hiss, which sounded to Harry who could understand Parseltongue like a sigh. §It's okay, Speaker. Just don't do it again or worse repeatedly. Master Salazar had that nasty habit as well. Anyhow as I was saying, would you like a tour around the castle? Afterwards I may answer all questions you have?§

Although the snake asked if Hadrian wanted a tour around the castle, he knew that it wasn't a question. It was a demand. The snake seemed to almost seem giddy at having someone near her. I suppose I would too if I hadn't talked to anyone for five bloody centuries. No, I would have been crazy at that point. Hadrian pointed out in thought.

§That would be delightful.§ Hadrian said to the snake. §Follow me, young lord.§ the snake said and slithered through the archway quickly. Although the snake was a thousand years old, Hadrian could practically hear and smell the snake excitement at being able to show 'the Speaker' Slytherin castle.

Hadrian shook his head and followed after the snake.

Hadrian entered the courtyard of the castle. As already said, there was a huge bonsai tree in the center on some earth. The rest of the courtyard was made of volcanic stone. The courtyard was well maintained, and no branch or needle of the bonsai tree dared to step out of line. Passing through the archway, one saw a ladder on the right. The ladder led to the upper floors of the castle. To the towers, etc. Hadrian was willing to bet that there was a beautiful view of the city of Edinburgh from up there. The buildings were also made of volcanic stone, wood, or a combination of both. §Follow me, speaker. On the right you will see a house. It contains a laboratory for alchemy, a laboratory for potions, a room for runes, a room for astronomy with a huge telescope, and a room for herbology with a greenhouse. Last but not least, there is also a room where you'll be able to duel, test and learn spells...and so on. Hadrian was amazed by the house. As he entered the laboratory for alchemy, he felt stupefied, the room was large, very large. It had a desk in the middle and a chair near it. The desk contained many papers. The room also contained many metals, like gold and silver and many other metals, he could not identify. The same could be said for the liquids. The metals were stored in large boxes which were placed in a carving inside a wall. Like most of the metals, Harry couldn't identify most of the liquids. They were stored inside a cabinet, which contained test tube holders. Hadrian could also not identify most of the alchemic tools the room contained or their purpose.

The potions laboratory, Hadrian also couldn't figure out. But at least he could identify half of the stuff in there. The rest were mostly ingredients he probably didn't know. Maybe there are even some ingredients in there that don't exist any longer. Maybe I could replicate them, who knew what those maybe lost in time potion ingredients could have an effect on today's wizarding society. Hadrian mused in thought. For that reason alone, he decided not to touch anything.

Hadrian definitely decided to brush up on potions. Snape may have been his head of house a long time ago, but that still didn't mean he was biased against him. He was the son of James Potter. The living embodiment that he failed to charm Lily Potter his way. As such even if Hadrian was a Slytherin, Snape would still take the side of any Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Slytherin and Ravenclaw over him any day of the week. Being a Potter nullified the bias Snape held.

The bat would have probably killed me, James Potter, and my dear twin brother, if he knew that he would get away with it. He would probably do all of that just so that he could have his little Lily-flower.

Hadrian was also practically clueless when it came to herbology, astronomy, ancient runes, and other things in the house. He always sucked at herbology, and the other subjects were only taught third year in Hogwarts and above.

Seeing as he was straight to Azkaban after the second year for supposedly opening the chamber of secrets, he didn't have a single clue what a rune table, most pants in the green etc. were and what function they had.

What Hadrian deemed the most interesting room was the dueling room. There were ghosts in the room. Some of them were the past lord Slytherins-Ravenclaw-Peverell while some were side branch members of the family. The rooms ground was volcanic stone while at the entrance of the room there were bookshelves with all kinds of books pertaining spells. Spells regarded as light. But also, an equal amount regarded as dark. There was even one book that regarded black magic. Magic were divided by sorcerers and witches into three categories. Light and dark. But there was also one more that most wizards didn't know of. Black magic. Black magic was the darkest of magic making dark magic pale in comparison. The Unforgivables counted as black magic. And they were considered mild black magic. Many wizards believed the Unforgivables to be dark magic, well, they were wrong.

Black magic could be divided into necromancy, soul magic, and at times shadow magic. Dark lords were, for the most part, always black magicians. Black magic always did one thing - hurt others. The only exception to the dark lords who was not a black magician was Gellert Grindelwald. He mainly used only light magic. But he also used black magic from time to time to achieve his goals. However, compared to other dark lords in the past, his knowledge of black magic was nothing. He only used the Unforgivables to achieve his goals. Crucio, Avada Kedavra, Imperio that were the only black magic spells he ever knew and used. But even then he tortured, controlled, and killed millions of people, all for his 'greater good'. 3 commonly known black magic spells, yet one wizard could do so much damage with them. This just showcases how dangerous black magic can be.

Harry decided to learn light magic first, then slowly but carefully approach the dark arts and then even more carefully maybe learn some black magic. Hadrian didn't really buy into all that crap concerning light magic and dark magic. Magic was just that, magic. All magic was based on intent. You could kill a person with a first-year levitation charm. The problem with the dark arts were that they had more potential to hurt people while the light arts only disarmed or rendered someone powerless. Many people in a quest for power, revenge learned the dark arts because they thought they would greatly help them in their quest.

'Dark magic corrupts the user.' It was a sentence mostly used by Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore. In Hadrian's opinion everything in that sentence is wrong. The dark arts do not corrupt the user. Only black magic does corrupt the mind of the user. That's why black magic is so dangerous and in its entirety forbidden in Magical Britain. If you do not know what the hell you are doing by practicing black magic, you could very well become a lunatic, bend on only causing bloodshed. Keyword being could.

You have to distinguish, even with black magic. There were several wizards and witches over the centuries who were masters of the field black magic, yet never submitted to its allure. In fact, many of those witches fought against the Dark Lords of their time and were major players in wizarding wars.

To round up, Dark magic does not corrupt the user. Power does. Again, we have to stop thinking in labels. Power can corrupt the user. There were several light lords in history who were corrupted by power. The dark arts and black magic were considered dark, because most of the people who sought them out left a legacy of only bloodshed behind. Again most, but not all. It was not the dark arts or black magic that were dark, it were most people who sought them out. Most wanted power, revenge. Magic is magic. One of the fist lessons you ever learn in Hogwarts is that all magic is based on intent.

I will repeat myself. You could kill a person with a first-year levitation spell. You can use all magic to protect or harm a person. It all depends on the intent of the wizard who uses the spell.

One thing stood out about the house. While things were in order, the entire house was dusty. Why wasn't the House cleaned. From the amount of money, the Slytherin vault at Gringotts carried it was safe to assume that the Slytherin family was a very rich family. Surely, they weren't stingy to an extent where they didn't buy house elves.

You needed them if you wanted to keep an entire castle clean. §Serena, do I own any house elves?§ The snake stopped at my seemingly harmless question, it was just about to show me another room and slither out of the current one. She turned around and Hadrian momentarily saw that a look of sadness washed over the snake's face.

§Not anymore, Speaker, not anymore. They did 495 years ago. 500 years ago, the Slytherin family left this castle and never returned. I never knew why they did it. Or why they never returned, well, until you set foot in this castle. The elves only lasted five years without the magic of the Slytherins. House elves like magical owls can only live as long as a human, because they feed of the magic of their owner. With no wizard or witch and no magic to feed of off, in the castle, they died 5 years after the Slytherins left. They died slowly and a very painful death due to the magic withdrawal.§ the snake answered his question with no small amount of bitterness in her voice.

A brief silence entered the room. Hadrian felt sorry for the house elves and Serena. Serena didn't deserve to be abandoned and the elves didn't deserve death. But certain questions came up in Hadrian's mind. Why in the seven hells would be the cause for the Slytherins to leave this magnificent castle behind? To abandon their current live, the elves and even Serena. From what Hadrian could tell, Serena felt abandoned, like he was at the Potters hands. Hadrian of all people understood the feeling of abandonment. He felt the need to reassure the snake. He sighed.

§Look at me, Serena.§ he hissed. §I don't know why the Slytherin's abandoned this castle, the elves and you. But I promise you that I will never abandon you. Can you transform yourself into a smaller snake, who does not look like a basilisk?§

The snake nodded its head, apparently not believing me about not abandoning her. As the former neglected and abandoned child of the Potter family I could understand her all too well. Once you were abandoned it is very hard for a person to fully trust another again.

§Perfect. If you can do that, I'll take you everywhere I go with me. You'd be my familiar, that way you can go everywhere I go.§

The snake sadness seemed to fade. Her facial expression now showed happiness instead of sadness. §Really you would do that?§ the snake asked hopefully.§ The Slytherin-Ravenclaw-Peverell just nodded. §Sweat!§ exclaimed Serena. § Let me show you the other parts of the castle.§ she said enthusiastically.

"Hedwig." I whispered, so that only the young cub could understand me. Said owl, had after I had entered the house fallen asleep on my right shoulder. Hearing me call her name, woke her up. She gave one hoot, which sounded like a yawn to me and then stretched her wings. "Can you get off my shoulder. Fly around a little bit. Get familiar with the area?"

The young owl scowled at me and shook her head in the negative. Hadrian firmed his lips. Hedwig you lazy owl. Hadrian thought. "If you flow for an hour now, I am willing to give you a treat." He negotiated. Hedwig's face took a thoughtful pose for a moment before she gave two hoots and flew away. It seems that she accepted the deal.

§Follow me, Speaker. I still have the rest of the castle to show you.§ Serena spoke. And she did. The second house she showed him, was mostly a normal house for living. It had three floors. The first floor contained a kitchen and a giant dining room. The second floor was basically a living room. It had a couch, a fireplace, a table and so on. The third one was for the sleeping chambers. The third floor also had one large study room.

But the former Potter was nowhere near as much impressed from the 'living house' as he had christened it as he was compared to the giant colosseum. That was a sight to behold of. Once he entered the tower, he realized that this was a library. A giant one at that.

A wooden spiral staircase led all the way to the top. The Colosseum was open at the top, so it could rain inside. Hadrian suspected, however, that a Slytherin had enchanted the Colosseum so that this would not happen. There were bookshelves hanging on the wall that reached to the top of the Colosseum, not that Hadrian could see that. The bookshelves were crammed with books. In the middle of the Colosseum was a table with a single book on it, and a table. Next to the book stood a quill and the book looked familiar to Hadrian. §Serena, I've seen that book lying on the table before. What exactly is it?

§Speaker, this is the grimoire of the Slytherin family.§ The basilisk answered. §Okay, what exactly is a family grimoire?§

Serena mumbled something about uneducated speakers under her breath. This caused Hadrian to smile fondly at the snake. Then she began explaining, §The family grimoire contains all family magic, family secrets, blackmail material, information, and a whole other bunch of stuff. It is a magical enchanted book that contains the entire library you see in front of you. The book can only be opened by the rightful heir Slytherin and Lord Slytherin. And only those two people can read the book. What is your favorite book?§ Serena finished with a curious question.

Hadrian pondered the question for an answer for a moment. What was his favorite book? It was a good question. The Dursleys would never give or let alone have him read books. Freaks shouldn't be smart Vernon always said. He read only read about 20 books in his life. Nearly all of them were schoolbooks. Either for the muggle elementary school or Hogwarts. §My favorite book is 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them' by Newt Scamander.§

§As long as the book lies somewhere on the bookshelves of this Colosseum, you can transform the Grimoire into your desired book.§

Harry's eyes widened at the implications of what Serena had just said. §Are you saying that with this book I can not only access family magic, family secrets and other things but also the entirety of this library?!§ Hadrian half asked, half shouted.

Serena just nodded her head and had a smirk on her face. Well, as good as a snake can have a smirk on her face.

Hadrian's eyes almost bulged out. That would mean he would be able to have every book in Slytherin castle at his imminent disposal by just having the family grimoire with him. §How many Slytherin family grimoires exist?§ Hadrian asked.

§Seven.§ came the reply from Serena. § One respective grimoire for the alchemy and potions lavatories, one for the Colosseum, one for the Greenhouse, one for the rune room, one for the Astronomy room and one for the Dueling room.§

Harry hummed. That was consistent with what he saw. In each of these rooms there was usually a desk with papers and the now identified Slytherin grimoire.

Wanting to see how the book works himself, Hadrian walked towards the desk.

He pulled back the chair and took a seat at the table. He grabbed the book and blew the dust off the book. Some dust, however, got into Hadrian's nose, causing him to sneeze. Serena, meanwhile, had wrapped herself around Hadrian. The former Potter didn't mind. Sure, it felt uncomfortable, and he wiggled a little in his seat when she first did it, but he guessed it would only be a matter of time before he got used to it. Well, he had already promised Serena that she would go everywhere with him, so he would have to get used to it.

Harry looked at the grimoire. It was not very big and thick. It was about as thick and large as a small schoolbook. Tentatively, it could be said that the book could fit in any pocket. At the beginning of the book was the title "Slytherin personae operisque Pii".

Hadrian would never in his life claim to speak Latin fluently, to understand it, or to be able to translate it. Nevertheless, Hadrian could translate a few words. For example, Hadrian could translate that Slytherin means personae operisque Pii, meant Slytherin's legacy.

The cover of the book was green, and the Latin words were engraved in gray letters on the front of the book. Below the gray words was the Slytherin logo. Under the basilisk, the Slytherin logo, were the words,

"Never forget that you are a Slytherin. Show the world that gave you demons that you made them your bitches and raise an unholy hell to those who gave them to you.

~Salazar Slytherin," engraved in gray lettering in the green leather.

Hadrian chuckled after he read the sentence. It just sounded so like Salazar Slytherin to say something like that. Well, Hadrian would definitely do as the sentence said.

He would make his family regret that they abandoned him that day. He was no skinny boy. He would show them not to mess with a Slytherin-Ravenclaw-Peverell. He would show them how great he was. He would raise an unholy hell for both the Potter family and more importantly, Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore.

But before he could do all of the above, he had to get better. He would need to become a wizard, gather knowledge of the political world, enter the political world and gain power in it. Only that way would he be able to win against Voldemort, Dumbledore, and the Potter family.

Voldemort had incredible power and knowledge. He had many followers, who would follow his every whim, he had knowledge about the dark arts most people could only dream of.

Dumbledore, too, had power and knowledge. He was one of two wizards who lived during his era who could toe to toe with Gellert Grindelwald.

The three offices he currently holds most likely make him the most influential person in the entire world. The office of Supreme Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, and the office of Chairman of the International Confederation of Wizards. Of course, the Minister of Magic did what Dumbledore wanted. In order to persuade him not to do what Dumbledore wanted, Lucius Malfoy always had to put a lot of money on the table. Most of the time, however, Fudge did what Dumbledore wanted. James Potter was also in Dumbledore's pocket. James was the Chief Auror. The highest ranking Auror in the entire Ministry. Only two people were supposed to be his boss. Amelia Bones, Department head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, and the Minister. But he also worked for Dumbledore and fed information to him. Dumbledore also probably had a lot of friends, spies in other departments of the Ministry outside the DMLE. In short, Dumbledore controlled the whole Ministry.

Sometimes the newly christened Slytherin-Ravenclaw-Peverell wondered why people didn't see Dumbledore as a dictator. Maybe they were all fooled by Albus Dumbledore's grandfatherly, larger than life, façade he put on.

"The darkest lord in history hides himself right under your nose". The former Potter thought. Now, he understood them. It is not some dark magic that makes a wizard a dark lord. It is their actions that makes a person a dark lord.

Dumbledore if you take all of his actions put together could be called a dark lord. But unlike other dark lords he succeeded. Succeeded in being a ruler over millions of people. Hadrian liked to compare Brian to his favorite film villain, Chancellor Palpatine aka Darth Sidious.

They truly had many things in common. Both infiltrated structure, whether it be the Republic or wizarding society, and defeated a seemingly undefeatable enemy. Grindelwald or the Separatist Movement. After the enemy is defeated, they take control over the structure they infiltrated. Sidious proclaimed himself Emperor. Dumbledore got the position of Chief Warlock, Supreme Mugwump and the office as a chairman on the ICW for defeating Grindelwald. He practically had them shoved upon him for defeating Grindelwald.

Both Palpatine and Dumbledore portrayed themselves at the grandfatherly figure, who have nothing but good intentions, when in reality they are nothing but power-hungry mongrels.

I never wanted power all I ever wanted was freedom, Hadrian thought, but I need it. If I don't want to give up every shred of morals I hold, I will need power, politically and magically. To defeat Dumbledore and Voldemort, I need power.

Voldemort and Dumbledore were both master tacticians, manipulators, and chess masters. They were the major players in Britain. The Minister of Magic, Amelia Bones, the Aurors all irrelevant compared to Voldemort or Dumbledore. In a way Voldemort did not want to overthrow the Ministry to rule over England, he wanted to overthrow Dumbledore, because then no one would be able to stop him from taking leadership of Magical England.

In a way Magical Britain would not function without Dumbledore. That is how much influence Dumbledore had in this country.

After Hadrian looked at the front of the grimoire, he opened it. On the first four pages there was a list of all the Slytherins that ever existed. The list was easily over 1000 people large. On the third page was a picture of Salazar Slytherin, with what appeared to be his family. To his left was a beautiful woman who was very scantily clad. She wore a grin on her face. You could tell she was very confident. Even today, many witches thought that showing flesh and wearing tight clothes was the ultimate sin, so they always wore robes. 1000 years ago, when this kind of clothing was uncommon, you would have been considered a whore for it and maybe even executed. Under the photo it says that the photo was taken in 980. Salazar appeared to be around 20 years old in the photo. Salazar was not looking forward, he appeared to be engaged in what appeared to be staring match with a child in his arms. He smiled lovingly at the child. From that smile alone, Hadrian suspected that it was probably Salazar Slytherin's child.

The fifth page was blank. §Drop blood into the page and say the words 'open for the heir of Slytherin'.§ Serena instructed. Looking around for something which Hadrian could cut himself and drop a few drops of blood onto the page, he found nothing. §Serena, do you have anything with which…§ he began but was interrupted by Serena who already knew what he wanted when he looked around, §I'll bring you a dagger, speaker.§

Detaching himself from the Speaker, Serena slithered out of the Colosseum and returned a moment later with a dagger in her tail. She attached herself onto the young lord again and offered him the dagger. §Thank you, Serena§ Hadrian mumbled. The snake didn't respond verbally via Parseltongue to the thanks but nodded her head in acknowledgment. Hadrian took the dagger and admired it for a moment. The handle was made out of pure silver and the blade itself was made out of steel. The dagger was well polished, as was the steel and the name Bradley Slytherin was engraved in the blade.

Harry briefly wondered who Bradley Slytherin was but dismissed it as irrelevant and added it to the list of things he should research. That list was getting longer each second it seemed.

With the dagger, Harry cut a thin line in his right hand. He held his bleeding hand over the book and watched as a few seconds later a message was written on the previously blank page. It read, "Welcome Hadrian Slytherin to gain access to the knowledge of your ancestors, please place the ring for the heir or lord of the oldest and noblest house of Slytherin in the circle."

A circle suddenly appeared under the message.

Hadrian shrugged and did as told. Turning the ring visible he took it off his finger and put it inside the circle. Runes appeared all over the page and the ring started to luminate green. The ring ultimately stopped glowing green and the runes disappeared.

Hadrian took the ring and put it back on his finger. Another message appeared on the page. "The deceased Slytherins pass the knowledge of House Slytherin onto its heir."

Hadrian smiled at the message.

Time to become great, shake the foundations of the political world, and be an absolute pain in the ass for Twinkle Eyes, the Potter family and Voldemort. Hadrian thought with a large grin plastered across his face.

End of Chapter 3