Explosion and Murder in Knockturn Alley Leave Ministry Out of Their Depth and Scrambling For Answers

By Rita Skeeter

An explosion rocked the infamously Dark neighbor to Diagon Alley late last night. The source of the explosion was an old warehouse down a side lane long thought to be abandoned. Neighboring storage facilities as well as down-and-out tavern The Spiny Serpent and intoxicating substance shop Touranious Substances were all damaged in the blast. Heavy traces of magic were detected at the blast site, but the Department of Magical Law Enforcement has neglected to state whether they know what spell was used. The ministry is at a loss as to the culprit of the explosion but while the minister was unavailable for comment, Head Auror Rufus Scrimgeour has stated, "No, we don't know who did it, and if we did, I bloody well wouldn't tell you." The motive of the attack remains unknown, and no one was harmed. However, less than a hundred meters from the origin of the blast, the body of a vampire was found, his organs crushed by his broken ribcage. He showed no sign of other wounds, so it was clearly a witch or wizard - but the questions present themselves; what kind of sloppy killer leaves the corpse in such a noticeable position? How can we trust our ministry to protect us when they can't even find such an obviously amatuer murderer? Was this mystery killer the same person who set off the explosion? If so, was it merely a diversion? For more information about the utter incompetence of our current government, and a spectacular opinion piece by yours truly on how an increase in muggleborns in the government is causing such idiocy, turn to page 14.

Sin groaned as he sat up, his chest aching. He opened his eyes slowly, realising someone was shaking him hard.

"Sin, you have to - thank God. He's awake," Hero said, turning over her shoulder to call. Elena turned around.

"Good. You need to leave," she said smoothly.

Sin blinked again, realising he was on a rooftop somewhere. "What the hell -" his eyes caught on Shade's body, laying limp at Elena's feet, and he shot to his feet. The ache in his chest was almost unbearable as he spun around and shoved Elena's chest as hard as he could. She didn't flinch, but didn't move out of the way either.

"How could you let this happen?" He hissed. "You were supposed to protect her! You were supposed to - I was supposed to - I -"

Hero laid a gentle hand on his shoulder. "It wasn't your fault, Sin," she murmured quietly. He shrugged her off, glaring at Elena.

"Bring her back."

"I can't."

"Bring. Her. Back."

"Hadrian," Elena said sharply, "It isn't possible. I wish it were, but there is no spell to reawaken the dead. Even if there were, I'm not a witch anymore."

Sin shuddered at her words, before collapsing down beside Shade's body. "I'm sorry," he whispered, his eyes stinging. "I'm sorry I couldn't protect you. I - I should never have let you come." He grabbed her hand, almost jerking back at the unexpected iciness of her skin. He intertwined their fingers gently.

"You were the first person to make me feel strong," he whispered. "I'm sorry I wasn't strong enough."

When they arrived back at the warehouse, Sin felt as though every drop of energy had been siphoned away from him. He had never felt so magically exhausted, not even after almost killing himself the day he froze the ring of fire. Every bone in his body ached, and a relentless headache pounded harder with every step he took. He tried to carry Shade's body, but Elena must have noticed he was on the brink of collapse, because she took it just as he was about to collapse in the street.

They stopped before the warehouse doors. He no longer cared that Elena was about to enter his home, the home of his family. She was no longer the threat.

"How are we supposed to explain this to Roach and Light? How can I walk in there and tell them that I -"

Hero took his hand, the tears on her face still not dry. "We'll do it together. Explain that Shade was brave to the end." He squeezed her hand gently as he opened the door. Elena had the decency to stay silent as Hero took Shade's body in her arms.

"It's been long enough, wanker," Wheels laughed as he caught them in the entryway. "Spider was starting to -"

His eyes landed on Shade's body in Hero's arms, and he stopped. His teasing, quietly relieved smile slid off his face. He blinked, but didn't speak.

"I tried," Sin said, his voice dull and emotionless. "To save her. I - I wasn't fast enough."

"I don't understand," Wheels said, his voice quavering.

"Sin! You're back! I wanna - what - what happened?" Roach skidded to a stop, his wide smile slowly vanishing. "Is she - is she asleep? Sin?"

Sin couldn't bring himself to look Roach in the eyes. "Why is she sleeping?" He asked, but his voice shook enough that Sin knew he didn't really think she was asleep.

Roach approached Hero and nudged Shade's corpse gently. "Wake up," he whispered. "Shade, please." He nudged her again. He lifted his head, tears welling up in his brown eyes. "Wake her up," he said desperately to Sin, who felt his heart crack even more.

"I can't," he replied quietly, his voice shaking slightly. "I'm sorry. She - she's gonna sleep for a long, long time."

"You're a wizard," Roach begged, "you can do it. Please, just - just wake her up."

"I'm sorry." Sin could feel his own tears returning, and he didn't wipe them away. He let them trickle down his dirty cheeks. "I can't."

Roach's tearful eyes turned hateful, and he shoved Sin hard. "Then what," he spat, with more vehemence than Sin had ever heard an eight-year-old use, "is the point of you?"

Sin staggered back as if struck. "Roach, I -" he started, when Elena laid a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"Give him time," she murmured. Sin nodded, trying without success to swallow the lump in his throat.

One Month Later

Sin tugged the unplottable ring from his finger and stowed it in his pocket with a nod at Elena. "And remember," she repeated, "Only put it on -"

"When I come home for the holidays, or I'm going somewhere I shouldn't, yes, we've been over this a thousand times," he said, exasperated. She raised a thin eyebrow but didn't comment.

"Right. This is as far as I go. Remember everything I taught you and you should be fine. You read all your school books, right?"

"Yes," he said, rolling his eyes. "Twice. And all the extra ones you gave me. Look, Elena, I'll be fine."

She nodded. "Good luck, Hadrian," she said with a smirk, before nodding to him one last time and turning around, disappearing into the crowd of Platform Nine and Three Quarters.

Toxic took his hand gently, squeezing it. "We're all gonna miss you," she said softly. "The others wanted to come wish you off - especially Light, he was really begging - but I thought a large group of dirty children might attract more attention than we want."

Sin nodded, turning his gaze to Toxic's. "Everyone wanted to come?" He asked, his voice flat. He tried to keep the tiny kernel of hope out of his words.

Toxic's face fell slightly. "I'm sure Roach did, really," she said quietly. "It's only been a month, Sin. He loves you. It's just -"

"He loved her more," Sin finished, tearing his gaze away, not able to look her in the eyes any longer.

"That's not true, Sin. But you haven't died. He hasn't had to deal with life without you yet. All he knows is that he misses her, so much. Besides, he's eight years old, Sin. Give him time."

Sin nodded, fighting down the guilt that threatened to choke the air from his lungs. He glanced up to the clock above them. It read twenty minutes to eleven.

"I'd better go if I want to choose my own compartment," he said, giving her one last hug. She pulled him tight, her eyes watery.

"I'm going to miss you so much, Sin," she murmured quietly. "We all will. You have to write to us at least once a week, and tell us everything that happens, and I don't care what that bloodsucking bitch says, you make friends with whoever you want to -"

"Toxic," Sin said with a small smile, pulling back, "I'll be fine. And I'll write as soon as I can." She smiled back at him as he gave her one small kiss on the cheek before boarding the train.

There were several compartments full to the brim but he managed to find an empty one near the back of the train. Remember, Elena had said, don't go out of your way to introduce yourself to anyone yet. Wait for them to come to you.

He had brought a small travel bag with him, and he pulled a think black outer robe out and put it on around his collared shirt and dress pants. First impressions are important, Elena had told him.

Sin looked out the window and saw his own scrawny face reflected back at him. This is it, he thought, his heart thrumming. There's no going back now. I can't be Assassin for now. I have to be Hadrian Potter, Heir to the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black.

The day before, he had finally confessed to Elena that he was the Heir to the House of Black as well as the House of Peverell. He had expected her to be angry at him for withholding such important information from her, but to his surprise she had actually been pleased. She'd said it showed that he was already beginning to think like a politician. However, she was glad he had told her. They'd decided he would introduce himself as Heir Black, and that they would hold Heir Peverell as his trump card, should he ever need to play one.

He sat down next to the window and pulled out a copy of A Young Warlock's Guide to Self-Protection disguised to look like a book of first-year charms. He opened it to the fourth chapter and resigned himself to a long journey.

It was a minute before the train was meant to leave when he heard the compartment door slide open. He turned to see a freckley, red-headed boy about his age peeking in, his gaze sheepish.

"Sorry to bother you," he said, turning red, "But I was wondering if you'd seen Harry Potter? He's supposed to be coming to Hogwarts this year!"

Hadrian barely twitched at the mention of his birth name. "I, uh -"

"I bet he's loads ahead of the rest of our year! You are a first year, aren't you?"

Hadrian nodded.

"I can't believe we'll actually get to meet hm," the boy continued. "My little sister's fancied him for ages, and she's never even seen a picture of him! My mum told me I should find him on the train, because apparently he's been raised by muggles, and he'd probably want someone to show him the ropes in our world - sorry, did you say you've seen him?"

Hadrian shook his head. "Sorry," he lied, panicking. As soon as he said so, he could here Elena swearing in the back of his head. Stupid, stupid, stupid. He resolved not to lie to the next person he met, and make any more social blunders. Luckily, he thought, a little shameful at such shallow thoughts, the boy's dirty nose and clearly hand-me-down robes didn't make him seem like he'd be very high up the proverbial ladder.

The ginger boy shrugged. "Oh well. Thanks anyway." He left, and Hadrian once again buried his nose in his book.

He had gotten perhaps three chapters through when the compartment door slid open once again.

"Have you seen a toad? Neville's lost one," said a rather bossy voice. Hadrian looked up to see a girl with lots of bushy brown hair and unfortunately large front teeth, shadowed by a round-faced boy looking quite miserable.

Hadrian shook his head. "No, sorry."

"I guess we'll have to keep looking, Neville - I'm sure he'll turn up somewhere. Say, I've read that book on charms! It's quite good, isn't it? I've managed to perform a few of the spells already, have you?" The girl asked, gesturing to Hadrian's protection book.

"Oh, er… not really," he said awkwardly, not having read the book it was pretending to be, and therefore not knowing any of the spells in it.

"Of course, I've only tried a few of the simple spells, but they've all worked for me. Nobody in my family's magic at all, it was ever such a surprise when I got my letter, but I was ever so pleased, of course, I mean, it's the very best school of witchcraft there is, I"ve heard - I've learnt all our set books off by heart, of course, I just hope it will be enough - I'm Hermione Granger, by the way, who are you?"

She said all of this in one breath, and Hadrian just blinked as he processed everything she had said. He took her introduction to mean that she wouldn't care about his titles, so he forwent the formal introduction and just said, "Hadrian. Nice to meet you."

"You as well, Hadrian. Do you know what house you'll be in? I've been asking around and I hope I'm in Gryffindor, it sounds by far the best, I hear Dumbledore himself was one, but I suppose Ravenclaw wouldn't be too bad… Anyway, we'd better go and look for Neville's toad." She left, the toadless boy - Neville - trailing dejectedly behind her. Hadrian returned to his book and was interrupted again not an hour later.

"Have you - oh, you're the boy from Madam Malkin's!" Came a snide drawl. Hadrian turned to see who the exclamation belonged to and found the pale boy from the robes shop, flanked by two burly boys.

Hadrian smiled thinly. "Indeed. I don't believe we ever properly introduced ourselves," Hadrian said, and the other boy nodded.

"I'm Heir Draco of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Malfoy," the boy said pompously, puffing out his chest slightly. Hadrian inhaled quietly; this was his first real experience with someone of importance, even if he was only a child. He may not like the boy, but he wanted to stay in his good books.

"Wel met, Heir Malfoy," he said with a small bow. "I am Heir Hadrian to the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black."

Malfoy gasped. "That can't be true," he said accusedly, "You're lying. Lord Black doesn't have an heir."

Hadrian merely raised an eyebrow before fishing around in his bag and pulling out the Black Heir ring, showing the family crest emblazoned on it.

"By Merlin's beard," he breathed, his eyes practically falling out of his skull they were bulging so wide. "Well - um -" his pureblood training must of kicked in because he seemed to regain some vestige of his dignity as he bowed, deeper than Hadrian had, and said, "Well met indeed, Heir - Heir Black."

Hadrian raised an eyebrow at the two wideset boys behind Malfoy, and the blonde heir blushed. "Oh, of course, sorry - this is Crabbe, and this is Goyle."

Hadrian smiled, and sat back down. He slid his book back into his bag, and tilted his head at the young Malfoy heir, a clear invitation for him to sit. He wasn't looking forward to spending the next few hours alone with this boy, but he knew it was a good opportunity to spend some time alone with a very influential peer.

Malfoy sat down across from him, and Crabbe and Goyle sat down next to him. "So, Heir Black, how is it that I didn't know about you? I wasn't aware Lord Black had a son."

Hadrian tilted his head and the corner of his mouth twitched up. "He doesn't. He never had children, but I'm his godson."

Malfoy furrowed an eyebrow. "What's your surname?"

Hadrian inhaled and braced himself as he said, "Potter."

For the second time in as many minutes, Malfoy's jaw dropped. "You're Harry Potter?"

"Hadrian," Hadrian corrected, "but yes."

Malfoy's mouth opened and closed, but no words came out. Finally he seemed to recover. "Well," he said, swallowingly, "that is… interesting."

Hadrian hummed in agreement.

The rest of the ride passed with polite idle chatter and small talk. By the time the Hogwarts Express pulled into Hogsmeade, Hadrian was almost twitching with the need to do something. His life on the streets wasn't easy, and he was always on the move, always doing something. Elena had schooled him on polite small talk, on sitting up straight, on how to flatter someone without seeming pathetic and needy, but he hadn't been prepared for how much sitting still he would have to do.

He practically leapt out of his seat when the train came to a stop. Privately, he was also glad to be away from Malfoy; he would be polite because he needed to, but he in no means liked the boy. In fact, he actively disliked him.

"Firs' years this way! Firs' years, follow me!" Came a booming voice when they stepped on the platform. Hadrian raised his eyebrows at the enormous figure it came from.

"Who is that?" He asked Malfoy under his breath.

"That's Hagrid, the Hogwarts gamekeeper. I heard he's some sort of savage, he lives in a shack on the grounds and occasionally gets drunk and sets fire to his bed."

"Firs' years this way! No more 'n four to a boat, now!"

Malfoy and Hadrian climbed into a boat and were followed by a slender dark-skinned boy that Malfoy seemed to know.

"Blaise, this is Heir Hadrian of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black. Heir Black, this is Blaise Zabini."

Zabini didn't react other than a simple raised eyebrow, and Hadrian couldn't help but think that he would get along very well with Elena. "Well met, Heir Black," Zabini said coolly, giving Hadrian a shallow bow.

"Well met," Hadrian replied. He opened his mouth to continue the conversation when he heard a chorus of small gasps, and turned to see what everyone was gazing at.

An enormous stone castle towered over the lake, its many windows sparkling agaisnt the ink blackness of the night.

"Hogwarts," Hadrian breathed.

I just started a drarry series called Oi, Malfoy! so for all you drarry fans out there consider checking it out!