Chapter 3

Hadrian and Byakko made their way to the main sitting room after the little house elf told them their guest had arrived. The former being a slight bit nervous about the meeting and hoped that everything would go well. It was only thanks to his familiar's presence and his ability to control his emotions so well; that he was not panicking.

When they got to the sitting room, they noticed Severus sitting down on the couch reading the Potter family motto. By then, Harry got an idea "You came sooner than I thought you would" he sent a mental message to the grown man. Severus rose to his feet in shock at what he just heard and turned to his right to see a boy and a white tiger.

To say that he was surprised was an understatement the boy bared a small resemblance to his father in terms of looks with Lily's eyes along with that his hair might have been unruly though it was not as bad as his late father as it was tamed.

A part of him expected the boy to be a carbon copy of his father with his mom's eyes, but this was something he did not expect. "This is not what I was expecting" Severus mentally said. "Then what were you expecting then?" Hadrian asked.

That immediately pulled Severus out of his thought as he realized that the boy was a mentalist, just like him. Narrowing his eyes and deciding what to say he began, "Mr. Potter I must say I was not expecting your letter today nor was I expecting you to be a mentalist. You are aware that it is inappropriate to read someone else's mind without their consent."

Harry found his voice and replied, "My apologies about that Mr. Snape, I did not mean to read your mind. However, I had to be certain as I am still new to being a mentalist."

Severus raised an eyebrow an after a minute of getting his thoughts together he relaxed a little, "why am I here Mr. Potter?" Severus asked him

"Please either Hadrian or Harry no Mr. Potter it makes me sound old, you are here for two reasons: one is that some people want to talk to you and two I wish to show you something." Severus gave him a nod, before turning to look at the tiger next to him as it was radiating a powerful magical aura.

"But before we begin, I like you to meet my true familiar Byakko" he pointed to the god next to him. The sudden news shocked Severus so much that he fainted on the floor. Byakko went over to the passed-out potions master and roared loud enough to make Severus revive and immediately get to his feet with his wand in his hand.

He had heard tales of the four gods of the earth as a child, but he never put too much stock in those stories. But to see that one was standing in front of him and chose a little boy to be his true familiar was mind boggling. As there has not been a true familiar in centuries, the only words that came to mind were "amazing" he said

Byakko sat on his hind legs and found this mildly amusing, "Indeed human, I am Byakko the god that reigns over the magical land of our planet" Byakko said to Severus in a calm voice before changing it to a serious one "However, understand this if you try to harm my cub I will kill you am I clear" it was not a question as Severus could tell the god meant what it said.

"Crystal clear", Severus answered back to the god

"Good" Byakko turned to look at Hadrian "It is now or never young one, get them in here.

His cub nodded and summoned three of his house elves " Bucky, Lucky, Tippy can you come here please?". The elves popped in front of him "I need you guys to bring my parents, grandparents, and my pensieve in here. Along with a few calming draughts I have a feeling we are going to need some", the elves nodded and with a pop they were gone.

"They will be back shortly, and everything will be explained soon", he said to Severus

The elves returned with the items they were sent two retrieves; they hung the portraits on the wall and gave Hadrian the pensieve along with two calming draughts. "Thanks, you guys and please go enjoy yourselves", dismissing them with a smile to which they returned and popped away.

Hadrian turned his attention back to the adults, who were sporting different expressions; his grandparents faces were neutral, his mother was happy to see her oldest friend again, while James and Severus appeared to be having a stare contest. They stayed that way for the next few minutes until James broke the silence.

"Snape"

"Potter"

After an awkward silence occurred as both figures were unsure what to say next. Then Lily decided to speak "Hello Sev, it has been so long, since we have seen each other. I have missed you my brother."

This immediately brought tears to his eyes as he had missed the only person in the world who would call him that. "My beloved, sister I am so sorry about everything and I have missed you dreadfully."

"I know what you did for us and what you did that night for my son. I always knew there was good in you Severus" she smiled at him. "I believe James has something he wants to say to you."

Lily stared critically at her husband, which caused him to shrink at her gaze "Snape", he started which earned him a pinch on the arm from his wife that made him yelp in pain. "Ok I mean Severus; this is not going to be easy for me to say and it's not going to be easy for you to hear. But I am very sorry about the way that I treated you back in school; I realized that I often pushed you too far and that I had no right to antagonize you as much as I did."

Whatever Severus was expecting an apology was not it, thinking that maybe now it was time for a new beginning as he was no angel as well. Since he often retaliated with just as much fire, it was time to let it go. "For what it's worth, I am", he was struggling to say what he wanted but after the glare he got from Lily he knew what to expect as he was aware of how she was when she was upset "Sorry also as I am not perfect either; I often retaliated in a similar manner. There are no excuses for how I behaved back then."

James bowed his head in shame accepting apology from him "we both made mistakes in our past and we both have lost a lot during the war. If we do not learn from them, we will end up paying twice", Severus nodded as he knew the words were true.

The last war was horrifying, as it costed them the lives of people they cared about: for Severus it was his wife and uncle; James lost both of his parents and then lost his and Lily life. Leaving their son to be abused mentally, physically, and emotionally by those worthless muggles. They even put their faith in the wrong person, and it costed them everything they had ever loved.

Byakko let the humans have their conversation for a couple more minutes, then let out a low roar to get their attention "humans you both have lost a lot in the past, but now you all have a chance to right the wrongs that have been done" he said firmly

Charlus spoke for the first time "Byakko is correct it is time to move forward and forget the past"

The two men nodded their heads in agreement, seeing his opportunity Hadrian spoke up "You see professor Snape as you have recently found out I'm a mentalist and seeing as how I was able to mentally communicate with you. I am assuming you are as well, to make a long story short I am linked to you and would like for you to help me as I do not trust likely."

Severus observed the young man next to him and he had to admit that he was slightly impressed with him "What you say is the truth, I am a mentalist like you and as you have summarized we are apparently linked to one another. The only theory that I can guess is the night I came to see you when the dark lord killed your parents."

Harry spoke "Yes, I remember seeing you that night and the events that transpired" Severus was bewildered at how this could be how could a baby remember a traumatic experience like that. "The only reasons why I remember is because I have an eidetic memory and every Halloween night is a nightmare for me. My father here was playing with me in the den with his wand, then he heard the wards fall apart he immediately knew that they have been betrayed. He told my mother to run to get me to safety, but she found that she could not apparate and cursed Dumbledore, so she ran upstairs and barricaded the door. It did not take long before he blasted the door and pointed his wand at her. He told my mother to move as he only wanted me, but she refused and after two more chances she was killed. Then he turned his wand on me and before the curse hit me it rebounded, and he disappeared leaving only his robes behind. Not long after you came along and broke down sobbing holding mom here before turning to pick me up saying 'I am so sorry little one'. Then you left when a noise was heard and after that I was in the arms of Hagrid, who took me out of the house where he was met by Sirius who told him to hand me to him as he was my godfather", Hadrian took a breath and looked to see that Snape was sporting mixed emotions sadness, anger, regret, and rage. "Hagrid would not budge as he had strict orders from Dumbledore to take me to my aunt Petunia's house an after a brief argument Sirius relented told Hagrid to use his bike. The next thing I know I am asleep and heard him meeting up with the headmaster and Minerva. Then they leave me on the doorstep and leave not caring if I could have died of pneumonia as it was freezing outside."

That got Severus attention but not in a good way, as he became incredibly angry remembering that he went to Lily's bitch of a sister house with the meddling old man and was royally pissed at what he saw. "Can I have one of those calming draughts?" Hadrian gave him one as he downed the other to keep himself situated.

"I understand" Severus began the draught taking a little effect on him "you should know that Dumbledore is aware that you are not with her and is desperately searching for you to have you sent back as quickly as possible."

"I will never go back there" Harry declared

"And you will not as long as you stay out of his reach" Severus said calmly with his hand up, "I saw a brief version of what they did to you when you were in their care. What they did was unacceptable, and I was close to cursing that woman"

"You only know a brief stem of what I went through," he asked the older adult who simply nodded at him, taking a breath he looked him in the eyes and said "what you know is only a tip of the iceberg as it was worse" Severus was shocked at the information hoping it was not true.

Hadrian motioned toward his pensieve "You should see how life was at the Dursley's".

Severus nodded and took out his wand "Alright, but for this to work I'm going to need you to clear your mind and visualize what you want me to see" Hadrian breathed in for a moment before stepping near the pensieve.

Severus took this as a sign that the boy was ready and pointed his wand toward his head to extract the memory to put it in the device "I will be back when the memory is done" he simply said silently wishing that it was not what he thought it would be.

Entering the pensieve he bore witness to what the child had endured from the day he was placed there. The child was regularly beaten by his walrus of an uncle and by the whale he assumed was the boy's cousin. He also saw a memory of the boy being chased by his cousin along with his friends when they were playing 'Harry hunting'. As soon as they caught him, they started beating him up, which resulted in the boy having a broken arm along with broken leg. Severus also witnessed the boy being given a long list of chores, minimum food, constant punishment for doing better in school and outshining the other boy.

What Severus saw infuriated him, the calming draught barely holding him back anymore. He also saw the boy being chased by a dog that belong to Vernon sister Marge and he immediately took a disliking to her. All in all, he was very livid when he exited the memory.

"That was my life" Hadrian began "before I came here, and I am never going back to that hellhole. What you-" Severus held up a hand to cut him off

"I'm going to need a minute" Severus waved his wand to put up some privacy wards around himself. Making sure Hadrian couldn't hear him, Severus let out his anger and started swearing violently cursing Dumbledore for leaving the boy there. Then began to think of ways he would like to torture Petunia and her walrus of a husband.

After, a few short minutes of calming down he disabled the wards around him to look at the other six occupants in the room. The four adults looked at him understanding why he was angry as they witnessed the memories before, so they knew. "Ok! One what I saw there was something that not even members of the dark family would even do to their children. As of right now, I am very tempted to go and curse your sister's family Lily," Lily gave a nod knowing that if she was a live she do the same to her sister as she would never have treated their son like that. "Secondly, your language young man needs some serious work! While I do not fault you for saying it as that was the worse place to send you; that language is not something a boy your age should be saying. Thirdly, it is partly my fault that you ended up in that retched place to begin with."

Hadrian looked at the man with utter confusion "What do you mean it's partly your fault I ended up with them?" he asked

Looking back at the portraits for a long minute Lily simply said, "tell them". Severus took a deep breath as it was not a memory that he liked remembering but he owed it to them to tell the truth. "Years ago, a prophecy was made" Severus looked into the emerald eyes of Hadrian and it tore his heart at what he was about to reveal. "During that time, I was an active death eater one of the Dark lord's minions I was trying to gather information for him. One day, I was in Hogsmede and I noticed Dumbledore heading towards the Hog's Head with Sybil Trelawney. She wanted to be the Divination professor at Hogwarts, at the time I found it ludicrous as there was no way she could be a seer. But my curiosity got the best of me and when I arrived behind the door, I started listening for anything that might be worth listening too. Just as I was about to leave, she went into a trance and started talking about the downfall of the dark lord, but I only heard the first two lines before being thrown out. I immediately, went to the dark lord and told him what I heard, but as I only heard half of the prophecy, he did not get all the information. After a few days he summoned Augustus Rockwood his spy in the Department of Mysteries to find which babies were to be born at the end of July. Only two babies were due you and Neville Longbottom; but he chose you. Little did he know was that Lily was adopted by them as an infant as her parents were killed. So, Lily is really a muggle raised pureblood! She told me and told me to be quiet, I have a feeling she told your father there and his family about her blood status". The four figures nodded signifying that they knew also.

The moment he decided to go after you and your family I went to Dumbledore for help. He asked what I would give in return to which I replied anything at the time I was desperate to protect my sister Lily. Dumbledore said he was looking for a spy and told me if I spied then he would protect you and your family."

Taking this information in Hadrian felt a mixture of emotions: anger, betrayal, and contempt. The look on Severus's face showed that he deeply regretted what he did. While he wanted to hurt this man for killing his parents. Something felt off about what the man said as if he was not the only victim.

Byakko sat there contemplating the situation before him. His cub was in pain and so was the older man, speaking up before anything could happen. "Let me ask you a few things first" he said firmly as it was not a request.

"You said you were spying on Dumbledore and this Sybil person correct? Severus nodded. "Why would they meet up in the Hog's Head and not conduct the interview in his office? Also, why didn't the old man cast any privacy charms around the door? This is the basis of common sense if you don't want anyone to overhear your conversation then he should have taken precautions."

These questions immediately hit home as Severus was shocked. The god was asking some good questions as to why it was easy to obtain the information in the first place.

Hadrian perked up realizing what Byakko was saying "I think what Byakko is trying to say is that you were setup from the start. If what you say happened the way, it happened. Then that means Dumbledore wanted someone to overhear the conversation."

This made Severus and the other occupants furious. The headmaster should have known better than to let someone overhear a private interview. If this means what they think it means then, this mess was orchestrated by the headmaster from the beginning.

James was the first to recover and looked intensely at Severus "Did you tell anyone else about the prophecy? He asked firmly

"Yes", Severus confirmed "I told Lily here everything after the conversation with Dumbledore as I was not sure if the old man would keep his word."

"It's true" Lily spoke "when Severus told me I began looking for ways to counter the Killing curse and after months of research I found a way to counter it. The ritual consisted of blood magic where I would give my life for my son an in-exchange Hadrian's life would be spared. I created a potion with two different vials one for me to give my life for him and the other so that he would be protected after that I inscribed runes made of both of our bloods on you. I was not sure if the ritual would work but I was determined to try anyway I could save you my son."

Hadrian looked at his mother with pride not only did she save his life, but she outsmarted both Voldemort and Dumbledore. Severus was also looking with pride Lily dabbled into dark magic to save her only son's life. He could not be any more amazed at her resourcefulness, especially her use of old magic. Severus always knew that Lily was not the epitome of light as everyone thought she was.

"Alright I think we can all agree that my son wife is extremely gifted in both intelligence and magic" Charlus praised his daughter in law, "clearly you made the right choice when you chose her. But that is for another time, I take it that Dumbledore is searching for Hadrian here".

Severus gave a nod "he has been searching for him since we left Petunia's house. Albus even has his blood which he uses to power the tracking instruments in his office".

Charlus was pissed at what he just heard as Dumbledore took his grandson blood without his permission. Dorea noticed her husband anger and decided to speak up "that is illegal he had no rights. It always rubbed me the wrong way that he was able to get away with things others would have been punished for".

"On that we agree, but there is nothing anybody can do about it at the time. Magical Britain is full of weak-willed people who are so happy to kiss his hairy backside".

"That was why I sent James spy on him during the last war" Charlus stated. "You see when I was the Commander of the ICW at the time I tasked my son to spy on him and his Order of Phoenix. I was always weary of the old man and his involvements with dark wizards".

James continued where his father left off " after Hogwarts I began working on my masteries in transfigurations and ancient runes. However, I was also a magus and an agent of if the ICW. Dumbledore had no idea that the agency was acting against the death eaters at the time. When he asked me to go to my father for his assistance in the war, he refused him. My dad thought that Dumbledore's group was ineffective and that he only wanted to get the rewards that came after the war".

"Impressive" Severus acknowledged "here I thought you were purely Gryffindor, but it turns out you have a Slytherin side in you".

James beamed at the compliment "what can I say my mother was a Black and I picked up a few things", he said when he looked at his mom with a smile. "Does Dumbledore have anything else that belongs to the Potter Family?"

"Probably", Severus thought for a moment before looking back at him "a while back I heard him muttering to himself about some cloak and that he mentioned that he was Hadrian's magical guardian.

"WHAT" this got the other adults' attention as they were all angry.

"That is preposterous we named Jack, as Hadrian's magical guardian how the hell did Dumbledore get it". It was not a question as both him and Lily wanted Jack to be their child's magical guardian. Jack was a close friend to both James and Lily; he liked Hadrian and often watched him when he and Lily were out. "It was mentioned in our will that Jack would be Hadrian's guardian and receive five hundred galleons for his upkeep. As for the cloak, it is an invisibility cloak that has been in our family for generations. Dumbledore asked if he could examine it, which I agreed to only on the basis that he would return it if me, Lily, or Hadrian asked for it back. If anything should happen to me or Lily, it would automatically be sent to our son's trust vault at Gringotts."

To say that Charlus, Dorea, and Lily were upset would be an understatement as they were livid that not only did Albus steal a priceless family heirloom, he stole money that was not his, he also stole guardian ship from a trusted friend of theirs. Dorea was the first to recover "Severus are you trying to say that Albus stole things that didn't only belong to my family but also the Stevenson's as well?"

"It would appear so" Severus raised an eyebrow "I know Jack he would never shirk his responsibilities, especially not to you" he said while turning to look at Hadrian.

"Jack Stevenson isn't he a member of the ICW and the Head of the Ancient and noble House of the Stevenson Family", this surprised the adults with the boys' knowledge of the Ancient Houses.

"Yes" Lily spoke smiling at her son intellect "he was in school with us when we were at Hogwarts, a Ravenclaw and three years older than us. Jack often, kept James and Severus in line when they were boys."

"While me and Severus didn't get along back then we always respected him" James continued remembering his time at school. "Most of the time he occasionally broke up fights between us and gave us punishments whenever we stepped out of line. That said he was always fair, honest, and straight forward with us."

Charlus decided to finish "After he graduated Hogwarts, he came to work at the ICW, me and Arcturus saw potential in him and trained him personally. He was one of the four elite cadets that me and Arcturus would even acknowledge but to hear that he was cheated out of his responsibilities is unforgivable. Severus, I need you to contact him and see what might have happened to him."

"I can do that, though I will have to be discreet as I don't know if he's in Albus's pocket."

"Agreed I don't want Dumbledore or any of his loyalist near this castle let alone near my grandson. The second thing is that I need you to get all of Potter family's items that he has in his possession and return it to us. While you are at it destroy all the tracking charms he has on Hadrian.

"That will be difficult as Albus hardly ever leaves his office" Severus admitted. "Even when he does leave, they're defenses around his office not counting the number of portraits as I will be easily recognized and interrogated when he would return."

Hadrian cleared his throat to get everyone's attention "If it's such a problem then why not use house-elves to do it" he asked nonchalantly. "Are you forgetting that the house elves here are very stealthily, they can easily infiltrate the old man's office and retrieve the items."

Severus looked at the boy with a mixture of amazement and interest "go on" beckoning him to continue.

"Alright consider this here Severus needs to keep his involvement quiet and we want the possession the old man stole from us back, if we use the house elves here, we can accomplish both tasks. The best part is that he will never know it was me that ordered it and Severus is blameless essentially, it is a win-win situation. All we have to do is be patient and strike when the moment is right."

Severus was impressed by the boy's plan not only was the child smart, but he was ambitious, cunning, resourceful, and creative. "I must say that I am impressed, you must have inherited your mother's brain as well as your father's sneaky attitude" he complimented the boy, "that plan has traits of both Ravenclaw and Slytherin houses."

Charlus could not help but smile at his grandson, he had fond memories of spending time with him when he was a baby. He recounted that his grandson was able to perform accidental magic when he was only four months old. Making his toys float in the air, along with being able to apparate into his mother arms. However, what really made him happy was that the boy's first word was grandpa and that caused him to smirk at his son when he was trying to get him to say daddy.

"That's my grandson", he praised him.

Severus composed himself before casting a quick tempus charm to tell the time, it told him that it was close to seven. "I have to go back to the castle, as I have been gone for a while. If I am not back soon the old man will send someone to find me and cause me a headache" he said bitterly.

"Wait" Harry held up a hand "how did you convince him that you were leaving in the first place?"

"I simply told him that I was getting runespoor eggs and tears of the horned serpent. I am currently, working on my sorcerer's degree for potions."

"Brilliant", Hadrian was intrigued "I remember reading your mastery thesis about combining unicorn tears and bezors to create an antidote to the more dangerous poisons most illuminating."

Yet again Severus was surprised, the boy read his thesis and was impressed with his work. "Thank you, it was not an easy task".

"I have the ingredients your looking for in my greenhouse I can show you, if you like?" Hadrian asked as Severus found him interesting to talk too.

Severus curled his lips before answering "That will be fine, lead the way", Hadrian nodded "Bye Lily I hope to see you again and Potter thank you for letting me come" and with that out of the Hadrian and Byakko led him outside to where the greenhouses were.

Silence engulfed them as they approached their destination, Hadrian's family had three different greenhouses which housed a lot of exotic plants. When they arrived at the second house, Severus was amazed with the collection of plants the boy had as some were rare and from different parts of the world. In this, greenhouse Harry kept most of his ingredients as it served as a housing unit for the more expensive ingredient in his possession.

When they got to the end of the room Hadrian retrieved four eggs and three tears from one of the cupboards to give the older man. "Thank you, Hadrian for letting me come here today and allowing me to clear the air with your father".

Hadrian looked at him with narrow eyes, for a few minutes. One of the latent abilities he had was called 'Elemental sight' it allows him to read magic to determine if it is dangerous. It also enabled him to determine if the person was good or bad.

Relaxing a little bit after reading Severus magic after determining he was genuine "Your welcome Severus" he stared at the older man for a moment before resuming. "I can understand if this was unusual for you, believe me I know the feeling as I was nervous as well".

Severus let out a soft chuckle "I will let you know when the Headmaster is out of the castle so you could send your elves. I will also be speaking with Jack to see what happened and I will pay you back for these ingredients".

"The only payment I want is for you to come back sometime so I can see if you're the person my mom saw". Hadrian said firmly

Severus thought for a moment as there was something about the young man in front of him that made him feel at peace. It had been years since he felt this relaxed around another individual.

"Deal" he held out his hand, which Hadrian took.

"Deal", and they had their agreement. "Pipey", Hadrian called and with a Pop the elf appeared in front of him.

"What can Pipey do for you sir" the elf asked

"Would you please take Mr. Snape back to his home?" Hadrian found that asking was better than simply ordering them.

"Of course, sir" the elf grabbed Severus hand and with a pop they were gone.

Byakko turned to look at his partner "well I think that went well all things considered" he said softly "you and he have a lot more in common than you think".

"I agree Byakko and I saw his magic it indicated no malicious intent" commenting on what Byakko said.

"Let's go back inside and see what the others thought as well", Byakko said before heading back inside. 'That man might actually become what Hadrian needs' he thought mentally.

(0^0)

Severus arrived back at Prince Manor and thanked the little elf before it left. When the elf was gone Severus apparated back to Hogwarts to deposit the ingredients he got in his private quarter's so that no one could get too them.

Once, the items were stored in his room, he picked up his class syllabus for the new school year as Minerva would be wanting it. After, placing the syllabus in his robes he made his way to the great hall for dinner. Before arriving their he had to school his features as the other teachers might be suspicious of where he went. Upon entering the great hall with his cape billowing letting them know he had arrived; the other teachers were already seated at the Head table waiting for the food to arrive.

Dumbledore was in his usual chair having a conversation with both Minerva and Filius. The short professor was talking about the international dueling tournament that is to be held in magical Australia this year. Last year's tournament victory was given to Lorenzo Rodriguez of magical South America. Minerva was listening with interest as she read the international newspaper also, she was impressed with his level of skill in battle charms. Dumbledore was pretending to be interested in the conversation, but he was more concerned with finding a certain raven-haired child. He was doing his level best to keep it quiet as this would look bad if the Ministry found out.

Even with the tracking charms he placed on the boy, his instruments could not find him. Severus even reported that none of the cleared death eaters had him. It was imperative that his plans for the boy work. Pulling out of his thoughts he noticed that all the staff members had arrived and thus dinner was served. The entire meal was a calm affair as the teachers discussed the students of the past year. When dinner was over, Minerva asked for the other teachers' syllabus. After collecting everyone's work schedules she made a leave to go back to her quarters along with everyone else.

Now that the other professors were gone Dumbledore motioned for Severus to accompany him to his office. When they made it to the gargoyle, Albus gave the password "Chocolate frogs" he said to allow the two of them access. When they made it to his office Dumbledore went to his desk and pulled out a calming draught the ICW meeting at the MACUSA branch was purely awful, the newest problem was locating Fenrir Greyback and some of his pack. Hopefully, Severus would have some good news for him.

Albus organized his before looking up at his Potions master, putting on his grandfather persona "I take it that you found the things you were looking for Severus" he asked the younger man. Severus gave a nod. "Were you able to find any clues to where we might be able to find the boy?"

Severus was not swayed at the headmaster's little persona act, while he might still be pissed off at the meddling old fool. Even after hearing what the old man did to the child and his beloved sister, he wanted nothing more than to slit the old man's throat and give him to the dementors. Relaxing a little bit, he curved his lips "I may have a clue as to where the brat is" he spat out like it was a bad taste in his mouth. Luckily, for him he was master in the mind arts and a skilled actor.

Dumbledore widened his eyes at this information maybe there was still hope for him, beckoning Severus to continue "I ran into some people as I was leaving with my material and from what I can understand. A group of kids boarded a plane without adult supervision. However," Severus held up a hand to keep the Headmaster from cutting him off "one of them stood out from the others".

"Stood out how", It was not a question and Severus new that well he would need to choose his words carefully here.

"The child had messy hair and dark green eyes. Also, he looked skinny and malnourished." Severus mixed the truth with a lie, hopefully Albus would buy it.

Albus pondered this information for a minute, if what Severus said was true then he can go and bring the boy back. But first he needed to know the destination of the plane as it could have gone anywhere around the world. "Did your informants say which plane they boarded and its destination?"

Severus sneered at him, then replied "According to them, the place was packed with muggles and the lines were long. The flight destinations were scrambled, but they were able to see that four destinations were boarding: Egypt, Australia, Antarctica, Africa. The information could be wrong, as there are numbers of different families that often travel."

"Whether the information is true or not Severus it provides a good start as my instruments have not been able to pinpoint the boy's location. " Albus turned to look at the instruments he had and still they have not been able to find the blasted boy's location.

"Headmaster", Severus said to get his attention "why not just go to the Wizengamot they might be able to find the brat quicker" he suggested. Albus paled at the thought of informing the Wizengamot getting involved it would cause an uproar.

The Potter's were members of the ancient houses and if they learned that he lost the heir to the Most Ancient and noble house of the Potters they would not hesitate to pounce on him. Also, he was sure that the allies of the Potter family would not be as forgiving as some of them were members of the dark, grey and neutrals. While he might be the leader of the light, there were members that he did not have control over.

After snapping back into reality, he popped a sherbet lemon in mouth "no I do not want to involve the Wizengamot. It would be catastrophic if they should learn that the boy is missing."

Severus let out a dramatic sigh "well if that is all you require; I will head back to my quarters to enjoy the amount of time I have left" he said as he spun around billowing his cape and left the headmaster to his devices.

The moment Severus was gone, Albus turned to his right as his familiar Fawkes just flamed in and flew to his perch after hunting on the grounds. "Should I wait and see what transpires old friend or should I go and search for the boy myself", Fawkes let out a soft trill. "I guess I will have to retire for the night".

(0^0)

In the dungeons of Hogwarts, Severus made his way to his private quarters. Hoping that the old man bought the information he presented to him; Severus took out his wand too see if there were any listening charms. He had to be extremely careful as he would not put it past the headmaster to spy on him. Albus always had habit of getting information from people either by charming their possessions or using Legilimency on students. After taking a few minutes a few minutes to examine the rooms in his quarters, Severus concluded that there were no listening devices.

Severus took a seat in front of the fire contemplating on the events that transpired for the day, especially when it concerned Hadrian. The day was full of surprises as he got to meet the child of his best friend/sister in all but blood. To his surprise Severus was speechless as one of the heavenly beasts was there and had chosen the boy to be his true familiar, it was also a shock that he was a mentalist and that he linked to not only Severus but to another as well.

As Severus was a master mentalist, he wanted to see if maybe he could reach the boy himself maybe he be able to talk to him. Deciding to test out the child's mental abilities 'Mr. Potter are you still awake, I have news for you', he sent a mental message.

'Yes', the boy replied, 'I was just reading a book before I turned in for the night'.

'Good my meeting with the headmaster went well and he suspects nothing', Severus explained the conversation he had with Albus to Hadrian. The boy simply laughed as the headmaster bought the story Severus told him, even when he told him that he was out of the country.

'Your acting skills are impressive' Hadrian said with a smile. 'So, when do you think he'll leave the castle'?

'I am unsure as the headmaster has a habit of popping in and out of places thanks to his phoenix', Severus answered honestly

'The old man has a phoenix', Hadrian asked with concern in his voice.

'Yes, its name is Fawkes and you might want tread carefully when you send your house-elves', he warned him.

'Alright, I will discuss it with Byakko and see what we can come up with', Severus gave a nod thinking it would be the best course of actions.

'Good, but first you should get some sleep for the night, we will talk again soon' Severus said as it was late. Hadrian agreed and wished the man night before falling asleep.

(0^0)

Three months later, Hadrian's routine did not change much except for the fact that he started using one of his ancestor's wands so he could get a feel for using it and so that he could practice some of the simpler spells. His parents decided to give him a choice either he could go to Hogwarts, Mahoutokoro in Japan, or Salem Magical Institution. All three of the schools had impressive reputations, but Mahoutokoro really intrigued him as it was the leading magic institution in the world, the school provided challenges in both theory and practical subjects, and they also taught various forms of combat both in magic and in muggle. Severus even mentioned that he studied under professor Hayato Yamamoto, for his mastery in potions. Master Yamamoto was an accomplished potion master he was revered as the number one potions master in the world and it was shocking to learn that he picked someone from England to be his apprentice. Yamamoto took an interest in Severus as he believed he had amazing potential, when he heard that his young apprentice was a death eater, he was heartbroken and told Severus that he never wanted to speak to him again.

After two years Severus went to him for help, knowing that it was a longshot he took the chance to contact him. At first the former master was weary of speaking to his former apprentice again, but he knew that Severus would not have contacted him if it was not important. Severus explained that he was looking for a way out being a death eater and expressed his wishes of wanting to protect Lily and her family. Seeing that the younger man was serious, he agreed to help. Thinking that the boy really wanted to change, he gave whatever type of information he had to her; so, they could live.

Speaking of Severus, Hadrian was concerned about the man at first as his experience with adults was not the best. However, after some time he began to warm up to Severus and viewed him as a mentor! Severus frequently visited him and started training him in Krav Maga, Ninjutsu, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, and in Muay Thai, although he could not be there all the time as it would arouse suspicion. Byakko was more than capable of instructing him on his own. Along with those lessons Hadrian started to study for the entrance exam at Mahoutokoro. As promised Severus even informed him that Albus would be leaving Hogwarts over the winter break to go abroad and see if he can find Hadrian.

Today, though Hadrian was dressed in a black V-neck shirt and a pair of black workout pants. Right now, he and Severus were in the training room. The latter was training the former in the art of swordsmanship, Severus was a highly skilled swordsman. Hadrian's muscles were tight and sweat was pouring down his face as he was struggling against the older man. They have been going at it for four hours and Severus was amazed with the boy's progress as of late. The boy was buckling under the barrage of attacks coming at him by either blocking or dodging the older man's attacks. Hadrian felt as though his body was made of jelly, he desperately tried to raise his sword to attack, but Severus countered it and knocked the blade out of the boy's hands. Taking advantage of Hadrian's exhaustion, he kicked the boy on to the floor and held his own blade at his throat.

Looking down at the boy Severus smirked "you're getting better" he acknowledged "but you still need to improve your technique".

He held out a hand to help the boy up "your adapting rather nicely all things considered. You were able to hold out much longer than last time, clearly you've been practicing independently in my absence."

Hadrian raised his head, trying to ignore the pain he felt all over his body. "Thanks for the mode of confidence, but it hard for me to tell. Since my teacher is really strict and insist on training me till I can barely even standup" he shot at him.

"Then I say, your teacher is doing his job and maybe he should add more swings to your training schedule" he said while smirking.

That immediately shut Harry up as he knew it was not an empty threat "I'm fine, please anything but that."

Severus let out a soft chuckle "I didn't think so" he said as he ruffled the boy's hair as they walked out of the training room and made their way to the main sitting room.

When they got in there Hadrian plopped on the couch, not wanting to get up. Just then Byakko came in the room looking from the boy who was sprawled over the couch to the older man. "I take it that training today was successful as usual" he halfheartedly joked.

"His skills are growing" Severus confirmed with a sense of pride. "If anything, he will be more than ready for the entrance exam when the time comes".

"Excellent", the god nodded "and what about the other human has he responded yet?"

"Jack has agreed to meet with me in his office at the ICW with Commander Taymore", this gave Hadrian his second wind.

"When will you be going" asking hopefully.

"The meeting will take place on the fifth of December as there is a Wizengamot meeting and Albus will be out of the castle as he is Chief Warlock".

"Good now then onto other matters", Byakko said firmly.

"Bucky! Tipsy!" Could the both of you come here" and with a pop the two elves appeared before him. "Can you two tell the other Potters to come in here".

"Yes, master Byakko" and with a pop they were gone. In only a few minutes the four Potters were in their portraits looking down at the others.

After some warm greetings Byakko started "James, Lily I believe the time has come for the talk you wish to have with Severus here", he said firmly.

"Indeed", James said with a smile "Severus I would like to begin by thanking you for looking after and training Harry. I imagine it was not an easy task for you".

Severus nodded his head, "it was challenging at first, but he has learned well, and he appears to be a prodigy." This caused James to smile at how well his son has progressed.

"Now then, I have discussed this with Lily and Byakko for a while and I would like to ask you something", Severus gave a nod indicating him to continue. Taking a breath "I would like you to be Hadrian's adoptive father".

A/N: To my readers I like to clarify that this is my first fanfic. I ask that you all be patient with me. I have read multiple fanfics where Lily was in fact a pureblood and not a muggleborn. Do not worry I will explain this in the future.