Chapter 12: The Kidnapping
After the Lestrange brothers left, Voldemort sent a missive to the werewolf packs to request a meeting. He was annoyed another example of why the brothers were unsuited for his son. First, they had tried to take him away from him and now they were incapable of negotiating with the werewolves themselves.
Yet again their incompetence was revealed.
Voldemort sighed. It was so difficult to get good followers. He ended up doing everything himself. Sometimes he wondered if he should even assign them tasks. They always ended up disappointing him and you know what they say. If you want something done right then you have to do it yourself.
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Meanwhile, the brothers were plotting on how to occupy Murdock. They didn't want him interrupting their plans for Hadrian.
They strolled through the corridors and spotted Hadrian and Murdock outside in the gardens. They watched as Murdock went to hunt. Once spotting a small rabbit, he immediately abandoned Hadrian.
Rodolphus smirked, it seemed that it wouldn't be very difficult to occupy the wolf when the time came.
All they had to do now was wait for Voldemort to leave.
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A few days passed and it was finally time for the greatly anticipated werewolf pack meeting. Voldemort left shortly after breakfast, so preoccupied with the upcoming meeting that he was oblivious to the smirks on the Lestrange brothers faces. If he had seen them, then he might not have gone.
Their identical smirks never boded well for anyone and often meant they had conducted some sort of scheme to carry out.
The rest of the morning carried on like usual for everyone. Everyone, that is, except for the Lestrange brothers. While everyone else went about their routines, the brothers lurked in the shadows and waited for the perfect opportunity to strike.
Murdock wouldn't know what hit him.
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Hadrian and Murdock were enjoying yet another day of sunshine by wandering around the vast gardens.
What they didn't realize was they were being watched. These two shadows lurked several paces behind them and lied in wait for the opportunity to strike.
This opportunity was presented with Murdock spotted a squirrel. He took off in pursuit of the fleeing squirrel, coincidentally leaving Hadrian alone.
This allowed the two shadows to strike.
One figure grabbed Hadrian and covered his mouth to stifle the yell of surprise while the other quickly cast a silencing and binding spell on the youth.
They then carried Hadrian's unresisting body from the scene.
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Hadrian had been enjoying a nice morning with Murdock when he was suddenly grabbed. Once he woke up, he found himself in a very familiar room. He was at the Burrow!
He must have been grabbed by two Weasleys! The only mystery was which two were foolish enough to enter the Dark Lord's gardens and get past the extensive wards undetected.
It seemed that they waited until the Dark Lord was away before making their move. Hadrian was only surprised that they noticed he was missing. This surprise, however, did not last long.
After Hadrian awoke, the bedroom door opened to revealed Ronald Weasley. A glare took over Hadrian's face as he remembered what he found out after the Department of Mysteries. The Weasleys had been betraying him.
Ronald approached the bed without noticing Hadrian's negative feelings.
"Hey mate!" he exclaimed. "I bet you're glad to be away from those nasty Death Eaters. I can't believe you had to be with slimy Slytherins!"
Hadrian bristled at the insults directed towards several people he was fond of. Sure a few months ago he would have been agreeing with Ronald, but he had changed. After being rescued from the Dursleys by so called slimy Slytherins and learning that his father was one, he no longer thought of them as an enemy.
It shocked him how much had changed in such a short amount of time, without him realizing.
But he knew that, for now, he couldn't trust the Weasleys. They could not know he had switched sides until he found out just how far the betrayal extended.
Together, Ronald and Hadrian walked down the stairs and into the rickety table in the center of the ground floor. Hadrian had always loved the Burrow, mostly because they were never short on food.
Now that he thought about it, if they really were as poor as they betrayed, then why did they waste so much food. Sure Mrs. Weasley's cooking was good, but she always ended up cooking too much and would never save any food.
Maybe it was because they didn't have refrigerators in the wizarding world.
Hadrian chose to sit in an empty seat between Fred and Charlie. He had a soft spot for the mischievous twins and really hoped they knew nothing of the betrayal.
As for the other Weasleys, Ginerva had always annoyed him. She would follow him around like a lost puppy which worsened after rescuing her from the Chamber of Secrets. Sometimes she looked at him like they belonged together or something equally ridiculous.
Ronald was a different matter entirely. Hadrian thought they were friends but after overhearing Ronald and Hermione talking while he was in the hospital wing, he knew that they were only using him. It was sad because Ronald was his first real friend and it made him doubt his relationships with everyone else.
It didn't matter how much foolish hope he had that the other Weasleys did not know. He knew that realistically some, if not all, must be in on it too.
The older brothers, Charlie and Bill, were more independent than the other Weasleys. Evident by their jobs stationed overseas. He had always wondered why they took jobs so far away. It must have been for a good reason because Hadrian wouldn't imagine wanting to leave a loving family to be alone in a different country.
Percy Weasley, although bookish, was his favorite. While in his first year, Hadrian was often following Percy as he performed his prefect duties and had many educational conversations with him. Percy was the one who fostered his more Slytherin side and helped him with his studies.
As a muggle raised wizard, Hadrian didn't know much about the magical world and everyone assumed the opposite. This led to him being excluded from the introductory and supporting courses designed to help acclimate muggleborns to the wizarding world.
Percy saw he was struggling when he returned to the common room one night in tears.
Professor Snape had torn apart his essay in front of the entire class when he handed it in. He called his handwriting atrocious and like chicken scratch. His last words kept replaying in Hadrian's head.
"If you're too incompetent to write, then you won't be welcome in my class"
Hadrian had burst into tears. He just knew that Professor Snape would make good on his threat. If he failed potions then he could get sent back to the Dursleys.
When he entered the common room, Percy occupied one of the armchairs in front of the fire. He took his prefect duties seriously and made himself accessible in case anyone needed him. This didn't happen often because he was regarded as pompous and stuck up, but he continued his tradition of sitting in the common room anyways.
Luckily for Hadrian, when Percy noticed his tear-stained face, he practically flew over to comfort him.
Percy knew what it was like to feel inadequate. He felt that enough at home and when he saw that someone else was feeling the same way, he couldn't help but involve himself.
Percy ended up comforting Hadrian throughout the night and the next day offered to teach him how to use a quill.
The rest, you could say, is history. Percy became his sole confident and over the years, they became as close as brothers.
If Percy had betrayed him, Hadrian knew that it would destroy him. Not to be dramatic, but Percy was the person he trusted most in the world.
At the table, Hadrian was seated across from Percy and in between Charlie and Fred. This was the perfect spot because it was right in the center of the table and where he could disappear and observe if needed.
Mrs. Weasley proceeded to exit the kitchen with multiple dishes following her. Like always, there was much more than they could eat.
Hadrian sighed, all of that food would go to waste and they still complained about their finances. Maybe if they didn't waste so much food, then they would have more to spend on clothes and school supplies.
Once the serving dishes were placed down, Mrs. Weasley clapped her hands and took her seat at the head of the table. Usually, this spot was reserved for the male leader of the household, but Mrs. Weasley would not settle for anything less.
At once, Ronald reached out to grab all the food he could. Hadrian grimaced, he hated siting near him at school because of how unappetizing sitting near him during meals was.
Ronald had no manners and whenever he ate, food would fly out and narrowly miss whoever was sitting across from him. Once the half-chewed bites had ended up making their way onto his plate.
Hadrian shuddered, that incident had put him off food for the rest of the day. Now every time he saw pork, he was horrifyingly reminded of that awful incident.
Throughout the meal, glanced were being thrown his way by Ronald, Ginerva, and Molly Weasley. Obviously, they were impatient to mention his short stay with the Dark Lord.
Hadrian contemplated what he could say. If he told them the truth, they either wouldn't believe him or accuse him of being a traitor. Knowing Ronald, it would probably be the second.
He could lie, but they would expect him to be hurt at the very least. They had already seen him alive and in perfect health so he couldn't say he was captured for information.
Hadrian thought more. Well….. he could say that he was only captured the day before and had immediately been thrown in the dungeons upon arrival. Then he could have tried to escape during the night and ended up getting lost in the surrounding forest, where the Weasleys found him.
What he did wonder was how they even knew he was with the Dark Lord and who exactly took him. It had to have been someone strong enough to carry him and of age to apparate. But how did they get through the wards.
The oldest brother, Bill, was absent from the meal, which was typical as he worked in Egypt. But the second eldest, Charlie, was here. Charlie should be in Romania on the dragon preserve but he was here.
Hadrian covertly glanced to his left at Charlie. Yes, he could have been perfectly capable of carrying him and he was of age. But there were still the wards. Only a greatly skilled wizard could temporarily take down wards without being noticed.
But Hadrian knew this mystery would have to wait, the Weasleys had all finished their food and many were looking at him expectantly.
He decided to take his time finishing his own plate and make them wait. It was with a small measure of satisfaction that Hadrian watched them squirm in their seat with questions that wanted to burst out of them.
Hadrian took another bite. He chewed and swallowed. Then paused. Repeat.
After many minutes, Ronald couldn't hold his silence any longer. He had gotten up early so that he would be the first person Hadrian saw in hopes of him telling him about his capture. He wanted to be the first to know so he could glance smugly at his siblings over breakfast.
"Well, mate? What happened to you? Did You-Know-Who hurt you? Were you tortured? How did he get you in the first place?" burst out the Ronald's reddening face.
Ronald was so impatient that he couldn't temper his emotions. Throughout his questions, he grew steadily more curious and hopeful. It seemed that he wanted the answers to be yes.
Hadrian paused. He had to play this carefully so they would believe him and not question his story.
"It was awful" His eyes filled with tears as his bottom lip trembled. "I had just gone for a walk on Privet Drive when Lucius Malfoy appeared in front of me. I couldn't run. I tried to but he stopped me. He grabbed my arm and apparated into the dungeons. There he left me in a cell after casting crucio on me. It felt like I was dying. They Voldemort came. He said that he would torture and kill me in the morning. I knew that I had to escape. Trying was better than waiting for him to kill me. At least if they caught me while running, they would kill me faster. The last thing I wanted was to accidentally tell them anything. But I did escape. I made it out of the dungeons and entered the forest. I had just stopped for a break when I felt someone grab me. Then I woke up here." At this point Hadrian was letting tears fall down his face and had gripped Fred's arm for comfort.
At that, the Weasleys began whispering assurances and words of comfort. It wouldn't due to make their savior any more upset. As long as he hadn't revealed anything then they were willing to move on from this topic of conversation.
As Hadrian buried his head in Fred's chest, he smirked.
They had fallen for his story.
Hook, line, and sinker.
Sorry for the late update everyone. I said once a week, but I got distracted with life. But better late than never!
