Sunday, May 16, 1993 (Continued)
Though Hadrian wished for nothing more than to go to bed, he knew he had to sell his performance, memories included, of what he wanted everyone to believe happened in the chamber. Falling somewhat ungracefully into one of the visitor's chairs in the headmaster's office to really play up that he was a tired child, Hadrian composed his thoughts before looking up at the headmaster.
He explained about "hearing a voice" in the halls, finally figuring out what it was based on what happened with Hermione, and grabbing the twins to go get Lockhart when Ginny disappeared. When he got to the part about convincing Lockhart to go with them, he kept the real memories of that at the forefront of his mind, hoping that any of Dumbledore's surface scans would pick up on his apparent shock at the teacher's actions. He caught the twinkle in Dumbledore's eyes as he told of how the three had managed to force Lockhart down the entrance to the Chamber and how he wound up obliviating himself. He looked a little abashed when he asked the headmaster if his mother's protection worked on the obliviate.
"It's possible, my boy," the aged headmaster said with a faint smile, but offered no further information.
Hadrian mentally rolled his eyes after he broke eye contact with the old man, and picked up his tale with the fabricated memories of the event in the chamber. His voice broke as he described the pitiful condition of the female Weasley under the watchful eyes of a memory that turned out to be the Dark Lord. He spoke of his terror when the basilisk appeared, and how Fawkes had saved him by pecking out the great beast's eyes. He fumbled a bit over pulling the Sword of Gryffindor out of the sorting hat, and bashfully placed it on the headmaster's desk, still showing the bloody remnants of having been used to slay the enormous serpent.
The twinkling was back in the headmaster's eyes with a vengeance, but before Hadrian could complete his tale and make his escape, Lord Lucius Malfoy burst into the office. Hadrian smirked inwardly and prepared to give another stellar performance.
Lucius sneered his way through demanding to know why Dumbledore was once again present at Hogwarts, and managed a wink at Hadrian when the headmaster mentioned a flurry of owls from the governors.
Dobby was also assisting with this part of the plan, and was dressed in a truly horrendous pillow case. Tatty, stained, and nothing at all like the usual Malfoy house elf uniforms, Dobby was twisting his ears and cowering each time Lucius was told something that made him, apparently, angry. Hadrian allowed his eyes to widen, as if understanding when Dobby pointed at the book and then hit himself on the head, hoping Dumbledore had caught the small exchange.
Once Lucius deemed the performance enough to hold his cover with the old man, he harshly called Dobby to order, and made to leave, kicking Dobby through the open door. The two could hear the small elf squealing in pain all the way along the corridor.
Hadrian made a show of thinking carefully, and then pointed to the diary and asked, "Professor Dumbledore, can I give that diary back to Mr. Malfoy, please?"
Dumbledore's twinkle intensified as he responded calmly, "Certainly, Harry, but hurry. The feast, remember…"
Hadrian grabbed the diary and dashed out of the office. He could hear Dobby's squeals of pain receding around the corner. Quickly, he took off one of shoes, pulled off a slimy, filthy sock, and wrapped the diary in it. Then he ran down the dark corridor and caught up with them at the top of the stairs.
"Mr. Malfoy," he gasped, skidding to a halt, "I've got something for you-" and he forced the sock-covered diary into Lucius Malfoy's hand.
"What the-"
The pre-teen almost smiled when he saw the patented Malfoy eyebrow lift. He managed to contain himself, remembering that the portraits were watching and at least one of them would report back to Dumbledore, even if the man was likely listening in somehow. Mr. Malfoy ripped the sock off the diary, threw it aside, then looked furiously from the ruined book to Hadrian.
"You'll meet the same sticky end as your parents one of these days, Harry Potter," he said softly. "They were meddlesome fools, too." He sneered again, and turned to go. "Come Dobby. I said, come."
But Dobby didn't move. He was holding up Harry's disgusting, slimy sock, and looking at it as though it were a priceless treasure.
"Master bes giving sock," said the elf in wonderment. "Master bes giving it to Dobby."
"What's that?" spat Mr. Malfoy. "What did you say?"
"Got sock!" Said Dobby in disbelief. "Master bes throwing it, and Dobby bes catching it, and Dobby-Dobby bes free."
Lucius Malfoy stood frozen, staring at the elf, and then he lunged at Harry. "You've lost me my servant, boy!"
But Dobby shouted, "You is not harming Harry Potter!"
There was a loud bang, and Mr. Malfoy was thrown backward. He crashed down the stairs, three at a time, landing in a crumpled heap on the landing below. He got up, his face livid, and pulled out his wand, but Dobby raised a long, threatening finger.
"You bes going now," he said fiercely, pointing down at Mr. Malfoy. "You is not touching Harry Potter. You bes going now."
Lord Malfoy had no choice. With a last, incensed stare at the pair of them, he swung his cloak around himself and hurried out of sight.
"Harry Potter freed Dobby!" said the elf shrilly, gazing up at Harry, moonlight from the nearest window reflected in his orb-like eyes. "Harry Potter is setting Dobby free!"
"Least I could do, Dobby," said Hadrian, grinning. "Thanks for saving me from Mr. Malfoy."
The elf's face split suddenly into a wide, toothy smile. When the little elf didn't say anything further, Hadrian continued.
"Well, I'd better go. There's a feast, and my friend Hermione should be awake by now…"
Dobby threw his arms around Harry's middle and hugged him. "Harry Potter bes greater than Dobby knew!" he sobbed. "Farewell, Harry Potter!" And with a final faint pop, Dobby disappeared.
Hadrian shook his head, and rolled his eyes rather fondly before making his way down to the great hall for the feast. He wondered what Dumbledore thought of their performance, and hoped it was enough to keep the man off his back for a little while.
The twins appeared shortly after Hadrian sat down, and they waved as they made their way over to the Gryffindor table. Hadrian was pleased there were no issues for the two of them, and resolved to head to the hospital wing after the feast to see what they made of Gilderoy Lockhart's lack of memories and to gauge Ginevra's condition for himself.
Therefore at the conclusion of the feast which Dumbledore presided over with that damnable twinkle, according to his plans, Hadrian made his way towards the infirmary. The twins followed him and explained what Madam Pomfrey had said about her two newest patients. Hadrian was very quietly explaining that he had a protection against obliviates and other mind-altering spells, though he did not mention it was his heir's rings in case a portrait overheard.
They cut the conversation as they entered the hospital wing, and could see Madam Pomfrey hovering over who Hadrian assumed was Lockhart, though they couldn't see the bed due to screens. Ginevra was sitting up, finishing her dinner and smiled widely when the three came up to her bedside.
"Harry!" she exclaimed joyously.
"Ginevra," he replied calmly. "I trust you are well?"
"Oh, Harry, I've told you a hundred times to call me Ginny!" the girl began prattling on about how weak she felt and all the potions she had to take.
Hadrian wanted to glaze over, but forced himself to appear at least slightly interested in the girl's loud chatter. He completely tuned in near what he dearly hoped was the end.
"And, Harry, I can't thank you enough for saving me!" she continued talking rather loudly. "I can't believe Tom turned out to be You-Know-Who! He was going to kill me, and you saved my life!" She batted her eyelashes at him.
The boy nodded slowly, before forcing himself to respond, "I'm glad you're alright, Ginevra."
The girl giggled, and batted her eyes at Harry again. "You must be so powerful to have gotten rid of the monster and saved me," she continued.
Hadrian could almost see the hearts in her eyes and floating around her head. He mentally groaned, wondering how long he'd have to deal with her clear infatuation. Thankfully, the twins distracted her, promising pranks and visits until she was deemed fit to return to school.
Thursday, June 17, 1993
The leaving feast had finally finished and Hadrian managed to extract himself from Ginevra who had taken to following him around, popping up outside his classes, and generally annoying him by making a nuisance of herself. He had to sneak around with his invisibility cloak to go to training with his friends and the Slytherins. Hadrian was so glad the term was over and hopefully he would manage to evade the she-Weasley for the train ride before disappearing for the summer.
Making his way to his dormitory, he was checking for anything he might have forgotten, not that he anticipated finding anything. He basically lived in his trunk, only taking out what was necessary for classes. However upon entering his room, a glint of silver from his bed caught his eye. Moving closer, he realized it was the sword. The same sword he had used to "kill" the basilisk, the sword of Godric Gryffindor.
Well, seeing as he was the Lord of Gryffindor, he wouldn't be letting Dumbledore get his grubby hands on it again, especially since it seemed to be following him. Mind made up, Hadrian took the sword down into his trunk and locked it away, carefully placing all the wards he thought he could get away with around its hiding place. It was much too big for any of his special pockets like he had used for the stone. Once assured the sword was as secure as he could make it, he tapped the truck, shrinking it, and placed it in his pocket, and made his way down to the entrance hall to meet his friends.
The group made the most of the last few hours they were "allowed" magic, and practiced some of the spells they had been working on with the Slytherins. Most of it had been Hogwarts curriculum, the Slytherins knowing the children would want to practice on the train or at home, and so they had stuck to fourth and fifth-year spells. The twins joined them and they plotted a few new pranks as well. As the train closed in on King's Cross, Hadrian took each of their wands, and pulled his Slytherin family wand, quickly waving it over each of the wands, tapping them a few times, and hissing something in Parseltongue none of the others could understand before returning the magical channelling devices to their owners. Once he was finished, his eyes lifted to meet the confused stares of his friends.
Hadrian shrugged a bit before saying, "I found a cool book in Slytherin's library. It had this nifty spell to remove the trace. I thought we might all want to be able to do magic over the hols."
Eyes widened as he spoke. A cacophony of sound exploded from the group as they all tried to get more details and confirmation that it was just some prank.
"I checked it with Salazar, it's no prank," the teen said with a genuine smile. "You can all do magic, just make sure you…"
"Don't get caught!" the group chorused.
They said their goodbyes at the station and drifted away, none of them knowing what the summer would bring.
Chapter 33 Notes
I borrowed most of the interaction between Harry, Lucius, and Dobby. Still not making any money.
