Sigh.
Today was Dudley's birthday. Hadrian had never quite gotten out of the habit of waking with the sun which had been nearly beaten into him during his previous time in this house, so even though his windows were fake and spelled to reflect the weather outside, he woke with the sun. He got up, completed his morning ablutions, and exited his trunk to await his Aunt "waking" him and releasing him from the cupboard.
He was drifting in his mindscape, courtesy of Severus' dedicated instruction in Occlumency over the previous two years in preparation for contact with Dumbledore, when Petunia's shrill voice rent the quiet morning stillness and harsh knocks on the cupboard door pulled him out of his thoughts.
"Up! Up! Get Up! It's Dudder's special day! GET UP!" she screeched, a quiet click indicated the cupboard had been unlocked.
Hadrian was immediately back in his old head space and in a quiet voice said, "Yes, Aunt Petunia."
He made his way to the kitchen and began pulling ingredients out of the refrigerator so he could start breakfast. He had continued cooking while at the Malfoys and his breakfast repertoire had increased. He decided on simple french toast and crepes with a chocolaty filling, knowing Dudley would enjoy the sweet options, bacon, eggs, and toast for Uncle Vernon's normal sensibilities, and a mixed fruit salad for Aunt Petunia so there was at least something healthy on the table. He poured orange juice, prepared coffee and tea, and had steaming plates of food waiting on the table when Dudley and Vernon came downstairs.
Vernon grunted, "Comb your hair!" at Hadrian. He knew it was Vernon's preferred complaint when he could find nothing else to belittle and smiled to himself.
Hadrian had grabbed a few bites of egg, a piece of bacon and one of the crepes while cooking since no one else was in the kitchen, so when Petunia handed him a small bowl of fruit and ordered him over to his stool in the corner to eat his breakfast he made no complaint. He let the sound of the family having breakfast and Dudley whining about his number of presents wash over him until he heard his name and their continuing conversation about what to do with him that day since Mrs. Figg had broken her leg the previous week. Hadrian dearly wanted to speak up and say he would stay in the cupboard, but knew speaking would only earn him a beating. So he sat quietly, waiting, while they determined he would not be allowed to stay home ("Blow up the house, he would," Vernon had said with a sneer), but would go with them and Piers Polkiss to the zoo. He dutifully washed up the dishes after he finished his fruit, and dressed in Dudley's old clothes for the outing, casting a subtle wandless notice-me-not which would have everyone but his family overlooking his presence.
Dudley and Piers tried to get him in trouble during the car ride, but Hadrian just ignored them and they finally left him alone, not being able to make him angry. When they arrived at the zoo, Dudley's eyes locked on an ice cream cart and Vernon lumbered away to buy the family ice cream. He did not purchase anything for Hadrian, and the charm Hadrian had used ensured no one really knew he was there. Hadrian hung back a bit, reached into his pocket for his Gringotts pouch and pulled out a couple muggle bills to buy himself some water as the day was already getting warm. He followed the Dursleys in and around the animal exhibits and mainly tried to stay out of the way.
That is until they reached the reptile house. He could hear the hissing from the snakes as soon as they entered the space. Most were hissing about unimportant things like the next mouse, or the temperature of their heat lamps, and a few were sleeping. Hadrian made his way slowly around the room, enjoying the air conditioning and lack of people in the building. He felt a small tug and stopped at a particularly pretty bright blue snake with a white stripe around the lighter blue scales of its underside, and read the card affixed to the wall:
White Lipped Viper
Trimeresurus albolabris insularis
Location: Komodo Island, Indonesia
Sex: Male
Size: Up to 60 cm
Lifespan: 9-10 years
Eats: Mice and other small mammals
Small Lizards, Birds, or Frogs
Venom: Hemorrhagic
Causes pain, swelling, necrosis of the flesh,
and severe internal and external bleeding
Rarely fatal
DO NOT TAP ON GLASS
Hadrian looked at the snake and hissed out, §You are beautiful.§
The snake lifted it's head, §You speak!§
§I do§ the boy replied.
§I have never met another speaker before§ The small snake sounded pleased.
§There is only one other that I have heard of, and he is currently...indisposed§ Hadrian continued speaking with the smallish snake. §You are a pretty shade of blue. It's very bright.§
§Thank you, Speaker.§ The snake preened in obvious happiness.
Dudley had grown tired of all the sleeping and unmoving snakes, so the small snake moving around in front of Harry caught his eye. He ran over and shoved Harry out of the way, pushing the slighter boy over in his haste.
Hadrian glared at his cousin, and the snake looked at him with disgust. He looked towards Hadrian and hissed §Is he always so rude as to interrupt others' conversations?§
§Yes, he usually is§ Hadrian said with a small chuckle.
Piers and Dudley dramatically paled when Harry started hissing at the snake.
"Mummy!" Dudley ran off towards his parents, yelling. Vernon lumbered over and yanked Harry up by the arm, leaving bruises on his pale flesh. Hadrian wanted to glare at him or lash out with his magic, but knew better.
"Didn't I tell you nothing freaky, Boy?!" Vernon whisper-shouted.
§You are magical. Remove the glass from my enclosure and I will return with you and help keep you safe, young speaker§ The small snake hissed over Vernon's continued ranting.
Hadrian concentrated and pushed his magic out of his body. It was difficult with nothing to touch or a wand to focus the magic, but he managed it. Just as Vernon was shaking him around, Hadrian's anger spiked and the glass vanished. The snake slithered down to the floor and up Hadrian's leg. When Vernon saw the snake he dropped Harry's arm and stumbled back.
"Just so, Uncle," Hadrian stated coolly, drawing on all his pureblood mannerisms. "I will wait with the car." Hadrian turned on his heel and left the reptile house for the parking lot.
§Ok, I read the plaque next to your enclosure, so I know you're a White Lipped Viper from Indonesia, that you eat small mammals, birds, lizards, and frogs, and are venomous, though your venom isn't often fatal and will grow to be approximated 60 cm in length. Is there anything else specific I need to know about you or how to care for you?§
§I am actually a magical White Lipped Island Viper from a small magical area on Komodo Island, that is why you see me as blue. My inherent magic hides the vibrancy of my coloration, making it far more muted and greenish to non-magicals. I will keep the white stripe between my upper and underside scales, and my underside scales will always be lighter. I will grow to be double the size of my non-magical counterpart. Once I am fully grown, rats, larger lizards, birds, and rabbits would be preferred, two to three times a week, and smaller prey on the interim days. Without larger prey I would need many more mice or smaller lizards daily to sustain me. I can control my venom, so when dealing with muggles, it is simply painful and not often fatal. However if I can feel a magical spark, I can allow my venom to be much more potent and fast acting causing the internal and external bleeding to increase exponentially to the point where my victim may die before help can be reached.§
Hadrian had been nodded during the small snake's explanation. But a few things occurred to him to ask.
§So what would happen when you were fully grown if you had stayed in the muggle zoo?§
§I assume muggles are the non-magicals who imprisoned me in that clear nest I could not escape?§ Hadrian nodded and the snake continued §My magic has been hiding my size and decreasing my appetite, though it shortens my lifespan to do so. I am an adult, and should be much larger, but it will take some time to reach my actual full size. Normally my kind live ten to fifteen summers, so staying in that muggle nest would have given me only 5-7 summers.§
§Well, you won't have to hide with me, and I'll make sure you get the appropriate food. Next question, I felt a bit of a pull towards you which is why I stopped at your cage. Do you know what that is?§
§I also feel a pull toward you, young speaker, but I do not know why or what it may mean. Perhaps other magical humans would be able to explain?§
§My heart father figure is a potions master and he often uses magical snake venom and shed skin for potions. Would you be willing to provide some venom for him, or allow me to give him your old skin when you molt?§
§I would be fine with you giving him my skin, though I will need to evaluate whether he is acceptable to receive my venom.§
§That's fine, I'm sure he'll be excited to meet you.§ The snake hissed an unintelligible sound which Hadrian took to indicate his agreement.
§I have answered your questions, will you answer mine, speaker?§
§Oh! Of course you can ask anything you want.§ Hadrian rubbed the snake's head and was directed to an itchy patch of skin to scratch.
§The large ones who harmed you, they are your nestmates?§
§Well… Yes. Technically. They are my...nestmates because my mother and the larger one's mate were nestmates. But they are not who I think of as nestmates.§
§Ah, nest hatchlings. Yes, chosen nestmates are often better than nest hatchlings.§
§Yes, well, my chosen nestmates are much better than these. My brother in magic is Draco. I'll have to introduce you in person when I go to school in September, but you can see him in my communication mirror in my contained nest when we get back to my current nest. His mother, Narcissa or Cissa, is my heart mother. Her heart mate, Severus, is my heart father. He's the potions master I mentioned. And Lucius is her mate, but they are not heart mates. He is...well, I'm not actually sure what he is, but he's Draco's father, and has taken wonderful care of me along with the others. I also have a helper friend, Dobby, who you will meet tonight in my contained nest.§
§You have a contained nest like mine, speaker?§
§Similar, but I chose my contained nest, whereas you were forced into yours. I will likely be forced into a small portion of the nest when we return, but it houses my contained nest, and it is much nicer than it appears from the outside. I think you will like it.§
Hadrian caught sight of the returning Dursleys and Piers, and hissed at his new friend to hide under his clothes. That was one nice thing about Dudley's cast offs, they could hide a multitude of things.
He was correct. As soon as they returned home after dropping Piers off, Hadrian had been yanked through the house and shoved into the cupboard under the stairs with Vernon yelling about no meals for a week for his freakishness. Hadrian was thankful Severus and Lucius had insisted on placing a personal ward on him to protect him from violent actions as he was certain without it Vernon would have been beating him as he had when Hadrian was younger. Hadrian carefully maneuvered around the trunk in the dark, placing his hand on the latch, hissing the passwords and pushing the diamond button to open his flat.
He descended the stairs and allowed his new slithering friend down to explore the new nest.
§Friend, do you have a name?§ Hadrian asked as the snake returned from his exploration.
§What is a name?§
§it is something that others use to identify you. For instance, my name is Hadrian, so if someone says my name, I know they are speaking to me.§
§I see. I have no name, young speaker Hadrian. You may select one if you wish.§
§Ok. You can just call me Hadrian, you don't have to say speaker. I have a book with lots of words from other languages, let's see if we can find something you like§
They discussed for an hour, Hadrian suggesting words, saying them in both Parseltongue and in human speech to see if any appealed to his new friend.
§What about Zils? It means blue in Latvian. Zils.§ "Zils," Hadrian said in human speech.
§Zils...hmm, I like it.§ The snake nodded before curling up on the heated pillow Hadrian had placed on the chair for him to rest.
Hadrian was laying on the chaise when the communication mirror over the sofa glowed to alert him of an incoming call. He got up, released Slytherin's wand and tapped the mirror to activate it.
"Hadrian!" Draco shouted in the mirror. "We were so worried!"
"You never called for Dobby last night," Lucius reminded him pointedly.
"Oops," Hadrian said sheepishly, ducking his head as the Malfoy family looked him over from the mirror. "Dobby," Hadrian called, summoning his house elf to his new location.
"Master Hadrian bes calling Dobby!" Dobby began quickly. "Dobby bes worried for Master Hadrian. Master Hadrian must remembers to bes calling on Dobby!"
"Sorry, Dobby," Hadrian said, suffering the small house elf's excited behavior in penance for forgetting his friend.
"Well, at least you are alright," Narcissa said with a slight sniff.
"Severus and I will be there in an hour, Hadrian," Lucius reminded him.
Hadrian nodded, "I will be here."
They all signed off the mirror as it wasn't the most secure form of wizarding communication. It was much nicer for conversation than floo though, so occasionally it was worth it. Dobby immediately began cleaning the flat, though he had cleaned it thoroughly before they left Malfoy Manor, and was introduced to the snake.
As promised, an hour later, his floo chimed alerting him that Severus and Lucius were requesting entrance. He went to unlock the floo and hissed his override password §Beam me up, Scotty§. He had seen the teleporters in a tv show Dudley quite liked from America and thought the feeling might be similar to flooing. He decided that very few if any wixen would ever figure out his floo password, even if they could somehow figure out the Parseltongue.
Lucius entered first, magically removing the ash and carrying updated Doll Harry, and then Severus came through, prepared with more potions, and forced him into a chair for a quick diagnostic. Seeing the bruising from the multiple rounds of manhandling earlier, he passed the child a bruise balm and instructed him to apply it. While Hadrian was working on that, Lucius noticed the snake curled up in what he privately considered his chair, having used it when he had been invited into the trunk flat to assist with bringing in the furniture after Hadrian and Draco had made their selections..
"Hadrian," Lucius began carefully, "who is your friend?" He pointed to the snake who had been watching the proceedings with interest.
"Oh! That's Zils," Hadrian said happily. §Zils, this is Severus and Lucius, two of my chosen nestmates!§
Zils uncoiled a bit and tested the air with his tongue. §The dark one smells of many things.§
§That's Severus, he's the potions master. Do you think he could have your venom sometime?§
Zils slithered down and tasted the air around the potions master, who had gone completely still when he moved from the chair. §He is worthy.§
"Ooo, Severus, Zils says you're worthy. That means I can give you his shed skin and sometimes his venom for your potions!" Hadrian switched to English to inform the potions master of the small snake's approval.
"And how did you stumble across a magical White Lipped Island Viper in this muggle location?" Severus drawled.
"Ah well, see, I wound up having to go to the zoo with the Dursleys for Duddley's birthday because Mrs. Figg broke her leg. And I felt this sort of tug to stop at his cage. So I started talking to him and when Dudley and Vernon were manhandling me, he told me to vanish the glass and he would come with me and help protect me." Hadrian spilled a brief account of the events leading to his ownership of Zils.
"I see," Severus pinched the bridge of his nose and Lucius was rubbing his forehead in exasperation or fond amusement. They really couldn't decide which.
"You said you felt a tug?" Lucius confirmed. Hadrian nodded. "Then he could be your familiar."
"Really?" Hadrian asked, his eyes glowing with happiness.
"Of course we can't do the ritual until your next opportunity to visit Gringotts without the knowledge of the old man, so likely Yule," Lucius began, "but if he is willing, he could become your familiar."
§Zils, they said the tug I felt means you could be my familiar!§
§What is a familiar, Hadrian?§
§A friend. A protector. You take my blood and magic and it ties your life to mine so you can live as long as I do!§ Hadrian explained the bond simply to his friend.
§Then I shall be your familiar§ Zils hissed contentedly, coiling back up on the heated pillow.
"Well, this has been a busy day for you then," Lucius continued once Hadrian had stopped speaking to his possible familiar. "The zoo, a new familiar, and a call from your family."
Hadrian smiled. They talked for a bit longer, reminding Hadrian that his Hogwarts letter would arrive the week before his birthday. They gave Hadrian more hugs, and reminded him to mirror call occasionally, before they left again via floo, leaving the Doll Harry behind. Once they left, Hadrian took Doll Harry up the stairs and placed it in the cupboard ready to take his place again until Hadrian needed to leave.
Wednesday, July 24, 1991Hadrian stayed entirely in his trunk flat for the next month, waiting for his Hogwarts letter to arrive. He knew he would need to get it from the Doll Harry as soon as he could, but was not willing to risk being seen to do so, so he planned on getting the letter after everyone had gone to bed. Unfortunately his plan did not work out. Dudley had seen the letter in the stack before Doll Harry could hide it and Vernon had taken the letter and destroyed it. Hadrian wasn't too concerned with reading the letter, as he had read Draco's and knew what it said, but he was concerned with replying to the letter in the absence of an owl. He started listening to the family from the stairs, hearing Vernon nailing the door shut, Petunia finding letters rolled up in eggs, and the entire family's increasing anxiety over the letters and accompanying owls. Hadrian knew if he could just get to an owl he could send his response and it would be taken care of, but he was also interested to see what would happen if they continued to receive no response.
Tuesday, July 30, 1991He found out the day before his birthday when he heard Vernon shove Doll Harry into the cupboard telling him to pack his clothes, they were leaving. Hadrian quickly pulled Doll Harry into the trunk, tapped the location to shrink it with his finger and hissed the locking password while grabbing a worn rucksack and shoving some of Dudley's old things into it. He had taken a set of old clothes into his trunk and changed into them when he heard the start of the commotion that morning, so he was ready to go almost immediately. He slipped his now matchbox sized trunk into the pocket he had patched and magically reinforced with stabilization charms, and judicious use of thread magic to keep it protected from anything he could think of the Dursleys doing to try and get into his pockets. He hoped Dobby and Zils would be alright since he hadn't had time to alert them to the situation. He resolved to call Dobby as soon as he was somewhere alone to quickly explain and have him contact the Malfoys or Severus for him.
Vernon had driven them around the countryside like a madman, making fast turns, doubling back, and shoving at his hair while muttering under his breath like a person deranged. They stopped at a convenience store in the middle of nowhere where he bought a few random snacks, and put a long wrapped package in the boot. Dudley had been whining about missing his favorite shows, and Hadrian was retreating into his mindscape as often as he could to block out the horrible sound.
They finally stopped at a grungy seaside village where Vernon paid an decrepit old man for the use of his rowboat, which they then used to row out to an unforgiving looking rock with an old, unused lighthouse in the center. Hadrian had been gripping his hands together tightly focusing all his magic on keeping the small rowboat together and afloat under the enormous strain of his very large uncle and cousin. When they arrived, they settled in to eat the snacks, Harry getting nothing of course as it was all his fault they had been chased from their home by owls and letters addressed to him, and when they went to bed, Hadrian was forced to sleep next to the fireplace under a old ratty sheet which was all the Dursleys had seen fit to provide him to combat the cold. Dudley was asleep on the couch, so Hadrian was also unable to call Dobby for fear of waking him. Unable to sleep, and wishing it were all over already, Hadrian waved his hand to cast a tempus and saw it was nearly midnight. He drew a cake with eleven candles and was just blowing them out when a hard knock on the door reverberated through the dilapidated lighthouse. Another blow to the door and a muffled curse, and then the door was blown off its hinges by the largest man Hadrian had ever seen.
After confirming the fact that he was indeed Harry Potter (with an internal sneer at the non-wizarding nickname), Hagrid produced a letter and a slightly squashed cake and offered them to Hadrian. Hadrian set the cake aside in favor of his letter and getting answers from this unknown person and storing away the details to be relayed to Lucius and Severus at the earliest opportunity. While they were talking, Dudley had made his way to the cake unobserved and began stuffing his face. When Hagrid noticed, he waved his flowery pink umbrella and gave Dudley a pig's tail. Dudley ran squealing (Hadrian privately thought that also sounded rather pig-like) to his parents, and Vernon raised a shotgun in an attempt to intimidate Hagrid, who looked at Vernon as if he were an uninteresting creature, and bent the barrel of the shotgun into a knot. The Dursleys all disappeared into the solitary bedroom after that.
Wednesday, July 31, 1991The next morning, Hadrian was woken by a small owl trying to deliver the paper. Deciding he should not show his familiarity with the magical world, he attempted to rouse Hagrid who directed him into one of his numerous pockets to pay the small bird. Once he was awake, he offered Hadrian a sausage warmed from the fire and began to tell him all about Diagon Alley, Hogwarts, and the great Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore. Hadrian filed the information away, including the fact that he should have been retrieved by a professor for his introduction to the magical world, and was instead faced with a Dumbledore sycophant who was not a professor at all and was already grating on his nerves. They left the small island quickly, for which Hadrian was grateful, and even privately entertained by, seeing as he and Hagrid had taken the only available transportation, effectively leaving the Dursleys stranded.
Hagrid took Hadrian through the Leaky Cauldron where he met the stuttering Professor Quirrell, and was ambushed by every patron in the store. This was his first appearance in Diagon Alley in his own features, and though he had been prepared and coached by his family, it was still somewhat disorienting. He tried to call up the awed excitement he had felt the first time Narcissa brought him to Diagon Alley on his second day with the Malfoys and thought he managed it rather well. Their first stop upon entering the Wizarding Shopping District was Gringotts. He nodded politely to the goblins he passed, unable to follow appropriate protocol and give full bows as he was currently posing as an ignorant muggle-raised wizard, and was directed to Griphook for the ride down to his trust vault. Hadrian was not happy because he couldn't converse with his account manager since Hagrid had also been required to enter the vaults. He was picking up something from vault 713 which Dumbledore no doubt wanted Hadrian curious about. The situation being what it was, Griphook faked the use of Hadrian's non-functioning key as Hadrian carefully placed his hand on the door, faking awe at the carvings, and stepped inside, only gathering a hundred galleons for his supplies.
He bought the required supplies to the letter, already having better quality versions of most of it in his trunk from his shopping trip with the Malfoys. Unfortunately, he was required to get another trunk as it would look suspicious if he did not, so he purchased the least expensive one that looked similar to his current trunk and that was that. He purchased his books at Flourish and Blotts and surreptitiously picked up a few others that looked like they might be interesting, though he knew from Mr. Morgan's tutoring that he would be significantly beyond the average first year's level.
The apothecary did have decent ingredients, though not the quality he and Draco had selected for themselves in France, but he purchased two of the kits anyway. Severus had instructed him to ask for the Slytherin kit if he wanted more ingredients for his personal practice, which he had been told contained better ingredients than the others.
He bought basic parchment and quills for backup, and the basic astronomy set. He did find a few things he liked the style of at Madame Malkin's which he bought to take apart in study so he could recreate them himself, and enjoyed his faux-superficial conversation with his brother while being fitted for his uniform very much. He had noticed the Malfoys discreetly following him throughout the day and was pleased he would only need to report significant details when they next spoke, rather than the entirety of the trip. He was looking forward to getting his wand at Ollivanders, but was also somewhat concerned he would also be unable to find a match.
Hagrid left him at the door to Ollivanders alone, muttering about needing to see to something. Hadrian shrugged and entered the shop. He was unsurprised by the appearance of Ollivander, and only mildly interested in his talk about the wands of his parents. He had seen their wands in the Evans and Potter vaults after all. He was more interested in the wand selection process, but somewhat disappointed to find he would have to physically wave all the wands brought to him since Ollivander didn't appear to have a more sophisticated or efficient way to narrow the options like the shop in France. He tried wand after wand and Ollivander only seemed to get more giddy with each failure. He was finally presented with an eleven inch holly and phoenix feather wand. When he swished the wand, a golden glow filled the shop and Hadrian could feel the attachment between the wand and his magic. It was nothing like the feeling he had with his family wands, but it still felt good.
Mr. Ollivander was muttering, "Curious... very curious…"
"What's curious?" Hadrian asked politely.
Mr. Ollivander straightened as he spoke, "I remember every wand I've ever sold, Mr. Potter. It so happens that the phoenix whose tail feather resides in your wand gave another feather... just one other. It is curious that you should be destined for this wand when its brother gave you that scar."
Hadrian looked at the aging wand maker curiously.
Mr. Ollivander continued, "The wand chooses the wizard, Mr. Potter. It's not always clear why. But I think it is clear that we can expect great things from you. After all, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named did great things. Terrible! Yes. But great."
Hadrian stored away the information that he had the Dark Lord's brother wand, purchased his wand and a dragonhide holster, and exited the shop, glad to be free of the strange man. As he was walking away, Hagrid returned carrying a large golden cage containing a beautiful snowy white owl.
"Happy Birthday, Harry!" Hagrid said jovially. "I got ya' a present!"
"She's beautiful," Hadrian breathed. The owl looked at him with piercing eyes that seemed to be able to read his soul. She nodded somewhat imperiously, and let out an accepting hoot. Hadrian felt a similar tug on his magic to the one he felt in front of Zils at the zoo. Apparently he had found another familiar. "Thank you, Hagrid, she's wonderful," Hadrian said sincerely.
Chapter 17 Notes§Parseltongue§
The Dursley's think about and refer to Hadrian as Harry, not knowing about his real name (and likely uncaring even if they did). His chosen family refers to him as Hadrian, and if he is thinking to himself or speaking to his familiars, he will be called Hadrian.
White lipped island vipers do exist, and they can in fact be blue, though not as brightly blue as I have described Zils. All the information presented as the zoo card is accurate. I increased the coloration, size, lifespan, and venom potency for the purposes of making the distinction between the muggle and magical version of the snake.
And thank you to JKR for the tiny bit of Ollivander dialogue I used from the first book.