May 1992

After Hadrian's stealthy expedition, time passed quickly. Soon the students were back in classes, grumbling about homework, and spending their weekends with their friends. Hadrian had warned his friends about everything that was happening, and loaned Hermione the book on Occlumency he had promised so she could start learning. Neville's new wand made a tremendous difference in class, and he was now in the top ten for their year. He still struggled a bit with the practicals, but the damage done by using a wand not his own was being resolved slowly, and his casting was therefore improving.

Hadrian had mentioned the odd feeling he got around Professor Quirrell in one of his many chats with Severus, both with Draco and without. None of the others were allowed in the professor's room, but knew the two boys visited him regularly. They all kept their eyes down around the headmaster, but so far, he hadn't tried to talk to any of them but Hadrian. Now that they knew the headmaster was definitely pushing Hadrian toward the stone, they made regular checks of the third floor corridor, making sure the door was still locked, and that they could hear the cerberus growling, or snoring, behind the door. While they already knew all the protections and how to get past them, they didn't want to go there until Dumbledore deemed it time.

So, with one mystery solved, Hadrian turned his attention to the feeling he was getting from Quirrell. The stuttering and garlic was still abhorrent, but he didn't think the feeling was related to that. He had discussed the feeling with Zils, talked about it to Hedwig, though of course she couldn't respond in any specific way, and had long and involved discussions with Severus and Draco. They had all decided to be somewhat circumspect with what they discussed with Neville and Hermione while they had no mind barriers. The two understood, and had thrown themselves into meditation and practice with a right good will. One evening in June when he and Draco had rehashed the feeling yet another time, Hadrian had mentioned a particularly painful prickle he had gotten earlier in the week.

Draco suddenly sat bolt upright on the couch in Hadrian's flat, pinned Hadrian with a particularly pointed expression, and asked, "Could he be a horcrux, too?"

Hadrian stared. How could he have been so blind?

Smacking himself on the forehead, he bolted out of his chair and began pacing around the room. He was muttering about all the feelings he had particularly noticed, the pickles from his scare, the searing, burning, pain he had been feeling more recently, how it seemed to be worse the closer he was to the man.

"It's not exactly the same," he finally said, dropping back into his chair. "With the others it wasn't painful, just strong. But maybe because this one is...Sentient? Or at least the container is sentient?"

"Crap," Draco said, suddenly ashen-faced. "What if he isn't a horcrux, what if he's possessed?"

Hadrian groaned, "Merlin, you're right. The others weren't painful because they were just pieces. Old pieces. Pieces that don't know about me! This one could be the actual active piece of the Dark Lord's soul and he knows why he went after me, and that I'm the one who killed him!" Hadrian's voice had climbed at least two octaves in his rapidly rising panic.

"Okay, okay, calm down," Draco said, tugging his brother over to sit next to him. "He's clearly not capable of doing you serious harm right now, otherwise he'd have already done it." Hadrian held his breath and let it out in a gusty sigh, reminding himself of the truth of Draco's statement. "Severus knows that Quirrell is after the stone, and unfortunately, so does Dumbledore. But either way, multiple people know about it and are watching."

"You're right," the raven replied, finally starting to relax a bit. "He is waiting for the right time to go after the stone, he's not as focused on me." His active mind started suggesting, rejecting, and organizing thoughts and plans that might help them with the situation.

Then it was his turn to sit bolt upright, "The unicorns!" he breathed, almost losing his lunch. "There are unicorns dying, I heard Hagrid talking about it in the Great Hall. What if Quirrell is drinking the unicorn blood to stay alive, or keep the Dark Lord's soul attached, or...or however that works."

"I think we need to talk to Severus and my father," Draco finally said, understanding completely why his friend was so green. No one would drink unicorn blood unwillingly given, it was a curse!

They made plans to use Hadrian's cloak to sneak to Severus' quarters that night after curfew. So after dinner, Draco and Hadrian went to a little used boys' bathroom on the second floor, on the opposite side from the library, and Hadrian covered Draco in his invisibility cloak. He cast silencing and scent blocking charms on the boy, and then pulled the hood up to cover his face. Draco disappeared, but followed Hadrian very carefully up to his dorm. They made their way back down into his trunk flat to wait. They were so nervous about the situation and the upcoming discussion they couldn't even get a nap.

So, white faced, and a bit tired, but far too awake to sleep, the two small boys covered themselves with the cloak, and, having to take much smaller steps to remain covered, made their way out of the Ravenclaw common room and slowly toward the dungeons. It took hours, or maybe just minutes that felt so much longer, to make it to the Potions Master's door. Draco knocked and gave the password, and both nearly tripped their way through the door and to the inner entrance. Hadrian knocked, and when bade, they entered. Lucius and Severus were sitting there waiting for them.

"Draco informed me you had a breakthrough this afternoon?" Severus questioned gently, seeing the effects of strain on the two boys.

"Yes," Hadrian replied, too tired to wait through all the greetings and formalities and simply wanting it to be over.

"We think Quirrell is a Horcrux like Hadrian, or that he's possessed with the actual active piece of the Dark Lord," Draco laid out their thoughts in a thoroughly brief recitation.

Severus and Lucius both blanched, trying to think through and recognize the ramifications of either situation being accurate.

"Oh, boys," Lucius said, dropping all the formal masks and enveloping both of them in a hug.

Hadrian and Draco nearly collapsed from the sheer relief at having their two most trusted there to help. Severus came and picked up Hadrian while Lucius took Draco and sat down in the chairs facing the fireplace. They gently coaxed the two into explaining their thought process, what events had led to their possible conclusions, and what similarities and differences Hadrian could specifically pinpoint.

When they got to the part about the unicorns, Severus stopped them, "He is possessed, Quirrell is dying." He pointed out baldly.

When the three others just looked at him, he explained. "Unicorn blood taken forcibly is a curse, you know that. But drinking unicorn blood forcibly taken is a death sentence. Less than a year, I'd wager. He's dying, decaying, really, and using the garlic to cover the stench." His stomach roiled at the thought and the two boys looked rather green.

"There's nothing to be done for him, then?" Lucius questioned, wanting clarification.

"The only thing I can think of," the potions master said, "is phoenix tears, and again, freely given, but even that... I'm unsure if it would be a cure, a temporary stall, or even an accelerant. It could be that the tears would join with the unicorn blood rather than the body, thus intensifying the curse.

They all shuddered at that thought.

"He cannot be allowed to access the stone in this state. The Dark Lord is unstable, he has to be to have used unicorn blood forcibly," Lucius said firmly. "I know it will be dangerous, but Hadrian will have to be prepared to retrieve stone at a moment's notice so as to keep Dumbledore in the dark."

"I don't like it," Severus countered.

"I don't like it either, Severus," Lucius continued, "but what other choice do we have? Does one of us get the stone? Send Hadrian after it now and wreck our years of planning? Hadrian is well prepared for the obstacles, the only unknown is Quirrell."

Hadrian tried to smile at the praise, but was so tired and stressed, he thought it was rather more a grimace.

"I can do it," He whispered, effectively stopping the argument in its tracks.

"You two should head back to bed," Severus instructed, rising from his chair to set Hadrian on his feet, "Lucius and I will discuss ways and means. If we come up with anything else to assist you, I will pass on the message."

The boys hugged both men, and disappeared back under the cloak. They made their way to Slytherin, where Draco hugged Hadrian and told him not to worry, before disappearing into the empty common room. Hadrian made his solitary way back up to Ravenclaw tower, wishing he could have stayed with Severus and Lucius.

Early June 1992

Over the next several weeks Hadrian, Draco, Neville, and Hermione had spent far more time out of doors. They told people they were walking around the Black Lake whenever asked. To an extent it was true, but what they didn't mention was that on the far side of the lake, a portion of the shore line dipped into the Forbidden Forest with trees coming right up to the lake's edge. They had been disappearing into the forest and looking for unicorns. They knew there had to be a herd of them in the forest since Hagrid said more than one had been killed. They only hoped they could somehow alert them to what was happening before anything further happened.

One rather sunny day, they had stumbled upon a small sunny clearing dotted with wildflowers. Having already been walking through the woods for over an hour, they decided to sit and rest for a bit before returning to the castle. As they laid there, enjoying the quiet, a golden unicorn foal made its way into the clearing.

"A unicorn!" Hermione breathed, excited to see one so close. The boys sat up slowly and carefully, trying not to startle the foal. They petted it gently when it deigned to approach, and when it got more comfortable, sat next to it for a bit, relaxing. They told the foal they'd be back another day, and left when their stomachs reminded them it was time for dinner.

After that encounter, they returned to that clearing a number of times, meeting several foals and their mothers. They enjoyed seeing the unicorns so up close, noticing that the mares had smaller, less pointy horns. Over their meetings they slowly built trust with them. They were always careful when they pet or played with the foals, and were sometimes able to bring apples, carrots, or sugar cubes to enjoy as a treat. They told the unicorns to be careful and stay together at night, tried to explain that the Dark Lord had gone crazy and was the one killing them off. They weren't sure if the unicorns understood, but they continued coming to the clearing anyway, hoping for some sort of sign.

It was nearing the end of term when they were graced by the presence of the unicorn stallion. Hadrian and Hermione had been voraciously reading anything they could get their hands on to do with unicorns and recognizing the stallion due to the size and pointiness of his horn, were quick to whisper to their companions to slowly stand and then bow to the unicorn stallion. All four of them did, and were pleased when the stallion bent his front knees to bow back. They knew they could approach, and so they made their way through the frolicking foals to the leader of the herd. They pet his nose and withers carefully, telling him how beautiful he was, and how wonderful his children were. His liquid black eyes seemed to see into their souls and feeling a slight pull on their magic, they gave their information.

Hadrian told the stallion about the issues with the Dark Lord, his madness, and that he was using their blood to survive. The stallion whinnied and reared back at that information, but was placated when Hadrian reached out to pet his nose and explained their plan. They were going to get rid of the Dark Lord and the man housing him, who was drinking their blood, would be punished.

All four of them felt the tug on their magic which they could only describe as acceptance. Another tug guided them to put their right hands in front of them, palm towards the unicorn's nose. The stallion then pricked each of their palms in the center, allowing one drop of blood from each to rest on the tip of his horn. They all flashed white and all the unicorns in the clearing bowed to the four children. Hermione gasped, and bowed back, the other three following her lead. Then the unicorns began leaving the clearing in groups of two and three, until only the stallion remained. He whinnied at them, as if to say, "return home," and then tossed his mane, flicked his tail, and was gone.

While they were walking back to the castle, Hermione explained what had happened.

"He accepted us into his herd," she said excitedly. "You've been given a great gift, Hadrian."

"What?" Hadrian sputtered, "Why me? He pricked all of us."

"Yes," Hermioned began, "but he pricked you last. That's important for a unicorn."

All three boys looked bewildered.

"You didn't see the book, Hadrian, but one journal I found listed a ritual that would link a wix to a unicorn herd. It was... a sort of protection bond...or an offer of service."

Hadrian's eyes widened, along with the other two boys'.

"We bowed to him first, and he bowed back. Clearly they have some way of communicating, or he's been watching us this whole time otherwise he wouldn't have bowed at the start. Anyway, he visited us and we started the ritual by bowing. Then you offered information to keep the herd safe. You freely offered information and future plans, things that have lasting impact for them. He took our blood. That white flash?" She paused, and receiving nods, continued. "It means we were sincere. He took our blood to test, but he sees you as our leader, that's why he took your blood last."

"Ok, but that doesn't explain a bond…" Hadrian hedged.

"That's the thing," Hermione was almost vibrating with excitement. "He could have taken the blood, our sincerity, and the information and done nothing further. But he bowed. He bowed to you. He recognized your leadership, and accepted you, and therefore us, into his herd! And the herd accepted. They could have challenged his decision by not bowing, but they didn't!"

"And that's a bond?" Hadrian questioned, just to make sure.

"Yes!" Hermione nearly shouted. "He took blood, freely given, accepted it's sincerity, and BOWED! It's exactly like the ritual in the journal! We're a part of a unicorn herd," she finished in a whisper.

Draco finally seemed to realize the importance. "You have allies!" he exclaimed.

"Other than us," Neville chimed in with a smile. He had really blossomed since the block on his magic was removed.

Sunday, June 14, 1992

Finally, one night just before the end of the term, Hadrian found himself pulled into a shadowed alcove as he exited the library after dinner.

"Dumbledore," Severus whispered in his ear, stopping him from screaming, "has been called urgently to the ministry. He will likely not be back before morning."

"It's tonight, then," Hadrian breathed. He felt the dark man behind him nod. "Alright, we're ready." He turned around, hugged Severus, and left to gather his friends.

He got all of them up to his dorm before curfew, and told Gao he was having a small sleepover when he questioned the presence of so many non-ravens in the common so close to curfew. Hadrian played up the fact that for his birthday was in July, and he would be back in the muggle world for the summer. He put on his puppy eyes and pleaded would the boy please not tell, it was only this once… Gao had rolled his eyes and made a shoo-ing motion, sending the children off to Hadrian's room.

At eleven, Hadrian took the cloak and made his way down to the common room to see if the coast was clear. A few people were still up, so he returned to his room and gathered them all under the cloak with him. He cast silencing and scent blocking charms. And then disillusionment charms just in case the cloak slipped...it was a tight squeeze with four of them after all. They carefully made their way out of the common room, thankful the door couldn't be seen from the seating areas. They kept to the shadows and moved as quickly as they dared down to the third floor corridor.

They stopped in front of the door, listening hard. They could hear the faint sounds of snoring, as well as quiet harp music. Hadrian pulled the cloak off and shoved it in his pocket which had been magically expanded earlier in the evening in preparation for this trip. Hermione unlocked the door with a well placed alohomora, and they carefully made their way down the trap door, harp still playing in the corner. Lighting their wands using lumos, and a careful application of one incendio and they were through the Devil's Snare. Neville hadn't even needed that, he simply touched the plant and fell straight through. He was concerned about the fire, but it sputtered out and his friends pulled him away.

The next room was the flying keys, and even though Hadrian and Draco wanted to fly the brooms which were hovering there, clearly intended for use, Hermioned sent a stunning spell at the old looking key with the already bent wing, and Draco and Hadrian case a wide-range freezing charm when the others went to attack her. Opening the door, they found themselves in a room where the floor was a giant chess board. Knowing they couldn't go around, Draco stepped up and directed Hermione to be the Queen's side castle, Neville the King's side knight, while Draco was the King and Hadrian was the Queen. He played expertly, the years of training with Lucius and Severus had truly paid off. None of them were sacrificed, which was a relief to each of them, and they continued on. The troll was bigger than the one from Samhain, and the stench was overpowering. Thankful it was already knocked out, they edged around it coming up to the door, and happily closing it behind them. The smell dissipated almost instantly.

This, then, was Severus' challenge. Purple fire sprang up, covering the door, and black fire blocked the way forward. The four stepped up to the table with seven potion phials and read over the riddle. Severus had already told him which bottle to select, but he allowed them to solve the riddle, checking off the lines himself as they went, ensuring the bottles hadn't been reorganized. They hadn't, and so when they had the solution he gave his instructions.

"Hermione, you, Neville, and Draco should go back," Hadrian raised a hand at their immediate protests. "Dumbledore is only testing me, and I have no idea what the Dark Lord would do to any of you."

"But, Hadrian," Draco started, unwilling to let his brother face the Dark Lord alone.

"No, Draco," Hadrian cut him off. "I have a plan. You three will go back, cast a stunner and a sleeping jinx on Hermione in the chess room, leave her with the broken pieces, it will look like she was sacrificed in the game. The combination of the two spells will cancel each other in about 10 minutes, but leave you really weak, and probably in need of a pepper-up, so just stay in whatever position you wake up in, and when you hear someone coming, pretend to start waking up when they get close to you."

Hermione nodded.

"Draco, you and Neville head back and get the brooms from the key room. You should be able to use lumos to get back up through the Devil's Snare, or whatever you want to do Neville, so long as it's quick."

The boys nodded, Draco more reluctantly.

"Then make your way to the headmaster's office. Even if he's not supposed to be here tonight, I'm sure he will be. Make a ruckus, say Hermione is hurt and I've gone to protect the stone. He should come running. Go to Severus and update him, I don't want to be alone with the headmaster for long if I can help it."

"What will you be doing then?" Neville asked.

"I'll be attempting to reason with the mad Dark Lord," Hadrian said somewhat grimly. He wasn't looking forward to a discussion with his parents' murderer, but he really didn't want to become a killer himself.

Hermione dashed forward and grabbed Hadrian in a tight hug. "Be careful," she whispered.

Draco and Neville nodded to him and the three drank from the bottle which would allow them back, the bottle refilling itself between uses. Then they turned and left, walking through the purple fire unharmed. Hadrian took a deep breath, downed the small bottle that would allow him on, and walked purposefully into the flames.

He was confronted with Professor Quirrell, reeking of garlic, staring into the mirror and talking to himself.

"It's not worth it," he called out to the muttering professor.

Quirrell spun around at his voice and a rather evil smirk graced his face. "Harry Potter," he said. Hadrian's nose wrinkled at the moniker. "You will just have to wait," he said, waving his wand. Black ropes sprang up and bound Hadrian who fell to the floor uncomfortably. He thought about speaking up, but decided to let Quirrell fail first. When he heard the voice under the turban say, "Use the boy," he spoke.

"Finally remembered me, have you? I'm telling you it isn't worth it. And it's Hadrian, by the way," he said.

"Let me speak to him," the voice ordered Quirrell.

"But, Master, your strength…" Quirrell pleaded.

"I have strength enough for this," the voice responded.

Quirrell quickly unwrapped the turban and turned his back to the still-bound boy.

"Disgusting, isn't it," the snake-like face of the Dark Lord said from the back of Quirrell's head. The skin was putrescent, clearly the curse from the unicorn blood was working. "What I am reduced to, feeding from unicorns to survive."

"It isn't worth it," Hadrian again repeated. "The body you're in was cursed as soon as the blood touched his lips, he's dying. Likely to be dead in a few days at most." Quirrell shuddered at this pronouncement, but the voice remained steady.

"Indeed," it said. "But it matters not," another shudder, "for I shall have the stone!"

Hadrian rolled his eyes. "Sure, but that won't stop the curse, it will just transfer."

"What?" The voice croaked.

"The elixir doesn't heal. It just...freezes whatever is already there at that particular point in time. It's like if you're fifty-five and have a weak heart, the elixir will keep you fifty-five, but you'll still have a weak heart. So the curse will still be there. Sure, it won't spread so long as you continue taking the elixir, but as soon as you stop, it will, and even if you don't, you'll have to have something to stop the smell." Hadrian made a face.

Quirrell was shuddering even more, Hadrian thought the pain must be getting to him, that or the casual dismissal of his imminent death by his Lord.

"Release him," the Dark Lord's spirit ordered the man. Quirrell turned jerkily, and waved his wand, releasing the boy's bonds.

"The Malfoys and Severus rescued me from abusive muggles. I've been staying with them since I was eight. They told me your original goals: rights for creatures, full magical instruction, no banned magic, only monitored, better monitoring and follow-up for muggle-raised wix. You have great ideals, but somewhere along the way you got lost. I can't tell you what you did, I don't think you want him knowing," Hadrian waved his hand vaguely indicating Quirrell.

"LIES!" the Dark Lord said, eyes flashing again.

At this, Quirrell could no longer contain himself. He jerked around and raised his wand to Hadrian. Ropes sprang up and Hadrian toppled to the floor a second time. Quirrell came over and was about to strangle him, or cuff him, or something, but his hand brushed Hadrian's skin and he immediately pulled away screaming.

"Master!" Quirrell yelled, "Master, it burns!" His skin was rapidly disintegrating.

With the wavering power, the spell on Hadrian failed. Giving up on talking the Dark Lord around because he was clearly too insane to think, Hadrian jumped up, and yelled, "FINE! Have it your way," and reach out pressing his hands to Quirrell's face.

The man screamed even more as his features distorted, crumbling away. Hadrian had already moved his hands to grab at the man's hands, ankles, and anything else he could reach. He knew the protection granted from the unicorn stallion was interacting with the unicorn blood curse and Quirrell would be destroyed.

In a surprisingly short time, Quirrell was nothing but a pile of ashes, and the sentient spirit or soul or whatever the Dark Lord was right now, swirled around Hadrian and hissed §I will return§ as it flew through him, unknowing that Hadrian could understand him.

Hadrian rolled his eyes as the leftover piece of the Dark Lord flew away through the fire and set about retrieving the stone from the mirror. He had already prepared a look alike, and decided that as he had managed to destroy Quirrell, however unintentional it might have been, he might as well destroy the fake and make it look like he had put up a fight. He had of course, well, sort of, but he needed something to tell Dumbledore about.

He quickly set things up and put the real stone in a specially prepared hidden pocket of his trousers, thinking he might as well wait until he heard the headmaster coming to lay down when a sudden wave of lethargy passed through him. He wasn't sure what was happening, but his eyes closed involuntarily, and he slumped over to the floor.

Chapter 24 Notes

§Parseltongue§

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