Chapter 18 – Going Home
Everything hurt. Hadriana felt like someone had run over her with a truck, even asleep things weren't easy. Her eyes fluttered open slowly her eyes adjusted to what she was seeing, there were gifts and candy wrappers around her on the table beside her side.
Groggily Hadriana sat up drying her eyes with her hand to get more awake. Smiling at the gifts, and she looked around and turned to the opening door. Footsteps were coming closer, and it was easy – Professor Dumbledore walked into the room with a bright smile when he saw the bright smile on her face.
"Good afternoon, Hadriana. Ah, tokens from your admirers." Headmaster Dumbledore said, pointing at the gifts laying there at the table.
"Admirers?" Hadriana questioned confused, how could she have admirers? The only people she actually cares to get anything from are few.
"What happened down in the dungeons between you and Professor Quirrell is a complete secret. So, naturally, the whole school knows."
"He's right. Nothing is a secret in Hogwarts" A fourth-year student said, while others nodded in agreement.
"Not true…" Neville said, without rolling his eyes.
Hadriana, Ron and Hermione nodded with a smirk.
"I didn't know everything that happened, and didn't know what happened down in the third floor until I became friends with Hadriana, here." Draco pointed out that there are many things in the school that don't come out.
"Ah, I see your friend Ronald, has saved you the trouble of opening your chocolate frogs," Dumbledore said with humour as he looked at the many opened wrappings.
"Ron was here! Is he alright? What about Hermione?" Hadriana rushed out, and all of her attention fell on the headmaster at that, who only chuckled at her questions.
"Fine! They're both fine."
"But what happened to the stone?" Hadriana asked.
"Relax dear girl. The stone has been destroyed. My friend Nicholas Flamel, and I had agreed it was best all around." He revealed.
Hadriana believed this somewhat, but that made everything sadder. "But then… Flamel… he'll die won't he?" Hadriana asked worriedly biting her lip.
Dumbledore looked at the screen sadly but contemplated what it could mean for the future and what he did with the stone.
"He has enough elixir, to keep his affairs in order, but yes, he will die."
"How is it I got the stone, sir?2 Hadriana asked him softly, after a few minutes of solemn thoughts. "One minute we were standing in the mirror, and the next-,"
"AH, yes. You see. Only a person who wanted to find the stone- will find it. If you wanted to use it – wouldn't be able to get it…"
Hadriana sighed, she was still somewhat worried about how everything went over back then – how the man calling himself the headmaster was grooming her to be selfless.
"I love you," Sirius whispered quietly in her ear, as he sat up to see what happened on the screen. He also knew where her thoughts had flittered too. Lifting his hand, he turned her face so that they could look at one another in the eye – seeing them brimming with tears that wouldn't fall hunted him.
Silently cursing her tears, but she still wasn't used to being believed and loved as Sirius loved her – so she smiled brokenly. "I know." she was tired and couldn't wait to retire for the day and rested her head in the crock of his neck.
No one had seen their interaction because they were looking at their headmaster in awe, "That's amazing, Professor." Exclaimed Lily, while Remus looked at her in shock, "You mean, brilliantly don't you." Remus said while the two shared a bright smile.
Young Sirius and his brother were talking between themselves, and silently agreeing because they hadn't forgotten the beginning of the movie, and his older self in prison because of the headmaster. They agreed to take everything with their headmaster with a grain of salt.
"That is one of my more brilliant ideas. And between you and me, that is saying something." The headmaster said.
"Does that mean, with the stone gone, Voldemort can never come back?" Hadriana asked the headmaster curiously.
"Ah, I'm afraid… There are ways in which he can return." Dumbledore admitted to her.
"Hadriana… Do you know why it is, Professor Quirrell couldn't bare for you to touch him? It was because of your mother! She sacrificed herself for you, and that kind of act leaves a mark."
Tears ran down Lily's cheeks at hearing this but refused to see to it.
James hugged her, kissing her on her forehead. Giving her all the support, she would need.
Euphemia and Fleamont looked at their son proud of the man he seemed to become because of the girl beside of him.
Hadriana was confused at that because her mother couldn't have been the only mother in the war that has protected their child. So, how could she have been the only one that could have survived the killing curse? Were her thoughts when hearing Dumbledore's explanation.
However, she reached up on her forehead gracing her fingers over her scar because she thought it as what the man meant.
"No, no. This kind of mark can not be seen. It lives in your very skin."
"What is it?" Hadriana inquired softly.
Dumbledore gave her a sad smile, "Love, Hadriana Love!"
Many well-read minds acknowledged what this meant and stared at Lily and James in awe. Young Sirius and Regulus were some of them, young Sirius because of his family – they knew it to be some sacrificial magic that included blood.
Lily and James on the other hand hugged one another finally knowing that it would be okay and knowing that they belonged together.
"Ah. Bertie Bott's every flavour beans. I was most unfortunate in my youth, to come across a vomit-flavoured one, and since then I've lost my liking for them." Dumbledore out of the blue admitted. "But I think I could be safe with a nice toffee." He stopped, and placed one of them into his mouth, before continuing, "Alas. Ear wax." He said and shrugged and left the room.
The scene changed again to Hadriana dressed in her robes and walking and finding Ron and Hermione at the top of the stairs. They both turned their heads smiling brightly at her.
"Alright there Ron?" Hadriana asked with a smile.
"Alright, you?"
"Alright. Hermione?" Hadriana asked, Hermione too with a smile.
"Never better," Hermione replied before they all ran and hugged each other laughing. Walking towards the great hall, and took their seats at their table. The room was filled with banners with Slytherin colours, and the three of them rolled their eyes at Draco's smug expression.
McGonagall stood then up from her seat and tapped her spoon against her silver goblet, catching everyone's attention.
Dumbledore stood up from his seat, "Another year gone! And now as I understand it, the house cup needs awarding, and the points stand thus – in fourth place, Gryffindor with 262 points. Third place, Hufflepuff, with 352 points. Second Place, is Ravenclaw, with 426 points. And in the first place, with 472 points to Slytherin!"
The Slytherins broke out into loud cheers. Hadriana nodded, clapped politely among the scandalized Gryffindors, and ignored Ron's outraged look. She raised her eyebrow, and then rolled her eyes at him and continued to support the green.
Slytherins in the past looked at her in shock, the fact that she would cheer for them was surprising. James on the other hand was becoming more natural in the grand scheme of things knowing that times were changing.
Lily looked on proudly towards her daughter, knowing that she wouldn't be as prejudiced against the Slytherins as her father was in the beginning.
"Yes, yes, well done Slytherin. Well done. However, recent events must be taken into account. And I have a few last-minute points to award." Dumbledore told them, and many eyes looked at him in shock. The Slytherins almost immediately stopped their cheers.
"First to miss Hermione Granger, for the cool use of intellect when others were in great peril, 50 points." Stated Dumbledore, everyone clapped proudly for Hermione, besides the Slytherins.
Ron was amongst the loudest, while Hadriana just did it to do something because she was just as shocked as the Slytherins. "How can Dumbledor know this? he wasn't there, was he?" Hadriana whispered, it was drowned out by the loudness of Gryffindors.
Hermione blushed by the attention she was getting.
"NO! Why?" asked Remus, catching onto what was happening on the screen.
The question that Hadriana was asking herself was something that the teachers also were wondering about, because if Dumbledore was there and saw everything, why hadn't he stepped in and helped her with Voldemort? Although, there could have been an alert spell cast on the room telling him everything that was happening if that was the truth, why didn't he quickly do something about it?
Many others were too stunned to say something.
"Second. To Mr Ronald Weasley, for the best-played game of chess, that Hogwarts has seen in these years. 50 points." Dumbledore says to Ron's blushing face. His brothers looked on proudly, ruffling his hair and patting his back.
Hadriana shook her head, shocked because she knew that it wasn't an incredibly interesting chess play compared to what the muggle world could throw at their opponents.
"And third. To miss Hadriana Potter, for pure nerve and outstanding, I award Gryffindor house 60 points."
Everyone clapped for her, louder than before.
Regulus and young Sirius clapped proudly for their girl, because as they saw it, hers were more deserved than the others, at least in their eyes.
James and Lily were proud of their daughter but also surprised that this whole thing was even allowed to happen.
The Slytherins were quietly contemplating this whole thing, and they also wondered how it could be happening. If there was something wrong with the system or whatnot. They were also somewhat glad that Hadriana was thinking everything through.
"We're tied with Slytherin," Hermione said.
Ron and Hadriana looked at her in shock, though, Hadriana had figured it out because of the hate between their houses.
"And finally, it takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to your fears, but a greater deal to stand up to your friends. I award, 10 points to Neville Longbottom!" Dumbledore says.
Gryffindor, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff stood up in their seats and cheered loudly and clapped for Neville happily.
Hadriana looked at Neville with a smile, meeting his surprised eyes with a smile of her own.
Frank and Alice shared a loving look, they were incredibly proud of their son.
"Assuming that my calculations are correct, I believe that a change of decoration is in order," Dumbledore told them. He clapped his hands and changed the decorations from Slytherin to Gryffindor. The cheers could be heard loudly throughout the room.
Hadriana smiled softly, but she wasn't quite proud of her house like everyone else was.
This caught the eyes of the Slytherin head of the house, Severus Snape, who looked at the girl who lived with curiosity.
Suddenly someone picked her up and spun her around from behind before they put her down. "Congratulations, Hadriana," Oliver said cheerfully, as it had been one heck of a year.
"Thanks!" Hadriana said with a smile.
Oliver blushed and ran his fingers through his hair nervously.
Hadriana looked at him confused, though, she gave him a smile.
In the end, the scene changed to where many students could be seen at the train station, boarding the train that would take them home. "Come on, now. Hurry up. You'll be late. The train is leavin'. Go on. Go on. Come on. Hurry up." Hagrid said and caught up with Hadriana as he had something to give her.
"Come on Hadriana," Ron said as Hadriana looked back at him. "One minute." She told him, and walked over to Hagrid.
"Thought yah were leavin' without saying goodbye did yah?" Hagrid said, before reaching into his pocket and pulling out a book. "This is for you." and handed it to him.
Hadriana smiled, opening it, and seeing what was pictured in it made her tearful. Seeing the moving picture of her parents made her happy, her father holding her as a baby, while her mother held her hand before leaving a gentle kiss on it. "Thank you, Hagrid," Hadriana said, smiling at him still staring at the picture, before closing the book.
Hagrid then took her hand, giving her a large shake before Hadiana shook her head, giving him a large hug, and making him turn slightly red.
Hagrid turned red at seeing himself like that, but it was great to see that he himself had a wonderful friendship with the girl in the future.
"Go on. One with yah. One with yah. Oh, listen, Hadriana. If the door of a cousin of yours, Dudley, gives you any grief, you could always, um, a nice pair of ears, to go along with that tail of his."
Hadriana was after all glad now to be reminded of it, and glad that she remembers that she had bribed them to leave her alone for the duration of the summer.
Many snickered remembering what had happened in the beginning before it turned into frowns. Why was she even going back to those trolls?
"But Hagrid, we aren't allowed to do magic away from Hogwarts. You know that!" Hadriana said with a small laugh, not saying anything about the plan she had going with them.
"I do… but yer cousin don't, do he? Eh." Hagrid told her.
Hadriana laughed shaking her head and walked onto the train with her friends.
"Feels strange to be going home, doesn't it?" asked Hermione.
"I'm not going home. Not really." Hadriana said to their confusion.
The scene slowly faded away as music played in the background, and as the train left away from Hogwarts went completely black.
"That was my first year…" Hadriana groaned into the open air, and into Sirius's neck knowing that things wouldn't get any easier.
"It was very stressful." Sighed Remus, while the others in the room nodded in agreement.
"If you feel like that was stressful, then just wait!" Neville said, with an evil smile stretching across his mouth. "This was maybe the most peaceful year we had," Luna said afterwards.
"Excuse me! That! That… Was your most peaceful year?" Regulus inquired, while a younger Sirius nodded along with the statement already dreading to see what else would happen.
"I would practically argue that our third or sixth was the most peaceful year!" Hadriana pondered and looked at Sirius with a smile because the third year was when they finally met for real.
Sirius smiled fondly remembering what it was like to meet Hadriana and have her in front of him instead of talking with her through their mind, though, they still did, after all, she needed to go to school.
"I can actually see it!" Draco muttered looking between the couples in the room, and that made him miss Ginny and wondered what they were doing, and how his children were behaving.
"How bad can things get? I mean you just practically killed your DADA teacher, who just happened to have the Dark Lord attached to the back of his bloody head, after basically killing the dark lord as a baby!" Evan Rosier practically yelled from the Slytherin table where he was sitting beside the ever-quiet Severus Snape.
"Much… Much crazier!" Ron told them severely, as Hadriana and Hermione agreed wholeheartedly.
McGonagall was about to have a heart attack overhearing this, and this was some of the wonders about being a teacher. Minerva McGonagall stood up because it seemed like the headmaster was still contemplating something to even get going for more, and she looked over the tired people in the hall. "Dear students, I see that we are all tired. Let's rest up for tomorrow, eating breakfast and thereafter see the next movie in the collection. Guest's room will be available as Hogwarts wishes, and they will appear alongside the nearest wall. Students go to your common rooms." and walked towards her own quarters sighing and wanting a drink.