Chapter 9
A/N: Hi all, thank you so much for the reviews, I know I am SUPER late with this chapter, and I would gladly take any punishment dealt, but work started again, and we are short-staffed, so I have to do the work of two people at the moment, and that is not even counting my second job.
Anyway, I couldn't sleep, and I know I am going to be paying for this with yawns tomorrow, but I have been itching to get this out.
Enjoy…
…Marvolo's POV…
He stood frozen as every encounter with Hadrian, no Harry James Potter, ran though his mind. Sure, there had been certain aspects or hints, but nothing would have led him to the truth unless Hadrian had intended to reveal it to him from the start. Which he very much doubted.
Sure, he may have figured it out eventually, but he was sure that Hadrian would have been long gone by then.
His throat felt tight, but whether it was with anger or pain, he did not know. Hadrian had been the first person that he had become attached to in a long time since Harry Potter and now the young man has revealed that they were one in the same. He didn't know how he was supposed to feel about that.
Truthfully, his usual reaction would have been to curse the other man into oblivion since he had deliberately misled him, but he somehow knew that the other man hadn't done it just to get back at him. That didn't make it hurt any less though.
His hands clenched into fists, but he immediately forced them to relax as he saw Hadrian flinch. His mind paused at the use of the name and another realization hit him. He had fallen for Hadrian, who he had previously murdered when he had been known as Harry Potter (even if it had been all set up).
His body slowly started shutting down in shock as he saw Hadrian's lips move even as the younger man stepped forward and yet a static sound was ringing in his ears. Just the thought of what could have happened if Hadrian hadn't faked his death…he struggled to breathe just thinking about it.
He reached up towards the scar again as his soul ached and an answering pulse sang through his being as he finally fully realized that Hadrian had been carrying a part of him inside of him and keeping it safe. He didn't need to ask whether the other man knew about the soul-piece or not, the answer was there in his eyes as Hadrian seemed to lean into his hand.
The world around them slowed down to a crawl as he saw Hadrian's face change from slight trepidation to fear.
Marvolo's first thought was to reassure him that he would never hurt him, but a sound from behind him quickly clued him in that it wasn't him that Hadrian was afraid of.
He dived to the side and tried to take Hadrian with him as he felt magic flare up behind him. He had hoped to avoid any spells but felt a sharp cutting pain in his side and he turned to see Kingsley Shacklebolt with a slightly crazy grin on his face.
Another curse followed and he was forced to push Hadrian to the side as a jet of green struck the space they had just occupied. He then turned to cast the killing curse at the man, but the man's main target seemed to be Hadrian as he sent a blasting curse towards the mind-healer.
Marvolo threw up a shield, but the force of the blast still sent Hadrian flying through the window and Marvolo instinctively took on his mist form before diving after him.
It felt like an eternity before he was finally able to grab hold of Hadrian, but the wound on his side caused him to black out for a second and he had just enough time to cast a cushioning charm and to shield Hadrian's body with his before they hit the ground.
The cushioning charm took most of the impact, but that did not stop him from feeling slightly dazed. He looked down, only to find a pissed-off looking Hadrian beneath him and he felt his body stir in response despite their current situation.
A shout ran out around them, and he quickly rolled onto his feet before dragging Harry up and moving to stand back-to-back with him.
Neither of them hesitated to shoot spell after spell at their attackers, but Marvolo kept a lookout for Shacklebolt as the forces around them continued to fall to their stunners.
Well mostly… you couldn't blame the Dark Lord for throwing in a few interesting spells here and there, although he did feel Hadrian's glare burn the back of his head as he sent a sense-scrambler spell at the Triwizard-cup's Hufflepuff champion, Cedric Diggory, which caused the young man to jinx his girlfriend with a Calvorio curse* and left her shrieking like a banshee.
Oh well, Hadrian would be angry at him if he killed her for their kissing episode anyway. Not that Marvolo had been planning her death or anything, and he didn't have a wall full of people to kill with her name listed under the 'Dared to touch Harry' section.
'Ahem', let's get back to the fight, shall we?
Shacklebolt finally showed himself and Marvolo pushed all his anger into the killing curse. He initially wanted the man to suffer for trying to hurt Hadrian, but the thought of seeing Hadrian flying through the window again made up his mind for him. He couldn't allow any threat to Hadrian to survive.
Grindlewald however stepped forward and snuffed out his killing curse by simply pinching his fingers onto the glowing, green tip of his wand.
The crowds around them suddenly froze, and neither the Death Eaters nor their attackers moved a muscle as their minds registered two things.
The first was that Gellert Grindelwald was amongst them, and the second was that he had just sniffed out a super-charged Avada, from the Dark Lord nonetheless, with his fingers. Although he looked at his fingers afterward and frowned at Marvolo before simply shrugging and saying, "I guess it would be too much to ask for our Harry to meet someone normal, right…Death?"
Cold air spread out through the frozen crowds as a hauntingly beautiful figure glided from between the crowds towards them. Her ethereal beauty, however, did not distract anyone from the lethal scythe at her side, nor could they draw their eyes away from the hourglass that had been hooked onto her belt as they each saw the time of their demise drawing ever closer.
The Death Eaters and those who willingly served the Dark Lord, as well as the ones who were ultimately loyal to Hadrian, even under Dumbledore's spell, suddenly found themselves blind, and yet none of them fought it as a soothing Prescence seemed the caress their very souls.
The rest, however, weren't so lucky as their hourglasses abruptly seemed to empty until there were no grains left. A hauntingly beautiful voice sounded in their ears. "Of course, our Harry wouldn't choose just anyone Gellert, he has taste after all."
Suddenly the bodies of their attackers started to wither away, and the anguished cries would have been music to Marvolo's ears if he didn't feel every flinch Hadrian gave in response to the familiar cries of pain. He glared at the god, and whatever Gellert was, before grabbing onto Hadrian and apparating them to his apartment.
He might pay for it later, but he didn't care, his priority was Hadrian.
…Harry's POV…
Hadrian couldn't help the laugh that escaped him as Marvolo apparated them to his apartment. Which the Dark Lord shouldn't have had access to, by the way, but whatever.
He was way beyond caring at this point since it seemed like Marvolo had stayed with him despite the secrets that he had kept and even though Marvolo had just ignored a very literal god in order to make sure that he (Hadrian) was safe.
It was an amazing feeling and yet he didn't expect it to last. There was just too much history between the two of them for the Dark Lord to simply be content with protecting him and then leaving it at that, instead of locking him up like some kind of possession.
The older man hummed before pulling him into his arms and Hadrian felt slightly confused at the tenderness with which the Dark Lord stroked his back before running his hand through his hair and tightening his hold on him until their bodies were hugged tightly together.
Hadrian wanted to melt into it, but he was wary as Marvolo spoke. "So, this is why you ignored the possibility of death so many times, my love. You are one of her chosen."
Hadrian felt himself nodding slightly, unable to form the words. His whole world seemed to hang on whatever words that the Dark Lord would speak next, but none came as Marvolo merely seemed to stare at him with an expression of relief clear in his face.
Hadrian frowned as he suddenly realized that the Dark Lord seemed too pale and too dazed for it to merely be aftereffects from the battle, and he looked down after recalling that Marvolo had been hit by Kingsley's cutting curse while dragging him out of the way.
Crimson had bloomed into a flower on the Dark Lord's shirt and Hadrian hurriedly helped the man to lie down on the couch before ripping his shirt open to assess the damage. He summoned one of his elves from one of the hospitals and asked them to bring some supplies while he configured the couch into a bed.
He grew panicked as he saw how deep the wound was though. Sure, he had some field experience, but he was a mind-healer, not a body healer.
Notes:
*Calvorio curse – Hair removal curse
