Training his snake was much easier than he thought it would have been to train any other pet. Probably because they spoke the same language, but it was really easy for Hadrian to get his gift to do what he asked.

"Why is it so easy to train you, Serpens?"

"You are my master, I'm supposed to listen to you. And any speaker of the serpents' tongue is considered a human worth listening to."

Before Hadrian could reply, he heard arguing in his parents' voices, coming from the direction of their bedroom. He wished he could know what they were yelling about. His mother and father rarely lost their tempers with each other, so arguments actually meant something when it was between the two of them.

"If you wish to listen, master, I will be your ears."

Serpens slithered down the post of Harry's bed, heading to his door. He was still young and small, unlike the Dark Lord's, so he was able to fit through the gap under the door. Hadrian wondered when he was going to see Nagini again. And his lord along with her. He was still scared by his looks but guessed that's what made him such a fearsome leader. But he was nice to him and seemed like a man Harry might want to follow, not just because his parents told him so.

He hadn't noticed the quiet return to the night, not until Serpens' scales stroked his lower arm. His pet hissed that his mother was arguing over people who were friends with the Potters and that they might be out to harm her Hadrian. His father was saying they didn't know where he was and that the Dark Lord would protect him.

"Thank you, Serpens."

"What are you going to do with this information, master?"

Hadrian thought for a moment. "Nothing. I'll remember it, and the name Potter, but they're right. My lord will watch out for me, if I serve him faithfully. And I plan to."

Yellow eyes searched mine, and he promised to also watch out for me. He was a gift made to protect him, so that was what he planned to do. As if Hadrian needed another reason to like his lord.

For the next two years, Hadrian continued his reading. He branched further into academic books, wanting to impress his lord like he had last time with his Parseltongue. He still enjoyed fiction, reading crime mysteries and romances mostly. He liked to try and guess who had committed the crime before the detectives told the reader, or comment on the foolish little mistakes the criminal made. Christie was his favourite.

He surprised people by performing some charms he'd read through. His first was the levitating charm, asking his mother if he was pronouncing the spell correctly and trying it wandlessly. The pencil floated into the air and he couldn't contain his smile or the glow in his eyes as it worked. He concentrated on making it go higher and shot it across the room and out the open window. He felt amazing having his mother look at him with so much pride, even as he fell over for using too much magic without his wand.

"We might have to buy you a wand early," his father chuckled. "Wouldn't want you fainting in front of our lord."

The thought bothered Hadrian very much, but the parlour door opened before he could demand a wand then and there. His aunt entered with a sour-looking man. He was dressed all in black, even his hair and eyes were black. There was something sad about the man, something deep in his eyes that made Harry think he wasn't happy. It wasn't nice to see in someone, at least when he didn't think they deserved it. And he wasn't sure this man deserved to look so sad.

"Happy birthday, Hadrian. Though it isn't a very fancy gift, I brought you a famed Potions Master, Professor Snape. He's offered to demonstrate his skills to you, until you turn 10-years-old when he will let you touch the ladle."

"Oh please, Narcissa. I will let him prep ingredients."

Though his expression didn't change, that sadness left his eyes long enough to make Hadrian smile. He got back up on his unsteady feet and headed towards the man, ignoring his mother's protesting hand of his shoulder. He stepped out of her grip and went to his aunt.

"Thank you, Aunt Narcissa." He smiled, "and thank you, professor. I hope not to annoy you too much with my childish curiosity."

The man looked down to the small boy. He saw too much of his parents in him to like the child. He had their porcelain complexion, as well as his father's soft curls. His facial features were somewhat pointed, too soft to be a Lestrange feature and somewhat familiar. The eyes were what unnerved him, so green like Lily but with an unnatural glow. All he could do was nod to the boy.

"Hadrian, come here."

His father looked on Snape with a look of distaste while his mother rolled her eyes at her husband. But their son did as he was told, a parting smile and nod to his potions tutor before going back to his mother's arms.

"I must show off, especially in front of my sister and guests," his mother grinned. "Show your aunt what you've taught yourself, our lord will be most pleased."

Harry nodded, asking to borrow her hairpin to try something. She handed it over, letting her son place it on the coffee table. He raised his hand, clearly casting the charm and watching the pin float into the air. But he didn't stop there. He controlled his breathing and the dizzy feeling in his head from doing it a second time with only a short break. He moved his hand, his magic controlling the hairpin as it went higher and to the side. It took control Hadrian wasn't sure he had to slide the pin back into place in his mother's hair. And he immediately fell to the floor.

"My god, he does wandless magic already?" Narcissa gaped.

He looked up to the blurred vision of his mother stroking the replaced hairpin, smiling at her pride. Everyone looked at him, a house-elf offering him a glass of water to help his headache. He felt embarrassed that he was always fainting when he tried to do magic, but he knew it was hard to control wandless.

"Don't feel downhearted, Harry." His aunt smiled, "that is so brilliant. You're only 7, that should be impossible."

It was a small relief, and it seemed his potions tutor was impressed at least. He let him sit at his workbench over the following weeks, watching him prepare things and listening to him describe his every action. Hadrian asked a question when he thought of one, usually when his teacher strayed from the instructions in his book.

"That recipe is old, there are better ways to do things."

"Would you mind, professor, if I made notes on the differences?"

He seemed taken back, but nodded all the same. Hadrian's textbook was soon filled with corrections, across all the recipes were Snape's improvements and it made them all easier to understand. He was enjoying the calm with his tutor, but his mother expected more.

"He should see you're more than capable," she argued, knowingly close to where he was brewing. "You should be allowed to do more than sit and make notes."

"On the contrary, mother, I still have notes to make. I think he's right, I should at least have a correction for all of these potions before I try attempting them. Makes more sense, right?"

She frowned at the attitude he held at the end, turning away long enough for Harry to catch Snape looking and smile slightly at him. He was a good teacher, he didn't want his mother to push him away. The older man just watched him, the corners of his lips quirking ever so slightly in what could have been a smile from this angle. He snapped into his usual frown before anyone else could notice. Another person charmed by Hadrian Lestrange.