Big thanks to Vivianne95, Red05 and guest for reviewing sorry about the relative lateness of the chapter but it is exam season and I'm five exams in with six left so expect a slower couple of weeks.
Enjoy :) SuchaNarcissist
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§Parseltongue§
Bold is notes or screaming, it should be pretty obvious which.
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So keep your dream with no consequence,
You'd damage me just to feed your senses,
All you fake for reality,
I see right through you.
Perfect Life - Red
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After almost two weeks away from Privet Drive Hadrian was almost happy to return, even though most years his holidays were pleasurable this year he just couldn't seem to shake the feeling that something was due to go awfully wrong, after constantly looking over his shoulder for two weeks he was glad to be on safe ground.
And yet the feeling only got stronger, to the point where he hid the Cerberus eyes and washed the blood off of the basement floor. After another two weeks of this he even had bars put onto his own window. About a week later after six full hours at the local firing range he came home and collapsed into bed after a superb meal and a shower. Harry was typically a light sleeper, so it was unusual that he slept like he did that night.
What was more unusual was the flying car that ripped half the house off in the middle of the night. On the positive side the paranoia went away quickly after that. However there was the trouble with dealing with a trio of red heads. Well it wasn't trouble as such but it was a difficult decision to make. The argument lasted until Petunia decided to ask if anyone knew where they were going; when the answer was in the negative the decision was made.
The Weasel died slowly and in pain screaming about traitors and lost friendships as his internal organs were slowly removed and placed in jars and his nails carefully extracted and finally his skin peeled off and tanned- using his own brains of course. After all there was that lovely dark side street that did a running trade in organs and skin. No need to waste anything.
His brothers died faster, Hadrian had no particular grudge against them, they were rather fun actually but they couldn't exactly let them go after killing their brother, that would be really, really stupid. So a quick death and a slow dissection afterwards, it was a learning experience for the whole family. In fact Hadrian learnt several new facts about the human body and decided to start compiling a compendium of useful body parts and sellable body parts as well as the best ways to remove them from a body- both alive and dead.
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Of course typical to Harry, Petunia not only had to purchase a new wall and window, they also had to put up with a visit from the Headmaster and a horde of red haired Weasels (Honestly he'd killed three how many could there possibly be left?). Apparently their parents had an inkling of where they might have been aiming for on their jaunt.
Harry really wanted to carve out that damn twinkle from the man's eyes, especially after he had learnt it was a common symptom from overuse of the mind art of legilimency, Hadrian was notably upset about one Albus Dumbledore having open access to his mind, even if he was intrigued and his search had led him to books on the opposite, the mind art of Occlumency. Apparently even a foundation could improve recall and allow intrusions to minds to be found allowing the necessary eye contact to be broken. Occlumency was easy enough to get a hang of, happy place, meditation, structured mind; with enough work even a muggle could master it.
All in all this probably led to the rather peeved expression on the Dumbledore's face Harry thought, after all it must be irritating to not know something when you're so used to knowing every thought you wish to know.
That was when Hadrian decided his allegiances would always fall away from this man, psychopaths he and his mother may very well be, but at least they weren't manipulating the fate of an entire country and breaching every privacy law in existence. In a way you could say they even had morals.
In the end the ending questions led to "Did you see the Weasley boys, Harry m'boy, have they contacted you? Letters, fire calls anything? Was it their flying car that caused the damage upstairs?"
The answer was a farce "No headmaster, I have not received letters from Ron, a crazy house elf has been stealing my mail, and I believe I would have possibly noticed a flying car crashing into the side of the house. Maybe they crashed elsewhere on the way here." Of course it was cleverly worded so no lies passed his lips, after all he would notice if a flying car crashed into the side of the house; In fact he had. The flying car had been sold for scrap metal to make up for building damages that were not covered by the insurance.
The Weasley's left soon afterward, they were utterly distraught and Harry had had to elbow Petunia several times to stop the sneer that was forming on her lips at some of the things they were saying. "They just wanted to help Harry, imprisoned in this horrible place, no friends- all alone- not seeing darling Ronneikins all summer." It was a true miracle when Dumbledore suddenly ushered them out looking worried and almost angry, the things going through that man's mind were indecipherable at the best of times.
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Dumbledore was furious, not only was Petunia treating Harry well, she clearly thought of him as her son, that was, that was- good- he decided after much deliberation. The boy clearly wasn't spoiled or stuck up, instead quite down to earth and humble. Clearly there had been no mistake in his carefully laid plans, just a minor hiccup. However the absence of the Weasley boys was worrying, they had been the main instigators of the hate between Gryffindor and Slytherin for years, it would be difficult to maintain that when the older Slytherins left. The new generations were much less malleable than their predecessors, it was probably due to the influence of parents who had had to raise children during a war, and then not in a war.
He really needed this next war, the influence of the Dumbledore's faded too fast, but every time he grew the influence the Skeeter woman dug up some new dirt and he had to put his head back in the sand to prevent its loss.
It would be easy enough to shape some of the younger Gryffindors around Harry though he decided after much deliberation and a whole packet of lemon drops. Dean Thomas was muggleborn, good as a show friend to demonstrate tolerance however he just didn't have the same respect for a great wizard that wizard raised children had. Seamus Finnigan, half blooded, already very close to Thomas; it would be difficult to insert a third friend permanently plus they had no adventure experience. Longbottom would have to do, Harry already liked him and he had shown his bravery last year. His cowardly nature would make him easy to manipulate like his predecessors, Pettigrew and Weasley; The perfect backstabbing sidekick.
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The Evans' had left the shopping to the last minute, it was a regrettable decision but nothing could be done now. They entered the bustling street together and separated. Harry turning to get his school supplies and Petunia to sell the questionable merchandise they had 'harvested' during the summer. They had arranged to meet up at the ice cream shop before turning to the bookstore together and then for side shopping down Vertic Alley.
It had all gone off without a hitch until they entered Flourish and Blotts. Then it all went to hell in a hand basket. Hadrian's primary irritation, notably some imbecile with mirrors on his teeth decided to manhandle Hadrian to a podium and try to suffocate and blind him with some form of manly hug. He then proceeded to give him a stack of novels and the worst news he'd had all year. The twat was following him to Hogwarts.
Secondly after he had escaped the mirrored menace he ran into the Weasley family and the Malfoy family, at the same time. Interestingly enough Draco had been incredibly subdued almost friendly in his behavior and that sent one Molly 'Banshee' Weasley into a rage the likes of which Hadrian could only refer to as volcanic.
"HOW DARE YOU SPEAK TO HARRY, get away from him filthy Malfoys, I bet it was you who killed my poor boy; trainee Death Eater scum get away from my son, leave my family be you prissy blonde wanker. Remove your taint from this innocent boy at once" The stream of insults only escalated when the fathers stepped in, resulting in an all out brawl for approximately half a minute before the oaf of a gatekeeper stepped in to tear them apart.
Throughout it all Harry had stood quietly to one side, in no way preventing escalation, though at all of Mrs Weasley's comments about how he was her son he got progressively angrier and his blank face twisted into a sneer of derision. Draco, also watching from the sidelines spotted this at once, it was what he had been told to look for, and as he watched he noted that the sneer was directed to the Weasleys. Then Draco realised why; the woman was saying he was her son- and that her own youngest sons were missing, it was when he added those facts up with the dark gleam in Hadrian's eyes that he formally acknowledged his father's warning. Hadrian Evans clearly knew what had happened to her sons Draco realised, not only that but it was probably Hadrian Evans that had happened to her sons.
It was not difficult to decide to stay out of his way, after all if the banshee was calling him son they clearly believed that he had nothing to do with their murders. Someone who could kill that cleanly was to be avoided at all costs, he would even warn his associates.
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After all the excitement of the day Harry really wanted to go home but unfortunately that didn't appear to be in the cards.
"A word Mr Evans" The voice of Lucius Malfoy speaking quietly, his words hidden in the shouts filling the room "The shaded parasol outside Reaver's nook in five minutes, I presume you know the way?"
"Indeed I do know of it." Another carful reply, one wrong word with people like Lucius and Dumbledore and you are ripped to shreds.
Five minutes later under the shaded parasol outside one of the most notorious establishments in Knockturn Alley with his aunt by his side; their faces concealed under dark hoods, any possible identification hidden from view. Many people would pay to know that the 'Chosen One' was having a secretive meeting in a disreputable pub.
Lucius was on time, similarly wearing a dark cloak, his son was nowhere in sight- presumably left in the main alley. "Good Afternoon sir and madam; we can talk safely now, I have erected several privacy wards." Were the words that escorted several swift wand movements.
"Sir" Was the reply with twin nods of acknowledgement. "You desired to meet with us"
"Indeed I did, I believe you met my most fanatical house elf over the summer" Lucius stated, without being able to see under the hood Harry wasn't sure but it sounded like Lucius was almost wincing at the thought, his words had that particular twinge of 'I really fucked up there' that people got when embarrassed.
"It was your elf that stole my mail? Perhaps you could then enlighten me as to the meaning of the death threats then." A shiver crept over Lucius at that tone of voice; it was similar to the can-I-please-kill-you that his Lord got when someone said something stupid. "And if not maybe we could arrange for something else, something a little more fun."
"Restrain yourself Hadrian darling, I am quite sure Lord Malfoy will cooperate, after all he has seen the Weasleys recently, and after discovering what the loss of a child does to someone why would he want to experience it for himself?" At this Lucius almost whimpered. "So come now Lucy darling, speak."
"The elf was referring to a diary I have in my possession, I was going to give it to the youngest Weasley today. It contains dark magic and belonged to the Dark Lord, it contains the power and knowledge to open the chamber of secrets and release the basilisk within." Here Lucius paused and seemed to gather his courage. "Instead I have decided it would be best to alert you to this, and give it to you to make use of."
"Intriguing, I believe you have made the correct choice Lucius, after all the Weasleys are a light family and may very well have reported this to Dumbledore."
"And you will not?"
"If we did we would have to state where we received such a gift and would be unable to make use of such a marvel." Petunia interceded.
"Indeed mother, you can do so much with a giant snake these days; of course even the venom and shed skins will be useful, just think about the mayhem possible with a few drops on certain people's cutlery." Harry smirked, the dark gleam in his eyes speaking of untold horrors to come. "Do you have it on you?"
"Here" Lucius slid it across the table quickly "Be warned the diary will try to possess you if it thinks you are not dark or are in any way a potential danger, it feeds off of life energy and emotion and if blood is shed on its pages the process is much exacerbated."
"There will be no problems I can assure you Lord Malfoy, I will be very careful, tell your son to watch his step Mr Malfoy; I would hate for him to run into the basilisk after we have been getting on so well."
"I shall Mr Evans, goodbye" A last flicker of eyes to the pocket where the diary was now located and he strode away, quickly lost in bustle of similarly cloaked people.
"Well mother, this year promises to be fun" Hadrian whispered, watching Lucius' retreating form. "Let's go home, there is much to plan." It would be easy to order the basilisk even without the diary, after all he was already a parselmouth, all he really needed was the location of the entrance.
"Indeed Harry darling, I don't think you will be very bored at all" Petunia smiled at her son, her dark gleam matching his exactly.
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A longer chapter this time especially for Vivianne95, next chapter will be the start of second year.
Enjoy :) SuchaNarcissist