AN: I'M SO HAPPY AND EXCITED!
Tomorrow my sister is getting married! I have so much energy that I was able to write this today and great part of my other fics chapters.
I AM SO HAPPY FOR HER!
I hope you enjoy this XD
Chapter 1
Moonlight filtered through the open window, shining upon the sweaty figure that lay exhausted and in pain in the aftermath of his awakening. The figure was but a boy, no older than eleven years old and still his mind was that of a man that has seen and experience hell; the mind of a war veteran that had hoped to have peace and happiness in the afterlife only to have his wish and desire destroyed by the revelation of betrayal and secrets kept in darkness and sealed in blood.
The man/boy stood on shaky legs, body trembling in the cold breeze of the night and phantom pain, sweat and tears making him glow as he shakily stumbled to the full-body mirror he knew was near. Eyes darkened by a nightmare past unknown to all but him, he gazed at his body; unmarred and innocent.
Unmarred?
Innocent?
He chuckled in bitterness and hate. When had he ever been innocent? He was-had been but a weapon, forged and sharpened for war. To kill and later be discarded, thrown away by those that wielded him.
But I had the last laugh, didn't I?
His mind was no stranger to pain but his body was but a virgin; the pain that course through nerve endings, muscle, and bones was but a foreign concept to his new body that had so far only experienced bruises and scrapes normal in childhood. Not the sensation of liquid fire instead of blood running through veins and arteries, bones snapped and broken only to be made anew more resilient and strong, muscles ripped and tore apart to be remade and formed anew with power and strength, nerves snapped and broken to be stitched back more powerful and strong; all this was but a foreign concept to his body.
But no more. The pain was as horrendous and excruciating as a hundred cruciatus but all worth it for the opportunity to enact his revenge upon all his betrayers. An opportunity he will waste not, for without it he was not to be able to rest in his afterlife.
With iron will he stopped his trembling, straightened to full height, and looked at himself in the mirror; resolution burning brightly in his eyes.
Marcus stared impassively at his son, blue night clashing with emerald, each one not willing to give in…
He laughed, a contradicting light and heavy sound that made Hadrian smile in amusement. He had won.
"I hope you know that your mother will not be so easy to convince, son," with that he walked away, pride and delight in his eyes.
Hadrian himself shook his head, already he could picture his dear mother's reaction and it will not be good. He walked to his mother's favorite place to be, the rose garden built for her by his father as a wedding gift. He made no sound as he stepped on the stone path that lead towards where his mother built an altar for Mother Magic, Hecate, among the rose bushes. He found her trimming the roses surrounding the altar, humming the same song she had sung to him during his early childhood.
His face softened, a tender and loving smile as he let her be. Each day he thanked Mother Magic for gifting him a mother as loving and caring as Lilith was to him and not to forget his father, who taught and cared for him. It wasn't long before she turned to where he was, a warm and loving smile brightening her pale face and softening her sharp features.
"Hadrian, sweetie," she gracefully walked towards him and embraced him, placing a soft kiss upon his cheek.
"Mother," he returned her embrace, once again marveling at her tall height; his head barely reached her chest. He took in her scent, the comforting smell of home that was all her; vanilla and lavender. They parted but she kept a hold on his arm, her weak constitution made her vulnerable to bouts of dizziness and fainting spells. Hadrian was a little surprise uncle Jean-Claude, his mother's younger brother, wasn't with her since he had appointed himself as his mother's personal bodyguard and caretaker.
"Now, what is it that you need?" At his expression of innocent affront she gave a twinkling laugh," I know that face and it does not bode well. Now tell me."
He sighed and prepared himself for her reaction," I have decided not to attend Hogwarts but Durmstrang." He kept his face forward and so he missed his mother's amused and knowing look. Lilith had known that as much as she wished for her son to attend her alma mater, Hogwarts, he would follow in on the Corvinus tradition of attending Durmstrang; just like his father and grandfather had done before him.
"I'm glad," she simply said, smiling as she saw her son startle in surprise before composing himself.
"I thought you wanted me to go to Hogwarts, like you did," he said in a slightly confused tone. But still, Hadrian was glad his mother hadn't reacted sadly or in disappointment like he had feared.
"And I do, but I know that it is not the school for you. In Durmstrang you will make better allies and gain more knowledge without the prejudice that runs rampant in Hogwarts. So yes, I might be a little sad you will not attend the same school I did but I know it is for the best," she gave him a reassuring smile before continuing," Now come, we still have to go visit your grandfather and I have to take a bath."
Hadrian chuckled and tightened the hold he had on her arm in thanks, thinking she looked as beautiful as ever when the afternoon sunlight rays shined upon her. They walked away from the altar, unaware of the violet pair of eyes that watched them with a fond expression,
Good luck my childe.
Hadrian greeted his grandfather with a hug and kiss, doing the same for his grandmother whom didn't waste the opportunity to pinch his cheeks until they ached and were a bright red. He sighed in relief when he was let go and hurried to greet the rest of the family. It took fifteen minutes to get through all the greetings since they were a large family, uncles, aunts, and cousins.
"Harry!" he turned at the familiar voice and nickname, smiling as he hugged Demetri in welcome.
"Mitri, I thought you weren't coming. How was Greece?" He smirked already knowing the answer. After all, he had been visiting his grandparents on his mother's side.
Demetri half-scowled," Boring and that is all I'm going to say."
They both laughed at his answered when they were interrupted by the smiling form of their Uncle William, the youngest brother to their fathers. "Demetri, Hadrian, I see you still are as attached to the hip as ever. Careful, someone might take it the wrong way," he said with a lecherous and playful sneer only to howl in pain when Aunt Elizabeth hexed him.
"Dearest husband, I see you still haven't learn your lesson have you?" she said in a dry and blank voice, giving her nephews a small smile before taking her unruly husband away from innocent children. Both eleven year olds gave each other awkward looks; both had perfectly understood what their uncle had implied and they didn't know how to react. They stayed silent until Hadrian remembered he was mentally the more mature one and firmly took his cousin and best friend's hand, giving Demetri the look when the other tried to detach himself and gripped the hand even tighter. Finally Demetri relaxed, understanding what Hadrian was saying: I don't care and ignore him.
They gripped each other's hand one last time and let go. Both knew that yes, they were really close and loved each other but it was brotherly love, not sexually or romantically like their perverted uncle had implied.
"Hey, 'Adrian, have you seen Rosy?" a small and cute voice asked him from behind, a tugging on his slacks as the child tried to get his attention. Demetri rolled his eyes and stood to the side as Hadrian squatted until he was eye-level with the youngest of his cousins, four year old Tristan and Demetri's baby brother. Rosy or Roselyn was another of their cousins, the second youngest at the age of six and best friend to Tristan.
"Hey Trys, what no hug first?" Hadrian mocked pouted and the small child immediately threw himself into the arms of his idol and favorite cousin. Demetri once again rolled his eyes but a small smile tugged at his lips, it will never stop surprising him how good Harry was with children; it was like magic. He shook his head at the comparison his mind conjured and decided to continue watching the interaction.
Hadrian carried the four year old that in truth looked more like a three year old, the sandy brown hair and honey colored eyes reminding him of another child, his godson Teddy from his original world. He shook the memories away and placed Tristan more comfortably on his hip, expertly ignoring some of the amused gazes his family gave him.
"Hadrian, have you seen Isaac?" the soft and sweet voice of his older cousin Izabelle, the beauty of the family, asked him as she gracefully walked towards them, the conservative grey dress she wore did not diminish her beauty and allure but that was a given since she was a half-vela. "No, but maybe he is with Roselyn so why don't we search together? Maybe both of them decided to go exploring," Hadrian proposed as he tickled Tristan, his laughter making all of them smile softly.
They all went in search for their two cousins, making a game of it and promising a reward for whoever found Rosy and Isaac first. Izabelle went alone, Demetri in another direction but not before showing how silly he found the whole thing, while Hadrian paired up with Trys. Their grandparent's manor was beyond old, being in the family since the first Corvinus and could only be descry as dark, haunting, and still very beautiful. Tristan was still a child and was easily frightened so Hadrian hummed a cheery lullaby to him, occasionally calling out for Roselyn and Isaac. Twenty minutes later Hadrian was a little sore from carrying his baby cousin, whom had fallen asleep midway through, and decided to go back. When he arrived where they had decided to meet up he was surprised to find everyone else already there, even the innocently smiling Roselyn and the scowling Isaac; the fourteen year old clearly didn't like being scolded like a small child by his older sister.
"Hadrian, good you're back. It's about dinner time," Izabelle stopped mid-scolding, giving him a nod before taking her brother's ear in a punishing grip and taking him like that all the way to the dining room where everyone gave the young woman a wide girth and smirking in amusement at the young boy.
He raised a questioning brow at Demetri, the other rolling his eyes (his signature move) and simply said," You don't want to know."
Hadrian was about to shrug when he remembered he was still carrying his cousin and so he went to his aunt Catherine, Tristan and Demetri's mother. She raised an eyebrow but took the sleeping child from him, cradling her son carefully as to not wake him; she knew he was exhausted after the change in time zones between Greece and here. She thanked him and smirked when he groaned when she drew her wand and charmed her son weightless.
Why didn't I think of that!
Dinner was a happy and fun affair, it was one of the only times the whole Corvinus Clan gathered other than in holidays for this day, August 21ST was the day the Ancient and Royal House of Corvinus name was founded by their ancestor Alexander Corvinus. It was just a happy coincidence that grandfather was also named Alexander Corvinus and had the same date as his birthday. It was a blur of laughter and games, Hadrian had never been as happy as he was now, surrounded by the warmth and love of family.
That night in his room, the room he was given by his grandfather since the whole family was staying over, he couldn't fall asleep. Although the merging of his two selves/consciousness -that of the man that was nothing but a tool to be used and discarded and that of the child that had grown knowing only of love, warmth, care, and happiness- had been complete and successful, Hadrian still couldn't…how could he say it…truly enjoy the happiness and love that was now a huge part of his life. How could he when his most of his memories were those of a childhood without love, the care and warmth only a mother could give her child, of the advice and teachings of a father growing up, not even the care of family; how could he truly enjoy and bask in the love he now had. He could not; but oh how much he wanted to.
"Harry," the soft and concern voice of his cousin and whom he considered a true brother broke through his dark and depressing thoughts. He tried to smile but it came off more as a grimace, that was enough for Demetri to closed the door and climb in with him, taking his shaking body in a tender and comforting embrace; simply holding him as he finally broke down knowing that he was safe.
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AN: Doesn't the beginning and ending contradict how I'm feeling right now? Weird, huh? XD
Please thanks to all that have favorite, reviewed, and followed this story; you don't know how happy it makes me that others enjoy my stories. THANK YOU XD