AN: Yeah…this chapter gave me lot of trouble for some unknown reason and then I just said 'Fuck It' and wrote whatever came to mind and here it is. Hope it makes sense…
Disclaimer: I absolutely do not own any recognizable characters from the Harry Potter franchise, only my OC's. 8D
Harry walked out of the hall, hiding among the shadows that were now so familiar and second home to him. He walked with silent footsteps that echoed in the darkness of the deserted corridors, his erratic breathing adding to the haunting feeling that now blanketed the whole of Hogwarts Castle. He walked and walked, putting as much distance as he possibly could from the heartbreaking reality that was now his life.
He had known that some would perish in the war but never did he ever imagine that he would loose everyone and everything that mattered to him. Friends, family, lovers; everyone gone and leaving him alone to confront the loneliness that suffocated him in its cold embrace, only the blurred memories of that long forgotten warmth of family, love, and companionship left to haunt him.
Was it worth it?
Everyday he asks himself and each day varies between a detached, cold yes and a broken, hollow no.
Was peace and freedom worth the loss of everything that he loved? Was being left alone to confront a new world that was being cleansed from all that was darkness and evil, a world that no longer needed a monster, a savage animal to be its hero; worth it? Was having to live with the heart wrenching guilt that plagued his every waking moment worth it?
Some days were worse. Everywhere he looked and went haunted by hallucinations of those now gone, sometimes in mockery of what they used to be in happier days and at other times nightmarish representations of their soulless eyes and destroyed bodies. Those days he holed himself in his room, letting the darkness of his room hide the horrors that followed him everywhere and willing his mind to black out and protect what was left of his sanity.
Everybody hailed him a hero, a savior, their Chosen One. For them he plastered a smile, a mask to hide from them how broken, hollow their savior was; how he held to reality and sanity by only a thin, weathered thread that weaken with each passing day. For them he hid all the pain, the agony, the hate, the sorrow, and most of all, the emptiness that threatened to swallow him whole. He laughed, he smiled, and he cared, gave himself to them for they were all he had left; as pitiful and pathetic as it was. For them he gave all and he continued to do so…
Chapter Three
Hadrian stared at the grey ceiling in silent contemplation, the still asleep figure of his cousin snuggling against him with an arm wrapped tight around his torso. He smirked slightly in half disgust and half amusement as he felt a small patch of drool growing on his shirt. But it slowly vanished as he remembered the memories that plagued his sleep, opening wounds long thought to have been healed or forgotten. Since the 'awakening´ they haunted his sleep, his flimsy mental shields not strong enough to keep them in place and out of the way.
Were he not mentally exhausted and his magical control shot to hell, Hadrian would have already ventured inside his mindscape and repair the damage done to his psyche. But it would be dangerous not to mention painful to attempt doing so when he had no real control of his erratically growing magical core and his mental strength at an all time low having suffered greatly in the aftermath of the complete merging; his magic exhausting itself when it had repaired the major damage done in the process of the merge, saving him from having his mind broken and insane by the end.
That had been the danger of what had happened.
Of course his older consciousness had been present from the start but it had been shielded from his younger consciousness by a barrier in their mind. A barrier which had been intended to break down little by little, letting only the barest of his original memories and magical power to bleed through until finally, on his seventeenth birthday and coming of age he would receive the complete memories and magical power from his previous life. It was most unfortunate that his younger self had by complete accident come upon the barrier and carelessly destroyed it thus making it so that both conscious were instinctively fighting to become the superior and the one in control. It should have torn his mind, left his mind in shreds and insane, incapable of coherent thoughts and left him in an endless coma; cursed to forever be trapped in his own body.
But it was not to be.
His magic rose in response, instinctively knowing that it had to intervene, otherwise its host would be simply gone. Hadrian also hadn't missed the familiar powerful presence either and he knew that his 'successful' merging had been in consequence of Her help.
He sighed.
Only a week or two more and Hadrian would have at least gained some semblance of control over his magic and be able to venture inside his mind without painful consequences; after all, the mind was a fragile thing and he more than anyone knows this.
"Did you sleep well?" Demetri asked in a whisper as they walked to the dining room; some of his worry from the previous night seeping through.
Hadrian smiled, touched at the care and worry Demetri showed to him," I did…Thank you."
They both knew what he was thanking him for; thanks for being there for me, thanks for caring, thanks for understanding…thanks for loving me…
They descended into a comfortable silence until they reached the doors that would surely lead to chaos on the other side; both knowing just how their family could be and Noble and Ancient House or not they all were…well…Corvinus, enough said.
"Duck!" A voice immediately shouted upon their entrance and they did so instantly, a glob of something passing right where their faces used to be.
Both gave sighs of relief at having dodged just in time although when they heard angry muttering coming behind them they knew that person hadn't been as lucky.
"Oh Merlin, Isaac, We're so sorry! We were aiming for Iza!" Twin voices said in perfect synchronization, not paying any mind to the icy glare said cousin gave both of them.
"Now, now, girls," William admonished his daughters from further down the table before smirking," wait until you eat breakfast before terrorizing your cousins—Ouch woman!"
Elizabeth gave her juvenile husband a glare before turning said glare to her twin daughters," Maya, Iris, I better not hear you've been pranking your cousins; am I clear?"
Maya and Iris gave each other secret smiles before turning to their suspicious mother and giving her innocent smiles," Yes, mom."
"How much do you want to bet that by the end of the day everyone will be pranked at least once?" Isaac asked as he sat on his seat, his previous pristine white shirt stained with something brown and green.
"Please, that's a fool's bet. Everyone knows that everyone here —with the exception of Aunt Lils of course— will be mercilessly pranked and embarrassed by those two," Demetri answered for all of them; everyone except Hadrian shivering in remembrance of what happened the last time a 'certain someone' had dared played a prank on Aunt Lilith. Let's just say that it was a scene that would forever haunt their memories.
Their conversation dwindled down right after that, breakfast taking more precedence as the delicious aroma of freshly baked goods, tea, and coffee appeared as the elves finally brought in breakfast. Only the soft murmurs of "pass me…" or "can you please…" breaking the comfortable silence as they ate. Thirty minutes later and mostly everyone was finished; simply nursing a cup of extra coffee and tea as they once again descended into conversation.
"Must you practically bathe your waffles in syrup?" Demetri had a slight grimace on his face, cursing Hadrian's sweet tooth when he saw the already delicious waffles go all soggy with the exaggerated amount of syrup; Hadrian being the only one left still eating with no sign of stopping soon.
Hadrian simply gave him a slight smirk before placing a huge chunk of said waffles on his mouth and moaning exaggeratedly at the overly sweet taste. Heaven…
Demetri rolled his eyes but smiled in fondness, glad that Hadrian was still himself despite his emotional breakdown the previous night. His smile faded into a frown in remembrance and although he wasn't one to show it he was worried about his cousin. Hadrian hadn't been exactly the same since the last time Demetri had seen him and it made him apprehensive. He knew that if he asked he would be rebuffed and told to leave it alone but Demetri couldn't and wouldn't; Hadrian was like a brother to him and Demetri felt obliged to be there for the genius no matter what. He sighed softly before patiently waiting for said cousin to finish filling his bottomless stomach so they could go over to the library.
"I'm worried," Lilith whispered to her brother as the rest were busy discussing the new Ministry laws that were being passed. She smiled gently to Marcus when the other turned to ask her if she felt sick for the tenth time in the last hour, hiding her increasing annoyance at his overbearing overprotectiveness.
"Hadrian, right?" Jean-Claude said in his usual apathetic voice, expression emotionless as he served his sister another cup of tea.
"So you also noticed …" she trailed off as she fixed her gaze upon her son, the sharpness of her gaze softening minutely before returning her gaze to her little brother, the other taking a quick look at her son then returning her worried glance with his own.
They both could feel it, the aura of Death that practically oozed off her son in waves. But only she and her brother could feel and see it, only they, whom had delved in the darkest of all arts: Necromancy.
"He's awaken it and at a young age too," Jean-Claude whispered in a reverent tone, green eyes flashing black for a second before turning green once again. "But also dangerous," he continued on once again with his mask in place.
"He will need to be trained soon otherwise he will be lost to It," she hid her grimace behind her tea cup, remembering her own training with her father. Not only was it extremely exhausting, it was also agonizingly painful. After all, it was their soul they were training.
"That is why I'm here; you are too weak and father is old, too old to venture safely into It," Jean-Claude whispered as he remembered his dying father, a once proud and dignified man now reduced to end his days forever bed ridden and unable to move without pain turning him into a shriveling man begging for mercy. It was the price they had to pay and although worth it, it was still painful and saddening to watch. He looked at her, his beautiful and powerful sister, a queen in her own right once upon a time and now she too, paid the price. He is lucky, he knows; having being spared because of his usefulness to It.
A gift and curse. But one they had embraced wholeheartedly.
They spoke of other inconsequential things; already they had spoken more than they were supposed to with all the people surrounding them -outsiders- and they couldn't risk for their conversation to be heard. It was foolish and stupid of them to have even brought up the conversation when they were surrounded by outsiders, people that if learned exactly what they were both talking about would be scared, frightened, fearing for their very lives. But they were all blind and that is more than favorable for them.
Lilith was just about to ask Elizabeth about the new French trends when she felt It.
Panic seized her.
Her heart started beating erratically in response to her freezing and all consuming panic. Her chest heaved in desperation for oxygen that simply refused to fill her lungs and what little oxygen still left in her was used to let out a last desperate and heartbroken scream because Nononono it wasn't time yet!
Thump…
Thump…
Thump…
The steady heartbeat underneath his ear was comforting and reassuring, chasing away the horrifying fear that had his heart in a chokehold. He breathed more easily now, knowing that she was still here, that she wasn't leaving him.
His sweet and perfect mother sprawled on the white-snow carpet, blood, red hair a halo around her deathly pale skin, eyes wide open and lifeless. For a moment he had thought he was still asleep, trapped inside one of the many nightmares that haunted him, but it was too real, too vivid to be a nightmare.
Oh no, no…It was something far worse, far more terrifying…it was all real and he could only stay rooted in place as the rest of the room descended into chaos.
She's so beautiful…
Only when he felt scorching hot hands taking hold of his shaking body -Are these tears? Am I crying? What is happening? - He turned to the person holding him, unable to recognize the familiar face through his blurred vision. He brought a trembling hand to his eyes, somehow fascinated by the water dripping from them and he brought his trembling hand to his lips, tasting the salty taste of his tears.
Slap!
It was like breathing again after being submerged underwater.
Reality set in. His panicked and fearful family members scrambling to do something, anything to help, shouts and screams thrown at each other in panic, Trystan and Rosalyn still seated in their places as they cried in confused fear, the adults completely forgetting about them in the ensuing havoc.
He stood, completely ignoring Demetri and he walked towards his little cousins, absentmindedly wiping away his tears and pasting a reassuring smile that felt wrong on his lips. He didn't exactly know what told them, mind still hazy; he just grabbed their small hands and signaling to Demetri to follow he led them away from the dining room. The walk to his room was quiet, the children still crying but calming down now that they weren't directly subjected to the fear and panic that permeated the room. He left them under the Demetri's care, ignoring the worried and apprehensive gaze that followed him as he left them and went back to the dining room.
He hesitated before the entrance, frozen in fear and heartbreak as he fought with himself.
Did he dare enter knowing that what awaited him could completely break him, again, when only now he was starting to put himself together? Did he dare punish himself by seeing the lifeless, cold, corpse of his mother, sweet and beautiful even in death?
He steeled himself for what he was about to see, his heart beating erratically in his chest as he opened the doors. And he was right; everyone stood motionless to the side while his father held his mother tightly to him, whispering sweet nothings to her already cooling corpse…
Luck seems to favor you, Mortal…
The voice echoed in the darkness that she found herself trapped in.
Yesss…Luck and Him…
Another voice said after the first, sounding more feminine but not necessarily that of a female.
BEGONE
She gasped, her lungs flaring in pain as they were once again filled with much needed oxygen, her heart pumping erratically as it got used to pumping blood once again.
And she smiled…
She had escaped It...Death…