A Precious Memory

by TheDarkLover22

A small trip to memory lane...50 Years ago! Sequel to my previous story, 'The Brightest Star Of The Darkest Night'.

4. A Murder Kitty

Central London 16th April, 1943

Tom sighed seeing Hadrianus's mischievous grin as they sneaked into the Church. They had the potion ingredients, so they should go back. Then why did he let the other teenager talk him into this?

Tom was tense as he walked, but determined not to show it to his future child. He proved himself to be a true Slytherin and had sneaked much information from him already, but not anymore. He kept up with the breathing exercise as they crept around the church.

"What are we doing here?"

"Something you have dreamed of for a long but never had the chance to do so."

Tom widened his eyes in delight, before looking back at his future son, "You mean, burn down the church?"

"Sure, we can arrange that too." Hadrianus shrugged nonchalantly.

Tom narrowed his eyes, "What were you planning?"

Hadrianus flashed him an impish grin, eyeing one corner of the Church. Tom followed his eyes to see he was staring at the Confessional Stalls. There seems to be a small queue in front of it.

"Hadrianus, what are you planning?"

Instead of answering, Hadrianus gave him the wand. "Go, do whoever you want, while I go and cause some mayhem."

"Fine," Tom rolled his eyes, "do as you desire." Not that he cares. What could he do?

Tom took his sweet time to locate all his tormentors, lure them into his traps and cursed them quite thoroughly, making sure to never leave any trails that could be traced back to him. Unfortunately, Hadrianus being separated from him, Tom can't burn the Church down at the moment. He can't risk him being harmed, but he would make sure the next raids would focus solely here.

As soon as he was finally done, Tom returned to look for Hadrianus but didn't find him anywhere. A quick locator charm revealed him to be in a Confessional stall. What was he doing here? Confessing being a wizard and thus Devilspawn?

Frowning, Tom opened the stall gate, only to widen his eyes as he saw Father Davis sitting there. Tom stumbled back in shock, not understanding how he came here and why he was not running for the cops. He was supposed to be indisposed permanently by now!

Before Tom could do anything further than blink in shock, Father Davis grabbed Tom's hand and pulled him inside the stall, then locked the gate after them. He then wildly shook his hand as if gesturing to Tom to remain silent, with a familiar mischievous glint in his eyes, the same one he had seen in Hadrianus's eyes, several times.

Tom watched, frozen in shock as Father Davis returned to hear whatever confession the other man was doing, "Don't worry about Hell, my dear. You are not heading there for being gay or having sex with your secretary in the heat of the moment. In fact, I'd tell you to embrace yourself, embrace all your desires. Go home, divorce your wife, let her have the kids, and then have a congratulatory date with champagne with your secretary. Then, when you're old and ready to die, you may come and confess your sins directly to God, so you can head upstairs with a bang! Is this not how this system works?"

Tom's jaw dropped as he listened, more and more sure that this is not Father Davis at all, this is one hundred per cent Hadrianus. The familiar mischief sparkles in his eyes gave him another confirmation.

"Hadrianus!" Tom hissed, whispering, "What are you doing?!"

"What?" Hadrianus whispered back, "You are the one who gave me blanket permission to cause mayhem as I wish!" He retorted, then turned back to the confessing man.

"Are you...are you sure, Father? Last time you said..."

"Ah tut tut, forget about everything I said in the past. Go and enjoy your life, you only live once, after all!"

"Oh, I see, thank you, Father! Thank you very much!"

"Carpe diem, my dear."

Tom's jaw dropped as he stared at him, too stunned to stop the mayhem his future son was causing. Taking the advantage of his shocked silence, Hadrianus continued, quite gleefully.

Tom really did tell Hadrianus to do whatever he wished, didn't he? He really, really needs to watch out for whatever he allows him to do in future as well, Merlin forbade him repeating the same mistake and Hadrianus takes it as another blanket permission to burn down the rest of the World.

But Hadrianus's wand is with him, how did the boy apply such precise glamour to look like David? Is he that adept at Wandless magic?

Saving the information to investigate for later, Tom sat back. It's for future thinking. But for now, Tom only started to enjoy the chaos the little imp was causing, fighting with everything he can to stop himself from bursting out laughing as Hadrianus used his God-given silver tongue to 'permit' everyone to go and embrace their sin to their heart's content, as they all will be forgiven when they confess to their God instead of the priest.

This was the best and most hilarious day of his life!

Hadrianus continued to encourage people to have multiple affairs or cheat on spouses ("Because if you were really loyal to your spouse, you wouldn't have lustful thoughts about others now, do you? Why not go out with a bang, metaphorically and literally?"); embrace being homosexual, ("Grab your partner and elope, my dear, find some countryside with no nosy neighbours and enjoy the rest of your life with them."); Sympathise with people stealing from their brother or hurting them for stealing from or annoying the confessor ("Don't you know, siblings are the only foe you can't leave without? Those little buggers are like leeches that is not parasitic, but symbiotic to their host.")

The last ones had Tom wonder if Hadrianus was his only child, or if he has siblings as well. After giving it some thought, Tom decided Hadrianus must have at least one sibling, because why else would his eyes become distant and fond when he said that, as if he was missing his siblings? Were they his elder, or younger?

They must be younger, Tom decided, when his eyes fell on the Heirship ring on Hadrianus's hand. Hadrianus had to be the eldest of all his children to be his heir.

'Oh please, one copy of my perfection is enough!' Hadrianus had said in regard to twins. Tom froze as he remembered it.

Does that mean Hadrianus may or may not have a twin brother? That would at least explain so much! Because Tom is sure to have no use for spares, so he wouldn't bother spawning another.

But still, he doesn't have enough proof of it to be true.

Dear Merlin, he did sire and raise a Hellspawn in future. And if Hadrianus is his eldest, Tom doesn't want to know how much of a troublemaker Hadrianus's younger siblings must be, especially since their elder brother like him will have their back in case they are in trouble.

The only biggest mystery is how Hogwarts had not fallen apart with all the imps being there, out of their father's control and causing mayhem everywhere?!

Tom sincerely hoped his future self had some hand in stopping them from doing so. He loves Hogwarts, after all!

"So you're like such, acting like a paragon of pureblood heirship when in the company of your parents and others, but when alone, up to all sorts of mischief?"

Hadrianus sniffed, as they sneaked out of the Confessional Stall to drop their glamorous in some corner devoid of people, "I don't need to hide my mischievous self in front of my parents, unless I am up to something that may threaten my health."

Tom snorted, but was glad that their relationship was not like that where Hadrianus had to hide his true self from him. He knows it was true, judging by how open he had been with Tom.

All their feelings evaporated when they heard the loud blaring.

Hadrianus jumped as well, looking around with huge round eyes, "What in the name of Loki's pointy horns was that?!" He cried, slapping his hands over his ears and doubling over, looking about to be sick at the loudness.

"It's the bloody sirens! The air raid is coming! Fuck!" Tom swore, feeling completely stressed out as he grabbed Hadrianus's arms and yanked him impatiently, earning a grunt from the other teen.

"Now? It couldn't wait a few minutes longer?" Hadrianus cried, looking around wildly to see the people running, "Where are they going?"

"There is an underground train station not too far away, we should proceed there as well."

"Are you kidding?" Hadrianus tugged his arms back, forcing Tom to stop as well, "What if some of the bombs drop on the station? Is it even bombproof?"

Tom shrugged, and noticed a horrified clarity enter Hadrianus's eyes.

"Absolutely not." Hadrianus snapped, sounding as stressed as Tom felt, "I'm calling the Knight Bus." Hadrianus rushed out of the church. After reaching the street, he was about to thrust his wand out when Tom arrived chasing after him and stopped him.

"Are you sure the bombs wouldn't explode the bus and kill us? Is the bus bombproof?"

"Fine. Then it leaves us the only alternative."

"What alternative?"

Hadrianus cast bubblehead and notice-me-not charms on both of them, then raised his hands as if inviting him for a hug.

"What are you doing?" Tom looked at him, incredulous.

"Come on, we don't have much time."

"Yeah, no. I'm not in the mood to accomplish anything Gryffindoric and foolish." He eyed his hand as if they would bite him. Knowing Hadrianus, Merlin knows what he has planned.

"I'll just fly us to Leaky Cauldron. Air must be the only place safe right now. So unless you could fly too, hop on."

Tom was surprised. Why had Tom not thought of this before? Oh right, because of the Trace.

"I...can fly. But I haven't flown this distance before." It's at least thirty minutes of walking distance to Diagon Alley.

"Then fly however long you can, I'd carry you the rest."

"How do you fly for so long?"

"I spread my wings and flap them."

Tom rolled his eyes at the deadpanned retort, but decided it was a useful trick. To use his magic as wings is an intriguing idea to cover a huge distance, instead of focusing on levitating himself.

"Alright. Allow me to test it."

Tom steered his magic to unleash, visualising himself having an invisible pair of wings on his back, similar to those majestic golden eagles he had seen when the orphanage took them to visit the local zoos. He could feel his magic shift, obeying his command. He then further envisioned flapping his magical wings, the exact way he had seen the eagles flapping whenever they took off, and felt his feet leaving the ground much easier than his previous attempts at levitating himself.

Now he can fly like a bird of prey!

Grinning at the success, Tom opened his eyes to find Hadrianus staring up at him with his mouth parted slightly in awe, still on the ground.

"What is it?"

"It's just awesome how you can execute complex and near-impossible feats of magic so effortlessly."

Tom smirked smugly, feeling oddly accomplished at the compliment. "Spread your own wings and let's depart from this hell hole."

"Aye aye, Tiny Lord!"

Tom watched as Hadrianus rolled his shoulder and suddenly, a pair of enormous, shimmering, snow-white wings rolled out from seemingly nowhere. Tom was hit with a ripple of gaiety magic that he felt last night, though it was much lesser than before. Tom blinked in amazement and noticed Hadrianus shoot up to the sky. The wind rolled around him as he flapped his huge wings. The golden sunlight gleamed on his wings, appearing as if they were radiating their own glow.

Tom felt his brain short-circuited. Hadrianus has wings. He has magnificent, blinding white and gleaming wings with deadly sharp feathers! When he said he spread his wings and flapped them to fly, he actually meant it!

What, in the name of everything unholy, was that? How does he have a wing? Some sort of Magical Enhancement Ritual, or what?

Tom flinched as the second round of sirens started shrieking loudly, signalling aircrafts are almost here.

Uh, never mind. He could always ask him later, after they survive this.

Tom flapped his own invisible magical wings harder and set off after his enigmatic future child who was already looking like some huge eagle flying low in the sky from this distance.

After flying higher and higher for several minutes, Tom briefly wondered about the height he travelled and looked down at the ground. What he saw below had him widen his eyes. While Tom had flown at the level of Astronomy Tower before, it was too high up, probably even for a bird of prey. They must be at least one thousand metres high in the air. While Tom is not Acrophobic, this height could make even sane people sick.

The buildings that once seemed to tower over Tom now appear small enough that Tom can pick them up with his fingers. The city that once seemed so large is now only a diagram, modelling the layout of how a city should be designed and built. Tiny houses are arranged neatly along winding roads, and neighbourhoods are separated by large patches of grass.

"Hadrianus, slow down! Let's not go any higher anymore." Tom shouted as Hadrianus kept flying higher and higher, after casting a Sonorus on himself.

At that, Hadrianus stopped mid-fly and turned, looking down at him while hovering. Noticing Tom had stopped flying up, he changed the direction of his flight and flew downwards. Tom was immensely envious of his smooth and graceful coordination in the sky, as it seems Hadrianus was natural at flying. He flies as if he was born with his magnificent set of wings.

Or maybe he was? Tom is not sure, and he was immensely envious of his future self for that.

Before long, Hadrianus was at his level in the air, grabbing his arms and pulling Tom up with him, his enormous wings flapping hard behind him. "Come on, we have to surpass the clouds, at least. I can hear the jets coming. We don't have much time unless you enjoy being pulled in the aircurrent and getting butchered by its wings."

Tom widened his eyes at the realisation and decided to let Hadrianus pull the both of them upwards, his wings beating powerfully, expertly manoeuvring them to reach higher points. Tom felt dizzy at the breakneck speed Hadrianus was flying, the desperation to reach the safety of clouds and wide wingspan giving him an advantage to flying remarkably fast.

So Tom closed his eyes briefly, thankful for the bubblehead charms on him as the air must be much thinner up here. Tom focused on his breathing exercise, trying to ignore the embarrassment as Hadrianus was pulling him up by holding both his arms tightly as if Tom was a kid, when it was Hadrianus who was supposed to be the kid!

Tom was choosing to trust Hadrianus on this as the teen seemed to know what he was doing. Hadrianus is clearly familiar with flying high above the clouds, thanks to his wings. Tom didn't open his eyes even when he felt as if they were flying past some freezing fog that had drenched their clothes.

When he felt Hadrianus stop, he opened his eyes to notice they were hovering above the countless formation of clouds. Tom took a sharp inhalation at the view unfolding in front of him.

The clouds are like never-ending mounds of snow across deserted plains, devoid of footprints. They are heaps of fluffy cotton candy that they sell at the street vendors or food stalls in a park, so round and perfect that Tom almost changed his mind, deciding that they are instead perfectly fluffed-up pillows, like those in the Slytherin suite.

The stunning sunset caused the entire sky to be dunked in golden hues and dusted with pinks and purples.

"You may let go of me now," Tom instructed, spreading his own magic. The pair of hands on his arms tightened for a second, before slowly letting go after Tom found his balance to hover beside Hadrianus above the cloud. Tom dared not to look below them. He would probably be sick if he did. So instead, he stared ahead, at the beautiful sunset.

'You're such a nerd!' Tom had heard this thinly veiled insult several times, before he claimed the title of Slytherin Prince. Tom had taken it as a compliment before, but now he couldn't help but wonder about the joys of adventure that he was missing all this time, the experiences that couldn't be found even in the pages of books. Maybe, just maybe all those adventures that people seek are really not always bad.

Though he could do without all those life-threatening experiences. Like flying so close to the air raid jets. The incoming sound of aircraft seemed more ominous from this close.

Tom and Hadrianus exchanged a look of wariness and anticipation, before Hadrianus returned his untraceable wand to Tom, and pulled out another wand. Tom raised an eyebrow at the presence of the second wand, but he didn't have time to question Hadrianus. They were too busy casting several protective charms on themselves.

"We should hide in the clouds."

Deciding it was good advice, Tom lowered himself to camouflage amongst the white soft clouds, the moistness of the fluffy mist drenching their clothes and skin once again. Hadrianus was hovering nearby, flapping his wings, his hands spread towards Tom as if he wanted to hold his hand.

"What was that?" Tom shouted over the loud blaring sound when he held his hand. Tom instantly recognised the other teen had cast a sticking charm on his hand as soon as he touched Tom. Hadrianus had basically stuck them to each other.

"Just extra protection, to make sure we don't lose each other's hold."

Tom rolled his eyes, but he was getting tired of expelling his unformed magic and using it to fly. "We should head towards Diagon."

"Yeah, let's go. That was North, right?" Hadrianus squinted, but their vision was blurred because of the thick cloud.

"I guess ss..Shit!"

The aircraft barreled past, at least seventy meters below them at a very fast pace. Their magic protected them mostly, though they were still dragged across several meters, rolling in the cloud ungracefully. It was thanks to the sticking charm on them that helped both teens keep a strong hold on each other, and Hadrianus's powerful wings that fanned out behind them, protecting ech other and helping them regain their balance.

How did Hadrianus know that they might need magical aid to keep holding each other? What exactly did his future child do to have such hindsight wisdom? If he has a pair of wings, then even the sky must not be safe from his shenanigans!

Dear Merlin, please give his future self some patience and support, as he clearly needs it to raise this feathery menace!

After they steadied themselves, a strange sound could be heard, making both hidden teens look down at the passing aircrafts, peeking from the clouds. They noted some parts behind them started to open.

They're preparing to dislodge the bombs!

Tom's head snapped towards Hadrianus when he felt a powerful burst of magic exploding from him. Within seconds, three of the aircrafts violently exploded in a storm of conflagration.

"What are you doing?" Tom whizzed in shock. Did Hadrianus just cast a couple of Confringo at those aircrafts?

"Saving some innocent lives." Hadrianus's voice was uncontrite.

"They could spot us."

"They're not that advanced yet. They do not anticipate a counterattack from the sky. But I'm not in the mood to let another thousand people die today."

Tom raised an eyebrow, "So you'd kill the Nazis?"

"To save some innocents? Hell yeah."

Tom smirked, immensely satisfied with the answer. Not that he cared for saving thousands of Muggles, they all can go die. But the fact that he shared his blood thirst with his future son, pleased him nonetheless.

"Well, even in that case, we can't really go shooting Confringo at each aircraft, there are too many of them. However, we can make them shoot each other. Just observe, and learn." With that, Tom turned towards the flying aircraft, raising the untraceable wand. He recalled every second he spent starved and terrified, without access to his magic and isolated in Muggle World; and let his anger and fear morph into a determination to control those bastards who caused him this.

"Imperio!"

A well-aimed sickly yellow spell shot out towards the pilot of one of the jets flying past them. For the sake of his future son, Tom added the command verbally, "Shoot the other aircrafts down, now." Tom absolutely loved the thrill of another Unforgivable, it added to his adrenaline and gave him an extra boost to keep flying.

Thanks to the beauty of magic, his victim would have no problem understanding his command, despite the difference in language. They watched in anticipation as the aircraft turned and changed its aim, before starting to shoot the fellow aircrafts.

"Divide and conquer, huh?" Hadrianus grinned at Tom who smirked smugly.

"Alright then, let's do it. You make them turn against each other while I make sure the remnants drop in some secluded place."

"No need, I made sure they all are going to fall on the Church."

Hadrianus paused to look at Tom incredulously, "You really could hold a grudge that bad, huh?"

Tom only smirked, making Hadrianus roll his eyes and grin, "Alright then, let's do it."

Together, they flew after the remaining aircrafts, their hands still stuck to each other protectively. Tom smirked in pride as he saw his future child casting Unforgivable successfully at the pilots of other aircrafts following Tom's advice, turning them against each other.

"Tom? Let's leave the Imperius on some of the pilots, we should command them to return to base and destroy further raids on Britain," Hadrianus shouted over the loud roar of fire and wind, his voice magically carried over to Tom. Tom raised a thumbs up, acknowledging it as a good idea, and focusing on it.

The remaining three aircrafts turned to leave, not releasing the bombs anymore. Tom watched with grim satisfaction as they flew away, adding a firm mental command to the pilots to release all the bombs as soon as they reached their base.

Hadrianus was watching the aircrafts leave as well, with a pensive look on his face. Soon it left their eyesight, and Hadrianus turned to look at Tom.

"I guess we could get down and call the Knight Bus now. They won't be returning anytime soon."

After the immediate danger on them was gone, the adrenaline in Tom's veins had started to taper off, leaving him feeling shaky and exhausted, both emotionally and magically. It was only his determination that kept him flying. But by now, Tom was too tired to put up any fight about the lack of dignity while riding Knight Bus anymore. Anything to reach Hogwarts, and hopefully his bed.

"Fine. We don't know when they'd, the Nazis might kill them and get some new pilots."

"Let's see if they do." Hadrianus smirked at Tom, "If I read the history correctly, the Nazis mostly relied on a few leading bomber aircraft with some smaller ones to destroy London, and I think we took care of most of them." He winked, making Tom widen his eyes.

"Does that mean - " Did the two of them take care of the Blitz?

"I don't know," Hadrianus shrugged, as much as he could while still flapping his wings, "Not yet."

Tom checked once more to make sure he was not smoking anymore from the two Pepper Up potions he consumed and tightened his Occlumency shield for the incoming meeting. He ignored the protest of his tired muscles and knocked on the door.

"Come in." came the jovial reply, and Tom suppressed his hateful vicious sneer as he entered.

"You wanted to see me, Professor?"

Dumbledore's classroom was, as usual, too bright and colourful to overwhelm even the colourblind, while the accursed owner of the room stood near the window staring out into the Scottish fields and mountains, petting the equally colourful stupid bird of his.

As soon as Tom entered the room, the bird started to trill and flew off. But instead of going out of the window, it flew towards the door which shut off right after it's still trilling and flying form.

Tom ignored the ridiculous and high-maintenance bird and focused on Dumbledore, who looked surprised at his bird's action, but quickly hid it and greeted Tom with an obviously fake but pleasant smile.

"Ah, Tom. Yes, I was waiting for you, my boy. Sit, have a lemon drop!"

"No thanks, I just had dinner." Tom politely declined and sat on the offered stool, while Dumbledore sat on his chair.

"How are you, my boy?"

Tom tightened his grip on his Occlumency shield to stop himself from reacting negatively, and plastered his best fake smile instead, "I'm good, Professor, how are you?"

"Not so good, my boy. The Minister of Magic of Britain, France and German as well as many others contacted me today. It was something like being caught in a hailstorm of owls, to tell the truth. They seemed to think I was the best man to lead the war against Gellert Grindelwald. Alas, none of them thinks my opinion on manslaughter matters to them!" Dumbledore shook his head mournfully and Tom suppressed another urge to roll his eyes at that. "I wish I had someone who would understand my dilemma!"

Ah, and there was the manipulation attempt number one, pay the victim and guilt trip. Tom inwardly sighed, but didn't react or answer as Dumbledore expected him to do, instead chose to stay silent. After all, he hasn't asked any questions yet. Any other fool would have tripped over themselves to throw them at his feet by now.

Oh, honestly, if you think yourself so important for the war then do it and let me and the world breathe in peace...for Merlin's sake!

His lack of reaction earned a sigh, and the twinkling dimmed lightly, though it returned again in a second, "Anyways, so I was checking your Transfiguration homework, it was as perfect as ever, straight O's. Galatea also said you were, as usual, an undefeated duellist in her class. You would have become a good Auror!"

And there was the manipulation attempt number two, a compliment to make himself likeable. Did he really expect Tom to fall for it and become an Auror? Put himself in danger for the stupid commoners? No thanks!

Tom was the Ice Prince of Slytherin, and the Master of Manipulation and Deception! He was not a simpleton fool! He will never be an Auror.

No, Tom aimed to be either the Defence Professor at Hogwarts, or the Minister of Magic. And he would stop at nothing less.

"Thank you, sir," Tom nodded with modesty. Of course, he knew he'd be getting straight O's. Tom was the one who did it himself. What else did Dumbledore expect, other than to fall for his stupid manipulations that would work only on gullible Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors?

"When you graduate, come and see me, Tom."

Only in your wildest dreams. "Of course, sir."

"Speaking of which, some of the people seem to be concerned about seeing another parselmouth who looks similar to you but with green eyes, roaming freely around Hogwarts. Do you happen to know anything about it?"

Hah, Hadrianus was right. Dumbledore must have some portraits informing him about Hadrianus talking with Salazar. Tom inwardly scowled darkly, but his face took the proper imitation of one being surprised and confused.

"I'm sorry sir, are you saying there is another parselmouth in Hogwarts who looks similar to me, sir? Are you sure it was not me?"

"Quite so. Did you know anything about it?"

"I'm afraid not, sir." Tom met his eyes steadily.

"I see." The twinkling ceased as Dumbledore leaned back in the chair heavily. "You may return to your dorm."

"Thank you." Tom stood and turned quickly. He was about to leave when Dumbledore called out, "Tom?"

"Yes sir?" Tom turned, his hand on the doorknob, cursing inside his head. He was so close to escaping!

"Is there something you wish to tell me, Tom?"

Tom raised both his eyebrows, tell Dumbledore? Tell him what, that he met his future son, tortured a couple of his old tormentors and destroyed seventy-something aircrafts to save London? Or maybe it is the fact that he has an illegal XXXXX class killer machine hidden deep underneath Hogwarts, and helping a Maledictus into her Transformation into a mindless beast? Yeah, right!

"No sir, nothing."

Dumbledore stared at him for a long moment, and Tom steadily stared right back, breathing evenly, feeling his wand in his holster and making sure to keep his Occlumency shields up, daring him to cast the spell. Unfortunately, all Dumbledore did was let out a disappointed sigh.

"Very well then, off you go."

"Good night, sir."

Tom forced himself to walk calmly, even when his instincts were screaming to run as fast as his legs could sprint. As he breathed in relief while turning the corner, he almost yelped out in surprise to see Hadrianus lurking in the shadows, with Dumbledore's bird on his shoulder. The imp and the stupid bird were staring at each other, holding their gaze. Hadrianus was slowly scratching the back of its head while the bird was releasing a periodical rumble of purr.

Tom quickly looked around to make sure no one was watching and was surprised to note not even a single portrait in the corridor. Tom didn't know whether it was a coincidence, or something else. He could swear there were many portraits on this floor previously.

"Hey," Hadrianus greeted when Tom approached him, breaking their intense eye contact, "You okay? He seemed really invested to collect someone he considers irredeemable since conception to his crew of child armies." He offered Tom a piece of dark chocolate bar that he must have nicked from the kitchen.

"That eyesore of the old coot considers it solely because I have ample amount of brain cells to evaluate everything independently and decline his 'generous' offer." Tom chortled, taking the offered chocolate and reluctantly nibbling on it. Hadrianus must have cast some sort of eavesdropping charm if he had heard what they talked about, even though Tom hadn't noticed him cast it. "But what are you doing here? I assumed we were going to meet somewhere else!"

"I was hardly going to let you meet Dumbledore alone when you're so exhausted and high on Pepper Up!" Hadrianus said with a duh tone. Tom smiled at that. Tom was supposed to be the one protecting Hadrianus here, but look at his child, looking after his future father like some sort of guardian deity!

"And what are you doing with Dumbledore's bird, then? It could be a spy!" Tom gave it a side eye. Even the bird seems to be doing the same. Clearly, it didn't like Tom, and the feeling was entirely mutual.

"Fawkes is a Phoenix, their will is their own. Besides, I was only conversing with him."

"About what?" Tom frowned. He didn't even know that Phoenixes could communicate via eye-contact. Is it some form of Legilimency?

Hadrianus smiled mischievously, "Fawkes expressed his desire to learn about his future human."

Tom blinked, "What does that suppose to imply, did you steal the bird from Dumbledore in future?" If so, that would be brilliant revenge. Dumbledore's prized pet Phoenix, the icon of the Light side, leaves him to bond with the son of Lord Voldemort!

Hadrianus smirked, "Now that would be telling."

"Ugh!" Tom resisted the urge to pout, "Whatever! Let's fulfil our last agenda of meeting Nagini so we can retire for the night." He was too exhausted to deal with all these mysteries.

The smile instantly dropped from Hadrianus's face, as his eyes went extremely round for some reason, "Excuse me, meet who?"

Tom turned sharply to look at Hadrianus, noting his genuine surprise at the name. He didn't ask the question because he didn't hear it the first time. No, it was because...

"So you do know her from the future," Tom noted, but didn't ask anything else as the other teen seem really rattled. A rare show of loss of composure at the mere mention of her name? Tom wondered why was that.

"You said...you said she was unstable? What is wrong with her? Do we need a Healer?" Hadrianus demanded ignoring Tom's words, making Tom raise his eyebrow in surprise. Hadrianus seemed to be genuinely worried for Nagini.

Worry for someone he must have known only as his father's familiar in the future?

Or is it because he must have known about her Maledictus nature?

If Tom hadn't already seen his other sides, he would have thought Hadrianus is too soft-hearted.

"No Healer can help her anymore. She is a Maledictus, Hadrianus. All anyone could do is offer some privacy, quiet and maybe some pain potions for the Transformation to be over with."

Hadrianus looked stricken and didn't utter a word for the rest of the way to the girls' bathroom on the second floor. Thankfully, there was no one inside, as most of the students are in their common rooms. They entered and went to the sink directly.

":Open!:"

At once the tap glowed with a brilliant white light and began to spin. The next second, the sink began to move right out of sight, leaving a large pipe exposed, a pipe wide enough for a man to slide into.

"So, I'm assuming the Germans' conquest is inevitable in the war, despite what we accomplished today?" Tom asked conversationally, casting a powerful cleaning charm on the pipe before they jump into it.

"Why do you ask?" Hadrianus frowned at him.

"Your speech takes a faint German accent whenever distressed, and you use several German expletives."

"...Verdammt!"

"So?"

"You're the one to talk, Mr Cockney Twang," Hadrianus retorted cheekily, before somersaulting and diving headfirst straight into the large pipe, leaving Tom speechless at his sheer audacity. He didn't have Cockney twang! He got rid of it by the time he was 13, didn't he?

Was Hadrianus just messing with him, or did Tom really still have it? Damn it, Hadrianus!

"That little shit!"

Nagini was on verge of losing herself. The serpent was curled up on the bed, unmoving. A sticky film covered her half-closed dull eyes. Her once shiny brown scales appeared cloudy and matted. She breathed with a harsh, rattling sound. Her eyes were dark and wild. When Tom last saw her, she was barely able to recognise him. She has become even worse after that!

The foods Tom had given previously were still left untouched in the corner of the room.

When they opened the door of the Chamber, Nagini rose her head slightly, hissing threateningly.

":Easy, Nagini. We mean no harm.:" Tom soothed, as he walked further into the room.

Nagini clearly didn't seem to take his words for it. As soon as Tom came nearer, she lunged at him, making Tom widen his eyes in shock and jumped aside to avoid her venomous fang.

":Nagini, calm down, it's me, Tom. Don't you remember?:"

Nagini flared her hood, appearing even bigger and more menacing, venom dripping from her razor-sharp fangs as she raised her triangular head in preparation to strike him more. Her enormous body had taken most of the king-size bed, her tail agitatedly thumping against the mattress.

She appeared even more frightening than Jörmungandr at the moment.

Tom hissed in alarm as he took several steps to back away to avoid any further strikes. Nagini is clearly running more on instincts, not even a single trace of the human she was. Tom would probably need to use his Parseltongue ability to tame and charm her later, once all her instincts settle to a level.

Knowing this was a very bad time to visit until she was calm enough, Tom looked at Hadrianus, hoping to dump the food in a corner under the preservative charm and leave as soon as possible.

But instead of unloading the food, Hadrianus was staring at Nagini as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing.

":Come on, Hadrianus, she needs more time, we should leave.:" Tom hissed, grabbing his arms and yanking him backwards from the deranged and clearly irate venomous saw-scaled viper. This was not a time to freeze in shock.

At the forceful pull by Tom, Hadrianus blinked and looked at Tom, as if he was just coming out of a trance. Tom didn't have much time to thank the stars before Hadrianus, instead of rushing out of the room, threw both his arms up in surrender and crouched down, appearing as small as he could.

":Easy, easy, Your Highness!:" He hissed in a calm, soothing voice. Tom looked at him incredulously, before noticing from the corner of his eyes as Nagini has turned his attention from Tom to Hadrianus. It was not a welcoming change that Tom appreciates, but by the sounds of it, her ominous hissing seemed to lessen just a bit.

":Would my lady like some snacks? Maybe some tasty, juicy rabbits?:" Hadrianus asked, before pulling the bag out of his pocket in a very slow motion as if not to provoke Nagini, as the serpent seemed to be perked up at the mention of rabbit.

Hadrianus transfigured the steak into two rabbits, before opening their mouth and force-feeding all five vials of pain potion to them. He then threw it towards Nagini, who immediately lunged towards it and gobbled it down in a blur of motion.

":That was one lethal strike, isn't it?:" Hadrianus chuckled but Tom could hear the hint of nervousness in his voice. Tom didn't judge him, he himself was pretty terrified of the highly venomous mindless beast. It was only his pride that was stopping him from fleeing, not wanting to appear a coward in front of his future son.

Nagini gobbled down both rabbits that Hadrianus Transfigured and threw at her. She then looked back at Hadrianus, tilting her head curiously and warily, clearly satisfied and settled with her full stomach and the potions helping her focus on something other than only the pain and fear. Hadrianus slowly raised both his hands, his wand held loosely in one, smiling in a soothing, calming manner.

":Wanna see a magic trick?:"

As Nagini's unfocused eyes were trained on him, swaying lightly, Hadrianus waved his hand, sparkles emitting from it. Tom briefly closed his eyes when he felt the warmth and comfort burst from Hadrianus's core, along with the sparkles, as if he was pouring all his love and devotion for the serpent into the magical fireworks he was creating. He was easing the beast's suspicion and wariness by offering comfort, hope and passion.

Tom quickly looked back at Nagini to see how she would react to it. For a second Nagini looked more alive than before, her eyes following the magical sparkles full of tenderness and absorbing the warmth. Her dark eyes gleamed from their brightness. A despairing soul, almost lost to the void, searching for the light of hope to hold onto.

And now, the sparkles Hadrianus created had her attention, wholly and completely.

Hadrianus, who also happened to be too much closer to Nagini than he had been before. Tom widened his eyes as he realised Hadrianus had taken both Tom and Nagini's distraction to approach her.

"Hadrianus, no!"

Ignoring him, the stupid fool did the unthinkable. He hugged Nagini, his hands wrapping around her coils which were thicker than a grown man's thighs.

Tom tensed immediately, his wand raised, ready to curse Nagini if she tried to attack the foolish dolt that was his future child. But Nagini, while startled and reared back at the sudden hug, didn't have the time to strike at him. Because the moment Hadrianus latched into her coils, his magic burst forth from his body.

A faint green glow with a slight turquoise hue rose from Hadrianus's body, surrounding the Maledictus.

Its heady presence covered the room in thick waves. Bearing down on the occupants of the room with the relentless force of a tsunami, with enough power to bring anyone to his knees.

It seemed Hadrianus had opened his core and poured all his magic into it, unaware of just how big his core was, or how much magic he possess in it. It was Tom's sheer pride that didn't allow him to drop on the floor. No, he is Lord Voldemort, he won't bow down to his future son.

Such a force should have been oppressive and restraining, however, Tom blinked in amazement as feelings of love, joy and compassion surrounded him, as if Hadrianus's magic were hugging him reassuringly. Tom realised these were the same emotions he had felt last night when Hadrianus comforted him after the nightmare. Only now, they were more intense than before.

It was not a spell, Tom realised. It was Hadrianus's raw magic. Hadrianus was a natural healer. And he was expelling all his healing unformed magic out, forcing them into Nagini.

Tom felt the deep tiredness of his bone fade, and the sharp cramps in his muscle reduced to a mild dull throb.

But soon, the excess expulsion of Magic became suffocating, almost choking Tom with its intensity. The room grew hotter and hotter, bordering on scorching them. It was becoming too much.

Even Nagini seemed to getting a bit agitated because of the immense amount of Magic in the air.

"Hadrianus, enough." Tom gasped, one hand clawing on his throat for air, the other raised trying to reach him, "You're overextending yourself."

As he said that, Hadrianus opened his eyes, which were again, glowing pure white. He took a deep breath and the suffocating both magic and white glow in his eyes was gone, leaving behind the shimmering undulate energy to be absorbed into the ambient wards. Hadrianus had reabsorbed the excess magic back into his Core.

":Merde! Did I hurt you?:" Hadrianus looked between them, and Tom smiled a bit shakily, breathing in relief as the suffocating magic ended.

":We're fine, Hadrianus.:"

Tom could tell Hadrianus didn't believe him, as he frowned unhappily, biting his lips, before stepping back from Nagini.

As Hadrianus let go of her, Tom watched in astonishment as clarity returned to the serpent's eyes. As if she is just finding herself back. Her gaze refocused and became sharp and alert, looking around for the first time in days. She was back to the human she was once!

":Do you want to be in human form?:" Hadrianus asked, making Nagini focus back on Hadrianus again.

":I...what? How?:"

Hadrianus took his wand out and transfigured her back to her human form. This earned a gasp from her, as she finally stood in her human form after what must have felt like an eternity to her.

Nagini looked at her hands, touching her face, and looked down at the classy knee-length white summer dress Hadrniaus had conjured for her, before turning to look at Hadrianus questioningly.

"Tom?"

Tom lowered his wand and approached the pair, realising she truly is back to her human self, "I'm here."

Nagini widened her eyes when she noticed her, then turned to look at Hadrianus, who was standing near her.

"You...you dragged me out of the void, and saved me! Thank you. Who are you?"

"Hello...er, my lady! I missed you!" Hadrianus was beaming as he bowed respectfully, "You're looking as gorgeous as I always remember!" He was looking at her as if she hung the Moon.

Tom felt his chest constrict as he looked at his future child staring at Nagini as if he would worship the very ground she slithers on.

Why did Hadrianus not look at him that way? Was Tom really that inadequate?

Also... Did Hadrianus just cure Nagini?

If that is so, then why did Nagini need to be transfigured into her human form? Why can't she change back on her own? Is Hadrianus really that familiar with her human form to return her to her exact height, figure and every other details, including her hair colour and type?

Or maybe not, as Hadrianus did make one mistake. Last he remembered, Nagini's human form doesn't have those beautiful Avada green eyes.

Why did Hadrianus think Nagini has green eyes like him?

And what he meant by 'looking as gorgeous as he remembered'? Does that mean Nagini regains her human form in future?

Or do they keep Transfiguring her to her human form, like Hadrianus just did? Even so, why would his future self let Hadrianus think she has green eyes like him?

Why?

"You...you missed me? But, I've never seen you before!" Nagini narrowed her stunning green eyes which were undoubtedly very similar to Hadrianus's.

"I'm Hadrianus. I'm...I'm...er," For the first time, Hadrianus seems to be at a loss for what to say. So Tom approached them, keeping a hand on the panicking and stuttering teen's shoulder, who visibly calmed down at his touch. Tom preened smugly at that, knowing despite whatever going on between them Tom was still the one who can calm him down with a single touch.

"Before we respond to the question, Nagini, do you recall the oath of loyalty you offered me?"

"Oath or no, I owe you two for my life, I'd never betray any of you," Nagini replied without wasting a second, not looking away from Hadrianus.

"Acceptable." Tom nodded, pleased, as Hadrianus spluttered in protest of a life debt which both of them ignored, "Hadrianus is an accidental Time Traveller, from the future. My son, evidently." Tom introduced them, stressing on the part that he belonged to Tom, not Nagini, so she better back off!

Nagini simply raised an eyebrow at that, as if unimpressed.

"Pleasure to meet you, ma'am!" Hadrianus kissed Nagini's delicate knuckles, earning a small smile from her.

"Pleasure is mine, Hadrianus...right? So, you know me from our future?"

"Yes, ma'am." He beamed.

"Good, that makes it easier to tell."

"Tell what?" Hadrianus asked, tilting his head like some curious puppy.

"Why would you be involved in something as stupid as Time Travelling? They are always so flimsy, and unreliable! What if you can't return home? Oh, your parents in the future must be so distressed looking for you!" Nagini scolded, frowning and pressing her lips tighter.

To Tom's immense shock, instead of responding with his unusual cheek, Hadrianus dropped his head with a dejected pout, looking like a scolded child.

That's weird. He didn't look like that even when Salazar Slytherin, their ancestor, scolded him before!

"I'm sorry! It was an accident, I swear! It won't happen again, I promise!" Hadrianus answered meekly, which baffled Tom even more.

What was happening here?

"Hmph!" Was all Nagini said, making Hadrianus gulp audibly.

"Hadrianus is searching for a way to return to his Timeline," Tom explained, ignoring his own confusion, as Hadrianus appeared to be at a loss for words and adequately chastised. That was how he should have looked after his father scolded him, not his father's future familiar!

What exactly is his relationship with Nagini?

"And we were wondering if we could have some of your venoms as the ingredient of the ritual he would be attempting?"

As he said that, Tom noticed from the corner of his eyes as Hadrianus started spluttering again and turned a deeper shade of red.

"NOoo! You...you don't have to, I...I'll find some other snake..."

"Nonsense!" Nagini dismissed his protest, "It's the least I could do to ease your future parents' distress. Just make sure no further accidents happen in the future, or I'll make certain you're grounded for life!"

Tom blinked. Excuse his confusion, but Tom thought it was him who was the parent here, not Nagini!

"Yes mu - er, ma'am.. but... It was nothing, really..." Hadrianus seemed even more awkward as he wrung his hands anxiously. It made Tom even more curious about what their relationship was in the future for Hadrianus to behave in such a way.

The women he has known consist of demented drunkards like Mrs Cole, old spinster Professors, and the hormonal teenage girls at Hogwarts. Nagini was the only woman Tom had met who possess a working brain to match the external beauty, so he truly has no idea what was going on here.

Hadrianus seemed to be so confident while talking to other girls and even Salazar, why was Nagini so different to make Hadrianus so anxious and nervous?

It appeared as if he fears her, yet he desires her approval for some reason and does not want to make her angry, even going as far as apologizing and promising to not do it again!

Honestly, Hadrianus was behaving like some love-sick puppy.

As the thought crossed his mind, Tom froze. Dear Lord, is it true? Nagini and Hadrianus? Tom felt ill at that thought for some reason.

Maybe he should warn Nagini about jailbait?

Can the girlfriends even ground their boyfriends, though? Tom wondered, having no idea. He would certainly never suffer such indignity!

He kept the information in his mind and decided to address what caught his attention the most.

"So, did you cure her?" Tom asked, earning Nagini's hopeful attention.

"No."

Tom frowned at that, "Then what was that?"

"Other than making sure she followed the sparkles, I...have no idea." He shrugged helplessly.

"I see." Tom didn't see. But Hadrianus only smiled at him in reply.

Hogwarts Castle 18th April, 1943

Tom's patrol ended early, thanks to the lovesick Hufflepuff couple who wanted to patrol together and use the time for a bit of privacy. While Tom was disgusted with their hormones and lack of professionalism, he agreed simply because it would mean less work for him.

So instead of heading to the Slytherin Suite, Tom decided to drop by the Chamber, knowing Hadrianus was working on brewing a potion that he would use to activate the Who's TARDIS circle, AKA the Time Travelling Ritual. Only Hadrianus would give such a ridiculous name to such an intelligent invention! Honestly, Who's TARDIS Circle?! What does that even mean? Tom had asked, only to earn a mischievous grin in reply!

Initially, they had planned to brew it in the potion corner of the study room of the suite. But they couldn't anymore as the aforementioned study room was modified into a guest room, since Hadrianus had insisted Nagini come with them and stay in the Suite. Tom hadn't wanted to share his personal space with anyone, but knowing he would keep Nagini around as his future familiar had ultimately stopped him from ordering Hadrianus otherwise.

Which is why, they were using the old potions lab of the Chamber.

As soon as he entered the Chamber tunnel, Tom frowned, looking around. Something was amiss. Why the whole Chamber was brimming with Hadrianus's magic? Did Hadrianus lose control of his magic again, as he did last night?

Where is he, anyway?

Tom ignored the magical residue glimmering around him and entered the Outer Chamber to find Hadrianus lying unconscious in the middle of the Chamber. Jörmungandr was coiled up around him, his tongue flickering madly as he gently nudged the unconscious body of his Fun Master with his giant head, calling him again and again in his distress.

":Fun Master? Please breathe! What happened to you? Fun Master, return to Jörmungandr!:"

Tom felt his heart stop at the scene. He dropped everything to rush over to the pair in the Outer Chamber. Hadrianus was lying on his stomach, his legs crossed and his both hands under him. As if he was sitting down, and then simply fell unconscious and dropped on his side.

It was certainly not a good picture to imagine.

":What happened:?" Tom demanded Jörmungandr as he skidded to a halt in front of them, before dropping to his knees and turning Hadrianus over.

Jörmungandr looked frightened and miserable as he confessed, ":I do not know, Grumpy Master. One moment Fun Master was sitting here, pouring his magic and creating a nom nom, the next moment, he was gone just as you came in.:"

Gone? What did he mean, gone? And creating what?

Tom felt his inside freeze, as he pressed his fingers on the pulse points.

The pulses are non-existence.

"Hadrianus, no! Come on now...not you, never you." Tom's voice is distraught, pleading, as he frantically reached all the pulse points he could feel, pulling the boy's head on his lap, "Come back to me - come on now Hadrianus, just breathe for me - "

He was desperate, frantic. Does Hadrianus have some sort of medical condition? Tom doesn't know. And he hated, not knowing. Why did his future self didn't cure him? They have magic, for Merlin's sake!

"Hadrianus, please - please... Can you open your eyes for me?" Tom patted his cheeks desperately, his other hand not stopping checking his pulse even for a moment, "Hadrianus please please open your eyes. Come now precious, just please...please open your eyes!"

Oh, he would have given his right hand if it means Hadrianus would wake now. Or if his future self somehow follows him to the past to give him some answer.

This is the first time Tom saw Hadrianus so motionless. The boy was always on move, either pacing, creating idle magic or twirling something in his hand if he was sitting down or lying, but he was never so still.

Hysterically, Tom blubbered over Hadrianus's too-still body, rhythmically pressing against all the pulse points he can reach, his thumbs rested on Hadrianus's wrist, and the other hand deftly cradles Hadrianus's head, at the same time, press two fingers against the vital artery passing through his neck.

Just as Tom was wondering if he should start giving him CPR or maybe take him to St Mungo's, Hadrianus gasped aloud and inhaled deeply. The pulses under Tom's desperate fingers burst forth into life, then started beating rhythmically as if they hadn't been stopped for what seemed like an eternity to Tom.

Tom could only gape as the absence of beautiful magic was also replaced with a weaker form of shimmer around Hadrianus. Hadrianus didn't appear as powerful as he was before. He was much, much weaker, barely above a squib level.

But it doesn't matter, not when the boy was finally breathing. Tom would find out where did his magic go, and make him powerful again.

As long as he was breathing!

"Hadrianus?" Tom breathed in relief. "Hadrianus! You're alive!"

":Fun Master! You're breathing again!:" The King of Serpents was delighted as well.

"Mmm," Hadrianus moaned a bit, frowning and turning his head, his eyes fluttered open, revealing huge pupils blinking up unfocused from the dark fringes, just barely ringed with the beautiful Avada green. His heart beat rhythmically under Tom's palm, and Tom dared not remove it, afraid that it would stop beating if he did.

"Father?" A tired, exhausted voice coughed out, and Tom didn't have the heart to claim otherwise. Hadrianus appeared delirious, and Tom wanted to soothe him. If calling him father comforts Hadrianus, then so be it.

"Yes, Hadrianus, I am right here. Your father is right here."

Hadrianus groaned as he tried to sit up, but Tom gently pushes him back down on his lap. "Shh, lay down."

"I'm fine!"

"You're most certainly not fine! Your heart stopped for a few seconds!" Or was it minutes, or hours? Tom didn't know!

Hadrianus sighed, but instead of responding, he agreed to lay still. Immediately, Tom's hands begin to flutter anxiously over him, the teen inspecting the other teen with an intense focus.

"Are you in pain? What's wrong? And what happened to your magic?" Tom's voice was loud and concerned, as he is so clearly out of his depth and desperate. Tom could still feel his heart beating frantically. It made Hadrianus look up at the older boy solemnly. "Tell me so I can fix it!"

"It's nothing you can fix." Hadrianus tried to soothe him, but Tom wasn't having it. Not after he almost lost Hadrianus. Tom has a feeling that his Boggart has changed by now. Though no one else would be able to tell the difference between his Boggarts, not without the prominent green eyes, which appear a bit duller right now, huge pupils slowly returning to their normal constricted position.

"Impossible." Tom denied. Something Lord Voldemort can't do? That's not possible.

Hadrianus sighed. "I'm sorry if I gave you a scare. I didn't expect you to return so early."

"What do you - " Tom started frowning, before widening his eyes when he realised what Hadrianus meant, "That was intentional?"

"Well... Kind of..."

"Intentionally stopping your heart? Emptying your core? Making yourself squib level weak? Are you stupid?"

Hadrianus winced, "Well, now I realise what it seemed like from your side, but trust me...it needed to be done."

"Needed to be done?" Tom's voice was stilll shrill.

"Besides, I will replenish most of my magic within a week or two!" Hadrianus continued, ignoring Tom's words.

Tom's eyes hardened at that. Just because Hadrianus could replenish his core quicker, doesn't mean he would need to do this, need to make himself so vulnerable!

"And you want me to believe that my future self permitted this idiocy to continue?"

Hadrianus sighed, staring up at the ceiling, not replying. It made Tom want to throttle the boy. It was really not a time to be a stubborn Slytherin! He needs answers, damn it!

"She doesn't know...right?" Hadrianus suddenly asked.

Tom raised an eyebrow. It was as if he was more anxious about Nagini's reaction than Tom's, and didn't want to worry her even if he gave Tom several major heart attacks. It made Tom's hand twitch in irritation. Hadrainus was Tom's future son, why was he focusing so much on Nagini? Why was Nagini more important to him than his own father?

"Right?" Hadrianus asked again, this time raising his head and staring at Tom, half hopeful half dreading.

Maybe Tom could use his fear for her? Anything to stop him from repeating it! Tom ignored the small voice that didn't approve of his scheme to manipulate his own son, after all, it was for his own safety!

"Speaking of which, I'll be requesting Nagini to keep an eye on you from now on, as you've proven to be a danger to yourself. I'm certain that she would be interested to learn how you stopped your own heart after promising her not to behave like some halfwit." Maybe she would beat some fear of life into that thick head of his future child?

"What?" Hadrianus freaked out, as Tom hoped he would, "No! I'll...Listen, I really needed to do it, without it, there would be more Earthquakes and other destructions each time I lose control of my emotions! I'm a danger to the innocent lives around me at my full power, who knows, maybe even to you and m...erm, her!"

"Stop! Stop that!" Tom snapped. He doesn't care. Hadrianus could destroy the World for all he cared, but he was never allowed to do it again! He was never allowed to stop his heart or make himself vulnerable, employing whatever means he used! "You're not making yourself weak again! I forbid!"

"Wait no, I mean, it's not like I'm really defenceless even when my core is empty! I know martial arts, I don't need magic to defend myself, Besides, I'm a Mage, you know, so even the magic part is covered, since I can use Sorcery!"

Tom paused, raising his eyebrow, slightly impressed, saving the information on martial arts for later and focusing on the more important part. Hadrianus is a Mage?

While sorcerers are more uncommon than Wizards, Mages are even more rare. Sorcerers harness the energy drawn from other dimensions of the universe to make magic, and Wizard produces their own magic in their Magical core. But Mage? They can do both!

But unfortunately, Britain's Ministry of Magic keeps scrutiny on every single one of them officially. Though, unofficially, according to Tom's contacts, the last Mage was a Muggleborn, and having no Magical parents to stop the Ministry, they are still locked up in the basement, with Unspeakable experimenting on them to learn how their abilities work. The only other Mage Tom knew was Nicholas Flamel, though he was safe from Britain's Ministry of Magic, for being a French citizen.

Tom has plans to free the locked-up Mage as soon as he could and persuade them to join his side. Being tortured by Ministry for so long, they surely would agree to do so.

Does that mean, the Mage somehow helped his future self gain a Mage Heir? And if Hadrianus feels safe claiming about being a Mage so freely, it means the future must be safe for him! Lord Voldemort must have done it!

Is that why Hadrianus could cast several spells and remain undetected? Is harnessing Dimensional Energy remain undetected in the Wizardry method?

But if that was so, then why did Hadrianus not tell him about being a Mage before? He revealed it only when he was babbling in stress, and not minding his usual brain-to-mouth filtration! How could one mention of angry Nagini make him so nervous?

Suddenly, Tom realised something, which made him jerk in surprise. "Your wings," Tom blurted, inhaling sharply in realisation, "They're a result of a mutation for being a Mage, aren't they?"

Apparently, all the Mages go through some Mutation when their abilities unlock after a certain age. It was the only explanation he could come up with at the moment. Though, none of the texts revealed any information about what kind of Mutation they would go through, or if such Mutation would involve having wings. Tom heard from the Malfoy heir that the last Mage had some sort of ever-glowing magical tattoo-like mark on his neck that couldn't be hidden even with the strongest glamour. A mark, not an extra ability. Though Tom hadn't noticed any other glowing mark on Hadrianus.

But he did have glowing eyes, even though it's only visible when casting some strenuous magic.

"Meh," Hadrianus replied eloquently and shrugged, derailing Tom's train of thought, and making Tom narrow his eyes. Meh? What did he mean by 'Meh'? Tom wanted to interrogate more but cut himself off when Hadrianus yawned. No matter, he would eventually have all the answers, but not when his future son is so tired. And vulnerable.

"Come on, you're sleeping it off in the suite, you're thoroughly exhausted."

":Masters, may I watch over you while you rest?:" Jörmungandr asked, making both teens jolt. They had forgotten about the presence of Basilisk.

":Yes you may.:" Tom approved, without giving it much thought. ":Come on, we'll find you a way to sneak you to the suite. Follow us.:" Tom pulled an exhausted Hadrianus to him and summoned his bag, shouldering it.

They walked and climbed the stairs up to the bathroom, commanding the sink to open with Jörmungandr right behind them.

As they were climbing out, with Tom's hand on Hadrianus's shoulder helping the exhausted boy out, Tom felt something moving under his hand. Tom frowned, his eyes darting back at Hadrianus's body and was taken aback to find a movement inside his robes.

"What have you got there?"

"Nothing of importance!"

The mischievous glint of Hadrianus's eyes can't be up to no good.

Tom paused, before crossing his arms over his chest and staring at Hadrianus expectantly, making Hadrianus stop walking as well. At first, Hadrianus avoided meeting his eyes, but he did cave in after a couple of minutes passed and glanced at Tom.

"Not fair!" Hadrianus groaned, when he finally looked at him, "You're still a teenager, how could you perfect that 'disappointed dad' face even before my birth? That's simply unjust!"

Against his better judgement, Tom felt his lips twitch in amusement. As the current Slytherin Prince, it was the look he perfected over his rowdy hellion Slytherins to keep them in line, after all. But even after having a name of his action, he didn't back down, staring at him with a raised eyebrow.

Hadrianus sighed in defeat, letting Tom marvel at the fact that not even his trouble-magnet chaotic teenage son is immune to his glare. Hadrianus pouted, before finally giving in and opening the robe buttons to reveal a near-adult feline, almost twice the size of a common cat. It looked like...

Tom blinked, "Is that a Scottish Wildcat?"

"Hmm?" Hadrianus looked down grinning, "It's nothing, just a murder kitty!"

"A murder kitty?" A vein throbbed in Tom's temple, and the urge to hex the imp with no self-preservation made his wand hand twitch, "Put that wildcat down right now! It could hurt you! Where did it even come from?" And how did he even hide it under his robe? The Scottish Wildcats are known to be ferociously aggressive, truly untamable wild animals. How was it still letting Hadrianus pet it, was beyond Tom's understanding.

"She would never harm me!" His voice was indignant, "Would you, my little murder kitty?" Hadrianus asked in a baby voice and the Scottish Wildcat mewed and purred hard in reply, pushing its paw against Hadrianus's chest demanding more pets, making him beam and comply.

"You're impossible!"

"Is that a challenge? Because I haven't even started!"

"Go away!"

Hadrianus and Tom blinked at each other, recognising neither of them does have the high-pitched girly voice that demanded them to leave. But they did glance towards the row of bathroom stalls when they heard something heavy drop unceremoniously.

It was a girl, who had just fainted.

Well, that's new, Tom thought. But it would make it easier to Obliviate her. Tom hadn't even noticed there was someone present in the bathroom, too busy bickering with the stupid imp that was his future child.

"What did she faint for, is it our cute faces? Do people still do that?" Hadrianus asked, peering down at her as he continued to pet the Scottish Wildcat in his arms, making Tom pause and look back at Hadrianus disbelievingly. Did he actually say that?

"Well, can't help that we're that gorgeous," Hadrianus replied solemnly, before laughing as Tom rolled his eyes at the cheeky response, focusing on the girl.

Tom checked her over and did a double take when he noticed she has no pulse. The tear-strained spectacled eyes were big and wide open as if she saw something terrifying and then died.

"Oh dear me, she's dead!" Tom frowned puzzled, after pressing his finger on her Jugular and finding no pulse. Just like Hadrianus had been, a few minutes before. But, for some reason, Hadrianus came back in a minute or two, but she didn't!

What happened to her?

"Really? But how?" Hadrianus frowned, before taking a good look at her and widened his eyes, "Wait, is that Moaning Myrtle?"

"Moaning Myrtle?" Tom gave him an odd look, "This is Myrtle Warren, a fifth-year Ravenclaw."

"Merde! Murder kitty? Makes much more sense now! Merde!" Hadrianus started to freak out, his wide eye filled with alarm. The Scottish wildcat jumped from his arms to sniff the dead girl.

"Hadrianus, you're making absolutely no sense to me!" Tom frowned up at him, still kneeling by the girl and his finger pressed on the girl's jugular.

"Not now Tom, we have a dead girl right here. Merde! But how did she die? Did you know if she was suffering from some medical condition? Shouldn't we, you know, do something?" Hadrianus flailed his hands around awkwardly, "Like summoning the Mediwitch?"

"I never even glimpsed in her direction before." Tom dismissed it, "It appears as if she saw something terrifying and then dropped dead. I'm not sure what a Mediwitch would do in this situ- " Tom trailed off when his brain caught up with what he said.

Did they not have something capable of doing exactly that, who demanded to follow them upstairs?

Tom widened his eyes as he looked at Hadrianus, noticing him reaching the same conclusion as him at the same time. Together, both teens whipped their necks back to look at Jörmungandr, who immediately closed his second eyelids on seeing them turn, the silverish muted shield-like lid covering his bright amber eyes.

":Jörmungandr! Did we just witness you close your second eyelids?:" Hadrianus demanded.

":Of course, you did, silly Fun Master. Jörmungandr never hurt Master, even if they're silly.:"

":Why would you open them?:"

":Masters needed protection, so Jörmungandr must protect Masters.:" Jörmungandr gave them a snake version of a shrug.

":No!:" Hadrianus stressed, looking like he wanted to tear his hair out in frustration, ":You know the rules, never ever open the eyelid unless we tell you to!:"

":Masters needed protection. Fun Master had stopped breathing. Not on Jörmungandr's watch, never again.:"

Hadrianus looked ready to throw his hands in exasperation, but after a glance at Tom, he stopped.

":Well, can't blame him completely. Even I forgot to check the bathroom if anyone was there in my stress after finding you with no pulse,:" Tom sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose, before looking back at the body, resigned, "Now what?"

He looked back at Hadrianus, who took a deep breath and calmed down. Realising he must be shielding his mind with Occlumency to properly brainstorm some ideas, Tom did the same, concealing all his panic.

"What's done is done, we can't bring back the dead now. But we do have to make sure it can never be traced back to you." Hadrianus's face could have been carved from stone, a picture of calm and unperturbed.

"What are you planning?" Tom asked, mostly curious to know what his future son is capable of doing at the moment of true crisis.

"I'll take care of the body, you go and make sure to have an adequate alibi."

Tom hesitated, not knowing if it would be a good idea. Would it not be better to leave the body here? Tom wondered, and end up asking it.

"We could, but a missing person instead of a dead-body would give us more time to set something up and make sure it can't be traced back to Jörmungandr, or the Chamber."

Tom nodded in understanding. That was a good point. He never thought anyone would link the Chamber with the girl's body.

"Now go!" Hadrianus insisted.

"What about you?"

"Don't worry, taking care of my friend and family's mess is what I do for a living," Hadrianus winked at him, "Go."

Tom dashed out, glancing back at Hadrianus over his shoulder to find he was levitating the body back to the Chamber after ordering the Basilisk to follow him.

Tom had been tutoring some senior Slytherins and Ravenclaws in the Great Hall when Dumbledore came. On his insistence, Tom had ushered the students to return to their respective common rooms, and then the news of the missing student was announced. Though, only the prefects were informed, to help the professors contain the mass panic once the news broke.

The news of the girl going missing made the professors panic, resulting in organising a school-wide search and interrogating all her classmates. Tom had already heard from his fellow Ravenclaw Prefects that, apparently, many had noticed Oliver Hornby's cruel taunt followed by Myrtle Warren's breakdown, and then, a couple of hours ago, some batchmates had seen her walking towards Forbidden Forest while still crying, heartbroken.

The last part had left Tom a bit puzzled, knowing Myrtle Warren hadn't walked to the Forbidden Forest 2 hours ago, because she was dead precisely 4 hours and forty-seven minutes ago. This could only mean that it was Hadrianus, who had done something.

Tom had been dying to ask the boy about what exactly he did, or how he achieved it. This was why Tom returned to Suite that night, as soon as the Headmaster dismissed them in favour of reaching out to the Centaur clan for their aid to scout the Forbidden Forest for the missing student.

The only good thing that came out of this chaos was the report from his followers that a third-year Gryffindor, the Half-Giant Hagrid had been keeping an eight-legged monster as a pet in the dungeons. Tom had been indignant, worried for his and his Slytherins' safety, so he had his followers keep an eye on the Half-Giant. He would expose him when the circumstances are proper.

Tom entered the suite to find Nagini there. She was back to her fifteen feet serpentine form, and somehow had pulled a couple of huge and fluffy blankets from somewhere and made a nest in front of the fireplace of the living room, coiling up in the warmth.

":Tom?:" Nagini was surprised on seeing him, raising her head and flickering her tongue in greeting, ":We thought you went to sleep in your dormitory.:"

":I would have to return tonight. Is Hadrianus in his room?:"

At that question, Nagini raised her head higher from the coils, revealing the small green serpent perching inside her loops and snoozing soundly. Tom didn't even see the other teen within Nagini's coils until she lifted her head.

As Nagini rose higher, Hadrianus peeked up sleepily from where he was tightly coiled up and napping. He then raised his tiny green head as well, his tongue flickering in greeting, just like Nagini had done a few seconds ago.

":Father? You're home!:"

Clearly, the teen was still drowsy, and have forgotten about the Time Travels. This was why, despite the odd flutter inside his chest, Tom didn't bother correcting him, after all, Hadrianus was not wrong in calling him father. Looks like he liked sleeping in Nagini's coils while waiting for his father to return home from work. That sounds...heartwarming.

":What are you doing in there, instead of sleeping in your bed?:" Tom asked, torn between being amused by the serpent version of the domestic scene and being jealous of them. If Tom didn't know better, it almost looked like a mother serpent cuddling with her little hatchling, when it was supposed to be Tom who was the parent here.

He could very much see him doing this often with the serpent in the future. It made him even more jealous of the duo. Why would Hadranus choose Nagini for cuddling, when Tom was right here?

":Mum is just so warm and comfy!:" Hadrianus defended himself, as he slithered out of Nagini's coils to shift into his human form.

Tom froze, and so did Nagini, as both turned to look at him, equally surprised. "What did you just call her?"

Hadrianus paused, looking like what Muggles say deer in headlight after he took a good look at Tom, as if he just remembered where he was. "Did I just say 'mum'? Er, I mean, ma'am, I totally meant ma'am, sorry...I, er, a slip of the tongue, silly me! Sleep addled to my brain, you see? Hehe! Don't mind me."

"Hadrianus, you're rambling." Again, Tom added mentally.

"Am I? Oh, right. Sorry. I'll just shut up." Hadrianus blushed, before snapping his jaw close, not looking anywhere near Nagini who was still watching Hadrianus with piercing scrutiny.

Tom rolled his eyes. Of course, he knew that, Hadrianus didn't have to tell that he was still exhausted and blurted out comments without his usual brain-to-mouth filtration. And while Nagini's human form was not bad sight, her being a Maledictus negated the chance, well, unless she gets cured in future.

Besides, Tom knew she doesn't have green eyes, despite what Hadrianus believed! So there was no way Nagini was his mother.

Though it didn't stop him from noticing that it was again Nagini, who made Hadrianus nervous enough to ramble with nothing but her mere presence!

"Can we talk?" Tom nodded to his own room for privacy.

"Sure."

"So," Tom followed Hadrianus to his room. "People are saying they had seen Myrtle walk towards Forbidden Forest a couple of hours ago," Tom said, crossing his arms and raising his eyebrows.

"Really? That's good, right?"

"Hadrianus," Tom was exasperated, "Unless you can somehow use your untrained Mage abilities to complete the Necromancy ritual within one hour, that was clearly fabricated. How did you do that?"

"What, you think I disguised myself as Myrtle, walked towards the Forbidden Forest and then had your girlfriend open a portal to the suite and sneaked in here?" Hadrianus's voice was so innocent that Tom smirked in approval.

"Plausible deniability," Tom nodded appreciatively, then frowned, "She is not my, wait a minute, how did Nagini..."

Hadrianus raised an eyebrow, letting Tom deduce everything on his own. Tom widened his eyes when he realised,

"You keyed her in? But she has no Slytherin blood, how did you key her to the wards of the Suite?"

"As the current Slytherin Consort."

Tom pinched the bridge of his nose. "I told you she is not my girlfriend! Why would you do that?" One would think a child would want to see his parents together, not try and set their father with an unknown woman they just met!

"Girlfriend or not, she needs a safe place, and until you bought a home, this is the safest I could offer." Hadrianus didn't even look regretful at the decision. "I also appointed some Hogwarts house elves to look after her whenever you're not around, and created a snaking tunnel so she can roam the ground as she pleases."

Of course, he did.

Tom was puzzled. If Hadrianus really gets so nervous around Nagini that he frequently loses his composure and starts rambling, why would he invite her and give her free roam to their safe place in the first place?

What exactly was their relationship?

Tom wished Hadrianus would tell him, but knowing he wouldn't, made Tom change the topic.

"So, should I assume that the girl's body would be found in the forest?" The last Tom saw her, she didn't have a scratch on her body.

"The Forbidden Forest is full of wild animals like the Trolls and the clan of Acramantulas...who knows, maybe something will attack the 'missing' girl." Hadrianus shrugged.

Tom paused, considering this. If he understood Hadrianus properly, it meant Hadrianus has mimicked the attack of some wild animals on Myrtle's body before he dumped it in the forest.

Also, there will be a clan of Acramantula in the Forbidden Forest in the future. Is it purely coincidence that Hagrid has an Acramantula pet in the Dungeons?

A cold and smug smirk marred his face as Tom started to ponder some ideas. It was time for Tom Riddle, the orphaned and talented model student to catch a stupid reckless trouble-prone Gryffindor having an illegal and dangerous pet red-handed, who killed a poor heartbroken girl.

By the time Tom looked up, Hadrianus, taking Tom's silence as dismissal, had returned to the living room, apparently eager to cuddle more with Nagini. Tom followed Hadrianus out, and Nagini turned to look at them as they approached to sit by her.

Hadrianus flashed her a smile, before leaning against her coils and pulling the blanket around them with such familiarity that again Tom wondered again about their close relationship. Clearly, Hadrianus feels a kinship with the serpent. For the first time, Tom noted, that Hadrianus was sitting idly but not using his magic to create the sparkles or fireworks anymore. In fact, Tom hadn't seen him doing any sort of idle magic since Nagini came to stay with them in the suite.

"Do you often take care of your family's mess?" Tom asked, assuming the said family from the previous discussion must mean his younger siblings. Back in the church, the younger sibling Hadrianus was thinking so fondly about. Or are there any other siblings?

Tom doesn't think he would bother to sire more than one child, still, he would see what the future holds. Are his siblings Mages as well?

"Enough that I'd probably make good money if I start charging them." Hadrianus rolled his eyes, and Tom noted the fondness in them, his theory of Hadrianus having younger siblings is becoming more confirmed, as Tom is sure his child would never be fond of any 'friends', even if he had any. "You wouldn't believe the amount of trouble they can cause if left unsupervised for a long time. How about you?"

"Same, but mine here haven't killed anyone." As I did, Tom added mentally. It was Tom who permitted their pet Basilisk to come up, after all!

Hadrianus smirked, "Well, there's a first time for everything!"

Tom laughed quietly at that deadpanned retort. He was more surprised that Hadrianus appeared not at all bothered by the death of the girl, or the fact that he had to butcher a dead body to mimic the attack of a wild animal to throw any suspicions off Tom. Either he truly isn't, or he is hiding it really well. The boy is proving more and more that he truly is Tom's child!

Tom shrugged the thought off, for now, before walking to his trunk and rummaging through it. He pulled out the books he would need and started to pack his bag for tomorrow's classes, as he may not have the time to return after what he had planned.

As he did so, he noticed from the corner of his eyes that Hadrianus had shifted back to his green mamba form and slithered into his trunk. He climbed on top of the neatly arranged pile of Tom's books, coiled up above the golden-platted black diary that Tom acquired in Orphanage, and started the sway his head side-to-side like a cobra, hissing a tune. Moonlight fell on them from through the windows, filtered by the Lake water, making Hadrianus's scales glitter like emerald-coloured diamonds.

":Cake! Cake! Cake!:"

Tom rolled his eyes. He didn't even want to know why his diary would remind him of a cake!

":You had enough cake during dinner.:" Tom scolded the little green mamba, before gently picking Hadrianus's slender form from his diary and depositing him back into Nagini's coils, and then taking up the diary and sliding it inside his bag.

Honestly, Hadrianus's obsession with chocolate was mildly concerning.

":Sleep, I'll return tomorrow. Nagini, please keep him out of trouble while I'm gone?:" Tom glanced at Nagini who nodded in agreement, both ignoring Hadrianus who spluttered and started to protest with all his might that he was the bestest and most obedient angel who was very well-behaved and did not need a babysitter.

Tom smiled as both Nagini and Hadrianus bade him goodbye by flickering their tails sideways in a similar fashion as if they had been practising the movement for years, before he closed the door of the Suite.

Nagini would keep Hadrianus in the line and make sure the boy sleeps, as a growing teenager like him should have. Tom needs minimal distraction for what he was about to do, as well as no interruptions during the process. He had been toying with the idea ever since he read it in the book in the Restricted Section of the Library. And now, he has made up his mind, after facing the proof of their delicate mortality.

If he wants to have Hadrianus in his life, save him from the cruel world, share all the adventures with him and provide the safest sanctuary he could offer, Tom needs to become immortal.

And so, he has a Horcrux to create.