Hadrian currently found himself standing outside the potions classroom, waiting to be let in.
A couple of months ago, when the school year came to an end, Hogwarts students were asked to select their courses for the next school year. When he went to make his selection, Hadrian was delighted to see that potions was no longer a required subject. Finally, he knew this day would come. The day he could leave that dark and dreary dungeon behind him and never have to be forced to be in the presence of his most hated professor, Professor Snape.
However, Hadrian was still taking the course, the reason for that was simple: Hadrian couldn't say no to his girlfriend.
When he had made his choice known that he was planning to drop potions, Hadrian's girlfriend, Daphne Greengrass, begged him to reconsider. Her reason was that she wanted him to keep her company during the class. It was well known among their friend group that Daphne aspired to be a Potion Mistress when she grew older, and Hadrian, being the supportive boyfriend he was, always encouraged her dream. But, he didn't know why he had to take the course with her, his passion didn't require potions.
"Isn't Hermione taking the class with you?" Hadrian asked, when his girlfriend asked him to join her.
"Yes, but it's not the same. Pleeeassse" She begged.
But Hadrian stood his ground, he'd finally drop potions and his life could be less stressful. But something happened, something Hadrian hadn't counted on, something he couldn't fight back against. His girlfriend decided to play dirty.
Daphne made her eyes as big as she could and pouted her lips. Damn. He couldn't say no to those blue eyes of hers, and she knew it. He'd gladly burn the whole world down if she asked.
"Fine…" He moaned out.
"Yay!!" Daphne cheered, giving him a side hug.
Well, at least someone was happy.
Looking at the bright side, maybe potions wouldn't be as bad as it normally was. Since Snape wouldn't be teaching this year. Indeed, this year potions would be taught by the returning Professor Horace Slughorn. Slughorn was the potions professor that Snape had replaced, but now it was the other way 'round. The reason for Slughorn's return was that according to Dumbledore, Slughorn had important information on Lord Voldemort. This information could make him a target for the Dark Lord, so Dumbledore offered Slughorn protection by asking him to come back to teach at Hogwarts. Hadrian had to admit, it was a good idea. Where better for Dumbledore to protect Slughorn than the place he spent the majority of his day that was also heavily protected.
Anyone was better than Snape as far as Hadrian was concerned, so maybe this wouldn't be so bad.
One thing that Hadrian could think of as a negative to Slughorn was that he seemed to be a "collector". Dumbledore had asked Hadrian to accompany him in recruiting Slughorn late into the summer vacation, the Headmaster had not given the reason as to why he wanted Hadrian with him, but upon arriving at Slughorn's home, Hadrian figured out why.
Slughorn had an entire wall dedicated to his students, well more accurately the ones that were successful. Slughorn spent a good couple of minutes telling Hadrian about them, one was a successful quidditch star who gave him tickets whenever he wanted, another was an Unspeakable who, despite the name, would tell Slughorn about some of the things they were doing in the Department of Mysteries, and so on.
It was then that Hadrian got why he was asked to come here, he was bait. Dumbledore was dangling the possibility that Slughorn could get to know Hadrian and possibly add him to his collection. It was a smart move. Hadrian was the Boy-Who-Lived, a name that he hated, Lord Potter and Heir Black. Getting Hadrian in his collection would be quite the feather in Slughorn's cap.
Hadrian didn't have to wait long for Slughorn to begin his collecting. During the ride to Hogwarts, a young boy, who seemed to be around third year, slid open the door to their compartment and asked for Hadrian Potter, Daphne Greengrass and Neville Longbottom. When the three affirmed that the boy had found the right compartment, he handed them each an envelope addressed to them. Inside each was an invitation from Professor Slughorn to join him in his compartment for lunch. The three shared a look before bidding their friends farewell and heading over to Slughorn's compartment.
Arriving at the compartment, Hadrian knocked on the door and was met with an "It's open!".
Sliding the door open, they were greeted with the sight of Slughorn sitting in front of a table with cooked pigeon, and he wasn't alone.
"Ginny!?" Hadrian questioned, seeing the redhead seated in the corner, trying to make herself seem invisible.
"Hey, Hadrian, Neville, Greengrass."
Hadrian decided to ignore the way she greeted his girlfriend for now.
"What are you doing here?"
"Oh, you all know each other? That makes introductions easier!" Slughorn cheered, interrupting Ginny.
"Do sit down."
Neville took the lead sitting next to Ginny, followed by Daphne then Hadrian.
"Something to drink?" Slughorn asked, already filling their cups. "I'd offer you some wine, but best to play it safe with some Butterbeer."
Once everyone had their cups filled with Butterbeer, Slughorn started to make his introductions. He began with the boy seated next to him.
"This is Cormac McLaggen, as a fellow Gryffindor I'm sure you know each other?."
Cormac was a tall, well-built boy, with brown hair. He was a year older than Hadrian and a Keeper on the Gryffindor quidditch team. From the few times Hadrian had talked to him he always gave the impression of being rather full of himself.
"We're on the quidditch team together, right Cormac?" Hadrian asked.
Cormac ignored him, taking a sip from his drink instead.
'Well, at least some things stay the same.' Hadrian thought.
"Next, we have Marcus Belby."
Marcus was a slightly plump boy with brown hair and glasses. From the blue on his uniform, he was a Ravenclaw.
"We have Miss Susan Bones." Slughorn continued.
"Oh, we know each other as well." Inputted Daphne. She smiled brightly at Susan.
"How was your summer break, Susan?"
Susan returned the smile. "As good as it could be with all the pressure my Aunt has. But Hannah and I were able to go out a couple of times. Even went to the beach once."
"I'm glad."
"Yeah, glad you had a great time, Susan." Hadrian chimed in. He had no bad feelings towards Susan. She and Daphne knew each other since they were children, due to their status as heiresses of noble families. But beyond that, Susan, along with her best friend Hannah Abbott, were some of the few students to actually apologize to Hadrian for their behaviour towards him during fourth year. That one action meant a lot to Hadrian.
"Then we have Miss Marietta Edgecombe."
Marietta didn't meet their eyes, instead preferring to stare down at her empty plate. Last year, Marietta was always giving Daphne dirty looks throughout the tenure of the D.A. It was well known throughout the school that she had given up the location of their secret training center in the Room of Requirement to Dolores Umbridge last year. So she wasn't the most liked by the student population.
"And finally we have Blaise Zabini." Slughorn ended his introductions.
Blaise was a dark-skinned, mixed-race boy and one of the few Slytherins that Daphne deemed, "Alright.". He was however a friend of Draco Malfoy, so Hadrian opted to keep his guard up around him.
"Now then, let's dig in!" Slughorn said, cutting into the cooked pigeon and placing a piece on his plate.
Hadrian and Neville shared a look of hesitation with each other, but Daphne simply charged ahead, taking a piece and cutting into it. Seeing her do it was enough for them.
"How's it taste?" Hadrian asked, whispering to her. Neville looked at her, waiting for her answer as well.
"It actually tastes fine. Kinda like chicken."
Hadrian and Neville shared a look again, before staring down at the meat on their plates.
'Well, now or never.'
Hadrian cut a small piece of the pigeon and raised it up to his mouth, hesitating for a second, he placed it in his mouth.
'Huh, it kinda does taste like chicken.'
"Baby." Daphne teased.
"Shut it."
It wasn't long into the lunch that Hadrian realized why they were all here. Everyone here was related to someone in a position of power.
Cormac took great pleasure in telling Slughorn about how he spent time with his grandfather, who was a high ranking member in the Department of International Cooperation.
Marcus was a bit flustered when Slughorn asked him how his uncle, who was apparently a Hogwarts board member. Once he told Slughorn that he hadn't seen him lately due to a fight his uncle had with his father, Slughorn lost interest in Marcus, seemingly deeming him not important enough to be in his collection. Poor Marcus.
Susan was here because of her aunt. Susan's aunt, Amelia Bones, was the head of the DMLE (Department of Magical Law Enforcement), and a candidate for Minister of Magic. According to both Sirius and Daphne's father, Cyrus, she had a good chance of being elected. She was respected by many for work, starting out as an Auror a bit before Voldemort's first reign of terror, she quickly climbed the ranks and became head of the department. She was known for being a no nonsense type of woman and not known to cave under pressure. The type of leader the wizarding world needed right now.
She was many of the Order's choice to become Minister, due to her being a member during its first run. She couldn't join this time, due to her position, but she apparently had been helping the Order out when it came to Tonks and Kingsley.
Marietta's mother was working in the Department of Magical Transportation. Hadrian knew this from last year when Umbridge told Fudge after she had found the D.A's hideout.
Blaise was here because of his mother. Idalia Zabini had gained her wealth due to the deaths of her many husbands. Every time another one died, her fortune increased. Many believed she was responsible for them, but no evidence was found and every death was deemed an accident.
Neville was the heir to the Longbottom family, and his uncle was an Unspeakable.
Daphne was the heiress of the Greengrass family and his girlfriend.
And of course, Hadrian himself. He was the Lord of the Potter family and heir to the Black family. He was also dubbed "The-Boy-Who-Lived", and was seen by many as the chosen one to defeat Voldemort.
Everyone here was someone of high standing that Slughorn would want to be connected with. Which brought up the question of why Ginny was here. No offence to her but, Ginny wasn't from a high class family or had any solid connections that warranted her being here. So why had Slughorn brought her here?
When the lunch ended, and Slughorn released them back to their compartments, Hadrian and his friends waited for everyone else to leave before heading back. They waved goodbye to Susan, when she left.
"Hey, Ginny, I meant to ask, why were you there?"
Ginny blushed. "I was having an argument with some guy and hit him with a Bat-Boogey Curse. Slughorn saw me."
"Really?" Neville asked.
"When I saw him I thought he was going to punish me, but instead he laughed and invited me to lunch."
"Huh, guess he liked your spell work" Hadrian said.
"Guess so."
They parted ways with Ginny once they reached their compartment and went to tell their friends about their lunch with Hogwarts newest professor.
A hand grabbed his own, shaking Hadrian out of his thoughts.
He looked and saw his girlfriend had arrived.
"Hey there, been waiting long?"
"No. If this class sucks I'm blaming you." He told her.
"Oh come on, I'm sure it won't be that bad."
"It shouldn't be any bad."
After a couple more minutes, the door opened and the students made their way inside.
The first thing Hadrian noticed was that the room was much brighter than when Snape taught potions. When Snape used this classroom, it was dark and dim, but Slughorn made the room seem more lively by doing the simple action of opening the blinds.
"Come in, come in." Slughorn invited. "Everyone stand in front of me please, we have a bit to talk about before we start."
Slughorn was standing in front of four cauldrons which Hadrian guessed were filled with potions. All the students obeyed and stood in front of his station.
"Welcome to sixth year potions. I thought we'd start with a bit of a review today. Now I have four potions here and I'd like you all to try and identify them."
Slughorn lifted the lid off the first cauldron.
"Now, who can tell me what this potion is?"
Both Hermione and Daphne's arms shot up in the air. Hadrian smiled at the two. However, Slughorn didn't choose either of them.
"Mr. Malfoy, care to give it a shot?"
Hadrian turned to see Draco Malfoy with his arm raised in the air.
"That's Veritaserum, sir. Otherwise known as the truth potion."
"Correct." Slughorn beamed. "Seems Professor Snape was right, you know your stuff Mr. Malfoy."
Malfoy smirked. "Thank you, sir."
Arrogant Ass.
"Now then, who can name the next one?" Slughorn asked, removing the lid of the second potion.
"Yes, Miss…?"
"Hermione Granger. That's Polyjuice Potion."
"Indeed. I'm impressed Miss Granger, not many students would've been able to identify this. I had this here as a stumper, good job."
"Thank you, sir." Hermione looked over at Hadrian and the two smirked at each other. Daphne looked in between them with a puzzled look.
"Moving on to the next one, who can tell me what this one is? Yes, Miss Greengrass?"
"That's Amortentia. The love potion."
"Correct, and how were you able to identify it?"
"I could tell because of its pearl sheen and the spiral like steam. Also, it…Uhm…" Daphne began to blush and rub her hands together nervously. "The smell…"
"Yes." Slughorn laughed. "This potion smells differently to everyone, depending on what attracts them. If you don't mind, what did you smell, Miss Greengrass?"
"Oh…I smelled…" Daphne took a sniff. "Broom polish, soap and…Treacle Tart."
Daphne looked down at the floor, her face beet red with embarrassment. Hadrian chuckled and scratched the back of his head, his face red as well.
Slughorn laughed as did most of the students. There was even a wolf whistle or two.
"Now, now, settle down. Let's be fair here and have a gentleman now."
Daphne glanced Hadrian's way. He guessed she was curious about he smelt. Well it was only fair.
"I'll try."
"Ah, Mr Potter, well, go on."
Hadrian took a sniff. "I smell cookies, vanilla and freshly cut grass."
Daphne's face, despite still being bright red, lit up like a Christmas tree. This caused more laughter.
"Professor, what about the last one?" Hermione asked.
"Ah, that Miss Granger, is what today's lesson is about."
Slughorn took the lid of the last cauldron, revealing a bright gold potion.
"This is Felix Felicious, otherwise known as the luck potion. It has the power to make the drinker extremely lucky. A single vial is good for twelve hours."
"Have you ever tried it, Professor?" A student asked.
"Indeed I have. Once when I was a young man in my twenties and on my fortieth birthday. Two perfect days…" Slughorn finished longly, gazing up into nothing, seemingly remembering happier times.
The trio of Hermione, Daphne and Hadrian looked at each other, weirded out.
Slughorn eventually snapped out of it and continued. "Today, you will attempt to brew the Draught of Living Death. Whomever brews the best, gets a vial of Felix here for themselves."
Everyone got to their stations and got out their textbooks for the instructions.
"Ready and begin!"
Hadrian noticed that Malfoy had an intense look of concentration on his face while he made his potion. He wondered what Malfoy would use the potion for.
When class was nearly over, he glanced over at the progress of his tablemates. Both Daphne and Hermione seemed to be in the final stages of brewing their potions. Both of them looked good, it was hard to tell who brewed it better.
Thankfully the two were in good spirits with each other. Even making a friendly competition with each other.
"That vial is all mine, Granger!"
"In your dreams, Greengrass!"
Hadrian looked down at his own potion. It seemed pretty good, he was quite proud of it. He felt like he did far better than he would have if Snape was breathing down his neck.
"Time's up!" Slughorn cried. He began circulating around the classroom, checking everyone's cauldron. Malfoy looked angry when Slughorn walked past his potion with no fanfare.
Slughorn gave an approving nod at Hadrian's potion, but was moving back and forth between Hermione and Daphne's. After several minutes, he turned to Daphne and presented her with the vial.
"We have a winner!"
Many students clapped, while some were bummed out that they lost. Malfoy especially.
"Great job." Hadrian congratulated, giving her a peck on the cheek.
"Thanks."
Daphne turned to Hermione and extended her hand. "Good job."
Hermione slapped the hand away, shocking Daphne, before she enveloped her in a hug.
"Congratulations, Daphne. You deserve it."
Daphne recovered and returned the hug.
"You got me there for a second. I thought you'd be upset."
"Nah," Hermione grinned as they let go and she picked up her bag. "Who needs luck when you've got brains."
After a couple of seconds, Daphne caught on.
"HEY!"
September quickly moved into October and October into November, but until a certain holiday passed first.
"What are you gonna dress up as for Halloween?"
"Huh?"
"Come on, Daph, you'd look great in a costume." Hadrian said. "You could dress up as a nurse or a muggle police officer or a-"
Hadrian stopped upon seeing the look his girlfriend was giving him.
"Or you could be a princess and wear a large dress that covers your body entirely. Haha…"
"You sure were quick with those costume choices. You haven't been thinking about this, have you?" Daphne glared.
"What? No, no, I just said the ones that first came to me!" Hadrian defended.
Daphne continued to glare. Feeling himself sinking deeper into this hole he was digging, Hadrian decided to switch topics.
"Hey, what about me?"
"Huh?"
"Have you thought about any costumes for me?"
"Hmm…" Daphne pondered, gazing up at the celling. "Well…"
"Yeah…?" Hadrian prodded.
"I do think you'd look great as a turtle."
Hadrian merely stared at her. "What?"
"A turtle." Daphne confirmed. "You'd look real cute."
Hadrian continued to stare at her, not sure how to answer. Daphne couldn't hold it in anymore and let out a laugh.
"I'm sorry," She said in between giggles, "But your face was photo worthy. You make it so easy sometimes."
Hadrian groaned.
"Anyway, you have to admit, even if you don't like it, dressing up in goofy costumes and getting free candy is pretty wicked."
"True. Well, the getting candy part at least." Daphne conceded. "But I'll stick with Samhain. Will you be ok?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah, I'll be fine." Hadrian said, but his smile didn't reach his eyes. Having gone to many noble family parties in her life, Daphne had become very good at telling when someone was being genuine or lying. Hadrian was lying to try and make himself seem strong in front of her. This was an annoying trait that she was still trying to stamp out of her boyfriend, he didn't need to always seem strong in front of her, she wanted him to know that he could be vulnerable around her. She knew why he tried to put up a front, it was all those years he spent with his aunt and uncle. Hadrian hadn't given her all the details, but he said he never wanted to be as weak as he had been when he was with them before Hogwarts.
The reason Hadrian was always down on Halloween, or as Daphne preferred Samhain, was because this marked the anniversary of his parents death. And while the rest of the world was celebrating their holiday and the defeat of Lord Voldemort, Hadrian was mourning. Mourning the loss of his parents, mourning the loss of a childhood that he'll never know, and mourning the loss of any possible siblings he could have had.
Hadrian always shut himself off from the world on this day. Even though it was a mandatory requirement to appear at dinner that day, he would always hide. Whether it be an abandoned classroom or the Astronomy Tower, Hadrian hid himself from the world.
Well not this year.
Daphne was determined that this year Hadrian wouldn't spend Halloween alone. She would make it so that he wouldn't always associate the holiday with dread. She kept thinking of ways to accomplish her goals, but had drawn a blank.
"That's a tough one." Hermione commented, one day when she, Daphne and Tracy were walking through the halls together. "I mean, if Hadrian would let anyone stay with him it would be you, but I don't know what you could do to change his opinion on Halloween."
"I have an idea." Tracy spoke up.
"Really!?" Daphne asked, eagerly. "What is it?" She placed both her hands on Tracy's shoulders.
"Well…" Tracy began, a sly grin appearing across her face. Oh no. Nothing good ever happened when Tracy got that look.
Tracy gave her idea, and both Hermione and Daphne gasped in surprise.
"Are-are you insane!?" Daphne shrieked, growing red in both anger and embarrassment at Tracy's suggestion.
Tracy shrugged. "What? You wanted something to change how he feels, why not make it a night he won't forget for a much better reason?"
"But-but-but…" Daphne stuttered, growing even more red. "We haven't done anything like that yet."
"Well, what better time than now?"
"I'll…I'll think about it…"
And think about it she did. Every night before she went to bed, Daphne would lay awake, wondering if Tracy's idea could work. Everytime she did she always ended up blushing and slamming her face into her pillow. Especially when she imagined herself and Hadrian…
"Daph. Daph. Daphne!"
"Huh? What?"
"Are you ok? You seem out of it." Hadrian asked. The day had finally come, October 31st. Hadrian and Daphne were walking from class together. But Daphne's mind was elsewhere, she was busy thinking about what may happen tonight. Was she ready? Was it the right time? Maybe she should wait.
"Yeah… I'm fine. Just… Thinking."
"About what? Anything bad?"
"No, nothing bad. It's just…"
"Daph, you're starting to worry me here. Are you sure it's nothing bad?" Hadrian asked, more concerned.
"...You know I love you, right?" Daphne asked.
"Huh? Uh, yeah."
"And you know I'll always be there for you, no matter what?"
"Yes. Why are you telling me this?"
Daphne stopped in the hallway, gripping Hadrian's sleeve tightly. Hadrian looked at his girlfriend's grip, then moved to her face, which was starting to form a blush.
"Daphne?"
Daphne took a deep breath, "Meet me in the Room of Requirement."
"Huh?"
"Before dinner tonight, meet me in the Room of Requirement."
Hadrian nodded. "Ok."
Daphne released her grip on his sleeve. "Alright," She said, trying to shake herself back to normal. "You better get going, don't want to be late for class. I'll see you before dinner."
Hadrian wanted to keep talking, he wanted to know what was bothering his girlfriend, but decided to let it rest for now. It seemed like he'd find out later tonight.
"See you then." He parted, giving her a quick peck on the cheek.
Daphne watched his retreating back, and sighed, well this was it. No going back now.
At 5:50pm Hadrian had made his way to the entrance to the Room of Requirement. As he began to pace the standard three times required for the doorway to appear, he couldn't help but wonder what Daphne wanted.
After his third pace, the doorway appeared and Hadrian entered. He was greeted with the sight of a lavish room. It was dim, the only light coming from a fireplace that was on the right wall. Ahead of him was a wooden coffee table, but behind it there was a queen sized bed.
"Uh, Daphne?" Hadrian called out. He walked towards the bed and sat down on it. It was pretty comfy. It had pink covers and golden pillow cases, the wooden frame of the bed was painted gold as well.
"Daphne, are you here?" Hadrian tried again.
"Yeah, I'm here." Her voice cried out. Hadrian looked in the direction her voice came from and saw a closed wooden door. "I'm just getting ready."
"Ready? Ready for what?"
"Uh, you'll see."
Well, guess he'd have to wait a bit longer. Deciding to make himself comfortable while he waited, Hadrian layed down on the bed, his hands behind his head. The pillows were nice and soft, and the covers seemed like they would provide warmth from underneath. He didn't need them at the moment as the fire from the fireplace was giving off a decent amount of warmth. He found his eyes closing, he might fall asleep right here. That wouldn't be so bad, then he could end his most hated day of the year.
The sound of a door opening stopped him from dozing off. Sounded like Daphne was ready.
"Ok, I'm ready."
Hadrian opened his eyes and was greeted with a sight that took his breath away.
Daphne was wearing a loose pink gown, and that was it.
Hadrian shot up, beginning to blush heavily. "Daphne, wh-what are you…?"
Daphne linked her hands behind her back and was staring down at the floor to cover her embarrassment. Her blush was covered by the light of the fire.
"Well, you know how you always shut yourself away today? Because of what happened?"
"Yeah…" Hadrian asked, wondering where she was going with this.
"Well, I decided to try and fix that. To make it so you wouldn't hate this day anymore, and after thinking about it I came up with a way to do that."
"Oh, and what would that be?" Hadrian said, his eyes taking in her current state.
Daphne began to walk towards him and Hadrian started to feel awkward, he had no idea how to correctly act right now. Once she was standing in front of him, Daphne grabbed his hands into hers and stared into his eyes.
"I…I want to make love to you tonight."
Hadrian froze. Did she just say what he thought she did?
"Say that again."
Daphne breathed in and out, "I want to make love to you tonight."
Oh, boy. She did.
"I-I, uhm, are you sure?" He asked. "It's not that I don't want to. It's just I don't want you to feel like you have to do something this big for me."
"It's ok. I-I've actually been wanting to bring this up for awhile."
"R-really?"
Daphne nodded. "I just never knew how, I mean how do you tell your boyfriend that you're ready for that next step."
"Well this is a pretty good way."
Hadrian grabbed Daphne's hands, causing her to look at him in surprise. "If this is what you want, then I'm ready."
Daphne nodded, blushing even redder.
"Ok, then."
Hadrian moved himself closer to her and connected their lips together. Daphne began to walk forward, causing Hadrian to walk backwards. He hit the edge of the bed and was pushed down onto his back by Daphne, their lips still locked. He felt her try to take his blazer off, so he took his arms out of the sleeves and tossed it aside. The two released their lips due to a lack of air, Daphne moved her attention to his neck and began to pepper it with small kisses. She began to unbutton his shirt, wanting to touch the skin underneath. Hadrian was running his hands through her hair, it was soft and long, and the color reminded him of chocolate. Maybe that's why he was always in a state when he saw her, chocolates were an aphrodisiac.
Daphne had finished unbuttoning his shirt and had begun to run her right hand over his chest, she moved from his neck up to his ears. He easily slid out of the shirt and tossed it away.
Hadrian cupped her chin and stared into her sapphire blue eyes. "I love you."
Daphne broke into a loving smile and cupped his left cheek. "I love you too."
The two kissed again and from that day on, Hadrian began to look forward to Halloween.