Early happy birthday to syren888! May all your wishes come true ^-^
Summary: Betrayed and killed by the one they considered their best friend, Harry and Hermione made a different decision when they found themselves at King's Cross station. They chose to travel in a alternate universe and create a normal life for themselves. But of course as Harry Potter doesn't do normal he finds himself in 1962 in a world in which Grindelwald escapes from Nurmerngard and continues his war against muggles and Tom Riddle is the DADA professor. Not to mention that Voldemort is not happy being left behind and follows them in this dimension with an unknown plan in mind...What kind of destiny will they carve for themselves as they prepare to start Hogwarts as first year students? Also, a new prophecy is made...
Warnings: Slash, violence, humor, some Dumbledore bashing, swearing, Grey! Harry and Hermione etc.
Pairings: LV/HP, HG/SS
"talking"
'thinking'
/mental speach/
$parseltongue$
AL/ Lots of thanks and millions of hugs to Allanah-x for being a wonderful beta ^-^
Enjoy the chapter guys ^.^
Drenched in sweat, Hadrian thrashed on the bed, his lighting-bolt shaped scar sending tremors of pain throughout his body.
He tried to fight it, to fight against the pull, but it was a losing battle. All too soon he felt a rage that did not belong to him possess his soul and he opened his eyes to find himself in a long room lit only by firelight.
On the stone floor, screaming and writhing under the Cruciatus curse, stood the all too familiar figure of Ginny Weasley that, though in agony, glared defiantly at him.
A spark of annoyance shot through him seeing this and he increased the power of the Cruciatus curse slightly before lifting it. Wouldn't do to break the poor thing too soon now, would it?
He continued to stand over the blood-traitor, wand outstretched, while the bitch tried to regain her breath. He felt a surge of glee seeing that she couldn't stop shaking as he spoke in a high, cold voice.
"More, Weasley, or have you finally had enough?" Lord Voldemort is not pleased by your silence, not pleased at all... Shall we resume our little game then... Or have you decided to kindly inform us of where the Resistance's headquarters reside? Tell me, foolish girl, tell me or feel my wrath!"
Only Ginny's sharp intakes of air could be heard as she gathered the strength to speak.
"Never," she rasped out through her bleeding lips, "I'll never betray them! And you'll be defeated Voldemort. Maybe not by me, maybe not now, but someday...We'll never submit ourselves to you! We owe it to Harry to continue fighting and make no mistake we WILL win!" she spat and Hadrian could almost taste the hate she felt towards him.
"Oh, yes, Potter. A tragic little martyr, isn't he? Betrayed, killed by his best friend...Remind me to give my thanks to your brother for the only good thing he did in his pathetic life. After all, without Potter the wizarding world is as good as mine. Not that he would have stopped me. No... he would have merely delayed the inevitable," Hadrian said, letting out a cruel laugh, but the red-head refused to speak any further.
As the silence stretched he finally reached the end of his patience.
"So be it," he declared in a merciless voice. "Send my greetings to your beloved Potter then. AVADA KEDAVRA!"
A cold laugh...
A green beam of light...
A lifeless body...
Tear-filled eyes shot open in a dark hospital room from another world. That night, for the first time in ages, Hadrian allowed himself to weep, crying himself to sleep...
HP-Chronic Hero Syndrome
Dumbledore silently fumed inside his Hogwarts' office as he leaned in an armchair, massaging his temples. Damn that Nobby Leach! Had the cowardly minister already forgotten who he owed his position to? How dare he go behind his back and give those Malfoys the custody of Hadrian Fowl! Greedy fool! Letting himself be bought for a couple of galleons...
Disgust filled his expression but, he had to admit, it was his fault in a way. If he hadn't supported him during his campaign, maybe a more worthy man would have become minister. Alas, he couldn't let unknown and uncontrolled factors appear in the game. Especially in these times of war. He had to have someone he could influence as minister to do his binding. It was for the greater good, after all. Too bad that this puppet had decided to listen to another master too...
Well, at least not everything had gotten out of hand. Thank Merlin he managed to find out in time about the requests for a heredity test for Hadrian. It would have been a disaster if all the work to hide the boy had gone down the drain.
He couldn't exactly deny the requests, at least not without a good reason, which he sadly didn't have, as all the necessary costs were already paid, but, as Chief Warlock and Supreme Mugwump, it was within his rights to choose the kind of heredity test used.
Letting them know who the father and the mother were was of no importance for his plans. But if more were to be found... Let's just say that the less they knew, the better. He was sure that by knowing the father's name his heritage, from that part at least, would be clear for everybody just by seeing the last name so the boy would have plenty of money, as much he needed for his basic needs, at least . As for the mother...
He let a small smile appear on his face as he popped a lemon drop in his mouth, enjoying the sweet-sour taste. Nobody would guess the true lineage of his mother based solely on her name.
But who would have thought that the child would attract this much attention once he came in the wizarding world? And that he would be the chosen one at that...
The wonders of fate never cease to amaze. But, now that he thought about it, he had done well so far. At first, he still had his doubts about hiding the boy's true heritage but not anymore. Just imagining how the child would have grown up to be if he was influenced by dark magic and pureblood ideals... He shivered to think the danger the wizarding world would have been in with a dark wizard as their only hope.
But now...
Now, thanks to him, the boy could be still molded into a light savior. It would be hard with the Malfoys as his parents, but not impossible. After all, in less than a week, the boy would start his education at Hogwarts and, unlike the Malfoys, who only got to be with him on vacations, he got to have the boy under his thumb for the whole school year. And, after the life he led at the orphanage, Hadrian should be susceptible to a grandfatherly figure such as himself...
As Dumbledore continued to suck his calming potion laced lemon drops and plan the molding of Hadrian as the perfect savior, a fire phoenix that sat on a perch in the office, shook its head with exasperation.
Why, exactly, had she bonded with this meddling fool again? Oh, yeah to keep on eye on him and minimize the damage his actions might cause. Which, she'd have you know, is a really tiring job. Why, oh why, did the humans have to look at this wizard as the Light Leader was a mystery that not even she, with a thousand of years of knowledge, couldn't decipher.
And now she had to stop yet another foolish plan of his as she couldn't let him interfere with the one chosen by fates. She felt how her first headache in a couple of centuries started to build up. Great, just great. She had a long road full of bums ahead...
She glanced once more at her bonded, letting out a heavy sigh. Sometimes, she really hated her life.
HP-Chronic Hero Syndrome
To say Hadrian was shocked beyond belief would be the understatement of the century.
As he stared at the people in front of him, the boy couldn't stop the pure disbelief from being plainly written on his face, for all to see.
"Could you... er... could you repeat that once again?" he asked in an uncertain tone, trying to absorb the information without losing his last bit of sanity. Which was in his rights to lose, seeing that the Malfoys, of all people, just announced they wanted to adopt him. I mean really now, what was the world coming to?
The blond man's eyes shone with amusement while the teen seemed to try very hard to contain his laughter at Hadrian's shocked face, though they were conscious of maintaining a perfect composure and looking every part like the purebloods that they were.
"He said that you are now part of our family," replied the innocent blonde-bundle, who had made herself comfortable in Hadrian's lap, in a matter-of-fact tone. "Or does... does my angel not want to become my brother?" continued Aria in a trembling voice, as tears started to appear in the corners of her shockingly blue eyes.
"No! Of course I want to be your brother," said Hadrian very fast, panicked at the possibility of making the little girl cry while, in the safety of his mind, he all but freaked out, realizing that he had just agreed to be a Malfoy. He felt like pulling his hair out in distress but, as he thought a little, he realized that maybe it wasn't as bad as he made it seem.
He had already decided that this time around he would try to gain allies and supporters from everywhere he could and, by being a Malfoy ward, many doors that would have stayed closed with him as a orphan, now would be open. Not to mention that just imagining the look of horror Draco would have worn, should he have known about this, made it more than worth while. Ah, the sweet irony of life.
"What I meant to say was, are you sure you want to adopt me?" continued Hadrian, trying to pass his panic attack off as insecurity, and succeeding, seeing how both the man and the teen took on a more gentle look while they watched the picture he made with Aria in his arms.
"We are most certain, Mr. Fowl. If we weren't, we wouldn't have gone through all the trouble of getting the paper work done so fast. We owe you a life debt for your heroic course of action and, with you becoming a part of our family, we hope to repay at least a part of it." said Abraxas Malfoy with a small smile, handing the boy a stack of papers. "All you have to do is sign here and you'll become a member of my family."
Hadrian took a look at the documents and then he fixed the Malfoys with an intense stare in search of any deceit or trickery.
The father and son, Abraxas and Lucius, looked like carbon copy's of each other. If he hadn't known better, Hadrian would have even called them twins, seeing how both had a pale complexion with silverish-blond hair, sharp aristocratic features and always maintained a stiff, almost formal, posture. Their dark-green robes were identical and appeared to be made of the finest silk, even the buttons and stitching speaking of their obvious high status in society. They practically screamed "noble and rich" with only their attire.
The only difference between the two was that, unlike his father that had pale gray eyes and wore his short hair sleeked on the back, Lucius had icy-blue eyes and long, silky hair that he kept in a low-ponytail. Well, that and the fact that Lucius seemed to be in his early teens, fourteen at most, while Abraxas was already in his late thirties.
The Malfoys allowed Hadrian all the time he needed to assess them. After the life Hadrian had led until now, it was normal for him to feel overwhelmed and suspicious of something with so much impact on one's life like this. Thus, all the Malfoys sighed inwardly in happiness as Hadrian finally gave a nod in acceptance and signed the documents.
Aria squealed in delight, hugging her new brother to death, while Lucius simply gave a little smug smirk. He'd always wanted a brother to look after and, although he loved Aria from the bottom of his heart, it simply wasn't the same. But now, finally, his wish had come true. And nobody would be allowed to hurt him under his watch, he thought, feeling a fierce wave of protectiveness towards the new addition of his family. Lucius wasn't a caring person, everybody knew that, but for the ones that managed to find a place in his heart, the number of whom he could count on his fingers, he would do anything to keep them safe. And I mean anything.
While Lucius was busy imagining some hellish torture for the ones that dared to make his dear ones cry, Hadrian was busy trying to breathe. As he finally managed to detach the little hugging monster from himself, he took the time to regain his composure.
"So, what now?" he asked, as the silence between him and the Malfoys, who seemed to be lost in their own world, continued to stretch.
"You have an appointment at two o'clock for Gringotts so, as soon as Professor Riddle arrives, we will port-key there. After, you will be going with us to Malfoy Manor, of course. After all, now you are Hadrian Malfoy, a part of my family," answered Abraxas in a deep baritone voice, ignoring the somewhat awkward silence that took place.
"Gringotts? What for?" a confused Hadrian asked, with a small blush at the family comment and, as the Malfoy patriarch prepared to open his mouth and speak, another voice intervened with the answer.
"Why, to find out your true heritage, Mr. Fowl, what else. Surely, seeing your intelligence and considering that you are an orphan, you must have thought of the possibility that your parents could have been wizards, didn't you? Who knows, maybe you have a small fortune from them just waiting to be claimed by you," replied the smooth voice of Professor Riddle, whose entrance into the room had gone unseen.
"But how? I thought that a heredity test cost a small fortune to do," Hadrian pointed out, not in the very least surprised by the man's sudden appearance. Of course he had thought about finding out if his parents were wizards by using it, but he knew, from his previous life, that the price of such a test, and the fact that it needed a special approval from the Ministry of Magic, was something beyond his reach at this moment in time, so he found himself forced to wait until he could get his hands on the necessary money.
"And you think that for a Malfoy, like you just became, such a small thing like money still presents a problem? It hasn't even passed your mind that the Malfoys are like royalty in the wizarding world and that the price for something like this is like pocket change for them?" Riddle inquired in such a highly patronizing tone that it made Hadrian scowl, judging that, by the silence of the Malfoy family and Abraxas's somewhat proud stance, everything said was true. But how in the world the professor expected him to make all those connections in only the few minutes since the adoption was completed, Hadrian couldn't comprehend.
Maybe it was because of what his psychotic alter-ego in Harry's world did, or maybe it was because he was such a smug jerk, but Hadrian couldn't help but be aggravated by the man. Even seeing Riddle's tall and lean frame, clothed in high-quality but simple black robes, leaning against the wall in a casual way like now, irritated the young boy to no end. This time though, Hadrian refused to take the bait and start an argument with him, despite the obvious challenge in the man's tone.
He didn't exactly know why, but it seemed that Riddle enjoyed getting a rise out of him. In the past week that he had spent under the mediwizard's care at St. Mungos, thanks to his little "surviving the AK" stunt, the professor visited him daily, if only for a short while and there wasn't a single visit that didn't end with the two of them engaged in some verbal spar. Hadrian tried to be respectful to the man and stop himself from retorting, especially since he was his soon to be teacher, really he did, but Riddle proved to be impossible difficult to ignore!
"Oh, is that so," said Hadrian in his most bland tone. "Then shouldn't we leave seeing that if we wait much longer we'll be late? And, surely professor, you wouldn't want to be the one that caused the goblins to wait! Not when they already seem to dislike you so," he continued with a voice that contained the perfect mix between alarm, worry and a spice of sarcasm.
Riddle's eyebrow twitched, Aria giggled, Lucius' smirk grew wider and Abraxas actually gaped at the casual interaction between his new son and his lord. What the hell was going on between those two?
Never, and when Abraxas thought that he really meant never, had he seen Riddle so... relaxed, yes that was the word, in the company of another person. When his lord was in the company of someone else, be it a friend or an enemy, he always seemed to keep his guard up, likely anticipating an attack only he could predict would happen. And seeing him be so unguarded in the presence of Hadrian was... unsettling.
Narrowing his eyes Abraxas decided that maybe he should reevaluate his opinion about the boy. There was certainly more than met the eyes to the child, ignoring his feat of magic, if one took account of the attitude his sire showed towards him. And he would find out exactly what.
"Cheeky brat," muttered Riddle, too low for anybody to hear, as he took out a golden coin from his pocket.
"Seeing that, as Mr. Fowl was so kind to let us know, we will be running late if we don't hurry, all of you put you finger on this galleon. It is a port key that will activate itself in...twenty three seconds and counting," demanded Riddle in a drawled voice, glancing as his elegant silver wrist-watch.
Hadrian was grateful that he didn't have to sound ignorant about the port-key anymore, as he wasn't in the mood for acting after the shocks he got in the course of the last few minutes. He reckoned he should be thankful to Professor Riddle for that, seeing that it was because of the books the man loaned him that he could show his knowledge about the wizarding world without suspicion, but it wasn't easy to be grateful to a slave driver.
The professor had started to bring him books the day after he regained consciousness, two or three a day, about the wizarding world – laws and forms of government, history, customs – including a guide of manners for purebloods, general knowledge and much more. Of course, Hadrian felt grateful to Riddle for making his stay less boring, that is until he learned what the catch was.
It appeared that the man actually expected Hadrian to read and learn the contents of the books in the course of a single day, quizzing him about what he had learned till Hadrian felt like his head started to spin in circles.
Luckily, his counterpart was a bookworm and a quick learner, the life at the orphanage making him seek refuge in books, something Hadrian thought could have happened to him if the Dursley's had allowed him to go to a library. So, with a more or less headache, Hadrian managed to learn everything the hell's tutor had thrown at him.
But really now, Riddle was a combination of McGonagall's strict manner, Snape's witty sarcasm and Dumbledore's cunning. In a word-scary.
He shivered a little at that, gaining some weird looks from the Slytherins that were with him in the room. He ignored them and gingerly put his finger on the fake galleon, along with Abraxas and Riddle.
Lucius and Aria abstained as they were to return to the Malfoy Manor as Aria was already sleeping on her feet, although, if someone were to ask her, she would have denied it. Of course, Lucius was to accompany her home. You don't let a five years old girl wonder alone on the streets, you know.
Giving them a small smile as good-bye, Hadrian prepared himself for being portkeyed.
It happened immediately. Hadrian felt as though a hook just behind his navel had just been jerked irresistibly forward without notice. His feet left the ground; he could feel Malfoy and Riddle on either side of him, their shoulders banging into his; they were all speeding forward in a howl of wind and swirling color; his forefinger stuck to the coin as though it was pulling him magnetically onward when suddenly the spinning stopped and he landed sprawled on Gringotts' marble floor, a dazed look in his eyes.
He looked up. Mr. Malfoy, still standing, though looking very windswept, was smirking down at his misfortune, amused. But that wasn't the worst of it. Riddle, the bastard, was looking as good as always, not even a hair out of place, and was smugly smiling at Hadrian's ungraceful landing. Scowling, Hadrian hastily got up muttering curse after curse under his breath.
He absolutely hated port-keys!
"Well, look who finally honored us with their presence," said a goblin nastily, having watched their arrival without making his presence known, his swarthy face contorted in a slight sneer. "You are seven seconds late so come on now, follow me as to not became even more late. We are going to Manager Bogrud's office and we don't want to make him wait for us," the goblin spat, turning around and leaving, not bothering to see if the wizards followed him or not. If they didn't it was their loss after all.
Used to to the goblins' temperamental comportment, the wizards took no offense and only shrugged as they proceeded to follow the moody creature through the labyrinth created by Gringotts' vast halls.
They followed the goblin as he turned around a right corner, then a left one, and then left again, the process repeating itself over and over, making Hadrian admit defeat as they continued to walk deeper and deeper into the heart of Gringotts.
There was simply no way someone could remember such a complex system of hallways just by walking through them, Hadrian thought, sulking. It was even more disconcerting than Hogwarts' moving stairs that confused the first' year students to no end and made them late to classes. Though, Hadrian thought, that was somehow a part of Hogwarts' initiation. He fondly smiled as he remembered the troubles those moving stairs caused him at first, a sentiment of longing blooming in his chest. He couldn't wait to see his school, his real home again!
After more than fifteen minutes walked in silence Hadrian grew bored so he hastened his pace until he and the goblin were walking side by side.
"What is your name?" Hadrian inquired politely, while continuing to follow the irritated goblin through the corridors of Gringotts. The goblin glanced at Hadrian from the corner of his eyes, with slight surprise swimming in their depth. "I'm called Naghok, Mr. Fowl," the goblin finally answered, after a few moments in which he seemed to hold an internal debate of sorts.
"You appear surprised by my question," pointed Hadrian. "Why?"
The goblin gave the boy another strange sidelong glance as he stopped in front of a door. "Usually, wizards don't tend to associate themselves with goblins on name basis. Especially when the goblin in question is a low-rank as myself. They trust us with their money and other possessions but they consider themselves superior to us. As it is, I can't say I wasn't warned about the fact that you are a weird wizard beforehand. And you are weird wizard indeed, Mr. Fowl," said Naghok, in such way that the term 'weird wizard' sounded like a compliment. "We have arrived," continued the goblin, turning towards the rest of the wizards that watched the on-going talk between Hadrian and Naghok with curiosity, the tone of mild-acceptance that he used while conversing with Hadrian being replaced by a disgusted one.
He knocked on the polished black door that held attached a gold plate that read 'Senior Manager Bogrud – Department Chief of Family issues', in bold, silver looking letters.
"Senior Manager Bogrod, Mr. Hadrian Fowl and company are here for the heredity test.." Naghok announced. Sound of rustling papers was heard then a grumbling voice answered:
"Send them in, assistant Naghok." And they were ushered into the chamber.
Even though "the company" was indignant at being refereed in such an unimportant way, they didn't raise their voices to complain as they entered Bogrod's office.
The office couldn't be described anything other than practical, Hadrian thought as he let his eyes roam the chamber. Shelves full with scrolls, files and orders neatly sorted and inscribed in Gobbledygook covered the marble walls. In the center of the room stood a magnificent-looking desk that, despite being loaded with several files and scrolls in what the goblins would have considered an untidy mess, seemed to be used at its full potential by the white-haired goblin that regarded them from behind it.
Bogrud, as Hadrian supposed the goblin was, looked older than every other goblin Hadrian had ever met. He wore a dark burgundy suit with golden buttons and a monocle on his left eye. His dark skin, wrinkled and full of old scars, spoke of the hardships and experience the goblin had gathered in the course of his life, the hard way. The never-ending black eyes, full of wisdom, regarded the visitors with an intelligent expression, pausing a little longer when they reached the figure of Hadrian.
'So this is him, hmm...'
" Good afternoon," Bogrud finally greeted in an brisk voice, getting up from his chair and walking around the desk towards one of the multiple shelves that covered the wall to pick a small bottle full of some sort of sickly-looking green potion, totally ignoring the polite replies the wizards returned to his greeting.
He then strode confidently towards Hadrian, stopping just inches from the now startled boy .
"Mr Fowl, due to the meddling of one, who we'll leave unnamed for now, powerful wizard that interfered in the process of approval for this heredity test, you are to perform a third level one that will show you only the names of your parents and the number of their personal vaults , if they indeed owned one, so that they could pass on to you," said the goblin his dark eyes staring deeply into Hadrian's brilliant green ones.
"But," continued the goblin, with one of the nastiest smirks Hadrian had ever seen, "due to the special request of an old friend of mine, we, at the Gringotts bank, have agreed to...bend...the laws a little and give you a first level heredity test if you, and your companions," continued Bogrud, addressing the others wizards in the room for the first time, "swear to keep the involvement the goblins had in the discovery of your heritage, a secret." the old goblin finished, his eyes piercing Hadrian to his very soul. "Do you agree?"
"Er... yes?" answered Hadrian in a questioning tone as he turned towards Prof. Riddle and Mr. Malfoy for support. Though the latter was rather bristled at the goblin's complete dismissal of his presence, both gave a nod to the senior manager goblin.
Seemingly satisfied, Bogrud stepped back from Hadrian's personal space, holding up the potion bottle towards the boy to take it.
"Then let us start, Mr. Fowl," said the old goblin, after the boy took the bottle.
"In your hand is the Ostendo Parentilia, a very complex potion which you have to drink so that you can take the test. The potion will interact directly with your blood and magical core so that it can determine all the magical properties of your blood, but I must warn you that it will also cause immeasurable amounts of pain to your body for at least 30 seconds, pain that is, some say, comparable to that of the Cruciatus curse. The good news is that after the seconds are up the pain will completely disappear without any after-effects. The next part of the process is much more simple. You only have to drop your potion infused blood on a special Gringotts' made piece of parchment and, in a few moments, your ancestors and heritage will be revealed," explained Bogrud to the young man.
No hesitation could be seen in Hadrian's eyes as he gulped the whole potion in one big gulp.
The liquid was more than awful,a bitter and sour taste assaulting his tongue, his stomach starting to shift dangerously as a smell of rotten eggs reached his nose.
The vial dropped on the ground with a loud bang, smashing in thousand of little pieces as Hadrian's breath become more and more erratic. The world started to spin around him and he started to collapse to the floor only to be caught by someones strong arms. He felt himself shake as wave after wave of heat invaded his body, growing more and more hot with each intake of air until he felt as if molted lava ran through his veins instead of blood. Drops of sweat formed on his forehead drenching his bangs and he started to hiss loudly in agony under his breath.
This was pain much worse than the Cruciatus curse would ever produce. If he were to compare this sensation to anything, Hadrian thought it might be similar to being boiled alive in hot oil and, in his humble opinion, that was much worse than the sensation of being struck by lighting produced by the Cruciatus. He should know as he had experience now with both sensations.
He ground his teeth together as hard as he could, trying to keep in his screams inside, as he didn't want to seem weak in front of Malfoy and Riddle but he couldn't resist any longer. A heart-wrenching cry escaped through Hadrian's lips, filling the chamber before, as suddenly as it came, everything stopped. The cry, the pain, everything...
Feeling lightheaded, Hadrian ignored the voices that seemed so far away and the prickling sensation of his palm, in favor of enjoying the numbness that surrounded him, lulling him to sleep. He felt the arms around him shift when, in a such a cruel way, he was awakened to the world.
"Enervate!" a merciless voice said, and Hadrian felt as though a ice cold water bucket was thrown in his face. Gasping, he bolted upright, glaring at Riddle who was the one to use the spell on him and that, to his stupor, was holding him in his arms.
With a small flush, he hastily sat up trying to ignore his still dizzy vision.
"Glad to have you return to us. Come now, your heritage is about to be revealed," Riddle said, pointing to Bogrud who, indeed, held a piece of parchment safely in his hands and, looking at his bleeding palm, Hadrian realized that they already taken the blood from him when he was... unwell.
Cursive red letters started to appear on the parchment, making Hadrian's eyes widen as big as saucers while he read their content.
NAME: Hadrian Hywel- Andorrisoe, pureblood wizard, alive
DATE of BIRTH: 31 October 1950
MOTHER: Louise von Andorrisoe, Noble house of Andorrisoe – pureblood witch, dead
FATHER: Llewellyn Hywel, Most Ancient and Noble House of Hywel – pureblood wizard, dead
HEIR to:
Hywel line
Ravenclaw line
Grindelwald line
Second HEIR to:
Slytherin line
Andorrisoe line
BLOOD abilities
animagus – through Hywel line, undeveloped
metamorphmagus – trough Hywel line, partly developed
rune master – trough Ravenclaw line, undeveloped
Dark Arts – trough Grindelwald line, partly developed
parcelmouth – trough Slytherin line, developed
elemental master – through Andorrisoe line , undeveloped
healing – trough Andorrisoe line, partly developed
ACQUIRED abilities
wandless magic
natural occlumence
INHERITANCE
Hywel estates – confiscated by the ministry
Andorrisoe Manor, in France
vault 474, 557, 283 – confiscated by the ministry
vault 101
Ancient Vault 3 "Hywel archive" – if the probes are passed
2 Wizengamot seats
1 International Confederation of Wizards' chair
Hadrian gaped.
"Impressive..." murmured Riddle, his red eyes calculating as he thought of all the possible outcomes this may have.
Malfoy just proceeded to imitate Hadrian.
"Bloody hell...I'M GRINDELWALD's HEIR!" Hadrian exclaimed loud enough to raise the dead from their graves, pointing an accusatory finger towards the piece of parchment.
"I think we got that, Mr. Fowl. No need to shout," said Riddle dryly, though even he seemed shocked by the information written on the parchment.
"But, but, he's a DARK LORD! And he kills people! And his men could have killed me!" Hadrian continued to sputter, trying to make them see his point.
Surprisingly, it wasn't Riddle who replied this time.
"Mr. Fowl, you seem like a clever boy," said Bogrud gruffly. "How is that you are so blind in this case? Allow me to tell you that where you see a Dark Lord, others see a man that fight for his ideals. He kills people? I'm sorry to be the one to give you this news, but there is a war going on in your world. And in war, people die. As for the fact that his people tried to kill you, I need to ask you something – are you sure about that? Are you sure that they were his men, the Reapers? As I see it, no one, especially Gellert, would be so stupid as to order an attack in which possible allies could be slaughtered and his reputation destroyed. That will be suicidal. It is very clear, at least for me, that we deal with a set up made to destroy Gellart's chances at wining the war. And not a clever one in the least seeing that, if they thought for a little, everybody will come to the same conclusion," continued the old goblin, showing a part of his wisdom.
"And, Mr. Fowl, I must say that I'm sure Grindelwald will be very happy to know he has you as a grandson. You have, after all, a warrior's heart," finished Bogrud with something akin with pride in his voice.
In the end, even though they now spend their time counting gold, goblins had warriors' souls deep inside them and they respected the fighting spirit of someone, irrespective of age, race or sex. And Hadrian definitely earned their respect by refusing to show weakness and enduring, almost until the end, such excruciating torture without screaming. If there was one thing goblins acknowledged, it was the magical power and strength of the heart. The boy seemed to have both.
"Manager Bogrud," intervened the smooth voice of Riddle, "are you certain? Is he really the Hywel heir?"
"Of course he is," replied Bogrud indignantly. "The blood doesn't lie."
"It's not that we don't trust a goblin run test, but the Hywel heir... You have to admit that it is a lot to take in," said Malfoy, not wanting a dispute between his master and the goblin to ignite.
"What's so strange about me being the Hywel heir? I would have thought that the part of me being the heir to Grindelwald, Ravenclaw or Slytherin would be the one that will raise question marks," piped Hadrian, deciding to deal with the Grindelwald issue later, when the shock had eased from his system.
"Mr. Fowl," started Riddle, with his teacher voice that usually appeared at the start of a lecture, "the Hywel house is the oldest House in Europe, and when I say the oldest, I mean it. The members of this house were, usually, neutral in wars, neither supporting the light side nor the dark one. It is even said that the Slytherin and Ravenclaw's lines were, at first, minor branches of this house, though there wasn't any proof to attest to this matter. But that isn't what made this family so famous in some circles.
Though, these days, not many are aware of the existence of the Hywels, as they have been out of the spot light for centuries, everyone has heard, at least in passing, about the Hywel's archive, also known as the Library of Alexandria in antiquity, that contained more than nine hundred thousand parchments of knowledge. What most people don't know was that, in the fire that supposedly destroyed the library, a predecessor of the Hywels, by using magic, saved most of the books and deposited them in one of the first vaults made by the goblins for protection. Along the years, the Hywels continued to gather knowledge and deposit it into the vault for safe-keeping, most of them becoming historians.
Also, there are rumors that the Hywel archive contains even stone tablets from the Ancient Library of Elba saved from the city's destruction in 2290 BC and to even think that the Hywel House existed even then is quite mind-blowing, one could say.
As it is, you can probably imagine the power the one that owns the library has, considering that it contains knowledge gathered since ancient time till at least the last century.
Of course, the Hywels have realized that also and, to stop the future abuse of the power that kind of knowledge will offer, they conceived some probes that will grant access to the vault to a Hywel heir only once he passes them," said Riddle, becoming more passionate with each word and looking as if he contemplated the idea of making Hadrian challenge the, probably dangerous, probes right now.
"Sadly, the probes can't be taken until the boy reaches the age of fourteen, at least," said Bogrud, making Hadrian sigh in relief. "Anyway, there are many matters to be handled, including the retrieval of the properties that the ministry confiscated," continued Bogrud with a sadistic smile "but I think we must leave those discussions for another day, when everybody has assimilated the impact today's discoveries will have on the wizarding world. For now, I think everything should be kept a secret, at least till our next appointment in which Mr. Fowl and his adoptive father Mr. Malfoy, with a chosen adviser if he so wishes, will decide what the next step will be."
The wizards could only nod dumbly as they allowed themselves to be led outside of the office after exchanging some good-bye pleasantries.
Never in their wildest dreams had they imagined something like this. Abraxas was almost euphoric, realizing that THE Hywel heir was now part of his family, Riddle was thinking of all the possibilities the change of Hadrian's status would offer, while Hadrian...well, Hadrian decided to shut down his brain, not wanting to cope with so many shocking things happening to him on such a short notice, and only sulked about how his life could never be normal.
In another place, contrary to Hadrian's down mood, somebody was celebrating the findings. He had an heir...
...TBC...
AN/ Hey guys! ^-^ How do you liked the chapter? I hope you enjoyed it as I'm beat! I'm sorry but, as I don't even see the keys to type straight, I'll keep this short, T.T
Firstly, I officially raise Zana and Lena at the rang of personal muses! You guys are great! I made this chapter thinking at your wonderful suggestions! Also, to all my reviewers and readers I can't say THANK YOU enough times to express my happiness at your support.
Secondly, in the reviews, the most important question, in my opinion, lol!, was how Grindelwald escaped prison and I wanted to say that it will be revealed in the next three four chapter so don't panic folks and have a bit of patience as the answers will be given with each new chapter, hehe =^~^=
And thirdly, I'm not sure when I'll post the next chapter but I'll try to update in a weak or so.
Give me reviews and feed my motivation, pretty please ^-* , lol!
See ya sooon and sorry for the really short AN but I'm sleep-typing right now, -_-
Ja ne ^.^
P.S. I'll post another AN-sort of chapter in a couple of day and I'll announce you the date of update ^-^