Disclaimer: Obviously I don't own Hannibal or Harry Potter.
Chapter 5: We're in the City of Wonder
A week later saw Hadrian disembarking from the airport into London, England. He settled into his hotel room, and then he began to enact his plan. Before he left his father had made him construct a well thought out plan. His father then helped him iron out the finer details of his plan before he let him go.
Dawning a set of black and silver robes Hadrian prepared himself for his entrance to the wizarding world. He already knew the location to the entrance to Diagon Alley and Hadrian was planning on the alleyway being his first stop. The Leaky Cauldron was a dark and dingy little place but it didn't seem to matter to all of the wizards and witches who frequented it. Bar flies and families with small children alike resided in the pub. Hadrian breezed through the bar and out into the back alley. He'd timed it just right and was able to slip through as a group of redheads opened the brick wall leading into the alley.
Hadrian quickly broke off from the loud and rambunctious group. He had somewhere he wanted to stop first. It would be a lie to say that Hadrian wasn't impressed with Diagon Alley. The alleyway was older than any wizarding village in America, and the magic surrounding it thrummed against his skin. Hadrian soon made his way to the shop he wanted to see, Ollivander's.
He stepped inside the small, cluttered shop. It was dark and boxes upon boxes of wands lay scattered every which way. The shop was empty of customers and Hadrian's eyes flickered about trying to find the shopkeeper. He was a bit surprised when a man suddenly appeared before him. Not even Hadrian's sharp senses had been capable of sensing the wizard's presence. The man's silvery eyes flickered over Hadrian. An intensity to his gaze that Hadrian wasn't used to experiencing.
"This is a day I never expected to see Mr. Potter," Ollivander said by way of greeting.
Hadrian refused to show his surprise and calmly replied, "It's Lecter now, actually."
"Ah, of course. Well, Mr. Lecter, I assume you want a wand?"
"Yes, I do."
"Your father favored a mahogany, 11 inches, very pliable and excellent for transfiguration. While your mother favored a willow, 10 and a quarter inches, swishy, and perfect for charm work. But I suppose neither of those traits would apply to you, Mr. Lecter. After all you don't really even need a wand," Olivander said cryptically.
"No, I don't, and I'm sure I don't have to threaten you Mr. Ollivander to keep my secrets," Hadrian purred.
"Of course not, Mr. Lecter. I would never be foolish enough to cross one of your kind. Now, I think I have just the wand for you," with that the wizard disappeared only to return with a long thin box.
From the box he pulled a holly wand passing it over to Hadrian. He took it in his hand and dark red sparks burst from the tip. It was almost as if a shower of blood had burst from it. There was a slight tingle in his body as if a long lost echo of his wizarding magic was attempting to connect to the wand.
"I've had several long years to think of the wand that would have chosen Harry Potter had he lived. I knew this one would be it. No wizard made wand will ever truly choose you, Mr. Lecter. But I believe this one will settle for you considering you were once it's true partner," Ollivander said looking almost regretful for the loss of the wizard Harry Potter may have been, had he not become Hadrian Lecter.
"And what is so special about it?" Hadrian questioned. He'd already tucked the wand away and had pulled out the appropriate amount of galleons.
"The phoenix that gave the feather in that wand gave only one other feather. The other feather resides in the wand of the Dark Lord," Ollivander explained.
"Brother wands," Hadrian whispered a terrible smile stretching across his face. This wand would be perfect for his plans against Voldemort.
Hadrian didn't miss the shudder that ran through the old man. He could scent the man's fear. Despite the man's impressive intuition or perhaps because of it he knew to fear Hadrian and his intentions.
"It was nice meeting you, Mr. Ollivander, and thank you for everything. I truly appreciate all your help," Hadrian tipped the coins into his palm.
"Goodbye, Mr. Lecter," Ollivander whispered softly as Hadrian exited the shop.
With a wand securely in his possession Hadrian set out to play at being a wizard. Specifically he played the part of a tourist from wizarding America. He stopped in a few of the other shops making sure that he was seen quite a bit, and in turn he kept an eye out for friends of his biological parents. Hadrian was well prepared for this trip. He'd done research on the lives of his biological parents and the people they associated with. He was also up to date on the current events in the wizarding world.
The Ministry of Magic was hopeless against Voldemort barely recognizing that he had returned all the while his supporters infiltrated the Ministry more and more every day. The Order of the Phoenix was Voldemort's only true opposition. It was a group led by Albus Dumbledore the man who seemingly controlled everything in the war effort against Voldemort. He was also the one who had placed him with the Dursleys. Hadrian had planned his downfall as well. In fact once Hadrian was through the entirety of Britain's wizarding world would be in shambles.
It took three days of loitering around the alley before Hadrian caught sight of someone he recognized. It was Sirius Black, and Remus Lupin. Black was tall and broad with long wavy dark hair that only had a touch of gray to it. No doubt from his time in Azkaban. Lupin was thinner and ragged looking with scars tracing across his worn features. Hadrian easily caught the scent of werewolf. Werewolves were one of Hadrian's favorite things to hunt. On the full moon they were vicious beasts, and quite difficult to subdue. However, Lupin looked liked he'd been poisoning his wolf, and probably wasn't capable of putting up much of a fight against Hadrian's ravenstag form. Hadrian concealed his scent to ensure that the werewolf wouldn't discover him. He then followed the two men as they headed into Gringotts but did not follow them inside. Hadrian waited patiently for them to return. Nearly a half hour later they departed from the bank moving quickly back down the street.
Hadrian decided to run into them, literally.
"Hey, watch where you're going kid," Black barked as Hadrian knocked into them causing the bag he was carrying to fall.
"Sorry, sir, didn't see you there," Hadrian apologized scrambling to pick up the things on the ground.
Hadrian's interest was piqued when he saw the cup, and sensed the dark magic coming from it.
Black snatched it from him, and Hadrian finally straightened up to face the two wizards for the first time.
"Right, I'm sure. Bloody tourists, I swear they get ruder every… James?" gasped Black as he finally got a good look at Hadrian's face. Lupin had gotten a look a long time ago and was simply gazing at Hadrian with a stunned expression.
"Excuse me?" Hadrian said politely making sure his American accent was obvious.
"James, you look…you look just like James," Black stuttered out in awe.
"Uh, sorry but I don't know any James. You must have me confused with someone else," Hadrian shrugged apologetically. "Listen, sorry about bumping into you but I have to go."
"Harry?" Lupin questioned, timid hope in his eyes.
"Um, no sorry, my name's Hadrian," Hadrian frowned.
Black quickly moved to brush his purposely-messy hair from his forehead to reveal the lightening bolt-shaped scar. Hadrian had darkened the practically faded scar for just this purpose. Lupin was gazing into his green eyes searching for some sign that Hadrian recognized them. Hadrian had bought green contacts as close to his previous eye color as he could manage. It would be enough to fool them. After all the years would have muddled with their memories enough to forget the exact color of Lily Potter's eyes.
"Harry," Black gasped, tears in his eyes as he enveloped Hadrian in a tight hug. "Oh, thank Merlin. I can't believe it's really you. You're really alive. I knew you couldn't really be dead."
"Sirius we can't do this here," Lupin shifted nervously. "You know he has spies everywhere."
"Right, come with us," Black commanded, already tugging Hadrian down the street without even so much as asking.
"Listen, sir. I don't know who you are, and I'm not going with you," Hadrian extracted himself from Black's tight grip.
"But Harry, it's me, Sirius. I'm Padfoot, your godfather," Black cried desperately trying to clutch at him.
"I don't know who you are, and I don't know any Harrys. My name is Hadrian Lecter. I'm here on a backpacking trip through Europe from America before I go to college next year. I'm just passing through," Hadrian insisted.
"Were you adopted?" Lupin asked, remaining practical while his friend allowed himself to be overcome with his emotions. Black's overemotional state, and desperate need for a connection, no doubt caused from years in Azkaban, would be something Hadrian could exploit to his advantage later on.
"I was… How did you know that?" Hadrian asked, appearing uncomfortable but interested.
"Har—Hadrian we would really like to sit down, and talk with you. We think we might know who you are or at least who you were. Would you be comfortable with going to a muggle café?" Lupin suggested.
"I suppose I can. I was supposed to catch a boat to France later in the day but I'm not really on any sort of schedule. I can always catch the next one," Hadrian shrugged. "I'd like to hear what you have to say especially how you knew I was adopted."
"Great, I know just the place," Lupin turned and led the way from the alley.
Black continued to send Hadrian longing glances. It was obvious he wanted to say something to Hadrian but every time he opened his mouth, Lupin would gently touch his arm to remind him to keep quiet. Hadrian kept his silence as well, playing the part of a teenage boy who'd had his world suddenly turned upside down. Inside he was doing cartwheels, thrilled to finally have the chance to put all of his plans into actions. He couldn't have asked for a better opportunity than meeting both Black and Lupin first.
They made their way out of the Leaky Cauldron onto Charring Cross Road. They walked down several streets before coming to a relatively secluded café. The three of them found a private table in the corner to sit, and Lupin covertly cast a few privacy and notice-me-not wards around them.
"Now, explain. How did you know about my scar, and that I was adopted?" Hadrian demanded.
"First off, I'm Remus Lupin and this is Sirius Black. Hadrian, you look just like one of our best friends, James Potter. He and his wife were murdered. I assume you know about You-Know-Who if you've spent even a little bit of time in Diagon Alley," Lupin began.
"I've heard about him. Even back home they talk about him, and I did my research before I decided to take a trip here," Hadrian answered.
"Good, that's good. James and his wife Lily were murdered by You-Know-Who. They had a son, Harry. He survived the attack somehow, and was hailed as the wizarding world's savior," Lupin continued.
"I've heard the story. The Boy-Who-Lived, he was sent to live with his muggle relatives but they were all murdered a few years later. They never found the one responsible," Hadrian said in hopes of moving things along.
"No, they didn't. But you see Harry's body was never found in the house along with his relatives," Lupin said, watching Hadrian's reactions carefully while also keeping a close eye on Black. The dark haired wizard appeared to be torn between exploding into an angry outburst, and having an utter meltdown.
"You think I'm Harry Potter," Hadrian said as if the thought had just occurred to him.
"Harry was known for having a lightning bolt shaped scar on his forehead, just like yours," Lupin said.
"It's a difficult thing to fake a curse scar like that," Black insisted even though he hadn't actually scanned the scar for residual magic. The man was simply desperate for any excuse to prove that Hadrian was his lost godson.
"If I was Harry Potter, don't you think I would remember it?" Hadrian demanded.
"Whoever took you must have obliviated you," Black snarled.
"What's your first memory?" Lupin asked much more gently.
"Waking up in an orphanage in America. The people there said they had found me on the front porch. They never found out where I had come from, and I didn't even remember my own name. I ended up being adopted by a wizarding couple about a year later. They raised me and treated me wonderfully. I grew up in the American wizarding world," Hadrian explained.
"It doesn't make sense," Lupin muttered.
"Who cares Moony? We have Harry back," Black cried.
"You can't be sure that I'm really Harry Potter just because of a scar," Hadrian argued.
"I know my godson. You are him," Black swore.
"The similarities are uncanny, and unlikely," Lupin mumbled.
"Say that I am him, what would it mean?" Hadrian asked.
"It means that you could stay with us," Black looked so hopeful.
Hadrian couldn't resist crushing him a bit.
"I'm sorry but I already have a family, and a home. I'm going to college in the fall. I can't stay here," Hadrian told him softly.
"You can't just leave. Not when we've just found you. There's so much we can share with you about your parents," Black cried, looking slightly manic.
"Maybe you could stay a few days. You're on vacation right?" Hadrian nodded to Lupin's query. "We could introduce you to some of your birth parent's old friends, and tell you a little bit about them."
"I don't know. I'm still not sure if I'm really Harry Potter," Hadrian replied, maintaining the façade of appropriate skepticism.
"You smell like Harry," Lupin said quietly, uncomfortable with sharing this information for fear of being caught out as being a werewolf.
Hadrian inwardly congratulated himself on successfully confusing the werewolf's senses. But then again the Wolfsbane Potion certainly helped in dulling the natural strength of the wolf's senses.
"Here, look at this picture and tell me you aren't Harry Potter," Black shoved a moving picture of a young couple with a young baby under his nose.
Hadrian looked over the picture. He had never seen his birth parents before. Not even in the deepest depths of his mind maze was he able to retrieve memories of their faces. Black was right he looked a great deal like James Potter in the shape of his jaw, chin, and brow. However, Lily Potter's features lent him a more refined and sophisticated look with the higher cheekbones, and almond shaped eyes. Hadrian also regarded his younger self. The baby in the picture was smiling and giggling as his obviously adoring parents doted on him. Hadrian allowed himself a moment of weakness to wonder what could have happened had his parents lived. He ruthlessly pushed the thoughts aside. Hadrian was happy being what he was. He wouldn't change a thing about himself.
"Okay, so maybe there's a bit of a resemblance," Hadrian conceded.
"A bit? You look just like him," Black barked.
"Maybe I am Harry Potter. Or at least I was once. Either way, I guess I'd like to find out. I've always wondered about where I came from, and what happened to my memories. I guess this is my chance to find out, huh?"
Black was giving him a huge grin. "You'll come with us?"
"Well, as long as you promise you aren't murderers trying to lure me back with you," Hadrian chuckled.
Naturally the two of them had no idea that Hadrian was well aware of just who the two of them were. If he hadn't he never would have followed two strange men home so willingly. Lupin and Black were far too wrapped up in their discovery to really contemplate just how strange it was for Hadrian to be so accepting of their story. Although, Black thought he was being too resistant to their advances, which worked out well for Hadrian. The two were far too confident in their abilities to recognize him, and it made them all the more willing to bring a veritable stranger to their home.
Black barked out a laugh. "You don't have worry about anything like that from us."
"I'm just glad you ran into us first. Who knows what the Death Eaters would have done to you if they'd found you first," Lupin worried.
Black likewise tensed up, and fear flashed across his features. He scanned the area as if expecting they were about to be jumped never knowing that the true danger was sitting right beside him.
"We should get going. The others will be worried over what's kept us so long," Lupin was glancing around now as well.
Hadrian's thoughts went back to the cup laced with dark magic. Just what were the Order of the Phoenix up to? Hadrian would have to examine the cup more closely, but for a moment the dark magic had felt familiar. It had almost felt like a horcrux.
"Let's go then," Hadrian enthused.
"First, read this," Black wrote something on a napkin and slipped it to Hadrian.
"The Order of the Phoenix is located at Number 12, Grimmauld Place," Hadrian read. The wizards really were too trusting to allow him access to their secret headquarters without any real proof of who he was.
"It's my family's old place. We've cleaned it up a bit since then to make it somewhat hospitable," Black shrugged.
"Here, I'll side along with you," Lupin offered Hadrian his arm.
Hadrian took his arm, and allowed the wizard to apparate them even though he loathed apparation. It was such a messy way to travel. Hadrian much preferred the shadow travel his father had taught him. The three of them landed just outside a row of old homes. Hadrian watched, feigning interest, as Number 12 made its appearance between Numbers 11 and 13. Hadrian followed the two wizards up the steps into the old house. The place was clean and appeared to have recently undergone some renovations. The three of them made their way down the hallway into a drawing room where a group of young wizards and witches sat around playing games.
"They're back!" a red haired girl shouted.
There seemed to be an awful lot of redheads around here. Hadrian counted four right off the bat.
More wizards poured into the room. All of them were congratulating Black and Lupin on a successfully completed mission, and worrying over how long they had taken to return. Black turned over the bag with the cup to the oldest wizard in the room. The old wizard had a long white beard and hair, and bright periwinkle robes with silver stars. Hadrian easily recognized him to be the one and only Albus Dumbledore. The excited chattering tapered off as more and more of them noticed Hadrian standing awkwardly in the doorway.
"Who is this, my boys?" Dumbledore questioned his twinkling blue eyes shrewdly as he looked Hadrian over.
Hadrian felt a moment of panic that the powerful old wizard might be able to sense what he really was. But it passed when he didn't call Hadrian out.
"This is the reason why we were late," Black announced proudly. "Everyone I'd like you to meet my godson, Harry Potter."
"It's Hadrian actually, Hadrian Lecter," Hadrian corrected politely.
The room dissolved into shouts of shock, surprise, and anger. Some were thrilled at the discovery while others scolded Lupin and Black for falling for his scheme and bringing him to their headquarters. Eventually Dumbledore called them to order.
"Perhaps, we might hear Sirius and Remus's explanation of events before we jump to conclusions?" Dumbledore offered.
Black and Lupin listed the sequence of events to the rest of the Order.
"Certainly, even you buffoons weren't stupid enough to bring some boy off the streets here without concrete proof he is Harry Potter," a sallow faced, greasy haired man drawled.
Hadrian's gaze flickered to the dark haired man. He took in the hooked nose and the black eyes, and recognized him from Voldemort's memories to be Severus Snape. He had been Voldemort's potion master, and the one to turn over the prophecy to Voldemort. He later became a spy for Voldemort within the Order. Hadrian wondered at the man's loyalty. For surely a man such as he could only be loyal to himself, and his own interests.
"We don't need to prove anything to you, Snivellus," Black snapped.
"Check his scar Albus, surely if anyone would be able to determine if it was the same it would be you," Lupin insisted.
Hadrian doubled checked the barriers around his mind, which contained his darker magic as Dumbledore drew towards him. Hadrian helpfully lifted the bangs of his hair for Dumbledore to closely examine the shape of the scar. Hadrian allowed just a tendril of his dark magic into the scar to make it seem legitimate. The head of the Order's face remained expressionless as he examined Hadrian's scar, and then spent some time looking over the features of his face.
"Harry, my boy, we all had given you up for dead," Dumbledore declared with a wide smile.
It was difficult for Hadrian to determine whether or not the old wizard was being sincere or not. It would bear watching. But the acceptance would be all the window he needed into sowing the chaos he had planned for the Order. To most of the Order Dumbledore's stamp of approval seemed to be enough to accept that he was Harry Potter.
Only two were still skeptical of him. Snape, and an older wizard with a peg leg and a magical eye. The other's referred to him as Mad-Eye, and he was the most paranoid individual Hadrian had ever met. Hadrian could sense the magical eye scanning him. There were no exterior spells hiding his appearance or magic for Mad-Eye to discover. Hadrian was employing a technique unique to wendigos that was similar to Occlumency to block off a part of his magic within the realms of his own mind. Magical eyes couldn't break through a wizard's Occlumency barriers, and Mad-Eye certainly couldn't get through his. But still the old grizzled wizard seemed to be suspicious of strangers on principle as he should be.
Hadrian was brought through the house into the kitchen where introductions were made, and a middle-aged witch, also a redhead, piled food on a plate for him. Hadrian graciously accepted. As a wendigo he was always hungry even if this particular meal didn't exactly satisfy him. That would soon be rectified.
The entire Order seemed to be in residence of Grimmauld Place at the moment because of the mission that Lupin and Black had gone on. They were all eager to ask Hadrian questions about where he had been for the past twelve years. Hadrian crafted a persona of an easygoing, playful young man that soon put all others at ease around him. He expressed multiple times his shock over his good fortune at finding out where he had come from. Hadrian regaled them with made up tales of his childhood, how he had been homeschooled, and even made up a love for Quodpot. The British wizards were understandably scandalized and wanted to introduce him to glory of Quidditch. They also told him all about the Order, and its purpose.
By the end of the day Hadrian had won them over, even grizzled old Mad-Eye Moody. The only one still antagonistic to him was Severus Snape. But Black assured him that Snape would have hated him no matter what because he hated his father. Hadrian sensed a schoolboy rivalry between Snape, and James Potter. The rivalry still continued considering the nasty words that Black and Snape were constantly lobbing at one another. Hadrian promised himself to keep an eye on Snape. He was sly and resourceful with enough spiteful determination to see things through. Hadrian didn't want to be caught unawares by the man.
Hadrian learned all of the names of the Order members, and began cataloging their skills. He placed close attention to those in his own age group since they were the ones he would be spending most of his time with. There were the Weasleys, the red haired family full of loud, and brash fools. There were the parents Molly and Arthur and their six offspring. Apparently there was one more but he split from the family in favor of a position within the Ministry. Several of them were quite powerful and clever. The twins Fred and George would definitely bear watching closely especially considering they kept trying to spike his drink with strange things.
The others were Hermione Granger, an intelligent witch whose research skills were unparalleled. Her weakness was her belief in her authority figures, and her utter belief that books held all of the answers. Luna Lovegood was an interesting girl, and seemed to have gotten involved through being friends with the Weasley's only daughter, Ginny. She was an odd girl that Hadrian just couldn't quite understand. Her thoughts seemed to float through her mind in a haze that left Hadrian feeling a bit like he'd had a shot of Novocain directly into his brain. She was interesting enough for him to spend some time observing her. Finally there was Neville Longbottom, a quiet but confident boy, and Dean Thomas, a sturdy and brave young man who was dating the Weasley girl. They regaled him with stories of their Hogwarts years, and the personal interaction they'd had with Voldemort their first year.
The teenagers who were of age were allowed to attend meetings but were not often allowed to go out on missions unless it was absolutely necessary. It also appeared that only a few prized members of the Order were in the know about just what that cup Lupin and Black retrieved. The more Hadrian heard the more certain he was that the cup was a horcrux. The Order was hunting them down, and destroying them. It certain made Hadrian's job easier if they were collecting the pieces for him.
Luna and Ginny were the youngest members of the Order, and technically weren't actual members just yet. They were going in to their last year at the wizarding school, Hogwarts, while the rest had graduated. Hadrian had been left to the younger wizards because the older ones wanted to protect him from information that might terrify him. They didn't want to scare him away by telling him all about how much Voldemort would try to kill him if he knew he was alive. People like Black and Lupin were simply grateful that he was alive while the more manipulative like Dumbledore saw his reappearance as the chance to turn the tides of the war. Either way they were desperate to keep him close. It made Hadrian quietly snicker to himself. If only they knew of the things he'd seen and done.
That night they had a large celebratory dinner for Hadrian's return. Hadrian reluctantly agreed to stay to get to know them for a couple of weeks. They would spend their weeks trying to get Hadrian to stay with them not knowing that there was no need to convince him. But Hadrian would spend these next few weeks revising his plans now that he actually knew the people he was working with. At the very least he would begin his plans for Voldemort.
So there's the next chapter. I feel like now would be a good time to give you all a warning for the rest of the story. There will be some character deaths and Hadrian is going to be very manipulative and nasty to almost all of the HP characters. Hadrian is not a nice person. He doesn't care about any of the wizards and sees them more as a means to an end that only he will find amusing. He's going to make them care about him only to rip out their hearts, and leave them broken. He won't be changing his mind about it. So if you don't want to read something where there won't be a happy ending for anyone but Hannibal and Hadrian then you shouldn't probably keep reading. I just wanted to be clear so no one would be upset or unaware of the events that are about to follow. Anyway that's my little spiel.
As always thanks for reading!