Chapter 8: Expelliarmus

First I want to say thank you to everyone who is giving this story a chance. It really means a lot to me. A really big huge thank you to DemonKira for taking on my stories and editing them for me, she went back and edited all of the chapters and is working on my newest as we speak. I hope you enjoy this one. It may seem like a lot on info is missing, but rest assuredly is purposefully so. All will come out in due time. Anyways enjoy the story.

Don't forget to leave me a review and let me know you thoughts, I hope you love it!

Lucius was a man of many talents. He was a family man, a politician, a master dueler, and most importantly the right hand to the dark lord- or at least he was. It was a hard pill to swallow, falling from grace, and all over one stupid diary. The blond man went to great lengths to keep his high upstanding, he climbed his way to the very top of the dark lords inner circle at a relatively young age, following the footsteps of his father before him. Now he was disgraced in the eyes of the lord, left to be a sniveling groveling mess on the floor.

At least, he had been when he was under his lord's wand. Now he sat at home alone in his study, nursing a bottle of fire whisky. All of his work ruined, he was still an expert politician, still had all the power of the Malfoy name. But when it got out that he was no longer second, others would jump for the position, and he would become a laughing stock. Okay, maybe that was a little bit dramatic, but right now Lucius wasn't in his right mind.

Perhaps his suffering at the end of the dark lord's wand had truly fried his brain. A sigh overtook him as he stared deeply into the fire, he should have never gotten rid of the diary. It was childish of him to think the dark lord wouldn't find out. It's not like he purposefully tossed it away, he just forgot about it and allowed it to fall into the wrong hands, which wasn't necessarily much better.

No, he was not moping, Lucius Malfoy doesn't mope! Narcissa had been both angry and terrified when he had told her, the dark lord had been so angry, Lucius was lucky to be alive. It was safe to say that he would do anything and everything the dark lord asked for a while, he needed to save face. That's if the dark lord even gave him the opportunity. He was worried what this meant for Draco. The dark lord would either caste his son out, and take him off the list of prospective death eaters, or he would demand restitution for Lucius' crimes. Whether that would fall on Lucius or Draco depended on just how much ire the dark lord felt.

Either way, Lucius messed up big time. Now he needed to find a way to fix it. He allowed his head to fall back in the comfy armchair he was sat it, looking around he admired the show of wealth within his study. The walls were silver with golden trim right before the ceilings and floor. His seat was made up of solid gold with a layer of oak on top. Each chair was comfortable and plush, yet stylish with frames of gold. There was a grand oak fireplace seemingly always lit. Candles and portraits of Malfoys of the past lined the walls. It was simple, but elegant, a show of his wealth.

Lucius prided himself in his and his family's riches, money was very important to him, it came third only to his family and his lord. Even if he fell from Grace, he would always have his family and his money, that's all that truly mattered in the end. No one could ever take the Malfoy name away. Good or bad, he had it for life, until it was time for him to leave, and his beloved son to take over. To most, Lucius came off as a snob, which he truly was. It was how his family had been bred for centuries. It's all he's ever known, now it was his sons turn to follow the same path. But Lucius didn't want that. He wanted his son to live a happy life, he wanted to be the father his father never could be. He was failing at that, he failed the second he arranged a marriage when the boy was just 6. There was little love in arrangement. He and Narcissa simply got lucky in the department, he was condemning his son to a life of misery.

Despite the honor it would bring, he didn't want his son to serve the dark lord. Lucius knew he was almost too late to stop just that from happening now, he was a failure. An all-around failure. Sweet Merlin his drink was strong tonight, his mind was a tornado of different thoughts and emotions. One minute he was worrying over the dark lord, the next he was worrying over his son's future and love life. It was improper for him to be this jumbled. He needed to get himself together, he wasn't being a very proper pureblood.

Before Lucius could once again loose himself in his thoughts, the fireplace in his study lit up green. Notifying that someone approved by the wards was coming through the floo system. He quickly straightened himself and flicked his wand in a quick attempt to fix his appearance, before allowing the person entrance with another flick of his wand. He allowed himself to fall forward in a graceful subservient bow, as none other than lord Voldemort entered. This was it, the dark lord was here to kill him.

"My lord-d-d, to what-"he paused having to clear his throat. "To what do I owe the pleasure of your company?" Lucius couldn't lift his eyes off of the floor. Merlin, what a coward he truly was. If his father could see him now, Abraxas would burn him alive. The dark lord's dark oppressive magic flowed out and seemed to take up every miniscule atom that made up the air. It was so dark, so seductive, yet so very dangerous and deadly. He may be a coward, but he was rightful to be one in the face of the dark lord he failed.

The dark lord quickly made himself at home, taking a seat in one of the plush chairs opposite to himself. He crossed his legs, and in all his elegant beauty the dark lord just stared at Lucius with a smirk.

"You may rise Lucius, we have much to discuss."

"Yes my lord." He raised himself back to sitting gracefully, but still couldn't bring himself to make eye contact. He'd be a fool to believe the dark lord had forgotten his discrepancies.

"Lucius, you have failed me. I entrusted you with one of my most valuable objects, and you merely tossed it aside. I see the error in my ways, and now realized you are not to be given so much trust. No one is. A dark lord such as myself can't afford to trust cowards such as you." The man snarled vigorously. Lucius was scared, terrified in fact. He couldn't even with stop himself from flinching.

"However, your loyalty is not something I wish to throw away, so I will give you one chance and one alone to redeem yourself to your former standing. If you should fail, let's just say I won't be so forgiving next time. Are you up for the task, Lucius? Or will I have to permanently replace you, make no mistakes you are disposable."

Lucius didn't even have to think before answering. "Anything, my lord. I will do anything to redeem myself. What is the task you have for me?"

Voldemort smirked. "The task will require both yourself and your son, Draco, in order to be completed. Do you still agree?" Draco was only 15, he was far too young to be involved with the dark lord, and he wanted to protect his son. But if he didn't agree, whatever task the dark lord had in store could fall upon his son to do alone in order to gain back their family honor. It was an impossible choice, but Lucius knew he had to make it. Narcissa was going to be furious with him.

"I agree my lord." His voice was shaky, he couldn't hide the fear and pain that was coming out.

"Excellent. The task I have for you is quite simple. You are to find out anything and absolutely everything there is to know about the Mudblood Hadrian Snow. I want to know who the boy's parents are, how he lived before coming to the wizarding world. Everything. When he returns to Hogwarts, Draco is to watch him and report anything and everything he can about the boy. Snow is a mystery, one I will solve. On top of that, the boy is to be protected. That is where you come back in to the picture. I will be instigating you as a teacher this up coming school year. You will keep watch of the boy."

Lucius was confused, the Snow boy was dead, and he was killed by a Basilisk. The dark lord could hardly be serious, why would he care so much about a filthy Mudblood anyways. Lucius had to play it safe. "Wasn't Hadrian Snow killed by the Basilisk, my lord?" He asked conveying his confusion.

"Yes, that is what everyone has been led to believe isn't it? The answer to your question is no. The boy should have died, but he somehow survived. He is hiding some things, the boy is special, and very powerful. I find it hard to believe that Snow is a Mudblood. You can see the mystery now, can you not, Lucius?"

"Indeed my lord." Lucius didn't work, and he certainly was no teacher, but he would do as his lord asks. He had to redeem the Malfoy name. Draco's task didn't seem too dangerous, it would be easy for his son. That helped put Lucius mind at ease. Draco would be safe as long as he simply watched, and left the boy alone. "I will inform Draco of what he is to do, and tell Narcissa that I will be leaving for…Hogwarts." His lips curled onto a sneer.

"I have one final task for you Lucius. You will find out just which child has my diary. And you will retrieve it. If you fail I will leave you to the mercy of the Basilisk. Do you understand?"

"Perfectly my lord."

Slytherin manor was a beautifully extraordinary place, at least what little Hadrian was able to see of it. The library was a beautiful mass of knowledge both old and new. Tomes so ancient it was a miracle they still existed lined the walls. The room was Hadrian's personal heaven. The dark lord had granted him access to any book he desired to read, the man simply warned that he be careful of any lingering cursed.

He had been staying at the manor for a little over a week now. Although there wasn't much else to do other than read, or walk through the vast gardens, he had yet to grow bored. He found it hard squashing the urge to explore at first, despite the wards and dark lords warning, but the library helped keep him entertained. He had seen neither hide nor hair of Voldemort since the day after he announced Hadrian would be staying.

The man had shown up the next morning sneering at Hadrian meagre belongings, before dropping a bag of brand new robes at his feet. The man declared that as long as Hadrian was in his house, that he should be respectful enough not to wear the rags he called clothes. He could only wear his knew, self-fitting robes, and that was final. Hadrian wasn't complaining. New clothes, vast library, and he didn't have to stay in the orphanage? Hadrian was quite happy with the way things were at the moment.

Of course, he wasn't quite happy to be under the dark lord's thumb. He would much rather have the freedom to go and do whatever he wished, but being all alone was a far cry better than being surrounded by sniveling children. Hadrian had yet to see a single person the entirety of his stay, just the house elves, portraits, and himself. Hadrian was no fool, he knew the portraits and house elves were spying on him, but he was nothing but patient. He had all the time in the world to live out his plans. He would continue upon his return to Hogwarts, although he would have to be wary. Hadrian didn't doubt that the dark lord had dogs everywhere, the question is did he intrigue the dark lord enough for the man to watch him? Only time would tell.

Maverick's sequel "The evolution of the gray scale." Was a rare book that was very hard to come by. Finding it in Slytherin Manors library was positively astounding. Hadrian was already half way through the 2500 page tome. Maverick was a genius, the book went further into detail of the intermixing of dark and light magic. Making different levels of gray spells. The scale went from blinding white to the blackest black. How any witch or wizard can use any branch, the color is based off of one's magical lifestyle.

The book also went into further detail of creating spells derived from both light spells and dark spells. Hadrian couldn't wait to try them out, he had his wand, but didn't dare attempt that kind of magic here. Even in the dark lord's world, Mavericks work was frowned upon. It was much too controversial. Hadrian saw only the merit to gain knowledge from the man. Often times, Hadrian couldn't help but think he should have been a Ravenclaw. But then his nature got the best of him and there was no mistaking the fact that Hadrian was a Slytherin.

Hadrian stretched his legs out, he was sitting in one of the many chairs in the manor library. He forgot to eat lunch again, it would seem. On the table in front of him sat a several-hour old sandwich, his stomach began to rumble, he was indeed very hungry. The raven looked to the only window in the library, it seemed to be late afternoon, and the sun was fixing to set. He had managed to spend the entire day lost in a book, it was time he took a walk in the gardens to garner some fresh air, before he lost all traces of daylight.

He set a goal for himself to explore a different part of the gardens each and every day he stayed here. It gave him a challenge to complete that wasn't reading. Hadrian gracefully climbed to his feet, and made his way outside. Forgoing eating until later. He may be hungry, but he was much too lazy to ask for food, and the sandwich was no longer appealing. He quickly made his way through the halls and to the vast gardens that surrounded the enormous manor. It was a beautiful day. The gardens were gorgeously perfect, each flower expertly tended.

A forest surrounded the gardens, part of which was within the wards and subsequently where Hadrian was going to explore. At least the West side. There was over 2000 acres of land within the property. Hadrian planned to explore ever single square foot of it before going back to either the orphanage, or Hogwarts. The West side had a certain darkness too it. Even when the weather was warm and sunny, that portion of the forest always seemed to remain cool and crisp. Magic was thick and dark layering the area, Hadrian wanted to find out just what it was.

With a smirk, Hadrian made his way through the gardens. Taking a beautiful flower lined path all the way to the forest. Taking in the breath taking beauty of the gardens surrounding him. He had to be quick lest he get caught up in the forest at dark.

Voldemort was furious, beyond so. Not even he would go so low as to attack a magical orphanage! Muggle orphanage yes, but magical? No. All magical blood was sacred, it was absolute despicable the resistance would go so low. Luckily none of the children were critically injured or killed, but they were all scared. The matron of the orphanage and all the workers were either killed or taken captive. Any children or teens that tried to intervene were knocked out cold and the orphanage was set on fire. It was by the fast response of his death eaters that none of the kids were killed.

This was absolutely unacceptable. During the first war after Voldemort had won, the light was never bold enough to make such a move. They didn't have it in them to kill, especially not the innocent. They had grown bolder with their losses over the years. Voldemort underestimated them. Now children were being involved. It was time to put an end to it all. The rebellion would pay.

He had to get more information, who was in charge, was behind it and exactly who had managed to slip their way through his fingers. Who managed to survive the first war? He was pissed. Where were they hiding, and where was there next target. So many scenarios were possible. Voldemort sat at his desk in the ministry office, drinking a tumbler of fire whisky. He hadn't been home in days now, he wondered how Hadrian was doing. That boy, he couldn't get the child out of his mind.

That seemed to piss him off even more, how dare he. How dare the child disturb his every thought, with those striking eyes, and all that beautiful power. Fire whisky normally didn't affect him, but days of working with little rest was getting to him. His life had been peaceful, boring yes, but peaceful. He blamed Hadrian for that, even though it wasn't necessarily the boys fault, but ever since he first laid eyes on the child, things had been different. The boy was definitely one to watch, with all the mystery that surrounded him.

The dark lord needed to focus on getting rid of the current threat, the possible future threat of a teenager could wait. He tapped his left inner forearm with his wand and murmured a spell to summon a few of his death eaters. It was time they go to the bottom of the rebellion.

A women with long auburn locks of hair sat alone in an empty dark room, the only items of furniture being an old wooden chair and a small end table. There was a tiny fireplace in the corner, full of embers burning very low. She held her head in her hand, as a soft stream of tears slipped from her eyes. No sound fell from her mouth, she allowed her long locks of hair to curtain her face from any onlookers.

"You came." A deep, male voice spoke through the silence. It wasn't a question, merely a statement.

The long red locks whipped through the air, the face of the women meeting the man who now stood in the open door way. "I almost didn't. I'm still don't know whether I stupidly walked into a trap, or not. I thought you were dead." Her voice was gravelly from disuse and tears.

"You should know that I would never do anything to hurt you, Lily. Even after you betrayed me, I still always came back to you. You left me for dead, so I let everyone think I was. I see you have already made yourself at home here… Why are you crying, my dear?" the man's voice was snarky and bitter, yet not unkind. A mix of emotions flashed over a barely visible face, before blanking out in the darkness

As the man came more into the low light of the fire, his features became more discernable. Shoulder length black hair fell in soft curls to the man's shoulders. A face that had aged, but not terribly so, became visible. Bright blue eyes, high cheekbones, a mix of soft and hard features made up the man. He was tall, with broad shoulders and a muscular build. To this very day, the man was still breathtakingly handsome. Lily couldn't help but think how alike he looked to his brother, yet so much softer and younger. A truly beautiful man. She climbed to her feet.

"Regulus." It came out breathlessly. Ignoring most of his words, she continued. "You've barely aged a day, and you must know exactly what today is…" She left of, voice laced with pain.

"The anniversary of your beloved James's death, if I remember correctly. Of course, you come to meet with me and you are still thinking of him. Even after all these year." Bitterness took up every part of the handsome man now. "I suppose I should cut right to the chase then?"

"Regulus…it doesn't have to be this way…"

"Oh but it does Lily, I didn't call you here to play catch up. I'm quite content to remain dead in yours and everyone else's eyes."

Lily face steeped. Her tears long since dried up. "Then why would you risk it Regulus? What do you want?"

The Black stepped forward until there was only a few centimeters between the two of them. In a dangerous voice, eyes flashing with darkness, and a heavy layer of magic flickering I in the air, Regulus Black spoke. "I want you to tell me about my son."

The magic deep within the forest was darker than Hadrian ever thought possible. It was absolutely breathtaking, it led him feel alive. It made him feel free. As he wandered deeper and deeper within the forest, he could hardly refrain from jumping around like an absolute loon. Hadrian was positively giddy, he allowed his own magic to glow out freely. Everything was tingly, magic literally danced across his skin in an abundance of colors and sparkles. He wasn't stupid, he knew what this feeling was the large quantity of magic in the air was making him high.

Oh how he lived this feeling, he was practically on cloud nine, a small part of said to turn back, but the magic in the air was just too enticing. Hadrian let go of all control and allowed the magic to guide him. The sky had turned from day to night, and Hadrian was starving. But he simply could not lose the trail he was on, he had to find the source of such amazing power. He trailed on passing tree after tree, it was almost as if something was calling to him.

A shock of awareness ran through Hadrian's body as he felt the brush of wards. Had he really walked so far as to leave Slytherin Manors wards? Looking around Hadrian realized the manor was nowhere in sight, there was no light, just trees everywhere. How had he gotten this far out? The moon and stars were high in the sky, his stomach was dumpling, and his magic was tingling all around him.

Quickly the raven summoned his wand to his hand, but not quickly enough.

"Expelliarmus!" came a voice to his right, his wand flying from his hand. He turned as fast as possible to the voice. It was male and deeply accented. German, Hadrian identified. How had he not sensed the man approaching, it was so dark he couldn't see anything. All he could sense was the enticing dark magic.

"We've been expecting you Hadrian Snow." Another voice, just as deeply accented came from directly behind the raven, he turned around fast, but before he could do anything darkness overcame him.

Sorry for the evil cliffhanger...Please leave me a review to explain how much you hate me...