Author's Note:

To BoredKing: Not 100% sure about currency in the Harry Potter universe anymore. Read so many fanfictions, canon and non canon have a tendency to blend. I've been trying to stay away from naming too many prices because of this. As for the Susan thing, I think I can add a little something to fix that

To Gryfinddorforever4242: Thank you

On with the story

Chapter 6: Hogwarts

HADRIAN POV

As he hopped off the train, dragging Estrella along with him, Hadrian was walking briskly towards the voice that was saying,

"FIRs YEARSS"

Hadrian was met with a sight of the biggest man he had seen. Or was he a man? 'This must be Rubeus Hagrid'. Hadrian had heard a little of Hagrid. He knew that he worshiped the ground Dumbledore walked on, but then again, Albus was the main reason they hadn't kept the half giant in Azkaban after Riddle had framed him. Hadrian felt sorry for the man, and immediately made it a point to talk to him at some point throughout the year.

"You absolute idiot, stop dragging my damn arm everywhere", his companion raged.

Hadrian just chuckled, and waited for his new friends he had made on the train.

He saw Susan in a conversation with Hermione as Ron sulked towards the back of the group. As they approached, Hadrian narrowed her eyes on Susan. For her part, she seemed startled.

"What Harry?", she asked a little timidly.

"Where the hell have you been for the past month?", he asked, wondering where the young girl was.

Susan rolled her eyes and huffed, "Don't you remember me saying that I was going to spend the rest of the summer with a Defense tutor?"

Hadrian frowned. He felt as though he would have taken the offer if it was something worthwhile.

"Why do I not remember that?", he asked, confused.

"Because anything that bores you, you forget. I told you I just wanted to get more practice in on my shielding, and my ability to stun, and you immediately said, and I quote, 'That sounds extremely boring Susie. Come back when it has something to do with curses that destroy enemies'", she finished angrily.

Hadrian chuckled and ran his hand through his hair sheepishly.

"That sounds like something I would say. How was it?", he asked, genuinely curious.

"It was amazing. I had a vampire empress teaching me. Apparently she and Amelia go back. She was harsh, but I think I am better off for it. I think even you would have a hard time beating her", she finished with a glance.

All of the sudden, the group of first years were shepherded towards the lake. As they started walking, Hadrian looked intrigued. It was rare he met a person that matched his magical ability.

"I would like to meet whoever this empress is. Should be fun", he finished with a smirk, eyes blazing.

Susan growled, "That was not a challenge, Potter. For god sakes does everything have to be a wand measuring contest with you?"

The group laughed and Hadrian immediately replied, "Yes" in a deadpanned tone.

As they walked, he felt Hermione approach him on his left side, because on his right, he was still dragging Estrella.

"What does it mean that I am under the protection of House Potter?" she asked, whispering.

Hadrian quietly and patiently whispered back, "It means that anytime in the magical world your own parents cannot defend you, my family will stand in for them, and do their best to do absolutely right by you. It is not a formal thing, unless we decided to make it one, which we could. It would only be a small vow from my father, to you, in front of Lady Magic herself. She doesn't actually show up, but it is a recognized ritual in our culture. Unfortunately, not a lot of houses are willing to go that far for a muggleborn, which is why Malfoy immediately started apologizing. To go against you, would be going against my father, and myself. I apologize in advance if it offended you, I was merely letting all know that you-"

Hadrian could not finish, because, as they stopped and lined up to get into the boats, she gave him a bone crushing hug, and whispered,

"Thank you", almost with tears in her brown eyes.

Hadrian took pity on the girl, and returned the hug saying, "You do not have to thank me. It is what us Potters do after all. We look after those who cannot for themselves. I will make sure I write to my father, to let him know of your status within our House".

Hadrian, out of the corner of his eye, saw Estrella and Susan looking at Hermione with sadness, as well as pride for Hadrian. The girl had clearly been bothered by Malfoy and his ilk, and with Hadrian declaring her protected, Hermione would have a much easier time at Hogwarts.

Hadrian got in a boat and saw that it was limited to four people. He counted five in his group, so with a shrug, he waved his hand, and watched as the boat expanded to fit all of them. Oh how he loved magic.

"How the hell did you do that?", came an angry voice from the group.

Hadrian whipped around and saw Ron Weasley staring at him, raw with envy. Hadrian thought of about fifty different ways he could kill the boy on the spot, but he instead shrugged and got in, still dragging Estrella, who at this point, seemed to accept her fate.

He saw Susan get in behind them, with Hermione, and a reluctant Ron following. As the boats neared the clearing, Hadrian felt a rush of built up excitement. This was it. The place he could call his home for the next 7 Years. 7 was a fascinating number now that he thought of it. He shrugged. He, along with the rest of the First Years, went silent, and as the school came into sight, Hadrian heard everyone around him gasp. He stared at the castle, examining it as though looking for flaws.

The castle was beautiful, he could admit to himself. Of course the lighting was on point, so he most likely would not be happy with it in the morning, but for now, he drank in the sight. The castle was huge. An absolute fortress of magic, Hadrian could feel the very ambient magic around the school. He could also see the raw energy the school seemed to exhibit. Coupled with what seemed to be a million yellow lanterns lighting the school, Hadrian was treated to a lightshow of Magic. He was stunned. Never before had he seen so much magical potential. Not even at Potter Manor.

He squeezed Estrella's hand, as he felt the girl suddenly take his. He looked at her, and saw a look of pure amazement. He followed her eyesight to the towers, where the lightshow of magic was most centered, coming off of the building in a billow of color, much like a chimney. Apparently she too could see the raw magic rolling off of the Castle.

"Beautiful", he heard his friend whisper.

Hadrian agreed. This could be home.

BREAK

"Now, when I call your name, you will step forward, and I shall put this on top of your head. I call Hannah Abbot. The rest of you, patiently wait to be sorted", said a stern looking professor.

Hadrian scoffed. Minerva McGonagall was one of the only professors his parents had anything nice to say about. Whenever he talked with his parents about people Hadrian had never met, he had a tendency to take pity on his parents. Wars ruined people's ability to trust, and it seems as though his parents had burnt a lot of bridges in order for them to gain the privacy they have enjoyed as a family.

'No more, I'm guessing', he thought to himself.

"Black, Estrella"

Hadrian watched her friend as she walked up with a blank look on her face. Hadrian eyed the staff table. He recognized some of the faces, others he did not. He immediately spotted Severus Snape, staring into his eyes, which made the man look away. He looked down the stretch of the table and spotted another face he recognized. Albus Dumbledore was simply looking around the room, as though he had not a care in the world about anything. Hadrian scoffed. The old man seemed to take the 'you will underestimate me' approach to life. Pretending to be an old man off of your rocker certainly disarmed your opponents when you finally drop the act and become serious. He had no doubt that the old geezer's mind was very intact. No self respecting bastard like him would ever give up his brain. He would rather kill himself than live with the knowledge of not knowing at all.

He shook himself from his thoughts. The old man would not distract him. He looked back at Estrella, whose sorting seemed to be taking a while. She, of course, had her blank mask on of indifference, so Hadrian could not tell at all what was going on. All of the sudden, the hat screamed, "Gryffindor".

He clapped along with the rest of the Hall, and followed his friend with his eyes. She sat down across from two twins, who immediately introduced themselves. Hadrian saw her turn to him and she tapped the spot next to her, smirking.

Hadrian rolled his eyes, and turned back around when she heard the next name.

'Bones, Susan'

Murmuring could be heard around the Hall, Susan's aunt being a prominent figure in society. Her being one of the only heiresses alive, she was something of a celebrity among the pureblood children. Heiresses were extremely rare, given that most families ran with a patriarchal standing in mind. The Bones were not such a family, and Susan had taken up the role with ease.

After what seemed to be much deliberation, Susan was sorted into Hufflepuff, and she ran over to her table with a smile on her face. Hadrian too smiled. The young girl was as loyal as they came. A fitting match. Hadrian zoned out throughout most of the sorting. He clapped politely when Hermione was sorted into Gryffindor, and sat down to Estrella, who seemed to take a liking to the muggleborn.

'Malfoy, Draco'

Hadrian audibly yawned, He was bored. So very bored. He knew he would get tired of this place. He was restless. His mind was a constant machine, looking for the next thing to learn, the next thing he could perfect. Perfection was the only way in Hadrian's mind, a Dark Lord intent on killing you was a great motivator. Was he sick in the head? A mere 11 year old, picturing the most grueling ways he would put an end to the Dark Wanker.

'A good cutting curse to the balls would be nice'

"Potter, Hadrian"

'Oooo no, maybe I can make it slow. A little torture curse never hurt any Dark Lord's right?'

"Potter, Hadrian"

'No no, it won't do. The cruciatus is a cop out. A mere crutch. No, I have to be much more original'

"Potter, Hadrian"

'Maybe I can tame a basilisk, and watch him struggle. No. Obtaining the basilisk would be easy enough, but I don't think I would stomach watching someone else take–'

"POTTER, HADRIAN"

HAdrian was dragged out of his thoughts as he saw every eye in the room on him, including what seemed to be a pissed off McGonagall. James Potter's description of her being a dragon lady seemed to be spot on. He confidently strolled up to the stool, seeing no reason to show this insignificant hat fear. As he grabbed the hat from McGonagall, he caught the headmaster staring straight at him, all sense of lunacy gone. Hadrian smirked. He loved being right. As he put the hat on his head, he waited for something to happen. Suddenly he heard a loud voice say,

"Could you please lower your shields, Heir Potter", the hat requested out loud.

Hadrian smiled, and did so. He felt the voice now present in his head.

My my, what do we have here, Heir Potter? Such an interesting mind you have. Full of righteousness and plagued with death, but it seems you have a protector. Or should I say, Protectors? Yes, Lord Death, Lady Magic, and Lady Fate chose well. A champion unlike I have ever seen. You would do well in Slytherin, your desire to remain in the shadows would serve you well there, young one'

'Would that not mean Gryffindor would be the better option? Everybody expects me to go there', Hadrian thought back.

The hat let out an audible laugh to the hall, which made the students stare in wonder. Noone had ever seen the hat laugh.

'Ahhh, I have not laughed like that in ages. I can tell you will be one to watch, Lady Magic's descendant. A Slytherin, with the cape of a Gryffindor. Fitting that young Ms. Black said the same thing, but she only said that because that is what you would say. You grow more interesting by the second'

'Well, consider me flattered, Mr. Hat. What do I call you anyway?' Hadrian asked.

"I was named Capo by Lord Gryffindor, who thought it would be a funny joke. However, I have taken to calling myself Lord Capo if you do not mind to oblige. Not many ask for my name, let alone address me as such'

'That sucks, Lord Capo, I really think everybody is entitled to be called by their name. I will make it clear'

'Thank you Heir Potter. Now. I believe we settled on Gryffindor, yes?'

'Why not? Let's make Albus' life hell'

With an audible chuckle, the hat called out, 'GRYFFINDDOORR'

BREAK

ESTRELLA POV

As Estrella sat down at the Gryffindor table, she immediately was accosted by a pair of redheaded twins.

"Charmed to"

"Meet you"

"Ms. Black"

"We"

"Are"

"The"

"Weasley"

"Twins"

"Fred and George", they finished together.

Estrella, for her part, just smiled and introduced herself.

She then whipped around and caught Hadrian staring at her, which made her pat the bench next to her, teasing him. She saw him smirk, and she immediately focused on the sorting. She clapped politely for people she did not know, but she let out a little whoop when Susan was sorted into Hufflepuff, and even gave a little whoop when Hermione headed to her to sit at the Gryffindor table. She watched as Hadrian's name was called, and expected the boy to begin walking up, but he seemed not to notice his own name being called. As McGonagall kept calling his name, staring directly at him, Hadrian seemed lost in his own thoughts. So deeply he was in his thoughts, that the boy did not even notice as every pair of eyes began looking at him, and people began murmuring.

'What the bloody hell is wrong with him'

'That's Harry Potter? What I would do with him'

'He is so cute'

'I would let him do anything to me'

Estrella immediately ignored those voices, but felt an angry twist in her stomach.

'Damnit Estrella Black, get your shit together', she reprimanded herself.

As Harry finally seemed to realize he was being called, he walked up, looking every bit the Heir Potter. He confidently slapped the Sorting Hat onto his head, and everything went quiet. Suddenly they heard the hat say,

"Could you please lower your shields, Heir Potter"

The hall again started murmuring as they saw Hadrian smirk.

'Mind shields at that age, Jesus'

'I thought the sorting hat could break through anybody's shields'

'What I would do with him'

Estrella huffed in anger.

'Bloody showoff'

The sorting itself went on for some time, twice as long as any student in Hogwarts history. Hadrian looked at ease, and even let out chuckles, as though him and hat were having a conversation. Suddenly, the Hat was chuckling again, and yelled out 'Gryffindor'.

As the boy put the hat down, he turned to the hall and said, "The hat would like me to pass on that he was named Capo as a joke by Lord Gryffindor, but he has since then preferred to be called Lord Capo. He has not been called this in ages, so please, make an effort. If you see this fine hat here, make sure you address him as such".

Estrella let out a giggle, until the hat started talking again.

"Thank you, Heir Potter. It has been many years since I have had the pleasure of sorting someone like you. Lord Capo out".

Estrella sat there with her mouth open, until Hermione reached over and closed it with an audible click.

'I can't believe the hats name is Capo'

'What I would do with him'

Estrella huffed again.

'Charming Bloody bastard Potter, I will murder you'

AUTHOR"S NOTE Apologies for the short chapter. Wanted to respond to the comments, and the hole in the plot was bothering me. Til next time