Chapter Six - Questions
Albus Dumbledore reached his office after marching out of the great hall and huffed a sigh as he sat behind his desk. There was so much wrong with the situation that it was beyond ridiculous, so many things that he needed to correct and fast. What he had heard in the great hall at breakfast had disturbed him immeasurably, he simply needed to get Harry away from that kind of thinking. Having him change his name back to his birth name and giving up his Lordship would be a start, he didn't want the boy to have that kind of support, especially with blood supremacist beliefs. If his research was correct, the boy may one day need to sacrifice himself so that Voldemort may perish permanently. Naturally he didn't want the boy to die, but if that is what it would take to save thousands, then so be it.
He waited until the time breakfast would finish before sending a patronus message to Professor McGonagall, requesting that she bring the young man to his office for a meeting. Once the message was sent, he leaned back in his chair and tapped his fingers on his desk whilst he pondered his next move. Then he had it! Exactly what he needed to bring the boy to his side! He rose from his chair quicker than one would expect of someone his age and began searching for a spare sheet of parchment, eventually finding one underneath some of the paperwork on the desk. Dipping a quill into an ink pot, he began to murmur as he wrote. "Dear Remus…"
- - - - - - - - - -
Scene Break
He had just sent off his letter about ten minutes later as the door to his office opened, revealing Professor McGonagall, Headmaster Karkaroff and an irritated looking Hadrian Rosier. Albus gave them all his best grandfatherly smile, gesturing them forwards. "Ahh there you are, come in my boy come in. Thank you for fetching him Minerva, you may take your leave." McGonagall gave a curt nod before taking her leave of the office, leaving both Headmasters and Hadrian himself. He gave Karkaroff a questioning look. "Lord Rosier has requested my presence for this meeting, Albus. I hope that will not be a problem?" Albus inwardly grimaced.
"Not at all Igor, not at all. Please make yourselves comfortable." Once they were all seated, the Hogwarts Headmaster steepled his fingers atop his desk and started to speak. "Well, first off I must state just how happy we all are to see you here my boy! When he had found out about the fire at the Dursley residence, we had feared the worst! But then to find you missing entirely… I must ask you my boy, where have you been all this time? How did you end up at the Durmstrang Institute of all places?"
The young Lord in front of the Headmaster simply watched him for a few moments, his look calculative. "Headmaster Dumbledore…" He began "Whilst your apparent concern for my well being is… appreciated, It is unnecessary. I have been quite safe in the years since the accident at the Dursley residence, safer in fact than I was living there." Dumbledore shifted in his seat uncomfortably before resuming his grandfatherly smile. He opened his mouth to speak but Hadrian cut him off. "And yes, I am aware that it was you that placed me with the Dursleys. Although why you chose to ignore my parents' written will by placing me with them, I do not know, but I do intend to find out." The young man's tone became steely and cold, yet his face betrayed no anger.
Dumbledore clears his throat quietly before quickly thinking on how to respond, eventually speaking moments later. "My boy, I took you to the Dursleys for your own safety. Many of Voldemort's servants were still at large and could have targeted you in a reprisal attack." His eyes shifted conspicuously to Karkaroff, who had flinched at the Dark Lord's name.
"Be that as it may, Headmaster Dumbledore, however you ignored the word of the law and as such, I shall be meeting with Director Bones of your Ministry's law enforcement to discuss this further and find a resolution." Came the cold reply from Hadrian, causing Karkaroff to smirk slightly. Catching a glimpse of Karkaroff's face, Hadrian rolled his eyes. "Wipe that smile off of your face Headmaster Karkaroff, we too, need to have a conversation regarding the situation with the Goblet." Karkaroff's smirk immediately turned into an almost frightened look before resuming a more neutral face.
Dumbledore watched this interaction with a mixture of interest, amusement and alarm. Whilst yes it was amusing to see a fourteen year old cower the Durmstrang Headmaster, what on earth could Karkaroff be so frightened of? Even if the boy was a powerful wizard, Karkaroff had years of experience both as Headmaster and his years as a Deatheater. This conversation wasn't going to be easy.
"Now surely that won't be necessary my boy, I only had your best interests in mind at the time!" Said Dumbledore, still smiling. Hadrian gave a feral smile in return.
"Ah yes, your best interests, yes? The greater good, perhaps?" Hadrian's smile broadened as Dumbledore's face began to pale. "Yes Headmaster Dumbledore, people are slightly more aware of your past on the continent than they are here in Britain… Can you imagine the reaction if they found out that you were once in league with Gellert Grindelwald?" Hadrian took great pleasure in watching the old man flinch at the name.
Coughing slightly once more to clear his throat, Dumbledore attempted to regain his composure before speaking. "I admit, I made many mistakes in my youth, some I regret to this day, however that is not the purpose of this conversation. I have called you up here to inform you that you still have a place here at Hogwarts, and you are able to start your schooling here immediately. There is even a loving family that is more than willing to take you in." He gave a benevolent smile, as if he was granted Hadrian the world. So when Hadrian's face contorted into bafflement, his smile faltered slightly.
"And who said I wished to change schools?" Demanded Hadrian. "I already have a guardian, not that it is any of your business, and I am quite happy where I am. I do not like the assumptions you are making, Headmaster Dumbledore. I have no intention of coming to this…School." He sneered at the last word, as if it disgusted him. "Hogwarts is sorely lacking in its curriculum, missing classes like duelling and the dark arts, amongst other things."
Dumbledore immediately jumped on this, his expression calculative. "You have learned the dark arts?"
Hadrian scoffed at him in amusement. "I attend the Durmstrang Institute. Of course I have. It is hard to defend yourself from magic that you do not understand, and understanding it is only half of it." Hadrian rose to his feet, his face resuming its usual bored look. "Now I must be off, I have a tournament to prepare myself for." He made his way to the door to the office with Karkaroff on his heels, turning around as he opened the door and giving Dumbledore an innocent smile. "By the way, Headmaster Dumbledore, I like your wand. It looks like a wand from a fairy tail, no?" Turning back around and leaving, he did not see Dumbledore's face pale once more and rise to his feet, almost in a panic.
Both Hadrian and Karkaroff made their way down the stairs before entering the corridor below, and began to make their way back towards the great hall before Hadrian stopped in his tracks. "Go ahead Headmaster Karkaroff, I need to check something." Karkaroff gave the young Lord a respectful nod, before leaving Hadrian alone in the apparently empty corridor.
Hadrian waited until he was sure Karkaroff was gone before calling out to the other end of the hall. "You know, your disillusionment charm isn't half bad, Mademoiselle Delacour." A loud gasp echoed through the hall as the magic fell away, revealing one surprised yet beautiful Fleur Delacour. She stuttered her next words, still shocked. "How did you know?"
Hadrian simply approached with a smirk until he stood before her, taking her hand with his own and raising it gently to his lips, grazing her knuckles with a light brush of a kiss, before speaking in French. "Ahh, now that is a secret. I must say, it is a pleasure to meet the Beauxbatons champion. I must say though, you could have simply approached me instead of sneaking around and following me all morning, no?"
Fleur Delacour's face blushed like it had never blushed before. "My apologies, I didn't mean to seem so creepy, I just… did not know how to go about approaching you."
Hadrian shot her a toothy grin. "A simple hello would have sufficed, I believe." Fleur gave a tiny giggle at that, causing Hadrian's grin to widen.
"And why would a lovely girl such as yourself wish to approach little old me, eh?" Hadrian cocked his head to the side slightly, still grinning.
Fleur hesitated for a moment before responding, her words rushed. "Well, you are the fourth champion, an unheard of event in this tournament! It is only natural that we as the competition get to know each other." She blushed even further, if that was possible.
Hadrian took a moment before giving her a small nod. "Very well then, let us get to know one another. However I do have some things to attend to today, might we perhaps take advantage of the fact we are not students of this school, and take a stroll into Hogsmeade tomorrow?" He didn't let his smile falter, yet in his mind he was, for the first time in a long while, nervous.
Fleur's face burst out into a beaming smile, as she nodded emphatically. "That would be lovely, Lord Rosier." Hadrian raised a hand at this, and winked. "Please, to you I am Hadrian."
Fleur simply beamed and nodded once more, accepting it, however frowned at Hadrian's next words. "I am sorry however I really must be going, Headmaster Karkaroff and I have a meeting. See you tomorrow?" Fleur bobbed her head up and down a few times excitedly before he kissed her hand once more and made his way out of the corridor, leaving behind a very flustered yet happy Fleur Delacour.
On the other side of the corridor lurking around the corner, a raven haired girl with stunning blue eyes and wearing Slytherin robes watched Hadrian Rosier leave the hall with a hungry look on her face.
AUTHORS NOTE
And that is the FIRST meeting with Dumbledore concluded, and Hadrian and Fleur have finally met! I say first meeting, because it will happen again- a few times probably throughout the year.
I apologise for the shortness of this chapter, however I am struggling with writing at the moment. So, probably not my best chapter but I do hope you guys enjoy it.
The next chapter shall be focused back on Grindelwald and his building up of both magical and muggle armed forces. As I have stated in notes before, I intend for this story to go beyond the school years, so this will be a slow build up. What COULD Gellert and Hadrian be planning?