30th July, 1991 Slytherin Manor

Hadrianus swayed his legs from his chair in his father's office, glancing at his father through his eyelashes while turning pages of his Quidditch Through The Ages Magazine, occasionally petting Hedwig's chest who has claimed his hair as her current nest. Azure was resting in his cocoon form on his wrist. They were waiting for the representative from the Department of Regulation and Care of Magical Animals to show up.

Hadrianus was not that worried about the evaluation, confident that both Azure and Hedwig would pass it with flying colours. He was more excited about Neville's birthday party tonight, after which they had planned a visit to Diagon Alley tomorrow. Jim promised to be in the Florean Fortescue tomorrow at three under disguise for his promised birthday treat.

"Father," Hadrianus called out when he noticed he was done with whatever he was writing, "Tomorrow we're going to Diagon Alley, right?"

"Yes." Marvolo hummed, carefully cleaning the ink on his quill with a tissue.

"Okay," Hadrianus hesitated, before asking, "Can you at least tell me how we will be sorted?"

There was a slight twitch on Marvolo's lips as he examined the quill for any remaining ink spot, "For the millionth time, Hadrianus, you will learn that on the Welcoming Feast."

Hadrianus pouted at his father's continued rejection of the answer. Not even Neville, Theo or Jim knew the answer, even after living in Hogwarts for most of the time. What's worse was even his Godmummy, Barty or even the twins refused to say anything about it, claiming some traditions. Hadrianus looked at his father through his eyelashes, trying a different way to find his answer, "What if I don't end up in Slytherin? What if I need to manipulate the system? Would you not help me get sorted in Slytherin, father?"

"The fact that you're thinking about manipulating it already is enough to put you where you belong." Marvolo chuckled, leaning back on the chair and crossing his fingers in front of him.

"It?" Hadrianus looked at him sharply, "What exactly is this 'it'?"

Marvolo smirked, watching his son's calculating eyes. He knew the child was intelligent enough to catch the crumbs he thought his father threw carelessly, it would keep him busy enough for the next few days to cause any trouble, though he wondered if he should feel a bit of guilt for the next round of witty and indirect interrogations his poor followers are going to face soon.

"Don't forget that a Slytherin by blood always has a place in Slytherin. Despite your occasional foolish Gryffindorish streak, you have a predilection for sadistic ambition. Also, your inheritance and your mamba-like instincts make you a true snake. Why don't you let 'it' decide if you should go anywhere else other than the snake's pit."

Hadrianus wanted to insist on more clues, but he snapped his mouth closed when he felt the Floo flaring up. Once Marvolo approved the invitation, a short and plump old man stumbled out of the Floo, reminding Hadrianus of his initial struggles with Floo travel before his father trained him to be better. Soon he was followed by a younger tall figure who scoffed at the older man's clumsiness.

"Edward Smith and Company. Welcome to Slytherin Manor." His father's deep baritone voice echoed, snapping Hadrianus out of his muses. He was about to jump up in greeting before remembering his father's training about status hierarchy.

Right, now he is the Heir of Ancient and Noble Houses, confirmed officially since receiving the Hogwarts Letter. He was not supposed to be the first to greet or talk to anyone below his status unless his parents, his Lord, or the person introduced themselves first. Hadrianus sighed inwardly. He hated those degrading systems, insulting others because of their so-called superior family and blood status. He can't wait to go to Hogwarts where he will be able to burn most of those formalities to the ground and do as he wishes.

But apparently, he will be able to do that only when he claims his status as Slytherin Heir.

"Good morning, Lord Slytherin." The short and plump man stumbled up to bow deeply, dropping several papers and documents in the process and startling Hedwig out of her slumber in surprise. Hadrianus fisted his hand tightly to stop himself from jumping up to help the obviously nervous man. Instead, he petted Hedwig to calm down while frowning at the other man, who, by the tag on the clothing, was obviously the man's Undersecretary! Why was he not helping him gather the documents?

"Thank you for responding to my letter about the evaluation of your Heir's familiar. You already know my Undersecretary, Albert, Heir to the House of Wolston."

Ah, so that's why the Wolston Heir didn't bother helping a mere half-blood. Clearly to him being a Pureblood means he is superior, so being a mere Undersecretary to a half-blood must be insulting to him.

Hadrianus gave his father a subtle glance as Wolston greeted him with obvious fake warmth, then boldly added, "If My Lord permits, can I be the one to evaluate your Heir's familiar?"

Marvolo gave him a stare long enough to make him uncomfortable, before glancing at Mr. Smith, "How many evaluations of class XXXX creature has he done to date?"

Before Mr. Smith could open his mouth, Wolston spoke up again, "I've attended more than ten XXXX creatures since I joined your office."

Hadrianus frowned a bit before smoothing his expression back to a blank one. He didn't like the disrespectful way this guy dismissed Mr. Smith. Clearly, father thought so too, as he looked back at Wolston again, "Attended, or evaluated? Because last I remember receiving your very unsatisfactory report on bowtruckles."

Wolston flushed red in embarrassment while Mr Smith finally arranged his files back to order and put them down on the table as Marvolo beckoned him to take a seat, not bothering his assistant any more. He then turned to his son, "Mr. Smith, this is my son and Heir, Hadrianus. Son, this is Edward Smith, Liaison of all three divisions of the RCMC Department, Being, Beast and Spirit, and Head of the Monitoring and Evaluation of Familiars and Pets Office. He is here to evaluate your familiars."

By the end of the introduction, Hadrianus became alarmed. Why was such a higher-up needed to evaluate Azure and Hedwig? Why couldn't they send a simple representative? Is it truly because he was the son of their Head of Department, or are there some other reasons? Is this because Azure is a XXXX creature?

Mr. Smith was obviously smart enough to notice his concern and hurried to assure him, "We will only have some questions about the bond between you two and make sure you have full control of them. We know you have two familiars, and because an owl is on the approval list already, we don't need to examine your owl. It's your other familiar I will have to evaluate, as Swooping Evil falls under XXXX classifications. Now, what can you tell me about your familiar?"

He had a kind and considerate attitude which calmed Hadrianus. What surprised Hadrianus more was once Mr. Smith started interacting with him, there was no hint of previous nervousness, or clumsiness, nothing but strict and polite professionalism. Clearly, father has chosen a real gem, perfect for the jobs to get done. It impressed Hadrianus enough to relax as he nodded in acceptance of his questions.

"If it's okay, can you do both? Hedwig, my owl, doesn't like it if she's left alone in any task." Hadrianus scratched Hedwig's chest absentmindedly.

"Oh, sure, sure."

"My other familiar is Azure. He looks like a wolf-faced butterfly and acts more like a winged cat, I don't know why people evilified him. I haven't seen anything wicked other than the attempts to avoid a bath."

Marvolo was pretty sure evilified is not a word, neither eating a human brain would be considered not evil according to some people. But he didn't utter a word but looked on impassively.

"How is your recall?"

Hadrianus raised his hand and tickled inside his sleeve, calling out, "Azure?"

The blue-green winged dark magical beast came out of his cocoon and looked around, seeming to scheme his surroundings. On seeing there was nothing that could harm his human, he turned back to Hadrianus and snuggled into his neck, mewling like a touch-starved kitten. Hedwig flapped her wings in jealousy, before hopping down to his other shoulder to nudge her beak on his cheeks for his attention, earning affectionate head pats in return.

Mr. Smith let out a breath of a relieved sigh. "It seems he has developed protective instincts very well. May I ask, how did you come to be in contact with it? To my knowledge, they are very rare."

"Actually he is a rescue. I found him badly hurt in the backyard of our home. Then father brought a local expert veterinarian, and after thoroughly examining Azure, the vet healer declared Azure had somehow escaped from some cage where he was starving and he probably fought his past abusers before escaping and that's why he was so hurt when I found him."

"Fascinating." Mr. Smith looked at Hadrianus with respectful eyes, it's not every day he can meet such a kind-hearted young wizard. This explains why Lord Slytherin is so protective of his son. "So you have already checked him for previous health issues? Do you have the documents?"

Hadrianus looked at his father who nodded and produced a file from his drawer. Marvolo took a couple of pages from the file, copied them and passed them to Mr. Smith.

Mr. Smith looked it over and nodded, before adding them in his own file. "So he was four months old when you found him, now he is 3 years old adult and healthy. How much does he eat a day?"

"About three pounds of meat, not including the occasional treats."

Knowing the said treat and meal happened to be brain, preferably human brain, Mr. Smith already had a lot of questions about that, but he was smart enough to not question such things to an innocent eleven-year-old, or his own boss. "What about his toiletry habits?"

"Twice daily. I have a self-cleaning litter box, Azure knows how to use it. I change the litter once a year, along with renewing the charms. I also bathe him once a week."

Mr. Smith nodded in appreciation, "Good good. Very good. Can you tell me if you three have bonded well with each other?"

"We have."

"You have?" He asked in surprise, "Really? You can will them to obey?"

"I can. I can sense both their presence, their instincts, and their will. It's hard to describe but it's like an extension of me, an extension that is sentient and has an intelligence of its own."

Mr. Smith looked delighted with the discovery. "Excellent, excellent. Very impressive. Can you show me how much control you have over him?"

Hadrianus thought about it and then nodded. He looked at Azure and Hedwig, his eyes flickering on both familiars making sure he had their whole attention then tapped on the table. "Sit."

Both his familiars flew over and landed obediently on the table, their attention on their human. Hadrianus moved his index finger roundly, saying, "Roll."

Azure and Hedwig pressed their wings around their bodies, taking a round shape and rolled around the table, before looking up at him hopefully. Hadrianus grinned and petted their heads, offering them some treat to munch on, "Good job. Now spin."

Both spun around quickly. Hadrianus grinned in approval and glanced at his father. "Can I have two coins?"

Marvolo nodded, pulled out his money bag and tossed two gallons to his son. Hadrianus caught the galleons, Hedwig and Azure's eyes following his moves. He then threw both coins into the air and pointed at it, "Catch."

Azure and Hedwig both quickly flew upward, diving after the coin and catching it in their mouth and beak, then bringing it over to Hadrianus who beamed in pride. "Good babies."

With that, he took one small piece of meat cube and owl treats from the small treat box in his pocket and put it on the table. As they tried to leap after it Hadrianus held up his hand, saying firmly, "Stay."

They stared at each other for exactly three seconds before Hadrianus nodded, "Eat."

Neither of the familiars wasted a second to leap from his arms to the table to devour the piece.

Hadrianus grinned and returned the gallons to his father who raised his eyebrow, "I thought you taught that trick to only Hedwig."

"I taught both of them." Hadrianus shrugged. Both of them get jealous if Hadrianus teaches anything new to only one of them.

"Good lord!" Mr. Smith exclaimed the moment his boss turned to him for his opinion, "He has excellent control over them! I haven't seen any XXXX creature with such good training before!"

Hadrianus beamed. All the muggle books on 'how to train your pet' have really paid off.

Mr. Smith then returned to the questioning, "How do they respond to your emotion? Being your familiar, they must feel them?"

"When I am distressed, they can feel it and try to comfort me by snuggling me."

"How about anger?"

Hadrianus paused. Neither Azure nor Hedwig had really been exposed to his bouts of anger over the years, as he had really nothing to get angry about. He doesn't even remember ever being really angry since his new life started. So he went with the one when he was distressed, "They would snarl at everyone while hugging me."

The man checked his file for further questions and nodded in approval, closing the file. "Excellent! Marvellous!" He exclaimed, "Well, I don't see how he can not take his familiars to Hogwarts. Both of them have exceptionally good training and bonded really well with Heir Slytherin, and he is fully capable of keeping them at bay. You have my approval."

Apparently, Wolston couldn't hold back his curiosity anymore, "If you don't mind, may I check on the swooping evil?"

Hadrianus raised his eyebrows at the odd request. Does the guy not know the simple rule about never touching or approaching someone's familiar unless the said familiar chooses to approach them? Wondering, Hadrianus glanced at his father, noticing his father was staring at Wolston with a small disapproving frown. When their eyes met, his father smirked a little and nodded, permitting Hadrianus to handle the situation as he pleased. Even Mr. Smith looked disapproving and slightly nervous, but obviously, he chose not to interrupt.

Hadrianus looked back at Wolston, biting his lips to suppress his own smirk. The guy was already sweating, smelling of fear and nervousness. And just like their owner, both Azure and Hedwig were predators by nature, who obviously smelled the cowering prey and were snarling and preening their sharp talons in anticipation.

Who made this guy a job in such sensitive places? Even though Mr. Smith was nervous in front of his father and very clumsy, once his real job started he became so stable and confident! Hadrianus would bet his wand that Wolston got this job by flaunting some pureblood supremacy and connections that neither his father nor Mr Smith could probably shake off!

Well, if Wolston was offering his own brain to Azure on a silver platter, who is Hadrianus to deny him the honour?

"Sure, why not? Azure." Hadrianus smirked as the swooping evil in question looked at his human, obviously having felt what Hadrianus was thinking! So he commanded Azure to sit at the table.

Azure doesn't look like he is as welcoming as his owner, snarling at the nervous man who seems to be starting to doubt his own offer from three feet away. Even Hedwig was watching the scene with keen eyes, still busy preening her talons.

Hadrianus smirked a little, though he quickly covered it up with a slight cough. After all, Hadrianus can't have a clearly well-connected pureblood terrified out of his wits, in case he pulls his connection to raise an objection to his familiar licence. Hadrianus would like his license clean and proper.

"As you can see, Azure doesn't like strangers touching him. Would you mind if he stays in my arms?"

Wolston seemed to be relieved by the offer, "No, it's okay."

"Azure."

Azure immediately leapt and flew to Hadrianus' chest, slowing itself to hover just off his body. Hadrianus already had lots of experience with that manoeuvre and used his forearm to brace the weight while his unoccupied hand began caressing the swooping evil. Always with the scales, never against.

Azure preened at the attention, like a cat that had just jumped into its loving owner's arms and was being spoiled rotten with attention. Hadrianus smiled, taking out a piece of frozen meat and giving it to him. Azure immediately got busy munching on the treat while Wolston breathed a sigh of relief.

"Can I ask what abilities you have exchanged? I was aware that your owl was a muggle one, not a post-owl. Can she deliver letters then? What about the swooping evil?"

Marvolo cleared his throat, noticing his son's discomfort, "I don't believe that is part of this investigation."

Wolston blushed, murmuring apologies. Mr. Smith cleared his throat, clearly satisfied with how Wolston was called upon his rude personal questions, then looked at his paperwork, "The swooping evils are so rare that no laws ever got passed here in the UK regarding them, so Heir Slytherin-Peverell can legally own one. Clearly, it has imprinted on him, and bonded really well with him. And Heir Slytherin-Peverell has obviously taken good care of it. It will not be humane to separate them away. So you can keep taking care of it, Mr. Slytherin-Peverell."

Mr. Smith produced five copies of his signed papers from the file he brought, and quickly signed them over, "The original copy will be for Lord Slytherin, one for the familiar, and other copies were to forwarded to the Board of Governor, Department of RCMC, and one copy waiting to go to Hadrianus's future Head of House."

Marvolo took another copy of the document, tapped it with his wand, and transfigured it into a tiny anklet, then handed it over to Hadrianus to attach it to Azure's leg. If Azure ever gets lost and someone else catches him, they will know it is someone's bonded familiar, and legally they will be bound to return it to him.

Hedwig was already on the approved pet list, so she didn't have to get one, but she got one anyway. Hadrianus took great delight in attaching the new anklet to both of them. If it was a small and slender green snake — his serpentine form, no one has to know.

As Mr. Smith was getting ready to arrange his files and leave, Hadrianus suddenly remembered something and spoke up, "Excuse me, sir, my friend has a toad who always escapes the terrarium, it causes him a lot of distress. Do you happen to know anything that will help my friend?"

Mr. Smith beamed, eager to help the kind-hearted young boy, "Of course we do. Here is my business card. Give it to your friend and I will see what I can do to help him."

Hadrianus smiled back, accepting the card and putting it in his pocket, "Thank you, sir."

31st July, 1991 Diagon Alley

Hadrianus munched on the pieces of sliced fruits, sitting quietly on the wrought iron bench inside the shop of Metalsmith Gryh, watching the busy street outside the window, taking the gaudy vibrant beauty of Diagon Alley. No matter how many times he visits the alley, its colourful and diversity never ceases to amaze him. Thanks to the new Laws, many kinds of beasts and humanoid beings like goblins, elves, werewolves etc. can now be seen roaming freely around the street in open daylight, making the alley even more diverse than it was before.

Hadrianus sometimes envied the Muggleborns, who were witnessing such a scene for the first time.

"Dark Prince, what brings you here?" A startled loud voice made Hadrianus tear his eyes off the street to find Oliver, Beta of Uncle Hulk's pack, who was looking at him with wide eyes. Hedwig, who was sitting on his thigh, trying to eat a piece of apple held in her talons, looked up as well. Azure was still in his cocoon.

"Oh, hello Mr. Beta! Good morning. No, no, not in public!" Hadrianus panicked as Oliver started to bow. He froze mid-bow and then quickly patted his legs, pretending to dust non-existent dirt off his trousers.

Hadrianus suppressed his amusement, before glancing at the Goblin guards at the shop gate who were watching their interaction, and waved at them, letting them know he was not in danger from Mr. Beta, before turning back to the werewolf.

"The shop owner Metalsmith Gryh is the mate of my Godfather. I am waiting for my friends to arrive. We're going to shop for Hogwarts. Don't worry, I'm not alone. I have my familiars with me, and not to forget these fine and distinguished gentlemen are also watching over me."

"Oh, I see!" Mr. Beta eyed the goblin guards who looked amused at being called gentlemen. "Then I'll be on my way." Oliver had already noticed their protective stance until the Dark Prince waved them off, so he knew nothing could ever harm their little Dark Prince while they were still alive. Clearly, they feel protective over them, just like all of them do. And Oliver would bet his own pack that it has nothing to do with being related to The Dark Lord. There is something about The Dark Prince that makes every creature pay attention to him and want to be loved by him. The fact that The Dark Prince has a heart bigger than the size of Great Britain and loves each of them freely makes them even more protective of them.

Hadrianus nodded at him, already distracted by the arrival of Theo and Malfoy Heir, along with Aunt Cissa and Lord Malfoy, who were looking around in front of the shop, probably searching for him. He waved at them, catching the attention of Theo who was looking at the shop. On noticing him, Theo immediately informed the others and started to walk towards the entrance of the shop. Clearly, when they were told Hadrianus would be here, they didn't think he would be inside the shop. They probably didn't know this was the second-best secure place in Diagon Alley, right after Gringotts, where his father would leave him alone without any guards.

"Hello, Lord Malfoy, Aunt Cissa, Theo and Heir Malfoy."

"Heir Slytherin-Peverell." All of them greeted back together, in a perfect sync as if they had been practising them for years, earning an amused glance from Hadrianus.

"Please give me a moment." Hadrianus shoved the last piece of mango inside his mouth, then carried the empty plate to the inner chamber of the shop, where Aunt Gryh was supervising her trainees.

"Your human friends are here?" Aunt Gryh asked, noticing the little naga putting his plates away and washing his hands. Hadrianus quickly chewed and gulped the mango piece, before nodding, shouldering his bag. "Yes, Aunt Gryh. Thanks for the food, it was delicious."

Aunt Gryh followed him outside, pushing her glasses further up with her sharp nails while scrutinising the newly arrived wizards with disdain. The Malfoy family with Theo were also watching her with perfectly blank expressions, but it's not hard to guess that feelings were entirely mutual, at least for the Malfoy family.

Aunt Gryh then dismissed them, turning to her clan child. "Have fun, youngling. Don't forget to write."

"I won't. May your coffers replenish, Aunt Gryh."

"May your Magic forever grow, little naga."

"That's weird," Theo decided after all of them stepped out of the shop.

"Come on, Madam Malkin first," Aunt Cissa declared, turning and all of them followed her at a leisurely pace.

Hadrianus glanced at his friend, "What's weird?"

"It's just... I never saw a goblin act so respectfully to others."

Hadrianus shrugged as he followed the Malfoy family, with Theo matching his steps. He was more known as a little naga and clan child of British goblins because of his Gobfather, so they were more civil to him than the rest of the wizards.

"Of course they did," Malfoy's haughty voice joined them, earning an eye-roll from the conversing duo, "Those nasty creatures should be respectful to those who allowed them to walk openly, instead of locking them away, don't you think, My Prince?" Draco glared around. Many Creatures are openly walking around the alley, shopping, and many of them even own a business! Dark elves, blood elves, goblins, sphynx, werewolves etc.

Hadrianus glanced at Malfoy incredulously. It was their fathers' joined effort to have that bill passed, not them. Their fathers didn't 'allow' them to walk freely, they prepared for years and fought very hard to have the bill passed. Does Malfoy even know the half of the struggles?

Besides, Hadrianus himself is one of those 'nasty creatures' that Malfoy mentioned with so much disgust. Or did he forget about his company and his own father's creature inheritance?

Hadrianus looked back at Theo, who, after catching his eyes, glanced forward. Hadrianus followed where Theo was looking and noticed Lord Malfoy had stopped to greet someone. They were not paying attention to them.

Taking the opportunity, he glowered lightly at the blond, "Are you insulting my family again, Heir Malfoy? Do you want a recap of our first meeting?" Hadrianus honestly thought Malfoy was getting better at keeping his mouth shut. Does he really think Hadrianus would be happy hearing him demeaning others? Dear Loki, why does he run his mouth before thinking twice?

Draco paled on realising what he said, "My apologies, My Prince."

Hadrianus sighed, walking past them and towards Aunt Cissa who glanced at him and smiled. Lord Malfoy was nowhere to be seen.

"Are we going to Gringotts?"

"Lord Slytherin will take you there later after we're done with most of the shopping."

"Oh," Hadrianus nodded. Father did tell him the same this morning when he gave him his first allowance for Hogwarts, saying that he has something to do in Gringotts first but he will meet up with him at noon for wand shopping and then lunch. Thankfully, he already had his potion ingredients picked up by Godmummy when she was shopping, so he doesn't have to worry about that.

"Then, can we go to the robe fitting first?" Hadrianus prompted, knowing Neville must be there by now, given he must have arrived and visited Gringotts for his allowances by now.

"Sure. Come, all of you."

Aunt Cissa led them to Madam Malkin's shop and ushered them inside. Hedwig, not wanting to get inside the smelly shop, decided to spread her wings and fly away. Hadrianus looked around the shop, frowning when he saw Neville hadn't arrived yet. Where is he?

It didn't take much time for Madam Malkin and her assistants to have the boys fitted for their robes. Aunt Cissa took charge, dismissing the requirements of only three robes and demanding she make at least seven sets for each of them. Knowing saying something is a lost cause, the boys huddled towards the corner, watching the scene outside from the glass window. Thankfully he doesn't have to worry about the bills, as they will be added to his father's account.

Hadrianus looked around the street up and down several times, looking for either Neville or Jim. Where are they?

"Hey, look at that man," Malfoy said suddenly, nodding at the window. Hadrianus followed his gaze to find a man twice as tall as the average man and nearly five times as wide half-giant walking outside from the gate of Gringotts.

"It's the gamekeeper of Hogwarts, right? Rubeus Hagrid, if I remember correctly." Hadrianus said, tilting his head as he watched the half-giant not-so-subtly carrying some little package in a brown paper while trying (and majorly failing) to be discreet about it. Hadrianus frowned at the scene. What was he hiding?

"Is it really him?" Theo asked, squinting his eyes as he eyed him with distaste.

"I heard he's sort of savage - lives in about on the school grounds and every now and then he gets drunk, tries to do magic, and ends up setting fire to his bed," Malfoy explained.

Hadrianus snorted at the disgust in Malfoy's voice, he's never getting over his hatred for other people. But he didn't comment, not really in the mood to fight with him again after he had already warned him once. Well, at least Malfoy is moderately decent company when he is not running his mouth on blood supremacy.

Sighing, Hadrianus watched the half-giant leaving, while his hand was on his robe pocket, clearly holding the package inside. He was probably trying to not get attention on it but pathetically failing. Hadrianus curiosity peaked up several notches on seeing him fumble with the package. He absolutely needs to find out what was Hagrid hiding. Well, it doesn't hurt to find out, especially since Neville isn't here to stop him. He could always discreetly return the package when they're in school.

"Wanna have some fun?"

His companions perked up immediately, making Hadrianus grin mischievously.

Several minutes later, the three of them were giggling madly when Aunt Cissa arrived, satisfied. She paused on seeing the three of them, raising her perfectly done eyebrow, "What are you three up to?"

"Just excited to go to Hogwarts! Can we go to the bookshop now?" Hadrianus quickly replied as the other two boys flashed their most innocent smiles. Narcissa narrowed her eyes in suspicion but let it go for now, "Come on, next is the bookshop, then Eeylops Owl Emporium for Draco and Theo's pet."

After visiting the bookshop and owl-ordering a package of the first-year books to be delivered home along with many other books that caught Hadrianus' attention, they went to the Owl Emporium. Unfortunately, it was nearly as crowded as the rest of the alley.

Hadrianus crunched his nose at the strong smell, and decided to wait for them outside. Azure came out of his cocoon sensing other creatures around his human, snarling at the cute eaglets and owlets who had started to chirp to get his attention. Hadrianus snorted at Azure's jealousy, and started to scratch his head to calm him down.

A familiar smell caught his nose as he watched the owlets in cages. Both Neville and Jim were nearby.

Hadrianus quickly looked around, noticing them amongst a small group of wide-eyed muggle-born who were following Madam McGee like ducklings. Grinning broadly, Hadrianus was about to shout their names in excitement, when a distant memory flooded in front of his eyes.

FLASHBACK

"... Remember that, when we go to Hogwarts, we'll become enemies, understood? No one, I repeat, no one can know."

"Why enemies when we could just be strangers?"

"No. We will be nothing less than enemies in Hogwarts."

By Hogwarts, he had definitely meant public places. And Diagon Alley is obviously a public place.

Hadrianus sighed inwardly at the reminder, but kept his eyes on the group. He watched them until they entered Flourish and Blotts at the end of the street.

Great, now it's going to take forever for the whole group to complete the book shopping, with so many muggle-borns in the group. Why did Hadrianus ask them to go to the bookshop first?

They should have planned out the whole shopping together!

However, now Hadrianus thinks about it, is it safe for them to meet at the ice cream parlour, so openly? Jim will be constantly under stress to hide his identity, not being able to have fun properly. Maybe he would order their favourite and bring it home, and then invite them to the Manor. That way they can enjoy it much better, without having to worry about anything else.

As Hadrianus was thinking about it, Theo and Malfoy came out, holding cages of eaglets who were fast asleep with their heads under their wings. As they came near Hadrianus, suddenly both the eaglets jerked up quickly, and locked their attention on Hadrianus. But before they could even open their beaks, Hedwig swooped in from the sky and landed on Hadrianus' shoulder with grandeur. She then made a great show of spreading her pearly white majestic wings, staring down at the eaglets as if she were claiming her territory. Though it went unnoticed by the conversing humans.

"What should I name him?" Theo wondered, fussing with the big cage.

Without missing a beat, Hadrianus replied, "ForgetMe."

Theo blinked at him, "You want me to name my bald eagle 'ForgetMe'?"

"Yeah, and when you adopt him, his full name will be, ForgetMe Nott."

Theo burst out laughing while Malfoy snorted, rolling his eyes. Hadrianus grinned and was about to pull more puns, but stopped when he felt his scar twitch a little. The evidence that father was coming was more prominent with Theo and Malfoy, who tensed up and stood straighter, looking somewhere behind his back with profound respect.

"Father!" Hadrianus immediately whirled with a big grin, though it dropped a little on noticing his father's blank expression and Lord Malfoy's gloomy face. Maybe whatever father was looking for hasn't met with success.

Marvolo nodded at Narcissa and smiled noticing his son had caught his not-so-good mood, "Are you done with the shopping?"

"We still have the writing stationeries left, which we can buy later."

With Marvolo's permission, Narcissa left for her tea-time with her friends. Hadrianus looked at his father, "Wand, now?"

"Come."

Hadrianus quickly ran after his father to keep up with his long stride, looking up at him as they walked, with others following them, ":Do I really need another wand? Mine is the best and works perfectly, father.:"

":Little Mamba, you know that your first wand is your secret, and you need an official wand.:" Father hissed back softly in reply.

Hadrianus sighed but nodded in agreement. He wondered whether they really needed so many backup plans. One would think father is sending him to a warzone, not a school. ":Okay:."

Unlike Madam Aurora's shop, Ollivender's shop was tiny, narrow and shabby. But the atmosphere was strangely similar in both shops, brimming with strange and ancient magic that made the hairs on his skin stand up and prickle in anticipation. Theo, being born sensitive to magic must have felt the same, as he was looking around the piles of boxes nervously as well. Even Malfoy was looking uncomfortable, fidgeting but stood still and pressed to his father after Senior Malfoy lightly smacked his son's leg with his cane.

The tinkling bell must have alerted the shopkeeper who Hadrianus could hear was moving around at the back of the shop. Hadrianus followed his father's eyes and watched as an elderly man with pale shining eyes peeked from the inside chamber, then came in front of them. He smells of pine, and spruce, slightly musty with the earthy aroma of mushrooms. Hadrianus wondered what he was doing before they came in.

"Good afternoon," Mr. Ollivender greeted, looking at Hadrianus curiously. There was a sharp stare in his creepy silvery eyes that made Hadrianus want to fidget, but he resisted it anyway. Draco and Theo jumped in surprise, making Hadrianus want to giggle at them.

Noticing Ollivender's stare on his son, Marvolo cleared his throat, "Good afternoon, Mr. Ollivender. We're here to buy wands for our sons." He put a hand protectively on Hadrianus. He didn't like the unwavering attention on his little Horcrux. Ollivender was, after all, an ally of Dumbledore, and he would not hesitate to reveal every detail of their meeting to the old coot.

"Ah, yes, I've been waiting for you all." Ollivender finally tore his eyes from Hadrianus to Marvolo, and then to the other occupants of the room. "Malfoy. Elm, with dragon heartstring, right?"

"Yes." Lucius gripped his cane tightly.

"You seem like a new face here, even though it feels like I should have known you, both of you." Ollivender turned to look at Marvolo and his son.

"Marvolo Slytherin, nice to meet you. I am here for my son's wand."

"Ah, I see. Where did you buy your own?" Ollivender peered at him only to receive a bland smile in return.

"It was custom-made. Shall we?" Marvolo gestured towards his son, and Ollivender nodded, bustling through his shop to approach the boys.

"Who will be the first?"

Without any prompt, Hadrianus pushed Draco and Theo forward, not wanting to be the first. He remembered the hustle he went through to buy his first wand.

In no time, Malfoy found his 10" long wand made of hawthorn wood with a unicorn hair core, earning a proud smirk from Lord Malfoy. Theo was very happy with his 12" Ash wood wand with Kelpie hair core. Finally, Ollivander turned to Hadrianus, "What is your wand hand?"

"Eh," Hadrianus stopped, thinking. He knows he has no dominant hand at the moment. But he knew he was not a true ambidextrous person either. Sure, he can write and cast with both hands, in fact, he does a lot of things with both hands. At the Dursleys, he spent most of his life having his dominant hand out of action. Even after his father adopted him and started teaching, he never went back to preferring one hand. If father noticed, he never commented on how Hadrianus should use only one hand. Well, if father didn't say anything about it, then obviously it doesn't matter.

"Well, I - "

His mouth snapped closed when he felt a warm and strong hand touching the back of his shoulder and squeezing, sending tingles from his scar. Father's familiar voice spoke up.

"Go ahead, I will talk to you later." Marvolo dismissed the others, anticipating it was going to take a long time, then turned to Ollivender after they left, "he is right-handed."

"Okay," Ollivander said, looking at Marvolo curiously before bringing his tape towards Hadrianus.

As expected, Hadrianus spent almost several minutes going through all the wands Ollivanders had, too much distress to Hadrianus and delight to Ollivender.

"Tricky customer, eh? Not to worry, we'll find the perfect match here somewhere. I wonder, now - yes, why not - unusual combination - holly and phoenix feather, eleven inches, nice and supple."

Hadrianus frowned when he felt something when he picked up the new wand.

Marvolo frowned, as he continued to watch his son's magic spectacularly rejecting wands made of wood he could swear reacted positively when he took the child to Aurora. What is the change? His magical core couldn't have changed so drastically! Has the Creature suppression ritual changed his cores? Is that why he felt so uneasy? He observed closely when Hadrianus silently stared at the wand he was currently holding. At least it didn't shoot out of his hand like some others did.

"Is it the one?"

Hadrianus frowned, looking up at his father, "Half of it seems to decline me, but the other half agrees with me." As Hadrianus waved the wand, some red and green sparkles emitted but soon the holly wood started to smoke and blacken.

"Ah, you need different wand wood for that. The core chose you, as it appears." Ollivender looked thoughtful. "Good good, very good," the old wandmaker seemed too delighted as he quickly took the wand from him, "Maybe I'll use the core with a different wand wood, come with me."

"Excuse me, you said the core is a phoenix feather?" Marvolo wanted to know with a frown, remembering his first wand.

"I remember every wand I've ever sold, Mr. Slytherin. Every single wand. It so happens that the phoenix whose tail feather is in your son's new core, gave another feather - just one other. It is very curious indeed that he should be destined for this wand when its brother gave Mr. Potter a legendary scar. Curious, very curious."

Marvolo swallowed thickly, but did not utter another word other than a nod to his son, who silently followed Ollivender to the inside chamber. Yes, curious indeed. Marvolo wondered if it was because of the Horcrux inside his son, or their familial bond. Maybe it was the first thing, as he knows there are many examples where a father and son have very different wands.

Hadrianus looked around, noticing the old dusty smell was overwhelmingly stronger here. The whole chamber looks like some sort of vintage laboratory for woodwork, with two walls adorned with several types of variously cut woods and different cores. There was a small table with a bench at the corner where Mr. Ollivender must work on his wand.

Just as they entered, Hadrianus felt a rather strong pull coming from the treys on the one wall, just beside the floo at the corner.

"Go ahead." Ollivender waved at him, noticing Hadrianus looking at the trey.

Familiar with the process, Hadrianus approached the table. All the woods trembled as if they wanted to be picked up, however, a pale yellow-white wood jumped up as if summoned. On instinct, Hadrianus caught the wand before it could smack his face.

"Elder!" Ollivander gasped in awe, "Wand of elder, never prosper! Scorns to remain with any owner who is not the superior of her company; it takes a remarkable magician to keep an Elder wand for any length of time. Elder never chooses their wizard, their loyalty had to be earned by winning. Yet, it has chosen you. Oh, and the core. How could I forget the core? Ah! Curious, very curious."

"What cu - Ah, never mind!" Hadrianus was honestly creeped out, as he returned the wood back to Ollivender. He didn't like it at all. Why must weird things happen to him all the freaking time? Especially when his father was right there with him. It's already giving him creeps to even think about having a wand with brother core as his father's wand, the very one who didn't help his father when he needed it, and thus responsible for early defeat all those years ago.

Father must have heard everything by now, with his super-sensitive hearing. What if his father also starts thinking what an unnatural freaky boy Hadrianus was? What if he thinks Hadrianus will also betray him? What if his father decides to abandon him?

"You are destined to do great things, child. After all, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named did great things. Terrible, yes, but great."

"Yeah thanks, I know I am burdened with glorious purposes, anyway, how long would it take to create my wand, Mr. Ollivender?" Hadrianus was quick to change the subject, as he followed Ollivander out of the shop, catching father's eyes immediately. Given his sharp eyes with amused glint, he definitely heard it all, including the unintentional sass. In his defence, he was not watching his mouth, feeling intimidated by the ridiculous expectations because of his future wand core. Maybe he should have been happy with the manchineel wand.

"Return here, not before next Saturday, child. I will have it ready."

"Can I have a wand holster to go with it?"

"Of course." Ollivander nodded enthusiastically, gesturing at the leaflets on his counter, "I have several, for your forearm. Choose one."

Hadrianus shook his head, "I want the thigh one, my forearm is still too small for a wand. See?" He raised his hand, showing his forearm length. He was still too small, compared to his father. He can't wait to at least reach up to his father's height.

"Don't worry about it, young Slytherin. They're magically adjusted to your length."

"Really?" Hadrianus opened his mouth as O, taking a mental note to look into it later, then shook his head, "I still want the thigh one." He was already used to the QuickDraw charm on the thigh ones, so it was best. The twins had already offered him to charm the new holster with everything they knew, so all he needed was the sturdiest one that would survive a fight. After all, if his father is this paranoid about sending him to Hogwarts, he might as well prepare for the worst.

As he was looking through the leaflet, the tinkling bell rang again. Hadrianus looked up and widened his eyes on noticing Madam McGee with a couple of ducklings finally entering the shop, the rest of the long queue of muggle-borns waiting outside.

"Minerva! I didn't expect to find you here!" Marvolo greeted her. Goddarnit, there went his chance to Obliviate Ollivender of the new development. Maybe he will send someone from the Knight to get the job done later. But that's risky, as it could be too late to stop the information from getting into Dumbledore's hand.

"Good noon, ma'am!" Hadrianus bowed respectfully, earning a warm greeting in return.

"Good afternoon, Messrs Slytherin. I am here to escort my wards and some muggle-born children to their shop."

"Surely the Ministry could spare someone else, instead of bothering the Deputy Headmistress!" Marvolo asked, his face still full of a brilliant smile. A bushy-haired brunette accompanying them was eyeing him with contempt at the suggestion. Ignoring her, Hadrianus took the chance to fist-bump Neville in greeting. He then raised an eyebrow at Potter, earning a slight twitch of lips in greeting. Hadrianus pulled his hand from his pocket to shake Jim Potter's hand. "Heir Potter."

"Slytherin." Jim sniffed in disdain but raised his hands to shake hands anyway. As their hands met, Jim frowned before smoothening his expression quickly.

"Oh they did," Minerva felt her lips twitch, "But it is always a pleasure to meet new potentials myself."

"I'm sure." Marvolo smiled, earning a chuckle as he looked back at Ollivanders when Hadrianus finally selected one holster and gave the leaflet back to him, "Thank you, Mr. Ollivander. It was a pleasure."

Meanwhile, Neville wasn't sure about buying a new wand yet, "My dad's wand - "

Hadrianus interrupted him, "Don't be ridiculous. You need a wand that suits you, not your dad." Jim nodded in agreement, before realising what he was doing and then turned away with a sniff, "Father says, it is a necessity to have proper magical foci to direct your magic in a better and more controlled way, wandless magic is not good for delicate spells and it exhausts people more often. Besides, your dad needs his wand back when he is healed, remember?"

"I guess you're right." Neville frowned, knowing his father would likely like to have his wand back when he was healthy enough.

"Do that. And buy a kneazle after that! I know Gran finally gave you the money last night."

Neville snorted, giving Hadrianus a side eye, "All thanks to your Slytherin cunning." Hadrianus grinned at the memory. Last night, during Neville's birthday party, Hadrianus had sneakily convinced Charlie Weasley to Transfigure Trevor into a kneazle in the name of some experiment, then took it to Gran, playing the part of the concerned best friend, asking her to reverse the 'accidental magic'. When asked, he enthusiastically talked about how 'Neville always wanted a kneazle, and magic did the rest'. Gran, being very moved by the 'powerful accidental magic of another grandson', took the bait easily and gave some money to a confused Neville to buy kneazle. Neville was torn between amusement and exasperation when a cheerful Hadrianus explained the whole later. After all, as Hadrianus clarified, he didn't lie, just didn't say the whole truth, letting Gran draw the conclusion for herself.

As they were talking, Jim glanced at the piece of paper Adrian secretly passed him during the handshake, before giving a slight nod when Adrian glanced at him.

Yeah, Jim has no problem meeting in the privacy of their house, Diagon Alley is too busy these days. It will be risky to meet here, for that part, Jim agrees with Hadrianus. He can't wait until the shopping is over and then go to Slytherin Manor tonight for some relaxing time.

A/N: Let me know how was the chapter :)