Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, even though I would like.
Church21: Hey ! I'm glad you liked the first chapter ! About the Harry Ginny pairing, don't worry it's only in the first chapter. In my opinion, the pairing is not that bad. It just wasn't done well I think. In the books, It's okay I guess, but could have been truly better (it's not like there's a lack of choice. Hogwarts' full of possibilities after all!). In the movie, it's... empty. It feels truly rushed, and could have been done so much better if they had wanted to. Anyway, thanks for the review ! Have a great day !
CaskettFan5: Hadrian has a lot on his mind as I said, and wasn't prepared to time travel. You'll see soon, but there's a lot he doesn't know, and he clearly isn't prepared enough. Remember what I said a few chapters ago. He is very, VERY powerful when it comes to fight and shit. However, Harry wasn't famous in the books/the movies for his intelligence (enven though he was not dumb!). Pettigrew ( and Sirius) was the first thing I thought about when I started writing the fanfiction. But when it comes to Hadrian, I thought he would see things like "War is terrible, I must stop it before it happens", and be so focused on that that he would forget about important things (like being always there for Harry, taking care of Sirius and Pettigrew, etc...). I know that sometimes it's annoying not to have a perfect character that is ready for everything. But I really like it that way. And for the Hadrian/OC pairing, don't worry it's going to take it's time. But as the main character for now still is Hadrian, we see almost everything from his point of view... and he has other priorities ;). So yeah, don't worry I won't do the "Oh yeah we found out we had a lot in common so we married" in the next chapter, if it was what you feared. Take care, and thanks for reviewing each chapter. It's always interesting. Hope I'll still see you in 15 chapters hahaha !
rusty32536: Thank YOU for reviewing, and for the support. It means a lot. Take care, and I hope you'll like what's coming next !
06/09/1992, 13H30, 12 Grimmauld Place, London:
In the depths of a dark alley, two figures emerged from the shadows. Their watchful eyes scanned the surroundings, ensuring that no nosy Muggle had witnessed their appearance. Once discretion was assured, they advanced resolutely towards the austere building that stood before them.
"It's here," Sirius Black muttered, a grimace of disgust distorting his features. "Just seeing it again makes me sick."
Hadrian Potter nodded mindlessly. The memories associated with this house were far more complex for him than it was for his godfather. Of course, it reminded him of the death of the only family he ever had growing up, but he had also spent precious moments with the Sirius of his time, even finding a semblance of a home there for a while. Despite the pain it represented, this house had been his first real home outside the walls of Hogwarts.
"For a house that belonged to the Blacks and given your stories, I expected to perceive a more palpable aura of dark magic," admitted the time traveler, examining the gloomy facade with a critical eye.
Sirius let out a bitter chuckle. "Oh, believe me, my dear Hadrian, if only you knew... My family excels as much in the art of hiding dark magic as in its use. I still remember the spells they inflicted on Andromeda, or even on myself... I swear you don't want to know the details."
Hadrian, although unaware of the extent of his friend's torment, wasn't as clueless as Sirius thought. He had himself gone through the pages of the Black family's grimoire, thus discovering the darkest secrets of this lineage. The spells mentioned by Sirius were therefore familiar to him.
"Let's go," Sirius cut in firmly, crossing the street with a determined stride.
Hadrian followed him in silence, a wave of apprehension washing over him. They quickly found themselves at the front door, its ancient wood creaking under the weight of the years. Sirius took a deep breath, as if to prepare himself to face the ghosts of his past.
"Damn it, are you going to open this door or are you waiting for it to open by itsel-" Hadrian exclaimed, exasperated by lack of movement of the heavy door. But before he could finish his sentence, a sinister creak sounded and the door began to slowly open.
A grumpy-looking house-elf appeared on the threshold, his piercing gaze fixed on the two visitors.
"The blood-traitor is back," he snarled in a cold voice, "Accompanied by... his friend. What are you doing here?"
Sirius, his face flushed with anger, advanced towards the elf. "Silence, Kreacher! I am the master of this house, you owe me respect! And above all, stop using that vile language, or you will join your fellow elves hanging on the wall."
The fugitive from Azkaban, trying to control his rage, turned to Hadrian. "This is Kreacher, my detestable mother's elf. A stubborn creature incapable of thinking for himself, except to obey that harpy. Like the rest of my family, he is convinced of the superiority of pure-bloods."
He did not linger and entered the ancestral home with a brusque step. Hadrian, shaking his head in dismay, followed closely, ready to face the secrets buried in the walls of this house haunted by memories.
Hadrian knew that the relationship between Sirius and the house-elf, Kreacher, was broken, and far beyond repair. Perhaps he could soothe Kreacher's bitterness a little by taking care of Salazar Slytherin's locket, but for Sirius, the task would come to be much more difficult.
'Oh well, I'm not here to play matchmaker,' he told himself, dismissing the idea. 'My priority is the locket.'
Ignoring Kreacher's incessant muttering about him and Hadrian, Sirius began a guided tour of the dilapidated house. To his great surprise, the state of the ancient home was lamentable. The floor and walls were both covered by a thick layer of grime and cobwebs. The lamps were out of order, and all the magical protections that were supposed to defend the different rooms had disappeared.
"A ruin," Sirius sighed upon their return to the kitchen, after having toured the entire house, from the bedrooms to the bathrooms, passing through the endless corridors and the library. Hadrian took the time to search the latter while Sirius recovered the family grimoire. He found a few books he hadn't read in his time.
'They must have been removed during Molly's big cleaning,' he thought, blowing off the dust that covered an old grimoire. Most of the books dealt with theories on dark magic. The time traveler put them back immediately, finding no use for them. The only book he kept, with Sirius's agreement, was "Combat Runes and How to Use Them".
Runes, using ambient magic rather than one's own core, could prove useful in a situation where he found himself short of magic. 'As unlikely as that may seem,' he added mentally, thinking back to how quickly his core recharged.
Once they had the book and the grimoire in their possession, the two friends settled in the kitchen, discreetly observed by Kreacher. "Sirius, there's something strange about this house. You know I can see dark magic? Well, this house, which should be full of it, is almost devoided of it. It's like it's... absorbed by something. And I can feel a high concentration of dark magic accumulated in the entrance closet," he explained, hoping Sirius would understand the gravity of the situation.
"You want to get rid of it? Go ahead, have fun. However, be careful of my mother's portrait when you cross the corridor. As you may have noticed, that old hag has a certain talent for screaming nonsense," Sirius warned him.
Their entry into the house had inadvertently awakened the portrait of Walburga Black, hanging on the wall of the corridor. She, noticing Sirius' presence, immediately began to spew insults that would probably have sent her to Azkaban if she were still alive. "Don't worry, I'll take care of it on my way out," Hadrian reassured him.
The time traveler followed the traces of dark magic, his footsteps echoing in the dusty corridor. He stopped in front of the portrait of the old woman whose contemptuous gaze pierced him.
"What do you want, you filthy mudblood? Get out of my sight, you disgust me," she hissed, her voice filled with disdain.
"Well, I'm not a mudblood, and I'd be delighted to disappear from your sight," Hadrian replied with a mischievous smile. He drew his wand and, with a fluid motion, cast a small black flame at the portrait. He concentrated, preferring to avoid reducing the house to ashes.
Screams echoed from behind the portrait, but Hadrian didn't have time to rejoice. He was struggling to contain the modified Fiendfyre. The concentration needed to maintain such a small burning flame was clearly not the same as when he unleashed a firestorm. It was far easier to let the Fiendfyre destroy everything, than to contain it as a ridiculous flame.
"No! You won't touch the mistress!" Kreacher cried, emerging from the darkness. With a snap of his fingers, he struck Hadrian in the chest, propelling him backward and causing him to lose control of the spell. "Kreacher! Damn it! NO, BE CAREFUL, BACK OFF!" roared Hadrian, alerting Sirius who was rushing from the kitchen. But it was already too late.
The uncontrolled fire began to spread, devouring the house room by room. Before he even understood what was happening, Hadrian saw the elf grab the flaming painting and try to disappear. But on contact with the fire, Kreacher was consumed by the flames, reducing his body to ashes.
"Your elf attacked me! I lost control. I'm going to try to regain control of the fire, but I can't promise anything! Go quickly and get your things and whatever you want to keep in the meantime... AND HURRY UP!" exclaimed Hadrian, lowering his headband.
Wand in hand, he resumed his struggle against the flames. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Sirius nod and rush towards his old room, grimoire in hand. 'He really didn't care about that elf... And I wanted to reconcile them,' Hadrian thought bitterly.
Sirius, in his room, summoned several trunks that he filled with his old clothes, decorations, and precious memories, such as the letters exchanged with the Potters. With a flick of his wand, everything was packed into the suitcases, which closed by themselves. Another twist of his wand and the four filled trunks began to follow him in his escape. He rushed out of the room, noting that the fire had temporarily stopped progressing. "Did you regain control?" he asked Hadrian.
"No! But I managed to contain it. If that idiot elf hadn't made me lose control, I could have already settled this problem a long time ago! Let's get out of here," Hadrian growled through the flames.
Taking a deep breath, he violently pushed back the flames and apparated next to Sirius. He grabbed two of the trunks, leaving the other two to his companion, and disappeared.
The two reappeared in the middle of the living room of the Potter manor, out of breath. "We have what we wanted... That's already something," breathed Hadrian.
"And the dark magic thing you saw? It's probably still there," the Animagus reminded him. Hadrian suddenly stood up, preparing to apparate before remembering something.
"No, it's okay. My spell is a variation of Fiendfyre. It already destroyed it."
"Destroyed what?" asked Sirius, dusting himself off, curious about his friend's discovery. "Oh yeah, it's true I didn't tell you about that," said the time traveler, putting away his wand. "I'll cut to the chase... Do you know what a Horcrux is?"
06/10/1992, 11H00, Ministry of Magic, London:
Andrew gently placed his pipe on his desk, a gesture that had become usual for him. Although he enjoyed the art of smoking, he tried to limit himself in order to concentrate more on his reading. "It's to be more productive," he had once heard his wife say, or something to that effect.
In front of him, on the other side of the desk, stood Fortuna Moon, her impassive face revealing no emotion. The man handed her his newspaper, drawing her attention to a particular article.
"It seems that the alliance between the Potters and the Blacks is back in fashion. They were seen together controlling Fiendfyre in a Muggle neighborhood," he remarked, offering the newspaper to the blonde. "I'd never seen Fiendfyre before, and I didn't imagine that this spell created black flames. You learn something new every day, even after Hogwarts!" he exclaimed with a light laugh.
"Black fire? Interesting," murmured Fortuna, finally breaking the silence.
"Did you say something?" Andrew asked, surprised by her reaction. The woman merely shook her head, her expression still as cold and distant.
"Cut to the chase, Andrew. What do you want?" she asked in a sharp voice.
Andrew was a newcomer to the British Ministry. His professional career had always kept him far from the field, which made his appointment as secretary of the ICW bounty hunter office all the more surprising. He had seen this opportunity as an unexpected promotion and had accepted it with enthusiasm.
Andrew embodied the archetype of the bureaucrat. His short, greasy hair, resembling a worn toothbrush, adorned a bald, shiny skull, like an over-polished globe. His globular eyes, hidden behind thick-lensed glasses, shone with an administrative greed, scrutinizing each document with an almost obsessive meticulousness. His face, with its doughy features and expression perpetually fixed in a constipated look, seemed incapable of expressing the slightest emotion. Only his bushy eyebrows, often furrowed in incomprehension or exasperation, betrayed rare outbursts of feeling.
"The Russian Minister of Magic has observed the arrival of several packs of magical creatures in Russia and has launched an investigation," he explained, handing a wanted poster to Fortuna. "They discovered that a powerful wizard, a man called Alexei, was behind it all. They tried to contact him, but he eliminated all the messengers who approached him. It has been nearly a month now that he and all his creatures have disappeared and are actively being sought."
"The other members of the ICW, fearing that he might be plotting a coup in their country, have put a price on his head. So that's your next mission, Fortuna. But be careful, he's dangerous. Very dangerous."
The woman carefully examined the photo of the wanted man, memorizing every detail of his face, before folding the wanted poster and putting it in a pocket. Without a word, she nodded and left the room, leaving Andrew to sigh wearily.
"If you keep throwing yourself into these kinds of dangerous missions, you'll end up losing your life, young lady..." he muttered, lost in thought.
06/25/1992, 20H02, Hogwarts, Scotland:
"Dumbledore seems to be on cloud nine lately, don't you think?" Harry remarked, savoring a chicken wing.
"Don't talk with your mouth full!" Hermione sighed, annoyed by his lack of manners. "But yes, I noticed that too. He even walks around the corridors between classes," she added, pushing her hair behind her ears.
"Now that you mention it... I remember he even came to reprimand Snape during one of my detentions for his severity. If I'm to believe Snape's expression, it's unheard of," Neville added.
Harry was delighted to see Neville's evolution. Since their adventure, the young boy had exchanged letters with his grandmother, telling her about their exploits. She had been sincerely impressed and had congratulated him for maintaining the alliance between their houses, even at Hogwarts. Neville had even been allowed to have his own wand!
Moreover, since he had it, his life had completely changed. All the spells he couldn't do before had become child's play. He had even managed to hold out for a few minutes in a duel against Harry, which, in his book, was a formidable feat.
These successes had significantly boosted his self-confidence, to the great pleasure of his Gryffindor comrades.
"That must have been funny for the bat!" Ron laughed, patting Neville on the knee.
As for Ron, Harry was relatively satisfied with the situation. As he expected, their friendship was no longer the same. Ron spent most of his time with Dean and Seamus talking about Quidditch, while Harry hung out with Neville, Hermione, and sometimes Daphne.
He had organized another meeting between the two, and it had gone rather well. They would never become close friends, but Daphne had accepted the redhead's apologies. Ron, for his part, had difficulty understanding all these stories of political alliances, but knew that Daphne was a "nice girl," and that was enough for him, much to the blonde's dismay.
"I saw Uncle Hadrian's owl dropping him a letter during breakfast last week. It was probably good news," Harry suggested, shrugging.
The meal continued, with anecdotes and memories of the past year flying between the Gryffindors. "It's a shame that Daphne doesn't want to eat with us," Hermione pointed out, feeling lonely surrounded by boys.
At this point, almost the entire school was aware of the alliance between the Potters and the Greengrass. But since neither Daphne nor Harry had made it official, no one dared to talk about it. The only one who persisted in trying to cause them trouble was Draco. His repeated insults towards Harry or his family had sent him to the infirmary more than once. Harry, on the other hand, always ended up in detention, but had no regrets.
As Harry was about to respond, a tinkling of crystal glass echoed through the Great Hall. All eyes turned to the teachers' table, where the old headmaster stood, his wand against his throat to amplify his voice.
"Dear students, professors, and staff," he declared, "another extraordinary year is coming to an end! A year filled with challenges, adventures, and, of course, magic. And as we prepare to celebrate the end of another school year, I can't help but feel an immense sense of pride and satisfaction. This year, we have witnessed incredible courage, intelligence, and determination from all the students of Hogwarts."
Loud applause from all four houses erupted, supported by the professors.
"Some of you have had to face difficult trials, overcome unexpected challenges, and demonstrate your skills as witches and wizards. That's why I want to say that I'm very proud of all of you," he added.
He continued his speech, congratulating the fifth and seventh years on their excellent exam results, before addressing the long-awaited subject of the House Cup. He first listed Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw, respectively in fourth and third place, before pausing dramatically.
"In second place with 452 points: Slytherin. Congratulations, Slytherin."
To this, only the silver and green house applauded, followed, to their great surprise, by Harry Potter and his Gryffindor friends.
"And finally, with 470 points, Gryffindor. Congratulations Gryffindor, this year, you win the cup!" exclaimed the old man, clapping his hands, filling the Great Hall with gold and red.
He then waited patiently, allowing the general euphoria to subside and calm to return. Once this was achieved, he resumed his speech: "But don't forget, my dear students, that winning isn't everything. What matters most is the journey and the lessons learned. You have all grown and evolved this year, and I am sure you will continue to do so in the years to come. So enjoy your summer holidays, rest up, and come back next year ready to take on new challenges and explore new magical horizons. Once again, congratulations to Gryffondor! And to all the students of Hogwarts, I wish you a very happy summer and plenty of rest!"
With that, he sat back down, enjoying the end of his meal amid the students' applause.
Harry scanned the room, before his eyes landed on Daphne. The latter seemed perplexed, staring at Draco as if he was telling her that the sky was actually fluorescent yellow. He wondered what the insufferable brat could have said to his friend. He nodded to her, to which she replied with a simple shrug. 'I'll ask her tomorrow, I guess.'
06/26/1992, 12H34, Hogwarts Express, Scotland:
Daphne burst into the compartment with an imperious gesture, slamming the door behind her. "Make some room, Potter!" she snapped, exasperated.
Harry, Hermione, and Neville had finally found a free compartment after a laborious search, and settled in to enjoy a moment of peace before the tumult of the station. They had exchanged their impressions of the upcoming school year, discussing their plans and hopes. Harry, in particular, was eager to rejoin his new family, Hadrian and Sirius, for the summer holidays, the destination of which remained mysteriously secret. It was the first time he would go on vacation and excitement was getting the better of him.
Daphne's sudden arrival, accompanied by another anxious-looking Slytherin, disrupted the group's much-needed calm. "Excuse us," the young girl hastened to explain, "Draco Malfoy has been particularly... unpleasant lately."
"Ah, Malfoy, again... Always him..." Harry sighed, blasé by the Slytherin's incessant provocations. "Anyway, hello to you, Tracy," he added, turning to the girl and extending his hand with a friendly smile. "Nice to meet you."
Tracy, visibly intimidated by the presence of the famous Boy-Who-Lived, timidly shook his hand. Hermione and Neville resumed their conversation, curious to learn the other's plans for the summer.
Harry and Tracy, for their part, started a conversation, punctuated by occasional interventions from Daphne who added details to her friend's remarks. The young wizard was burning with a question: "What's going on with Draco?" But he held back, preferring not to fuel tensions.
Suddenly, the compartment door opened again. Harry, without looking up, informed the newcomers: "Sorry, there's no more room left."
But instead of the expected closure, he heard a familiar voice: "Greetings to you too, oh great Potter. Don't worry, I have no desire to sit next to mudbloods," Draco sneered, flanked by his two cronies.
Harry forced himself to look at the Slytherin, exasperated by his arrogance. "Wasn't the last time at the infirmary enough, Malfoy?" he replied in a firm voice, tapping his wand. He saw the blond shiver slightly at the sight of the magical object, which gave him secret satisfaction.
"You Gryffindors..." Draco retorted, his hand resting on his own wand. "All you know to do is threaten others with your wand."
The tension was palpable in the compartment, the two rivals facing each other, their wands ready to be drawn. The atmosphere was electric, threatening to degenerate at any moment.
Harry was about to retort. After all, if he really attacked everyone who was smarter than him, he would have to attack a good part of Ravenclaw, not to mention Hermione. However, a voice cut him off.
"Get out of here Malfoy! Nobody wants you here. Disappear!" exclaimed Daphne, her usually impassive face distorted by anger.
Never had the young Gryffindor seen her so enraged. If looks could kill, the Slytherin would be dead three times over, and the train wall would have melted.
"Oh, so this is where you've been hiding, Greengrass! I should have expected to find you in the lion's den. You're nothing like a Slytherin after all," Draco mocked. Seeing that his remarks had hit the young girl, he continued: "And besides, you shouldn't talk like that to your future brother-in-law."
That last sentence silenced the entire compartment. Harry saw Daphne's face pale, then contort. He didn't know why, but the sight of the young girl's suffering angered him in turn. He didn't know what was going on, but if he was sure of one thing, it was that the three idiots had to leave.
He exchanged a quick glance with Neville who nodded, and they both shouted: "Depulso!" Before they could react, Malfoy and his bodyguards were propelled out of the compartment. Hermione stood up in turn, blatantly ignoring her classmates' rule-breaking, and waved her wand at the door. "Colloportus," she murmured. She then turned to Harry and informed him: "The door won't reopen until we arrive, don't worry."
Harry breathed a sigh of relief before turning to the Slytherin girl beside him. However, instead of looking at him, she had her head bowed, silent tears streaming down her cheeks.
The young Gryffindor had no idea how to handle this. He had always been alone in his suffering during his life with the Dursleys. And even though Hadrian had already comforted him, he didn't want to risk saying something that would alienate the girl against him. So, after thinking, he decided to nod to Hermione, who, quickly understanding what he meant, got up and approached the young girl.
Tracy looked at her friend sadly. She knew what had affected Daphne so much. The latter had told her everything. But, even knowing the truth, she hadn't found a solution to help her best friend. She blamed herself for it.
Lost in thought, she only came back to herself when Harry sat down beside her. "I think I have an idea of what's gotten her in that state, but I'd like to be sure. Can you explain the situation to me, please?" the black-haired boy asked seriously.
Tracy nodded, relieved that someone else finally wanted to help Daphne and Astoria. She took a deep breath and began to tell the story, her voice trembling at times. During her account, she looked up several times, watching the Gryffindor's reactions beside her. But what she saw... She didn't expect it. The look in his eyes was empty, as if the Harry Potter she had met a few moments earlier had been replaced by a machine.
In a voice muffled by emotion, Tracy revealed to Harry the source of Daphne's despair. For some time now, the latter had not received any news from her sister Astoria. Worried, she had written to her father, who had replied in a vague and unconvincing manner. However, the lack of response from Astoria persisted, fueling Daphne's anxieties.
During a meal, Draco, who seemed to have overheard her conversation with Tracy, revealed to Daphne that he was engaged to her younger sister, under orders from their respective fathers. This news devastated Daphne, who felt powerless in the face of this fate imposed on her young sister. This powerlessness was also coupled with a misunderstanding of her father's behavior. Had he been forced?
Harry listened attentively, his heart aching at the tale of this injustice. He knew all too well this terrible feeling of powerlessness, having experienced it all his life with the Dursleys. But seeing someone close to him suffer was intolerable. If he was used to enduring, since meeting Hadrian, he had learned to fight for those he loved. Neither Daphne nor Astoria deserved such treatment.
"Don't get involved, Harry, please," Daphne pleaded, her voice trembling, after catching her breath. "It's a family matter." Hermione, sitting beside her, comforted her by gently stroking her back.
Outraged at this revelation, the young witch with bushy hair could not contain her anger. "The principle of arranged marriages still exists in the wizarding world?! It's barbaric! Everyone should be free to choose their spouse. It's unacceptable!" she exclaimed.
Harry, lost in thought, nodded distractedly at Hermione's remark. He also seemed to have missed his first name coming out of his blonde friend's mouth. His determination was unwavering. "So what ? You want me to let you down ? To leave Astoria to marry Malfoy? We're allies, Daphne. I won't let this happen if it makes you suffer. You can't stop me, you know," he affirmed, his green eyes shining with an intensity that would have brought back very bad memories for Hadrian's old enemies.
"I... Bloody hell Potter, try at least not to make things worse," she sighed softly, a small smile appearing on her lips. Her gaze, however, indicated great suffering if they caused more problems.
Neville, observing the scene, scratched his head, perplexed. 'How can she speak so softly and meanwhile look at him with such a strong intent to kill... it's beyond me,' he thought, looking at Daphne.
Silence fell over the compartment. Only Hermione and Neville continued to chat softly, the other three being too lost in their thoughts to pay attention to their words.
'I'll find a solution, Daphne,' Harry swore to himself. He would not abandon her. Never.
06/26/1992, 17H02, King's Cross, London:
Hadrian waited patiently on Platform 9 ¾, alongside Sirius. They had tried to engage in a conversation with Alexander a few moments earlier, but he had replied with a preoccupied and distracted air. The time-traveler had tried to glean some information, but Alexander had simply nodded, asking them to "mind their own business."
Intrigued by his friend and ally's enigmatic attitude, Hadrian decided to leave him to his thoughts and patiently wait for Harry with Sirius.
The Black and Potter duo resumed their own discussion, scanning the station for Harry's dark hair. Finally, they spotted him in the distance, accompanied by Hermione and Daphne. They watched Harry bid farewell to his friends before he turned in their direction and began walking towards them.
"How does he know we're here? He didn't even see us," Sirius remarked, nudging Hadrian.
"Either he sensed my magic, which would be quite a feat for someone his age, or he followed your wet dog scent," Hadrian replied, returning the nudge.
Harry strode across the station and stopped in front of them. Before he could even open his mouth, he jumped into Hadrian's arms, then Sirius'.
"We're so glad to see you, pup! You're going to love the holidays," Sirius exclaimed, releasing his godson.
"I can't wait!" Harry replied with a wide grin. However, to the older duo's surprise, his expression froze and his smile vanished. "But before that, we need to talk."
06/28/1992, 14H43, Greengrass Manor, England:
Hadrian had to admit it: he made a grave mistake by completely forgetting about Astoria Greengrass' fate.
In his time, she ended up marrying Draco Malfoy. However, he had never known that it was all based on a marriage contract. Or at least, that's what he thought.
'You know very well that's not true,' a voice echoed in his head. 'There was no contract in your time. It's the changes you've made since your arrival that have altered the situation.'
Hadrian shook his head at these words. Deep down, he knew it. He had been made aware of Harry's actions. Not to mention the obstacles he had put in Lucius' way by recovering the title of Lord Black for Sirius. The coward wouldn't let it go. He would surely find a way to take revenge. And he had found it: the Greengrass family.
Hadrian had sent a letter to Alexander, demanding answers. The latter had simply replied coldly, asking him once again to mind his own business.
But the time-traveler couldn't let things play out like this. Not only because his actions were at the origin of this situation, but also because the Greengrass family were both allies and the regents of the Potters.
After a long discussion with Harry, where he asked him what he preferred: leaving immediately for the holidays or staying one more week to settle the problem and then leave, Harry, unsurprisingly, had chosen the second option.
That answer was the reason for their current presence in front of the manor.
Sirius, for his part, had decided to take advantage of the remaining week and had left early.
Hadrian knew that the man had probably gone in search of his old friend Lupin, and he couldn't blame him. The animagus had spent the last few weeks training and attending endless Wizengamot meetings. He didn't blame him for taking a week for himself.
That left only the Potter duo to deal with the Greengrass affair. The first time Harry had come, they had arrived by fireplace. But since the Greengrass Manor's fireplace was closed, they had no choice but to take the classic route.
"It's strange, it looks like everything is dead," Harry remarked, pointing at the various plants in the greenhouses that adorned the manor. "Daphne introduced me to all of them in detail the first time I came here. And they didn't look like this," he added, pointing to a group of withered flowers.
Hadrian simply nodded, pondering what could have led to this situation before feeling the protections rise around them. "Why are they reacting? We're allies, they should have already recognized us," Hadrian exclaimed, grabbing his wand.
"Harry, stay behind me! Keep your wand at the ready and be prepared! If you see me fall, run as fast as you can out of the property, understand?!" the time-traveler ordered, lowering his headband.
The young boy immediately recognized his uncle's grave voice and understood that he shouldn't ask questions. He nodded and took his place behind him, wand in hand, ready to fight.
That's when a colossal force came down on them. "It's pure magic! It's trying to crush us! But something's wrong... It looks like the magic is... contaminated!" Hadrian exclaimed, watching the jets of dark magic that were trying to reduce them to dust.
"What do we do then?!" Harry shouted, desperately trying to be useful.
"The only way to counter it is with brute force. Get ready, kid, it's going to be tough!" his uncle replied after a few moments of thought.
Unknown to Harry, a mad smile was spreading across the older man's face. Eliminating any form of dark magic was enough to brighten his day, especially if it allowed him to protect those he loved.
He then began to savagely compress his magical core, the magic within him unleashing itself and fighting the incoming dark magic.
"What power!" Harry exclaimed. 'It's as if magic itself has materialized,' he thought as he watched the golden energy burst from his uncle's body and confront the dark force that wanted to annihilate them.
Harry watched in admiration for what seemed like hours as his uncle's pure magical force gnawed at the defenses of the ancestral manor, wondering if the man was truly human. The amount of magic that had been escaping from him for the past few minutes would have been enough to fill the magical cores of all the students at Hogwarts... including the professors!
The air vibrated, and the temperature alternated between an icy cold and an unbearable heat. The ground trembled, and the weather itself seemed indecisive. Finally, after a long silent battle, the dark magic retreated, causing his uncle to fall to one knee.
"Uncle Hadrian, are you alright?" Harry asked, rushing to his side. The latter was pale, but seemed generally healthy.
"Didn't I tell you to leave if I were to fall? Young people nowadays... Anyway, don't worry, I'm fine. The manor and I are magically drained. We should be safe for at least a few hours, while it recharges with ambient magic. Let's go!" the former Auror decided, getting up.
Harry nodded and the two of them headed towards the manor doors.
Once in front, Hadrian took a deep breath, put his headband back in place and made sure of his balance before preparing to knock. However, before he could raise his fist, the door opened, revealing a man Hadrian didn't immediately recognize.
"Oh oh, who do we have here? Lord Potter, welcome to you. Lord Nott at your service," the man declared in a mocking tone.
His appearance corresponded perfectly to the image of the Death Eater that Harry had imagined when hearing his uncle's stories. His teeth were mostly decayed, and his squinted eyes failed to hide his malevolent gaze. Although his attire suggested a certain hygiene, the foul smell emanating from him indicated quite the opposite. His short brown hair was greasy and dirty.
In short, the former Death Eater looked like a perfect hybrid between a noble and a homeless person, leaning even more towards the latter according to Harry.
"Lord Nott, I wasn't expecting to see you here," Hadrian replied honestly, the magical exhaustion catching up with him.
"Me neither, Lord Potter. You should be careful... You seem very pale. I wouldn't want anything to happen to you," Nott senior replied. Hadrian had to stop himself from gagging at his interlocutor's fetid breath. How a human could give off such smells, he had no idea.
Harry, noticing the same thing as his uncle, heard a faint laugh behind Nott senior. He saw a boy, physically similar to Lord Nott, but much younger. 'I know him, he's a Slytherin! What's his name again...?'
"Oh, what a blunder on my part. This is my heir, Theodore. Come here," Nott growled, pulling a young boy from behind latter wore a mocking smile on his face at the sight of Hadrian, pale and weakened. 'They know why... But they shouldn't. The protections are linked to Daphne's parents, just like those of the Potter manor are linked to Uncle Hadrian. So how...?' Harry wondered.
Hadrian nodded, not bothering to shake the young boy's hand in front of him. He in turn introduced Harry, as useless as it might seem.
Suddenly, as the conversation seemed to be coming to an end, Hadrian saw Alexander approaching the door. The wizard was pale, even paler than his uncle according to Harry. He had large dark circles under his eyes and looked extremely tired.
Nott senior noticed Harry's worried look and chuckled. He then turned his head towards Hadrian and, in the same mocking tone, said: "Don't worry. Your little boyfriend is still alive. Let's just say they've had a rough time, and as an old friend, I had to offer them some help."
It was Hadrian's turn to sneer. He had no idea what kind of help the human waste in front of him had offered his ally, but he strongly doubted it was out of the goodness of his heart.
Nott turned to Alexander, who, although physically present, seemed lost in thought. "The poor Greengrass family have been struck by a curse," he explained. "If I'm not mistaken, it's a curse that absorbs all the life force of the place. I'm quite knowledgeable in this area, so I kindly offered my help to my... old friend," he added, giving a broad smile to the man behind him.
"In addition to that, they have lost a large part of their finances in recent times. Fortunately, my friend Lucius has offered to help them, and from what I've heard, he has managed to get them out of this mess," he continued, displaying a certain satisfaction with his victory over Hadrian.
Indeed, the powerful Lord had thwarted many of Lord Nott and Lord Malfoy's advances at the Ministry of Magic since his arrival. Fudge, who until then had given them carte blanche, had begun to question Lucius' statements. Some of the discriminatory laws against Muggle-borns had even been repealed. All these repeated defeats had deeply wounded the egos of the two men.
"Damn it," Hadrian groaned, coughing. "Alexander, what have you been up to? Why didn't you call me?"
His friend simply shook his head, as if talking exhausted him to death. Nott senior, for his part, ignored Hadrian's interruption and resumed his monologue. "Unfortunately for him, his financial problems were linked to this powerful curse. Seeing this, I decided to kindly give him some help. I offered him my son, a pure-blood heir, as well as my knowledge to rid him of this curse," he said, raising his arms to the sky.
"But, for some reason I don't understand, instead of accepting, he said he would think about it. Want my opinion? He's just looking for the exact terms to put in the marriage contract. After all, who would refuse such a good opportunity?"
Harry, unable to hold back, burst out laughing. "Even the worst beggar on death's door would refuse, even if it meant saving the whole world," he whispered to his uncle, who nodded.
Theodore, however, heard Harry and reported his words to his father. The latter, instead of getting angry, smiled, as if he had been waiting for this moment.
"My heir has just given me some disturbing information. It seems that young Harry here has just insulted our family. Don't you think an apology is in order?" he asked with a sickly smile.
Hadrian, however, although still pale, straightened up and smiled in turn. "I don't think so, Lord Nott. I don't see how telling the truth should require an apology."
The man's eye twitched, betraying the fact that the time-traveler's comment had struck a nerve. "Watch your words, Lord Potter, or we might have to settle this with our wands," he growled, abandoning all pretense of nobility.
The young hero of the wizarding world let out a small chuckle. Having witnessed his uncle's prowess a few minutes earlier, he knew full well that Hadrian could take down the man with a single wand stroke.
Suddenly, as Hadrian was about to reply, Ophelia Greengrass ran from behind her husband. She seemed just as exhausted, but a glimmer of life still shone in her eyes. "Lord Potter... Hadrian, please, leave. Don't put yourself in danger for us. We'll be fine, I assure you," she declared, catching her breath several times during her speech, revealing her own weakness.
"Don't worry, Ophelia. We're allies, it's only natural that I'm here. And besides, from now on, this matter also concerns the Nott and Potter families. I think that if Lord Nott doesn't lower his wand soon, we'll have to settle this the old-fashioned way."
A veil of worry appeared in the woman's eyes, visibly concerned about Hadrian's condition. 'That makes sense,' he thought. 'She's connected to the protections, so she must have felt my face-off with them.'
"I'll give you ten seconds to apologize, Lord Potter," Nott senior spat, apparently deaf to the exchanges between Hadrian and Ophelia.
Then, for the first time since Harry had known his uncle, his calm and composure vanished, giving way to a maniacal smile and a deeper voice. "Listen carefully, you little shit, if you don't lower your wand right now, I'll open your belly myself and fill it with hungry worms. So I advise you to kindly back off, if you don't want me to wipe you off the face of the Earth," he snarled with venom.
The man growled and stepped back slightly when he felt the magic begin to emanate from his political opponent. Unknown to all, Hadrian's core was no longer that of a normal human. It fed directly on ambient magic, which meant that its recharge rate was far superior to that of an average wizard. Even if he wasn't at his peak yet, he seemed ready to fight.
"Come on, Lord Potter, be more honest with yourself. I'm not so dishonorable that I would attack a magically exhausted man. I suggest instead that we let this duel take place between our heirs, what do you think?" the man proposed, a hint of worry filtering through his voice.
Hadrian wasn't stupid. He didn't have enough magic to hold out in a prolonged fight, and he had just drained his core by intimidating the man in front of him. This proposal also allowed him to save face, but would Harry be ready to fight?
This question, however, almost immediately left his mind when he turned to the young boy who nodded seriously, his own wand in hand.
"Alright, let's do it that way. If my heir wins, I'll take care of the curse and you get out of here. If not, I'll publicly acknowledge the superiority of the Nott family and leave this manor immediately. Do we have a deal?" the time-traveler suggested, guided by an unshakeable confidence in his younger self.
Harry decided to remain silent, waiting for the other noble's response, but he felt deeply touched by the blind trust his uncle placed in him. Hadrian had just put the full weight of the family reputation on his shoulders, convinced that he would emerge victorious.
"Alright. Heirs, into position, now!" Nott ordered, spinning his wand to delineate an arena on the ground.
Hadrian noticed Ophelia's pleading gaze and lowered his blindfold to wink at her. She stared at him, worried, before nodding and sitting on the steps in front of her door, closely followed by a limping Alexander.
Harry and Theodore, face to face, followed the etiquette reminded by Hadrian, then took up a fighting stance. Hadrian, carefully watching Nott senior's hand for any attempt at cheating, exclaimed: "Are you ready? Three, two, one... Fight!"
And so, the duel began.