Hadrian Sirius Black

Silence

Silence

The silence at Riddle Manor, was deafening.

The inner circle had come back that night, leaving the outer circle to patrol around the main grounds and the areas that Tom knew he had support. Remus Lupin had sent out a few of his pack to help and the vampires and elves had been alerted by Severus should they need to attack.

The night was quiet, a curfew set in place after the atrocities committed by the Death Eaters and the fear that they too would end up like Lucius Malfoy. Wizards of all ages were questioning Dumbledore, asking if Moody really had hurt Lucius like that and why the Dark Lord himself looked so different from what they had been told.

Parents were sending letters to Hogwarts and right then, the inner circle were seated in their usual lounge in Riddle Manor.

Though the group were around the fireplace, the air was not merry. Even Sirius was silent, his grip on his firewhiskey tight and his brown eyes dark.

Narcissa was at Lucius' bed side while Tom and Madam Pomfrey did their best to heal him. Normally she would, but she was too shaky and emotional, the woman silent as she stared blankly at her husband. He was breathing but it was heavy and labored and he kept twitching in his sleep.

"Lucius isn't one to be taken down so easily. He must have been expecting something else entirely." muttered Tadeus, looking pale. Antonin knew the man was seeing Abraxas in a way. No one could forget that sight and seeing Lucius in almost the same way, made them all sick.

It always different seeing a friend, a family member, being hurt in such a way, than it is with an enemy.

They had almost forgotten those emotions as, they were dark. They had appearances to keep. To let emotions cloud their judgment was something they usually never did.

Tom was no exception but in that moment, they could not fault him for what he did.

Though it was Dumbledore who had truly declared war when he commanded Moody to hurt Lucius.

"They were at work. He most likely believed it would be a normal every day interaction. You know he never goes near Moody. He would rip that man apart." said Antonin in response, the twins nodding their agreement.

"They must have knocked him out with muggle means. Magic wouldn't work with how much we've grown these past years." remarked the wolf, Sirius nodding grimly. "He wouldn't expect that. He'd expect a wizard to use magic. It was not the case." said the dog star, growling under his breath. Even he thought it was underhanded and he had done much more in Hogwarts.

"Draco most likely knows by now. The news spread quickly." commented Ebony Rosier, the dark haired wizard looking away from the window and the others nodded grimly.

"Does this make things easier? And what of the young Lord? He has not been introduced to everyone just yet. Things are moving faster than they were supposed to." said Rodolphus, crossing his arms over his chest. Though he did not show it, he too was worried about Lucius.

They had only ever seen Tom so angry and hurt one other time. And if Lucius died like his father, no one would be safe from Tom's wrath.

Tadeus began to respond, when they felt Tom approaching, the inner circle standing up immediately.

They bowed to the man and he gave a brief nod of acknowledgement before he swept further into the room and took his seat in front of the fireplace.

Tadeus approached the man, getting to his knees and lowering his head, the others dropping down to their knees in sync behind him.

Tom watched them for a moment, reaching forward to run his fingers through Tadeus' hair. The man did not move, nor did he meet Tom's cold gaze.

Nagini made her way past the inner circle to curl up in Tom's lap, trying to comfort the man.

Tom gave a small sigh and rubbed his hand over his face.

"Lucius, will recover. Not any time soon however. He's far too injured even with spells to help boost his healing. They tortured him. They used magic sapping artifacts and things that are considered dark. The hypocrites..but he will not die. I ask you not to bother him or Narcissa. However Bella, make sure your sister gets rest. Being so distraught is not good for the baby." said the Dark Lord and though hearing that Narcissa was pregnant was wonderful news, the air was still morbid.

"Of course my Lord." responded Bella, her usual manic smile nowhere to be seen.

"Tadeus, you will take Lucius' place until he recovers. Your responsibilities will be shared between yourself and Antonin. They have called Michael Crumbley in to ask his opinion on who should take Lucius' place for now. My answer, will be you, Ebony. You will see to it that everything goes according to plan..we will make no mistakes. Understand?" continued Tom, staring when the inner circle nodded.

"Yes my Lord." they said together.

"And finally, Moody is in the dungeons. We will take turns tormenting him and we will do so, until Lucius awakens. Then the final blow will be his. He will kill Moody. You may bring him close to death, you may do whatever you wish but you will not kill him." Again, they nodded and Tom finally relaxed into his seat, eyes closed.

"Hadrian will be introduced to the outer circle at the end of the third trial. On that day, we will storm Hogwarts and kidnap Frank Longbottom. We will kill him and bring his corpse to Dumbledore. And finally, we will rule. Gather our allies and any information we may need and Remus, keep a close eye on my serpent and my dragon. I will not have Dumbledore trying anything else. And show them no mercy. It is only fair, after they hurt what is precious to me." he murmured, his words like ice as his followers nodded firmly.

"We will not fail you my Lord." said Tadeus, Tom smiling in response.

"I know darling. Now leave me. I am tired." Tadeus nodded and the others dispersed in black smoke. The brown haired man being the last to go.

Tom ran his fingers down Nagini's scales and listened to the silence all around.

It had been so long, since it was this silent.

He hated it.

-

This is short but the next chapter will be longer :)