blood & curses [tomarry]

2. confiscated

Pansy, of course, had been right. No one in Slytherin house thought that Hadrian had gotten the prefect position because of his father. Or at least, no one said anything to him, and that was nearly as good.

Outside of Slytherin, however, it was an entirely different matter. Accusations of favoritism were abound, especially from Gryffindors. Of course, the elder Snape was quite despised by that house. Hadrian could admit, even if it was just to himself, that perhaps the Gryffindors were maybe a little bit justified in their suspicions. His father was hardly what one would call unbiased. Not that preferring Slytherin was wrong, exactly, but something about it still bothered Hadrian.

Any sympathies he might have toward Gryffindor House had, as of late, begun to disappear. Nearly every time he'd had to take points, or do any of his Prefect duties, the other students would make a comment about his father, or how he had earned the position, or some other such unsavory remark. It was slowly fraying at his mind, and Hadrian feared if it continued, he would eventually snap and lose his temper on some unsuspecting student.

So far, he'd managed to remain calm with the knowledge of his own competence and his friend's support. Not to mention he was very busy, already having begun to study for the O.W.L.'s. His housemates teased him for acting like a Ravenclaw, but he ignored them. They just didn't understand. They were purebloods, with all the advantages that implied. As a halfblood, no matter his father's standing, Hadrian had to do twice as much to get just as far. He understood the reasoning, of course. There were muggles in his direct bloodline. It wasn't something to be proud of, and indeed, was something he had to prove hadn't unduly influenced him. He had already made good progress - there were few halfblood prefects, after all. And his grades varied from good to outright exceptional, especially in Dark Arts and Defense.

But it was the O.W.L.'s where he could truly begin to prove himself. And it was the first exam that would really matter, when he had graduated.

For all his ambition, however, he was still only fifteen, and had plenty of time to figure things out. After all, he might decide to go for his mastery in Defense or the Dark Arts. If he could find someone to take on a halfblood, that was. But that was far in the future.

For now, he had plenty to keep his mind occupied. He was on the night patrol, and as easy as it was to let his mind wander it was best to focus on what he was doing. You never knew what you'd find in Hogwarts at night, the head boy had warned him. Students wandering the halls or trying to pull pranks were the least of what he had to worry about.

Of course, Hadrian couldn't think of much worse than being caught unawares by Fred and George Weasley. The twins were the absolute menaces of Hogwarts, and their favorite targets were Slytherins. And the worst part was, they were brilliant. Even if you knew they were the culprit, they almost never left any kind of evidence. And the few times they were caught, they seemed more proud than ashamed.

Hadrian could almost respect it. Almost.

He knew they were going to target him this year. They despised prefects of any house, being as anti-authoritarian as they were. And Hadrian was a Slytherin and the son of the headmaster. Not to mention his feud with their younger brother. He absently wondered what they thought of Ronald's new position, before deciding he didn't care. What mattered was avoiding their inevitable pranks.

Fortunately, Hadrian was more than prepared. He had cast a disillusionment spell, causing him to be almost invisible in the shadows of the castle, a personal ward taught to him by his father, and his holly and phoenix feather wand in his hand. No blood-traitor Weasley was going to get the better of him.

It was the ward that saved him. He felt an unsettling tingling at the back of his neck, just like his father described, and had his wand out and jumped out of the way of a sickly orange spell.