The Joker Rising

Some Laughs

Hadrian had just joined the Slythein table after a long uneducation class of Runes. They were just starting on piling food to their plates when Hadrian noticed Damien Standing off to the side. Nervous. Marcus and him shared a look and nodded, then sent a silent message to Draco who sat in front of them. Sending it to the rest of the group while Hadrian motioned for Damien to join them.

"Afternoon Harry!" Damien said in a cheery voice yet a little nervous still.

After greeting passed around the group now knowing as well as the rest of the Slytherins that Damien Potter was off limits. Unless they wanted to get Hadrian angree. Lunch continued on with banter and stories as they eat, Marcus was just excited to see the glint in Hadrian's eyes. A prank was a foot.

Hadrian towards the end of lunch looked over at the staff table and saw James and Lily watching them closely. Hadrian smiled to himself. 'Time for a little Potter distress' Hadrian thought.

Hadrian leaned closer to Damien and beckoned for Damien to come closer. Damien stopped talking and leaned in, curious to hear what Hadrian wanted to say. "Alright, how about you give Marcus and I a tour then?" Damien looked at Hadrian for a second.

"Seriously?" Damien asked, looking very excited.

"Why not, someone's gotta do it, why not you?" Marcus replied, mirroring Damien's earlier words.

"Alright then! Oh, but we can't go right now. Class will start up soon." Damien said looking a little disappointed with the lack of time they had.

"Well why don't you show me the way to the boy's room? Since I need a little visit before classes start anyway." Hadrian added, getting looks from his friends knowing he already knew his way around the school better than anyone.

But Damien nodded his head and the three boys got up and quickly made their way to the exit.

James leaped out of his chair and tried to rush towards Hadrian and Damien. He and Lily had been watching Damien interacting at the Slytherin table and James was getting a little restless. He remembered what Hadrian had said when he met his brother. Hadrian had a strange look in his eyes that day and that had unsettled James. After all, James knew what damage Hadrian could do, even without a wand. He didn't want Damien, or any other kid to be alone with Hadrian.

However James was finding it difficult to get through the crowd of the seventh year students that had just rushed into the hall. He saw Marcus and Damien near the door with Hadrian in the front, they had somehow managed to slip past the seventh years. James saw Hadrian turn around and looked directly at him, as he and Damien reached the door. Hadrian smirked and winked at James before disappearing out of the hall.

James felt his blood run cold. What was that for? What did Hadrian plan on doing to Damien? Surely Hadrian wouldn't dare hurt Damien right under James and Lily's nose, Right?

By the time James pushed his way through the crowd and entered the main hallway, Hadrian and Damien were nowhere to be seen. James started panicking and scolding himself. Why had James taken so long to leave the staff table? Why did he not approach the table as soon as Damien had sat down at the Slytherin table?

James took out his wand and whispered,

"Point me!"

His wand spun around but kept pointing in all different directions, left, right, left again, straight ahead, right. James cursed under his breath. It seemed the 'point me' spell didn't work in Hogwarts for obvious security reasons. He looked desperately towards the left and right. They had to be around here somewhere, where could they have gone? How could Damien be so stupid? James intended on giving Damien a thorough telling off, if he could find him first. James started running to his right, palms slightly sweaty, thumping heart and shaky legs carried him forward. James was having a panic attack. Hadrian or even Marcus had to be doing something horrible to Damy, James could feel it.

Just as James was going to turn a corner he heard the familiar voice behind him.

"...and there's a boys room on all the floors, but the girls room is on only four floors, what can I say it seems unfair but that's just the way it is."

James spun around and saw Damien, Marcus and Hadrian coming out of the boy's bathroom and walking towards the Great Hall again.

"Why the hell would I want to know how many girl bathrooms there are?" Hadrian asked a little resignedly.

James felt like he could collapse on the floor with relief. 'The bathroom! Of course, Damien was just showing Hadrian the boys room' James felt a little embarrassed over his panic attack. Hadrian wouldn't hurt Damien while he was stuck at Hogwarts, Marcus and Hadrian weren't that irrational, well James hoped not anyway.

James made his way over to the three boys and suppressed the desire to hug Damien.

"Dad? What are you doing here?" Damien asked as he spotted his father walking quickly towards him.

James reached his two sons and friend and felt lost for words, what was he supposed to say 'I thought Hadrian was taking you away to murder you!' James felt embarrassment rush through him again. Hadrian also looked at the pale figure standing before him. Hadrian smiled in triumph as he took in James' worried face and Marcus held a smirk. Damien also noticed his father's pale complexion and the tiny beads of sweat on his forehead.

"Dad, what's wrong? You don't look too good." Damien asked again.

"Nothing Damy, I'm fine...um...where did you three disappear off to?" James hoped his voice sounded casual.

"Just showing Harry and Marcus around, you know before classes start." Damien said still looking at his father in a worried way.

"Yeah Potter, what did you think I was doing?" Hadrian asked in a casual way, but James caught the mirth that was disguised in the comment. Hadrian had purposely freaked James out. He had played James and James had fallen for it without hesitation.

James wished he had remained at the staff table. He only gave Hadrian a warning look and started ushering the boys back to the Great Hall.

Once they were back inside the hall and were seated once again, James returned to his seat. Lily gave a look of relief as she saw her two sons sitting back in the Great Hall.

Hadrian noticed two giggling girls staring at Hadrian from the Ravenclaw table. He looked over at them and noticed that by now the entire tables of Ravenclaw, Gryffindor and Hufflepuff was eyeing them suspiciously. Damien quickly started introducing all of them to Hadrian, well the ones he knew. Hadrian kept quiet, Marcus only nodded.

The two giggling Ravenclaw girls approached the two and one of them asked.

"Hadrian, Marcus, how come you both weren't at Hogwarts before till now?" 'Merlin can they be nosier?' thought Hadrian.

"We didn't feel like it." Marcus answered before Hadrian could. However the two girls stared giggling again talking with other girls around them. Hadrian caught whispers of 'Lovely voice...gorgeous eyes ...he's so hot!'

Hadrian jerked back to look at the two girls who were now laughing hard. Hadrian noticed that almost every girl at that table was looking Hadrian with the same sort of strange gleam in their eyes. Hadrian sighed looking to Marcus, 'stupid girls!' they both sent each other.

Hadrian and Marcus then stood up from the table and instantly felt James grip on their shoulder. They both shook him off and started walking towards the doors. Hadrian noticed Damien eyeing his father awkwardly as he tried to get through the crowd and join him. James shook his head at Damien and told him to go to class and that they would meet at Dinner. Damien nodded his head, although he looked disappointed. He smiled at Hadrian and shouted 'Good Luck' as he hastily joined the third years. Hadrian rolled his eyes at the message given to him hearing a chuckle from Marcus. As if he needed luck for attending...what class did he have? Hadrian took out the crumpled timetable and saw that he had a double period of History of Magic.

'Brilliant' Hadrian sent Marcus. 'What a way to waste time.' James was walking in front of the two as they exited the history classroom and made their way to the classroom closely monitored by the guards which made his question where Sirius was.