Never Trust A Snake

Chapter Seventeen

'Broken Promises'

Dumbledore watched over the Order as the ate and chattered in a merry fashion. They had all arrived at Potter Manor promptly, eager for Mrs Potter and Mrs Weasley's delicious cooking. The Weasley children, Hermione and of course Evan sat near the end of the table, chatting animatedly. Lily was sat beside her son, watching the Marauders converse. Besides them were Nymphadora, Kingsley and Moody. Severus had been unable to attend, which didn't upset any of the others. All was to satisfaction, thought Dumbledore.

However, this perfect illusion of happiness and tranquility was soon destroyed as the door was flung open. Hadrian Potter stalked into the room, his glowing eyes searching each guest.

"Who is this?" Asked Tonks, looking towards the Potters, who seemed relatively shocked, for answers.

"Oh! Hadrian, we weren't aware that you'd be joining us," Lily gasped, quickly gesturing for the others to make room for the boy. Said boy rolled his eyes before taking a seat opposite Sirius Black. Hadrian's face formed a hard glare as he sat down. This motion did not go unseen by the Headmaster. Dumbledore's eyes twinkled as a plan began to form in his head. Hadrian obviously harboured a dislike for Sirius, and if he could just exploit that ,then the Black Heirship would become Evan's in no time.

"This is Evan's twin, Harry, who was graciously taken in my Lily's sister." James explained, ignoring Hadrian's snarl at his name, to the few Order members who were still confused. Hadrian nonchalantly clicked his fingers, causing a plate of food to travel from the kitchen to the space in front of him. The Order watched in disbelief as the boy managed to do wandless and wordless magic. Dumbledore however, saw this as a threat and therefore his signal to begin his plan.

"Harry, my boy! I must be mistaken, but I thought I saw you glare at your godfather earlier?" Dumbledore's eyes twinkled in delight as his fellow wizards all looked towards Hadrian.

"You must be mistaken, Dumbledore! Hadrian loves me!" Sirius barked out, amusement evident on his face. After all, how could Hadrian hate him. Sirius had always tried to be there for the boy, even when Lily and James were not. He would always remember his birthday, Christmas, and any holiday that the Potter's celebrated. The dog animagi and werewolf had, in fact, loved the boy like he was their own son.

Hadrian, despite what his godfather thought, despised Sirius Black. Though the man had been good to him, he had lied. One lie which had haunted and taunted Hadrian everyday since he left the Potters.

"I'll keep you safe Harry..." Those had been Sirius's words. A promise to keep him safe. Yet only days after that promise, Hadrian had been sent to the  Dursleys and had been anything but safe. Even after that, he had not been safe. Living on the streets, terrified that someone would find out that he killed the Dursleys.

Blood was splattered across his clothes and face, but Harry ignored it. He had nowhere to go. If he remained at the Dursleys's home, he would be caught and sent to Azkaban for murder. He couldn't immediately go to the bus stop or to any where within the public eye. Despite all this, Hadrian was exhilarated. A crazed grin still played upon his face as his heart pounded against his ribs. The power he had felt as they had died. Nobody could've stopped him. Reborn from his newly committed murders, like a phoenix from the ashes, was Hadrian. No more was the cowering boy, who lived in a cupboard. Now, it was Hadrian. And Hadrian liked killing.

Slowly, Hadrian came to a stop. His feet ached from running and his legs felt like lead. Glowing green eyes examined the forest around him, tall skeletal trees blocked him from view. He would be safe here. The boy collapsed against a tree, too tired to continue on anyway. Circe slowly unwound herself from Hadrian's neck and slithered to the ground. Life would be a lot more difficult from now on.

Even after this, Hadrian still hadn't been safe. He was an assassin, constantly killing and fighting. He had never been safe. He had scars to remind himself of Sirius's broken promise. Sirius had never kept him safe. The man, who prided himself on loving Hadrian, had lied to him.

"No," Hadrian's voice shattered the conversation like a knife. Everyone quickly grew silent, all eyes turning to him. The raven haired boy's eyes were glowing dangerously, filled with hatred, as he glared at his godfather. The only calming presence, was the snake that was wrapped around Hadrian's torso. Circe's cold scales brushing against him was all that prevented his magic from destroying the room.

"What?" The dog animagi replied weakly.

"I despise you Sirius Black."

At the end of the table, Dumbledore's eyes twinkled brightly. Everything was going to plan, better than to plan. Dumbledore had been expecting to have to plot the two against each other. Luckily, Harry Potter harboured a disliking towards his godfather. The Black Heirship would be Evan's in no time.

"Why?" Remus asked, his voice soft as he noticed the anger in the boy's eyes. James nodded enthusiastically, also hoping for an answer, like everyone else at the table.

"He's nothing more than a liar. One promise! That's all he had to keep! And he couldn't even do that." Hadrian spat out, before he turned towards Sirius.

"W-what? But i-" Sirius had gone pale. He couldn't remember any promise towards Hadrian, let alone one so bad it could warrant this response. He hadn't even seen Hadrian since the boy was five. Right before he left to the Dursle- The sudden realisation struck Sirius like a blast of lightning. He had made a promise. A promise to keep Harry safe.

"But- Hadrian! I kept that promise! You were safe!" Sirius spluttered out, standing up as he did. A cold, harsh laugh echoed around the room. A laugh that made everyone shiver.

"You didn't. Not for one day. I was sent to those muggles! The muggles you love so much! Do you have any idea what they were truly like?" Hadrian replied, his voice changing between bitter, mocking and furious.

"Petunia and Vernon were good people, Hadrian." Lily argued, despite her fear of how her son was behaving.

"Of course you'd think that. Not one day did you ever visit. Well, how about I tell you. They hated magic, and everything magic. Including the child you left with them! I was a freak to them. They tried to beat the freakishness out of me. They treated me like a house-elf. Yet you seem to care more about them, than me! They deserved to be slaughtered by Hades." Hadrian explained, a sadistic grin on his face. Oh, how he enjoyed everyone's responses. The tears brimming in people's eyes, the looks of horror, the guilt.

"I- I'm so sorry. I'm sorry." Sirius repeated over and over, as tears began to roll down his cheeks. Hadrian was right. Not once had they checked on him. Even so, they should have worked this out from his behaviour. How could they had let that happen to Hadrian.

"Oh! Hadrian! Please, please, forgive us. We didn't know!" Lily begged, tears streaming down her face. Hadrian only said three words before leaving. Apparating away, already accustomed to the wards and able to bypass them. His response chilling Lily, James, Sirius and Remus to the core.

"You should have"

***
"The world is full of monsters with friendly faces and angels full of scars"