Chapter Nineteen

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'Celebrations are in order'

Albus Dumbledore sat in his office, the twinkle in his eyes gone. The newest issue of the Daily Prophet had just been released, and the front page was Cornelius Fudge. The Minister had been assassinated. This alone, was terrible for Dumbledore. Fudge had been easy to manipulate and control. Now, many Order plans that required the Ministry would have to be put on hold. However, what really irritated Dumbledore, was how Fudge was killed. It was Hades. The killing confirmed his affiliation, and it was against the Order. The Prophet had also sparked a mass panic. The Minister himself, had been killed in his own home. This ruined the reputation of the many Aurors who had been guarding the Minister's home.

Dumbledore sighed, rubbing his brow. Ever since Hadrian Black had arrived, his plans had begun to spiral downwards. Lily, Remus and Sirius were becoming more opposed to his plans and more suspicious towards Dumbledore. Speaking of Sirius, Albus' attempt to relieve Hadrian of the Black Heirship had tragically backfired.

Harry Potter needed to go.

***

The Christmas break was slowly coming to an end. Hadrian had spend his time carefully collecting information on the Order, who had become either more open to him or more suspicious. His time had been spent in the Potter household, aside from when he escaped for meetings or assassinations. Overall, in Hadrian's opinion, it had been hell. Evan constantly bothered him, now with support of James. His stupidity extend to attempting to search through Hadrian's trunk and get away with it.

A scream echoed through the house. Lily and James abruptly stood from their seats, looking around frantically. They shared a worried glance as Hadrian, who had been sitting opposite them, also stood up, in a much calmer manner. The two wizards began up the stairs as quickly as they could. Hadrian followed behind, a frown growing on his face as they rushed in the direction of his room. The scream had undoubtedly come from Evan, being the only other person in the house who wasn't present. Seeing as no other rooms resided down the same  forgotten corridor, Evan was in his room. Hadrian let out a growl as they, like he predicted, walked through his familiar door.

Evan was sprawled on the floor, cowering in the corner of the room. Lily let out a loud gasp, his eyes trained on the large snake that was slithering out of Hadrian's open suitcase.

"G-get it away from me!" Evan screeched, pointing at the large reptile that was hissing dangerously.
James begun raising his wand, finally having seen the snake.

"Don't hurt her." Hadrian growled out, walking in from on James and crouching in front of Circe.

"Her?! That monster almost ate me!" Evan whined, shifting his body off the ground and scampering behind his mother.

"Circe is my familiar. She would only hurt those who intended to hurt me. And, if I may ask, what were you doing looking in my trunk?" Hadrian slowly explained, his voice causing the Potter's to shiver.

"I- You're a dark wizard! You've probably got- er, evil stuff! In there!" Evan exclaimed, regaining his confidence while hiding behind his parents backs. James took a step forward, agreeing with his son. Lily seemed rather uncertain, though under the scrutinizing gaze of her husband, meekly nodded.

Their argument was quickly shut down before it even began, as a loud bang was heard from downstairs.

"Hello! Were here!" Barked out a familiar voice. Lily quickly rushed off to greet their guests, followed by Evan and finally James.

That had been only this morning. Luckily, it would be his final day at the Potters. Whilst he was indeed there for information, The Dark Lord had summoned all the Death Eaters for a Yule celebration of sorts. That would be tomorrow, the last day of the Christmas holidays.

Sirius and Remus were joining them to announce their news. The two had finally decided to get engaged. The Potter's, along with many others were celebrating. However, Hadrian felt conflicted. Every since he was a child, Hadrian had noticed their awkward glances, blushing, slight brushing of hands. He was happy for them. Yet, a darker part of him felt he shouldn't. They had forgot about him, after they had been his everything.

The raven haired boy sat in his chair, watching the family celebrate. Circe was wrapped around his neck, acting as comfort to his troubling thoughts.

"I can ssense they're happinesss. Why do you not join in?" Circe hissed. Hadrian simply growled in response, much to Circe's amusement.

"How're you feeling, Cub?" Remus asked gently, sitting himself in the chair besides Hadrian. He could sense Remus' anxiety, the werewolf deeply wished for Hadrian's approval.

"I am happy for you, Remus. You've been in love with him since I was three." Hadrian finally admitted with a sigh, breaking the tense silence. Remus' face quickly flooded with relief and happiness. A large grin formed on the man's face, his eyes swelling with tears.

"I- thank you, thank you, Hadrian. I'm so sorry for what happened. Th-thank you so much. I'm going to be married!" Remus cried, so many emotions filling his body. Sirius quickly ran over to his husband-to-be, engulfing him in a tight hug. Sirius allowed his eyes to meet Hadrian's. A large grin painted Sirius's face as he silently communicated to Hadrian.

Sirius hadn't always been there for Hadrian, recent events had uncovered that. Yet, after his wedding with Remus and finding a house that he could finally settle down in- he didn't know where, but with Remus beside him, he would go anywhere- maybe Hadrian could become a permanent part of his life. He could see himself, Remus and Hadrian as a family. Harry could finally get the parents he deserved. However, maybe that wasn't what Harry needed anymore. When he looked at the boy, he no longer saw the small child who looked up at him with eyes full of wonder. Hadrian was dark, mysterious, broken, but he was family.

***

"Some people survive chaos and that is how they grow.
And some people thrive in chaos, because chaos is all they know."

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