Hadrian Sirius Black

A Faint Heart

A Faint Heart

He wiped his eyes tiredly, his messy hair falling into his face and hand shaking as he gripped the quill. This had to stop. He couldn't write in this diary anymore.

This Tom person was becoming like an addiction. An obsession. Sometimes he'd write so long that he'd wake up and miss his first few classes. One day he woke up and he was covered in some kind of animal blood. He didn't know what animal and he didn't want to find out.

He kept hearing strange hissing noises and every time he walked past that boy. That Hadrian Black, his head ached.

Seamus, are you there?

Seamus flinched as he stared at the words that appeared in the diary. He didn't respond and the words disappeared.

I can sense you Seamus..do you not wish to speak to me any longer?

Seamus swallowed, hand quivering as he slowly wrote a response. His hand stung, as if he were being burned, but he ignored it.

Tom, I'm scared.

Oh? Why's that? Did something happen?

You know what happened.

I don't. What do you mean?

Seamus felt tears in his eyes and he attempted to throw the diary, when his body went still and his mind darkened.

His eyes were suddenly an icy blue and he glanced around the room in distaste. "Is this what Dumbledore calls homely?" he uttered in a smooth voice. A voice that matched only one other.

Seamus..no. Tom, closed the diary carefully, holding it in one arm as he left the dorm room.

He trotted down the spiral steps of Gryffindor tower and peeked out, seeing that the common room was empty. Good. Now he could search for it...that sound. Like a heartbeat. Faint. But it was there. He had been feeling it since arriving back in Hogwarts. It was most noticeable when Seamus passed a certain Slytherin boy.

Hadrian Black...

The name sent a flurry of emotions through Tom and he shook them away for a moment as he left the common room, having learned the password from Seamus. As Tom remembered, the Halls were dark. McGonagall off on the third floor now, patrolling.

The prefects would have done their rounds and the only professor he'd have to worry about was a man named Severus Snape.

Tom in Seamus' body headed toward the dungeons, when he heard it. That beating noise. His blue eyes flashed and he followed the sound to the defense room.

He could hear the sound of quills and someone speaking. Rambling about autographs or something. That fool, Lockhart. Seamus complained about him often. Then, there was another voice.

"Would you mind keeping quiet? I can't concentrate with you running your mouth." the voice was soft, like a melody in Tom's head and he closed his eyes, revelling in the sound. He heard it then. The heartbeat like noise and he felt as if a part of him was being called.

Inside, Hadrian froze.

His scar began to buzz, with confusion and something like longing. The connection felt like Tom's but different. Almost as if the connection wasn't complete.

The Horcrux.

Hadrian jolted and attempted to leave the room, only to be pulled back by Lockhart. He hissed and shoved the man off, eyes flashing dangerously. Lockhart laughed nervously and cleared his throat.

"Come now Hadrian, we have quite a few more pictures to sign." he said and Hadrian frowned. "Didn't you hear that?" he asked in a show of confusion and Lockhart blinked. "Hear what?"

"Hear that! There was a voice, saying it was going to kill someone." he said frantically and Lockhart tilted his head before glancing over at a clock that hung from the wall. "My! Would you look at the time! I was having so much fun I lost track. It's no wonder you're hearing things. You should get to bed Hadrian, it'll do you some good." he smiled and Hadrian snorted but left the room as quickly as he could.

Unfortunately, the Horcrux was no longer there. Instead Hadrian could feel it getting closer to the dungeons.

"Don't go away now." he almost huffed. He knew the Horcrux was curious about him, he could feel it. So why was it going the other way? He was close to the steps, when he heard something.

Kill.

Let me kill you.

Rip. Tear.

Kill.

"Okay. That's a bit ironic." sighed Hadrian. Not that he cared if someone died but just in case this thing was a threat, he followed the voice, wand ready.

The thing was still ranting about killing or whatever, when it suddenly disappeared and with it, the feeling of the Horcrux. Gone. Hadrian cursed under his breath, turning the corridor, only to pause.

His luminous eyes landed on the mangled figure of a cat hanging from the ceiling by its tail, its crimson eyes glazed over and its body stiff. As if it were dead. On the wall behind it was a bloody message.

"Enemies of the heir beware." he muttered, glancing around. He caught sight of a trail of spiders and tilted his head. "Spiders and a petrified cat. Could there be a basilisk here? That's quite a stretch but..where would it even hide?" he mused, then realized, he shouldn't be there.

He cast a quick notice-me-not spell, then headed back to the dungeons, eager to discuss what he'd found with his Royals.