Never Trust A Snake

Chapter Thirty-one

'The Lights Last Chance'

"I'm glad Albus gave us a chance to talk to Hadrian," Lily smiled as she and James left the headmasters office. The headmaster had graciously given them a chance to talk to their son. He had given them a time and place so they could sort their differences. Lily couldn't stop smiling, ever since she had been reunited with Harry, she wished to rebuild their family. Unfortunately, James didn't quite share her sentiment. James Potter had cut Hadrian out of their family and he intended for it to remain that way. Hadrian was a blight to the Potter name, he undoubtedly only showed up in an attempt to claim their game or money, James didn't expect anything else from his failure of a son. Perhaps, he secretly didn't want to face the guilt that wrecked his mind when he saw the boys face, his killing curse eyes that showed only madness and hatred. He didn't want to think about how Hadrian compared to Evan, or how Sirius treated Hadrian more like a son than he ever had to Hadrian. Either way, the Potter's had mixed emotions as they left the Hogwarts grounds with the Headmaster in tow.

***

As they arrived at their destination, where they're family had originally fell apart, Godric's Hollow. Dumbledore had stood back, shielded from their eyes by the cloak of darkness that had enveloped the small town as the evening continued.

Lily waited anxiously for Hadrian to show up, she had mixed emotions about her son. Before he had been sent to Petunia's, Harry had been a polite, loving boy, albeit rather reserved and quiet. The boy she had encountered at Hogwarts was ruthless in the way he insulted and attacked Evan, his eyes that once swam with awe and love now seemed hollow and crazed. Her mind wandered back to his dangerous stunt during the Quidditch match, he had seemed so unfazed by the peril of falling or crashing. Her mind wandered back even further to when they had confronted Hadrian about being a Black. Once again she wondered what truly happened at the Dursleys? Not just how her son had survived the attack on her sister's family, but how they had treated him to cause his outburst and most importantly why he had never contacted them.

The crack of apparation drew the redhead out of her thoughts and to the boy who now stood before her and James.

"Oh, Hadrian! I'm glad you're here!" Lily grinned, breaking from James' arms to rush over to her son. She wrapped the boy in a hug, just barely detecting how he stiffened at the contact.

"Are you? I wasn't aware this was a social gathering. I was under the impression you wanted me dead," Hadrian smirked coldly, his toxic green eyes watcher the Potter's intently. James couldn't help but shudder when those eyes looked at him, noone could deny the madness in those eyes. Dumbledore's eyes snapped towards the boy under the cover of darkness, how did he know?

"What do you mean, boy!" James began yelling, "How dare you accuse us of doing something like that, you beat!" Lily quickly interrupted, trying desperately to avoid arguments.

"We just want to talk to you Har-Hadrian," she said softly, looking at him pleadingly.

"Alright, I'll humour you. What do you want to talk about?" From the shadows, Albus let out a sigh of relief.

"Well, what happened to you?" Lily asked, her voice barely above a whisper. Her mind was desperate for answers.

"How did you avoid the attack that killed the Dursleys? Why did you hate them so much? Why didn't you come back to us after?" She continued.

"You ought to know why I hated them. I've heard from a lot of people about how Petunia treated you, her own sister, for being a witch. Do you really think that magic hating bitch would just accept me as part of her family?" He scoffed, his eyes blazing with anger as he glared at his parents.

"If you weren't so fucking ignorant, you would realise that I clearly wasn't wanted back at home. You did abandon me with those monsters after all, and you were so consumed with you fucking Boy-Who-Lived that you clearly didn't have time for me. No one even knew Evan had a fucking brother until recently!" Hadrian growled out, each word like a knife to Lily's heart. Years were streaming down her face as she held on to James' arm. Mr Potter, on the other hand looked ready to kill. He was fuming, prepared to shout when a black owl descended from the sky. A twinkle shined in Dumbledore's eyes as he recognised the owl.

Stepping from the darkness, Albus cleared his throat, directing all attention back to him.

"I'm sorry to cut this event short, but this must be done. Lily, James, I'm sure you'll understand that Harry must be stopped for the greater good. He had been practicing dark magic and is already too corrupted by the dark to be redeemed. I took it upon myself to call-"  Unfortunately, his prepared speech went interrupted when he saw the smirk on Hadrian's face. The boy carefully plucked the parchment from around the owls leg, his grin spreading across his face even more. The owl nuzzled against Hadrian's face from its place on his shoulder. Dumbledore froze, Harry was the assassin. It had to be! How else would he have known, or got that message from that owl of all owls. Lily and James looked between the two of them, obviously confused by the situation. The twinkle in Albus' eye disappeared as he realised he couldn't continue. Hades could use that letter against him, and he couldn't confess what would've, no should've happened as Harry wouldn't be killed. A frown took its place on Dumbledore's face as he realised how thoroughly that boy had ruined his plans.

"What's going on Albus?" Lily enquired, still visibly shaken from what Hadrian had said. Dumbledore couldn't do nothing but frown as Hades replied for him.

"I'm sure it was nothing," He said, a grin now plastered on his face as he reread the new information he had received and realised how much he had destroyed Dumbledore's plan.

"Now, I do believe that the Final task is taking place soon," Hadrian grinned before apparating away. He was certain Dumbledore had no other plans, at least none that couldn't occur before the Dark Lord's final strike.

***

"This is what we are, products of war"