In Pensive Memory, Continued
Silence reigned over the dining room as Pandora's words sunk in. The tension was so thick, you could taste it in the air. Tears streamed down Pandora's face. Molly got up out of her chair, and around the table, to give her a comforting hug.
Pandora sniffled as she said, barely above a whisper, "I'm sorry…It's just…Whenever I think about Harry, I imagine my little Luna in his pace, and…and I just can't take it. I get so emotional."
"It's okay," Molly whispered, while rubbing circles on her back, "I feel the same way with my Ginny. But let me tell you this. No one is going to take your Luna away from you."
"Promise?" Pandora said, seemingly weakly.
"Promise."
"Uhem," Albus Dumbledore coughed pointedly, which Severus almost sneered at, "Thank you, Pandora. And yes, you are correct. Every year that we do not find young Harry is another year wasted. The longer it takes, the harder it will be to find him," Pandora let out an appropriate sob, "We will have to redouble our efforts to find any information pertaining to his whereabouts. Severus…"
"What is it, Headmaster," Severus drawled, feigning displeasure at having to speak about 'that Potter brat'.
"Now, Severus," Dumbledore chastised, in that condescending way that adults use when they are speaking to children, as if a child should know better without being told. Severus knew the manner of speech very well. After all, it was one one of the many masks he wore while teaching potions, "I know that you didn't always get along with James Potter in your youth, but that is no reason to take it out on poor Harry."
Severus would have agreed, if he and James hadn't been just pretending to hate each other because they thought it would be funny. On top of that, he had nothing against Hadrian, and even loved him as if he were his own son. But still, he had a part to play so he said with seemingly annoyed sigh, "Just tell me what you would like me to do."
Albus Dumbledore wore a satisfied smirk that made Severus want to wipe it off his face with some real nasty spells, still he held it in.
Albus said, with that annoying twinkle in his eyes, "I request that you go to Knockturn Alley, and see if you can find any mention of the name 'Harry' or a child with green eyes and dark brown hair. If he is anywhere, he is bound to be in a place with Voldemort's Death Eater," Severus held a wince of pain as his dark mark burned at the Dark Lord's name. Pandora's eyes flittered towards him for a second in support, "it is paramount that you find as much information as possible, as quickly as possible."
"Why is it more important now?" Molly asked, as she walked back over to her seat at the table, "I mean, he's been missing for almost three years now. Why the sudden rush? Don't get me wrong, I know how important it is that we find him. What I don't understand is why it is suddenly way more important now than it was before."
Severus sighed deeply, and said, "It is because when a witch or wizard turns four, their magic begins to stabilize. This is why some school are willing to start at that age; anything younger than that, and it would be dangerous for the child."
Molly only looked more confused, and said, "But what does that mean for Harry. Since I doubt whoever took him would allow him to go to school."
Severus nodded, "Age four is also the age that children have magic cores that are strong enough to participate in many rituals, both light and....dark."
Molly froze in abject realization as a look of pure horror spread across her face. She said, voice shaky and uncertain, "Are you saying that they You-Know-Who's followers could be using dark rituals on the child." She looked towards Dumbledore for the answer.
Albus Dumbledore nodded, with a seemingly grim look on his face. He held it for a few moments before morphing his expression into that same annoying grandfatherly expression that he usually wore.
"Well, I been meaning to ask," Severus drawl in his usual tone, "where are you planning on putting the potter boy if we find him."
"When. When we find him," Albus Dumbledore corrected, before saying, "I was planning on placing him with Lily's lovely older sister, Petunia Evens. Though, I suppose now she is known as Petunia Dursley."
Severus choked down his disgust, but managed to keep his face neutral. It didn't escape Pandora's notice, and she raised a questioning eyebrow.
He tapped the side of her leg with his foot,
• — • • • — — • • — • , 'Later'.
She tapped his leg,
— — — — • — • — — • — — , 'Okay'.
All of this happened while they both kept their eyes towards the head of the table.
Severus nodded in response to what Albus Dumbledore said, not bothering to say a word about Petunia's true nature. After all, Hadrian will never go to live with her. That was something Severus would have been willing to swear an unbreakable vow on if needed.
Severus tapped her leg,
— • — — — — — • • — • • • • • • • — — — • • — • — • • — • • • — • • • — • — • • • • • • — — • — — — • • — • • — • • — — • • • • — • — — • • • • • • — — • — — • — • • • — — — — — • — • • • • • • — — • — — • • • • • • • — — • • • — • • • • — — • • • • — • • — — — • , 'You should ask him again why he wants to change Hadrian's name'.
She tapped his leg,
— — — — • — • — — • — — , 'Okay'.
But before Pandora could ask her question, Emmeline Vance spoke with a pointed glare towards Albus Dumbledore, "Now that that is over, I would like to now why you insist on calling Hadrian Potter 'Harry' when Hadrian is a good name for the Potter Heir."
"Now, Miss Vance," Dumbledore tried placating, "Young Harry Potter will be known as an inspiration to all the young muggleborns entering Hogwarts. He is a light in the darkness that is the Pureblood ways. 'Hadrian' will just become a reminder that the olde way will never change."
Emmeline huffed, irritated, "Even so, that doesn't give you the right change his name. Think about Lily and James. They chose the name Hadrian for a reason. I just feel like it would be going against their wishes to change their child's name like that."
Albus Dumbledore smiled, with that twinkle in his eyes, and said, "Rest assured, Miss Vance. In many of the letters they wrote to me during their time in hiding, they would refer to their son as 'Harry'. They even expressed that they were originally thinking of naming him 'Harry' but Fleamont, James's Pureblooded father, told them not to."
Pandora tapped Severus's leg,
• — • • • • • — • — • , 'Liar'.
Emmeline didn't seem convinced, but she pursed her lips and nodded her head. "Very well. If that's the case, then I suppose there's no problem with it. Carry on."
"Thank you, Miss Vance," Albus Dumbledore said in a sickly sweet tone before continuing, "Now that the issue of young Harry's name has been resolved, I would like to move on to the other reason I called you all here after so many months," everyone at the table sat up straighter, signaling that they were paying attention. "After the end of the war, many dark creature went into exile. Now, three years later, they are starting to see re-entry back into society."
•••
Regulus
Regulus pulled himself out of the memory in the pensive as as it came to an end. Narcissa and Andromeda followed shortly after. Andromeda looked around the parlor before saying with a huff, "Did Ted leave while we were in the memory."
Sev looked up with tired eyes from where he had clearly been sleeping while they had been in the pensive. He rubbed his eye and said, "He said he had to leave for his afternoon shift at St. Mungo's Hospital at five o'clock. He told me to tell you that says 'bye'."
"Five o'clock?" Regulus asked as he sat dow next to Sev, "I could have sworn it was a quarter till two when we entered the memory."
"Well, I for one have add similar experiences with pensives in the past," Cissa explained, with a sigh, "Mind magic can be such fickle thing."
"We didn't learn anything new that we hadn't learned before from Sev. Well, except the fact that Panda is an amazing actress," Regulus said, with a chuckle.
"Yeah, well, where else did you think Hadrian got his ability to cry on the spot from," Cissa said, "No seriously, he is practically a natural."
Regulus thought for a moment before looking at Sev. With a curious expression, he said, "I was wondering. Why did you decide to end the memory at that point. It looked as if Dumbledore was about to say something else. It was about 'dark creatures', so I can assume he was talking about the Folk."
Sev let his face fall into an obvious sneer before he said, "The rest of the Order Meeting was all about them talking about how inferior anyone belonging to the Fair Folk are to wizards. The only reason he calls them dark creatures is to; 1. Label them as evil due to most light wizards viewing anything with a dark affinity as evil. And 2. So that he can make others view them as less than us due to them being 'simply creatures' or 'animals'. It was bad enough when I had to hear it. I didn't want to subject you to that torture."
Everyone in the parlor scowled at his words. After all, all witches and wizards are descended from the Fair Folk; even if it had been many generations since a person of a family was able to awaken their inheritance.
Sev saw the looks on their faces and sighed, "Pandora looked downright ready to murder someone. It wasn't obvious, of course, but she had that gleam in her eyes."
Regulus let out an amused huff. Of course it was Panda who got murderous. Hm. Maybe I could those plans of hers along some. His lips twitched up into a pleased smile.
Sev gave him a pointed stare and said, "What are you thinking. Your wearing your I-am-gonna-help-plan-a-murder look."
Regulus blinked, speechless, "I have a look for that?"
Cissa chuckled, and said, "Oh, you most certainly do. You get all quiet, and you get this gleam. You have that crazed smile that starts as a small twitch of the lip. It's how I always know when your about to do something that will have disastrous consequences for everyone around you. It's very amusing when you don't get caught up in it. Not so much when you do. Now tell us, what exactly are you planning on doing that warrants that look?" She lifted her crystal wineglass and took a small sip. Cissa seemed disappointed in the taste and vanished the red glass without even lifting a finger. She set the glass gently on the table and picked up the still mostly full bottle of Château Lafite 1869; pouring it till the glass was one-third of the way full. She then did the same for everyone else's glasses before signaling that Regulus was to answer her question.
"I was just wondering. Who will be the person presenting the anti-creature laws to the Wizengamot at the beginning of the the autumn session."
"Reginald Cattermole, I think," Cissa said, with an air of distain, "why do you want to know."
Just as Regulus was about to answer, they heard slow, measured footsteps heading towards them signaling the return of the children. Regulus mouthed a silent, 'I will you later.' Cissa nodded in understanding as they sat back on the couches, and waited for them to enter the parlor. The black door turned slowly and Regulus lifted an eyebrow in confusion. Hadrian usually wasn't this methodical about opening doors. He usually ran into a room like a ball of sunshine. Did something happen while they were playing in the garden?
Regulus's confusion only grew when the black, wooden door opened equally as slowly as the handle turned. When Hadrian stepped into the room, Regulus did a once over to check for any visible sign of injury.
•••
Hadrian
As soon as Hadrian stepped into the parlor, he was met with his Père's piercing silver eyes. He gulped nervously underneath the intensity of the gaze.
"Père, nous sommes de retour !" Papa, we're back! Hadrian said, trying to sound as excited as possible.
'Sun-Bean? Why have you stopped moving?'
Row shifted slightly to get more comfortable around his neck. Regulus's eyes instantly locked onto the movement, and he eyes went wide. He inhaled sharply, as he must have realized what was around Hadrian's neck. Draco and Dora shifted uncomfortably behind him, but he was too focused on his Père to notice.
Regulus stood up slowly, while drawing his wand. He cautiously approached Hadrian, speaking with a voice barely above a whisper,
"Hadès, chéri, ne bouge pas d'un muscle." Hades, darling, don't move a muscle.
Hadrian looked at him in confusion, "Pourquoi?" Why?
Regulus let out an exasperated sigh, "Vous avez un serpent enroulé autour de votre cou." You have a snake wrapped around your neck.
"Oh. Son?" Oh. Her?
Regulus nodded.
"Row? Can you ssslither down into my armsss."
All the adults in the parlor inhaled sharply at his use of Parseltongue.
"Sssure, Sssun-Bean."
Row uncoiled herself from around Hadrian neck, and slithered down his arm. He grabbed her with his hands and lifted her up for Regulus to get a better look at.
Unaware that Regulus was too stunned from trying to process that his son was a Parselmouth, Hadrian continued. "Nous l'avons trouvée près du saule géant. Elle venait d'éclore et était encore partiellement dans son œuf. Puis-je la garder, s'il vous plaît ?" We found her by the giant willow tree. She had just hatch, and was still partially in her egg. Can I pleaaase keep her. Hadrian pleaded. He truly didn't know what he would do if his Père told him no. It was probably their magical bond talking, but he felt much safer and happier while holding onto Row. It was like his magic wrapped around him in a comforting embrace when Row was draped around his neck.
"Attendez ! Ralentissez." Wait! Slow down. Regulus began, after getting over the shock, "Comment peux-tu parler Fourchelang ? Ça ne devrait même pas être possible." How are you a Parselmouth? That shouldn't even be possible.
Hadrian shrunk in on himself at the comment. He didn't want to disappoint his Père. He didn't want to make him mad. Hadrian spoke, barely above a whisper, "Est-ce que c'est mal ? Ai-je fait quelque chose de mal ?" Is…is that a bad thing? Did I do something…wrong?
Hadrian's timid voice seemed to take Regulus out of whatever stupor he was in because he knelt down, and enveloped Hadrian in an almost bone crushing hug. "Bien sûr que tu n'as rien fait de mal, Hadès ! C'est juste que parler aux serpents est un don incroyablement rare. Nombreux sont ceux qui te mépriseront simplement parce que tu es Fourchelang." Of course you didn't do anything wrong, Hades! It's just that, being able to speak to snakes is an incredibly rare gift. There are many people who will despise you simply on the basis that you are a Parselmouth.
Hadrian look at his Père, confused, "Pourquoi les gens ne m'aimeraient-ils pas parce que je suis Fourchelang ?" Why would people not like me because I'm a Parselmouth?
"Parce que, petit serpent" Because, little snake, Narcissa chimed in, while nursing a crystal wineglass in her hand, "Le monde est cruel. Les gens le sont encore plus. Ils détestent ce qu'ils ne comprennent pas. Et craignent ce qui est différent. C'est une chose dont je veux que vous vous souveniez toujours." The world is cruel. People are even more so. They hate what they don't understand. And fear that which is different. This is something that I want you to always remember.
"Le fourchelang est également considéré comme de la magie noire. Et comme la magie noire est souvent perçue comme maléfique, le fourchelang, par association, est également perçu comme maléfique. Les personnes capables de parler aux serpents ont toutes des affinités avec les ténèbres." Parseltongue is also seen as dark magic. And since is seen by many as being evil, Parseltongue, by association, is also seen as evil. People with the ability to speak to snakes also all happen to dark affinities.
Wait. But I thought that Parseltongue was dark magic," Sev said, with a frown.
"Le Fourchelang est une capacité de lignée. Transmise de génération en génération. Un peu comme la capacité d'Hadrien à percevoir la magie de ceux qui l'entourent. Ou encore, la capacité de Métamorphomage de ma famille. Les capacités de lignée ne sont pas vraiment magiques. Elles trouvent leur origine chez les Fair People, il y a des millénaires." Parseltongue is a bloodline ability. Passed down from one generation to the next. Kind of like Hadrian's to sense the magic of those around him. Or, my family's Metamorphmagus ability. Bloodline abilities aren't really magic at all. They originate from the Fair Folk many millennia ago.
"So if Parseltongue is genetic, then Hadrian—"
"Il doit être apparenté d'une manière ou d'une autre à la lignée de Serpentard. Bien qu'ils ne soient pas les seuls à posséder ce pouvoir, ils sont les seuls à avoir déménagé en Angleterre." He must be related to some way to the Slytherin line. Although not the only line with the ability, they are the only ones that moved to England.
"On pourrait toujours demander à Gringotts de réaliser un test d'hérédité. Ils révèlent également l'origine des aptitudes d'une personne." We could always asks Gringotts to do an inheritance test. They also show the origins of a person's bloodline abilities. Narcissa suggested.
"That sounds like a splendid idea! It's not like the goblins are going tell anyone the results," Andromeda hummed, lightly, "they have very strict rules about confidentiality."
Regulus looked over the newborn snake for a few moments before sighing, "Tu ne vas pas accepter un non comme réponse, n'est-ce pas ?" You're not going to take no for an answer, are you?
Hadrian sent him a mischievous little smile, and said, "Non ! De toute façon, tu sais que je vais trouver un moyen de la garder. Que tu le veuilles ou non ! De toute façon, tu ne peux pas nous séparer, même si tu le voulais !" Nope! Either way, you know that I'm going to find a way to keep her. Whether you like it or not! Besides, it's not like you can separate us, even if you wanted to!
His Père raised an eyebrow at that last part. An amused smile slipped onto his face as he said,
"Oh ? Et pourquoi, dis-moi, ne pourrais-je pas vous séparer tous les deux ?" Oh? And why, prey tell, wouldn't I be able to separate the two of you?
"Euh, Oncle Reggie ?" Um, Uncle Reggie? Draco said in a quiet voice. Hadrian almost jumped in surprise at hearing the familiar voice. For a moment, he had honestly forgotten that there were other people in the parlor besides him and his Père. Draco continued, "La raison pour laquelle vous ne pouvez pas les séparer tous les deux est qu'ils sont liés." The reason that you can't separate the two of them is because they bonded.
"Un lien familier ?" A familiar bond? Regulus asked, looking a little surprised.
"No, it didn't feel like a normal magical bond," Dora chimed in. She sounded thoughtful. "It felt…older. More powerful. The kind that can make the wind whip around."
"Hm. Je n'ai jamais entendu parler d'un tel lien. L'un d'entre vous en a-t-il entendu parler ?" Hm. I've never heard of such a bond. Have any of you heard of it? Regulus asked, looking at Sev, Auntie Cissy, and Auntie Andi. They all shook their heads. "Je suppose qu'il faudra fouiller la bibliothèque à l'étage pour voir si l'un d'eux fait référence à ce type de lien spécifique. Je suis sûr qu'au moins un livre contiendra les informations nécessaires. Mais cela devra attendre un autre jour." I suppose we'll have to look through the library upstairs to see if any of them reference that specific kind of bond. I'm sure that at least one book will have the information we need. But that will have to wait until another day.
"You do realize what this means, do you Reg," Sev drawled, lightly. Regulus looked him in the eyes for a moment before nodding, seeing to agree with whatever Sev meant.
"Oui, je comprends." Yes, I understand. Regulus said to Sev before turning to look at Hadrian, a sad smile on his face. "Tu n'iras pas à Poudlard quand tu auras onze ans, Hadès." You won't be attending Hogwarts when you turn eleven, Hades.
"Why not?" Dora asked with a pout, "We were just talking about how excited we were, a few hours ago."
"Ce sera bien trop dangereux pour lui." It will be way to dangerous for him. Regulus said with a frown, clearly not liking it either, "Les élèves de Poudlard ne le traiteront pas bien à cause de ça. Il faut aussi prendre en compte Albus Dumbledore. Dumbledore a une aversion incroyable pour les Fourchelangs. La dernière fois qu'il y en avait un à Poudlard, c'était dans les années 1940. Mes parents allaient à l'école avec le gamin. Il a dit que Dumbledore détestait ce type depuis sa première rencontre." The people attending Hogwarts will not treat him well because of it. There is also Albus Dumbledore to take into account. Dumbledore has an incredibly strong dislike of Parselmouths. The last time Hogwarts had a Parselmouth was in the 1940s. My parents went to school with the kid. Said Dumbledore had hated that guy from the moment he met him.
"Très bien, je n'irai pas." Alright, I won't go. Hadrian said, feeling upset. He had really been looking forward to going to school with Draco.
Regulus handed Row back to Hadrian and she slithered up his arm to wrap around his neck like a scarf. Hadrian let out a contented sigh. Feeling Row wrapped around his neck calmed him.
As if on cue, the wards around the manor activated signaling the arrival of a group of people. The wards let them onto the grounds of the manor. Hadrian ran out of the parlor as he sensed the magic of his favorite auntie. He ran into the entry hall, and open the French front doors excitedly. Hadrian practically flew to give Auntie Panda a hug around the leg. His terrible balance made him fall, but Panda graciously caught, and helped steady him.
"Careful, Mon Lapin. We wouldn't want to fall and get hurt, now would we?" Pandora chastised lightly, with a dreamy smile on her face.
"Désolé, Tante Panda. Je ferai plus attention." Sorry, Auntie Panda. I'll be more careful. Hadrian said with a mischievous smile, show that he didn't mean a single word.
Hadrian stepped back to get a better look at Auntie Panda. She wore a flowing, floor length pale blue dress with vines and flower petals sewn into it. Her silver, blond hair was braided with blue butterflies charmed to flap their wings woven into it. Atop her head was a woven flower crown with pale pink and pale blue flowers. On her hip, she was holding a child with the same hair color as Pandora. The little girl, who looked to be about a year younger than him, was holding on tightly to her mother's clothes. Her head was buried in the crook of Pandora's arm. She was letting out little gasps of what sounded like pain.
Hadrian reached out to touch the girl's shoulder. He was about to ask if she was alright, when she sharply turned to look at him with wide eyes. As soon as they locked eyes, her eyes turned foggy, and unfocused, almost dream-like. She let out a sigh of contentment, as if all the pain she had been feeling had suddenly disappeared. The girl whispered something in Panda's ear, and Pandora's eye lit up with what appeared to be pride.
Pandora set the girl down on the floor, and she immediately ran to throw her arms around Hadrian in a tight hug. She rested her head on his shoulder, and let out a happy sigh.
"You," the girl said vaguely, with a small smile on her face, and her voice just as airy as her mother, "Your the one in my dreams."