Chapter 23: Chapter 22 Halloween I
Notes:
Special shout out to my sister who helped me figure this chapter out and get it out early! I am sorry that I didn't have Errol the owl deliver the papers to Dumbledore by kicking it in his face, I refused to even try and come up with way to make that have worked.
This is one of two parts that I broke up, and the other should be uploaded tomorrow if all goes well.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Hadrian woke up the morning of Halloween to the feeling of an oppressive weight on his chest. Like he had told Professor Quirrell days prior, he didn't know how to feel knowing that everybody was going to be celebrating the very same night that he became an orphan. It wasn't as hard before, not knowing when they were murdered, but now that he knew, it was all he could think about. The memory that he had of his parents haunted him like a shadow, and now that he lived in a castle with literal ghosts, Hadrian couldn't help but wonder how his life would have turned out had any part of that night happened differently. Instead, he was forced to walk the gaudily decorated halls with the screaming laughter of children who had never experienced the loss that he had, and instead were celebrating the fact that he failed to die along with his family.
Luckily, his friends understood his attitude and silently walked with him to eat breakfast in the Great Hall. Their silence was a quiet protest to the festivities already taking place around the castle. Not only had they replaced Samhain with a muggle holiday, but they were also celebrating the anniversary of the murder of Hadrian's parents, throwing back in his face one of the greatest traumas he had ever endured. A trauma so formative that it shaped who he was even a decade later. No, his silence was more than a protest, because he was worried that if he opened his mouth, he would scream.
The first time he broke his silence was when an owl dropped off the Daily Prophet in front of him, and he let out a loud and hysterical laugh as the hall fell deadly silent, taking in the shocking news.
- THE DAILY PROPHET -
DUMBLEDORE REMOVED AS CHIEF WARLOCK
CAN HE BE TRUSTED WITH OUR CHILDREN?
Dear readers, we are all familiar with the story of what happened on this fateful night ten years ago. It was a cause for celebration in our world, You-Know-Who was defeated! The Wizarding War had ended! But as we all celebrated, it is vital to remember that it was also the most terrible day for Hadrian James Potter, for it was the day that, as an infant, he became an orphan.
We know that on October 31, 1980, the Potters had been hiding under the Fidelius Charm, a powerful spell that conceals a secret within a living person known as the "Secret Keeper," meaning only that person can reveal the information to others. This spell effectively made it impossible for anyone else who previously knew the secret to share it, even if they wanted to; in this instance, the secret was the location of the Potters.
Having been targeted by the Dark Lord himself, the Potter family entrusted one of their closest friends to be the Secret Keeper, banking their lives and the life of their son on him not breaking their trust. Only to find out later that night, the Potters had been betrayed by their Secret Keeper, who had divulged their location to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named! The dark wizard who then entered their home, killing both James and Lily Potter before attempting to kill their son.
Now the last of his line, Hadrian Potter somehow miraculously survived the killing curse, the first ever in history to do so, and vanquished You-Know-Who and ending His reign of terror. But while the rest of the wixen world was celebrating His defeat, Hadrian Potter's new life of hardship and suffering had only just begun.
Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, the Chief Warlock, Headmaster of Hogwarts, Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards, and well-known Leader of the Light, took it upon himself to take responsibility for young Hadrian Potter. At the time, we all thought that it would be best, myself included, dear readers. With You-Know-Who defeated, we knew that there would be followers dedicated to carrying out his last mission, and that Hadrian would be in danger.
Dumbledore was the only man that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was ever known to fear, and with the betrayal of the Potters by one of their closest friends; we didn't know who we could trust the newly dubbed Boy-Who-Lived's safety with. He became the singularly most important person in our world in a night and he was only fifteen-months-old.
I thought that we could trust one of the most influential wizards in Britain to do the right thing, dear readers, and rest knowing that the Savior of the Wizarding World was getting the protection and care that he deserved. It breaks my heart to tell you this, my lovely readers, but we were wrong.
I have been contacted by a source who chooses to remain anonymous at this time, who brought several concerning things of interest to my attention, and being the dedicated reporter that I am, I knew that my readers deserved the truth. I followed up on their claims, and I am horrified to find out that they were right. We have spent the last decade benefiting from the peace that Hadrian Potter brought us at the cost of everything he held dear, trusting that Dumbledore was raising him in a life of luxury and with anything the boy could ever desire. That was sadly not the case.
In order to find out what happened to our savior, we must first find out how Dumbledore managed to arrange everything so that no one would question or protest his taking charge of the Boy-Who-Lived. What I am betting many of you don't know, as I myself did not, is that the Potters had written wills (see more about the Potters' wills on page seven), and within those wills they listed not only who their Secret Keeper was, but who was to raise their son Hadrian if anything were to happen to them. I am sure that you all will be as shocked as I was to discover that not only did Dumbledore know of these wills, which did not list him as Hadrian's magical guardian or even mention him as a candidate to raise Hadrian, but that he used his authority to seal these wills.
Why would Dumbledore want to seal the Potters' wills, you may ask? Because not only was he not listed as Hadrian's guardian of any kind, but the wills revealed that Sirius Black was not the Potters' Secret Keeper! You read that right, the man we all believed to be the one to betray the Potters and rejoiced when he was thrown in Azkaban, did not betray the Potters! The real Secret Keeper was listed in the wills to be Peter Pettigrew, the man who we believed heroically faced off against Sirius Black and received an Order of Merlin, First Class posthumously when he was killed alongside twelve muggles, was actually the one to reveal their location to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named!
I, myself, was shocked and nothing short of appalled when I discovered this and immediately ran to the ministry to read Sirius Black's arrest records and trial transcripts to see how this miscarraige of justice could have possibly happened. Only to find out, that Sirius Black's arrest records were sealed by none other than the Chief Warlock Albus Dumbledore himself, and after getting special permission form the DMLE when I brought them my concerns, we discovered that Sirius Black, the new Lord of House Black after the passing of the previous Lord Arcturus Black III last year, was thrown into Azkaban without a trial!
That is correct, readers, Lord Black has been residing in the most horrible place on earth for a decade for a crime he didn't commit, and without a trial giving him a chance to prove his innocence! He was illegally incarcerated after being arrested and has been suffering in Azkaban for a decade, but is now in St. Mungo's receiving healing treatments while being placed under 24-hour guard.
But all of this begs the question of why? Why did Lord Black not receive a trial? Why were his records sealed? Why were the Potters' wills sealed? What was the point of getting Sirius Black, an innocent man, out of the way?
The truth is despicable. Sirius Black was illegally sent to prison likely because he was next in line to be Hadrian's guardian and magical guardian after his parents. Dumbledore got Lord Black out of the way so that he could have sole control over the custody of Hadrian Potter. And where has Hadrian been all these years if not with Dumbledore, who has been busy running a school ten months out of the year? These are all fantastice questions, although you will be hard pressed to get any answers out of the man himself, and you cannot look to the ministry for help either, because once again, Dumbledore used his power to seal all records and information pertaining to Hadrian James Potter.
Our savior, the Boy-Who-Lived, has spent the last decade residing with magic-hating muggles. Once more, readers, I assure you that you read that right. After being taken from the rubble of his decimated home, mere moments after watching his parents being murdered, Hadrian Potter was taken to be dropped off on the doorstep of Lily Potter nee Evan's sister's house, where he lay all night in the cold November air, only to be discovered and taken in the next morning.
He spent the next ten years being horribly mistreated by his relatives and was not told who he was or what he did to save the wizarding world; he didn't even know of the wizarding world at all! His relatives refused to tell him about his history or that magic was even real; he only found out about our world when he received his Hogwarts letter! How is it that the boy who gave us everything and saved us all knew nothing of who he was and was paying the price for ending a war by being hated by those who were supposed to love and care for him?
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, my dear readers, but this terrible story does come with some good news. As previously mentioned, Lord Black is now out of Azkaban and being treated for long-term dementor exposure under 24-hour guard, Hadrian Potter is now far away from the awful muggles, and Dumbledore has been stripped and removed from the position of Chief Warlock. Both Sirius Black and Albus Dumbledore are set to be tried in mid-December, and as always, I will be there to bring you the truth.
-Rita Skeeter, signing off.
The Hall was filled with muttered whispers as people read the article, the head table was full of white-face professors, and Dumbledore's hands were shaking as he read the paper. Hadrian couldn't control the laughter that burst out of him again as he finished reading the article. Rita Skeeter had done a phenomenal job and was worth every galleon it took to keep her on retainer and get her under contract to tell his story his way.
Students were all looking at him, but he didn't care, he kept laughing until the doors to the Great Hall burst open and Ted, Andromeda, Isabelle, and Darius stormed up the aisle between the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tables to approach Dumbledore. Ted slammed a thick packet of papers down on the place in front of Dumbledore.
"You have been served," he said. "You have officially been notified that charges are being filed against you for theft, falsification of records, kidnapping, child endangerment, abandonment, and the impersonation of a child's magical guardian."
Gasps rang out around the room as everybody watched on in horror, unable to look away as the revered man many had looked up to was accused of some of the most heinous crimes in the magical world.
"You will be expected to appear in court on the dates specified within your papers. You may choose to hire a lawyer or to represent yourself," Isabelle told him with a sharp grin, eerily like the goblins.
Dumbledore's face filled with fury as he stood up, yelling, "Hadrian Potter, my office, now!"
Hadrian raised a brow, smirking when Isabelle stepped forward.
"You are also forbidden from meeting with Hadrian James Potter without supervision prior to your trial hearing." Dumbledore's face managed to get even angrier.
"It's fine, headmaster," Hadrian called out, standing up from the table after shooting his friends a wink. "I will meet with you, as long as my lawyers are present, of course, as well as my Head of House." More gasps rang out.
Dumbledore gritted his teeth and poorly hid a snarl as he gestured to the Hall doors and began to walk around the table to head to his office. Hadrian was quickly surrounded by his team of lawyers, joined by Professor Snape, as he walked off after the headmaster under the watchful eyes of the entire school.
"What is the meaning of this!" Dumbledore roared the second Hadrian entered his office.
"That is no way to talk to a student, headmaster," Hadrian admonished, taking great pleasure in how Dumbledore's eye twitched in his fury.
"If you cannot be civil with my client, who is both your student and a minor, then we will be leaving and you will have no contact with him until your trial," Ted said, the most serious that Hadrian had ever seen him.
Dumbledore forcibly calmed himself and waved his wand, conjuring enough seats for everyone. Hadrian absentmindedly noted that they all looked rather uncomfortable, and not at all like the seats he had the last time Hadrian was called to his office.
"Please, be seated."
Taking their seats, Hadrian was placed between Andromeda and Ted, with Isabelle and Darius on either side. Snape chose to remain standing, placing himself behind his student.
"Now, what is the meaning of this?" Dumbledore repeated much more calmly.
"What do you mean?" Hadrian asked innocently.
"You are taking me to court, for whatever reason?"
"I believe that my law-wizard stated quite clearly why we are taking you to court."
"You can't be serious?" He gaped.
Hadrian smirked, unable to resist. "No, that is my godfather. My innocent godfather," he said pointedly. Dumbledore bristled.
"Theft, child endangerment, abandonment? I haven't done any of these things. And I left you with the Dursleys for the greater good, to protect you!" This time, it was Hadrian who bristled.
"Fat lot of good that did me, headmaster. I would have preferred the Death Eaters to living with the Dursleys," Hadrian responded icily.
"You don't mean that, my boy," Dumbledore chides.
"Oh, I do," Hadrian says seriously. "And what have I said about calling me anything other than Mr. Potter, headmaster? Or do you need a reminder?" The things around the office begin to shake ominously.
"My apologies," Dumbledore said quickly, glancing around. Snape and Hadrian wore matching smirks, not that the other could see.
"Thank you," Hadrian said, pointedly not accepting the apology. "And don't tell me what I do or do not mean. The Dursleys hated me, and that feeling went both ways."
"But you are family, surely you care for one another?" the headmaster asked.
Hadrian snorted. "I wouldn't cast an aguamenti if their house were on fire and they were trapped inside. You don't lock your nephew in a cupboard under the stairs if you love them. You don't beat them so badly that their bones heal wrong, even with magic, and you certainly don't tell them every single day what a freak and a burden they are. That is not how family treats each other." Dumbledore paled.
"But you must go back. I can talk to them, they won't treat you like that anymore, I will make sure of it-"
Hadrian cut him off. "You should have already ensured that when you left me there. You knew exactly what kind of people they were, and you didn't once check up on me. I am never going back there, I'd sooner kill them."
"But you must, you don't understand!" Dumbledore insisted, and Hadrian rolled his eyes.
"Then explain."
"It was to protect you!"
"From who? Because it certainly wasn't the Dursleys," Hadrian scoffed.
"From Voldemort," Dumbledore said seriously.
"Who I defeated already. Unless you think that he has miraculously come back?" Hadrian guessed, already knowing that Voldemort wasn't truly gone because of the horcrux in his scar, but Dumbledore didn't know that, and Hadrian doubted the man would share his theories.
"No one is truly gone forever, Mr. Potter," Dumbledore said quietly.
"My parents are," Hadrian replied, just as quietly.
He reveled in the awkward silence that took over the office.
"As for court, surely we needn't take things that far," the headmaster said, moving past the subject. He had time to convince Hadrian to go back to the protections that the blood-wards provided, but he didn't have much time to avoid the trial.
"No, we must. You have been stealing from me for a decade and still have a mail-ward placed on me," Hadrian told him, not giving the man an inch.
Dumbledore smiled as if this could all be brushed under the rug. "Well, it is a simple fix, I can remove that right now." He waved his wand. "I just didn't want you getting hurt from any angry or cursed letters people might have sent you. I wasn't stealing from you, my boy." The desk started to shake, and Dumbledore quickly corrected himself, "Mr. Potter." The desk stopped shaking. "I was merely protecting you."
"So, you will hand over every single piece of mail that has ever been redirected from me to you? All of the gifts, objects, books, and money?" Hadrian asked, tilting his head to the side. Dumbledore's eyes widened, and he paled slightly.
"Of course, Mr. Potter. I can do that. See, there is no reason to take this to the Wizengamot."
Hadrian smiled, and Dumbledore smiled back, thinking that the whole ordeal was over with. "I'm sorry, headmaster, but it is much too late for that. Too many things are already in motion; I suggest that you find yourself a good lawyer. Now, if you will excuse me, I have already missed first period, and I'd rather not miss anymore. Goodbye, headmaster, I will see you in court." And with that, his team rose and followed him out of the office, leaving a pale and shaking wizard behind them. Hadrian grinned.
"It's a shame that most of the charges won't stick, but damn does it feel good to know that people won't be looking at him the same way!"
Hadrian and his team were well aware of Dumbledore's reach, power, and connections and planned for very few of the charges actually going through. They expected that the most the headmaster would have to do would be to pay a lot of fines, but like Hadrian said, it felt damn good to see his house of cards start to shake.
Hadrian continued walking down the stairs, confused by the sight that greeted him at the bottom. Severus Snape was waiting for him by the gargoyles, and he sneered when he saw Hadrian.
"You're late," he drawled, and Hadrian was beyond baffled. Snape was behind him when he left the office.
How did he get down here before me? Hadrian was bewildered until he heard a familiar voice behind him groan.
How can he be in two places at once? The child wondered, looking behind him to see another Severus Snape. Is that a magical thing or a Snape thing? Because that seems like the type of skill he would have, just to terrorize more people at once.
The Snape by the gargoyle also groaned and said, "100 points from Slytherin for causing such an embarrassing scene in the Great Hall, Potter. Everyone knows that Slytherins are always composed and never show signs of emotions like laughter." Hadrian grinned when he realized what was happening.
"Cease this at once, Ms. Tonks," the Snape behind Hadrian said, pinching his nose.
"That is another 10 points from Slytherin Mr. Potter, for smiling!" Hadrian couldn't contain his laughter when he saw the most unsettling image of Snape beaming at him before it morphed back into Dora's face.
"Does it actually take points when you are a professor?" He asked the girl, wanting to experiment with his own abilities all of a sudden, as a whole new world opened up to him.
"No," she said, throwing an arm around his shoulder as they moved out of the way so that the rest of the group could exit the narrow staircase. "I tried when I was in first year to give detention to the Weasley twins and take points as Dumbledore, but all that happened was I got detention for a week and fifteen points from Hufflepuff when McGonagall realized. A keen eye, that one. Nothing gets by her."
Hadrian shrugged. "Worth a shot anyway. It is probably tied to the professors' magical signature, rather than just their appearance or voice."
"That makes sense," Dora replied, smiling when she saw her parents. "So, how did it go?" She asked them.
"As well as can be expected," Ted said. "You know I can't say much more than that because of-"
"Client confidentiality," Dora finished, groaning. "I know. Still, you had a great entrance, everyone was so shocked once you left." She looked down at Hadrian under her arm. "You alright, doing all of this on today of all days?"
He smiled half-heartedly up at her and lightly shrugged. "It's been in the works for so long that I don't think that I could have stopped it if I tried. Besides, it felt like a nice way of honoring my parents today. Dumbledore has banned all of the old traditions and holidays from being practiced in the castle, and many are outlawed anyway, so doing this to honor them felt right for Samhain." Dora grinned and ruffled his hair.
"That's the spirit! Get it, spirit? Cause of the dead?" She asked, with a large and cheesy grin on her face.
"Yes," Hadrian said with an expressionless face. "I think we all get it, Dora."
"Nymphadora?" her mother said sweetly, causing the girl to flinch and then freeze.
"Yes, mum?"
"Why didn't you mention the Cerberus on the third-floor corridor in any of your letters?" Snape whipped his head around.
"The what?!" He was ignored.
"I kind of forgot?" Dora said, wincing and pulling Hadrian in front of her to act like a shield.
"You forgot!" Andromeda yelled, looking over Hadrian's shoulder to make eye contact with her daughter. "How do you forget to mention that there is a giant three-headed dog that Hadrian discovered and not tell us immediately?"
"It's my NEWTs year, mum, I've been a little busy!" She defended. "Besides, why aren't you angry that Hadrian didn't tell you either?"
"Because he did! Albeit a little bit later than I would have liked, but he did tell us, and he made the quidditch team – congratulations Hadrian, we are all very proud of you."
"He what?" Dora squeaked, and Snape pinched his nose.
"No other house was supposed to know," he told Andromeda, who waved him off.
"Nymphadora won't tell anyone, not if she knows how important it is to Hadrian." They all look at the boy expectantly. Hadrian shrugged.
"I don't really care that much. I just thought that if I tried to say no, Snape would have me expelled."
The adults all whirled on the potions professor, who had a blank face and merely asked, "What exactly did you mean by the fact that there is a three-headed dog on the third-floor corridor? And how did you find out?"
Hadrian shrugged again. "Do you really want the answer to that, professor?" Snape groaned again. "Just know that there is a Cerberus behind the door on the third-floor corridor that an alohamora can unlock. It seems like the headmaster is just begging for a child to get bitten or mauled if you ask me."
"That is why he warned you all not to go there," Snape responded through gritted teeth.
Hadrian shot him a skeptical look. "He told the house of the courageous and the house of the curious not to go to the third floor unless they wished to die a painful death. It's like he was begging for students to investigate. I had no intention of even going near it; my friends and I got lost, and then we were running from Filch and Peeves, so I unlocked the first door we could find and hid inside, only to turn around and see a gigantic three-headed dog standing on a trap door. We then put together that Dumbledore had Hagrid take something from Gringotts when he picked me up from my aunt's place, and that the bank was broken into days later. I figured that whatever small object Hagrid got was placed in the school. I don't need to know what it is," Hadrian told his teacher with his hands raised. "I really am not that desperate for an adventure that I will risk my life, but based on your reaction, I shouldn't know any of that, so I wanted to tell you now that I am not going to be looking into it, but that I am aware."
"You are correct, Mr. Potter, that you should not know any of that, and that the door on the third-floor corridor should not be so easily accessed. I will be taking care of that while you head to class. Do not, I repeat, do not, go looking into any of this. I told Albus it was ludicrous to keep it in the school, but nobody ever listens," Snape ranted as much as the dour and emotionless man could rant.
"You should probably know that Quirrell is acting odd, too, then. He makes my scar hurt, and he held me back after class a few days ago and was talking to me about power, and he didn't stutter the entire time. I thought that was weird, but my friends just thought he was nervous in front of crowds," Hadrian said, crossing his arms and looping one thumb under the strap of his book bag.
"That is definitely suspicious, and I will keep an eye on him, but I repeat, do not go looking for trouble," the potions professor insisted.
"I never do, professor, it just seems to find me."
"Much like your father and his obnoxiously insipid group of friends," Snape muttered before walking off in the direction of the third-floor corridor.
"Speaking of my parents' friends, have you managed to get in contact with Remus Lupin yet?" Hadrian asked, turning to look at his lawyers.
Ted nodded. "We have, and he has agreed to stay with us while Sirius is recuperating. You are planning on staying with the Greengrasses over the winter holiday, correct?" Hadrian nodded.
"Yes, I think it will be nice to get to know them better, and it will also give Sirius some space and time to heal. I would like to start writing him if you think that is a good idea?" He asked Andromeda and Ted.
"I think that is a fantastic idea. It was the first thing he said when they brought him to St. Mungo's. He was wondering where you were and if you were okay. I think that writing to him would do a lot to help him along his road to recovery." The boy nodded.
"I'll do that then. Remus, too," he added. "I'd like to know the friends of my parents more. I wonder if he looked for me like you and Lady Greengrass did."
Dora ruffled his hair again and pointedly looked at her dad. Hadrian sighed before also looking at Ted. "Did you bring any cookies?" he asked, sounding exasperated, but the smile on his face said otherwise.
Ted grinned before pulling out two tins from his bag and handing one to each child.
"YES!" Dora fist-pumped before squeezing her dad in a hug, and then her mother, and then Hadrian, before saying she was going to be late for class and running off.
Hadrian looked at the time and also said his goodbyes to everyone, offering a hug for whoever wanted one (they all did), before running off too.
He had just rounded the corner to the charms' corridor, excited to meet up with his friends, when he heard Ron Weasley yelling at Hermione in the hallway.
Notes:Dumbledore: Voldemort is back.
Harry: Voldemort is dead.
Dumbledore: No one is gone forever.
Harry: What about my parents?
*awkward crickets*
Dumbledore:
Harry:
Dumbledore: It does not do well to dwell on dreams and forget to live.