Hollow Thunder, Vital Lightning -Aariya

Rating: NC-17

Pairing: Harry Potter/Tom Riddle

Genre: Drama, Romance, Fantasy, Action/Adventure

Summary: Life after Voldemort is ideal and perfect for everyone except the one who made it possible. Unbelievably bored and unhappy, Harry performs a spell that will take him to an alternate universe where he can be happiest with Voldemort. Even he hadn't expected the outcomes or how the spell would misinterpret his desires.

Warnings: slash; AU; Slytherin!Harry; Dark!Harry (sorta)...and another one I took out that you will have to figure out for yourself; it's kind of crucial to the plot so I can't tell you!

Spoilers: Compliant with first five books and includes information from six and seven.

Disclaimer: Unless I'm still dreaming, Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling.

.-.

"HTVL" - English, or other human languages

HTVL - Thoughts, Spells, Special Text (titles and such)

"HTVL" - Parseltongue, Incanted Spells, or a language within a language

HTVL - Parselmagic (spells and the language in writing)

Chapter 7: Hollow Thunder

The Hogwarts grapevine had never been quite as active as it had been this week. Well, excluding that whole Chamber of Secrets fiasco the year before. News at this school traveled quite fast, especially when it involved the most popular person to grace its halls in probably a very long time and the mysterious transfer student not many knew as well as some would claim.

It had all started in the Room of Requirement as far as some knew: the Samhain celebration all the students who considered themselves Dark attended. The two had been seen leaving together a good deal before the party came to an end without so much as an explanation to anyone (not that Tom Riddle ever had to justify himself to others). Actually, it could be argued that it began even before that.

Many people had noticed how much time Tom Riddle spent with Hadrian Black ever since the enigmatic student showed up. While most of that had to do with the fact that they were partners for their class project, they interacted much better than what one would expect from mere educational partners. By the middle of October, they had even gotten on first name basis! It took a long time to get that close to the Head Boy and, even so, outside Slytherin, only a few close acquaintances had ever had that privilege.

Either way, after Samhain, several people outside of Slytherin couldn't restrain themselves and chatted about the happenings to anyone who would listen. The Slytherins knew it was utterly poor conduct to gossip about the proceedings, especially when it was about their leader so they stayed clear of the mess. Hufflepuff Aileas Gibbon had been the first to tell her cousin, seventh-year Gryffindor Dalilah Crouch and, so, not too long after, the whole school was abuzz with rumors.

Of course, they tried to keep it to a minimum whenever either boy was within hearing range. It was obvious that if the Head Boy heard any of the things said about him in conjunction with the new Black student, he would go out of his way to make an example out of whoever started the rumors.

Some of the things said weren't too far from the truth, though. Many people had watched both boys this week and learned startling things. At some point during their work, Tom and Hadrian had stopped meeting in the library and opted for the more secretive Room of Requirement. On Tuesday, two prefects on duty had even seen them leaving the room late at night, both Tom and Hadrian slightly sweaty.

And, boy, hadn't that sent the rumor mill into a frenzy—let alone the subsequent drama that unfolded before them the rest of the week….

000

The Tuesday after Samhain, Hadrian and Tom met in their new designated meeting place of the Room of Requirement to work on their project. After the last full moon, they had started work on trying to make their Scrying Compass able to find Unplottable locations.

They knew that would be harder than making it like a portkey so they needed all the time to do that. Not to mention, the full moon would be the Friday of next week and their rune design incorporated use of the strongest celestial body, just as Hadrian had predicted.

They had decided to use the gems on the compass to anchor the magic into, which required a large chunk of both their magic. Hadrian was pretty confident that, with their combined forces, they would be able to make this work.

Today, all that had to be done was finishing up the arithmetic equations and integrating that into the final rune design. This was Tom's specialty so Hadrian just watched him at work, surprisingly content with giving up control, though he didn't give this action much thought.

The room's décor was the same as the first time they had come here and they were once again sitting on the long couch together. Hadrian was at one end, playing with his wand casually while gazing at his partner, who sat in the center of the couch, stooped over a parchment on the table in front of him.

Hadrian couldn't help thinking Tom looked enormously arresting with the shadows of the fire casting off his face. His hair fell into his eyes slightly and his dark eyes gleamed in the dim light. He was like a bloody painting, making such a perfect picture it was frustrating—especially when Hadrian could only ogle him and not do anything about it.

Had he just thought that?

"Hadrian."

If Tom hadn't turned to face him and hadn't been staring expectantly, Hadrian would not have noticed that he'd been trying to get his attention for quite some time.

"Yes?"

Tom observed him intently awhile then said, "Is something the matter? You seem…preoccupied."

Yeah, with him. Ah, the ever helpful voice. He'd almost fooled himself into thinking it had ceased pestering him.

"No," Hadrian denied. "Just thinking. Are you done?"

His expression skeptical, Tom handed over the parchment for Hadrian to check, though they both knew it was almost next to impossible for Tom to miscalculate. Hadrian gave it a cursory glance, nonetheless, and then placed it on the table.

"Looks fine," he said carelessly.

Tom threw him an amused smile but didn't comment. "We are finished for the day, then. I suppose you will not object to a duel?"

Hadrian was already moving before Tom had even finished speaking. Anything to distract him from the boy's proximity and body heat was welcome. He heard Tom snort softly as he too stood up and the room immediately shifted to provide for their needs. Hadrian took out the leather band he used for the duels and tied his hair back. They then moved to the stand and commenced the ritual to start the duel.

For about the first ten minutes of the duel, it was normal enough. They threw spells back and forth at each other and combated, trying to knock each other unconscious or take the other's wand. Tom, however, broke the routine with a spell he'd never used before.

Hadrian jumped back in surprise when a colossal black, golden-marked serpent leaped out at him. He glanced over to see smug amusement on Tom's face then looked back at the vicious snake that was now moving to strike him.

He recognized the snake from his life in the war. It had been Voldemort's favorite, in fact—one of the few nonverbal Parselspells there was. Usually Parselmagic needed the use of the tongue to work properly but, in some cases—such as this—the signature of the Parselmouth's magic was much better.

This particular spell, The Enchantress, required a great deal of power from the caster, as the snake was immune to almost all magic. Once the snake bit someone, she drained energy from them until the person passed out. Most people weren't strong enough to throw the serpent off once she sank her fangs into them.

"Oh, you've been holding out on me I see, Tom," Hadrian said, stepping to the side as the snake's head bobbed down to bite at him again.

"I'm sure you have a couple secrets of your own," Tom returned amusedly, twirling his wand lazily and smugly watching Hadrian stealthily evade his snake, though he wouldn't be able to do so for too long.

Hadrian smiled and stopped moving, sweeping his wand in a long arc as he said, "You're certainly right about that."

Tom might think his snake unbeatable, but Hadrian had encountered it enough to figure a way out of this. He was only using his wand to trick Tom, but he suspected the Slytherin heir would know what he was doing at any rate. Tom already knew about his Shadows and it would be unmistakable that they were at work, granted he could see this piece of work.

Hadrian pretended to use his wand to direct his Shadows as a small piece disconnected. The piece was a grayish-black blob that traveled the length of the stand and sped towards the snake at a speed much faster than anyone or thing could see. He could feel it, though, and the moment it joined and wrapped around the serpent's own shadow, he smirked up at Tom.

His partner looked guarded, as though he were wondering what Hadrian had done. His eyes widened marginally, though, when The Enchantress turned on him, her previously golden eyes now completely black. He stepped back as the serpent hissed angrily and bore her fangs.

Hadrian wasn't surprised at all when Tom scowled, waved his wand in a complicated swish, and the large creature vanished. Voldemort had done this as well, despite his frustration at not knowing how his "indestructible" spell had been countered. Hadrian could control the snake but it was fueled by Tom's magic, thus allowing him to rid of it anytime he so chose.

Tom tilted his head up as he appraised Hadrian. Hadrian returned the gaze and, for a moment, really wanted to know what Tom was thinking. But it was short, as was Tom's assessment, before they were once again dodging curses from one another.

It turned out to be the longest duel they had had to date. Tom came off as very frustrated and fought much harder than he had before, using more and more spells and techniques he had never used. Hadrian had to use more tricks and most of the skills he had been hiding to keep up with his partner. But Hadrian wasn't upset with the change and enjoyed Tom's sudden fervor.

Hadrian thought Tom was trying to test his limits but didn't think it likely that he would succeed in finding them. The only person who had ever made him give his all had been Voldemort and, though Tom was quickly starting to rival his counterpart, he still had a while to go until he would become the master Voldemort had been. Even Hadrian himself had only survived that megalomaniac mainly due to his magical prowess, knowledge of Parselmagic (including their counters), and his beloved Shadows.

Voldemort had had decades of ambitious experience over him and sometimes he wondered how he had come out of that final battle. The whole thing had been a blur up until the point he killed Voldemort—a moment that felt like an eternity to contrast the rest of the fight.

And then there had been that empty feeling, like his very soul had separated from his body and all he could think about for a whole minute was that he felt inexplicably hollow. Of course, not too long after, his only thought had been single-minded rage at not being able to get any bloody satisfaction from destroying his greatest enemy.

Hadrian blinked in surprise when a spell violently collided against his shield. He hadn't expected Tom to throw such a powerful curse and, by the look on his opponent's face, he had done it deliberately. Thankfully, the two spells only negated one another and he didn't suffer any ill effects from the impact.

"Pay attention, Black," Tom cautioned mockingly.

Hadrian only had a brief second in where he resented the formality until he realized that his distraction had really cost him. Tendrils of black magic rose out of the ground and firmly wrapped around his feet, then moved up to bind his waist, arms, and neck before he had a chance to put a stop to them.

He understood now why Tom had wanted his shield out of the way and immediately regretted his carelessness. He couldn't get out of this if he tried. Though it took a lot of power to cast and maintain, the Niger Helix was definitely worth it once someone actually got the chance to use it in a duel—even if only a Dark wizard would cast it. With this, his magic wouldn't be able to work against Tom's own unless he was released.

Knowing he had won, Tom strolled over to him with a superior smirk on his handsome face. Hadrian barely kept himself from rolling his eyes at his partner when he began to circle him predatorily. He couldn't move his neck and, so, it was very unnerving when Tom stopped behind him.

"It seems…" a breath against his neck— "I have you at my mercy…" too close—"Hadrian…" right next to his fucking ear!

"All right, you have won this round," Hadrian said as calmly as he could manage but knew he was losing that battle quickly. "Release me."

A deep chuckle and Tom was still too close for his liking and now his wand had joined in the endeavor of unsettling him when he started to trace the tip with his own magic. Every cell in Hadrian's body got the message from his brain not to react but, nevertheless, a small compulsory tremor went through him. And, to his horror, something else responded.

What the fuck is wrong with you? Are you actually turned on? How pathetic!

Hadrian could feel his magic rising wherever Tom traced the black wisps with his wand. It wasn't trying to free him but was instead reacting as if it were answering some kind of call from Tom's magic. They were highly compatible; he could feel it in his very bones as both auras yearned to connect.

He heard more than felt Tom's shudder and knew he could feel it, too. If nothing else, he was thankful for this. Almost hastily, Tom stepped back and instantly retracted his magic and set him free. Hadrian turned to watch him, but Tom's face had already been rearranged to display a cool expression.

"That is enough for today," Tom said firmly. "It is past curfew; we should leave before it gets too late."

Hadrian thought this echoed back to that memorable day in the potions lab and, for a second, he could only stare at Tom and reflect on what had happened. It seemed neither of them wanted to comment on it, and Hadrian was more than willing to forget about it and hope there wouldn't be a repeat of this.

Keep telling yourself that. The voice retorted with a distinctive snicker to it.

Shaking his head, Hadrian followed Tom out the door when he realized the boy had already moved. They walked in silence on their way to their dorms. Once they reached the fifth floor, they exchanged soft good nights and went their separate ways.

Instead of directly Stalking to his dorm, Hadrian descended the rest of the stairs in order to think and walk off his still unrelenting arousal. He couldn't believe he'd gotten so aroused, though. Sure, there had been times when dueling with Tom had caused him to stir but that wasn't even the same situation.

He had been trapped—and had been turned on by it! By Voldemort, for Merlin's sake! He still couldn't quite grasp it.

You see, you can no longer deny your attraction.

Oh, shut up! Hadrian answered the voice for the first time in a month. I'm really getting fed up with you!

I am only pointing out the obvious. Far be it from me to let you continue on with your delusions. It sounded amused.

Hadrian didn't want to encourage it so he didn't reply and went back to thinking about this problem with the Slytherin heir. The more he thought about it, he realized that whatever this was with Tom was rather unhealthy. He could accept Tom as an adversary, as a partner, or—dare he say it—even as a friend, but anything more? The very thought made him enormously uncomfortable.

Maybe he was more sexually frustrated than he had previously thought. Yes, that made a lot of sense, actually. Remembering his promise to Cassius last month, Hadrian made a split second impulsive decision to do something about it. Turning around, he headed back in the direction of the fifth floor.

What do you think you are doing? The voice sounded a little panicked.

Hadrian rolled his eyes and paid it no further attention. It was only just past curfew and, despite it being a weekday, he didn't think Cassius would be asleep. He was going to put a stop to these ridiculous attractions (loath though he was to call it that) once and for all.

It wasn't long before he went up the spiraling staircase leading to the Ravenclaw Tower and stood in front of the entrance. The bronze eagle knocker stared back at him as he stopped to think about what he would do before going in. He'd had a very brief fling with a seventh-year Ravenclaw at the end of his sixth year and they'd gone up to the boy's dorm once so he knew what one had to do to get inside. He also knew it would be impossible to get to the dorms without at least everyone in the common room seeing.

He didn't want to Stalk to the dorms straightaway in case Cassius happened to be in the common room. It took him a minute to settle on a plan that was to his satisfaction. Once he did, he wrapped his own shadow around himself and gathered the abundant shadows that clung to the walls and floor. Now completely invisible and able to walk through walls, he passed through the entrance.

As he had suspected, not many people were asleep. Almost every student fourth year and up was awake. He looked around the large circular room for Cassius and pinpointed him reading in an armchair on the far left side of the room. Thankfully, there weren't very many people surrounding him and those who were had their eyes on their own books.

Hadrian carefully maneuvered through the room until he stood over Cassius's shoulder. Leaning down, he blew a soft breath on Cassius's neck. The Ravenclaw stopped for a second in reaction and Hadrian had just enough time to step back as Cassius looked behind him. He stared for a moment before returning to his book.

Grinning, Hadrian did it again with a more forceful breath. This time, Cassius froze for about thirty seconds then went back to reading. Trying to keep from laughing, Hadrian put up Silencing and Notice-Me-Not Charms around them. He leaned forward again and encircled his arms around Cassius. He found it quite admirable that Cassius's only reaction was to stiffen and try to move for his wand.

"Relax," Hadrian whispered into his ear and grabbed the hand that was creeping toward Cassius's robe pocket.

"Hadrian?" Cassius sounded shocked.

"Good evening, Cassius," Hadrian replied, amusement coloring his voice.

"What are you doing here?" Cassius whispered. He tried to move his head to look behind him but Hadrian prevented him from doing so.

"Why don't you join me in your room and I'll let you know?" Hadrian suggested, uncoiling his arms and standing up fully.

Cassius calmly closed his book and got up. Hadrian followed him to the door across from the entrance after removing the charms. Calling a good night to the students in the common room, Cassius opened the door and Hadrian slipped in after him. They went up the stairs until they reached the seventh-year boys' dorm.

The room was much like the common room: abundantly blue. There were nine beds arranged in a U-shape and windows on every wall except the one at the front of the room. Three beds were on the right side of the room and three were on the left, across from the door. There was also another door on the left side about ten feet from the first bed that he knew led to the bathroom. The last three beds were placed horizontally in the room and against the windows at the back wall.

There was no one else in there but Hadrian was thankful when Cassius led the way to a bed on the right side and horizontally against the back windows. He took the time to unleash the Shadows as Cassius pulled the drapes around his bed and put up what he guessed were privacy spells.

Once he finished and turned around, Hadrian immediately reached to kiss him. Cassius's arms came around his waist and he returned the kiss fervently. Hadrian's fingers tangled in his hair and he twisted their bodies around so Cassius's back was to the bed instead. A hand traced down his spine and he shuddered as he deepened the kiss and moved so Cassius fell back onto the bed. Without breaking the contact between their lips, Hadrian straddled him and continued to explore the body beneath him with his hands.

He was uninterrupted until the Ravenclaw broke their kiss, flushed and slightly out of breath. Hadrian moved onto his long neck as Cassius tried to talk in-between his pants and moans.

"Hadrian—" a guttural moan broke off his next words as Hadrian's hand slipped under his shirt and brushed against his hard nipple, "h-how…did you…get in?"

Hadrian stopped to look at him with a sly smile. "That does not matter. I promised you we would finish this, did I not? I came here at great risk to myself, Cassius. Que demande le peuple?"

Cassius groaned appreciatively and pulled him down for another kiss, saying breathily, "Nothing at all."

After that, everything happened fast. Hadrian was only aware of the sensations he felt and the gasps and groans that filled the room. They were both naked and had heated skin sliding against heated skin before they were even conscious of getting that far.

"Have you ever…?" Hadrian asked, taking the small bottle of lubricant Cassius had grabbed from his night table and pressing a finger against his opening, already rock hard and practically shaking with need.

"Only once," gasped Cassius, an expression that didn't appear to be fond of the memory on his face, though he trembled against the contact of Hadrian's finger.

Hadrian sensed his uncertainty and planted a reassuring kiss on his lips. "I'll be gentle," he promised.

000

Hadrian woke to his internal clock only to find that he was not in his room and had a warm body pressed up against him. He glanced to his left to see Cassius sleeping with a content look on his face. They were both in a state of undress and Cassius had his left arm on his waist.

He hadn't wanted to sleep here, but Hadrian didn't quite remember how it had happened. Sex had never worn him out enough for him to fall asleep (unless more than a couple rounds were involved).

After Cassius had fallen asleep, Hadrian had stayed up thinking that having finally had sex with the Ravenclaw hadn't made him feel any better for it. He couldn't put a finger on why but he had felt as though he had committed a grave mistake afterward. He thought it ridiculous, really; he'd had sex plenty of times without ever feeling that way.

He wasn't sure exactly when he had fallen asleep but he figured it was when he had come to the conclusion that he wasn't as sexually frustrated as he'd thought, after all. He hadn't got around to realizing that that meant he was actually attracted to Tom Riddle but now it hit him like a ton of bricks.

Sitting up with a scowl, Hadrian untangled himself from the supine form of his bed partner. He got up from the bed and searched for his clothes. When he found them, he quickly put them on after performing a cleansing charm on himself.

He wrapped the Shadows around himself and silently left the Ravenclaw Tower, intent on getting his shower before breakfast. He ignored the thoughts that came with his little revelation as best he could and substituted them with an averment of his own.

I am not attracted to Voldemort! How utterly preposterous!

The voice was curiously absent.

000

Most of the Slytherin seventh-year students had come down for breakfast and Hadrian was still nowhere to be found. Tom couldn't recall a day Hadrian had arrived late, even if this wouldn't really be considered late yet.

He hoped the boy wasn't avoiding him; last night had been a little weird. Last time something like this happened, they had stayed out of each other's way. Neither of them really knew how to deal with it.

Tom still couldn't believe he had done that. But he had felt as if he had no control; like even if he had wanted to stop (which he certainly hadn't wanted to), he would have been incapable of doing so. It had been a bit hard to fall asleep afterward. All he had been able to think about was the pleasure he felt of having the usually in control Hadrian at his mercy. Or of having him wrapped around his magic. It was truly indescribable.

Two minutes and several students later, Hadrian came through the doors of the Great Hall. Alphard immediately waved him over, moving to give him room between Antonin and he, which left Hadrian across from Tom.

Tom watched the boy—who seemed to be avoiding catching his eye—critically and felt something off about him. A wrong scent or impression on him that woke something deep within Tom. His aura was tainted and befouled by someone else's. Tilting his head marginally, Tom studied it more, trying to place his finger on it.

He was aware he was staring and that others had noticed by now but, dammit, he was going to figure this out. Besides, Hadrian still hadn't glanced up or seemed to notice that he was being so closely scrutinized. He was calmly eating his breakfast; well, it would have been calm if he didn't go out of his way not to look ahead.

Before his thoughts could progress any further, Tom noticed that Cassius Zabini (who was practically glowing) had sidled up to their table, his tall frame looming behind Hadrian. Hadrian, either sensing the presence or realizing that all conversation had ceased at their end of the table, looked behind him.

"Good morning, Cassius." To his credit, he sounded completely unsurprised, as if he had been expecting this. Though from the tightening of his jaw, Tom was sure he was the only one who could tell it was an unwelcome disruption. "How may I help you?"

The Ravenclaw held out a small leather band to Hadrian. "Good morning. Sorry to interrupt your meal but I thought I'd return this."

Hadrian took the band with a smile. "Ah, thank you. I had wondered where this was."

Tom instantly recognized the band as the one Hadrian used to keep his long hair out of the way during their duels. He had used it just last night, in fact. Tom easily pieced together what this meant and the beginnings of a storm raged inside him.

An enraged voice from within screamed, "MINE!" and Tom readily echoed the sentiment.

He wanted nothing more than to make Zabini suffer for even daring to look at what was his. He knew his eyes changed color when he felt a particularly strong emotion and Tom would bet they were currently the reddest they had ever been because he couldn't quite remember ever feeling this intense need to torture someone until they were an unrecognizable mess.

With a nod to everyone else, Zabini turned to go to his table. It took Tom every ounce of willpower not to whip his wand out and curse him with the darkest spell he knew. He did notice that he wasn't the only one glaring daggers at the Ravenclaw, however. Alphard was scowling darkly at him and Tom was sure he didn't even understand what it meant that Zabini had had Hadrian's band. It mattered not, though. The moment Tom could get away with it, he would be permanently eliminating the problem that was Zabini himself.

The emerald-eyed boy was slipping the band in question into his robe pocket, seeming not to be fazed by all the eyes on him. Hadrian glanced up briefly and their eyes met. A surprised look etched onto his face and Tom surmised his eyes must still be red.

Tom's last thought before he looked away was, You're mine; no one else's.

He didn't care why he was suddenly acknowledging this; just that it felt right and that was the truth of the matter.

000

"They were both sweating?"

"That's what Alex tells me."

"Do you think they were—"

"Of course! It's no secret what Black prefers and I don't think Riddle cares either way about that. Remember the rumors about him and Malfoy two years ago?"

Dalilah Crouch prided herself on being the indisputable Gossip Queen of Hogwarts. Nothing escaped her and she made sure that everyone would talk about whatever she heard or was told before the end of the day. That was why she always told fifth-year Gryffindor Maeva Connolly her news first. The girl didn't know it yet, but Dalilah planned on making her her successor (plus she was a big mouth). Aileas, her cousin, would have been a better choice, but this was both their last year.

The students didn't understand that the grapevine at Hogwarts was a very systematic process. People like Dalilah had been keeping it alive and fanning the flames for years. Dalilah herself had been chosen as the next person to take the title and so had others before her. Gossiping was much harder than others gave it credit for. A good gossiper had to make sure the gossip didn't get too distorted (unless she wanted it that way), which happened a lot more than she would have originally thought.

"Lila!"

Dalilah looked towards the portrait door where Aileas was now excitedly running through, blonde hair bouncing as she made her way to the sofas in the middle of the room.

"What's got you so wound up?" Dalilah asked, amused despite being fairly used to her cousin's behavior.

"Where were you at breakfast?" Aileas asked.

"I chose not to go," said Dalilah.

She decided she'd tell her the real reason (that she was prepping Maeva for a round of gossip that would have them both most likely cursed within an inch of their life if Tom Riddle ever found out about it) when there weren't so many people around.

Aileas sat down next to her and whispered, "Well, you missed about the most intriguing thing…"

By the time classes ended, the whole of Hogwarts was abuzz with the news. At the first prefect meeting of the month that day, even the role models of the school could not help participating in it.

Almost all the prefects and the Head Girl were in the room. The only people missing were the Head Boy and the Slytherin prefects, who always came in with him as if they were his bodyguards. There was a rule at these meetings, set by Tom Riddle himself. Should anyone come after Riddle, they would be barred from the meeting and then they could explain to their Head of House why that was.

The meetings started at seven in the evening and Riddle, ever punctual, came right on the dot. Though it had been hard to get used to, they had all learned their lesson. The prefects now showed up at least four to five minutes before he did. This usually led to talking about the latest gossip before they would all become bored with the technicalities of regulations being kept up at the school once the meeting commenced.

"I knew it! I said it, didn't I? First day Black was here I said, 'Five galleons Riddle will be all over that guy before anyone gets to him.' He's a Black, it was inevitable."

"From what I hear, Zabini got to him first."

"Hey, now, Cassius has been one of my best mates since first year. He would have told me something like that!"

"For a Ravenclaw, Nicolae, you've never been really good at noticing that type of thing."

"Are you telling me you've noticed, Caprice?"

"Of course. It doesn't take a genius to know Cassius and Hadrian have been eyeing one another since September. This incident just proves my suspicions."

"You don't know what you're talking about. Even if it had happened in our dorm, don't you think I would have noticed something like that? Don't you think Zian would have? He sleeps in the bed right next to him!"

"Oh, please, brother! You've been a wizard your whole life—think about it!"

"Ah, I don't think I've ever met twins so out of sync. Can we get back to the topic at hand, guys? You can continue your little argument later."

"What is going on here?" The cold voice sent a shiver through them all.

Tom Riddle had entered with his Slytherin entourage.

"Is this how prefects are expected to act?" he asked, narrowed eyes focused on the MacDougal twins, both of them looking quite ashamed at the reprimand from their leader.

"No. My apologies, Tom," they said in unison. "It won't happen again."

Tom sat at the head of the long, oval table. "See that it doesn't," he said. His eyes swept the length of the table, checking to see that everyone was here, and he continued, "Let us begin, then."

000

Quidditch was more intensive than ever that night. The game against Gryffindor was on Saturday and Anastius sure wasn't wasting any time. Gryffindor had the pitch booked after classes so Slytherin was left to practice after dinner and late into the night, until midnight. After which Hadrian was not granted a reprieve on Wednesdays, as he had to hurry off to Astronomy.

Hadrian was really starting to resent his captain but there seemed to be a method to his madness. They had to win this game, there was no way they couldn't with the way Anastius was working them until they developed all new aches. One would think the Seeker would be left alone since all he had to was look for the Snitch, but Hadrian had it just as bad as the rest of his teammates, including the reserves.

But, this practice coincided with one of those rare moments where he didn't want to focus on Quidditch and instead wanted to turn his thoughts inwards. He was utterly confused and he didn't particularly like the feeling one whit. The last time he'd been this way, Sirius had just died. Except, then, he had pulled out of those thoughts and turned his grief into something much better and useful for the war: a determination to defeat Voldemort that had burned.

He was sure if he were left to his own thoughts for at least an hour, he could figure this new puzzle out, too. But, between classes, homework, trying to avoid both Tom and Cassius—even knowing he would not succeed where Tom was concerned as they had to meet tomorrow— and Quidditch, it was almost next to impossible. He was tempted to lock himself in a room for a day and not come out until he had moved past this obstacle.

The words 'I am not attracted to Tom Riddle in any way, shape, or form.' had become like a mantra to him. His mind had certainly believed it with the conviction his tone suggested but his guts and instincts (he absolutely refused to call it his heart) were not as fooled. He would remember, rather clearly, last night with Tom and his resolve would crumble, giving way to phantom sensations of Tom's magic surrounding him and beckoning his own.

A Bludger whizzed past him, just barely missing his left shoulder. He swerved out of the way as it turned back around for another try.

"Hadrian! C'mon, keep your head out of the clouds!" Anastius called from across the pitch. "We've only got two more days to practice!"

Hadrian kept himself from rolling his eyes in exasperation. He honestly wasn't in the mood for this right now. Couldn't a bloke get some time to brood or was that asking for too much?

000

Either Tom's paranoia was on high alert or his suspicions were spot on. Personally, he thought one could never be vigilant enough. Everywhere he went, he got the prickly feeling on his neck that always indicated someone was watching him. But, when he turned around, there were only his fellow students.

It frustrated him to no end because he did know there was someone. His hand hadn't stopped fingering the wand in his pocket. He would be ready the moment his suspicions were confirmed.

Besides that, he had long-established that Hadrian was avoiding him. (And, to his delight, Zabini as well.) He didn't like it and it offended him on so many different levels—he was Lord Voldemort, nobody ignored him! Hadrian had to have known he wouldn't be able to keep it up as, even now, Tom was headed for the Room of Requirement to work on their project.

The project itself was coming along nicely and he approximated they would be done in less than two weeks, which was a week and a half before it was to be turned in. By the twelfth of the month, their compass would support Unplottable locations and, if things continued as planned, it would act as a portkey by the eighteenth.

Tom arrived on the seventh floor and silently strolled down the span of corridors to the one where the room was situated. As he was reaching the last corridor, he heard the sound of voices. He stopped before he turned the corner and listened.

"—appreciate it, Alphard, but there's really no need. I don't want to trouble you," said a soft voice Tom instantly identified as Hadrian's.

"It's no trouble," Alphard insisted, his voice heavy with affection. "You're my cousin. There was a time I didn't need to remind you of that."

Hadrian sighed audibly. "I know; I'm sorry. And I've been meaning to spend some time with you but I've been so busy recent…"

He trailed off and Tom strained his ears, thinking he had dropped to a whisper but all that filled the air was silence. There was the soft swish of fabric, evidently indicating someone had moved. Tom was almost tempted to look but held on, curious to know what would happen next.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Hadrian inquired, sounding anxious.

"You don't have to give me the polite excuse, Hadrian. I understand," said Alphard dolefully. "I wish you felt like you could talk to me about whatever it is that's bothering you."

"There's nothing bothering me. I don't know why you think so," replied Hadrian.

Tom thought he was quick to defend and, apparently, so did Alphard because he heaved a deep sigh that could just as well have been a groan.

"You've been avoiding both Tom and Cassius. Three weeks ago, you couldn't keep your hands off Cassius. Care to explain that to me?" Alphard pointed out impatiently.

"I'm not avoiding Tom," Hadrian chose to say instead.

"Who are you trying to convince—me or you? If you didn't have to work on your project, you would never meet him. I've seen you go to great lengths to stay out of his way, Hadrian," Alphard returned.

"I have all his classes with him. It would be near impossible to do that. Anyway, I don't want to talk about this," Hadrian said tiredly.

"I don't understand it; ever since you came to Hogwarts it's like—"

"Please," Hadrian interrupted beseechingly. "Not right now. Tomorrow. We can talk all you want, then. I promise."

Tom couldn't understand why he was indulging Alphard or why he let him get away with such talk. He certainly couldn't imagine someone questioning him to such extent and getting off unscathed. Had he a family, Tom very much doubted he would make an exception for even them.

"I think you should go. Tom is always punctual," Hadrian continued after a moment of silence. His voice was once again the calm, gentle one Tom was used to.

"Hadrian," Alphard murmured. The rustle of fabric was heard again and he added, "I'm sorry. I'm being unreasonable."

"Don't apologize, Alphard. I know you're upset and you have reason to be. You're right—since coming here I've been negligent, to and fro classes and during meals is not enough. But I'll make it up to you," said Hadrian. "I only have the time before Quidditch practice free tomorrow. After that, we'll have to work something out."

More movement, this time with much rustling of clothing, like the two of them had come together. Tom was getting frustrated that he could see nothing and decided that he would have to make his entrance soon. There was only a minute before the exact time of their meeting. A long silence stretched on in which Tom started to wonder what was happening behind the corner.

Pushing off the wall he was leaning against, Tom straightened up and put on a blank expression. When he rounded the corner, he wasn't as prepared for what he saw as he had thought he would be.

Okay, sure, they were only cousins and most cousins he'd seen hugged, except he also knew the feelings Alphard so obviously harbored for Hadrian. But he should really make it clear to Alphard that no one touched what was his!

He stood there for only a second when they noticed him and separated. Alphard blushed lightly upon seeing him and Hadrian stiffened, the expression on his face becoming completely incomprehensible.

"Tom, uh, evening," stammered Alphard.

"Evening." Tom only barely kept himself from sneering.

"I'll be on my way, then," Alphard announced, looking awkward but slowly regaining his customary blithe composure. "I'll be seeing you. Good night, Hadrian, Tom."

He walked past Tom before either of them had the chance to return the farewell. Tom and Hadrian listened to his muffled footsteps until they could hear no more. Hadrian promptly turned away to get into the room. Irritated with the way he was being treated, Tom followed him in once he went through the door that appeared.

It was set up differently from the way the room was when they met. Instead of the long couch with the table in front of it on the left side of the room, now there were two leather armchairs facing one another with a round table in-between them. Either Hadrian had consciously asked for the distance or his need to be away from Tom had reflected itself in the room. Of course, neither of the possibilities was to Tom's liking and he took the armchair facing the door with a scowl.

Deciding not to call to attention the way Hadrian was acting, Tom placed his bag on the table, wordlessly opening it. As he laid out their work, he thought about what he could do to make Hadrian more responsive. This had happened before, after all—at the beginning of October. And hadn't he been the one to bring Hadrian out of his funk? Dueling had been the solution then and, surely, it could do no worse now.

Mind made up, Tom began contributing to their project earnestly, hoping that they may finish early and that he could have the time to draw his partner into another duel. He doubted Hadrian wanted to stay away from him so much so that he would turn down a duel. It seemed to be the one thing that really got him excited enough to loosen up.

About an hour and a half later, Tom was pleased to note that Hadrian was relaxing without having to be drawn into a duel. The stiff way he had been situated in his seat wasn't as evident. He had even begun to show the facial expressions and idle actions Tom had initially noticed he made whenever he happened to be concentrating. Like the way he pursed his lips, furrowed his brows, or—Tom's personal favorite—absentmindedly tugged on the tips of his long hair.

Hadrian was presently doing exactly that while he worked on the mechanics of their ward breaking. It certainly wasn't easy to try to come up with a way to get past wards on Unplottable locations, especially within the time frame they had given themselves. But Tom did so enjoy watching Hadrian struggle through it—with all his other problems set to the side.

Tom was jogged out of his train of thought when a soft sigh came from his partner. Hadrian put down his quill and combed his hands through the sides of his hair, in a delicate manner that was careful not to draw attention to his forehead or show where his scar was located.

"Problems?" Tom queried much more casually than he would have done so to most others.

Hadrian's hands froze in their movements and he glanced up at Tom as if he'd only then remembered the other was there. The very prospect annoyed Tom more than he could begin to express. Hadrian blinked slowly and took his hands out of his hair.

"No; no trouble. It's only a little more difficult than I had originally thought," replied Hadrian.

Tom, who had his right ankle crossed over his left knee, let his leg down and leaned forward in his seat. "Would you like to take a break?" he asked, trying to make his voice sympathetic but failing anyway.

Hadrian looked over at him in surprise. He probably hadn't expected Tom to be so considerate. He was right, of course. Tom didn't think he'd be capable of even pretending to be so. This, however, was part of his plan.

"Yes. That would be nice," Hadrian said lightly. Setting down his quill, he leaned back in his seat, at ease.

Tom waited a moment, then suggested, "How about a duel?"

The look on Hadrian's face, Tom could read easily. It was one of disbelieve, as if he couldn't believe Tom had the audacity to ask him that after what had happened Tuesday. Tom had the sudden urge to laugh.

"A duel…" Hadrian repeated slowly.

He was thoughtful for a while and Tom considered that he might refuse. That wouldn't bode well at all. The situation would be worse than he had thought if Hadrian turned down a duel.

But his worries were alleviated when Hadrian said, "All right. Why not?"

Tom stood up from his seat, hiding his excitement, and requested the room for their standard dueling stand. Hadrian followed him, tying his hair up with that leather band of his that Tom so desperately wanted to burn after Zabini's filthy hands had touched it.

Giving no illusions to Hadrian as to what type of duel this would be, Tom started it off by throwing a powerful Blasting Curse. Hadrian easily moved out of the way, his expression changing from aloof to determined. He sent back an Entrail-Expelling Curse, which Tom had no problem avoiding.

They lost track of time as they continued to duel this way. The room bounced off the bright colors of their spells as they illuminated everything. Sharp, harsh cracks echoed off the walls from the sound of powerful curses being exchanged back and forth.

Deciding to up the ante, Tom released a spell he had been practicing ever since he had read it from the book—Curses and Wards of the Ancient World—Hadrian had let him borrow. His opponent stiffened, holding up his wand in preparation and Tom knew he recognized the wand movements.

At his command, dozens of undead creatures filled the room. They were wraith-like in appearance and shadows clung to them, trailing behind them in wisps. A rancid smell followed their appearance, like that of decaying flesh. Tattered cloaks hung from their form and, if Tom hadn't known better, he would have mistaken them for dementors. They had certainly brought along a feeling of despair with them.

The significant difference between these creatures and dementors were that they were much more intelligent. Although they obeyed him, they were powerful and clever and knew how to go about their commands in the most efficient way.

Tom was exceptionally satisfied with his work, even if he felt a bit drained. He hadn't been too sure that he would be able to conjure so many but judging from the look on Hadrian's face, he was thoroughly frustrated with how many there were.

A plus to these creatures was that they could not be controlled as easily as his Enchantress had been. (Something that still put Tom off every time he recalled it—that had been his favorite Parselspell, dammit! Learning that one of the Shadow abilities was possession was the only upside to the whole ordeal.) Unless Hadrian was particularly fond of feeling as though he were swimming in the filthiest, most poisonous taint in the world, he wouldn't even dare to try.

The idea didn't seem to be crossing the ebony-haired boy's mind, however. The creatures were moving in on him, their ill intent clear as the shadows disconnected from them and traveled creepily along the stand toward their unfortunate enemy. Tom watched on, communicating orders to quickly subdue the boy by any means possible, thinking how amusingly ironic it was that Hadrian would be brought down by the very things he controlled.

Hadrian was all determined poise as he threw small blasts of raw power at offending toxic shadows that came his way. Yet, the creatures were not to be deterred. They got closer to their lone challenger, coils of black, deadly energy suddenly passing between them. Tom was fascinated by it all and gazed on in interest as they formed groups of four. The small currents became large balls of energy filled with so much magic, Tom could feel it in his teeth.

Tom hadn't ever seen them do anything like this but Hadrian seemed to have as he was already preparing for a counterattack. His lips were moving frantically, as was his wand. Seeing this, Tom urged the Creatures of the Undead to hurry up.

Then, Tom felt a pull on his mind and magic, one meant to attract his attention. It wasn't very strong so he had no problem batting it away. He realized it wasn't targeted for him when the creatures faltered from their task. The forceful magic that had come from their balls dwindled and he no longer felt its overwhelming presence.

Once Hadrian had their full attention and the creatures were looking at him, his wand began moving differently, with jerky motions in the air, as though he were drawing something there. Tom's guess proved to be right when a glowing, black symbol appeared before Hadrian. Tom acknowledged it as the ankh, the ancient Egyptian hieroglyph symbolizing life.

He had read in the book that when the ankh was black, instead of white, it would mean the opposite of what it usually did. Thus, he wasn't as surprised as he thought he would be when the undead creatures turned their magic on one another and began slaying each other. Though disappointed that his beautiful work had been subverted, Tom found the whole process morbidly beguiling, especially since Hadrian was looking agreeably flushed from the exertion of so much magic fueled into two spells.

Both winded and feeling a bit drained, they paused to take a breather. A second later, they were intently at it again in a fashion that might have been seen as showing off to the other by would-be onlookers. Their spells got more complicated and strenuous. Tom used the duel to try out more spells he had been practicing from Curses and Wards of the Ancient World, among others. Hadrian gave as good as he got.

The suggested break was no longer an excuse to be doing this as time flew by. The duel was even longer than the one they'd had Tuesday. Finally, Tom's defeat came in the form of a fast petrification. Almost before he was aware of it, he was turned into stone. Frozen in the position of trying to get up a shield though he was, he could still see everything that went on so it must not have been a full petrification.

The spell was familiar to him as it was advanced Dark Magic and he made it a point to be well versed in that. What he didn't understand was the horror-struck look on Hadrian's face. The boy was making no move towards him. He was just standing there, wand hand limp at his side and staring at Tom's petrified figure as though it embodied his every nightmare.

Tom wondered what was wrong with him but had no time to contemplate it as he was suddenly released and had to move quickly to keep upright. He stood up straight once he was balanced to address Hadrian, but the boy had already fled the room without so much as a whisper.

What the hell is going on with him? he thought in wonderment.

000

Friday morning found Alphard running late to breakfast. After leaving Hadrian and Tom, he had stayed up all night thinking (but actually using that as an excuse to wait for Hadrian's return). Everyone in the dorm had come to bed and his cousin was still nowhere to be seen.

By three in the morning, Hadrian hadn't come to bed and Alphard had gotten too drowsy to stay awake any longer. With his lack of sleep, he ended up waking late this morning and knew he wouldn't get to sit next to Hadrian.

A corridor away from the Great Hall, he stopped and walked at a more dignified pace. Most people thought he was sorely lacking in etiquette but he just chose not to implement it sometimes. Even he was not so remiss as to run into a hall full of people, however.

To his pleasant surprise, upon entering the Great Hall and heading for the Slytherin table, Alphard found that his cousin was seated after Flavius. Once again, his countenance was cause for concern. It was so closed off and steely that anyone could guess something was off. Alphard was even more convinced that he should have a talk with him.

Coming to his spot at the table, Alphard requested Flavius for a trade. Before he consented, Flavius's eyes found Tom's and Alphard—realizing too late what he had done—also looked in that direction. Tom tilted his head just so in acquiescence and his gaze held Alphard's, conveying a message that was all too clear to the Black: Find out what's wrong with him and report to me immediately.

Alphard could understand Tom's interest in Hadrian, but, he mused as he sat down, he could not grasp why Tom seemed to be failing in capturing him. The longest it had taken him was two weeks and that had only been because Antonin had been very close to his cousin, Cassius—much closer than Anastius had been to his own brother. But, now, Antonin was among his most favored, right after Renatus. Hadrian's case was going on three months now.

Not that he was too disappointed by that. Actually, he was rather happy Hadrian hadn't fallen into Tom's thrall. Alphard wasn't stupid; far from it. He'd noticed Tom's increasing interest in Hadrian and he could not forget that Hadrian himself wasn't innocent in this. He'd heard the rumors—even if both boys were completely oblivious to them—and he'd seen it for himself. There was an unmitigated attraction between them.

He wasn't a Slytherin for no reason. As much as he respected and deferred to Tom, his love for Hadrian was nonnegotiable. He would not sit by and waste this obvious rift between them when he could be capitalizing on it.

"Hadrian?" Alphard spoke tentatively, so as not to startle him (the boy didn't seem to be aware of anything).

Hadrian turned shuttered green eyes on him and Alphard kept in a shiver. He did not like the dullness in those usually beautiful, brilliant eyes and, not for the first time, wondered what had happened between his cousin and Tom (though judging from the Slytherin heir's desire to know what was wrong, he himself did not know what had caused this behavior).

"Yes, Alphard?" Hadrian asked, his voice, thankfully, still soft and music to Alphard's ears.

Alphard was aware of people watching them. He leaned in closer and dropped his voice, "What's wrong? Why are you so upset?"

"I'm not upset," Hadrian said and, at Alphard's scowl, continued, "I'm confused. Very, very confused."

Alphard's brows furrowed in confusion as well. "Why?"

Hadrian glanced away from him and Alphard knew he would not get any more out of him. Maybe he should have waited to ask him some place more private. With a quiet sigh, Alphard began on his breakfast, deciding to coax more out of his cousin when they would meet before he went to practice.

Throughout the rest of the day, Alphard heard the rumors he'd been hearing all week. Hadrian and Tom this, Hadrian and Cassius that…. Frankly, he was getting quite tired of it all. By now, it should have been clear to all boys involved that they were being gossiped about fervently.

He found it amazing that it had been kept a secret from Tom, of all people, for so long. Hadrian himself had always been aware of everything around him. Well, except for his suitors. For some reason, he'd never been particularly good at spotting that kind of thing.

When the time to meet with his cousin came later on, an hour before dinner, Hadrian suggested they take a walk outside after seeing how packed the common room was. Happy with this turn of events, Alphard hurried to his dorm to get his cloak while Hadrian waited for him, his own dark green, golden trimmed cloak with his family crest on the breast already clipped on.

Upon finding his black cloak, Alphard slipped it around his shoulders and went back up to the common room. To his dismay and great annoyance, his brother, Cygnus, and cousin, Orion, now joined Hadrian. Could he not get Hadrian to himself a moment?

"Actually, I'd like to spend some time with just Alphard now," Hadrian was saying as Alphard came up to them. "I'll make some time for the both of you as well—if you want."

"I want to!" Orion piped in, looking joyful at the mere prospect.

"Okay. We can work something out later," Hadrian said patiently.

Alphard beamed at him in gratitude. "All right. We have to get going before dinner. See you later," he said hastily, taking Hadrian's arm and pulling him along towards the entrance.

Hadrian chuckled at him when they got into the hallway and started moving down the corridor. "What's the hurry?"

Alphard shrugged, slipping his hands into his pockets. "You know them. Once they get started, they won't stop. Orion looked on the verge of insisting upon coming."

"Want me all to yourself?" Hadrian asked, laughter glinting in his eyes.

Merlin, you have no idea. Alphard wished he could say it without fear of scaring him off but he only laughed it off.

They walked in comfortable silence until they reached the dungeon staircase to the Entrance Hall.

"Let's go to the lake," proposed Hadrian, already walking to the entrance.

Alphard strode along, starting to get a bit giddy about the whole thing. After two months, he'd begun to think he wouldn't have a chance alone with Hadrian until winter break. Then, the family always spent a day at Black Manor for Yuletide celebrations.

He and Hadrian's rooms were adjacent and, back when they were younger, they had used to stay up past curfew to talk late into the night. He really missed those days. Alphard had thought they could only get closer after Hadrian's transfer, but he'd certainly been proven wrong.

The cold air of the November night brought Alphard out of his reminiscent thoughts. Hadrian turned south in the direction of the lake and Alphard followed, digging his hands deeper into his pockets to keep out the chill.

"It's colder than I thought," Hadrian said with a shiver.

He tightened his cloak around himself and Alphard wanted nothing more to do than hold him and keep him warm. His cousin had never had a high tolerance for the cold. He was actually surprised Hadrian had wanted to go outside.

"We can go back inside. I don't really mind," said Alphard.

Hadrian shook his head. "No. I'd like some fresh air. We won't be out here for too long, anyway; dinner's in only an hour."

Alphard dropped it, not wanting to point out that Hadrian would get plenty of air during practice. He didn't care where it was, he was just happy to spend time with Hadrian.

When they reached the lake, they cleared the bench close by and sat down. Alphard sat as close as he could without actually touching Hadrian. His cousin, as usual, didn't appear to notice. A moment of silence ensued in which they observed the serenity of the lake. Hadrian leaned back in his seat, wrapping his cloak tighter around himself.

"What did you want to talk about?" Hadrian asked, turning vivid green eyes that seemed to glow in the dark on him.

"Well, nothing in particular," Alphard lied.

He knew Hadrian wouldn't believe him and he was counting on it. He didn't want to hound him for information so, with any luck, this would prompt Hadrian into talking if he brought it up himself.

Hadrian looked away from him and was momentarily silent. "You asked about Cassius," he spoke hesitantly. "It's not so much that I'm avoiding him as I'm giving us some space."

Alphard didn't understand. "Why?"

"Let's see…how do I explain this?" Hadrian mused, facing him once again. "I told you it wasn't serious, remember?"

Alphard remembered, all right. He'd almost been crushed that day upon seeing them together. Of course, he'd heard rumors that they were shagging but he'd refused to believe it before then. Then Hadrian had reassured him and his hopes had been lifted.

"Yes."

"Well," Hadrian continued in a regrettable tone, "for Cassius, it's much more serious than I'd thought."

"So that's why you're avoiding him?" Alphard asked, almost incredulously, and feeling bad for the Zabini heir. He didn't know what he'd do if that were him.

"Giving us space," Hadrian corrected lightly. "And that's not all of it. I cannot return his feelings and I don't want to string him along. Better that he know now than wait until his emotions develop into something deeper and I end up hurting him."

Alphard doubted Cassius's feelings could get any deeper than they already were, but Hadrian's logic made an odd sort of sense. He'd hate to get his hopes so high only to find out later that he'd never had a chance. It really aggravated him that Hadrian was so oblivious to how much others adored and loved him. But, though he felt sorry for the predicament Cassius was in, Alphard couldn't deny that it increased his chances.

"Did you have sex with him?" Alphard asked tentatively, hoping he hadn't gone too far.

But Hadrian only laughed, low and cadenced. "What do you think?"

Alphard stared at him in surprise, thinking how uncharacteristic of Hadrian this was. "Yes?" he ventured.

Hadrian smiled at him but didn't confirm his guess. He glanced over to the lake and said, "I hear there's a giant squid in there."

Unperturbed by the change in topic, Alphard replied, "Yeah. No one's seen it but some people claim there is one and others think it's just a myth. Personally, I think the squid is there."

"Of course you do," Hadrian said with quiet mirth.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Alphard asked.

"No offense, cousin, but you are forever an idealist. I did always like that about you," responded Hadrian.

Alphard took no offense because he knew it was true. Besides, if Hadrian liked that about him, who was he to complain?

He glanced down when he heard a crunch and saw Hadrian crushing the leaves and rocks under his feet as he bounced his legs a little. Alphard assumed it was to keep warm.

"Are you cold?" he asked. "Let's go inside."

Hadrian stopped shaking his legs. He brought out his wand and waved it around them. Alphard was filled with warmth from the tip of his toes to his fingers.

"I did say we could talk all you wanted and I don't go back on my promises," Hadrian said firmly. "There's still plenty of time left before dinner."

"All right," Alphard said, thankful. "Earlier, you said you were confused."

Hadrian's face became instantly guarded. "I don't want to talk about that."

"If not me, who are you going to talk to, Hadrian?" Alphard pushed. "I'm only trying to help."

"Alphard, please drop it. There's some things I just don't wish to speak about, especially when I'm not sure about them myself," Hadrian said.

Alphard let it go. He knew he was lucky that Hadrian had even told him that much and was willing to talk to him about most anything he cared to ask. "Okay. I won't ask you again," he relented.

Hadrian nodded. "Thank you."

"So," Alphard prompted, "how was Cassius?"

Hadrian, astounded, threw back his head and laughed. Alphard smiled at getting that reaction out of him. He was probably the only one who had ever made him laugh so loud. It just wasn't Hadrian to raise his voice.

"Oh, I've missed you, Alphard. You haven't changed one bit," Hadrian professed, laughter still in his voice.

"I've missed you, too," admitted Alphard.

He scarcely kept the yearning out of his voice.

000

"Finally," Abraxas Malfoy said in relief, "I was beginning to think he would never smile again."

Tom glanced at him in question. "What are you talking about?"

Abraxas jerked his head in the direction behind them. Tom twisted around in his seat to see. Hadrian and Alphard were coming to dinner three minutes late and Tom had to agree; he hadn't seen Hadrian smiling like that for the past week. If they hadn't been surrounded by so many people, Tom thought he might have even laughed out loud at what his cousin was saying.

Tom turned back around to his dinner, irked beyond belief by the whole thing. Here, Hadrian was ignoring him and Alphard was taking advantage of the situation. He had to hand it to him, though. He'd wondered at times what made the boy a Slytherin.

"Good evening," Hadrian greeted everyone politely as he sat to Alphard's right, which put the gray-eyed Black across from Tom.

"Good evening," Abraxas returned. "You seem to be in a better mood."

Hadrian looked at the boy across from him. "I wasn't aware I had been in a bad mood," he murmured with a small frown.

Abraxas simply raised a blond brow in return.

Tom tuned out the rest of the chatter to think about Alphard's unexpected initiative. It certainly could not be allowed to continue. He would have to make it clear to Alphard that he tolerated no challengers. What he wanted, he got—anyone in his way be damned.

Dinner came to an end without his realizing. He stood to leave with his fellow Slytherins but Alphard impeded his progress when the boy came before him. Tom lifted a brow at his audacity. Didn't he know this kind of thing could get him hexed?

"Tom, I wish to speak with you, if you please." Alphard said, his eyes downcast but his body positioned in a way that rubbed Tom wrong.

The boy garnered attention to himself and Slytherins lagged behind to see what would happen, Hadrian among them. Tom threw them an annoyed glance. He swept his hand dismissively and they all began to clear out of the Great Hall with the rest of the school.

Of course, since when had Hadrian ever listened to him? The long-haired boy gave his cousin an inquisitive look instead of leaving.

"Alphard?"

"I'll just be a moment," Alphard said, a stupid look of happiness on his face.

Completely ignoring Tom, Hadrian nodded and left the hall. Before Tom had a chance to be bothered by that, Alphard faced him once again, an expression of determination set upon his face.

Tom looked back expectantly. "Do you wish to tell me your report on Hadrian's odd behavior?"

Alphard's determination left to be replaced with confusion. He blinked, as if he had forgotten all about this morning. Tom didn't doubt that he had, so lost had the boy been in his cousin.

"No. I'd forgotten about that, actually. Forgive me," Alphard said contritely.

"Then I suggest you get on with it," Tom replied, moving to cross his arms imperiously.

Alphard fidgeted for a second, a movement that suggested he knew what he was going to say was not going to be liked. "From what I gather, nothing seems to be wrong with him."

Liar.

Tom didn't need his natural ability to know when one was lying or his Legilimency to tell Alphard was bullshitting him. He absolutely hated liars.

Narrowing his eyes, Tom hissed, "From what you gather? Why don't you tell me exactly what he said? And, this time, I do not want to hear you lie to me."

The pureblood boy winced, knowing he was lucky to still be standing there. "He's confused but refuses to tell me why."

Tom became thoughtful and tried to figure out why Hadrian would be confused. Could it be because of their charged duels? Maybe Hadrian was going through the same thing he was—surely, he couldn't be the only one getting aroused from that. But why would that be confusing? Tom himself had accepted it, though he'd been more than miffed at first. It was perfectly natural and quite unavoidable when their magic was so well-matched.

"Lord Voldemort?"

He laid his thoughts to rest and regarded Alphard again. "Was there something more you hoped to say?"

"Yes. I-I…." Alphard shifted nervously. "I wanted to ask you something."

Tom briefly enjoyed it while the usually carefree boy squirmed but quickly became tired of it. "Well, what are you waiting for? I do not have all day."

"Of course; my apologies," the Black boy said, clearing his throat and straightening more confidently. "Are you interested in Hadrian?"

The sheer impudence of the question struck Tom momentarily speechless. He kept it off his face but Alphard must have sensed his reaction anyway because his expression turned to one of horror. He immediately began stuttering apologies that Tom ignored.

Never had one of his Slytherins dared to cross their limits in this way. That Alphard had been the first to do so was no big surprise. He positively could not let him get away with such an insult.

Tom stepped closer to Alphard and stood over him menacingly. His magic sprawled out of him effortlessly in response to his anger. Vaguely, he could even hear the tables rattling.

"You have severely forgotten your place, Alphard. Three infractions in one night is inexcusable and this, especially, is not something I will overlook," he snarled, his hands tightening around his wand with the need to Cruciate the fool if only he could get away with it within Hogwarts's wards.

Tom settled for a tempered Dark version of the Cruciatus that the wards overlooked. Alphard gasped and fell back, his scream getting stuck in his throat and coming out as more of a choking sound. Then he fell to the floor, clawing himself, and Tom just barely managed to erect a Silencing Charm before his shouts rent the air. The screams sent a rush through Tom and he heightened the power behind the spell to make them louder.

After about a minute and a half, Tom released him from the spell. Alphard wheezed but, commendably enough, quickly and shakily got to his feet. Tom smirked satisfactorily, causing Alphard to flinch and look away.

He leaned close and whispered, "As it so happens, Alphard, I am incredibly interested in your cousin and I would very much like to see what you dare to do about that."

The rebellious flicker in Alphard's gray eyes made him want to perform the spell on him again. Tom sneered at him, turned away, and walked out of the hall.

So, this was a man in love. Pathetic.

000

"A love triangle between who?" Sebastian MacMillan reared back in shock as his best friend, Harrison Potter, roared with laughter.

"Shh!" Maeva Connolly hushed them as others in the library turned to the disturbance. "Do you want us to get kicked out?"

Harrison only laughed harder, gasping for breath as he said, "That—is—absolutely—the—most—ridiculous—thing—I—have—ever—heard."

"No it isn't! It makes perfect sense. You must be blind if you have not noticed it," Maeva defended, becoming a bit put out at the reaction she was getting to the first gossip she had been sent to spread.

"We must be blind? Really, Maeva, where did you come up with the idea that Riddle, Hadrian, and Alphard are in a love triangle? This is the same Head Boy Tom Riddle we are speaking of, yes?" Sebastian asked, giving her a look that showed clearly how much truth he found in this.

Maeva pouted at his obvious doubt and Harrison's continued giggling. "I'm not kidding you. Haven't you seen it? Hadrian's been avoiding Riddle since Tuesday and who's been spending a lot of time with him lately?"

Sebastian reached up to rub the bridge of his nose, sighing exasperatingly. "They're cousins. That's what most cousins do."

"I know that!" Maeva cried in annoyance, causing people to glance their way again.

"You might want to quiet down before you get us kicked out," Harrison pointed out, his eyes full of mirth.

Maeva scowled at the sixth-year boys and was just about getting ready to really argue her point when Dalilah stepped into the library with Aileas. Dalilah came around to her side of the circular table and stood behind her chair as she surveyed the two boys.

"I tell you hot new gossip and these two are the first ones you decide to share it with? Do you not know MacMillan over there is related to the Blacks and close to our dear French transfer?" Dalilah asked. She tutted in disappointment. "Come, Maeva, darling; you still have much to learn."

The redhead stood up and gathered her books, doing her admirable best to ignore both Harrison and Sebastian's laughter as she left the library. She may not be great yet but she couldn't be that bad. Besides, plenty of people had heard her in the library, as much as she'd tried to keep her voice down.

Yes, she was positive the news would be all over the school before the match tomorrow.

000

Upon waking Saturday morning, Hadrian was filled with a complete calm that he hadn't felt much at all in the last week. Practice last night had gone well. The team had adjusted to Anastius's rigorous training the past week in preparation for the match.

His mind was clear now; free of all the clutter it had been crammed with. Including all the confusion surrounding his—nonexistent!—attraction to Tom. As a matter of fact, Alphard had been great help in getting his mind off it.

Once upon a time, he'd been real close to his cousin. Without siblings, cousins were all he had and Alphard, Abraxas, and Julius were the only ones his age. Alphard was obviously more open and easier to get along with. More than Abraxas, Hadrian had built a close relationship with him.

The Harry within him could not stop making parallels between Alphard and Sirius. The two were very alike. Sirius had been more of an older brother and friend than a parental figure to him and their personalities were alike. They even had the same length hair, though Alphard's was only slightly shorter.

That was why he'd let Alphard get away with pestering him for information. Anytime he wasn't his usually happy self, Hadrian wanted to eliminate the cause. And he'd felt absolutely terrible when Alphard had suggested he was being neglected. Hadrian imagined Sirius wouldn't have liked that the uncle who had helped him in his time of need (albeit this only being his counterpart) was being overlooked in favor of the future Dark Lord.

Besides that, he hadn't been lying to Alphard. He'd really missed the way they used to just talk about anything they wanted. Especially now that his best friends were in an alternate universe, Hadrian had no one he would confide in. Of course, it would be a while before that happened but they could certainly be on the track to being like that again.

As he tended to nowadays, Hadrian came to breakfast later than he'd used to. He made sure a good number of people were at the Slytherin table so as not to be left alone with Tom. Cowardly, maybe, but he did not want to take the chance of reliving the feeling he'd had Thursday after petrifying Tom.

Who the hell felt like their heart was being squeezed and their breath was leaving after defeating their opponent? Well, he'd always been the exception, hadn't he? Upon seeing Tom turned to stone looking so vulnerable and easily hurt, he'd just frozen up, feeling as if he were falling headfirst into a chasm and it hadn't been Tom who had been powerless but him.

Hadrian shook his head to dispel his thoughts. Thinking about this brought it all back and made him even more confused. He would have preferred his old, simple hatred for Tom back to this.

The Great Hall was abuzz when he got there. The noise rising when he entered could not have been imagined. Guessing that they must be talking about seeing him in the game today, he walked to his table. Alphard was already there when Hadrian took the seat to his right.

"Morning, Hadrian," Alphard greeted with a large grin. "Nervous about the match?"

"Not at all," Hadrian replied truthfully.

Before, he had never been able to eat before the Slytherin-Gryffindor game but now he had no problem reaching for his breakfast.

"Not even a little?" Alphard asked. "Usually new players are sweating before their first game. Just look at Spavin over there."

Hadrian glanced to his left in the direction of where the fourth years sat. Their team's new Chaser, Dimitris Spavin, could hardly bring himself to do anything but sparingly drink from his cup and look around anxiously at all the excited students. At least he wasn't getting any flak from the Gryffindors.

Laughing lightly, Hadrian turned back to his equally amused cousin. "I am faring much better than he. I am actually excited for the match."

Alphard barked a laugh and Hadrian caught himself comparing him to Sirius again. "Only you can say that looking to the contrary. How about showing a little more enthusiasm?"

"What are you girls talking about—love triangle?"

For the first time since entering, Hadrian looked where Tom was sitting. Lestrange's outburst had caused most of the table to turn that way, in fact. He was giving Jezebel, who sat to his right, a revolted look and the ebony-haired girl eyed him back disapprovingly. Across from them, Adelina was frowning deeply at Lestrange.

"Do calm down, Renatus," Jezebel chided softly, though there was an underlying of disdain in her voice.

Even Tom was scowling at his right-hand now. "Correct your behavior, Renatus, or I will be forced to do it for you," he hissed lowly.

Lestrange, upon realizing most eyes were on him, appeared regretful as he addressed the table, "My apologies. I did not mean to interrupt your meal."

Hadrian wondered what had caused him to act that way in the middle of all these people. He could guess it most likely had to do with Tom. Lestrange tended to become erratic whenever Tom was involved.

"Hadrian, let's go! I want to get a little practice in before the game!" Anastius was behind him, more energetic than he usually was, as hard as that was to believe.

"Now?" Hadrian asked.

"I want to get there before the Gryffindors get it into their head to practice, too. Besides, this will be good for some of the players. Dimitris will be more confident and relaxed, at any rate," Anastius reasoned, forking a thumb in the fourth year's direction.

"Let him finish his breakfast, at least," Alphard argued.

Hadrian sighed and stood up. "It's okay. I'm not very hungry, anyway."

"That's the spirit!" Anastius cried earnestly, slapping him on the back. "We'll meet you out on the pitch!"

Hadrian shook his head at the boy, thinking that he might even rival Oliver Wood in his obsession with the game. He only hoped his speeches weren't anything like Oliver's.

"I'll go with you," Alphard offered as Hadrian made to follow his captain. "If you want, that is."

Hadrian couldn't believe he was still insecure about something like this after last night. Even so, he reassured him with a smile, "Yeah. That would be great, Alphard. Thank you."

Alphard beamed at him in return. "You're welcome."

Many people wished Hadrian luck on their way out. He could even see Cassius trying to catch his eye as he walked the space between his side of the Slytherin table and Cassius's side of the Ravenclaw table. Feeling a little bad, he avoided eye contact entirely.

Any hidden nerves Hadrian had were totally gone by the time the game was set to begin after lunch. He had none of his pregame jitters, not even through Anastius's speech, which had turned out to be different from Oliver's only in that it was filled with a number of veiled threats. He was more than ready for this game and it had the added benefit of keeping his mind off certain people.

Upon hearing a loud cheer, he knew the Gryffindors had entered the pitch. He gripped his broom firmly and waited for their announcement.

"And now the Slytherins!"

Hadrian and his teammates quickly mounted their brooms and streaked out into the pitch. They'd gotten a chance to gauge the weather during their little practice so they were better prepared for the harsh cold that hit them when they took to the air.

"Leading them is their new captain, Chaser Anastius Zabini!" the commentator, a fifth year Hufflepuff boy, filled in as the team circled the pitch and took their positions. "Let's not forget the player everyone has been eagerly waiting to see in action, their Seeker Hadrian Black! Also new this year is Chaser Dimitris Spavin! Returning for the team for his second year is Chaser Calum Harper, for their third year are Keeper Argyros Filch and Beater Edric Ollerton, and for his fourth is Beater Royce Wilkes!"

Hadrian tuned out the rest of his comments as he watched Anastius and Harrison meet in midair to shake hands. They both had looks of utter determination on their face and long glares were exchanged between them. Their Quidditch instructor, Thaddeus Wenlock, released the balls and blew his whistle to begin the game.

Hadrian saw the Golden Snitch as it fluttered out of its box but lost it once it flew into the air. He and the Gryffindor Seeker, Victor Sylvanus, steered in the direction of where the Snitch disappeared. It was not to be visible again, however. When they could not sight it, they went separate ways to continue looking for it.

Above the Slytherin goal post is where Hadrian decided to hover and search for the elusive Snitch. He also had a clear view of the game. As all Slytherin-Gryffindor matches had the propensity to be rather intense, Hadrian immensely enjoyed watching it despite the decrease in speed he was unused to. At the same time, though, he had to watch out for countless Bludgers thrown his way and the other Seeker's progress with finding the Snitch.

"Potter scores again! Gryffindor leads 90-50!"

It was somewhat strange to hear that name on the Quidditch pitch and know it was meant for someone else. Hadrian could see how livid Anastius was even from his position. His captain had worked very hard to be able to beat Harrison in this game and it seemed that wasn't proving to be enough.

Realizing it might be up to him in the end, Hadrian put in more of an effort to find the Snitch. Soon enough, Sylvanus took to following him around wherever he went. Instead of feeling annoyed about it, Hadrian used this to entertain himself and help his team.

He led the boy through the center of the game to hinder the Gryffindor team's advancement. This actually succeeded in getting Slytherin enough to be only twenty points behind. Then the boy followed him through a plunge to the ground and did not catch on until just in time that he had been tricked.

But Hadrian's enjoyment ended when the bite of the frigid air got to him before everyone else. He'd noticed that he was much more susceptible to the cold after the merge and he was resenting it at the moment. He was seriously freezing his arse off!

Not liking his odds of lasting up here, Hadrian's only focus became the Snitch. Sylvanus was more wary of him now and so did not tail him everywhere. Which was a good thing as Hadrian spotted a glint of gold by the teacher's stand and Sylvanus just happened to be close by.

Using the air around him, he Obscured himself—one of the first and simplest Shadow techniques. It was much like the Disillusionment Charm except that it wasn't detectable when one moved. It even served the purpose of making one think something was in the opposite direction.

He moved fast, going so far as to let some of his Firebolt's true speed come out. With ease, he navigated past the players and reached the other side of the field. He dived down and released control of the Shadows at the last minute. As expected, Sylvanus was surprised into following him this time.

"It looks like Black has sighted the Snitch and Sylvanus is going after him!" the commentator shouted excitedly, immediately attracting everyone's attention and causing a roar to resound around the pitch. "Remember the Snitch is worth 150 points! The Seeker that catches it will have won for their team!"

Hadrian swooped back around before they got too close to the ground. He shot straight up with as much speed as his downgraded Firebolt could afford. Sylvanus was still on his tail, remarkably. He'd thought the boy would think it was another trick. Nonetheless, Hadrian was too far ahead for him to catch up. His broom's actions were much smoother and it was faster than whatever Sylvanus had.

Once he got back to where he had seen it first, he flew after the small ball. The Snitch seemed to want to make him work harder to catch it as it instantly flew out of his reach. Hadrian held back a curse when it flew down and closer to the other Seeker.

He whirled his broom around and immediately went after it. His broom was moving the fastest it could, plummeting after both Sylvanus and the Snitch. At that speed, it wasn't very hard to catch up to the Gryffindor or to pass him by.

The Snitch stayed on its course and didn't deviate unexpectedly so Hadrian had an easy time of keeping up with it. With it mere inches from him, Hadrian reached out his hand and closed it around the struggling ball. He slowed down his broom and held up the Snitch for all to see with a grin.

"Black has caught the Snitch! Slytherin wins, 260 to 140!"

A deafening cheer came from the Slytherin stand. Hadrian landed and, before he knew it, he was being bowled over by Anastius. He fell with a grunt and softly landed on his back, dropping the Snitch in the process.

"You did it! We won!" his captain exclaimed, his arms tightening around Hadrian's neck in a vise grip.

The rest of the team was behind them looking amused at their captain's behavior.

"You might want to let me go if you don't want Jezebel to see you like this," Hadrian muttered.

Almost as if burnt, Anastius released him and jumped up. Hadrian laughed and accepted the boy's hand in helping him up.

"Sorry about that," Anastius said sheepishly. "We haven't beaten Gryffindor in three years, I just got so excited."

"I'll say," Calum teased.

Anastius ignored their laughter and cried amid the shouts of their celebrating House, "Now we're going to party like never before!"

His enthusiasm soon caught on to everyone else. Hadrian couldn't walk a few inches without someone coming up to him and congratulating him. They were just a blur of faces consisting of people not just from his House. At some point, he thought he saw Harrison and Sebastian during the chaos but he really couldn't be too sure.

Hadrian reached the Slytherin common room with others in his House despite his best efforts to get to the locker rooms to wash up. It looked like the party had already begun and, when he and the team came in, a cheer rose in the room. While his teammates basked in their victory, he used the distraction to slip out of there and to his dorm.

To his surprise, however, his room wasn't as empty as he had believed it would be.

"Alphard? What are you doing in here?" he asked as he closed the door behind him and walked in.

Alphard stood in the center of the room, grinning broadly. "I knew you'd come here. You were never one for that much attention. Congratulations, by the way."

Hadrian rolled his eyes with an exasperated sigh. "If you know that, then you should know I've heard that a million times already and I'm tired of it."

"They won't say it but not many people had much faith in you. Some have seen you in action, sure, but they thought you couldn't be much better than Leopold since you're bigger," Alphard explained with a shrug. He moved to his bed and sat down. "They hadn't expected to beat Gryffindor, though."

"Anastius was over the moon about that," Hadrian laughed.

He too went over to his bed and dropped his broom on top of it. He removed his robes first then proceeded to take off his sweater.

"Ugh, I need a shower," he groaned.

"So that's what that stench is," joked Alphard.

Hadrian stuck his tongue out at him. This drew a surprised look from Alphard, causing him to laugh. He knew it was uncharacteristic of the old Hadrian, who hadn't done something so childish since…well, since he was a child. He may have an equal amount of traits from both Harry and Hadrian but he wasn't above letting go in front of Alphard, probably the only one in his family who wasn't so anal about decorum.

"Wipe that look off your face, dear cousin; your resemblance to a fish is uncanny," he teased.

Hadrian slipped off his undershirt then threw the clothes he'd taken off into the dirty clothes hamper. He sat on his bed to take off his Quidditch shoes and threw the socks in the hamper as well. Getting up, he got out two fresh towels from his trunk. Draping the towels over his bare shoulders, he turned to address Alphard, whose eyes were glazed over for some reason.

"You don't have to be here while I take my shower. Why don't you celebrate with everyone else?" Hadrian suggested.

"Are you just going to hide out here all night?" Alphard asked skeptically.

He'd had half a mind to, actually, but he knew that, realistically, he wouldn't get away with it. Others would eventually know he was down here and come to bug him. But he really didn't want to run into Tom, especially during a party he was sure involved no inhibitions.

Oh, stop whining. You'll have to see him sooner or later and face your shame.

What? My shame? Hadrian thought in confusion. What are you on about?

You did sleep with another boy. The voice pointed out accusingly.

So? What does that have to do with Tom? What business of his is it?

You disgust me.

Hadrian blinked in astonishment, not quite registering what he'd heard. What kind of bloody conscience was this? Was there someone messing around in his head again? As Voldemort was dead and he didn't have a connection with his counterpart…

…unless one counted how his scar acted up every time Tom touched him. And how magnetic their magic was to the other's.

If one considered those incidents, then the logical conclusion would be that this Tom did have the same connection to him as the other world's Voldemort once had. So did that mean the voice was some kind of manipulative manifestation sent to him from Tom?

You are so dense; I can hardly believe it. Where's the logic in that?

Then what the fuck are you? Hadrian returned, almost completely freaked out by how sentient this thing in his head was.

You're so set on pegging Tom as Voldemort that you can't look past your little ignorant, close-minded so-called truth to really see what's going on. The voice was full of pity when it said this.

"Hadrian?" Alphard's voice seemed miles away.

Unfocused, Hadrian walked to the bathroom and called back, "No, I'm not. I'll be out shortly."

000

He despised parties like these. Proper deportment was thrown out the window and Slytherins themselves were reduced to nothing more than animals in heat. Tom could barely stand to sit among them. What really bothered him was that they acted this way because they had won some petty game.

Speaking of which, the great hero who had made this possible was nowhere to be seen. The other Quidditch players were soaking up all the attention they could get. Dimitris was over there in the corner grinding into some fifth-year girl who would normally be out of his league.

"Tom, c'mon, dance with me!" Rosalina Parkinson swayed his way, clearly drunk out of her mind, and tried to grab his arm.

Tom glared at her icily and knocked away her hand. "Don't touch me, you filthy slut," he spat contemptuously.

She recoiled and quickly left his presence, taking that awful reek of alcohol with her. Why they opted for the cheap type when they could get the finest wines was beyond him.

Tom looked around dispassionately once again, searching for a sign of Hadrian. He supposed it was a good thing he didn't see him. He didn't know what he'd do if someone put their hands on him. Come to think of it, he couldn't see Alphard anywhere either.

Abruptly, he left his seat, intent on finding Alphard and making sure he wasn't with Hadrian. Unfortunately, as he was passing the entrance, his Head of House, who appeared much too tolerant about what his students were doing, waylaid him.

"Ah! Tom!" Slughorn cried over the loud music. "Just the man I was looking for!"

"Evening, sir," Tom greeted. "What can I do for you?"

"Where is Hadrian Black? I need to talk to the both of you," replied Slughorn.

"I have not seen him yet. What did you want to talk about, sir?" Tom asked curiously.

Slughorn looked around the common room then turned back to him. "I've heard much about him since his arrival and he seems quite popular with the students. He has friends from all the Houses and is becoming influential around here. I thought it would only be right that he has a place in the Slug Club."

Slughorn must think highly of Hadrian if he already wanted to induct him into his club. And, as he thought about it, Tom began to see the benefits of this. Neither Alphard nor Cassius Zabini were in the Slug Club.

"What do you need me for, sir?"

"Well, from what I hear, you are very close to the boy. I hoped that you could bring him along with you to tomorrow's supper and make him comfortable," Slughorn said with a self-satisfied smile.

Very close? What the hell did he mean by that? They were barely even friends (mostly because he didn't believe in friends). Where was he hearing this?

"I will do that, professor," Tom said anyway.

"Oh! There he is! Mr. Black!" Slughorn called, signaling over Tom's shoulder. "Come over here, please!"

Tom turned to look at who Slughorn was calling to. Both Hadrian and Alphard had just come up from the dorms and were heading over to them.

"Yes, sir?" they said simultaneously.

Slughorn laughed merrily like they'd told some grand joke. "Pardon me for the confusion. I meant Hadrian."

"Yes, sir?" Hadrian repeated.

"I was just telling Tom here that I wished you to join the Slug Club," Slughorn explained and did not go further, as if Hadrian should already know what it was.

"The Slug Club?"

"Tom can explain it to you in depth; I must really be going. I do hope you can join us tomorrow. Good evening, boys," Slughorn quickly excused himself and just as quickly left.

Tom noticed Hadrian was eyeing him suspiciously. He didn't know what he'd done to deserve that look. Alphard glanced between them.

"I'll leave you to it, then," he said.

Hadrian looked as though he'd rather be anywhere but alone with Tom. Not to say that they were alone as there were people on all sides of them. The pounding music and noise from the other Slytherins were the only things that filled the silence between them.

When he could take it no more, Tom said, "Professor Slughorn invites those he believes have the potential to become great or students who come from prominent families to the Slug Club. Occasionally, we have parties or suppers to get a chance to mingle and make connections with other members. If you are interested, you may come along with me to the supper tomorrow before dinner."

Tom inwardly winced at his choice of words. That had sounded a bit condescending, even for him. He may not be an expert on all that was Hadrian, but he'd learned enough to know that the boy would most likely find his own way to the Slug Club room now.

Hadrian smiled thinly. "Thank you. I'll think about it. Good evening."

Tom held in a frustrated sigh as the green-eyed boy turned away and was swiftly lost in the crowd. It seemed he would need to corner him to get anything out of him before long. That duel couldn't have done that much damage, could it?

From the corner of his eye, he spotted Hadrian now with Alphard in a secluded area by Tom's old room and before long became as soon as fucking possible.

000

He was dreaming and it wasn't any old dream. No, this was a special kind of dream.

"I apologized, did I not?" By the way Tom closed the door and was looking at him, he appeared anything but sorry.

Trying to contain his anger, Hadrian scowled from his place on the sofa in the wall niche. "You call that an apology, you smug bastard?"

Tom moved to the large Slytherin-green and silver-adorned bed and sat down after removing his robes. "It must have been enough if you are in here. Were you waiting long for me to return?"

Hadrian only just kept himself from exploding in anger. His hand itched to wrap around his wand and fire a lethal curse at him. Heck, forget magic; he would gladly curl his fingers around his neck instead. That would be a lot more satisfying.

Tom chuckled when he looked over at him. "Hadrian, I was only joking. You look about ready to kill."

"Your sense of humor leaves much to be desired," snarled Hadrian.

Tom rolled his eyes. "I do not understand why you must make a big deal of it. We had a little fight, I expressed my regret, and now it is in the past. This is much more simple than you are making it out to be."

"Oh, excuse me, I hadn't realized dueling was synonymous with apologizing," said Hadrian wryly.

"You did not need to snub me," Tom argued, sounding a bit resentful about it. "My Death Eaters shouldn't see that. What do I look like—can't even control my own—"

"Don't turn this around on me," Hadrian interrupted with a sneer. He jumped out of his seat and got as close as he could to Tom without being able to act on his need to hurt him. "And you are honestly out of your mind if you think you will ever succeed in controlling me."

Tom's eyes glinted challengingly and, when Hadrian turned away to leave the room with a decision to not speak to him until he had a proper apology ready, he shot out of the bed and grabbed his right forearm. He pulled Hadrian back flat against his chest, dipping his head down and nuzzling aside his hair to get to his neck.

"Let go, git," Hadrian bit out, hating himself for being affected where Tom's lips trailed down his neck.

Tom's teeth skimmed along the crook of his neck and bit into it, causing him to lightly moan. He smirked. "No."

Tom dropped Hadrian's forearm only to use his hands to remove Hadrian's robes and toss them aside. He then pulled the crimson bow tying his hair at the nape of his neck and released it to fall to his back. Before his shirt could be taken off, Hadrian came to his senses and pushed away from Tom.

He spun on his feet to face Tom with a glare. "Don't think that's going to work."

"What do you want from me? You, more than anyone else, should know this is as far as I am willing to go when it comes to apologies. I hope you do not expect me to get on hands and knees and beg forgiveness because you will be sorely disappointed," Tom said, his lips curled into a sneer of distaste.

Unable to control his fury any longer, Hadrian's Shadow struck out and pressed Tom against the bed by straddling him and holding his hands above his head. Tom growled, his own magic unfurling and Hadrian quickly took his Shadow's place.

"You have the most infuriating ability to make matters worse," Hadrian told him, drawing his face nearer to Tom's glowering one. "A simple sorry would have sufficed. I would have forgiven you and we could be past this by now."

Tom narrowed his eyes. He wiggled his hips and smirked triumphantly when Hadrian jerked against him. "Are you sure you aren't mistaking sexual tension with anger? It wouldn't be the first time, after all," he teased. "It's been, what, five days? I'd say that's a record."

Tom reached out his magic and touched Hadrian's, which was being used to keep him pinned to the bed. They both shuddered at the contact, having long mastered the art of twining their magic to bring each other pleasure. It had actually been a whole week and the enormous prick knew it.

Ever the charmer, Tom won out as Hadrian's resolve crumbled. His hands went from holding down Tom's to digging into his hair as he moved down to capture Tom's lips in a searing kiss. Tom's newly-freed arms came around Hadrian's neck to deepen the kiss exactly as they liked it, full of force and passion. Both of them satisfied their dominant urge—their tongues warred for control and their teeth bit soft flesh, drawing blood, which was lapped up at once.

Hadrian's hand slipped under Tom's shirt, drifting hot fingers up to circle around his left nipple. Tom arched into the fingers, tearing their mouths apart to gasp. Lips brushed the base of his throat then began to suck softly.

Tom fumbled with the zipper on Hadrian's trousers and, when he got fed up with that, just banished them away. Hadrian helped him out of his while Tom tried to pull at his shirt. It took them a while to accomplish this as their actions counteracted the other's.

When they were finally naked, Tom flipped their positions around and looked down on Hadrian's startled expression, which was giving way to obstinacy.

"Just to let you know, I intend to top," Hadrian said firmly. "Think of it as your apology to me."

"I figured as much, but I would like to have some control, if you don't mind," said Tom, his face sour at the idea of relinquishing any amount of control.

Hadrian laughed at the absurdity of the moment. "Some pair we are. It's been a year and we still haven't gotten used to this."

"Everything would work out wonderfully if you just stuck to bottoming," Tom pointed out, though it was evident their fight for dominance would never end.

"Keep dreaming," scoffed Hadrian.

Tom dignified that with a bruising kiss. Hadrian moaned as a hand traced the inside of his thigh, almost touching his erection but not quite there. His fingers twisted tightly around Tom's hair and his knee came up to nudge his lover's own arousal. With a groan, Tom broke the kiss only to slide down his body and take Hadrian's nipple into his hot, wet mouth.

"Fuck, Tom," gasped Hadrian and thrust his hips up to try to get to Tom's.

Freeing Tom's hair from his almost painful grip, his fingers traveled up and down Tom's spine then moved to his hips then to the cleft of his arse. Reflexively, Tom pushed back against them, making a little sound he would forever deny came out of his mouth.

Aware of how painfully hard they both were, Tom extricated himself to search the drawer for the lubricant. He was in such a rush that he just began to flick things aside and make a mess of his drawer. With his dislike for untidiness, he knew he would regret it later.

Hadrian lifted his head up from the bed to see what he was doing. If he hadn't found it yet, then it certainly wasn't in there.

"Accio lubricant," he intoned with a wave of his hand.

The lubricant came zooming into his outstretched hand from the adjoining room—Tom's bathroom. Hadrian held it up for him as Tom turned to look at the bottle.

"Ah, so that's where I'd left it," Tom said nonchalantly, ignoring the amusement pouring from the other boy.

"I see you were perfectly fine without my assistance the last five days," Hadrian teased, laughing when Tom swatted his arse.

"I don't have to put up with your smart mouth, Mr. Black; I am Lord Voldemort," Tom countered lightly, moving back into position over Hadrian.

Hadrian handed him the bottle with a smirk. "Then get to preparing yourself, Lord Voldemort," he mocked.

Hadrian's eyes flew open. He sat up so fast in bed that his head spun. He took a moment to breathe. Then he opened his drapes to make sure that he was still in his dorm room and not in some opulent Slytherin-decorated room with Tom Riddle.

It was then he noticed the real problem was causing a tent in his pajama pants. This wasn't the usual morning erection that he could ignore relatively well. He was fucking hard! Actually, the last time he'd even had an erotic dream was before his first time with a boy. And, now, to have one of Tom was like a hard blow to his head. This was something he could certainly do without thinking about. But, as much as it was a shock, it was also an eye-opener. He could deny it no more.

He was bloody attracted to Tom Riddle.

Finally! Now that wasn't so hard, was it?

Stupid voice.

Hadrian got out of bed. He brought out his winter cloak from deep in his trunk and put it on. He would go to the forest and practice his new Animagus form; that would help settle his mind.

Choosing to walk there gave him time to assimilate the dream and walk off his erection. (He categorically refused to wank because of Tom.) Much more than the beginnings of a wet dream, the dream had seemed pretty realistic. He knew how an erotic dream went. It usually started hot and heavy and it didn't need to have a story to it.

Not to mention, that Shadow trick. He could do no such thing. He hadn't even known it was possible to make his Shadow get somewhere before he did and then take its place, especially while touching someone. When he Shadow Stalked, he was a part of the Shadows, so they arrived at the same time. He could move his Shadow somewhere or make it hold someone but then he would need to get there himself without the Shadows that were already in use, usually by Stalking with his own shadow.

Hadrian couldn't understand it. All Shadow Lords uncovered one more thing the Shadows can do than the Lord before them since each was more powerful. He'd already uncovered his, so why had he seen this new trick unless he was supposed to uncover that as well. Had the merge with his counterpart changed something else?

That didn't make sense. Harry Potter had been the only Shadow Lord and it had only been passed on because of him. Why should Hadrian get to uncover his own ability in the Shadows when he'd never had it?

As irrational as it was, Hadrian thought he might as well try and see if he could succeed. Practicing the Shadows had always been tiresome and grueling but it had been extremely fun, too.

First, though, he would need to master his Drake form. Unfortunately, he hadn't gotten very far with that. He'd need to give more attention to it. At least one good thing had come out of that awful dream. If he just concentrated on these two goals, he wouldn't even need to acknowledge what the dream had revealed.

The voice's loud, incredulous laughter rang in his head and he got the distinct impression he wouldn't dodge that particular discovery so easily.

000

Hadrian surprised him by coming to him before dinner Sunday evening while Tom was in the Slytherin common room.

"I am interested in going to this supper," he said.

Abraxas, who was sitting in the seat next to Tom's, asked, "Slughorn invited you to the Slug Club, then?" At Hadrian's nod, he smiled, adding, "I knew it would only be a matter of time. We were just about to head there."

Hadrian looked around at their group. "We?"

Tom stood up and Abraxas, Renatus, Antonin, Julius, and Devan stood with him. Others scattered around the room stood also, including Jezebel and Adelina.

"The Slug Club consists largely of Slytherins. It's imperative that we arrive together," provided Tom.

While they may not be the most well-liked House in Hogwarts, they were known for being ambitious and Slytherin was comprised of many strong people destined for greatness. He could see the amused spark in Hadrian's eyes and knew the boy wanted to say something likely inappropriate about that but was refraining.

"All right. Lead the way, then," Hadrian said.

Renatus glared at him for the perceived order but Tom held up a hand to forestall anything he might say. Whatever it was that had made Hadrian averse to his company must have been resolved if he was going back to treating him however he liked no matter who was there. The Hadrian of the last week would not have said that, much less approached him.

Leading the way, apparently, meant Hadrian was going to walk right next to him. Tom glanced at him and got a raised brow in return. He curbed the ridiculous urge to grin.

Since the Slug Club room was in the dungeons by Slughorn's office, they were usually the first to enter and it was no different this time. The room was dim and lit only by torches hanging on the stone walls. The large table was filled with enough food for a whole House.

The moment Slughorn saw them, he bustled over. "Welcome! Please, take a seat and we will begin shortly. Oh, I see you could make it, Mr. Black! It's great to have you here!" He shook Hadrian's hand enthusiastically.

Hadrian had a concealed grimace on his face. "Thank you, professor. It was kind of you to invite me."

"Nonsense! You got in on your own merits," Slughorn said. "Why don't you sit up front today so I can introduce you to the rest? Tom, if you would be so kind?"

"Of course, sir," Tom complied. He beckoned Hadrian to follow him to the head of the table and put him in the seat next to him.

"This whole thing seems a bit ostentatious," Hadrian said lowly enough for only Tom to hear.

"And balls are not?" Tom returned, amused that a pureblood coming from two prominent families would think this.

Hadrian waved his hand dismissively. "They serve a specific purpose; I do not understand why a school needs this."

"Beauxbatons does not have something like this, then?" Tom asked.

"Of course not."

Tom smirked. "And yet they call their school the Palace of Beauxbatons."

Hadrian chuckled softly. "True."

The other members trickled in soon after. Slughorn greeted all of them just as loudly as he had the Slytherins. Once everyone had come and sat down, Slughorn stood before his seat at the head.

"Thank you all for coming. Tonight, I would like to introduce a new member of the Slug Club. I'm sure you are all familiar with him. Please welcome Hadrian Black." Here, Slughorn gestured at Hadrian, who smiled at all the curious faces. "I hope you make Mr. Black feel right at home here and will introduce yourselves when the time permits."

A chorus of agreements and welcomes went around the table. Beaming, Slughorn took his seat and commenced the dinner. They took the next hour to eat and talk quietly amongst their neighbors. Afterward, the food was vanished and replaced with drinks while everyone took the time to socialize.

Evidently, Tom didn't need to introduce Hadrian to most of the people he had wanted to. He already knew all of the seventh years and most of the sixth. He even hit it off real well with Dalilah Crouch, who Tom himself found pretty annoying. Tom now supposed that it would seem ostentatious to the boy if he'd been asked to join a club full of people he had already met.

"Not at all what I expected," Hadrian said, sounding a bit disappointed.

"What were you expecting?" Tom asked.

"A bit more excitement."

Tom laughed quietly. "Wait until we have a party."

Hadrian gave him a doubtful glance. "Is it anything like yesterday's?"

"No, mercifully," Tom replied.

"Well, that's good. What we really need is a dueling stand," Hadrian said.

Tom gave him a long look. Could he be hinting that they go back to dueling, even after what had happened Tuesday and Thursday?

"Yes. I still must repay you for Thursday," Tom hazarded.

"We shall see about that," Hadrian countered with a smile, that challenging glimmer finally back in his eyes as he faced Tom.

Tom returned his smile and felt somewhere deep inside him leave its hollow shell and come truly alive for the first time.

TERMS:

Niger - black

Helix - A structure consisting of something wound in a continuous series of loops.

Que demande le peuple? - What more could you ask for? *This is not the literal translation. It's only an expression.

ankh - A cross shaped like a T with a loop at the top. The Egyptian hieroglyph for life.

For a look at the Ravenclaw seventh year boys' dorm, check out my profile for the link. It's not really important but just in case my description was a little confusing.

Edited: 8/21/09