Hadrian Black: The Abandoned Prodigy

Hadrian was upstairs, marveling at how much he had changed whilst staring into the mirror.

He was once more going to Gringotts.

He had to claim his vaults, if there were any to claim, and buy the books he needed on Alchemy, Transfiguration, and Astronomy - as well as his core subject books.

There was also the matter of his school uniform. Uagadou's uniform was very unique and Hadrian doubted that they would find it in Britain. Lucky for him, the school had it ready for him and his arrival.

A quick size readjustment charm was all that was needed if the uniform wasn't set to Hadrian's measurements.

Hadrian made his way downstairs, where Charlus was waiting for him.

Charlus grabbed Hadrian and they side-along apparated into the lobby.

The last year they had come there, Hadrian didn't quite note its 'emptiness'. He knew that the part of Gringotts they had apparated into was different from the main lobby, it was one of the many perks Gringotts offered to its clients. An apparition point.

Not that all the...'rich' families had the same privilege. It was only families that Gringotts respected, and best be believed - that list is an incredibly short one.

Charlus moved Hadrian towards a familiar goblin, Balgrott.

"Balgrott!", Charlus called out before bowing slightly and holding out his hand, "May your gold flow freely and the blood of your enemies rain on the battlefield."

"Charlus,", Balgrott said as he grabbed Charlus' hand in response, "May your vaults stay full and the heads of your enemies succ.u.mb to your blade."

Hadrian then stepped forward towards Balgrott and said, "Balgrott," before repeating the same gestures the two men had exchanged, "May your piles of gold reach insurmountable heights and the body of your enemies drop like flies."

Balgrott smirked and said, "You've raised a good one, Charlus.", before responding in the same manner.

"It is good to see the scion of House Potter and House Black. Come this way.", he said as he began walking.

He lead him to a room in which there was a bowl and a small knife. The bowl was placed on a table, surrounded by chairs. Hadrian, Charlus, and Balgrott took their seats.

Hadrian g.r.o.a.n.e.d inwardly, 'Why is it always blood?'

"I assume you know what to do?", Balgrott asked.

Hadrian responded by nodding. He then picked up the knife and cut his index finger, allowing the blood to drip onto the bowl.

Hadrian held his finger there until Balgrott lifted the bowl and left the room.

Balgrott then came back with a scroll, that presumably read the vault or vaults that Hadrian could claim.

"The list was very...shocking. Whilst we have always known that these families were related to the Potters and Blacks, it is interesting to see that the magic of those families had accepted your grandson.", Balgrott announced as he handed Charlus the scroll.

"My word!", Charlus exclaimed.

The Potter-Black family had stopped saying 'Merlin's beard!' or anything similar as a form of expressing disbelief. After having met Merlin, and conversing with the man on a daily basis - the reverence they once held for him had significantly lowered.

Whilst he was still revered as a powerful wizard, the Potter-Black family had stopped viewing him as a 'God', which was undoubtedly how the rest of the Wizarding World viewed him.

Charlus passed the parchment over to Hadrian absentmindedly once Hadrian had reached for it.

Hadrian looked at the list slightly confused.

- Hadrian C. Black

Vaults to be claimed:

-Peverell

-Gryffindor

-Slytherin

Hadrian recognized the two names at the bottom, but not the first. The name 'Peverell' seemed...familiar, but he couldn't remember where he had heard it.

"...Peverell?", Hadrian asked, head tilted.

"That name is very old and famous.", said Balgrott.

"Yes, but for what? And why do I recognize it?", Hadrian asked as he turned towards his grandfather.

"Dorea and I read you that story. The Tale of the Three Brothers. The one about the brothers who wished for the most powerful wand, a stone that brought back the dead, and an invisibility cloak. The Deathly Hallows, they called it.", Charlus responded in a somber tone, "I... was not aware our families had ties with the Peverell's, or that the family was real."

"But...you were aware of the others being a part of our family?", Hadrian questioned.

"Gryffindor, yes. It isn't common knowledge, but our family has always known we were related to Godric Gryffindor. I assume it is the same way the Blacks are related to Salazar Slytherin. You have his gift, Salazar's I mean. Although you've also gained much more, I think it's safe to say; you've probably always had it.", Charlus answered.

Hadrian pondered over his grandfather's words for a few seconds before turning to Balgrott and asking, "What now?".

"Now, you take headship over the three houses.", Balgrott replied.

"I claim Regent.", Charlus announced as he smiled and messed Hadrian's hair.

Balgrott looked towards Hadrian for confirmation, to which Hadrian responded to with a nod.

"If that is your wish. Wait here."

Balgrott returned 10 minutes later with multiple scrolls and a box. He placed the scroll down before handing Hadrian the box.

"There is no need to prick your finger and pour blood on these rings. Family magic has already dictated you as Head, so there is no need to discern heirship as we did your previous visit."

Hadrian opened the box and saw three rings, all easily distinguishable.

The first ring was the Peverell one, Hadrian could tell because it wasn't the distinct red and gold or green and silver the other rings were.

The Peverell ring was bone-white - not quite beige but awfully similar. It had the insignia of the Peverell Family, a triangle with a circle in its center. Through the center of the circle, ran a straight black line, vertically.

Hadrian placed the ring on his finger and felt his magic thrum in happiness. He felt a...longing for something - what that something was, he didn't know. What he did know is that something was missing, which made Hadrian frown.

Hadrian then picked up the next ring. The Gryffindor ring. It was a dark, ruby color. The face of the ring was golden with a lion's face etched onto it. Hadrian placed it on the next available finger, which was on his right hand - he knew that it wasn't proper to wear a ring on your thumb or your pinky. When he wore the ring, Hadrian heard a loud roar in his head, which caused him to flinch.

Charlus looked worriedly at Hadrian.

"I'm fine.", Hadrian assured.

Then the final ring. The ring of Salazar Slytherin. It was a dark, emerald green with the face of the ring being a shiny silver. A black serpent ran through the length of the ring, its body moved slightly. So slightly that those who saw it would think they imagined it. On the silver face of the ring was the letter 'S', for 'Salazar' or 'Slytherin'.

Hadrian wore the ring which prompted the low hiss of a snake to run through his head. The sound emanated from the left side of his ear before moving to the right side. Hadrian shivered slightly, it wasn't a comfortable feeling.

"Now onto these.", Balgrott said as he handed Charlus the parchments.

Charlus read through the scrolls, which took around half an hour. Once he was done, he looked expectantly at Balgrott, to which Balgrott responded by placing a black, thin, and unusually pointed quill in Charlus' hands - without an Ink Pot to be seen.

Charlus took the quill and started...writing.

Hadrian looked at him as if he was stupid before he noticed that words were appearing on the page he was writing on. He also noticed Charlus' hands twitching as he grabbed the quill harder. The back of Charlus' hand turned red before discernible lines appeared, getting clearer and clearer the more he wrote.

"It's going to hurt, but you have to do it, Hadrian." he said, as he gave Hadrian the parchment and quill after he was done.

Hadrian nodded slowly.

Charlus then pointed out the different parts Hadrian had to sign his name.

Hadrian placed the quill on the paper and began writing - bracing himself for the pain his grandfather attempted to mask.

Hadrian began writing waiting for the pain...until he didn't. Hadrian felt nothing.

Well, he did, but not as bad as Charlus had. He could feel the difference between a blood quill and a normal quill. The blood quill, to Hadrian, felt like an Itching sensation, not even a bad itch at that.

Hadrian looked at Charlus slightly confused until it dawned on him. It was his Dragonlord blood! Ever since Hadrian went through with the ritual that caused his awakening, Hadrian had been slowly assimilating the Dragonlord's constitution. Merlin informed Hadrian that the full changes would be completed on his 13th birthday when he received the wings, but he would slowly acquire the tough body of the Dragonlords until then.

Hadrian smirked as he saw his grandfather had reached the same realization Hadrian had. Charlus began muttering expletives under his breath shortly after.

Hadrian scanned over the parchments, it was basically him formally accepting Charlus as his regent and that Charlus would be his representative in Wizengamot meetings.

Charlus and Dorea didn't have jobs, they didn't need to. That didn't mean they didn't make more money, because they did... a lot of it too. Their main 'job', was to keep track of the multiple investments the Potter and Black family had placed on many notable companies. They also had to attend meetings at the Wizengamot as Heads of House Potter and House Black respectively, but even that wasn't a daily occurrence.

They only attended when the Wizengamot attempted to pass important bills and laws or if there was a trial (which was also very rare). Now, Charlus and Dorea would have an additional 3 votes for the Neutral faction of the Wizengamot.

The truth is, the Potter Family was not 'Light'. The fact that Magic could be considered 'Light' or 'Dark' was laughable to Charlus. What made him laugh even more was when Albus Dumbledore attempted to sway Charlus and Dorea to the 'right side'.

What was not funny was when James had said the same thing, despite knowing the Potters were a Neutral Family. It seemed that to join Albus' group; The Order of the Phoenix you had to believe that you were either on the good side or not. Completely forgetting those who wanted to avoid conflict altogether.

Charlus and Dorea were not shy of fighting Death Eaters. They had done so multiple times during the war, but they were not going to actively search for them. Nor did they want their son to do the same! At least if he was adamant about fighting in the war, he would have bothered to learn the combative spells in the Black Tome/Grimoire. When Dorea suggested this, he refused!

He refused to learn 'Dark Magic'. No doubt Albus' influence. How they expected to win a war without killing baffled Charlus. It baffled Hadrian also when he'd asked Charlus about the war and what the people who were fighting against Voldemort were doing in an attempt to win.

They were relieved when he and his wife went into hiding for a few years. They were also unbelievably terrified that the madman that their son had faced 3 times had found their home and attacked their grandchildren! Luckily for them, they all survived - except one.

After Hadrian finished signing the doc.u.ments, he looked at Charlus and said, "I wish to go into the Slytherin Vaults."