Hadrian Black: The Abandoned Prodigy

Until the fast approaching Nundu youngling was suddenly hit with a streak of red light, banishing it away from Hadrian and Koni.

"Get behind me!", shouted Headmaster Bwezani, who was accompanied by Deputy Head Limbani.

Hadrian and Koni sprinted behind the a.d.u.l.ts. Hadrian looked around the area and saw that there were many wizards on-site, battling another group of wizards wearing leopard skin shawls. The leopard skin group began apparating one by one, once they saw the amount of 'Aurors' that were joining the battle. Some of the foolhardy ones stayed and attempted to fight back against them.

Meanwhile, the Nundu snarled as it rose and darted towards Headmaster Bwezani.

"Move!", he shouted.

The Nundu was extremely fast, and even though it wasn't m.a.t.u.r.e, thankfully so, it was still very dangerous. M.a.t.u.r.e, a.d.u.l.t Nundu require 100 wizards to subjugate it. A Nundu that's slightly older than a cub would need around 5-10 wizards to subjugate it.

The reason for this was because the Nundu gains the ability to spew toxic breath once it reaches its a.d.u.l.t stage. The breath of the Nundu was so potent and toxic that it could even wipe out entire villages. It is this reason why the Nundu is heralded as one of the most fearsome magical beasts in the world.

Hadrian grabbed Koni, who was paralyzed with fear, away from the Nundu, and towards an Auror that was making his way over to help.

The Auror looked at Hadrian and Koni - eyes wide with panic. He forcefully grabbed their arms and was about to apparate until Hadrian broke free from his grasp. The Auror looked at Hadrian angrily; however, before he could scold him, Hadrian ran off to help Bwezani and Limbani.

The Auror scowled and took off, ignoring Koni's tearful cries that pleaded Hadrian to come back.

"Hadrian!", Limbani shouted once he saw him approaching, "Why haven't you left?!".

"I'm helping.", Hadrian declared resolutely.

Bwezani heard this and shouted, "Do you wish to die early?!".

Hadrian ignored him and drew his wand. He then began peppering the Nundu with spells, both the regular duelling spells and the spells from Merlin's Grimoire.

During the duelling tournament, Hadrian could only use 2 spells from Merlin's grimoire, but now Hadrian could use 5 - and with a great degree of control too.

He shouted, "Scorchi!". A large red ball of heat emerged from the tip of Hadrian's wand and began steadily increasing in size.

Bwezani watched intently as Hadrian prepared his spell, whilst simultaneously attempting to hold back the Nundu. It was extremely taxing on the 3 wizards; they had to circle the Nundu whilst hitting it with spells to take its attention away from the wizard it was closest to. It didn't help that the Nundu was a little bit spell resistant, and required powerful spells or conjurations to harm it.

Once Hadrian's scorch spell reached a large enough size, he shouted, "Duplaro!".

The ball of heat split into 5 different spheres. Hadrian then began to pour more of his magic into the spell, increasing the size of the 5 scorching balls.

Bwezani and Limbani watched the masterful display of casting, wondering if they could have ever been able to perform such a feat at Hadrian's age.

"We'll give you an opening, make sure it's ready!", shouted Bwezani, who was frantically waving his hands and casting a large variety of magic at the Nundu. It was being barraged by stunning spells, swords conjured from the ground, and ropes that attempted to tie its legs together.

The Nundu darted towards Hadrian who narrowly dodged it as it lunged at Hadrian, teeth bared and ready to chomp into him. Hadrian's dodge wasn't completely flawless, as the Nundu managed to scratch Hadrian's side with the spikes surrounding its face and body. The made a trail of cuts originating from his cheek to his hip.

Hadrian's skin was cut heavily, even with his dragonlord constitution, the Nundu's spikes were very strong and capable of even piercing through an average wizard's face. Luckily, Hadrian was only left with bleeding cuts - which whilst he was still in danger of having an infection or feeling faint from blood loss, was not fatal.

"Get ready!", Limbani shouted.

Hadrian continued pouring his magic, whilst jumping swiftly over the Nundu's tail.

"...NOW!", Bwezani shouted as he slammed his palms into the ground, causing a massive ditch to appear underneath the Nundu.

Hadrian threw the fiery orbs at the Nundu, pelting its side, back, and front as soon as it fell in. The Nundu let out a deafening screech as its skin charred under the immense heat.

Bwezani and Limbani took the second after Hadrian's attack ceased to tie it with the spell 'Incarcerous'. Ropes wrapped around the young Nundu's legs tightly, preventing it from moving.

Hadrian touched the skin where he was cut heavily, wincing under the sensation. He was feeling quite light-headed at this point, so he fell backward and landed on his rear.

Hadrian propped himself up on his elbows, as the Aurors continued patrolling the area. Spells were still being shot around, but not nearly as much as before.

A few minutes later, Hadrian heard three familiar cracks, which announced the last of the trouble-making wizards' departure.

Bwezani briskly made his way to Hadrian, crouching as he held his torso up with his arm. He then raised his hand and shot out a red flare with a wordless 'Periculum' spell.

"Why on earth didn't you leave?", Bwezani spoke as they both waited for the healers to reach Hadrian.

Hadrian shrugged, "Is Koni alright?"

Bwezani looked at Hadrian intently, "She's fine.", he replied.

Hadrian nodded, assured that she had reached somewhere safe.

They sat in silence for a while until Hadrian asked a question he'd been thinking about the duration of the fight, "Who were they?..."

Bwezani's eyes darkened, "Necromancers."

Hadrian tilted his head to the side in confusion, "What were they doing here?"

Bwezani looked at Hadrian before sighing and answering, "They came here because this area has a large concentration of wizards and witches. They rarely ever target such public areas so we're just as confused as you.", he said - pausing momentarily before continuing, "The wards were compromised...as was security. They needed...sacrifices, but why now? Why so desperate?".

Bwezani said the last part of the conversation to himself, too wrapped up in his thoughts to remember that he was around Hadrian.

"I am here, I am here!", Dr. Saku shouted as he ran towards Hadrian, a large briefcase in hand.

Dr. Sanku knelt before Hadrian and hovered his hands over his cuts. He then began chanting in that language he used when Hadrian received is Focus Tattoos. Dr. Sanku's hands began glowing bright red as he traced the cuts, going back and forth as sweat drops began to form on his forehead.

A few minutes passed, and Hadrian's cuts were closed. Dr. Sanku then opened his briefcase, dug his hand in, and muttered, "Pain relief potion."

A red vial flew into his hand, which he then gave to Hadrian to drink. Hadrian downed the potion as Dr. Sanku turned to address Bwezani, "Hello, Headmaster. Sorry for not acknowledging you sooner, the Healer Code requires me to place the needs of my patients above all else."

Bwezani chuckled, "It's fine, I'd rather you do your job than talk to me."

Dr. Sanku smiled in response before clamping his briefcase shut and walking away, probably to heal another casualty.

As he was walking away, Bwezani asked, "How many?"

Without turning around Bwezani replied, "Too many.", before jogging over to an Auror who was frantically waving his hands in a manner that said, 'Come here!'.

Bwezani then turned his attention to Hadrian and said, "You did well. That was an amazing display of battle magic."

Hadrian smiled and nodded, "I know."

Bwezani then reached under Hadrian's arms and lifted him, "Are you fit for apparition?"

Hadrian shook his limbs as he steadied himself, "I'll be fine."

Bwezani then grabbed Hadrian's shoulder and with a loud 'crack', whisked him back to Uagadou.

With another resounding 'crack', Hadrian and Bwezani had reached the Headmaster's office. It seemed that all the teachers had gathered and were awaiting the Headmaster because as soon as they arrived they began to pepper the poor man with an array of questions.

Bwezani attempted to placate them but they proved relentless, and after participating in the subjugation of a powerful magical beast and finding out that a good number of his students were killed, he did not have the patience to deal with them.

"Enough!", he belted before turning to Hadrian, "Hadrian, leave us. I'll talk to you tomorrow morning."

Hadrian nodded as the teachers looked at Hadrian in surprise, having only seen the boy after the Headmaster addressed him.

Hadrian walked out of the room, content to leave and wishing he was in his bed.

As Hadrian turned the corridor that housed his room, he saw Koni sitting at the foot of his door.

"Koni?", Hadrian spoke, alerting the girl.

Koni instantly jumped up and darted towards Hadrian, spearing him with a tight hug when she reached him.

"Hadrian! You're okay!", she said, shoulders trembling as tears began to stain Hadrian's shirt.

"I'm fine.", Hadrian replied.

He looked at Koni. Her eyes were puffy and red as if she had been crying for a long time.

Koni stayed within Hadrian's embrace as he held her gently.