Harry Potter And The Androgynous Lover's Seduction

Septimus and Tom had tried to engage Hadrian into a talk but the other person was lost in his own thoughts and would reply to them half-heartedly. So, they stopped trying to bring him into the conversation and enjoyed the train ride with sweets off the trolley and talking about different classes they had in common or their opinions about the professors.

A few hours later, the train reached the platform nine and three quarters

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Hadrian said a quick goodbye to Riddle and Malfoy. He saw his father standing on the platform along with his siblings and he couldn't help but give them a grin.

With hurried footsteps, Hadrian walked towards them. As soon as he reached them, his father gave him a pat on the shoulder and the twins pounced upon him.

Hadrian gave a quick kiss to Cygnus while he twirled Elladora who giggled at his antics. Hadrian knew the little girl loved being picked up and twirled - she felt that it was a demonstration that he loved her more than her twin.

However, the truth of the matter was that it wasn't good to play with Cygnus like that. The boy was rather inclined to learn flying on a broomstick from his brother than being twirled like that. He felt it too girlish.

Oh, but how he had missed these two when he was away from home.

Soon enough his father had taken out the Portkey that would drop them at the threshold of The Black Manor in Derbyshire and the group of four whirled around in a twist of black nothingness before they arrived in a field of snow all around them.

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The Magicals went through seven maturities in their life span.

On their first birthday - when it could be ascertained whether a child was magical or squib.

On their seventh birthday - when it could be ascertained where they would fall on the Magical Power Scale and only a handful had ever breached the results shown on their second maturity and the constraints that result put on them.

The Third Maturity a magical child went through was on their Eleventh Birthday. It was the day when half of their magical core opened up and their magic started flowing through their veins and blood - which was the reason why the magical schools started after a child turned Eleven.

The Fourth Maturity happened on a person's Fourteenth Birthday - they could access all the active magic present in their core. It was due to this reason that the magical children were allowed to go through the Heir Ritual after they turned fourteenth and access their family magic and go to The Wizengamot to be recognised as the next Lord of their house.

The Fifth Maturity occurred when a person turned Twenty-One. At their Twenty-first birthday, sometimes a person gained access to their latent magic - any dormant traits that could be activated if at all, happened on this day and the magicals gained the extreme control required to keep a tight leash over their hereditary magic - Metamorphamagus, Vella Magic, Siren Calling etc.

This was the reason that the ministry cautioned the magicals from going to the muggle world with a child who had any of the aforementioned traits because before their fifth maturity a magical didn't have complete control over their abilities.

The Sixth Maturity happened when one reached the age of Thirty-five. At this age, the magical core would completely m.a.t.u.r.e and the magic had completely mixed in with the blood of the said person. This was the reason why any Lords or Ladies never let anyone have any access to their blood.

It wasn't only The Blood Letting and Blood Calling that can be done with a m.a.t.u.r.ed core's blood, it could even be used to take nefarious actions against a complete magical clan using their Lord's blood which had traces of the said bloodline mixed in.

The Last and Final Maturity appeared on a wizard's or witches Forty-Second Birthday. By that time the magic had completely settled in their bodies and wouldn't ever leak out until they did it deliberately to intimidate someone and a person could declare themselves - Light, Grey or Dark after that.

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This was the reason that children under the age of Eleven were never allowed to be Side-Apparated. They could only use Portkeys, The Floo Network or The Knight Bus.

Anyways, The Blacks celebrated The Winter Solistice and it's Eleven Days at The Black Manor rather than at 12, Grimmauld Place because The Black Manor was the traditional seat of their family and the linchpin of their magic.

Hadrian Black looked towards The Black Manor and could feel its hum of magic. The magic was soothing in a different way than that of Lady Hogwarts.

Lady Hogwart's magic was all-encompassing and benevolent to all in equal measure - it had a tinge of a mother sheltering her children no matter their past mistakes or their future endeavours.

However, The Black Manor's Magic had a different feel to it. It felt like a soldier standing at attention - as if ever ready to shield its occupants from those with blackened hearts and as if it would attack people with malignant thoughts at a moment's notice.

Hadrian shivered at the pleasant sensation as the magic touched him and the others. He also saw that his father's face ease into a discernible smile while looking at the sprawling manor - assured and confident in The Black Manor's magic to let down his mask and be a normal magical enjoying the warmth of home.

After all, for magical's the warmth of a home wasn't just a metaphorical idiom.