"Irene may we have use of your office for a brief interval?" Dippet asked a frown still present on his face. The Aurors had brought the letter they had anonymously received, and the writing was familiar enough that he knew who had sent it. Albus had tried to hide his most obvious handwriting traits, but he wasn't anyone and was very familiar with his deputy Headmasters writing, the way he looped the y, g and a was extremely telling. He didn't understand why he would write such a disgusting letter, Tom was just a young boy, and he had seen how desolate and pale he had become upon reading the newspaper. He felt awful at the way the young orphan had found out about his family. Now this? Albus accusing the lad of having something to do with it when it was obvious what had happened. No he was quite frankly flummoxed at what Albus was doing, and he was very disappointed that he would mark Tom's name on a feeble suspicion. He wasn't sure whether to call Albus out on it or let the matter rest and keep an eye on things. If Albus kept this vindictive streak against a fifteen year old student it meant he truly wasn't the best bet for being his deputy headmaster. It had been in his thoughts especially after Albus giving three years worth of homework to Hadrian, a boy who had been tortured and hurt beyond his comprehension.
"Of course, it's empty at the moment, go on through," Irene Chang said, happy enough to let the Headmaster and Aurors use her office.
"Tom?" the Headmaster said as he approached the teenager's bed, "Do you have a minute to speak with the Aurors?"
"Now why would the Auror's need to speak with my student?" Horace demanded before Tom could reply, eyes narrowed as if he sensed a threat against his snakes.
"We need to ask him a few questions," Auror Aaron Moody said trying to soothe the irate teacher who had his arms on his hips looking to protest loudly.
"Not without my presence, I am his head of house and he is my ward while he is within these walls," Horace replied immediately none of his suspicion leaving him.
"He's correct of course," Dippet confirmed it was in the rules, "Legally you cannot speak to him without his head of house and the headmaster present."
"Why do you need to talk to him at all?" Hadrian asked, already knowing the answer but knowing that any friend would ask that exact question.
"It's a private matter, we merely need his help," Prewitt commented, they weren't in the business of revealing private details of everyone's lives or worse questioning them in front of others. They weren't legally allowed to reveal any information to anyone actually unless they were directly involved. He could feel the eyes of all the students boring into him, all trying to listen in on what was revealed so they could gossip about it.
Tom gracefully moved out of the bed, standing up without a single sign that the Dementors had even affected him, and perhaps they had not. He rounded the bed and stalked over to the office, looking as if he was the one doing the leading, much to the amusement of the adults, who of course, assumed Tom, was just eager to get this over with.
Horace was the first to walk after Tom, and quickly got enough seats conjured for everyone who would be at this little meeting. His mind whirling, wondering what on earth they would need Tom's 'help' for, not that he believed it was to 'help' them there was something going on and he wanted to get to the bottom of it quickly.
"Now what is this about? Tom needs to rest, he's had quite an eventful class this morning," Slughorn said imperiously, sitting up straight and staring at the Aurors.
"Just a few questions," Prewitt said, trying once more to calm Slughorn down.
"What do you need to know?" Tom asked staring at the Aurors, his face set in a serene mask, keeping his suspicion and fury tucked away. If Hadrian was right and Dumbledore had done this, he was going to make sure the old fool paid for this. Dumbledore couldn't have any proof whatsoever, yet he'd called on the Aurors? On HIM! Calming himself, Hadrian's voice echoed in his mind that he could do this. Of course he could, he'd charmed almost everyone he had met. He knew what others thought of him, 'brilliant but parentless, so brave and a model student' even Horace knew he was going to go places in society.
"Do you know Tom Riddle Senior?" Moody asked getting straight to it.
"It depends on your definition of know, sir," Tom said smoothly, his dark eyes gazing earnestly into the Aurors.
"Have you ever met him?" Moody corrected himself, feeling right a right idiot for doing this.
"No, sir," Tom said quietly, looking down at his feet giving a little sniff, "I had intended on looking for him once the war was over and I had graduated Hogwarts. I had no idea if he was alive or not, all I had to go on was my birth certificate which listed him as my father. I grew up in an orphanage you see, and I assumed at first that my father was a wizard, but using my name I looked up the school paper archives to find any mention of them, but there was no Riddle's mentioned, but I did find a mention of Marvolo, I believe he might be my grandfather, unfortunately he died many years ago." bringing up his status always made people feel sorry for him.
Moody shifted uncomfortably, "Have you ever met Morfin Gaunt?"
"No, sir, he is my…uncle but I never met any of my family, it's just recently I found the newspaper on him, I had plans to visit during the summer…" Tom said his face coming up, a look of sadness in his eyes, "If I had gone sooner…maybe this wouldn't have happened and I might have gotten to know my family now they're all gone."
"Not quite," Prewitt couldn't help but feel sorry for him, judging by what they'd unearthed during the course of their investigation it was a good thing Tom hadn't confronted Morfin Gaunt, not only was he crazy but he was a pureblood fanatic, there was every chance Morfin could have killed the teen. Not that he would reveal that titbit, let the boy live with his hopes and dreams, no need to tell him something nasty when he had grown up without family. "You do have your parental grandparents, they live in Little Hangleton." the fighting between Morfin and Tom Riddle had been ongoing for years, they had been called out numerous times to Obliviate the muggle so he didn't remember magic being cast on him by Morfin Gaunt. It was an open and shut case, he really shouldn't be here. The note was obviously from someone who was trying to stir up trouble.
"Oh," Tom muttered, wondering when this interview was going to be over, it seemed to him that even the Aurors didn't want to be here.
"One last question then we can let you get some rest," Moody informed the dazed teen, "Where we you on New Years Eve?"
"New Years Eve? Celebrating my birthday with my friends in our common room, me and Hadrian left just before midnight… to go to our dorms." Tom said with exaggerated innocently.
"I trust you are done interrogating a fifteen year old wizard," Horace stated sharply, furious with them, he knew what they were accusing Tom of, how could he not? They weren't exactly being subtle about it.
"We are, sorry for interrupting," Prewitt said seriously, both Aurors vacating their seats solemnly.
"What exactly do you think I did?" Tom asked standing up when the Auror's did, as if he finally understood the meaning behind the questions.
"Nothing, absolutely nothing," Prewitt said firmly, "We were merely obligated to ask a few questions."
Armando Dippet shifted just slightly extremely uncomfortable; he knew the real reason why Tom had been asked those questions. To say he wasn't happy with his deputy headmaster was putting it very lightly indeed.
"You did think I had done something though, right?" Tom queried. "Is there a way to prove that I didn't…I don't want any blemishes in my record…" he had never even served detention, he was much too careful for it.
"Actually there is a way," Dippet mused thoughtfully, "May we see your wand, Tom?" the Headmaster proceeded to ask.
Tom didn't want to hand his wand over, the thought of anyone touching it made him really angry. He didn't like anyone (Hadrian being the obvious exception) touching anything that belonged to him. Nonetheless he handed his wand over, already aware of what the Headmaster was about to do and his would truly eradicate any and all suspicion which was completely fine with him.
Armando Dippet quickly used the reversal spell that showed all the spells that Tom had used and the date they had been used. They only went back as far as they needed to go, and other than class spells, his wand had absolutely nothing worthy of note come from it. Satisfaction thrummed through Dippet, he had been right of course, Tom was not guilty, which made him more furious with Dumbledore for the stunt he just pulled. "Here you are, Tom, go on, return to your friends," he urged the teenager, giving the Auror's a severely disappointed look before he too vacated the healers office, the Aurors quickly made themselves scarce as well seeing the look on Slughorn's face.
Tom only partially relaxed fully when he saw the Aurors backs leaving the hospital wing, to say he was on edge would be trivializing things. He knew he was free and in the clear, but the fact Dumbledore had gone to those lengths to try and have him arrested made him wary. He moved back to his bed only to find that Hadrian was either feigning sleep or had actually fallen asleep in the last what? Fifteen minutes. It was difficult to know for sure even though they'd shared the same bed every night since New Year. He had used some strenuous magic, a patronus of all things. Sliding in, he sat on the pillows on his side, content just to sit there. He could see his year mates glancing at him curiously, obviously desperately desiring to ask him questions about what had just happened but not having the guts to do so, especially without gauging his mood. Hearing the Headmaster speaking again, temporarily roused his curiosity, as he glanced up to see him talking with Professor Merrythought. Along way the way realizing that many of the students had already left, mostly the Gryffindors that weren't unconscious, his friends had remained behind waiting on him presumably.
"How are you feeling?" Dippet asked his Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. Being in the presence of a Dementor wasn't the most pleasant experience.
"I'll be fine," Merrythought smiled but it was a bit off, she should have listened to the child, but they had to experience their fears in a safe environment and face them. She wanted to know they could defend themselves against everything, especially Boggarts which can cause paralysis until they got over their fears and fought back.
"You should rest for the day," Dippet informed her, patting her shoulder softly. The teachers were all up in a tizzy, the Transfiguration class and Potions as well as Defence obviously had been cancelled as it was only right that the students get some form of help. "Classes have been cancelled; give you and the students a chance to recuperate."
"What happened? Did one of the students go for help?" Merrythought asked, moving up the bed a little so she was sitting up.
"From what I've pieced together from Cinder it appears as though Hadrian successfully cast a fully fledged patronus to ward off the Boggart-Dementor, Cinder heard the commotion from next door and came to see what was going on, everyone was promptly brought to the Hospital wing for treatment." Dippet informed her.
"A-a-a Fully Fledged Patronus?" Merrythought squeaked, eyes astonishingly large.
"Indeed," Dippet said proudly, Hadrian had come along way, and he was even more happy that his decision to allow him to attend Hogwarts where his gifts were truly flourishing.
"I think a hundred points to Slytherin is in order," Merrythought said. "It seems he was right all along,"
"Right?" Dippet prompted curiously.
"He said that Boggarts were somewhat sentient, considering the fact the Dementor was merely a Boggart we shouldn't have felt the force of its true nature, it gives credence to his idea." Merrythought explained.
"There's always something new to learn," Dippet nodded thoughtfully, and that was the beauty of magic, it was eternal, ever expanding and they still had so much to learn from it. He could just imagine what the wizard world would be like in the next century, how advanced they would be. Especially with wizards like Tom and Hadrian for example, extremely bright and liable to bring the wizarding world to a new age.
"Yes, yes there is," Merrythought agreed.
Tom turned away from the conversation not really interested anymore, that was another hundred points to Slytherin, they were well and truly in the lead now, it would the other houses ages to catch up with them - if they ever could. Slytherin truly was the best house to be in, and this proved it. He noticed Dumbledore's gaudy robes from the corner of his eyes, and pointedly ignored him, knowing he was probably dying of curiosity. He was glad the old fool hadn't been allowed in.
Turning to Hadrian, a soft indiscernible sigh leaving his lips, contrary to how it looked, he had been shaken by the Boggart, seeing Hadrian dead had terrified him to the core, even more than his own death. He would never let it happen, to either of them, he would ensure that. It was only his convictions that had enabled him to cast the spell with his usual amount of confidence.
Before Hadrian had come along he had thought he was happy, but really it had been contentment, that he was slowly but surely gathering his own base, controlling them, manipulating them into doing what he asked them. Not that he had a fight on his hands, they were all too eager to do whatever it is he asked. He'd never been interested in a relationship either, nobody had interested him the slightest, they were all predictable within a few days, and while they were quite powerful they were nowhere near his level. He'd never been interested in just sitting down and talking to the others. Their constant whining about Muggle-born's doing better than them, or how their parents were forcing them to go to a party or Ministry function and how terribly boring it was. He knew he needed them so he had silently endured it, they would help him with his plans in the long run, over the years they'd learned when he didn't want to listen to them and shut the hell up.
Then along came Hadrian, powerful, smart and mysterious, could give him a run for his money and more importantly was more Slytherin than anyone else bar him. The unfamiliar feelings began to creep up on him, wanting to talk to him, keep him close, and keep him safe. Possessiveness he knew, but only to material items never with a person and never so strongly. The thought of anyone ever touching him caused his magic to wreak havoc within him. Along the way he had taught him a thing or two, not just him but the whole of Slytherin house. He cared very much about him, but he wasn't sure how Hadrian felt about him in turn...he had never once brought up the idea of bonding again. He was trying to give him time to decide, to bring it up himself but he was running low on patience.
Dumbledore had tried to ruin that, ruin it for them, for him, his eyes darkened considerably, he would find a way to make him pay.
"Hadrian? Hadrian, come on, wake up," Tom whispered giving him a little shake to wake him up.
"Hmm, wazzit?" Hadrian murmured, his bleary green eyes opening staring at Tom in disorientated confusion. He'd fallen asleep? Red splashed across his face as embarrassment flowed through him. The patronus used to take a lot out of him, but not anymore, or rather it shouldn't have, this new body wasn't used to the strain, and he hadn't immediately banished it hence it had soaked up more of his magic.
"Let's go, you can sleep in the dorm, or common room, we do not need to attend any classes for the rest of the day," Tom said, watching the red flush on Hadrian's cheeks in fascination, that was a first, and he found it extremely alluring and hoped he would get to see it again one day. Right now he just wanted to get them away from Dumbledore the further the better in his opinion.
"Alright," Hadrian agreed, muffling a yawn, as he wobbly stepped out of bed.
"Perhaps Mr. Peverell, you should remain in the Hospital wing until you recover and let your friends head out?" Dumbledore said with deceptive mildness, he wished for nothing more than to rush off after Horace and find out what had happened with the Auror's, had they not used the spell on his wand? They should have, it would have showed his guilt without a doubt. So yes, he really did want to know what happened, unfortunately Horace had furiously stormed out of the hospital wing, having previously ensured all his Slytherin's were well.
"I'll be fine," Hadrian said curtly swaying just a little, not in the mood for Dumbledore's false concern. He suspected Dumbledore wanted that time to talk to him, but would he hell. He felt arms wrapping around his midsection and pull him close, he didn't even need to look to know it was Tom staking his claim. He was grateful for it nonetheless, as he didn't feel safe on his feet at the moment, now that the adrenaline had worn off.
Together they both began to leave the hospital wing; the other Slytherin friends had their back and walked out together. They were positively bursting with questions they wanted to ask, but they stretched their pureblood decorum to the max as they suppressed their desire for answers at least until they got to their common room. They occasionally glanced at one another knowingly; it seemed like forever before they reached the portrait and quickly called out the password and clambered in after Tom and Hadrian.
"Accio Hadrian's blanket," Tom summoned Hadrian's favourite throw, something he had gotten him for his Christmas. It didn't just have the Slytherin emblem for Hogwarts but Salazar Slytherin's personal crest, he had at that point particularly declared that Hadrian was his husband to be, what could he say? He wanted everyone aware that Hadrian was off limits to them. He wasn't sure whether Hadrian understood it or not, while he knew a lot some information, it was the whole pureblood scene he was sorely lacking. He would see to it that he knew and understood everything though before they left Hogwarts. It was fluffy and soft, and Hadrian seemed to love it, he certainly slept with it every night. He found it amusing, or had, until he realized that Hadrian had never had a proper blanket or duvet growing up, and well the covers at Hogwarts weren't his, the blanket was and if anyone tried anything with it, he wouldn't want to be in the same room with them. There was also the fact he'd never been given anything personal or that he really liked as a gift that wasn't tarnished with betrayal. He had vowed there and then that Hadrian would never experience anything like that again; he would protect him from everything and everyone.
Hadrian plopped himself down, wrapping the throw around him and snuggling into the couch, Tom moved him so his head was on his knee, and he was still feeling out of sorts. He could smell himself and Tom on the blanket and it soothed him for some weird reason. He was drowsily falling back asleep, the feel of the flames pleasantly against his skin from the fire in the fireplace.
"How the hell did you manage to cast a fully fledged patronus!" Thaddeus blurted out as he sat down, still reeling from that.
"By pointing my wand, moving it in a circular motion and saying 'Expecto Patronum'," Hadrian said dryly, eyes still closed, the feeling of Tom's fingers carding through his hair, he knew it was probably more for Tom's sake than his, he had no doubt the Boggart had affected him more than he was letting on.
"But Dark wizards can't cast it," Lestrange said his voice hushed, as if he was talking about a forbidden subject.
Hadrian sniggered before it became a full blown laugh; it exhausted him tremendously, so he had to force himself to stop, "Where did you get that idea from?"
"A dark wizard once cast it…and he was consumed with maggots. It killed him; dark wizards can't cast that spell." Thaddeus continued on.
Hadrian scoffed, "Lies, anyone can cast that damn spell if they have the power for it, the power being a pure untarnished memory, one strong enough to cast a fully fledged patronus. I'm dark and as you can see, I didn't get eaten by a bunch of maggots. Some stupid idiot of a light wizard probably came up with the rumour, 'Oh look at me, I can't be a dark wizard I can cast a patronus,' no, its nonsense. Maggots, Patronus' also serve a secondary use, you can use it to send message."
"Messages? How?" Carrow couldn't help but scoff at the absurdity.
"Go up the stairs," Hadrian said, his tone going dark, "That's the third time I've been laughed at today and it's pissing me off," he growled. Tom glared at them all in warning; he wouldn't tolerate it much longer either. Nobody laughed at Hadrian and got away with it, he would find a way to make Carrow regret that.
Carrow gulped visibly, eyes wide, he decided against not going, he didn't want to piss Hadrian off anymore than he already was right now. He fled up the stairs as quickly as his two feet would carry him, waiting patiently for what? He honestly had no idea. Then a few seconds later he jumped when the Jackal patronus appeared through the wall startling him badly. He was glad he was alone; otherwise he would never have heard the end of it. 'Come back down,' it said in Hadrian's voice! Carrow stayed there dumbstruck despite the fact it disappeared again, only once he'd gotten over the shock did he stumble blindly back down. "That was bloody amazing!" he managed to get out through his shock and awe.
Hadrian just shrugged, he'd mostly done it out of spite since Dumbledore had been the one to twist the use of the Patronus to messenger. Now he couldn't claim that, just one of the many things he would be screwing up for the old fool.
"Did you come up with that?" Tom whispered quietly into Hadrian's ear, his fingers still carding through Hadrian's hair, it was a very addictive feeling.
"No, Dumbledore," Hadrian whispered, and despite his whisper the vindictive satisfaction in his voice and on his face was obvious.
"What about not wishing to take others accomplishes away from them?" Tom said chuckling at his devious partner.
"He's an exception, the obvious exception," Hadrian sneered thinking about the old fool, shivering at the dark chuckle he heard, Merlin how could a simple chuckle do wicked things to his thoughts and body? It was utterly ridiculous. "You do know the Jackal represented you don't you? I don't remember much about the animals in the patronus section, but I remember enough to realize that it represents you." quite obvious really, Tom was his only real connection here except Death of course, and the other Slytherin's but they were just friends, Tom was different obviously.
"I know," Tom said in smug satisfaction, his eyes glowed as he stared at Hadrian, oh he knew from the second he realized what it was who it had represented.
Hadrian rolled his eyes, "Of course, I've just helped stroke your ego further," he teased, nudging him lightly, sighing softly Merlin he was just too tired. His eyes closed, and he fell asleep listening to the rumbling of Tom's chest and the distant sound of the others chattering quietly.