Chapter 10: Reorientation
Adrian Selwyn woke up to soft light drifting through his window over his sheets and his face, as well as the sound of something outside exploding.
The boy rolled his eyes, groaning against the light although he rose. The sheets were pushed back and he slid out of the bed with little resistance. The aged floorboards creaked slightly under his feet.
"Not morning. Still rest," Lutain argued quietly, still coiled on his magically heated stone near the wardrobe.
"For you. I'm not that lucky," Adrian corrected, yawning while opening the large wardrobe to select the outfit for the day.
Adrian Lestrange, his name practically a nickname to the actual legal name registered with the ministry: Hadrianus Selwyn, a name that evidently had some sort of latin prefix and suffix root word meaning he wasn't aware of. He didn't care. The name was similar enough to Harry that it wouldn't be questioned if any mistakes happened.
There was a sense of...relief, that accompanied his name changing legally and secretly in the ministry of magic archive. He was… he wasn't part of the Potters anymore; he was completely separated.
And then Bella dragged him out of bed months ago in the middle of the night, nearly having Lutain bite her if not for Nagini arriving and hissing something to the small lethal serpent.
Adrian, still practically asleep, hadn't understood what was going on. He flailed, shouted, and set fire to a few things (which Bella found absolutely adorable, the sadist she was).
When he came to after being stunned, he was given a potion and a ritual knife he was apparently supposed to drag across his palm.
Adrian hadn't quite understood but, somehow through the loud rambles and Bella's excited squeals, he had managed to grasp the basics that it was some sort of blood adoption- something to physically alter his features. Adrian was aware he looked identical to his renowned father. It was inconvenient. The blood adoption was supposed to change that.
Adrian knew that he was useful; they wouldn't outright kill him. He was important, or necessary for plans he hadn't quite understood yet. So he did what was expected, and drank whatever concoction Bella had given him.
It was certainly strange, Adrian thought later, that he possessed absolutely no physical features of either of the Lestranges after the ritual was over. His features were delicate. He had high, aristocratic cheekbones. His eyes were large and framed with dark, medium lashes, and he had a thin nose and sharp jaw. His hair was straight with an almost blueish hue in bright lighting.
Bellatrix had apparently been stunned and nearly obsessive when Adrian had returned from the blood adoption ritual. It wasn't until Nagini had commented on his hair that it clicked just who had adopted him.
Adrian wretched himself sick.
That was the night when Harry James Potter became Hadrianus "Adrian" Selwyn.
"Can I have a mouse?" Lutain yawned, jarring Adrian's attention back to the here and now. The little snake unhinged his jaw with a snap of cartilage.
"Maybe," Harry mused, watching as Lutain's tongue flickered in understanding. He had been working on teaching Lutain English, it was useful for spying on others.
Harry grabbed a change of clothing, sliding into the shirt and trousers.
He heard another crash from outside, causing him to peer out grudgingly.
Well, nothing was broken, or on fire.
"Master, time to go?" Lutain asked, rising and wavering in the air. Adrian turned, reaching down with his left arm where Lutain coiled loosely around the wrist and pulled himself up his arm up towards Adrian's shoulders.
The two descended the large although poorly maintained stairs, sliding around the loose railing to pad towards the kitchen where platters of food had already been prepared, courtesy of the house elf.
Rodolphus, seated at the nearby table, didn't bother to look up when Adrian kicked out a nearby chair and dropped into it.
"We have business." Rodolphus muttered, not looking up from his paper. Instead he flipped through it, reading intently a section Adrian had not the patience or interest to care about.
"Don't you always?" Adrian muttered under his breath, glancing under his darkened straight bangs, noticing the slight quirk of the elder man's mouth.
"That we do," He agreed without showing actual interest. "Bella's out with someone from the ministry."
"Torturing?" Adrian guessed dryly, poking at the now mangled contents of his breakfast. Rodolphus neither confirmed nor denied it. It was a rhetorical question anyway.
With his eleventh birthday only a few weeks away, Adrian Selwyn was getting used to the new dynamic of his house. Although archaic and ghastly with few, if any, morals, it was immeasurably better than the tainted memories of the orphanage or the Dursleys.
At first it had horrified him and made him sick to his stomach, made him lock himself away from the rest of the people who lived here. No amount of coaxing or cooing from Bellatrix could convince him to open the enchanted door.
It had taken a week and the only reason he left was the house elf's inability to bring a mouse alongside his meals. Lutain was ravenous. Bellatrix had made a peace offering of a living chipmunk.
Bellatrix was eccentric and sickeningly cruel, but sometimes, randomly, she could be so affectionate and agreeable that it was...comforting. In her own way, she was endearing and each compliment she managed to casually give made Adrian warm up to her just a little bit more.
'Your eyes are like the killing curse. They're amazing.'
Minor things continuously managed to leave Adrian unsure, wavering and internally conflicted on how he should feel. After a year, he stopped caring. After a year, he started liking it.
Bellatrix was probably insane, she was a terrible mother (heaven forbid Adrian ever think of her as his actual mother), but she was so much better. "Hello!" Bellatrix exclaimed, throwing the door open hard enough to crack into the plaster on the opposite side of the hinges. Adrian didn't look up, the sound was quite common.
Bellatrix moved over to the food platters, giggling to herself as she mangled pancakes between her fingers.
"You have a mission?" Adrian asked, not bothering to look behind him. She drifted over to the table. She was wearing an outfit that at one point must have been fairly expensive. Now though it was stained with blood and torn in places, exposing the pale skin in some places.
"Yes!" She hissed out with delight, her eyes lighting up with manic glee that he had come to associate with her. Adrian barely blinked at it. "He has a task for us!"
Which honestly wasn't unexpected at this point.
"Anything new?" Adrian asked quietly, spearing a bit of fruit a lot more forcefully than necessary using his fork.
Adrian had learned of his own task. Bubbling through his blood and seared into his mind with the branding imprint of scales and rhythmic pulsating of 'Dumbledore... Dumbledore... Dumbledore...' His mission was quite obvious and easy to interpret: he was to spy on Dumbledore and not get caught.
Easier said than done, Adrian thought.
"I have this new curse," Bellatrix gushed, flopping into a nearby chair and twisting her features into an unhinged grin.
Adrian grimaced and absentmindedly rubbed his upper left arm, where a thin white scar had been ingrained in his skin. Bellatrix noticed the movement and pouted as only she could, crossing her arms disappointed. "That was an accident!"
"It was fully intentional and you know that," Adrian snapped back. Bellatrix wavered before grudgingly agreeing.
Rodolphus rolled his eyes, well-used to the almost psychotic interactions of his unstable 'family.'
"Why don't you take the boy to get a new book of curses," Rodolphus sighed, finally glancing up with disguised amusement. "Merlin knows he'll learn more than whatever you teach him."
Bellatrix continued to pout, plucked a toast soldier from Adrian's plate and ate it obnoxiously.
It was true, Adrian did enjoy books. It hadn't also taken long for Rodolphus and Bellatrix to realize just how fascinated he was with magical creatures. Rabastan came to visit with a runespoor one day. It made terrible conversation - its multiple heads kept arguing with each other - but it also kept Adrian's attention.
"New book?" Lutain hissed interestedly, peering out from under Adrian's clothing to slither lazily across the table. "More rats?"
"Is there a store for rats?" Adrian sighed, stroking one finger down Lutain's dark back.
"Magical Menagerie in Diagon Alley," Rodolphus drawled, "Varmint and Underden in Knockturn."
Adrian gave a short nod, looking at Bellatrix who hummed and tapped her chin dramatically with one black tipped manicured nail. "Ooh, I could go to Knockturn."
"Good, then we're going," Adrian announced, standing upright and holding one arm out. "Lutain?"
Bellatrix's face split with an infectious smile as it always did when he spoke Parseltongue. Lutain obliged, sliding upwards and around his forearm under his shirt sleeve.
"Set up an account with Underden, they'll send you things on schedule to Hogwarts," Rodolphus grunted, looking like he may say more before falling silent and saying nothing else.
Adrian didn't mind, he could figure it out on his own.
Diagon Alley was crowded with students already shopping for goods before the list for Hogwarts was even sent out. Children, only slightly older or younger than himself, bustled about with their wizarding parents, urging at them to get a wand before the muggleborn rush. Adrian had already gotten his months before, holly and phoenix feather.
He had also invested in a bird for messages, something faster and stronger than the everyday owl. A gyrfalcon, a beautiful white bird with markings like a snowy owl. Her eyes were golden and intelligent. Adrian named her Hedwig.
Hedwig had already proven her worth; she had claimed the highest nest of the Lestrange owelry. She ate mice and sometimes hunted extra for Lutain.
"Alright, Adrian, I'll be in Knockturn. You know what to do," Bellatrix spoke under her breath with a hushed voice. Bellatrix gave him a manic grin, her eyes lighting up, as she passed along a bulging coin purse. Although not pinned down by the ministry, it was common knowledge that she was a strong follower of the Dark. Along with her husband and brother-in-law, Bellatrix tended to avoid places like Diagon Alley and the ministry regulations that came with them.
"Follow the smoke," Adrian said dryly, arching one eyebrow as Bellatrix giggled. She pulled her hood down lower and slunk off in the direction of the poorly-lit Knockturn Alley.
Adrian could get most of his Hogwarts shopping done now. He turned sharply, eying most of the stores along the strip and only sidestepping when a bustling family tried to force their way past. He was fairly certain that he already owned the necessary books for first year, although possibly not, given the fact the Defense Against the Dark Art's position was 'cursed.'
(Bellatrix had laughed openly while telling him the story.)
Although, Adrian could use another trunk, the one he had owned was, according to his understanding, buried under ash and remnants of a collapsed building.
"Mice!" Lutain hissed, writhing excitedly towards the depths of Knockturn alley, undoubtedly ravenous for anything he could get.
Adrian sighed, glancing once more down the busy streets of Diagon before smoothly turning and walking into the much darker alleyways of Knockturn.
Lutain slithered out, finding his place of comfort around Adrian's neck. His presence proved intimidating and almost immediately several old hags with greedy looks backed away frightened. Lutain's sharp fangs and loud hiss deterred most creatures.
Adrian absentmindedly ducked under one side stall advertising loudly about what looked like engraved skulls- a few even looked human.
"I want to check the bookstore," Adrian hissed lowly, the action didn't seem that strange with the collection of vampires in the area. "Would you like to get the mice first?"
"After," Lutain decided, flicking his tongue curiously. "Mice make me slow."
It was true, Lutain tended to lapse into a near comatose though happy state of mind after a large meal.
Adrian turned the corner, walking past a loud pub called the White Wyvern and then past an archaic barber shop. A tall imposing store with cobweb-filled windows rested on the corner, large enough to stand out in the tightly packed Alley.
Cobb and Webb's was a large ambiguous store, selling books as well as other fascinating objects. Its book selection was vast and impressive, drawing Adrian's attention as it had on his first introduction to Knockturn Alley and multiple times after.
The storekeeper was an old man with pupiless white eyes, though that didn't inhibit his ability to see. He had a large smile, mouth extending a centimeter past the limits of a normal grin. Adrian did not know what sort of creature he was, nor did he particularly care.
Adrian was not alone in the store. He walked straight towards the bookshelves and past an uncomfortable older boy a few years Adrian's senior. The boy jumped, looking around paranoid before quickly returning to the book he had plucked from the shelf. Adrian could only assume that it was something most others would call illegal.
Adrian walked past, his shoes still gave the small clicking noise despite having been bought several years past. The sound was loud and quickly drew the older boy's paranoid eyes once again.
The bookshelf Adrian had visited before left him with a thick tome, a list of various spells although all were fairly neutral and unspecialized. Bellatrix had gotten him more books since then, casually filled with darker hexes and curses then anything Adrian would buy on his own.
He smiled at the shelf, recognizing the small cracks in the wood and the distinct prock marks he remembered. The shelf wasn't restocked, most of the books weren't purchased from a publisher to begin with. Most likely they were donated or sold from pure blood families, Adrian suspected there wasn't a single duplicate in the store.
"Master!" Lutain suddenly urged, poking up and out of his sleeve. His tongue flickered wildly, tasting the air hungrily. "I smell a rat."
Without any further cue Adrian lowered his arm and enabled Lutain to drop freely to the ground in pursuit of the vermin.
Adrian had been flipping through the pages of an interesting book on mind magics, when he heard a loud shout. Undoubtedly Lutain had scared the teenager who had been browsing a few rows over.
Adrian sighed, snapping his book shut in annoyance while he stomped towards the ruckus. Lutain was indeed scaring the teenager from earlier, putting on a dramatic show of hisses and tight coils.
The sadist was even laughing at how terrified the boy was, though only Adrian could understand it.
"Lutain," Adrian bit out, looking thoroughly frustrated as the teenager's head snapped in his direction. "Stop it. Find the rat or come here."
Lutain understood the gist of it, thankfully due to Adrian's tedious English lessons. Lutain returned to a low coil before he slithered out of sight. The teenager glared pointedly at Adrian, assuming that it was his fault the entire encounter happened.
"Lutain does what he wants," Adrian explained bluntly, the older boy sniffing annoyed.
"Well bloody banish the thing," he grumbled, trying to retain his composure, "Merlin knows how you conjured that with the trace- what are you, twelve?"
"Lutain is my familiar." Adrian's expression became slightly more standoffish. He didn't see a reason to correct this boy on his age.
"Oh? A familiar, eh?" The teenager said, perking up. He looked considering, before giving a rather wolfish grin. "You smuggle that into Hogwarts then?"
Adrian only blinked slowly.
"Tell you what," the teenager lowered to the floor, suddenly looking much more casual and comfortable given the situation. "That snake of yours could be useful. You too if you're venturing around here, given how young you are."
"It's not dangerous if you know what to do," Adrian cautioned, causing the boy to chuckle.
"True, the names Calum MacTuer. It could be useful to have someone helping with the goods, a uh, an incentive," said the teenager. The boy winked conspiratorially.
"You sell things at Hogwarts?" Adrian guessed. He was interested.
"Got it in one, mate, although some buyers don't want to cough up the coin."
"You want Lutain to make sure they pay," Adrian mused, his mind starting to understand the situation he was in. The fence of Hogwarts? It was terribly convenient to have contacts for stolen objects or potion ingredients.
"Hadrianus Selwyn," Adrian introduced. "Incoming first year."
"First year? Merlin that works out great," Calum's eyes were practically glowing with enthusiasm, though he was uncertain about something. "Hey, you related to those eh, that Selwyn family?"
"No," Adrian said simply. "It's a common surname."
Calum relaxed instantly, "good to know. Information is worth coin and coin makes you useful if you spend it right."
'You're rather dull, aren't you?' Adrian thought to himself, he'd give this Calum a few years after graduating before being arrested by the Aurors.
"Here." Calum struggled with his bag, Adrian was suddenly suspicious he was planning on stealing all the books anyways, and passed over a decently slim book. "That's all spells for business and trades. Good stuff there, mate."
Calum winked again. Did the teenager genuinely believe he ran some sort of...Hogwarts black market?
"I'll be in touch," Calum gave an intrusive pat on Adrian's shoulder, before rising and waltzing out of the library section, suddenly much more paranoid while walking towards the front of the store.
"The rat was the human," Lutain hissed, peering out from under the shelf.
"Calum was the rat?" Adrian blinked, glancing at his friend surprised. "Like Pettigrew?"
Lutain gave a low hiss of agreement, sliding under the shelves stealthily.
Calum was an Animagus. Wasn't that interesting…? Adrian doubted anyone knew that about the boy, given his profession. Being an Animagus did seem to be a useful ability...
"Lutain," Adrian hissed under his breath. "Come on."
Adrian turned and quickly walked around the around the rows of shelves, glancing down the aisles to try and find the tomes on wandless magic. He found them mixed with books on toxicology and natural poisons. Say what you would about Flourish and Blotts, they knew how to organise; while the selection in here was fantastic for the more… esoteric subjects, the organisation left a lot to be desired.
There were three books on the Animagus transformation. Adrian knew he didn't have enough gold on him at the time to actually purchase all of them, as well as what he'd come for and the book Calum gave him. He pulled out the cheapest of the three, before returning to the section he'd come from. He pulled a single, slim volume from the shelf. The name of which had been ingrained into his mind with airy high pitch sounds which left him shaking.
Occlumency.
"Let's get started."
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