Chapter 33: Splinch
Thoughts drifted lazily in and out, each tangible until they melted, evaporating into the finest sand, blowing gently in th wind.
Every cloud, every solid surface bubbled and boiled when the scantest trace of touch drifted near its surface. It drifted, rippling and caressing each prod like smoke.
The intangible liquid condensed when out of prodding distance, forming into shrouded walls and blackened pillars. The illusion was disorienting, surrounded by an oasis in a never-ending desert.
It was a snowfall of grey ash; pillars and walls constructed of fine dust and soot. Like a painting, the further you stood the more solid it appeared. Under scrutiny it crumbled and faltered like sandstone underfoot, leaving dust and unreadable powder with every step.
Memories disintegrated, whispering broken snatches of conversations into a meaningless blur of sensations and sounds.
The touch removed itself, the fluid serpentine body pulling away and out of Adrian's skull with near-damaging force.
Adrian blinked, his eyes rolling back into focus as he rolled his shoulders tiredly.
"So?" Adrian cleared his throat, resisting the urge to rub his eyes with the palm of his hand.
His father's eyes narrowed, one hand tilting Adrian's head sideways with gentle fingers. Adrian could tell his father was sliding into his mind again- absolutely seamlessly to the point that he couldn't even speak.
"It's unique," Voldemort stated eventually, his voice smooth and careful, "Defensive to the point of maddening."
Adrian felt a flare of pride washing his head to the core.
"Emotions aren't well disguised," Voldemort noted scoldingly, "They carry through stronger than distinct thoughts."
He was still in Adrian's head? He had broken eye contact, how was he-
"I'm the best legilimens in the world, child." Voldemort's red eyes glimmered in satisfaction, "I don't require sustained eye contact to read your thoughts, of course, only I am able."
Adrian sagged in relief, the last thing he needed was Dumbledore or his head of house to sneak through his mind even with broken eye contact.
"So I can help?" Adrian asked hopefully, crossing his legs carefully on his bed. It had been expanded with Adrian's growth spurt. He had easily grown a few inches taller in the last couple of weeks. Along with his height, his voice had begun to lose the childish quality, lowering into something smoother with occasionally horrifying cracks.
"You've placed yourself in a unique position," Voldemort admitted crossing one leg at his knee. He lifted his left hand to remove one stray hair which drifted in front of his face, "A valuable one, although risky considering your barriers were not yet cemented."
"They are now," Adrian grumbled, resisting the urge to cross his arms, "Lupin isn't a legilimens anyways."
"You couldn't have known," Voldemort retorted with one arched eyebrow, "Do not forget it was my influence which constructed your Occlumency."
Adrian blinked in genuine confusion for a split second, "I know. You're my father, I like that you can see inside my head."
Voldemort said nothing, he only blinked slowly and turned his head slightly. The light from Adrian's bedside lamp cast a shadow over his father's cheekbones, hollowing his jaw.
"You'll be training with Bellatrix once again," his father announced, "More difficult spells of course. Your magic is at it's swell, as such you will be trained accordingly."
"Darker magic?" Adrian asked, trying to hide the hope lifting in his voice. "Spells others won't know?"
"Or how to counter." his father noted with a slight glimmer, "You will be training with a follower of mine, Rowle. He will teach you Apparation."
"Apparation?" Adrian blinked quickly, trying to dispel the nervous tension, "Isn't that a complex skill?"
"Easier than the Animagus transformation, which you intend to master as well." Voldemort noted pointedly, wrinkling his nose slightly in disdain, "Apparation is more useful if you are to spy on the Order of the Phoenix."
"Can't we just use the mark?" Adrian asked hopefully, he really did want to master his Animagus transformation before attempting something as advanced as Apparation. He had heard horror stories about it from Rabastan- people splinched with legs protruding from their shoulders. One lady had died after leaving her lower half behind and showing up as only a torso.
"The mark is not useful for training or elaborate concepts," his father's voice was sharp. A small flare of throbbing in the back of Adrian's mind alerted him to his father's rising annoyance, "You will learn Apparation. I intend for you to participate in a raid, my announcement of my return. You will be using a portkey, but such failsafes cannot be relied upon forever."
"A raid?" Adrian straightened instantly, "An actual raid?"
Adrian had always dreamed of participating in a raid. Obviously he couldn't help with the minor spells and charms learned in his first year. Even the elaborate hexes that he spent weeks on wouldn't be enough to defeat an auror in a simple duel. His fight with James Potter just before the term ended was proof enough. It was dumb luck that Werewolves couldn't swim that had saved him and stopped the two aurors from chasing him down.
"After you practice with Bellatrix," Voldemort crooned back, eyes glinting brightly like rubies, "You will go with Nagini as a guide, she will protect you and let me know your whereabouts at all times."
Adrian huffed and swallowed down his protests- he didn't need Nagini to mother him and guide him around like a lost dog. He was much faster, he was already a much better spellcaster than Potter.
"The raid will take place on August 25, during the Quidditch World Cup." Voldemort continued, ignoring Adrian's stewing thoughts, "You will attend as a learning experience only."
Adrian wasn't a fan of quidditch, although the world cup was something Theo had been enthusing about since second year. Theo was excited, along with Draco that it would be hosted in England. Knowing Draco, he would likely already have seats reserved.
"What spells am I going to be taught?" Adrian leant forward, bracing his elbows on his knees, "The Unforgivables?"
"I learned those in my sixth year," Voldemort smoothly rebutted, frowning as he observed Adrian's face closely, "Those are still too advanced for you."
Adrian did not pout, although his cheek did twitch unwillingly.
"Unfortunately," Voldemort continued, sighing dramatically with displeasure, "You have inherited my looks significantly."
Adrian had hoped for that, although he only shared half of his father's genetics from the blood adoption potion, the fact he had taken it before he grew ingrained their shared features further. He didn't see it as a problem at all, he was proud to inherit the hair and the nose. A permanent reminder that Adrian existed as someone entirely new, someone who was a threat.
"I agree, you are a threat," Voldemort nodded, a small smirk twisting his thin lips as his eyes darkened lazily, "I would love to see the expression on the old fool's face if you were to age, untouched."
"What-" Adrian bit his tongue, growing silent as his father frowned in disapproval at his interruption.
"It's possible to place a minor glamour over you, shifting it to be permanent," Voldemort continued, clicking his tongue thoughtfully, "Of course extended exposure to that may indirectly affect your magic, and you already have such wonderful control."
Adrian flinched but stayed still as Voldemort snatched his head, long fingers curling around his jawline and chin, forcing it sharply to the side to see his profile.
"No, perhaps a natural illusion would alter your appearance appropriately," Voldemort hummed, "And you've created such a wonderful tale of dear abusive Bellatrix."
"What..." Adrian swallowed anxiously, feeling the beginning stirrings of fear in his stomach. "What do you mean?"
His father had a strange expression on his face, one glimmering with some sort of dark amusement. He reached out, gently shifting Adrian's hair until he could see the bone white mark on his up upper forehead, hidden always by his fringe. His scar, or at least the one his father had given him a very long time ago.
The long finger trailed over the slightly raised edge, more tangible than visible. It was in the shape of a lightning bolt, unique and something Adrian treasured.
His father's mouth quirked, as if he had realised something at the sight of his scar.
"I'm sure I can come up with something." He mused, twitching his finger so the nail sharply dug into his skin. Adrian didn't even flinch.
His father, like the sadist he was, immediately threw him into the dragon's cage to face the beast itself directly after the proclamation.
"Adrian!" Bellatrix shrieked, her hair much shorter than he was used to. It barely brushed her bony shoulders, "My baby!"
Adrian turned partially, taking the tackling hug with his shoulder knocking into her chest. It didn't prevent the long gnarled nails on her hands from digging into his upper arm, although it helped him protect his lungs and breathing from impact.
"I've missed you!" Bellatrix cooed, stroking his hair and somehow knotting the locks between her slightly shaking fingers, "You're so tall now!"
He had grown, although compared to his father he was still so short. Next to Bella, he realized he didn't need to look up at her nearly so far.
"Yes, I grew," Adrian spoke, the words awkward and stiff as he watched her for any violent movements, "That's what people tend to do."
She flung him away, curling her hands to her chest as she cackled loudly, eyes welling with delighted tears.
"They do!" She agreed enthusiastically, "Like a puppy!"
Adrian carefully pulled his wand from his sleeve, showing her his movements slowly so she wouldn't lunge at him. "Father said you were supposed to be showing me spells."
"He did?" She cocked her head the one side, eyes going blank before sharpening, "Oh! Yes! He did!"
Bellatrix never used to forget information like that, especially from her lord.
"Here," She chirped, flicking her wand in a movement Adrian dreaded seeing every morning. Cheery birds shot out, flapping in the air excitedly in mockery of Theo's inventive technique to rouse Adrian, "Target practice!"
"On live birds?" Adrian floundered, "Shouldn't we conjure a target first?"
She blinked and shook her head patronizing, "Oh Adrian, what's the point in learning dark magic if you don't have some fun!"
She spun, pointing one shaking hand at a happy canary, she shouted something quickly, sending a white line of magic at the bird. Despite how her arm tremored, her aim was impeccable.
The bird shrieked, spasming and collapsing to the floor. It trembled, shaking as its feathers puffed unnaturally, its skin swelling as if it tangled with a stinging jellyfish.
"See!" Bellatrix cackled, "Much more fun with live things!"
"That was a stinging hex?" Adrian blinked quickly, trying to mentally process how fast events had unfolded, "you're teaching me a stinging hex?"
"Oh," She blinked, eyes blank once again, "Yes, yes, let's teach you that. Okay, it's Ictum. Cast it like this-" her tongue poked out as she jabbed her wand forward like a spear. She did it casually at Adrian's chest, not caring about how the movement had Adrian ready to shield at any sign of magic. Bellatrix seemed like she would curse him without thought.
She looked at him impatiently, and with a slow breath he relaxed and looked for a target.
"Okay," Adrian exhaled, pointing his wand at a carefree bluebird, "Ictum."
He didn't cast it, although it sent the strangest sensation up his arm, leaving him gasping in surprise at the feeling. It felt like he had briefly submerged his arm in water, sending feeling through his nerves.
"No no," She tutted, dancing forward and grabbing his arm to point it at the bird again, "Like you're stabbing out its eyes!"
Right, stabbing out its eye. He practiced the movement once, exhaling before casting loudly, "Ictum!"
A white light shot out, hitting the bird and causing it to falter. It was flapping with a limp, landing and preening at its feathers uncomfortably.
The strange sensation tingled up Adrian's arms once again- was this what dark magic felt like?
"Ictum," He tried again, jabbing forward and sending a considerably stronger jet of light. His nerves tingled and muscles twitched as the relaxing feeling of warmed water drifted up his arm, just above his elbow.
The bird shrieked, puffing dramatically and dropping to the floor.
"Yes! That's it!" Bellatrix laughed, "Stinging hex like a pesky stinging nettle."
It looked more like an allergic reaction, similar to the bite of an Urosting.
"Ictum," Adrian continued, reducing his volume into a determined flat tone. Twice more his arm tingled comfortably, causing him to frown when it receded.
Birds dropped to the floor around him, chirping somberly as wings were held in awkward positions.
"Here," Bellatrix coached, directing his aim at one of the birds on the ground, "Rumpervis! To pop pesky feather balls!"
Adrian hadn't ever heard of a spell to 'pop' feathers. Was it a spell used against feathered magical creatures?
"Rumpervis?" Adrian tested the word, rolling it on his tongue. Bellatrix nodded eagerly, pointing at the first Canary on the ground, "How do I cast it?"
"Like avis," Bellatrix innocently added, "It gets rid of them!"
Avis had a counter spell? Normally the birds just vanished back to wherever they were summoned after a period of time. It would be useful to know the counter spell, especially when Theo summoned a flock to pester him in the mornings.
"Rumpervis," Adrian casted, not expecting a dark corkscrewing spell to leave his wand. It twisted, purple on the very edge before it connected with the bird.
It circled it for a split second, making almost a net around its swollen body. It sunk, paused for a split second before the bird exploded.
Adrian stumbled backwards, tripping on the ground as a tiny splash of blood speckled his cheek. It was probably unnoticeable, yet the warm fluid felt like it had drenched his entire face.
Yellow feathers stuck to the ground in the sticky pile the bird had once been, its left wing had been blasted clear off and laid on the ground. One puffy Robin hopped over to it curiously.
"See?" Bellatrix cackled loudly, "Pops feather balls!"
"You should have told me that it explodes birds!" Adrian shouted back, scrambling upwards to pull out his wand once again, he hadn't been prepared to just murder an animal.
"It's more fun not to tell you," She laughed, "Rumpervis! Rumpervis!"
Two more birds exploded with small bangs, speckling blood on the startled Robin.
Adrian had just killed a bird.
Although, they were conjured. So it was likely that they never had existed, or were true to the word 'alive'. They were just targets, moving targets that had as much life as a stationary training dummy.
"Okay," Adrian breathed, standing shakily and pointing his wand at another bird, ignoring Bellatrix's massive grin, "Rumpervis."
The Robin hopped, looking flustered with one gigantic wing, then it cried out.
Pop
The blood made Adrian flinch, looking away while exhaling through his nose. His arm tingled like stinging hex, making his skin warm and relaxing his muscles. He could seriously see the use of casting magic like this- to ward off the cramping muscles he got after writing long essays.
"Feel it?" Bellatrix asked, breathing it out in a loud noisy sound, "The harder the magic, the better it is."
"The stinging hex is better," Adrian blinked, frowning as the warmth faded all too soon, "Does it last longer depending on the target?"
"Nope," she popped the P with her lips, painted in horrible lipstick, "The stronger the spell the longer it lasts."
Adrian pointed his wand at a bird circling above them, "Ictum."
The spell was cast harder, the white light tinted almost blue around the edges. Adrian felt the sensation before it even hit the bird. He cast the dark bird popping spell before the bird hit the ground.
It felt nicer, like he had sprawled out with his arm on Nagini's basking rock.
He didn't even notice the bird pop.
He blinked, staring at his hand which displayed no external signs of the feeling. It was his magic itself thrumming in his skin, warming in his blood.
"What's next?" He asked Bella instantly.
She grinned.
The convenience with Adrian's new height, was that he could pass off as an adult when he wore robes.
Of course his entire wardrobe had to be adjusted, his special cloak was taken from him one day and returned the next with all new fabric.
Lutain had been spending more time with Nagini, at night they conversed and Lutain filled him in on the new techniques for scaring and his new lessons in human-building-navigation. Adrian thought it was all Griffon fodder until Lutain surprised him horribly by opening the door to the lavatory while he bathed.
What Lutain lacked in muscle and in size (although he was rather skilled at tightening around Adrian's throat if he said so himself), he made up in speed. With his black scales and stunning yellow belly, he and Nagini made it a contest to scare the living daylights out of Wormtail whenever they could.
Adrian had explicitly told the two that he still needed Wormtail for his animagus lessons, and they were not allowed to eat him or kill him.
Bellatrix's lessons continued on a daily schedule, although the intensity of the training varied by the injuries obtained. Adrian's father had a near constant supply of potions for injuries, Adrian suspected the man brewed them all himself. Although Voldemort hadn't ever actually stopped in to watch the training for himself, he seemed pleased by the evidence of the curses along Adrian's skin.
They had mostly stuck to various hexes and curses that were simple in complexity- Adrian could tell because the most satisfaction he received was warming tingles to his right shoulder. Regardless, they were able to do enough damage sticking to the basics. Slashing, blasting, melting, and cutting hexes were almost exclusively used.
Bellatrix managed to cross over the scar on Adrian's bicep with a curse, turning it into a perfect 'X'. Adrian managed to cut her hair even shorter. Considering how long it took for Adrian to heal, he considered it a win.
Once again, Adrian found his affinity with fire spells, able to shift them and cast them with relative ease. Bellatrix mentioned how his Fiendfyre would be absolutely beautiful.
He wasn't allowed to start practicing magic that advanced, the only difficult piece of magic he was expected to learn was the one he was dreading.
Apparation was something Adrian genuinely expected to learn from his father. He assumed since it was a general mode of transport for most wizards and witches, it wouldn't take an extensive time to learn how to perform.
Rowle was one of his father's followers, therefore loyalty and duty bound to protect Adrian was well. It was a good decision, mostly because Adrian wondered if Bellatrix would have actually helped him if he splinched part of his leg on the other side of the room. Rowle apparently was very proficient with dark magic, as well as damaging charms. Bellatrix sighed almost dreamily as she explained how she once watched him cast four killing curses back to back.
If his father trusted the man, then Adrian would have to hope that he didn't mess up too badly.
"He's here!" Bellatrix squealed excitedly, skipping down the hall with Adrian's forearm in her gasp. "Oh, you're going to love him."
Adrian seriously doubted that.
Bellatrix swung open the door to the main dueling area, warded to prevent damage to the building's infrastructure. A smart decision considering how vicious Bellatrix got.
Rowle stood, wearing dark clothing with the signature white mask covering his face. His hair was short and blonde, more of a Northern European look than the Malfoy platinum. Sharp blue eyes pierced Adrian, as fierce as an eagle.
"Hello!" Bellatrix cried excitedly, jumping up and down with her robes billowing, "How have you been!"
Rowle's thin lips pinched into a polite smile, "How was Azkaban."
His voice was deep, rumbled with the faintest slur of an accent or a speech impediment.
Bellatrix threw her head back with a cackle, twisting her torso and nearly throwing Adrian with the sharpness of her movements, "Wonderful! So many crying idiots, begging for this or that. I almost miss it."
"Enough goading," Adrian clipped out, eyes looking at Rowle criticising, "I was told you're a proficient dueler."
Rowle tensed, his obvious muscles hunching as he flat out ignored Adrian, looking at Bellatrix instead. "What's with the kid?"
"Thorfinn!" Bellatrix gasped in shock, holding her hands to her chest in shock, "How rude!"
Rowle sniffed, "When did you get a kid?"
"I'm not Bellatrix's child," Adrian's voice was icy. He mentally chanted that this man would not attack him, no matter how intimidating he looked.
"Right," Rowle sighed impatiently, "I have things to do-"
"You're supposed to teach me Apparation," Adrian scowled, spitting the word like venom from his mouth, "In two months at the latest."
Rowle's eyebrow lifted from behind the mask, "Two months, right. How old are you kid, fifteen?"
"Thirteen," Adrian scowled, pinching his expression sharply, "Fourteen in a month."
Rowle snorted loudly, a patronizing smile on his face, "Right, thanks for the laugh Bellatrix but-"
"Oh Thorfinn," Bellatrix sweetly sighed, shaking her head sadly, "How upset our lord will be when he finds out you were so rude to his heir."
Rowle paused, looking at Adrian blankly.
Adrian rolled his shoulders with pointedly annoyed expression, "I need to perfect the Animagus transformation as well. The sooner we get this over with, the sooner I can get back to more important things."
Rowle opened his mouth, then clicked his jaw shut.
"Isn't he precious?" Bellatrix gushed, "I taught him everything he knows!"
"If that's true, Merlin save you." Rowle grimaced, pulling his mask off to reveal strong features and a thick jaw. He stashed it in his inner cloak pocket, offering one arm as thick as Adrian's leg, "You ever Side-apparate?"
"I have." Adrian admitted, "Father took me."
Rowle paused, "Father, right. Okay, well..." He coughed uncomfortably, "Let's hope you don't splinch yourself."
Adrian winced visibly, "Can't possibly be worse than Bella's curses."
Bella wriggled her fingers sweetly.
"Probably not," Rowle admitted gruffly, "Hope you're persistent."
Adrian grasped the arm, looping his own thinner limb through it like a hook, "I'm not lazy.."
Adrian splinched himself so badly, his right foot was left on the other side of the room.
Bellatrix had the gall to laugh.
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