Chapter 23: Veil
Draco Malfoy noticed how Adrian was acting the moment he slipped in.
Draco stayed awake long since the others had retired. He noticed full well that Adrian hadn't been in the Slytherin Dormitories. It was far past curfew.
He noticed instantly the second the stone doorway shifted and a lone figure walked inside.
"Adrian?" Draco asked, rising to his feet. The figure was swaying, sluggish and barely remaining upright.
"Adrian?" Draco asked again, squinting in the dark, "Are you drunk?"
It was Adrian, he had one forearm braced against the wall to keep himself upright. Adrian jerked his head upwards- his pupils absolutely blown and his expression something Draco had only ever seen on his aunt Bellatrix in photos from Azkaban.
"Adrian?" Draco took a step back, mindful of the nearby table.
Adrian succumbed to giggles, blinking quickly before tilting his head, expression shifting to something confused before back to hysterical, "Abraxas?"
"What?" Draco blinked, feeling for his wand and holding it tightly, "Where have you been?"
Adrian's expression shifted, changing entirely into a too pleasant face, a too calm composure.
Something wasn't connecting right- like the expression behind Adrian's thoughts were bubbling out into something opposite.
"I'm sorry, Draco, is it?" Adrian spoke formally, blinking dazed and puzzled by the surroundings. He shook his head suddenly, whipping his neck around with the ferocity of his movements.
"Of course, my apologies. I dearly hope I haven't left you waiting too long." Adrian apologized, face shifting and looking so heartfelt sincere...
Draco stared. Absentmindedly his hand subtly drifted to where his wand was tucked securely.
"I'll be heading to bed," Adrian announced, giving a tight lipped smile, "Plenty of packing to do, considering we're leaving soon."
Adrian walked past with grace, pausing at the stairwell as if confused before he jolted forwards as if he had never hesitated.
Draco floundered, and shivered.
He had a feeling he didn't want to know.
Dumbledore returned the next day, apparently the other eleven governors contacted him. In wake of the death of Arthur Weasley's daughter, the anonymous conclusion was that such tragedy occurred due to his absence.
Dumbledore, in the mind of the Ministry, was the best person to try and restore order.
There were no attacks since that day. The hallways were filled with an invisible smog, mourning that encapsulated everything and everyone. The windows did not shine brightly, instead they glowed a dull grey, adding to the atmosphere.
The school once more took extra efforts to try and locate the Chamber of Secrets.
They came no closer to discovery, or closure.
Adrian tried not to think about it.
(Her face was so pale and scared all alone)
Adrian imagined the smile that Tom Riddle, that his father gave him. He forced his mind to summon the memory, already distorting and warping in his mind.
He remembered the excitement, the concern and the unusual pride that his real father had not shown him.
He obsessed over the fantasy of his father- his real father treating him in the same way.
He wanted to get a similar smile- he wanted his father to teach him spells with the eagerness Tom Riddle asked him questions.
There was a part of him nestled deep and scorned inside of him crying for affection. There was a larger part of his bare being that ached for some sort of acknowledgement or recognition from his father.
He knew the diary would be the key to it as well.
The Mandrakes worked perfectly, everyone who had been petrified awoke in confusion.
It was a celebratory moment, until Hermione and those frozen were informed of the single death. They too then joined the funeral parade, never ceasing and wandering without an end in sight.
The Hogwarts Express was a gloomy thing, although people were excited to travel home. Relieved and hoping for the small shred of safety.
Lutain was moping, bemoaning about how long he would have to wait to talk with Adalonda again.
Adrian was excited for the next year as well, he had a feeling it would be very eventful. Not that he hadn't learned or accomplished a lot this year, in contrast to the year prior it was as if he had an epiphany.
The winter holidays, the persistent fear others expressed, Adalonda-
(Ginny's red hair darkened when wet, and in the poor lighting of the Chamber one could easily mistake it for blood pooling out from her throat.)
Adrian flinched boldly, smacking his head against the chilled glass window and startling Lutain from his musings.
"Master?" Lutain asked quietly, "Thing's won't be the same anymore, are they?"
Adrian stroked one finger down Lutain's head, "No, no they won't be."
The diary in his pocket burned.
Bellatrix could tell the moment Adrian walked into the house that something had changed.
Adrian held himself differently; he altered suddenly between hunching and barely mumbling to arching his back proudly and gazing at her with a cold had his wand wrapped with white knuckles and sent off spells before Bellatrix could launch a curse.
Rabastan noticed as well, and informed Rodolphus who hadn't been around enough to notice.
Adrian relished in his newfound freedom in the security of the wards. He practiced spells, spells Bellatrix had never heard before and spells which fumbled awkwardly from Adrian's mouth like he had only read them.
Adrian was growing distant. He was slowly and surely separating himself and relying less on Bellatrix. It hurt her in small pangs, a part of her cried out. She missed the sparring, the exhilarating laughter Adrian always gave when he had finally bested her. He missed hearing him chuckle under his breath from something his snake whispered in foreign tongue.
She knew that eventually he would be taken from her, yet she longed for more time.
Adrian approached her with cold eyes and curtly ordered her to take him to his father.
And then, she knew that time had run out.
Adrian walked through the halls with silent shoes and a fluttering cloak.
His occlumency walls were hardened, strengthened with the steely ability of the diary. It influenced his abilities, it snuck into his mind and made his thoughts shrouded and protected.
He opened the large doors, hearing them click behind him; this time he felt no fear.
"Father," Adrian addressed, words sliding from his tongue thick as honey as he approached and bowed, "I have a gift for you."
He pulled the diary from his pocket, securing it in his hold as he walked forward and placed it gently on the table directly in front of the skeletal creature.
He felt his father's surprise- just as he could always feel from the diary. Something sour and sulfuric that tickled the furthest portion of his mind.
"I hope it to be of service," Adrian spoke again, bowing low and smiling crookedly although it was unseen through his hair.
In his rare confidence and pride over his success, he smugly stated "It told me it would be."
He wasn't cursed, so he left.
Nagini greeted him, the real serpent. She was excited to see him, wanting to know his ventures in the 'Stone-den'. He mentioned Adalonda and suddenly he was pinned under her mighty bulk, demanding to know what she had spoken.
He smiled, and explained the beauty of her eyes and the wisdom of her words.
Bellatrix seemed to be fueled by an unnoticed fire. She constantly searched for Adrian under the guise of teaching him new spells.
She gifted him books, marked with broken quills where specific pages had information of interest.
Adrian was rather overwhelmed, although he understood it on a basic level.
He was older (although only twelve) he was of age where his father was beginning to take a special interest in him. Not only that, but he had heard the bare whispers from Bellatrix and Nagini that his father was planning to undergo an elaborate ritual, using the diary to restore himself to power.
Adrian knew that his father had succeeded when he saw all three of the resident wizards crumple to the ground clutching their forearm in pain.
Bellatrix was ecstatic, yet her normal chaotic energy was tainted by a melancholy she tried to veil. Adrian felt impassive- would his father accept him and take him under his wing? Or would Bellatrix continue to be his authority figure and teacher until he was older still?
Regardless of Adrian's own insecurities, the appearance of his father only swarmed the past followers to his feet once more.
Bellatrix hushed him and ordered him to wear his prized cloak, enchanted and charmed to keep his features shrouded from prying eyes. There was nothing to be done about his height, although various magical creatures and magical ailments could excuse such size.
The halls were filled with masked bodies and hidden eyes, each filling the large banquet room Adrian had never seen. It was elaborate, tall stained glass windows displayed the fading twilight in hues of deep lavender and scarlet.
His father stood tall, and his features were garish and horrifying.
This was what Bellatrix referred to as powerful? The serpentine creature bore a striking resemblance to a cobra, a folded reptilian hood pressed to the sides of his throat and shoulders. His father had lost all semblance of a nose, his face having been warped into the serpentine planes of scales and slitted nostrils. Around the edges of what should have been cheekbones, pitted grooves eerily similar to Nagini's heat sensing pits surveyed the room.
His eyes were the darkest red Adrian had ever seen, his body exuded dark magic like the finest perfume.
"My followers," He spoke, his voice layered with a high pitched hiss similar to his previous vessel's vocal capabilities, "how long, we have waited."
Adrian shifted nervously, sticking embarrassingly close to Bellatrix's robes.
"For the days you have all hid," his father's eyes flashed as his lipless mouth articulated the words smoothly, "uncertainly in your estates and in the comfort of your gold." he sneered loudly, aura pulsating in rhythm to a heartbeat, "the loyal, will be rewarded."
He said nothing for those who hadn't been.
"Go, my followers," Voldemort smiled, showing the barest traces of a forked tongue, "Await my instructions further, do not fail me."
The room bowed, Adrian stumbling to follow along with the movement. His father stood, sweeping across the floor and through a door further behind where he had stood upon a platform.
"Come along," Bellatrix murmured under her breath, "We are to speak with our Lord after all have left."
Adrian gave a short nod, reaching to fiddle with the hood on his cloak yet mindful that it not fall. Slowly so slowly, the room cleared. Rabastan and Rodolphus left them, throwing a cautious look from under their bone masks, a warning to keep Adrian from being harmed extensively.
Bellatrix of course ignored them as well as any maternal instinct she may have had. Her fingers grasped Adrian shoulder to steer them towards the door standing terrifyingly tall.
The door opened under Bellatrix's hand; Nagini reared in anticipation on the other side.
"Hello Nagini," Bellatrix cooed, "How pretty your scales are."
Nagini flickered her tongue, "You do not have Lutain?" Nagini seemed disappointed, "We were talking of the best rats."
"I wasn't sure how he would be received, I didn't want any unfortunate accidents." Adrian explained, more relaxed in the presence of the giant snake.
"Master keeps all of noble kind under protection," Nagini dismissed, "Bring Lutain more. His strike is fast but mine is faster."
Adrian smiled, "It is, you can down formidable prey, I hear. Can you actually eat a dog?"
Nagini's tail tip wriggled excitedly as she flickered her tongue hungrily.
"Is she going to show us where to go?" Bellatrix blinked, having been oblivious to the entire conversation.
"Yes, loud-lady." Nagini sighed, sounding exasperated, "Yes Master says to show you the way. Come, clumsy loud-lady."
Adrian almost smiled as Nagini sunk to the ground and propelled herself over the stone with her powerful body.
They moved into a waiting room, a balcony with a short series of stairs ascending towards it. Descending down the very steps, an unfamiliar man with dark hair walked.
"Bellatrix," The man said, his voice smooth and polished with poise and confidence, "I see you have brought the boy."
The man turned partially , revealing a thin nose, sculpted cheeks and dark hair framing deep scarlet eyes with the barest traces of slitted pupils.
Only through staring at mirrors and his own face could Adrian hastily recognize the man.
"Father," Adrian addressed breathily, unable to keep the baffled expression from his face. He hastily lowered his hood, revealing his own features.
His father stared at him, and Adrian hastily stumbled into a bow, not entirely sure what else could be expected of him at the time. Nagini stared unnervingly even as his father walked closer to survey him better.
His father blinked slowly, and looked at Bellatrix who had an eager expression set on her pouting lips.
"Bellatrix, I have an assignment for you." Voldemort explained, reaching into his robe pocket to retrieve a roll of parchment, "A specific ministry worker is pending an act which enables the lawful ability to evict those of creature blood from employment."
Bellatrix took the parchment delicately, holding it with reverence and respect.
"The law would create tension in several of our werewolf packs, as well as the vampire clans," His father sniffed in disdain, an expression of annoyance so positively human it baffled Adrian for a moment. "it is imperative the worker disappears as well as all mention of the law in question."
"Yes, my Lord!" She gushed, dropping to the floor to humbly kiss his father's robes, "Anything you ask!"
"You," Voldemort addressed Adrian, "will be residing in the room created for your occupancy."
Adrian had a room? When had such a thing been set up for him?
"Once you return, you may retrieve the boy." Voldemort elaborated further, adressing Bellatrix who pawed animalistically at his father's feet "fetch the Lestranges for aid."
"Yes my Lord!" Bellatrix gushed, "We will not fail you!"
Adrian gulped as Bellatrix backed away and apparated suddenly, leaving him alone with the tall handsome man who bore a striking resemblance to Adrian's own face.
Voldemort's eyes narrowed, long pale fingers tapping against the white wand in his grasp.
"Master," Nagini hissed, butting her blunt snout against the unoccupied pale hand, "Hatchling said I could have a dog."
Voldemort leisurely stroked her head, scratching just under the ridge of her jaw, "did he?"
Adrian trembled slightly, and the barest hints of a smirk formed on Voldemort's face.
"Who am I to resist such a beautiful creature," Voldemort hissed, receiving a low rumble of pleasure from his familiar.
He twisted his wand, and from the air alone, conjured a poodle.
Nagini nearly trilled in excitement, lunging at the canine and coiling around its body with muscles as thick as a grown man's thigh.
"Ditty will show you to your room," Voldemort sighed, "don't interfere with my work, boy. Understand?"
Adrian stumbled out a quick, "Yes, father."
Thankfully, he would only have to wait until Bellatrix returned.
Days passed, weeks passed, and Adrian felt melancholy and the bitter humor that was his life claw through his bones.
'Bellatrix will come back soon,' He assured himself anxiously.
Bellatrix never did.
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