Chapter Text
Needless to say Harry had endless amounts of fun showing Tom up during class. Every time he was called on (because apparently Dumbledore would do anything possible to avoid speaking with or to Tom) Harry would give the right answer and Tom’s shoulders would tense. It was amazing and Harry couldn’t get enough of it- he always had been good at Transfiguration and now he was putting it to good use by utterly annoying his one time greatest enemy. Class was dismissed and Harry immediately sought out his granddad and Ron’s granddad. They were both exiting the classroom and Harry absolutely had to catch up. Before he could move a pair of shiny shoes came to a stop in front of him.
“Read ahead?” Riddle asked as he stopped by Harry’s desk on his way out with his posse. Harry didn’t spare him a glance instead following Charlus and Septimus with his eyes. He needed to meet them, to introduce himself and offer a hand of friendship.
“No.” He muttered, catching the eyes of Ignatius Prewett and offering a friendly nod and smile.
Riddle made some sort of noise, as close to a scoff as he would allow in public. “And yet you’re so advanced.”
Shoving his notes in his bag Harry stood, shoving past Malfoy. “Natural talent, private tutoring, take your pick.” he offered as an explanation. Dorea followed behind, moving with him as Harry chased down his intended targets. Behind him, Riddle hummed, a displeased noise before Harry felt a hand grab his elbow and turn him around.
The place where Riddle’s hand touched him burned, not with the pain in his last lifetime where it felt as though they were being scorched by a thousand fiery suns. No this burn was like something flaring to life, overwhelming and yet intoxicating all at once. It was impossible to deny whatever connection there was between their magic and from the slight flare of Riddle’s eyes, Harry knew that he had felt it too. For a moment neither of them spoke, simply staring one another down- Green eyes on dark brown that seemed to be strongly resisting the urge to turn red.
“Careful Peverell,” Riddle finally murmured, shaking off whatever haze had taken control of them. His voice was still low, rough in a way that would have had Harry shivering if it wasn’t coming from an absolutely nutty serial killer. Yanking his arm from Riddle’s grip, Harry gave a Draco Malfoy worthy sneer.
“Excuse me?” He snapped, watching as Riddle’s veneer of politeness slipped a fraction to reveal the beast beneath. Somewhere in the back of his mind Harry’s power thrummed, asking if it was to be released but he kept a careful hold on it. The last thing he needed was for Dumbledore to feel it after all.
“Just a warning,” Riddle smiled- a terrifying sight. “Be careful, you’re new here and I would hate for an accident to befall you or for hateful curses to find their way to you. Some people won’t like your choice of…” he trailed off, looking over to raise a brow in the direction of several Gryffindors. “Lesson partners.”
Harry snorted, stepping away from Riddle and his ‘friends’. “I’m not the one who should be worried. I can take care of myself and any threats.” He strode out of the classroom, pausing only to toss a parting shot over his shoulder. “Besides, Riddle, I’m a Peverell and a Black. I’m not concerned with the thoughts of those who are lesser.”
Gods he sounded exactly like Draco- it was eerie and amusing all the same even if it was mostly bluster. Well, not entirely since Harry was truly unconcerned with anyones thoughts, not just Riddle, Avery, and whoever else wanted to threaten him. The only people Harry cared about were dead and gone so Riddle and the junior Death Eaters could all suck his co*ck.
Emerging from the classroom to see a huddle of Gryffindor boys, Harry called out, keeping his voice polite and friendly so as to increase his chances at befriending these rather important boys. “Hey! Potter! Weasley!”
Both boys turned around, looking tense until Charlus saw it was Harry who called him. He relaxed minutely and offered a half smile, still not sure about Harry given they had not interacted that much in class.
“Peverell,” Charlus greeted in return, shouldering his bookbag. “What can we do for you?”
“I wanted to introduce myself, since I’m a Peverell and you’re a Potter, we're cousins and now Transfiguration partners.” Harry extended a hand, an offer of friendship from a lord of one house to a future lord of another. It was a move that had many Slytherins and Gryffindors alike gaping in shock. The notorious dark Peverell and Black houses scion befriending the neutral/light Potter? Septimus Weasley let out a choked sound though Charlus maintained his dignity. “I’m Harry, Harry Peverell.”
Staring at Harry’s outstretched hand for a moment Charlus allowed his brows to twitch with uncertainty before he slowly extended his own. “Charlus or Charlie to you then… cousin.”
The smile that came over Harry’s face was luminous and he shook his grandfather’s hand. The joy on his face or perhaps the family resemblance had Charlus smiling with him. Septimus and Ignatius began to smile and laugh, patting Harry and Charlus on the shoulders while congratulating Charlus on his new cousin. Harry shook each of their hands as well, offering them his nickname and quickly establishing a basis of friendship. They did not have the same class together next period but the four boys seemed to make some sort of agreement to meet up later- an agreement made after Harry made a remark about loving Quidditch.
Off on the side, not having departed for Herbology just yet as he was infuriatingly fascinated by the sight before him, Tom silently seethed. This Slytherin was in his house, under his control and yet instead of sucking up to and falling on his knees before Tom like every single new student did when they felt his power, he was defiant and apparently drawn to gaudy, horrible Gryffindors.
“Orion,” Tom bit out in a seemingly smooth and unbothered voice. Orion tore his own slightly jealous look away from his cousin- Blacks never were good at sharing or being denied the newest, best, shiniest toy.
“Yes, Tom?”
“Make sure to remind your cousin which colors he wears.” He brushed invisible lint from his robes and turned sharply on his heel to make his way to Herbology. “It wouldn’t do for a Snake to crawl into the Pride.”
“Of course,” Orion moved to take the spot at his right hand. Abraxas stiffened slightly, a sign of obvious displeasure that had Tom smirking to himself. He loved watching his Knights race for his favor. “I’ll speak to him when free. I just haven’t been able to yet, he sat with Dorea and Potter.”
“Good.” He walked in silence, the Knights chattering amongst themselves before he deigned to address them once more. “One more thing,” Lestrange, Malfoy, and Black all stepped a bit closer, as close as they dared. “I want you and Abraxas to find out everything you can about him, his history, his power. He seems to hate Dumbledore though he’s never met him. Befriend him, learn his secrets or steal them. I care not how you accomplish it but he is powerful and he could be a threat. I want to know everything there is to know about Hadrian Peverell.”
*
“I’m not kidding Hadrian,” Orion called as he raced after Harry. Lunch hour was upon them and Harry had places to be, somewhere and someone he was actually excited to see. “Riddle isn’t happy.”
Harry snorted, pausing a second to give Orion a disappointed look. Was he not the heir of an Ancient House? Tom was powerful and charismatic, Harry would give him that, but the man was in no way deserving of this kind of mindless devotion.
“I was unaware that Riddle had been crowned king of the whole wizarding world,” the reproving look Harry gave Orion had the Black heir looking down not in shame but like he knew something Harry did not. Unfortunately for Orion, Harry knew way more than him and he knew just what Tom’s future held. Unlike the Knights he wasn’t going to be cowed by it or in awe of it. “I’m not looking for his approval in my friendships.” He warned.
“You’re a snake not a lion, I’m just asking that you stay within house lines.” Orion reached out, grabbing Harry’s arm and pulling him to a stop with a pleading look. It was so painfully like that puppy dog look Sirius would give that Harry felt his heart clench and start to give. He had never been able to resist Sirius and now it seemed he couldn’t resist Orion. This was shaping up to be rather bad if he couldn’t say no to Dorea, Alphard, and now Orion.
“One could argue we all have a bit of each house in us,” he tried rather weakly. With great effort, Harry focused on a spot on Orion’s forehead in order to not cave.
“Hadrian,” Orion started and there went Harry’s gaze, sucked right back into the puppy dog eyes. “I’m your cousin, your family which you don’t have much of and I want to take care of you! Our parents were siblings and we could be like brothers too! I am just trying to look out for you. Slytherin House can be… unkind to those it views as traitors.”
Harry was taken back to a moment about thirteen years ago, to a conversation he and Hermione had with Ron regarding the Hogwarts Houses and the prejudice that it bred in its students. Ron was a son of the Wizarding World; bred, born and raised into it Ron had every sort of prejudice against every house. Puffs were useless, Claws were nerds, Snakes were evil, Gryffindors were the only good ones. House meant everything, who you could be friends with and who you could ally with as an adult. Like everyone else born into their world Ron was blinded by the color of his tie and banner at Hogwarts.
Harry and Hermione were different, though Harry was indeed born into the world. Neither had been raised with any knowledge of what to expect, neither came in with any sort of prejudice until they came face to face with representatives of each. Some were good, some were bad but it did allow Harry and Hermione to make their own judgments, to look at things without the tinted glasses that were only natural in the wizarding world. Houses were just precincts in schools to them, not something so serious that it should follow them into the adult world. In fact Harry had become rather good friends and coworkers with Daphne Greengrass and Blaise Zabini after the war.
“Is it truly traitorous when I am as loyal as a Puff, cunning as a Snake, brave like a lion, and smart like a Claw?” Harry finally asked, crossing his arms and casting a friendly glance to the Hufflepuff he had just been partnered with in Herbology. Another thing in his set of goals: create a long, deep, and powerful list of allies that spanned across Wizengamot sides, Houses, and came from any background. He needed allies, lots of them. Elena Bones smiled and waved back, blushing slightly. He turned back to Orion and shrugged lightly. “House lines are nothing more than a thing to encourage rivalry and sporting matches. They cripple us and our world.”
Orion sighed, unable to deny the point considering his own mother was a Hufflepuff and his grandmother a Ravenclaw. Many within the House of Black would deny it and say that Slytherin and Ravenclaw were the only acceptable houses and yet the direct descendants of Hufflepuff and Gryffindor just as highly revered as the Heir of Slytherin? The Smith family held one of the highest standings in their world and in Wizengamot thanks to their direct descendancy from Helga Hufflepuff and Tom as Heir of Slytherin held devastating amounts of power, the entire reason they followed him and his brilliant plans.
“You could sit at our table, play nice with Tom, and tell him this yourself,” Orion tried. Tom valued power and intelligence that was how he awarded positions of honor in the court. Hadrian was clearly powerful and intelligent, he could sit at Tom’s right hand easily with his titles, making both the Black family more powerful and Orion’s life a bit easier. Orion could just imagine the glory that the House of Black would have if the right and left hands of the future Wizarding King of Britain were both of their house.
He had only had a new cousin for twenty four hours and yet he was more stressed than ever.
“Oi, Peverell!” Potter called from the hall. His robe was missing and his hair was tousled and windblown as he waved at Harry, whose heart clenched at the sight. “Are you joining us for lunch or what?” Harry smiled right back, Potter smirk and all.
“Just a second,” he answered. Giving Orion an apologetic look, Harry took a step back. “He’s my cousin and he’s nice.”
Orion glared harder and harder with each step Harry took towards Charlus. “I’m your cousin.” He snapped. “Directly.”
Harry smiled a bit more, “And I see you all day and share a dorm with you. We’ll get close too, it is almost impossible for us not to end up as friends.” And then he didn’t give Orion another chance to guilt him with those eyes. Instead he turned and gave Charlus a thumbs up, the pair shaking hands and heading into the Great Hall.
About sixty years from now such a move would be nearly impossible, a Slytherin sitting amongst Gryffindors for lunch. Sixty years from now Tom would destroy any hope of house unity after becoming the greatest Dark Lord and flaunting his name as Lord Slytherin. But Voldemort had not risen yet and Grindlewald was from Durmstrangs so there was still hope, there was still a chance that by mending the divisions in their world that Harry could save them all.
He sat down at the Gryffindor table, shaking Ignatius and Septimus’ hands. He was then introduced to Enid Longbottom, Calliope Parker, and Lucas McKinnon. Calliope was a half-blood and she clearly knew what the names Black and Peverell meant for she gave him a discerning look, something that quickly turned to shock when Harry did not even hesitate to shake her hand and press a kiss to it just as he had for Enid. She did not warm up necessarily but for the rest of lunch she watched him, like she was waiting for his true nature. Only by the end did she offer him a sort of smile.
“So!” Harry said, interrupting the weird silence after introductions. Even Charlus, who was clearly the leader of their group, hadn't found anything to say yet. Harry however was undeterred by awkwardness having lived through the years of Ron and Hermione’s terrible flirting. “What are everyone’s thoughts on how Puddlemere is going to do this season?”
Ignatius’ eyes lit up, Septimus groaned with exasperation and the silence was broken as an animated conversation of Puddlemere vs Holyhead started up.
“He’s sort of closed off,” Orion commented as he sat in the library for his study period with Dorea. A few tables across Hadrian sat with Alphard, Octavius, and Leta. “Our new cousin.”
“He just got here Orion, maybe give him a few weeks to settle in.” Dorea did not so much as look up, continuing to mark her notes for the Ancient Runes test they would have on Wednesday. Honestly they had not even been back for a week and already the professors sought to rip their brains apart. It made sense though considering the importance of Fifth Year.
Orion however seemed to put less importance in his studies, skating on the ease of his natural intelligence. He was rather aggravating that way, though Dorea hardly had room to speak. It was a quality many students and even teachers loathed about the scions of House Black. They were too smart for their own good, too charming, and pulled high grades often without even trying. Watching the way that Harry seemed to breeze his way through even the most complex of topics in Ancient Runes, Dorea thought that there was a high likelihood that Harry would join the records of ‘too perfect Blacks’.
But considering the fact that Harry was a Seer and a Peverell, Dorea was not truly that surprised.
“He seems perfectly friendly with you and Alphard,” Orion grumbled. He was as pouty as their cousin Minisa through their Aunt Cassiopeia. “And with the Gryffindorks.”
“Oh honestly Orion,” Dorea looked up in time to see him glaring not at Harry but at Potter and Weasley. She couldn’t help the giggle that escaped her, Orion looked so pathetic it was almost unbecoming on him. “Perhaps because when he stays with his house Riddle won’t stop staring at him.”
Orion’s head whipped back around to glare at her. “Dorea.” He hissed warningly, looking nervously over his shoulder for Tom Riddle. Dorea stared back, she was a Black woman. They did not cow or fear anything or anyone.
“It’s true,” she shrugged and went back to her notes. Riddle certainly wouldn’t be pleased to hear it but perhaps he should endeavor to be less obvious about his staring. Granted Harry was extremely charming and fascinating, one could not help but revolve around him like he was the moon and they were the tide of the ocean. Something about his presence was just entrancing. “Riddle can’t seem to stop staring.”
“Hadrian provokes his ire, he’s defiant.” Leaping to the defense of his lord, Orion denied Dorea’s words.
“You mean he doesn’t kiss Riddle’s feet?” Like he knew he was being discussed, Harry turned to wave at both Orion and Dorea with his easy smirk. Dorea waved back before turning back to Orion. “Look, it’s Tuesday, he’s been here for three days now. Just because he doesn’t wish to fall in line with everyone else doesn’t mean that Harry’s defiant. He is a Peverell and a Black, both lines aren’t exactly known for being the submissive type. Riddle is plenty charming and plenty powerful, if he’s patient I don’t doubt that Harry will find some sort of respect or camaraderie with him.”
Orion glared a bit but nodded. She was right of course, as the women of their family often were. It was a thought he would never admit given he did not want to come off as critical of his lord but Tom was being rather pushy about this whole thing. He never liked being challenged, as evidenced by Xenon’s punishment last year when he had acted against Tom’s wishes, and the arrival of a Peverell who did not bow to Tom’s very apparent power was a direct challenge.
“Uncle Arcturus always said you looked like Aunt Lycoris, maybe that contributes to the way he acts with you,” she observed, digging into Orion’s own jealousy at not being picked as an automatic friend. Was he not as good if not ten times better than any Weasley or Prewett? Potters were descendents of Peverells and Gryffindor’s so he was an alright friend, one Orion could have reluctantly befriended as well. But Weasley? Prewett? It was almost a crime. Dorea gave him a sad smile. “You and Lucretia are directly related to him through his mother. It can’t be easy for him. Honestly Orion, he’s an orphan who was ripped away from his home and sent back here to England because a madman murdered his family and may want to murder him now too.”
Orion nodded, seeing the point and feeling his heart clench for both his cousin and his father. Father had such fond memories of his sister and seemed crushed when he got the news of her death almost a week ago. Orion’s hand brushed his nose, thinking about how his father always said that Orion had inherited Lycoris’ sharp, high cheekbones and elegant nose. Dorea was right, he had to be more patient with this cousin who hadn’t grown up with them, who didn’t know them yet. Potter was probably easier to be friends and cousins with, close enough family wise but not enough that it hurt to look at him.
He opened his mouth to agree when the rest of Dorea’s words processed in his mind.
‘A madman murdered his family and may want to murder him now too,’ she had said. Hadrian’s parents had been killed by Grindlewald and in the aftermath Hadrian had been sent back to England, to Hogwarts where the Dark Wizard would never dare attack. Was Hadrian here at Hogwarts because somehow he had survived Grindlewald and now the insane wizard was coming after him?
Everyone had thought that Lycoris Black and her husband had been killed by Grindlewald in some sort of semi public show of defiance or maybe some kind of manhunt. But now it seemed like maybe there was more to it, like maybe the attack on the Peverells was not so random, not some simple power move. Maybe Hadrian’s parents had not even been the true targets.
“I shouldn’t even tell you this, but I trust you.” Dorea leaned closer until their heads were practically touching. With a voice so low it was barely audible, Dorea told Orion a secret that Tom would reward him greatly for. “Harry mentioned that he received a cursed scar from a Dark Wizard. And I think that Wizard was Grindlewald.”
Orion stared back, his gray eyes wide. He had to find Tom, he had to find Tom and tell him what he had just learned. Hadrian Peverell was so much more than they thought and Orion had just learned his great secret.
