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Chapter Text

Hadrian calmly made his way towards his cell in the ministry. He had just been released from his two week stay in Azkaban. To everyone who saw him, he looked exactly the same way he did when he was sent to Azkaban. Much to everyone's surprise, little did they know that one of the rings he wore held a semi-permanent glamour charm that hid his real appearance. He was not Harry James Potter. His name was Hadrian Sirius Black, son of Sirius Black and Amelia Bones and Lord to the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black.

Only a select few people knew who he really was and they were Sirius Black, Albus Dumbledore, Severus Snape, Mad-Eye Moody and his ex-girlfriend who he had not seen for over three years, Daphne Greengrass. Their relationship ended after she found out that he had become a Death Eater without even wanting to hear his explanation.

From what he heard over the years, she spent most of her time prosecuting Death Eaters where she had managed to become quite successful. So far, she managed to get all the Death Eaters sentenced to go through the veil of death. He was the only high priority DE left and he knew his time was coming.

Amelia Bones never knew of his existence. She had not been in any relationship since the birth of her child who she believed to have died in childbirth. Little did she know that he was taken to Potters, to be raised as one of them.

After a minor memory charm placed by Albus Dumbledore on herself and the Potters, they all believed that he was the child of Lord James Potter and Lady Lily Potter. They never realized that he was never a Potter thanks to a glamour charm that was placed on him. Only Sirius knew who he really was. And now, Amelia Bones was the Minister of Magic who would be presiding over the most famous trial to be held in Wizarding Britain.

Alexander Potter who was Hadrian's younger brother in all but blood was the Boy-Who-Lived. He had killed the Dark Lord after a tiring 3 year war. When it became known that Harry was a Death Eater the entire Wizarding World was shocked. The brother of the Boy-Who-Lived was a Death Eater and had later become Voldemort's right hand man. Nobody knew what had happened to the popular Hogwarts student. They just knew that he excelled on the Dark Side.

The cell door closed behind him once he was in the middle of the cell. Only a few more days he thought and then his misery would be over. He always knew that despite the plan that he had been engineered by Sirius Black, Mad-Eye Moody and Albus Dumbledore, who were all dead except for Sirius, in order to defeat Voldemort, he could end up dead.

Sirius knew he was innocent but himself and his father knew that there was little they could do. And as he sat in his cold gloomy cell, he knew it was only a matter of time.

He didn't know how much time later, someone was standing in front of him behind the iron bars. He immediately knew who it was. He could smell her perfume that he loved so much from where he was sitting.

Before he could say anything, she said "Tell me everything. I need and want to know everything." Hadrian didn't say anything except look into her violent blue eyes. He knew that look. It was the look that left no room for argument. After another few moments, he told her, "Okay"

One week later...

Daphne Greengrass confidently made her way through the ministry. Thanks to her feared reputation as a lawyer, many people hastily got their selves out of her way. Today she only had one objective in mind, and that was to win the case for one Hadrian Sirius Black. She had deeply regretted the day she broke up with him. And never to this day had she stopped loving him and wishing that she had never left.

As she walked towards the Wizengamot chamber , her thoughts drifted of towards her own family. Her father, Lord Cyrus Greengrass of the Most Ancient and Noble house of Greengrass, had seen it fit to move his entire family to France during the Second Great Wizarding War. The Greengrass's were one of many Most Ancient houses such as, Black, Potter, Longbottom, Bones, Lestrange etc.

Daphne remained in England after a long argument with her parents saying that she was an adult and wanted to continue her studies in law. So they left without her. Her younger sister and brother were then enrolled in Beauxbatons Academy of Magic.

She eventually made it to the chamber a few minutes before the trial was about to start. The chamber was full of Lords, Ladies, spectators and reporters. She calmly made her way towards her seat and waited patiently for the trial to begin. Many people nodded at her as they walked past, however she paid them no heed.

Instead she paid close attention to the Potter family who were showing no emotion on their faces except for Lily Potter and her daughter Rose Potter. Next to them sat Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew who had similar expressions on their faces. She then sought out Sirius Black who was sitting on his family seat as a proxy.

He had been doing so for a while now and to this day, nobody knew who the current Lord Black was. Their eyes met and they both gave each other a brief nod. They had been meeting privately throughout the last few days planning out their course of action for today's trial. They could only hope that it was enough and the person who they loved would be free. Today was going to be an interesting day.

Chapter Text

Amelia Bones entered the chamber and swiftly made her way towards her seat. She would be presiding over the case since she was the Minister of Magic. Her eyes locked onto James Potter who gave her a brief nod. Today in her opinion was not going to be an easy day for the Potter family. She then looked over to the Bones Wizengamot seat where her niece, Susan Bones, who was now Lady Bones, sat and gave her a brief nod of encouragement because today was her first day taking her rightful place on the Wizengamot.

Once everybody was ready and all the visitors and reporters were in the chamber, the doors were immediately closed. As the doors closed, the chamber immediately fell silent.

A throat was then cleared, "Prosecuting attorney will be Fleur Delacour," the minister undersecretary announced, Percy Weasley, in a humourless tone. "The defendant will be represented by…" Percy's eye bulged. Clearing his throat once again, "Daphne Greengrass."

Instantly murmurs broke out throughout the chamber. Reporters were scribbling furious, not wanting to miss anything important. Everyone was expecting some newbie defendant lawyer, especially the Potter family. However instead the criminal got one of the best lawyers in Magical Britain. People immediately began to fret as it was unnerving to hear the person who had been prosecuting all the death eaters since Voldemort's defeat was going to be defending his most important follower. Nobody noticed the small smirk on Daphne's face nor the huge grin on Sirius's face.

Daphne had gained a lot of respect throughout the time she had been prosecuting Death Eaters. She had been training to become one since she had finished her OWLS, hence how she was already a Lawyer and a highly successful one. She had become a person who you did not want to cross with. At Hogwarts, she was well known as Slytherin's Ice Queen. Moreover, it was common knowledge that she had dated Hadrian prior to him becoming a Death Eater.

Daphne was also known to be ruthless in court, and somehow she had always got her preferred outcome. She had a way with words that always managed to get what she wanted from the person she was prosecuting. Everyone knew that if she was to win this case then Voldemort's most feared follower would either get off scotch free or receive a light sentence.

It didn't help either that before the death eater trials had taken place, a new law was enacted where the jury had to take an oath prior to the trial which forced them to give fair sentences depending on the crime and if the accused was guilty or not.

As the commotion was taking place, Sirius sat there on the Black Wizengamot seat, internally roaring with laughter, but on the outside he expression remained neutral, not revealing what was going on his brain. He hoped that his son would become free after this trial. After all he felt he was to blame, because he let his son become a death eater knowing the consequences. He just hoped that Daphne played her cards right and left no stone unturned.

They needed to show just how important Hadrian was for the defeat of Voldemort and the only way that was possible was by revealing everything in court. And if necessary, by telling them through veritaserum or by showing them through memories.

After the shock wore off people began shouting at Daphne. They accused her of betraying them and how she was evil because she had sided with the Death Eaters. Some were even calling her crazy. The Potter family were especially glaring at her but no more so than Alexander Potter, who was 18, the man-who-conquered. On the other hand, his younger sister Rose, who was 16, eyes gleamed with hope.

She had missed her brother terribly ever since he had left them in favour of the Death Eaters. She never understood why. He was always so kind and caring. What hurt the most was that he never said goodbye. He was there one day and the next day he was gone. Harry had always been her favourite brother as he had spent a lot of his time with her. He would always spend time with her when she was little and continued to do so when they got older. He would help her with her homework, play quidditch with her and most importantly make her smile. She missed all of that and all she wanted was her brother back.

Alexander on the other hand was not happy. He always loved his fame and loved being on the front page of the Daily Prophet. He never spent much time with his older brother 'Harry' or his younger sister Rose. He didn't dislike them, he just always felt that he was better than them because he had defeated Voldemort. Furthermore, when he had found out the his older brother became a death eater, he was furious.

His family was a light family, and thanks to Harry joining Voldemort, he had hurt the reputation of the Ancient and Noble house of Potter which in extent meant himself. He had demanded his parents to disown him from the Potter family and make him the heir, however they decided that they would wait until they knew why Harry had become a death eater before taking further action even though he got grades just as good as Hadrian's and had defeated the dark lord.

Sitting right there waiting for the trial to begin, Alexander could not wait for the trial to begin. It was only a matter of time he thought. Well, his happy thoughts immediately crashed around him once he heard who was defending his disgraced brother.

"Bring in the accused!" announced the minister in a loud voice.

The doors opened and in walked Voldemort's right-hand man, in magical suppression cuffs. While being taken into the chair that sat in the middle of the courtroom, everyone was staring at him like a hawk. Making sure that nothing was amiss. However the expression on his face unnerved everyone around him. His lips were turned upwards in a smirk.

Once he was seated, he sat tall and proud. Daphne then came towards and said, "Ready?" and he nodded his head. "Have you got everything you need? I would hate for you to forget something, after all such a dashing man like me always leaves witches to forget what they were doing," mocked Hadrian. Without waiting for a reply he looked at his father, Sirius, who was smirking and gave him a wink. He then looked back at Daphne who he knew hated being mocked at even for fun.

Everyone watched Daphne as she glared at Hadrian with such intensity that would make any man squirm. However Hadrian just stared back with indifference. Her expression eventually became a mischievous one, "Well compared to me, my looks out shadows yours by a wide margin." Her expression then became hard. "Let me do most of the talking. We don't want your inner idiotic Gryffindor tendencies to come out now do we?." Hadrian just gave her a smirk and nodded.

All the Gryffindors in the courtroom immediately started to make a fuss. Funnily enough, they started arguing with the non-gryffindors. Much to everyone's amusement. However it was immediately stopped by Minister Bones before it could get out of control.

Daphne then gave Hadrian a true smile, which no one thought was possible for the ruthless, emotionless lawyer and former Ice Queen. She then turned her head towards Minister Bones, who sat watching them carefully. "You may begin as Minister. My meeting with my client is over."

The minister could only nod her head. She had a bad feeling about this trial. She could only hope that it went along swiftly. It was going to be a long day...

Chapter Text

Amelia Bones immediately started reading out all the charges that Hadrian was going against. To say the least, if Hadrian was guilty of all of them, then he would either be in Azkaban for life or sent through the veil. However just before the prosecutor, Fleur Delacour, could get up and start questioning the accused, Daphne got up and asked, "Esteem members of the Wizengamot, my client wishes to be allowed to get up from his seat, to say a few words to you all, before the prosecutor starts questioning him." Much to Fleur's dismay.

The members immediately started talking amongst themselves and shortly came to a conclusion. They then motioned the Minister to allow the request as the members were wondering what he had to say.

Hadrian slowly got up and looked at the courtroom, "Thank you Minister Bones and the members of the Wizengamot for allowing me to stand up and to say a few words."

"To clear up on a few things, I think it would be prudent to finally reveal to the world who I really am. All of you know me as Harry James Potter, older brother to the boy-who-lived and the disgraced heir of the Ancient and Noble House of Potter. However, I was never born a Potter nor will have I ever been a Potter."

The courtroom was once again filled with noise. Everyone was confused at what was going on. He was a Potter. He looked like a Potter.

"I was born on 18th July 1997 in St Mungo's Hospital. My name is Hadrian Sirius Black, Lord of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black."

There was pin drop silence in the courtroom. No one said a word. And then all of a sudden someone shouted, "LIE'S. HE IS LYING. THROW HIM THROUGH THE VEIL FOR WASTING OUR TIME AND SPREADING OUT LIES." Several people instantly started backing him up.

Amelia was having a very hard time trying to take control of the situation. Just like everyone else she too was confused and conflicted. It was common knowledge that Sirius Black had never settled down nor had any children but standing right in front of her was his son. Moreover the child in front of her was born on the same day that her child had died. And she knew that she had a child with Sirius Black who at that time, she was in a serious relationship with. There was no way that the man in front of her was her child. He looked nowhere near like a Black. However that thought immediately went out of the roof when, as Daphne Greengrass walked towards Hadrian and removed a ring from his finger. Everyone's jaws dropped and plenty of people gasped.

Standing in front of them was the no longer 5 foot 11 inch man. Instead he was replaced by a man standing 6 foot 3 inch. The well-known Potter black messy hair was gone and was replaced by black silky hair that was styled stylishly backwards. He definitely looked like a Black, but he had some facial features that she was too familiar with. That was because she and her niece had the same features too. He was standing tall and proudly with his eyes closed as if he was relishing the moment. You could see something poking out the collar of his elegant black robes that looked suspiciously like a tattoo. His robes had the Black crest on over the left side of his chest. And then he opened his eyes.

His eyes were stormy grey. They glowed with power. It looked like there was a raging storm happening in them. "I've got to say, it feels good to permanently remove myself from that glamour. It was starting to feel like I was carrying something on my shoulders!" he exclaimed in a cheery voice. However he heard some people were still muttering that he was not Lord Black, but he quickly shut them up when the Lord ring appeared on finger.

He then looked at his father, Sirius Black, and gave him a not so subtle wink which did not go unnoticed by anyone. He then looked at Daphne who was staring at him with a light smirk and humor filled eyes. She then gave him a brief nod. He stepped into the center of the room, closed his eyes and then released his magic. His magic was cold and violent.

Everyone began to involuntarily start shivering. They were mesmerized by the power he was releasing. He then opened his eyes that were glowing brilliantly and put his right hand over his heart and started to speak loudly before anyone could stop him.

Spectators and reporters around him were confused at what was going on. However everyone who belonged to the Ancient houses immediately knew what he was doing, as they had all been taught the old ways. Lord Hadrian Sirius Black was going to give a Lord's Oath. If he broke the oath not only would he lose his lordship, his life could also be in forfeit. Lords Oath were always acknowledged and taken seriously by everyone. Not just because they were a lord but because they were more dangerous than normal Magical Oaths. There had not been a Lords Oath in over 100 years.

"I Hadrian Sirius Black, Lord of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black hereby call Mother Magic as a Lord and declare that I am who I say I am and I will tell the truth when asked until this trial is over. So I say, `So mote it be!"

There was a big flash of light momentarily blinding everyone around him. Then his Black crest glowed green signifying that he was telling the truth. Everyone around him was quiet. Nobody had witnessed a Lords Oath before and as they processed what was going on, Hadrian calmly walked back to his chair and promptly sat on it. His eyes had stopped glowing and he looked challenging at his former friend, Fleur Delecour who was standing still with her eyes wide open.

It took everyone a while to get their wits back together. Once they had processed what had happened they immediately demanded to continue, especially a red faced Lord Potter. He was furious. How had he never known that the man in front of him was never his son. And how had his brother in all but blood, Sirius Black never told him that he had a son who also was being raised as a Potter. Lily too was furious. She had half a mind to storm up to Sirius Black and wipe that infuriating smirk of his face. Alexander Potter looked quite happy. He had never gotten on with Hadrian and he felt like he deserved the title as heir because not only did he get good grades in school he also defeated the Dark Lord twice. The Potter family could finally rise to greatness. Rose Potter on the other hand was very upset. She had just found out that the person who she thought was her brother was a lie.

Everyone was in similar states of shock and anger. The reporters on the other hand were having the time of their lives. This event was going down in the history books without a doubt. Fleur Delacour was now very intimidated. She was not only prosecuting Voldemort's right hand man, she was now prosecuting Lord Black. She knew that the Blacks were a well respected house despite being dark. However they were also known all over the world and they were people you would never want to cross due to political power and fortune.

The minister sat on her chair staring at the man whilst everyone was getting over their shock. She was scared not because of the fact that he was a Black, but because of who this man was. Despite him looking like a Black he had some very prominent features that came from the bloodline of the Bones. She needed to know who his mother was. And she wasn't the only one. She looked at Susan who was also looking back at her. She could immediately tell that she too recognized some of his facial features. She needed to find out now who the parents were of current Lord Black.

Leaving all decorum aside, she demanded loudly, "Who are your parents?" The courtroom quieted dramatically.

She then received a reply, but not from the person she wanted it from, "I do not see how this has got anything to do with the trial." replied back Daphne smoothly.

Sirius sat there watching everything happen. He never knew just how cold and powerful his son's magic was. It was suffocating. He just hoped no one asked who Hadrian's parents were. But that thought went out of the window when Amelia asked the question. He knew that if Hadrian did not answer, it would raise speculation which would not do any good in the current situation, and if did answer then they would have to reveal more than was necessary in order to get him exonerated. It seemed Hadrian was thinking on the same lines.

"Leave it Daphne. I'll tell them." told Hadrian. She then whipped her head around and looked menacingly at Hadrian. "It's better if we tell everyone now before it stabs us in the back later." She kept staring at Hadrian until she begrudgingly nodded her head.

After clearing his throat, which brought everyone's attention back to him, he confidently declared, "My father is Sirius Orion Black," and then he looked at the Minister, who was looking straight into his eyes, "My mother is Amelia Johanna Bones."

Chapter Text

The entire hall was muted. Nobody moved a muscle nor did anybody speak. They all sat rigid in their seats. They could not believe the turn in events, none more so than the Bones, and the Potters. Everyone started looking back and forth between Sirius Black, Hadrian Black and Amelia Bones. It was common knowledge that Amelia Bones had a child who died in childbirth, and on the same day she broke up with the previous Lord Black when she accused him of cheating on her, which he never did.

Susan Bones sat there with her eyes wide open. She had a cousin that she never knew about, but then she looked around and realized no one did as well,well except for the man in question and Sirius Black who was grinning like a Cheshire cat. She had never actually talked to Hadrian in school but he was well known and four years her senior.

Amelia Bones for the first time in life was actually scared. She was a mother. A dream of hers that switched off like a light bulb after the death of our first baby. In her de-stressed state she spared a glance at the father of her child. He was wearing his infuriating smile whilst taking in everyone's reactions. Suddenly, anger started boiling inside of her, how dare that idiot not tell me. She could have raised him, and then maybe he would not have become a death eater, like most of his family. She then sharply looked at the Potters who looked like they had been petrified while Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew looked quite pale.

Before anyone could say anything, Fleur, who was getting extremely agitated, suggested aloud, "I think we should get on with the trial. Family issues can get sorted out later."

"Absolutely. I concur," continued Daphne with a meaningful glance towards Amelia.

"Yes. Yes absolutely." replied the Minister, regaining her decorum, whilst forcing down her anger and shock she nodded towards the prosecutor.

Fleur immediately became serious and stepped forward. She did not like to use Veritaserum unlike most prosecutors. She only used it when she could not get the answer out the accused through different means. However, for this case, she could not use Veritaserum at all thanks to Pureblood laws. And since Hadrian had proved to be a pureblood, thanks to all their laws, this case was going to be a challenge to win.

"Lord Black, were you a death eater in Voldemort's service?"

"Yes," replied Lord Black in a calm voice.

"And when did you receive the dark mark?"

"One the night of Voldemort's return." he replied back in a hardened tone. Everyone took a sharp intake of breath at that answer. At the age of 17 he had just sold his soul away to a mad man.

"And do you still bear the Mark"

"No. I managed to remove it just before I was captured." To prove it, he rolled up his sleeve and showed them his bare arm. It was empty. There was no mark on his skin.

"How? It is well known that you cannot remove the mark," asked a shocked Fleur. She wasn't the only one. Everyone held their breath not wanting to miss out what he was going to say.

"I'm a Parselmouth," he announced in a bored voice. Everyone was surprised, including Daphne. "The Dark mark is a combination of various parseltongue spells. The Dark Lord never knew I was a parseltongue so when he placed the Dark Mark on me, I understood what he was saying. So it wasn't that hard to reverse it."

Fleur was clearly miffed. She could no longer accuse him of wearing the dark mark. She was planning to add that to his list of crimes because bearing the dark mark held a 2 year Azkaban sentence if the wearer had worn it for more than six months. Daphne clearly knew what she was trying to do as she was smirking at her which only made her more annoyed.

Fleur then tried a different angle. "Did you kill anyone else apart from Albus Dumbledore and Alastor Moody in Lord Voldemort's service?" All members leaned forward in their seats, especially the minister and his adoptive family. Lord and Lady Potter were curious. Alexander didn't really know what to think. Rose Potter, looked on with hope, brother or not she still loved him. She knew that he wouldn't willingly become a death eater. There had to be a reason. Others were highly suspicious of Hadrian. He had been on the Dark Side for over 4 years and became one of Voldemort's most trusted death eaters and right-hand man. Yet there were no other murders linked towards him. The only two were the murders of Alastor Moody and Albus Dumbledore.

Hadrian's mood immediately dulled. He never wanted to kill his two mentors, however it was all part of the plan that they had engineered. "Except for a couple of raids and attacks that I was in. Nobody intentionally."

"I find that highly unlikely Mr. Black, after all you were Voldermort's right hand man. Do you think of us stupid?" mocked Fleur. She was trying to rile him up, however his face remained as passive as ever, however his shoulders did stiffen slightly.

"Objection!" Daphne stated at once. "My client has already given a Lords Oath clearly stating that he will tell the truth to all answers that are questioned towards him."

"Sustained," Minister Bones agreed. "Miss Delacour please keep that in mind."

Frustrated, she asked him some other questions but no matter how much she pushed, Hadrian would not give her all the details. She knew that she could not force him thanks to his rights as a Pureblood, which not only annoyed her a lot but other half-bloods and muggle borns in attendance. She then called in her first witness. His name was Ethan Bagwell.

Sirius and Daphne sighed in relief. Ethan Bagwell was a newbie recruit. He had only been in Voldemort's service for about five months. So they knew that he would not have all that much information about Hadrian. Due to Ethan not having done anything serious in his service, he was given a light sentence, just narrowly escaping the two year azkaban sentence for wearing the dark mark. And without a doubt in hopes of clearing his reputation, he jumped on the chance to take down a high-profile criminal.

"Mr. Bagwell, to the best of your knowledge what was the defendant's task as a Death Eater." questioned Fleur.

"I don't know that much," he answered. "I only saw him during our training sessions. And that is something that I would never want to go through again," he continued whilst wincing.

"Was Mr. Black a bad teacher?"

"No he wasn't bad, he was just harsh. He never stopped training us until we could no longer move. It was clear to us that he was trained well. There was a rumour where he had beaten Bellatrix Lestrange and her husband, Rodolphus Lestrange in a duel which left both of them in the medical wing for a month to recover."

That statement shocked everyone once again. Murmurs once again broke out. 'This was becoming a common thing' mused Hadrian in his head. The Lestranges were Voldemort's most crazy and strongest followers. Anyone who went against them normally ended up dead. Hadrian had not only defeated one of them in a duel but two of them. He had gained some respect in the Wizengamot for that task however that also made more people fear him. Everyone was eyeing him fearfully and wearily. However in some of the stationed aurors, you could see the awe and respect in their eyes.

"What were Mr. Blacks other responsibilities?"

Ethan licked his lips nervously and spared a glance towards his former trainer, who was looking back at him, as if challenging him to speak. "I'm not aware of his other responsibilities. Everything else I know, was that he and Damien Lestrange were excused from participating in raids and he spent a lot of his free time either dueling or hanging around with other people his age, where some of them were death eaters and others weren't." More murmurs broke out upon hearing Damien Lestrange's name. Hadrian's head went up on hearing the name.

"Who was Damien Lestrange and who were the other people that Hadrian Black spent time with." demanded Fleur whilst trying to think of a way to use this new information for her benefit.

"Damien Lestrange was the child of Rodolphus Lestrange and Bellatrix Lestrange. He went to school in Durmstrang under a different name to not attract attention. Hadrian spent most of his time around the likes of Rachel Zabini, Arianna Yaxley, Evan Rookwood and Rigel Malfoy to name a few. And to my understanding only Evan Rookwood had the Dark Mark. The rest were either healers or strategists. They all went to school together as well, with only Rigel and some others in the year ahead."

Fleur then continued to ask a few more questions but it became clear that Evan told them everything he could. So he was dismissed and the defence took over. Daphne then called Hadrian to the stand.

Her violent blue eyes not leaving Hadrian's stormy grey ones, Daphne strolled forward. "Tell me what happened on September 1st 1991"

Hadrian glanced wearily at Daphne, "It was the -" He cleared his throat.

"It was the day where everything changed."

Chapter Text

"It was the day where everything changed."

"What do you mean?" asked Daphne, her voice ringing through the quiet courtroom.

Hadrian closed his eyes and tilted his head back. "I was requested by the headmaster to meet him in his office after the welcoming feast. It was the day I found out who I really was. It was the day that led me here alive."

Everyone present in the courtroom was confused, especially from the ones who knew Hadrian. Why had Dumbledore called Hadrian into the office, and what did that have to do with Hadrian finding out who he was? What did any of this have anything to do with him being a death eater? And why Hadrian's fourth year at Hogwarts?

Daphne nodded at his answer and handed a memory, one of many that she had collected from his mind prior to the trial. 'Everything is going to plan' she thought.

"This is a pensieve memory form the defendant September 1st 1991," she handed it over. It was checked to see if it was authentic or not.

"This memory has not been tampered in any way," announced an Unspeakable from the side. He then opened the tiny vial and dropped the memory into the Pensieve, and then with his wand, he tapped on some runes that projected the image so that everyone could witness it.

Memory Start

The memory projected out and showed a 14 year old Hadrian Black whose appearance was hidden under the glamour that was held by one of the rings on his finger.

"KitKat" he said at the gargoyle that stood in front of the headmaster's office. You could hear the smirk in his voice.

"Why have I been called?" mumbled Hadrian as he walked up the steps leading to the headmaster door. "Wait. He might have found out about the prank that I had planned in the great hall tomorrow. I hope mums not on the other side of the door." he fretted. "She still hasn't found out that it was me and Rosy that made the cake explode all over Alex's face on his birthday. Only Uncle Moony and Wormtail know."

Everyone looked amused as they watched and listened to the memory. Many of the people in the courtroom were present on that day. It was Alexander's 11th Birthday party. They then all looked briefly towards the Potter family who were all sporting different expressions. The end of James lips had curled up into a smirk. Lily on one hand looked quite amused. On the other hand she was slightly glaring at her daughter who paid her no heed. Alexander did not look happy, he remembered how embarrassing that incident was. Rose was just giggling uncontrollably, as she fondly remembered what she and her brother had done.

However, as everyone watched, they were all wondering what had happened in this meeting that changed the fun light-hearted boy shown in the memory to the stiff dangerous man sitting on trial in front of them.

"Come in" said a clear voice from across the door.

Hadrian opened the door and before he could say something, the headmaster fireplace lit up and out stepped his godfather Sirius Black.

"Sirius, what are you doing here?"

"We need to tell you something. It's important," replied Sirius in a serious voice before Hadrian could reply.

"I think it's best for all of you to sit down," said Dumbledore in a kind voice while motioning them to sit down on the two seats before them.

Once everyone was seated Sirius motioned Dumbledore to start.

"Harry my boy, I need you to promise that whatever we're about to tell you does not leave this room." Hadrian promptly nodded.

And then they started explaining to the fourth year in front of him, on how he was born a Black and who his mother was. Hadrian sat there motionlessly, as they told him everything whilst trying not to show them any of his emotions. He couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"Why?" croaked Hadrian, cursing his voice for betraying his emotions. It was Sirius who replied.

"You were born in the height of the war. Before your mother gave birth to myself, Dumbledore thought of a long term plan to defeat Voldermort. Before your birth, the healers checked your magical level which was the highest they had ever seen. So we decided you would be part of that plan. I don't why I decided to do it, but we were in the height of the war and were losing. The plan was for Dumbledore to place a memory charm on everyone who was present during your birth, so that they all thought that you had died during childbirth.

I felt horrible for separating my son from his mother, however it was necessary as we knew Amelia would never agree on the plan. I have regretted that decision every day since. He had then placed that auto-adjusting ring on your finger which you were told would protect you. I know for a fact that you can not take it off. The ring on your finger holds many protections but most importantly, it holds a glamour. So whenever someone looks at you, including yourself, you look different. And in this case you look like a carbon copy of your father, but with Lily's green eyes. However, you would be able to take off the ring now as you have been told by myself who you really are. James and Lily do not even know who you are. They think you are their son, courtesy to another memory charm"

Hadrian stared at them in disbelief. How could they do something like this? He immediately took the ring on his finger off. Dumbledore and Sirius' eyes widened. He looked very different. He now looked every bit handsome and intimidating as a Black. Tall and muscular. Anger started bubbling inside of him when he looked himself in the mirror that Dumbledore conjured.

"Why are you telling me this now. Voldemorts dead!" he said, with barely concealed rage.

Dumbledore then took over. "Well your brother as you know turned out to be the child of the prophecy, and managed to kill Voldemort. So that long term plan turned out to be of no use. We were going to tell you who you really were no matter what, but we felt like it would bring unwanted drama in your life whilst you attended Hogwarts. However, we had decided to never tell your mother because it had been such a long time ago. On the other hand, going back onto the plan, we discarded it because we believed the Dark Lord was dead. But recent discoveries have led us to believe that it is not in fact so. The dark lord is very much alive."

Hadrian's blanched. His face as white as a sheet.

"We believe he is possessing Professor Quirrel as we speak. The Philosopher's Stone is hidden in Hogwarts this year and we believe he is trying to find it and use it to regain his body."

Sirius then looked at his son in a pained expression, "I never wanted you to have to do this, heck we shouldn't have ever had to do this but we need you for the upcoming war. We need a death eater in Voldemort's ranks once he returns. We need someone powerful. And you're the only one capable of doing it. And as I've seen you over the years I know you have everything that would make him want you."

"What do I have that would make me a valuable DE and how did you now from the moment i was born that i was the perfect candidate for your stupid plan." demanded the furious teen.

"Well, we ashamedly admit that it was foolish for us to decide that you were the one who would help us defeat Voldemort. We should have waited until you were older and then persuaded your mother to our reasoning and idea. However, myself and Dumbledore have kept a close eye on you throughout the years and we were beyond pleased at what we saw. Firstly, you're a parselmouth," Sirius stated in a matter of fact voice. "I've seen you talk to snakes plenty of times, so there is no point denying it. Secondly, you're very powerful and I dare say, you'll be on par with Dumbledore and Voldemort when you're older. I noticed it the moment I stared into your eyes. They were glowing with magical power." Dumbledore nodded in agreement. "Thirdly, he does not want a light wizard, and your magic is definitely not light. All members of the Black family either have grey or dark magic and I've checked your magic which is in-between the grey and dark. Furthermore, as much as it pains me to say it, you have an affinity to the dark arts just like the majority of the Black family. Finally you are also a Slytherin and in Slytherin you will be able to know everything that is happening on his side before you become a Death Eater."

"Hadrian we need you for this upcoming war. Alexander will never be able to kill the dark lord despite him being the one in the prophecy. He doesn't have the power or the mindset to do it. Alexander is a good boy, but fame has gone to his head a little. We need someone to weaken him internally. If you help us in the upcoming war, it will be over much quicker than before. Once the Dark Lord sees your potential, he would be foolish to kill you. However, the decision will ultimately be yours. And we will respect it no matter what."

Hadrian sat there contemplating everything that was just said. He didn't want anything to happen to his family even though they didn't share the same blood. Moreover, he knew that his neck would be on the line. He was going to be walking into uncharted territory.

"Fine, I'll do it," both the headmaster and his father sighed in relief, "However, if I'm doing this, I want to be all the way in. I want to know all the plans and if possible even aid them as it would be my neck on the line. Plus I'm going to need some training. Who knows how long we have until he returns but I need to be ready to the best of my ability." he countered whilst looking Sirius and the headmaster in the eye. His stormy grey eyes boring into theirs.

Both adults shared a look, communicating silently. "Agreed." Hadrian nodded his head. Excited and somewhat scared at what lay ahead in his future.

"If that's all sir, I think I should take my leave. You have left me with a lot to think about." After the headmaster agreed he said his farewells to both adults, then got up, walked towards the door and grasped the door handle. Before he twisted it and opened the door, he turned his head around and said in a low but menacing voice, "You both better make sure nothing happens to my family, despite me not being their blood I still love them, even if they hate me once they find out about this. Especially Rose. If anything happens to her, there will be hell to pay."

Memory End

The memory faded out, leaving a shocked courtroom in its wake. The leader of the light, Albus Dumbledore, had used a fourth year boy as a spy? It was so ludicrous that no one would have believed it, if they had not seen the memory. The Potters and the marauders were furious at what both Dumbledore and Sirius had planned. They were even angry at Hadrian for going along with it. The supporters of Dumbledore were also appalled at what Dumbledore had done.

Amelia Bones could also not believe what she had just witnessed. She had managed to get placed under a memory charm without knowing it. She glared murderously at Sirius who was clearly looking at anywhere but her. Sirius knew that at the end of the day, he was going to be a lot of trouble. Rose Potter was flabbergasted. Her brother had done all that to save the world. She might not have been a not have be little anymore however, she wanted to get of her chair and run into her brothers arm and shout and scream at him for doing something so stupid.

As Hadrian watched through the memory, he had to agree that what he had done was quite reckless. Totally, not appropriate for a Slytherin like himself. Daphne seemed to be thinking along the same lines.

She raised her eyebrow at him and said, "After acting like a rash Gryffindor, what plans were made?"

Hadrian shifted her eyes from Daphne and replied, "I was to be trained."

"Who trained you and what were you taught?"

"I was taught Battle Magic and the Mind Arts by Professor Dumbledore, the Dark Arts and Potions by Professor Snape, Family Magic and Wards by Sirius and finally, Dueling and Endurance by Mad-Eye Moody."

"And how was the training?"

"It was hell on earth, but I didn't mind and I still don't."

"Why is that?"

"Because I'm still here. And I asked the training to get harder because the key to being a death eater is to never break."

Everyone looked at the boy in a new light. The aurors were especially impressed because even full blown aurors couldn't handle that much training especially under Alastor Moody. However what did not make sense was why Hadrian would kill Dumbledore and Moody when they were a team. It just wasn't making any sense. One thing went through even one's head, Hadrian Black was not a person who you wanted to cross.

Daphne then handed the witness over to Fleur. After witnessing the memory Fleur knew that she was losing this case. She needed to get the upper hand but in order to do that, she needed more time.

"Mr Black, who else knew about your training?" questioned Fleur.

"Apart from the people who were training me, no one."

"As shown in the memory, if the long term plan was of no use after Alexander had defeated Voldemort why had Sirius and Dumbledore not removed the memory charms placed on your mother and the Potters." she probed Hadrian while indicating her hand towards the Minster and the Potters.

"They initially were going to. However, once they saw me after Voldemort's defeat, in the hands of James and Lily, they saw how comfortable I was around them. So they decided against it, reasoning that if i left now in such a young age, it could disrupt my childhood because I was old enough to remember."

Not seeing any other questions to ask on this subject, she then asked in a loud clear voice,

"Tell me about the death of Albus Dumbledore and Alastor Moody?"

Chapter Text

"Tell me about the death of Albus Dumbledore and Alastor Moody?"

Hadrian took a deep breath. Fleur had a smug grin on her face, knowing that there was no way Hadrian would get out of this charge due to all the evidence that was piled up against him. The members in the Wizengamot all leaned forward also curious on why he killed the person who made this 'so called' plan.

"It was part of the plan. I had to kill them."

"Explain!" Fleur demanded as murmurs broke out through the room.

"Professor Dumbledore was dying because of a withering curse that he had somehow managed to get inflicted by. That was the reason Dumbledore looked so weak and his hand was black during Alexander's sixth year." he explained to the shocked courtroom. "Alastor Moody on the other hand was dying because of the series of injuries and curses he had managed to obtain through the years, and it didn't help either that he never retired."

"If they were already dying, why did you have to kill them?"

"Killing them would help me climb up the Death Eaters ranks much faster and if I managed to kill the two of them it would help me become one of the most feared and respected Death Eaters under Voldemort's service." Hadrian then licked his lips. "I never wanted to kill them. I respected them a lot, however it had to be done."

The members could not comprehend what they had just heard. What type of plan was this? This man had killed one of the most famous and well respected wizards and the most feared auror of all time with their consent, just for a plan that did not have a hundred percent success rate. Meaning that the plan had more chances of failing then succeeding.

"And did that plan work?"

"Fortunately it did. I became Voldemort's most trusted follower, sometimes even more trusted than Bella, which frustrated her to no end." he replied with a smirk.

"Did you and Dumbledore have any prior arguments before you killed him?" probed Fleur.

"Objection!" Daphne stood up suddenly. "This question has got nothing to do with the current charge."

"Overruled!" replied Amelia. Defeated, Daphne sat back down. Though looking not so happy.

"Yes we did." he responded back. However, before Fleur could twist what he had just said, he continued, "It was our usual arguments."

"Which were?"

"How the light side should be acting in the war." he answered back irritably. "Dumbledore was of the opinion that they should use non-lethal spells when going up against death eaters because everyone deserves a second chance," he ended with sarcasm. Everyone laughed good naturedly, at the ending as they too knew of Dumbledore's habit of giving people more chances than necessary. "My opinion was that, instead of stunning the DE, they should kill or maim them. The less Death Eater the more easier it would have been for themselves and myself to get rid of Voldemort. Moreover, from first hand experience, I knew that the angrier Voldemort was, the more rash decisions he tends to make, which end up hurting him badly in the long run."

"So you're saying that yourself and Dumbledore had very different views."

"Yes. Dumbledore is a light wizard, despite him knowing what is required of in the war, he always tried to change them in a way that would benefit him or in this case the war. I respect him a lot, however he manipulated a lot of people to get where he got right now. However this is beside the point, Dumbledore was a light wizard who always did the things that the light would approve even when the current climate demands a change in position."

Everyone listened to Hadrian with rapt attention. Not everyone believed he was right about his description of Dumbledore however they all agreed that the aurors should have attacked the Death Eaters with more brutal force. The Death Eaters had too much leeway. If they had used lethal methods, then the war would not have lasted as long as it did. Some of the staunch Dumbledore supporters were not happy with his description of their idol and leader, however most of them had experienced first hand how manipulative Dumbledore could be.

Daphne seemed quite pleased with the way Hadrian had answered that question. She shared a smirk with Sirius who was on the receiving end of quite a few glares from the likes of Amelia Bones, Potter, marauders and the majority of the members of the Wizengamot for his and Dumbledore's ludicrous plan.

Fleur was frustrated, never in her life had someone manage to thwart her plans. She had walked into the courtroom thinking that she could easily win this trial but then Daphne came in, which to her unfortunate surprise, was defending the accused. How she hated Hadrian. They used to be best-friends until he joined the Death Eaters. A group that he knew she hated a lot.

She didn't let that bother her though because she knew that she had enough evidence to either get Voldemort's right-hand man either a death sentence or life in azkaban. However, to her alarm, all her plans were getting shred right in front of her eyes. She just couldn't find a solid ground to stand on. She knew she was losing badly, she just didn't know how much.

Clearly her throat. "I think it's time for an adjournment. We will reconvene in one hour." announced Amelia Bones.

Everyone slowly got up and calmly made their way out of the courtroom. Confidently, Daphne accompanied Hadrian out of the room with a few aurors to his cell, until it was time to reconvene. On the other hand, Sirius wanted nothing else than to run away and hide. He knew he was in a bit of a pickle. If he stayed there on his seat, he would be able to put off the inevitable and then receive an even bigger bashing once the trial was over.

However, if he went and met them now, he knew he was going to be six feet under, if the glares that he had got from Lily and Amelia was anything to go by. Everyone knew that Lily and Amelia were witches that you did not want to cross when they were in a bad mood. Reporters were already rushing out, not wanting to miss the upcoming spectacle. As he slowly made his way out, he was given amused glances by the females and the pitying glances from the males.

Meanwhile...

Hadrian was frog marched through the Ministry towards his holding cell. He found it highly amusing, when people jumped and shrieked when they caught sight of him. Daphne was by his side, wearing her trademark, ice-queen facade. The aurors on the other hand wear a deceptively hard time escorting the Lord Black thanks to the reporters that swarm around them the same bees do near their hives. The reporters were trying to get a few words out of Hadrian and also trying to take pictures, which the aurors found really annoying as they could not keep an eye on Hadrian and the reporters at the same time.

They eventually managed to escape the reporters once they were in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. From there, they took him towards his cell where they put him inside and locked the cell door. They then promptly left him except for one, after giving a brief nod to Daphne who remained behind. She then leaned against the wall opposite his cell.

Once they were out of earshot Hadrian spoke with mirth in his, "Well that was eventful." He then looked directly at his lawyer, "I hope everything is going to plan. I do not want to spend any more time in Azkaban. I've already spent two weeks there and I'm surprised that I haven't gotten crazy."

"Do you really think that I would be representing you if I knew I was going to lose." she stated while raising her eyebrow. However he knew that she was only joking because he noticed the small upturn in her lips a second before they vanished. "Yes. Everything is going ahead as planned. I'm surprised that you knew how Fleur was going to prosecute you. When you told me, I was highly sceptical, however it was Sirius who told me that you and Fleur were very good friends."

"Were being the keyword there Daphne," he said in a heavy sigh. "We have known each other since we were little kids as both the Black and Delacour family had a holiday home right next to each other in Cannes. As you know, I spent most of my summer in France with the rest of my family and she did too. And we became quite close over the years. However, then her grandparents were killed by a Death Eater during the Quidditch World Cup. And then you remember how cold she was to everyone during our Triwizard Tournament. And it didn't make it any better once she found out I joined the group of her grandparents' murderers."

Daphne was surprised. She never knew that. 'No wonder she has been trying so hard to win this case.' thought Daphne. Deciding to change the subject she talked about her upcoming game plan. "Once we are back in the courtroom, get ready because I'm going to show them the memory of when Dumbledore tells you about the horcruxes. Once everyone has witnessed the memory, I will then go on to question you about what they are and how this played a key part in your plan." Hadrian nodded throughout the entire time she was speaking.

"I just hope I'll be free." tiredly said Hadrian. "I want this all to be over."

"Believe me Hadrian. I will do whatever I can to get you free. It is only a matter of time." she said with a determined gleam in her eyes. "And then it will be over. You will be free. That I promise." she ended with a sad smile. She then stopped leaning against the wall, touched Hadrian's hand that lay on the vertical metal bars and left. Leaving Hadrian to his own thoughts.

Wizengamot Exit...

"SIRIUS ORION BLACK!" screamed two furious women. One was a redhead and the other was a brunette. He gulped.

"I-I a-am-"

"SHUT UP!"

His jaw closed with an audible click. Sirius was really having second thoughts now. It was too humiliating. He was just about to start running when both angry women noticed an all too familiar look in his eyes and immediately threw a couple of body-bind curses at him. He was really scared now, he would never face one of them when they were angry and now he was facing two of them.

The Potters and marauders were immediately backing up which everyone noticed, so they too copied what they were doing. They were confused why, but when they looked at the confronting females and saw the feral looks in the eye, they immediately paled despite not being themselves not being the subject of their problems. Funnily enough, some of the married females were trying to learn whatever they could from Amelia Bones and Lily Potter, so they could tame their own husbands when they made stupid decisions, which did not go unnoticed by their significant others.

"HOW DARE YOU TAKE MY CHILD AWAY FROM ME! HOW DARE OBLIVIATE ME FOR THIS STUPID PLAN THAT YOU AND DUMBLEDORE MADE. HE COULD HAVE DIED! HE WAS MY CHILD THAT YOU MADE ME THINK WAS DEAD. DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT IT FEELS LIKE THINKING YOUR CHILD IS DEAD ONLY TO FIND HIM STANDING IN FRONT OF YOU, ALIVE MANY YEARS LATER! I SHOULD KILL YOU WHERE YOU STAND YOU SELF-CENTERED WELP." shrieked Amelia with angry tears in her eyes. "You let your son, MY CHILD become part of this stupid plan that REQUIRED him to serve under STUPID DARK LORD who is known for KILLING and TORTURING HIS OWN DEATH EATERS. WHAT THE HELL WAS WRONG WITH YOU." she ranted.

"Sirius, I cannot believe how you could do that to your child. And then you have the audacity to come into that courtroom and smile like a raven lunatic when we learn more and more revelations about Harry. He may be called Hadrian Sirius Black, but to use he will always be Harry to us. You made everyone hate your own child, and put it into his head that there may be a chance that he may not make it out alive. I mean like what type of father does that to their own child. Oh I know. I stupid one." harshly said Lily.

"Once this trial is over, you better have the guts to come to Potter Manor where the Potters, yourself and myself and niece are going to have a really long talk. You better hope that Hadrian does not get taken to Azkaban or thrown through the veil, because if he does, nobody will find your body." raved Amelia. She then immediately spun around and stormed through the ministry towards her office. Leaving Lily to reverse the Body-Bind curse. He was about to speak when he was slapped forcefully on his right cheek. She too then walked away from him, closely followed by her family.

Everyone stood staring at Sirius, who had his head hung in shame. Whilst everyone agreed on what the Minister and Lady Potter just said, they had to respect the plan that they made for the Dark Lord's downfall. They just didn't know how they did it.

Chapter Text

Sirius sat down nervously on his seat in the courtroom. As everyone was settling in Hadrian was brought in by the Aurors with his lawyer by his side. They calmly walked towards their seats and sat down. Daphne then caught Sirius's eye and gave a brief nod, which relieved Sirius. Everything was going to plan. He had not spoken to anyone since his confrontation, instead he spent that time thinking about his decision. He immediately resolved that the first thing he was going to do was apologize to Hadrian and Amelia. He should never have done something like that, and he was the one to put to blame.

The Potters had all had a deep discussion about Harry. They would never call him Hadrian. He was Harry to them. They decided to mend their relationship with him no matter what the cost. The Bones wanted nothing more than to get to know Hadrian. It was too late to establish a family bond with him thanks to Sirius.

Hadrian was calmly sitting down on his chair waiting for the second part of the trial to begin. His eyes sought out the Potters. He missed them terribly, over the last few years. He had only seen them in passing which was unfortunately on the battlefield. His eyes then caught Rose who was staring at him with a sad expression. He then raised his right eyebrow, which she knew meant that everything was all right. Her expression turned hopeful and her eyes gleamed with happiness. Both Hadrian and Rose had made a way to communicate with each other without drawing attention to themselves through their years of pranking.

"The defense has the stage." started the Minster.

Daphne got up and confidently handed over a memory. "This is a pensieve memory, dated June 23rd 1995."

The memory was handed over, and once it was verified, it was projected so that everyone could witness it. The audience was curious at what this memory held because this memory was dated before the last Triwizard Task. That was also the day of Lord Voldemort's supposed resurrection. (It was highly debated if Voldemort had actually died when he attacked the Potters, but instead went into hiding, biding his time. Moreover, there had been no actual evidence of his return.)

Memory Start

Hadrian lay on the edge of the window sill, his back against the cold brown stone, in the astronomy tower. His broomstick lay forgotten on the floor. He had just come from a long flying session, to clear his head for the upcoming event tomorrow. After four years of training, the day was finally upon him. Tomorrow, he will be a Death Eater. He was looking around the castle's vast grounds, not particularly looking for something. Then he heard someone's footsteps making their way up the stairs of the tower. And to his surprise it was Professor Dumbledore.

"Professor? What are you doing here?" questioned a surprised Hadrian. "I thought you would be having dinner at the Great Hall with everyone else."

Dumbledore walked over to him and chuckled, "Dinner ended more than an hour ago, my boy."

"Oh," he mumbled. After a few moments of silence, he asked, "So what brings you here Professor? I didn't think you were the type to come up here to brood and reflect on what lay ahead in your future."

"On the contrary my boy, I tend to do just that. However, instead of thinking into the future, I tend to think about the life I've lived. I also tend to take and enjoy a stroll through the grounds unlike the youth of today, such as yourself, who enjoy the thrill of flying." spoke the professor. "I dare say, you too will enjoy it when you yourself become my age."

Hadrian snorted. "I doubt I'll make it to 30."

"Hadrian, that is not the attitude to have. You need to believe in yourself. If you do you will make it out of this alive and I know you will. Think about like the light at the end of a tunnel. You are by far, the most talented student to walk through these halls for the last few decades. Do not pull yourself short." said Dumbledore in a matter of fact voice. "You have been trained by the best. You hold the skill and knowledge that could make Voldemort have a run for his money. And remember, help will always be given at Hogwarts"

Hadrian just sat there for a few moments. "Thank you Sir. I needed that." he thanked, whilst both of them looked over the ground of Hogwarts. "Is there anything else you need to tell me for the mission?"

"Yes, I indeed need to tell you one more thing. I have taught you all of Riddle's past and you would have noticed that he collected founder objects, which he later turned into horcruxes. We have already got three of them, now it is up to you to get the rest. They are the snake, locket, cup." Hadrian nodded his head throughout the time his senior spoke.

"Now there is only one last thing for me to do. You need my wand. You know the significance of it and since you have the blood required to unlock its full potential, it will undoubtedly work the best for you. We cannot afford Riddle to get it."

"But won't you need it sir?" asked Hadrian, confused in his voice.

"No, my boy. You need it now, so that you can have every advantage you can get. The wand has served me well, but I think it's time for it to have a new owner. Anyway I'll be dead in a few months time, that's if everything goes according to plan. Which I have no doubt it does."

Hadrian looked at Dumbledore straight in the eye. With a heavy sigh, he then disarmed the headmaster. When the wand landed in Hadrian's hand, there was a flash of pure white light, momentarily blinding Dumbledore and Hadrian for a few moments. Hadrian could feel the power coursing through his veins. He was about to say something when Dumbledore spoke up. "That was something spectacular." he said with a gleam in his eyes. "'I think it's time for you to rest, my boy. Tomorrow is going to be a big day." Dumbledore then turned around to leave.

Before he left, Hadrian said, "Thank you Sir. For everything."

Dumbledore smiled and nodded his head. "You're welcome."

Memory End

Every single person in the room was confused. They had no idea what they were talking about. Who was Riddle? What is a Horcrux? What was that wand? So many questions were going through everyone's minds. People began murmuring amongst each other, trying to decipher what was just said in the conversation between the Great Albus Dumbledore and his powerful student Hadrian Sirius Black.

"How has this got anything to do with the current case?" question an irritated Fleur. Many people murmured in agreement to her question.

"Mr Black I now call you to the stand," demanded Daphne, totally ignoring a fuming Fleur.

Hadrian swiftly made it to the stand. His facial expression revealed nothing. Nobody could work out what was going on in his head. His stormy grey eyes also did not reveal anything. He was standing there as emotionless as a statue.

Daphne fired off her first question, "Lord Black, who was the person named Riddle?"

"His full name was Tom Marvolo Riddle. If you rearrange the letters in his name, they make 'I Am Lord Voldemort'. Voldemort was a half-blood. His father was Thomas Riddle, who was a muggle, and his mother was Merope Gaunt who was a squib."

Whispers broke out. Nobody could believe it. The man who became the most feared Dark Lord of all time, who pushed Pureblood propaganda to new heights was actually a Half-blood. It was absolutely ludicrous. The room became so quiet, that you could hear the quills scribbling along the parchment of the reporters, who themselves were shocked.

"Moving on. In the memory, Dumbledore says that Voldemort had a habit of collecting founder items, which he later turned into horcruxes" Hadrian nodded. "So what is a Horcrux?" he voice ringing throughout the chamber.

He cleared his throat. "A horcrux is the most foul thing someone could make. It is the darkest and most vital thing you could make with dark magic. A horcrux is basically an external container that holds a piece of your soul." Hadrian stated with disgust evident in his voice. "To create one, you need to murder an innocent. It is reversible however it is so painful that you could die in the process."

"And I take it that Voldemort made one?"

Hadrian looked at Daphne with distaste and weariness expressed all over his face. "Voldemort had seven."

Chapter Text

Everyone present made so much noise that it felt that the courtroom was alive. All the members were exchanging worried glances with each other. Could the war still be on? Is Voldemort really dead? Could he return? Alexander even looked worried. He was in no mood to fight Voldemort again. However, the rest of the Potters, and marauders showed no signs of being worried. Despite their ruined relationship, they knew that whenever Hadrian started something, he always finished it in the end. If all the horcruxes were not destroyed, then he would have escaped before the aurors had arrested him. Voldemort really was dead.

"And your mission was to find and destroy them?" explored Daphne. This was the key point that would surely get him exonerated. There was one thing being a double agent, however actively contributing to the downfall of Lord Voldemort was a completely opposite thing. This was a big way to get the jury's support.

Everyone held their breath hoping that he had destroyed all of them. "Yes." he announced in a relieved voice. Sighs of relief were heard throughout the Wizengamot courtroom. Magical Britain was absolutely in no way ready to fight another war, not that any of them wanted one.

"What were his horcruxes and how did you find and destroy them?" probed Daphne. She wanted everything out about Voldemort's horcruxes so that everyone knew what Hadrian had to do and what he was willing to do in order to succeed.

"As you heard from the memory, he had six horcruxes. They were Salazar Slytherin's Locket, Rowena Ravenclaw's Diadem, Helga Hufflepuff's Cup, his School diary, Gaunt family ring, and finally his pet familiar snake Nagini." his voice was loud thanks to the stunned courtroom. "Myself and Dumbledore, destroyed the Gaunt family ring, the diadem of Rowena Ravenclaw and my brother, Alexander, unknowingly destroyed the diary during the Chamber of Secrets fiasco."

Everyone in the courtroom was stunned. Three of the objects that Voldemort had made into horcruxes were long lost historical objects. Those three objects had not been seen in centuries. Throughout the years many people had been trying to search for them, especially Rowena Ravenclaw's diadem due to its rumoured ability to enhance the wisdom of the wearer. How did Voldemort manage to get his filthy hands on them? And how dare he turn them into his soul containers.

"Horcruxes can be destroyed in only two ways. The first is by using Basilisk Venom and the second method is by using Fiendfyre." Hadrian continued through the muttering. "The diadem, gaunt ring and dairy were destroyed with basilisk venom, while the last three were destroyed with Fiendfyre."

"And was this part of the plan?"

"Absolutely. This was one of the main reasons I was needed to join the Death Eaters. We didn't know the locations of the other three except for Nagini. The snake was always near her master. It took many hours of digging to find the location of the other soul containers. We needed to quickly destroy them. He created so many that he never felt the pieces of his soul getting terminated. He was unknowingly getting weakened, due to his departure of his souls."

"So what your saying is that your actions was one of the main reasons for Voldemort's defeat. Without your help, Voldemort would still be alive." stated Daphne.

"Yep," said Hadrian with a smirk.

The courtroom was buzzing. Nobody could believe it. The man in front of was just as much of a hero as Alexander Potter. People began to realize that Hadrian played a bigger part in the war against Voldemort compared to his brother. He had joined Voldemort to take him down, knowing that he could die in his mission. Nobody wanted to imagine what could have happened to Hadrian if he had been caught. His life would have been forfeit.

James and Lily Potter could not believe their ears. What had they just heard? Their son had gone through all of that, knowing his life could end any day. Alexander was also shocked. Throughout the trial, Alexander was having an awakening.

He realized that a family name and title literally meant nothing if nobody gave you any respect. His brother had revealed that through his trial. Rose Potter, also could not believe it. One thing kept going throughout her mind. He was going to be free. Her entire body was fidgeting in her seat. She just wanted to get up, charge into her brother and give him a big hug.

Everyone had a newfound respect for Hadrian. Many people were looking at him with awe and respect. He was a hero. They were all coming to realize that. Nobody could believe the turn of events. Reporters were hungrily scribbling down everything that was happening. This trial was going to be the biggest story any of them had ever written. They knew that this trial was going to spread like wildfire all over the magical world.

Throughout the muttering, one person had yet to move a muscle. And that was the prosecutor, Fleur Delacour. The person who she once had a very strong friendship with and was one of her only true best friends, was a free man. And she had just realized that he was never a bad man.

She remembered the day when she found out Hadrian was a death eater. It was during the summer after the Triwizard Championship. It was his last day in France before he headed back to England. They were talking in the pool enjoying themselves when she noticed something flicker on his left forearm. When he declined to show her what he was hiding, she ended the glamour on his arm and to her surprise and horror, the dark mark was burned into his skin. She had stood rooted to the spot not knowing what to do and then she quickly got out of the pool and disappeared into her bedroom. Where she jumped onto her bed and cried into her pillow.

"Would the prosecutor like to cross-examine?" questioned a pale faced minister.

"Yes Minister, I would." replied back a subdued Fleur. She knew she had lost the case. However, thanks to her intuitive nature, she wanted to know everything about that memory. Specifically, about the wand.

Many people were surprised by her answer. They all knew that she had lost the case. So why was she asking more questions?

"We have all witnessed the memory. And we know the important part you played in the war. So out of personal curiosity, what was so special about the wand that Headmaster Dumbledore gave you and what is its history?"

"Objection! There is no need for my client to reveal the history and speciality of his wand. That is a very personal question." protested Daphne.

This spiked everyone's curiosity. The wand definitely put on quite the show in the memory. What was so special about it? Why were they so uncomfortable sharing the speciality of the wand?

"Not really. But many of us are curious about it. There was some sort of connection between Hadrian, Voldemort and the wand. Was it not? I think we have the right to know the answer to that question!" objected Fleur.

"Objection overruled!" decided the Minister.

Hadrian gave a heavy sigh. "My wand belonged to my ancestors centuries ago. It has appeared many times throughout the years with a very bloody history. It has been claimed by many people over the centuries but never by someone who shares the same blood as its first owner. I'm pretty sure many people who have an interest in history, have a good idea of what wand I'm talking about."

Those well versed in the history of the magical world, had a good idea of the wand he was talking about. Their faces were pale and many people noticed it, though no one questioned them.

"I'm talking about the Elder Wand. Many of you know it as 'Wand of Destiny' or the 'Death Stick'." continued Hadrian.

Shock and murmurs broke out. Almost everyone had heard of that wand and its power.

"The first owner of the wand was Antioch Peverell. He was the older brother of Cadmus and Ignotus Peverell. The three brothers were supposedly given a gift from Death each. However, I think that is just some made up story. The Peverell name may be dead however their blood still remains in three Ancient families. The first one being, the Ancient and Noble House of Black, the Ancient and Noble House of Potter and the Ancient House of Gaunt." Everyone in the courtroom was quiet. They were listening to Hadrian with rapt attention.

"The wand itself is not powerful. It is like any other wand. However, if someone with Peverell blood claims the wand as its owner, then the wand helps the owner have a better control over his magic. Therefore helping the flow of their magic, which increases power and adds more finesse and control to anything that they do. And since Voldemort was the son of a Gaunt, if he ever found out about this wand, then Voldemort with his wand would have been impossible to defeat." lectured Hadrian.

"So what you're saying is that you are now impossible to defeat because your that wands owner?" questioned a scared Fleur.

"Nope. If someone has better skill than me, they could easily beat me. Voldemort would have been impossible to defeat, because of the Dark Rituals that he had taken part in, which increased his magical power. However, due to that, he lost his looks and humanity. It didn't help either when his soul was split into multiple pieces. Nevertheless, since a Peverell has once again claimed this wand, even if someone disarmed me or beat me in a duel, the wand will still be loyal to me." concluded Hadrian to a very subdued court.

Fleur not knowing what else to say, "That's all Minister. I have nothing else to add."

"Does the defendant wish to add anything else?" questioned the Minister.

"No Minster. There is nothing left to add." responded Daphne.

"Please wait for an extended amount of time, until the Jury has come up with a decision." stated the Minister. She then got up and walked into the door that was behind her chair, followed by the members of the jury.

The courtroom was unnaturally quiet. No one said a word. No one moved a muscle. It seemed the entire chamber was frozen. They all were all looking at one person only.

Lord Hadrian Sirius Black, of the Ancient and Noble House of Black. The right-hand man of the Dark Lord Voldemort and the Surprising Hero of the Magical World. They all held their breath, wondering what was going to happen towards that man. He had a fifty/fifty chance of being free or not. He may have helped tremendously in the war against Voldemort. However, he did murder two icons of Magical Britain, even if they gave him the permission to do so. He also did bring a lot of terror throughout the country.

The members of the Ancient and Noble House of Potter, all had the same thoughts going through their heads. They wanted Hadrian to be free. James and Alexander's eyes were open while Lily and Rose's eyes were screwed shut. Sirius Black too had his eyes closed. He was fidgeting a lot in his seat.

Daphne Greengrass sat next to Hadrian, with her Ice Queen facade in place not showing her emotions. However, you could see the apprehension in her eyes and the way she was gripping on Hadrian's right hand.

The man in question on the other hand remained expressionless. Not a single part of his body moved, except for the occasional blink. His hands were starting to shake though, which was a sure sign that he was nervous.

What felt like hours later, which in fact was only fifteen minutes, the Minister and the Jury came out the door. They made it to their seats. Their expressions betrayed nothing.

Amelia Bones then cleared her throat, "The jury had come to a decision." She then raised her voice even more.

"Lord Hadrian Sirius Black, of the Ancient and Noble House of Black, is hereby..."

Chapter Text

"Lord Hadrian Sirius Black, of the Ancient and Noble House of Black, is hereby declared innocent of all charges!" She then brought her hammer down with a loud thud.

Hadrian calmly stood up. His head was spinning all over the place. He took a deep breath in and looked sideways towards his lawyer, Daphne Greengrass. She was looking back at him, with a small smile gracing her lips. Not thinking about what he was doing, he took a few steps forward and engulfed her into a hug.

"Thank you, Daphne. Just thank you." he repeated multiple times into her long, strawberry scented hair.

"Your welcome, Hadrian."

James was holding Lily Potter as she shook in tears. Alexander looked relieved as he sat back in his chair. Sirius sat in his chair, looking relieved and happy. Rose on the other hand, could not hold it in anymore, as she jumped out of her chair and bolted towards her big brother. Her long smooth red-hair flew everywhere.

"Harry!" she shouted as she collided into his firm chest. The audience looked on with warm expressions. Reporters were taking back to back photos of the reunion of the family.

"Rose!" Hadrian replied in a hoarse voice. "How I've missed you! You've grown so much!"

"I've missed you too." she replied back whilst engulfing Hadrian in her signature grapple hugs.

The rest of the Potters slowly made their way towards Hadrian. They did not know what to do. They had treated Hadrian badly, through the last few years, bad-mouthing him wherever they went. As Hadrian let go of Rose, his eyes settled onto his adoptive parents. His face showed no emotion however the Potters looked very apprehensive, unsure of what to do. Hadrian gave them one look and hugged his adoptive mother. She immediately melted into his arms. Begging for forgiveness.

"It is okay, mother. I deserved it. I never should have done something like that. I should be the one saying sorry." He then kissed his mothers head and went over to his adoptive father and gave him a hug. They both patted each other's back. There was no need to say anything. They understood each other perfectly. Finally, he made it towards his younger brother. They looked at each other squarely in his eyes. Everyone watched with bated breath. Then suddenly, Alexander punched Hadrian across the face. Everyone was shocked.

"That is what you get for putting our family in so much pain!" he said angrily. Then his face softened and gave his brother a hug. "And this is what you get for a job well done." Both brothers laughed.

"You punch like a girl." Hadrian stated mockingly.

Sirius then came forward and gave Hadrian a hug however he did not say anything as he quickly made his way towards Daphne, wisely avoiding Lily Potter who was glaring menacingly at Sirius.

Amelia Bones watched sadly, from her Minister seat in the chamber. She saw the look on Hadrian's face. He looked happy. He had such a handsome face. She wanted to get to know him. And she would be damned, if she let Sirius get away with it. He was one of the only other families she had. The other being her niece, the current Lady Bones, who was currently staring at the Potter reunion with a longing expression in her face.

Susan had lost her best friend, Hannah Abbot, during a Death Eater attack in Hogsmeade a year ago. She had not been the same since. Susan had always wished that she had someone like an older brother to guide her in times of need. Her aunt could only do so much. And standing in front of the members of the Wizengamot, was the person that she had always wanted, but he was never there. She wanted to get to know him. And if she could not make a family bond with him, then the least she could do was become friends.

Amelia then cleared her throat. "Lord Hadrian Black, upon leaving the chamber, you shall be escorted towards St Mungo's for a full health check-up. Your family may go with you." Hadrian nodded towards her and gave her a small smile. He had a feeling that his biological mother would accompany him with the rest of his family.

Abruptly, someone started clapping, who he recognized to be one of his best-friends Rigel Malfoy, who was currently Lord Malfoy. He had never followed the Pureblood views like the rest of his family had. And he was never forced to take to Dark Mark but he was forced to be on the dark side. He was a healer, who was always ready to heal anybody who needed it. He had never done any death eater activities, hence why he was a free man. Same could be said about Arianna Yaxley. Who was currently sitting as Lady Yaxley and was an enchanter. The rest of their friends had died in the final attack on the Headquarters. Rachel Zabini however had committed suicide, not liking the life that she was living and being forced into a marrige by her father. Her younger brother Blaise was now Lord of the Ancient and Noble House of Zabini. He had been a newbie death eater, before he was caught and sentenced to Azkaban for two years for bearing the Dark Mark. He had yet to take part in any of the Death Eater activities. He had just been released a couple of days before the Dark Lord's defeat.

Moments later, the entire room was full of cheers and the sound of clapping. Hadrian gave them all a warm smile, and bowed. Then with the rest of his family, he left the hall. Reporters hastily followed them, shouting questions as they went. The news had already spread like wildfire throughout the ministry. As he walked out with everyone else towards the atrium, the ministry workers and visitors were looking at him in a mixture of awe, respect and fear. He merely chuckled at their expressions.

After waiting for a few minutes in the atrium the Minister and Lady Bones came bustling towards them with a few aurors.

"Excuse me sir?" asked a terrified auror. Hadrian raised an eyebrow at him. "Here is your wand sir." he quickly said and hastily handed the Elder Wand over. As soon as Hadrian touched the wand, instead of a flash of white light, his stormy grey eyes glowed white. Everyone involuntarily stepped back.

Once his eyes cleared, Lord Black asked, "Well? Should we get going?"

The lead auror nodded and hastily led everyone to the apparition point. Then they all made it to the magical hospital. Everyone in his vicinity shrieked when they noticed who he was. Thankfully, they all calmed down once they were told what happened by the Minister. Hadrian was then taken into a private family examination room.

It was a large room. The aurors were instructed to remain outside by his mother. The room was full with family members. They were, the Potters, Amelia and Susan Bones, Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew, Daphne Greengrass, and finally Sirius Black.

The head healer was then called in. He was told that he had a very important patient waiting in the biggest family examination room. He however was not told who it was. So you could manage his surprise when he saw the minister, along with many other famous people there. His eyebrows hid into his hairline when he saw who his patient was. It was none-other than Hadrian Sirius Black. Everyone throughout Magical Britain had listened to the trial on the radio.

He immediately put on his professional mask. He at once told Hadrian to go into the changing room and take off his robes. He also handed him a pair of shorts to wear. Not long after, Hadrian came walking out with his chest pair. The only article of clothing he was wearing was a pair of long shorts. Except for the healer, every single person's jaw dropped once they laid their eyes on Hadrian's body.

He was a very muscular man. They were still getting used to the fact that Hadrian did not look like the same person he was, when he was known as Harry James Potter. However, that wasn't what caught their eye. Their eyes were fixated on what lay on his muscular body. There were tattoos on it, and a lot of them at that.

In the center of his spine was the sign of the deathly hallows. It had the elder wand going through it which started from the top of his spine and finished down towards the bottom. On his left arm shoulder were four animals. They were Stag, Grim, Wolf and a Rat. They were all posed as if they were running. On the outside of his forearm, opposite of where the dark mark used to be, were two flowers wrapped up in each other. One was a Lily and another was a Rose. On his right arm, his entire arm was wrapped up in a single tattoo. It was a dragon and snake wrapped around his arm with a couple of bones here and there. All the tattoos were black and white.

All the men had grins on their faces. James and Alexander, were looking amazed at what was on his body. Sirius, was proud and giddy with joining his son. Rose Potter, was shocked as was the same with Susan. Daphne felt really warm, and her cheeks were red. On the other hand, Lily and Amelia were scandalised. What had he done to his skin?

Once everyone got out of their stupor, Lily and Amelia shouted at the same time, "WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?!" Everyone winced at their tone. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO YOUR SKIN?!"

Hadrian, not at all intimidated, said, "They are tattoos. I know they are illegal to get down in Magical Britain, so when I was abroad, I got them done. I quite like them."

"How could you do this to your body?" question Lily. "All these meaningless pictures inked into your skin." added Amelia.

"What?! They are not meaningless!" he exclaimed. When they gave him a raised eyebrow he continued, "If you look closely, you will actually see what they actually are. On my back is the Elder Wand and the Peverell symbol." Both matriarchs nodded their heads. "On my left shoulder, you have the Marauders. Prongs, Padfoot, Moony and Wormtail. Underneath them are two flowers, a Lily and a Rose." They were all starting to realize what the tattoos were. The marauders actually had tears in their eyes. "On my right arm, you have a Snake, which is the Slytherin house animal, and a black dragon which is my animagus form. Also on my arm are bones, which represent the Bones family."

They were all shocked when they found out that his animagus form was a Dragon. They were all deeply touched at what the tattoos meant.

"Well we can't fault you now." stated Lily.

"Sirius has too much of an influence on you," said Amelia . "If only I had raised you." she muttered. Only Susan had heard her.

Sirius barked out a laugh however he quickly shut up once seeing the glares that he was getting from the matriarchs. The rest looked on bemusedly.

The healer, who had watched the entire exchange quietly, once again cleared his throat, which brought everyone back to the task at hand. He then told Hadrian to lie on the hospital bed, while he cast some charms over him. Everyone watched on silently.

"Well you seem fine enough. You are just a bit malnourished, however that should be overcome in a day or two, after eating properly." Everyone was relieved at that. "I'd like to recommend you to a mind-healer though." before the protests could begin, he added. "Please do not take this the wrong way. I merely recommended this because he had just come out of Azkaban after a couple of weeks. Moreover, I can see the bags under your eyes, which indicates that you are not sleeping well either. Going to a mind-healer will help."

After some deep consideration, Hadrian accepted his advice. Not long later, Hadrian was free to go.

Once they were all cleared and out of St Mungo's, James suggested, "How about you all come to Potter Manor, right now for dinner. It has been a long day."

"Yes, I think it would be a wonderful idea. We do after all,” responded Amelia, her gaze lingering on Sirius, who gulped.

"I'd love to Lord Potter, but I've got to go." rejected Daphne.

"Why Daphne? You've done so much for me. The least we could do for you is to invite you for dinner." asked Hadrian.

"I know and I thank you. It's just that my family is returning back from France today. My younger brother has just graduated from Beauxbatons so they decided to return back to Britain, since the war is finished." Daphne replied back, with a hint of sadness and happiness in her voice.

"Oh, okay. Enjoy yourself then." he then gave her a hug. She happily returned it back and disapperated away. Moments later, the rest of the group disapperated to Potter Manor.

Chapter Text

They arrived in the grounds of Potter Manor. It looked just as beautiful as ever. The manor was surrounded by acres of green land that were full of flowers. Beyond them, the estate was surrounded by a forest. The house was really in a secluded area.

The Lord of the Manor, James Potter, led them inside and towards the informal living room while Lily informed Masie, the house elf, to put dinner on the table. Moments later, dinner was on the dining table and everyone present started eating.

They all ate in uncomfortable silence. Susan was absent mindedly playing with her food, she did not at all feel hungry. She every now and then sent Hadrian discrete glances, still processing that he was her cousin. Alexander was calmly eating his food, waiting for the incoming conversation to start. Bracing for the shouting match that was bound to happen. Rose however was quietly talking to Hadrian, who was sitting next to her. The smile on her face could light a thousand stars.

This was the first time she had been this happy in a long time, and it was all because she finally had her brother back. The marauders, minus Sirius, were discretely sharing smirks with each other. Despite knowing that Sirius was about to get what he deserved, they found it amusing as they saw the look on Sirius's face. His face was pale. He looked like he was shaking in fright. Amelia and Lily, were well known witches. Nobody would want to cross them when they were angry. Speaking of the two, they were calmly eating dinner, as if there was nothing wrong in the world. However, they both had matching smirks on their faces. It was quite unnerving.

After dinner had finished, they all went back to the living room and sat down, getting comfortable. It soon became clear that everyone was waiting for someone to start. After a few moments, someone cleared their throat. Surprisingly, it was Sirius.

"I know that what I did, was extremely stupid and shameful -" The matriarchs scoffed. "And I know that I deserve whatever you have in store for me. So before you do whatever you're going to do to me, please ask me anything, and I will answer it truthfully. I think you all deserve that, at the very least."

Lily and Amelia glared menacingly at him, slowly drawing their wands. However before they could say anything, Remus, the wise man he was, said,

"I think that would be acceptable, Sirius." Sirius breathed a sigh of relief.

"Why? Why did you do that to me? You placed a memory charm on me. YOU HID MY CHILD FROM ME. MY SON!" shouted Amelia while pointing towards Hadrian.

"I know what I had done was extremely stupid but at the time, I was worried, so I wasn't thinking about it. I hate to admit it, but at the time, I thought I was doing the right thing. It was only after Voldemort was defeated all those years ago did I realize what I had done. I have regretted what I have done every day since."

"Alexander defeated Voldemort years ago. You could have removed the memory charms on myself, James and Lily and given him back to me. Why didn't you?"

"I couldn't bring myself to it." When he saw the look on her face, he continued, "Hadrian was at that age that he started remembering things. When I saw Hadrian look all happy with James and Lily, I couldn't bring myself to separate him from the people who thought were his parents. Even though I should have." guilty replied Sirius.

"You should have." stated Amelia angrily. "You could have told me multiple times through the years. I just can't believe you didn't."

"You should have told us everything. If you wanted to keep us or Amelia from not wanting to know about Harry, then we would have understood, despite not liking your decision. However, myself and James, had every right to know about this stupid plan you and Dumbledore engineered and Harry's involvement in it. Do you know how bad we all felt knowing what we had done against Harry, thinking he was on the bad side, when in reality he was on ours." affirmed Lily.

"Padfoot, we raised him. We had every right to know what was going on in his life. And I don't know how you managed to hide this from us for seven full years. We should have known from day one." added James. Everyone nodded their heads, agreeing at what he had just said.

"That would be mine fault." injected Hadrian before Sirius could reply. All faces turned on him, shock written all over them.

"What do you mean?" asked Remus.

"Sirius and Dumbledore were considering telling you all about the plan, well at least parts of it. However, when I heard what they were going to do, I persuaded them against it." admitted the young man.

"Why?" all of them asked at the same time, appalled.

"I knew that none of you would get on board with the idea. Moreover, if someone got any wind of it, your life as well as mine could have been in great danger. We couldn't afford a lot of people knowing about it. The less, the better."

None of them could argue the reason behind his decision to not inform them. However, none of them were at all pleased about it.

"Well, we cannot argue against your reasons, however that doesn't mean we at all approve of what was done." huffed Lily angrily.

"Please forgive me. I will do anything, in order for you all to forgive me." implored Sirius.

"Please do. Especially Sirius. I know how much he has been suffering, especially these last few years. He has been there for me, through thick and thin. We may have done something stupid, reckless, dangerous and selfish, however you have to agree that we done it for the right reasons. Voldemort is now gone. And the Magical World is slowly but clearly returning back to normal." urged Hadrian. "You all can punish us in any way you see fit"

Everyone shared a look with each other. They remained quiet. Pondering over his words.

"I think it would be wise if myself, Amelia, James, Remus and Peter, discuss this in private." carefully stated Lily. The people mentioned immediately got up and left the room and went towards James's lord's office. Leaving Susan, Alexander, Lily, Hadrian and Sirius alone.

Meanwhile at Greengrass Manor...

Daphne was currently in Greengrass Manor, waiting patiently in the living room, waiting for her family to portkey in. It had been about four years since the last time she saw them. They had remained in good contact through the years however due to the war, it was unsafe for any of them to meet each other.

Daphne couldn't keep the smile off her face. It was there for two reasons. The first reason was due to the fact that she was finally meeting her family after many years of separation. It was one thing communicating in letters and another thing doing it in person. Secondly, she had managed to get the love of her life, Hadrian Sirius Black, free. She could finally start mending the bridge between them. However she knew that it was up to Hadrian, if he wanted to or not. Her thoughts were put on hold, when the four elegantly dressed people appeared on to the living room floor.

"Mother! Father! Astoria! Damien!" exclaimed Daphne as she engulfed them all in a group hug. They all eagerly returned the hug. No one moved, relishing the warmth of the hug.

"Daphne, how are you? It has been so long." asked her mother.

"I'm fine. I couldn't be any better, now that you all are here." The new arrivals beamed at her reply. "Damien, look at you! You've grown so much. So have you Astoria!"

"Well that was expected of Daphne." snorted Astoria as she gave her older sister a hug, who was quickly followed by Damien.

"I hope the food is already on the table, Daphy. I'm famished." asked Damien just as his stomach rumbled.

"I see that you're the same as ever, Damy." laughed Daphne. "Tippy has already put dinner on the table." she added.

The happy family then made their way towards the dining room.

Cyrus and Roxanne Greengrass couldn't keep the smile of their faces as they saw their children interact and catch up with each other. During their time in France, the house had felt quiet and gloomy. The war was going on and they all feared for Daphne's life, as she stayed in England. The years had been hard on all of them. Then a few months ago, they found out the war was miraculously over, and Daphne was prosecuting all the remaining Death Eaters. They had never been so proud of their daughter.

"So Daphne, how are you faring with the prosecution of the Death Eaters?" asked her father.

"They have all done well. All of the high priority ones were sent through the veil, while the rest were sent to Azkaban with varying sentences. In fact the trials have now finished. There was one today and it was the last one." replied back Daphne.

"Oh. And whose was it today?" questioned Roxanne

"Hadrian Sirius Black,"

"Who the hell is he? I've never heard of him." said a bewildered Lord Greengrass.

"You all know him as Harry James Potter."

Cyrus and Roxanne's expressions immediately darkened. Nobody spoke about him. That man had hurt their family a lot. They had treated that boy as if he was their own. The doors of Greengrass Manor were always opened to him. And what did they get in return? They broke their daughters heart and the families trust. Astoria and Damien did not know the full story of Harry James Potter. All they knew about him was that he had dated Daphne previously and then had a bad break-up. Their parents had forbidden them from reading any news about what was happening in the war, so they didn't know who he really was. So unsurprisingly, they were shocked to hear his name.

"So did he get what he deserved?" asked an angry Cyrus. His magic slowly started to come out in waves, making everyone at the dining table shiver.

Daphne hesitantly took a sip of water before she replied. "He got off scot free. He was exonerated."

"What!" shouted her parents at the same time.

After a few minutes of silence. Cyrus vehemently proclaimed, "Voldemort's right-hand man was exonerated. That man may be free from the Ministry. But no way in hell is he free from me." He placed family above everything else, and there was no way he was going to leave the man alone after what he made his family go through.

The younger two of the siblings were equally as shocked as their parents.

Damien then asked, "Who was defending him?" All eyes then set on Daphne.

She slowly gulped and looked at him straight in the eye and said, "I was,"

Cyrus dropped his glass of wine onto the floor. Roxanne, choked on the food that she was eating. Damien and Astroia, who were both drinking pumpkin juice, spitted it all out onto the food in front of them. They then all looked at Daphne with dumb looks on their faces, totally ignoring what they had just done.

"You done what?" dumbly asked Astoria.

"I defended him and won the case." confidently said Daphne. Not at all deterred by their reactions. If anything, she found it amusing. Before things could get out of control, she decided to show them the memory via the Pensieve in her fathers office.

"Father, I think it would be better if you all see the trial before you get the wrong idea."

Cyrus blinked multiple times before agreeing to what she said. He got up from the chair, completely ignoring the wine and broken glass shards on the floor next to him, and headed towards his office. He was quickly followed by everyone else. Daphne immediately took out a copy of the memory out of her mind and placed it into the Pensieve. Moments later, everyone present dived into the Pensieve to witness the trial.

More than an hour later, the entire Greengrass family emerged from the Pensieve. Damien and Astoria had looks of shock written all over their faces. On the other hand, Lord and Lady Greengrass were looking at Daphne in disbelief. Neither of them could believe what they had just watched. The office remained quiet for quite a few minutes. Nobody moved a muscle.

Roxanne then softly said, "Well that changes everything." She then looked at Daphne with a raised eyebrow and questioned, "Where did you get all of that information from? I expected you to prosecute him the first chance you got. After all, you gave him your heart but in return he broke it and left you as if you meant nothing to him."

Daphne had been expecting this question but not this soon. However, she replied back all the same, "I never told you this, but I never got over Harry. I loved him. But the night he told me that he was a Death Eater. I didn't know what to say. My brain stopped working. He was about to give me an explanation why he was one, but I broke up with him and apparated away before he could say anything. I knew his real identity by then. He had told me a few days before." They all remained quiet as she spoke. "It was only the next day, did I find out what I had done. I should have let him explain but I didn't. I went back to his house, but he was gone. I tried owling him, but I got no response. I even tried communicating with our one-of-a-kind two-way mirrors but there was still no response. I tried for three years." Daphne's eyes were a bit wet as she continued to speak. "Then I got my chance. I found out that Hadrian was getting moved from Azkaban to a Ministry cell, for his trial that was going to happen in a week. So I managed to get through security to speak with him. And then he told me everything. After that, I contacted his father, Sirius Black, and together we managed to get him free."

Cyrus then said, "You have given us a lot to think about. I think we should retire for the night. Its been a long day, and I really need a clear head before I do or say anything stupid."

"Yes I think it's the best idea," backed up his wife as she gracefully stood up. Which was followed by everyone else.

"Tippy has already got the bedrooms ready. Goodnight." said Daphne to everyone. She then left the room and headed towards the grounds to clear her head, whilst the rest of her family went upstairs to their bedrooms for the night.

Back at Potter Manor...

It didn't take the adults that long to make a decision. About 10 minutes later, they returned back to the occupants in the living room. They were all in the same position as they left them in. It seemed as if time had stopped in the room and had only restarted when they walked in. All eyes immediately landed on them as they walked into the room. Susan, Rose and Alexander looked at one another and then at the adults. Rose narrowed her eyes ever so slightly, as if daring them to take her older brother away. Hadrian looked on indifferently however, they all noticed him tense a little. Sirius however looked very nervous.

Once they sat down, the adults all looked towards Lily. It was clear that she would be the one speaking. She cleared her throat, "We have to come to a conclusion." All eyes were on her.

"Hadrian. We cannot punish you for your actions. You've been through enough. However, we wanted to tell you how upset and hurt we are. As your family, we had every right to know what you were doing. You never even knew if we would stop you. You just disappeared one day. Do you know how we felt that day when after hours of searching, you were not found. And then the next thing we hear is that you are now a Death Eater. You broke our heart. Rose has never looked happy once these last few years. Our family was on the breaking point." Hadrian nodded his head in shame. He knew what he did was wrong. There were many better ways that he could have done it.

Lily then looked towards Sirius. "Sirius you on the other hand is a totally different problem. To you we may all look calm but on the inside we are all angry, upset and betrayed. Firstly, how could you do that to Amelia. She was the mother of your child, and you took the child away from her, despite knowing how much she wanted one. The only person who does something like that is a selfish bastard. You only cared about yourself. Do you have an idea how Amelia is feeling right now. Amelia has missed out raising her own child and witnessing his achievements, instead it was myself and James. Do you know how bad that's making us feel?

Secondly, you and Dumbledore put Hadrian on the spot. Who tells their child that your entire life has been a lie and then tells them that he could choose to do this or not. However, the biggest problem was because you betrayed our trust. You could have told us from the beginning, all those years ago. But you didn't. You have constantly been lying to us through the years. It's going to be hard for us to even tell if you're lying or not. You managed to get away with it for years, so who knows what else you've lied about."

Sirius was looking down with tears in his eyes. He knew that what Lily was saying was absolutely true. He had nothing to say in his defense. He never lied to them except if it had anything to do with Hadrian. However, a lie is a lie.

"However, despite us not feeling like we cannot fully trust you, That does not mean we do not want you to leave our lives. We may just be a bit wary around you." add Peter hastily.

Sirius gave them a weak tearful smile, "Thank you. Thank you all so much."

As Rose looked around the room, she got a brilliant idea in her head. She immediately got and with heart-breaking puppy dog eyes said, "How about we all hug it out." As nobody could refuse that face, they all chuckled and made their way towards Rose, where one by one, everyone joined the hug. It seemed that all the negative feelings in the air had evaporated. Everyone relished the group hug, relishing the warmth that it provided.

Then out of the blue, they heard a muffled voice, "Ok! Ok! That's enough for now! I can't breathe. Let me go!"

Shocked, everyone immediately separated from the hug, finding a red face Rose, breathing heavily. Then someone started chuckling, which was surprisingly Alexander. The chuckling was so infectious that it prompted the marauders to start laughing. Within a few moments the entire room was shaking with laughter. Rose glared at them furiously, but you could see she was struggling not to laugh. Eventually, she too started laughing, which started another fresh round of laughter.

Hadrian and Sirius then shared a happy look. Slowly but surely, everything was going back to normal.