A Hero's Path

By the time Harry finished reading the scroll, he felt his heartbeat slow down and his magic rippling the same way it would do every time before a skirmish or a battle in his last life.

Thinking back on those times, he lamented the fact that the lonely, loveless child he had been had ever dreamt of being the hero everyone had proclaimed him to be in The Wizarding World.

In this life, he had wanted to have a normal life - family and friends and live peacefully till he was once again back in The Land Of The Dead and was then shuttled off to another world, but it seemed circumstances were conspiring to place him back on that path once again.

However, he didn't want to tread upon the same path once again.

Not for himself but for his loved ones because he had learnt his lesson too late last time.

Heroes might be worshipped by the masses but they lost all too much to stand upon that pedestal.

He had experienced firsthand that cost and realised that it wasn't worth anything in the end.

Even more worthless than a few knuts.

"So it begins," he whispered to himself. "It seems no matter what, I and my loved ones will always have to be embroiled in other people's grand delusions."

--------Line Break--------

Harry passed the first half of the day in a haze and he didn't notice how everyone - from teachers to students looked at him and flinched.

They could feel his potent power and knew that for the first time since he had entered Hogwarts, The Heir to The Ancient And Noble House Of Black was agitated enough to not take precautions to keep his magic in check.

Harry made it outside Greenhouse Two before he saw Abraxas standing on the other side and from the looks of it, waiting for him.

Oh!

He remembered.

They still needed to talk about how they were going to deal with the unintended meaning of his words and actions last night.

However, he didn't think he was up to taking rationally about anything as of yet.

Thinking about how others were coercing his family left him boiling in anger and he wanted to lash out - at Fate, at Death, at Luck or even at Grindewald's Acolytes who dared to come to The Black Manor and put pressure upon his grandfather.

The fact that he couldn't do any of those things, left him feeling cornered.

Before he could side-step Abraxas, the other person blocked his path, "We need to talk."

Starting at his cousin brought to mind the fact that Abraxas had already lost his father and might just lose much more in the upcoming war.

Harry took deep breaths to calm himself and his magic, "I can't. Not right now."

"Hadrian, can't you feel what's happening?" The question was asked plaintively as if the answer should have been obvious and Harry furrowed his brows at that.

When he shook his head, Abraxas held his wrist in a tight enough grip to leave a bruise behind and said, "Your magic. It's rolling in waves and everyone is worried about it. They are thinking about whether to confront you or leave you to it. Don't forget you come from a Dark affiliated and declared House and are the heir to it. It makes people antsy when your magic is churning almost violently."

The words certainly shocked Harry and he cleared his mind of the haze he had been since reading everything his grandfather had sent him.

Sighing to himself, he turned towards Abraxas, "Thank you for telling me. I have been absent-minded and it was my mistake."

"Nevermind that. Just calm your magic and give others a wide berth for the next few days. You don't want any more tongues wagging than they already are and the rumour mill is certainly at work."

He gave a wan smile at his cousin's attempt at dark humour and both of them walked away from the corridor - not noticing that a pair of obsidian eyes were watching their backs.

--------Line Break--------

Tom stopped without meaning to.

He watched as Malfoy clucked over Black like a mother hen worried for her chicks and saw as both of them left together.

He really had to marvel at Malfoy's timing every time.

That boy always appeared right at the moment Tom wanted to talk to Black.

He wondered if Heir Malfoy had cast some sort of spell to know when he was speaking time with Black and appeared to take away the said person at the least opportune moment.

He had felt Black's magic blazing throughout the day and just as he had decided to ask Black about it, he was refrained once again by Malfoy.

Tom also had the errant thought to wonder if he and Malfoy were perhaps enemies in some other life and the boy was enacting his revenge in his subtle way or if the other person felt reassured enough to always be able to take Black away from him.

Even more aggravating was the fact that Black seemed to be oblivious to it all and Tom had the rising suspicion that these timely interventions from Malfoy were not so coincidental as they seemed.