92 Ch92. Ritual

Hadrian was standing in front of intricate circles made from various runes that were being checked and rechecked for the nth time by Narcissa. "Are you really sure this will succeed?" She worriedly asked, putting her hand on Hadrian's shoulder and squeezing it as if trying to prevent him from doing the ritual.

"I am positive." Hadrian put his own hand on top of hers, looking straight into her worried eyes with a smile. "Don't worry. We already tried it with a not-so-willing test subject and it went fine. You checked the runes at least twenty times too! It will be ok." He rolled his eyes and Narcissa let out a whine as she embraced him.

"I am still worried, you know?" She put her head in the crook of his neck and nuzzled her nose into his skin affectionately. Hadrian didn't respond and just snaked his arms around her waist, pulling her deeper into the embrace, enjoying her warmth. They stood there like that for a time until...

Bellatrix came and stopped in her tracks, her brows furrowing as she gave the two hugging people a weird look. Her expression however morphed into a mischievous one almost instantly and in no time she was sneaking up on them. When she was almost next to them, she, with a wide grin, whispered into their ears. "Booo!"

The duo heard her giddy voice and instantly jumped away from each other from the surprise. making Bellatrix giggle at them childishly. Narcissa glared at her sister a bit when she realized it was her but Hadrian just laughed and snaked his hand around Bella's shoulder, tenderly pulling her closer to his body as he did the exact same thing with his other hand for Narcissa.

"See? Bella is not worried at all." He said, looking at Narcissa but could instantly feel Bellatrix pinching him in the side.

"I AM worried!" Bellatrix exclaimed with a huff. "I still think you should let me go first! If something is wrong..." She trailed off but her hands worriedly clutched Hadrian's clothing. Despite the protests from both of his women, Hadrian wasn't about to listen. He knew it would succeed as he carefully observed the previous experimental try-out with a thug from Knockturn alley. His perception showed him every flaw the process had and he corrected it. The ritual was ready and it was not getting any better any time soon. The only thing that was missing was...

It was then that the door to the ritual chamber in the basement of the Grimmauld Place 12 opened and inside walked Dora with a frown on her lips. From the way she walked, Hadrian instantly knew he would most likely have to listen to the third worried woman and barely resisted the urge to groan. He better unhanded Bella and Narcissa in preparation to handle Dora.

Dora came closer and she didn't even manage to open her mouth when she was stopped by Hadrian who instantly silenced her by kissing her. They separated after a while, not minding the pouting Bella or Cissa, and Hadrian whispered to her. "Don't worry, kay?" Dora was reluctant but in the end, she just nodded obediently while frowning as Hadrian squeezed her hand in thanks.

"Well, then. Everything is ready, time to go, I guess..." He said and all three women sighed in exasperation at once. They nevertheless started. Dora and Bella took a few steps back while Narcissa readied herself up as she was the person who would power up and direct the entire ritual. She went through the ingredients with her gaze for one last time to check them.

"Let's see... Four sources of magic. A bit of phoenix fire signifying rebirth and regrowth, courtesy of Fawkes, check. Fiendfyre... it would be better to have the fabled goblet of fire but this must do. Check. Drag-, ahem, wyvern's," Narcissa corrected herself as she knew Hadrian didn't like to refer to these creatures as dragons. "heart... check. And the core of the Tanzanian Mother Tree which is apparently a part of leyline... check. All these are capable of producing their own magic." She let out a steady breath as she checked everything and saw Hadrian lie in the middle of her runic circles. "Well, then... let's start." She pushed her magic into the runes that instantly lit up with green light.

All three women watched with bated breaths as the magic pulsed and was dragged towards Hadrian through the complex system of runes. The magic was visibly swirling around Hadrian in the center of the runic circles, enwrapping him like a fire.

Hadrian on the other hand was feeling as if he was on a rollercoaster. In one instance, he felt full of energy he surmised was magic, in another he felt utterly empty. His mind couldn't even recognize up and down nor left and right as it was being overloaded. His magic was spiking only to hit rock bottom while his body was barely holding without thrashing due to pain. The pain was quite bearable to his surprise and the disorientation was far worse.

That was when the four magic-producing ingredients caught on fire. Green, soul-rendering fire that blazed like bonfire suddenly sprang up and consumed these ingredients only to form a bridge of fire straight towards Hadrian, engulfing also his entire body. Bella had to hold Dora with her entire strength lest the silly girl interrupts the ritual but even for her it was a nerve-wracking experience. Narcissa also minutely shook when the fire enwrapped Hadrian due to not being sure if it would harm him but calmed down when she saw his skin not being burned. She released a relieved breath she wasn't even aware she was holding as her body relaxed and continued the ritual.

A few minutes passed and Rei was still 'burning' but the flames were getting weaker and weaker by the second, entering his body, concentrating in the chest area. When they completely vanished and the runes dimmed, Narcissa had to support herself with the nearby wall as she wobbly stood exhausted, barely keeping herself on her feet but despite her momentary weakness, her eyes were intently staring at Hadrian's body in worry.

Hadrian felt like utter crap. Despite the feeling of dwelling energy in his body, he couldn't help but find it bothersome that he had to give enormous effort to only stay awake right now. He was exhausted from his magical insides being destroyed, remolded, mixed, squeezed, and then regrown. Not standing up, he just waited for his girls to approach him as he didn't trust his legs to actually carry him anywhere at the moment.

Dora and Bellatrix approached Narcissa and supported her body as they relocated towards Hadrian. They all leaned over to him, only to see his eyes open and a sleepy smile on his face. "Hi, girls. Looks like it was a success." He drawled to them, which made them return the smile.

"Well, good to know it's possible to create a magic factory." Narcissa quipped to which Hadrian just raised his hand in acknowledgment and lit an emerald green fire on his hand. A fire, that was no longer just a transfiguration but a representation of his very own magic. It quickly spread through the entire room, engulfing it from one wall to the opposite one. All three women were at first startled but then realized that while their bodies were burning, it didn't bring them anything but comfort and a feeling of safety. They felt wrapped in Hadrian's magic and could perceive his feelings for them due to that as he opened to them and their magic connected to his, them opening to him. All four of them hugged and stayed like that for a long time amidst the room lit by green fire… until they felt asleep.