Ephithet

Srius Black, a sector head Auror as well as James Potter's close friend, along with Lily Potter, a specialist in wards and charms, marched into Hogwarts the day after the troll was secured.

The troll had been found three corridors over from the Slytherin common room. It was reported that it had developed second degree burns on its hands, dislocated its right shoulder, and somehow obtained a minor concussion. The troll was cautiously charmed and transported by a small Auror team to an unknown location.

The fact the troll's injuries were public knowledge quickly forced the dynamics of students to shift uncontrollably. Students became suspicious of one another, tensions were nearing a breaking point across houses. Hufflepuffs were snapping at Ravenclaws, just the other day a Gryffindor upper year landed himself in the hospital wing after tackling another student down a flight of stairs.

Adrian was thankful Lutain hadn't bit the creature, if that was the case there would only be so few suspects.

Draco found the situation amusing, resting in the self-satisfied glow of finally having Adrian under Snape's wrath. Adrian had almost received a detention for sliding into the common room at such an inopportune moment. The only reason he hadn't was due to his spotless track record. Once the troll was found with burns, regardless of the previous evidence which implied otherwise, the whispers started. His mysterious tardiness alongside the troll's injuries painted a target on his back as the only suspect in the eyes of his house-mates. Of course, in a castle populated by students, some legally of age to be considered an adult, it would be asinine for teachers and aurors to interrogate an eleven year old boy.

It didn't deter Draco, who took it as his personal mission to pry the truth out of Adrian.

"Seems funny, that a troll was actually in the castle." Draco drawled, moving a chess piece one square forward. Blaise scowled at his opponent, thinking rapidly to counter the move.

"It musta been one heck of a spell to bring it here." Theo noted, looking just as twitchy as ever, "Musta been one heck of a spell to take it down."

"If it was a spell." Draco trailed off, implications weighing heavy as once more, his silver eyes slid to Adrian and his trademark book.

"You all are missing the point," Adrian stated with a sigh, turning a page absentmindedly with two fingers, "Someone, not a student or staff, brought a live mountain troll into Hogwarts, past the wards."

Blaise rolled his eyes, "Calm down there, Harry."

Adrian stiffened suddenly, tensing his entire body to the point of miniscule trembles.

"What, did you call me?" He asked, forcing casualness despite the rising swell of anxiety and rage. His legs tensed spasmitaclly, his own brute effort to restrain from leaping across and pummeling his roomate. How Adrian wished to see him choke- how the scenario flashed before his eyes with Adrian's own primitive snarl and his fingers tightening against the fluttering throat-

Blaise blinked lazily and bored, "Harry. Your name is Hadrianus isn't it? Adrian was getting old-"

"I like it," Theo chimed, quickly flinching and shying away once he noticed Adrian's countenance, "Or, er, not?"

"Zabini, you're switching rooms with Nott."

Blaise paused, "Like hell I am-"

"Coltello." Adrian hissed out, snapping his book shut with a crack. His freezing spell was over, now he rolled with the jerky movements of barely restrained violence. Blaise's eyes widened and his nostrils flared.

"No?" Adrian asked, his voice was wavering suspiciously high, "So get out."

Blaise's jaw tensed but he relinquished with sharp nod.

Unaware of the perils of approaching, an upper year walked forward from the other side of the Slytherin Common Room.

"Adrian Selwyn?" Either arrogant or unobserving, an upper year addressed the group carelessly. Theo pointed wordlessly at Adrian, his thin face still expressing the finest twitch of alarm. Blaise recovered first, groaning loudly in frustration as once again, Draco had cornered him into a check.

As if the sound had broken an unspoken spell, the atmosphere broke and melted away.

"How may I be of assistance?" Adrian monotonously asked, relaxing his clenched fists and blinking three times to compose himself.

"You do things for people, right?" The boy asked, looking uncomfortable as he just now comprehended how terse the four were. Adrian gave a minor nod, confirming what was almost public knowledge already.

"Would you meet with this, ah, another student and get something for me?" the boy asked, trying to hide his instinctive shifting of weight.

Considering how shady this already sounded, it didn't take much of a guess to assume who it was Adrian would have to see.

"I'm to pay Calum a visit?" Adrian sighed, "I don't do things from the generosity of my heart."

"What heart?" Draco mumbled, moving a rook to overtake Blaise's poorly placed knight.

The boy flushed, either embarrassed or annoyed. He reached into his bag- charmed to be larger internally then it appeared. After sinking his arm up to his elbow in the brown sack's innards, he retrieved a package wrapped in brown paper.

"Two vials of Dreamless Sleep potion, I managed to snag them from the hospital wing awhile back. They're still good." The boy urged, Adrian plucked the package and absentmindedly fingered the paper edging.

"Don't the older students brew this?" Adrian raised one eyebrow, looking disappointed with the offer, "How is this any better than what I can get?"

"It's Pomfrey," The boy blinked, looking gobsmacked, "She gets them from St. Mungos!"

Adrian suspected she actually purchased them from a potion supplier company, not St. Mungos directly. Having industrial strength potions instead of blind trust in someone's brewing abilities was beneficial.

Adrian set the package beside him on his couch, procuring his wand and offering the end daintily. The boy blinked in confusion but pinched the wooden end between his forefinger and thumb.

"Peddlemus, there. I'll uphold in our bargain. When and where?" Adrian interrogated quietly, obtaining the relevant information. The boy, Dyrik, left.

"That's what you do?" Draco asked, much more interested having seen the exchange first hand, "You work in little arrangements?"

"I've gotten over fifty galleons, and It's not even holiday break." Adrian noted, raising one eyebrow at Draco's gobsmacked expression, "It's an excellent business."

Adrian walked up the steps quickly and with precision. His shoes- swapped for soft soles, permitted him to climb the steps essentially silent.

He took the first right once reaching the top of the staircase, seeing the faint glimmer of the setting sun illuminate the covered bridge. A tall figure was leaning against one of the arches, looking at the view of the Black Lake.

"It's been a while, Calum." Adrian smiled politely, walking out past the heating wards. The chill of nearly winter bit through his cloak mercilessly.

Calum spun, glaring at Adrian with scowl, "What you doing here, kid?"

"Dyrik sends his regards." Adrian explained, holding out two galleons which Calum snatched up tentatively. In turn, Calum pulled out two vials of something dark, before passing it over. Adrian grabbed it in his significantly smaller hands.

"Careful there, that's all I got." Calum warned.

"Look at you, a potions dealer." Adrian chuckled, sliding the twin vials into his pocket. Calum scowled, looking on the verge of saying more.

He didn't, instead he stormed past Adrian through the wards back into the warmth of the castle. Adrian followed soon after, although the view from the bridge was amazing he'd rather be dressed more suitably against the temperature.

He was descending the stairs when he ran into Hermione. The girl flushed wildly, but seemed determined in a self righteous way.

"Adrian." she huffed, putting her hands on her hips dramatically in a way which reminded him of Draco, "I want to make a bet!"

Adrian blinked, overly conscious of the vials in his pocket, "Deals. I make deals. Do you have coin?"

She deflated instantly, the Gryffindor bravado vanished from her body like the water of a sink leaving when it's plug was pulled. She chewed her lip- a horrid habit with teeth like hers, hesitantly shaking her head. Adrian felt a surge of disgust, had others truly caved under an expression so pitiful? Bella would have sent him something memorable if he ever tried an expression as unsightly as that.

"I can make other deals, favours. What is it you need?" Adrian asked, tilting his head curiously.

"I- I'm trying to find anything on this name," she chewed on her lip unsure. She didn't seem motivated to indulge him any more information before they had an accordance of sort.

Adrian pulled out his wand and offered the end to Hermione. "Hold the tip, I'll cast the spell. If I don't follow through you won't be expected in any way to help me later on." Hermione nodded and grabbed it carefully.

"Peddlemus."

Her eyes widened when she felt the warm tingle, Adrian slid his wand back in his pocket. "What is it you need help with?"

"Nicholas Flamel." Hermione blurted all too eager for his help, "I- I know the name but I can't remember from where!"

Flamel, Adrian remembered that name. The ancient man had worked alongside Lutain's namesake, generally he had created spells for transmutation. Ingredients for alchemy and metallurgy.

"I'll find out. Where is the Gryffindor common room located?" Adrian asked calmly, Hermione dutifully explained that the room was located behind the portrait of the Fat Woman just off the stairwells.

Now all Adrian had to do was to figure out why Flamel was important enough to have Hermione make a deal with him.

Adrian returned to the large train, prepped to transport the students back to King's Cross station. Snow had just started to sprinkle, a gentle sight Adrian had seen rarely since he had lived in lower England instead of northern Scotland.

He diverted his eyes once removing himself from the carriage. The Thestrals snuffed loudly, no steam rising from the sunken nostrils.

Adrian once again secured a single compartment for himself. This time he had dragged his trunk along with him, feather-light and slightly shrunken for better maneuvering.

"Going home?" Lutain questioned, peering around the compartment and flicking his tongue wildly, "Home-rats taste best."

"That's because you're spoiled." Adrian murmured under his breath, reaching into his other pocket to retrieve a broken quill he had stuffed in one late night at the library.

He held it loosely, twirling the broken shaft and split vanes between his fingers.

He pulled gently at the thrumming whispers under his skin, fingers tingling until they nearly burned just under the nail beds; the quill shivered, changing and warping in a grotesque slow transformation. Sharp edges vibrated on the border of comprehension before warping into brown. The mass of the quill expanded then shrunk, bubbling on the surface like Crabbe's failed potions. It spasmed in an awkward jumble of magic, something wild and unrestrained forced and shackled to obey Adrian's focus and desire. It settled and cooled rapidly, complete and laying limp in the shape of a dead mouse.

Lutain scented it immediately, his head turned and wavered as his tongue poked through the small hole in his frontal jaw and flickered incessantly.

Adrian smiled wordlessly, his mind sated if not slightly exhausted from the adrenal thrill which occurred after the release of his magic. It had been a painfully long while since he had any reason to release his intent and shape something to his pleasure.

"Mine?" Lutain asked eagerly, dancing instinctevly at the rodent, "Mine still if you say not. This mine."

The door to the compartment slid open at the single time to witness not only Lutain's jaws unhinging to consume a limp rodent, but also the baffling carefree grin on Adrian's face.

"Bloody hell," Draco breathed "That is more terrifying than triple detention with Filch."

Adrian's smile instantly fell and his expression returned to normal range of clouded impasse. He turned his head, giving Draco one of his dryest glances; Adrian's hair was ruffled still which partially damaged his newfound composure.

"Why are you here?" Draco ignored the inquiry and instead sat on the seat across from Adrian, he watched Lutain for a moment with tense body language.

"My father always hosts a Yule Ball." Draco started, his head lifted high.

"I won't be able to attend," Adrian cut off Draco, hastily adding in, "No insult intended for your noble house. It would have been a pleasure, although regrettably in my own family the traditions of yule are more..." Adrian trailed off, before offering a wry smile, "It's difficult to explain."

Draco's eyes were clouded although he gave a sharp nod of understanding. He rose, prim and proper before walking to the doors of the compartment and pausing, "I fully anticipate gifts for the holidays from you, Adrian. Obviously it will be reciprocated."

Adrian gave the barest movement of a nod, "Obviously,"

Adrian returned to the Lestrange household with loud squeals from Bella and gruff welcomes from her husband and brother-in-law.

Bellatrix was rough, grasping his arm excitedly and with enough vigor to blossom bruises under his skin. He returned it briefly, taking a step back as Bellatrix's eyes scanned his face to take in his new appearance.

"Your hair is getting too long," She tutted her tongue, grasping the long strands roughly, they were being swept aside on his forehead to not obscure his eyesight. "Have you gotten thinner?"

"Unlikely considering the ridiculous amount of pudding and pastries at every meal," Adrian rebutted, causing Bellatrix to wriggle in joy.

She was eager, already casting spells upwards against the creaking and groaning supports above their head. Adrian kept his wand on him, ready for a shielding spell incase Bella's spell's resulted in breaking the roof after all.

Hedwig returned and took to roosting in the owlery happily, she had swept into the large dining hall and delivered a still breathing mouse to Lutain to express her satisfaction. The snake in question had ate earlier, Hedwig did not mind his refusal, digging in instead with relish.

The Yule holiday wasn't especially eventful although compared to the daily schedule of Hogwarts, it was filled with a relentless series of drills and fights. Bellatrix was personally adamant that Adrian had forgotten all he had managed to learn, and took her time to draw out their matches until Adrian was nearly whimpering on the ground.

The third day of winter break Adrian managed to perform the stunning spell, although rudimentary and weak in power, it had caught Bella off guard enough that her elbow was clipped and she teetered to the ground.

The fourth day, she was determined to drill in the spell until it was effortless for him, no matter the amount of times she would have to awaken him.

Adrian slumped to the ground, hand clutching his shoulder where crimson weeped from a cutting curse.

Bellatrix folded her legs and sat directly across from him with a savage look in her eye. She poked his arm, ignoring his hiss of pain and licked the red from her dark nails.

"Your father wants you to learn Occlumency." She informed Adrian, causing the latter to freeze; the pain in his arm felt so insignificant all the sudden.

"What?" He breathed, pulling his knees to his chest and clutching them carefully.

"I don't know how to do it," Bellatrix confessed, "He said my brain is a bit too-" her eyes became alit with a maddening fire, "too confusing."

"When does he want me to learn it by?" Adrian swallowed, feeling anxiety rise in his throat and buzz nauseatingly in his stomach, "How much time do I have?"

"Summer?" She asked, tilting her head as she squinted into nothing, "Summer I think?"

"That's not long," Adrian whispered, hand spasming into a tight fist. Bellatrix acted like the information wasn't new, she could have given him more time. She could have told him.

He almost saw a filter slide over his eyes, something dark and shrouding his vision. He looked at Bella, so intimately cold at her, and with a crack of one knuckle she was suddenly trapped in the chaotic mingling of screams and laughter.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner." Adrian bit out, somewhere between hysteria and raw fury. "You could have given me more time."

He released her, the pressure vanishing as the hands pushing on his skull released their grip. She went lack on the ground, still laughing although they only sounded winded.

"Because," her voice bubbled between still twitching lips, "It's funny when you do this."

"You think it's funny?" Adrian asked, voice strikingly cold; he twisted his head, trying to get something in his neck to crack on the one side while it refused to do so.

He pressed on her, feeling something in his chest tighten as her breath refused to come to him. She spasmed on the ground, unable to laugh with the air being pulled from her very lungs.

"You've placed me in a poor situation, Lestrange." Adrian's voice was ice, "Not again."

He released her, and walked away.

Christmas Day Adrian spent with Lutain nestled on a stack of warm towels, and Hedwig perched in the branches of an obnoxiously large tree in the drawing room.

Rodolphus and Rabastan were gone often the days leading up to the holiday, apparently on missions to recruit or blackmail wizards. Christmas day they were battered with broken bones and blackened eyes, all in various states of healing.

"Let's ignore that," Bellatrix huffed, instead sliding a hazardous wrapped box over towards Adrian. "Open it!"

Adrian did so, pulling on the tape to loosen the paper. It was a crate, and inside that was a single key.

He held it up questioningly, to which Bellatrix elaborated that it was a key to her childhood home. She didn't understand Adrian's compulsion or longing with every book within sight, but could recognize the vast collection of books and scrolls that belonged to the family of Black held valuable wealth.

Rodolphus gifted him a journal, one thick and black Adrian immediately designated to keep track of all the deals that had transacted. Rodulphus also gave him various objects that although showed an effort, it didn't show that he knew Adrian very well. Socks, a pair of new boots, treats for Hedwig and a potion for Lutain to aid during sheds. Rabastan went slightly further, giving him an inkwell fashioned from some sort of magical creature's claw, and a collection of potions in small vials; most were likely questionable in content.

There was another gift, in a small box with silvery embossed paper. Once Adrian was able to see it closer, the embossing was actually a delicate peacock feather pattern.

"The Malfoy's?" Adrian asked, glancing at Bella who shrugged and looked at the paper.

Adrian pulled it open, lifting the black lid off until he spotted the shimmering black fabric.

He pulled it out carefully, the material feeling almost like silk yet it likely was much stronger.

"Why would Malfoy's gift me something?"

He lifted the entire mass from the box, freezing when he deciphered spidery handwriting at the very bottom.

'You will show your worth.'

It wasn't signed, and it didn't need to be.

He pulled the cloth out and unfolded it, it was a cloak. The trimmings were in silver with ivory clasps akin to Death Eater masks. The tail of the cloak was in tatters, select strands touching the floor while other ratty tears only met his calf. The material was silky and chillingly cold compared to the rest of the cloak.

"Adrian," Bellatrix spoke, voice low as she leant in to be heard, "The Dark Lord has named you as his heir," Her lips nearly touched his ear, "Cerastes."

Like a viper rearing to strike, Adrian felt the thick coils of something under his skin tightening in tension.

He was out of time after all.