look me in the eyes and burn

Chapter 3 - No matter how you look at it, it's the truth.

It took a total three seconds for him to realize just what exactly had happened and to remember where he was.

Hastily he brought his hands back down and returned to a more normal stance. Laughing sheepishly he ran a hand through his messy, unimaginably short hair.

"Sorry," apologised Hadrian, "I was lost in thoughts. You, ah... startled me." He grinned bashfully at the wide eyes and gaping jaws of the Order members and the shocked Molly Weasley who had been thrown a few feet back. Fortunately not hard enough to hurt her in any way and quiet enough not to disturb a certain concealed portrait.

'Way to go to be inconspicuous' he berated himself while everyone just continued to stare, 'I'm just as bad the this Order of the Phoenix.'

Finally, the extremely tense and awkward atmosphere was broken by Molly Weasley's nonchalant, though slightly hysteric, whisper, "Oh, no need to apologise, dear. I shouldn't have ambushed you like that, and since we all need to be really quiet here you couldn't have possibly heard me. Its my fault, really." She waved it off. "It's just lovely to see you, Harry!"

With that she once again pulled the reluctant — but now expecting — man into a rib-cracking hug before holding him at arm's length and examining him carefully.

"You're looking peaky; you need feeding up, but you'll have to wait a bit before dinner I'm afraid." She criticized before immediately turning to the gang of wizards behind him and whispering urgently, "He's just arrived, the meeting's started."

With that the wizards behind Hadrian all made noises of interest and excitement before filing past him and towards what he knew to be the kitchen. Hadrian, knowing he wouldn't be allowed inside and desperately wanting to get away from Molly's strong and firm grip, made towards the stairs. However, before he could take as much as two steps, the bruising grip returned.

"No, Harry, the meeting's only for members of the Order. Ron and Hermione are upstairs, you can wait with them until the meeting's over, then we'll have dinner. And keep your voice down in the hall."

Had Molly's voice sounded that sweet and pitying the first time around? It must have, but he couldn't be sure. He was almost certain that if it did he would have flipped, would have screamed and raged at them for pitying him and not letting him in on Order meetings. But then... he had been really freaking oblivious, so maybe?...

Stumbling slightly when Molly reprimandingly pushed his malnourished body towards the stairs and therefore away from the place where the meeting was taking place, Hadrian vanished up the stairs without waiting for further directions and simply — if a bit timid — went to the room he clearly remembered sharing with Ron.

The hallways he walked through on his way there were just as grim, opulent and decayed as the outside of the house. Somehow it was a shame, really, to have such a great and magnificent house reduced to this... Okay, the house-elf heads obviously couldn't count as anything other than horrendous. Honestly, it might be an honor and a sign of wealth to participate in this tradition (for both wizards and house-elves), but some traditions were better left in the past.

And also, having heads decorate the walls was just so 1700.

xXxXxXx

The moment he stepped inside the familiar — more clean but still grim and already once again untidy — room, a very large quantity of bushy brown hair attacked him. His magic was coiled and ready to strike. It almost gave his attacker the same treatment as Molly just a few minutes ago. Fortunately for the attacker — Hermione — though, Hadrian recognized her in the last moment possible and managed to reign his magic in.