I've returned from the past

Chapter 16

'Astra inclinant, sed non obligant'

The stars incline us, they do not bind us.

Orion had gone to collect an item of clothing from Hadrian and Tom's study for Tom when he'd spotted a lose floor panel on the bookcase since it didn't go all the way to the floor. 

Everything in him whispered not to open it- not to ruin the room that had been perfectly left. With oak floors and black painted walls with dark wood backings- the oak desk and the perfectly arranged inks and pens- 

Nothing had been changed in this room until moments ago when Orion had disturbed the closet that held a few bits and pieces in it. 

His curiosity bests him and he kneels, prying the old thing off and discovering a box. A curious thing. Thirty centimetres long and wide and twenty tall. 

He pulls it out slowly. 

Was this something Tom had hidden or Hadrian? This was predominantly Hadrian's study so he was more inclined towards the latter as he pulled the lid off entirely and froze. 

The file on top was one Hadrian had frequently carried around. It had been blank, with no name but had been worn at the edges from carrying and usage. He pulls out the thick folder and holds Hadrian's entire life of research in his hands. The very thing they'd feared the enemy had taken- the very thing they knew Hadrian protected earnestly- was right here in his hands. 

Solid. Complete- and it was still warm. A stasis spell? 

Was he- he felt himself tear up at the last dying warmth of his brothers hands- the papers warmed by a sun that couldn't be seen today, on such a snowy day. He could imagine those callused hands holding his for one last time, or pointing at him in laughter- or helping him get up from a fight. Those hands that tended to each and every one of Orion's injuries meticulously. 

He rubs the files and sits on the floor like he was a boy all over again. 

He misses his brother like the snow misses the sun- even if it destroys itself to be in the presence of its warmth again. 

He takes a deep breath, opening the file. 

Brother what were you looking for? 

...

And he get's his answer. A name that had haunted Orion, evaded him for years- stared back at him. There's a whole part of the file dedicated to him- and Hadrians handwriting is as neat as ever, carefully assembled within carefully procured pages of fine paper. Spellbound so thoroughly that Orion had no idea what would kill him or why he could even read it. 

But he reads and his horror only slowly mounts. 

Neville. 

Hadrian had said he didn't know. That is sounded familiar- 

He'd lied. 

The first entry was when they were still in Hogwarts. It didn't make much sense. It sounded more like the aftermath of a nightmare more than anything else- it sounded like Hadrian had seen the future briefly, again. Or that was about as much as he could make out of it.

There was more and more gathered thoughts and evidence as Hadrian grew older, as if he was outgrowing the shock he had seen.

Is this the man that killed Hadrian? Is this the man that killed his brother? The man they hadn't been able to ever find? The man that he couldn't track- couldn't find any information on? The nightmare they'd so desperately been chasing only to lose it?