The Black Heir

Four

Four

Scotland, Hogwarts

Hadrian didn't know what he had even been thinking when he had agreed to the wizarding duel in the first place — it was reckless and foolish, all of the things his aunt had wanted him to avoid in the first place. But when Draco had warned him against any action, did he listen? Of course not. He never listened to anything Draco warned him against. He should have realized by now that the blonde boy was far smarter than he and one Theodore Nott combined together. Theodore may be a Slytherin to the core, but if it promised the notion of a fun adventure, the other boy was quite willing to throw his life away for anything. He would have made a rather fine Gryffindor.

They stalked through the dark hallways, shoulder by the shoulder, though Theodore was still the tallest one of them all, and Draco grumbled under his breath, promising a never-ending series of complaints to come in Hadrian's near future. "Hadrian, come on, was there even a need for us to come? Who's to say he won't just bail on us tonight? You didn't even have him sign up a binding contract, much less an unbreakable vow. It may come as a great surprise to you, but not everyone is quite like you. Unlike you, they wouldn't even hesitate once to break their word."

"You make me sound so awfully dull."

Draco shot him a look, as if to say, really? What gave it up? "You are boring, and I say this with as much love in my heart as possible, with your stupid books and stupid noble ideas of a heroism." He complained on and on, not seeming like he was about to stop in ever. "You've always been like that since we were children. Always off to save the life of somebody, disregarding yourself. You were only seven when you climbed a fucking tree on your own to save the life of a small, freaking kitten, Hadrian. A fucking tree, Hadrian. I am not even sure I would be brave enough to climb a tree right now."

Theodore stared. "That is a fucking lie." He whispered to him. "He can climb a tree like a freaking master."

Draco ignored Theodore. "All I am saying is, stop acting so heroic all the time. At the end of the day, nobody would thank you for it." He pleaded. "Try thinking of your needs and wants more. Try living like the rest of us do. Take a break. You need it."

"Draco, just like you cannot change your ridiculously sweet tooth, I cannot change the fact that I would always think of someone else's life long before my own. That's just who I am. Maybe it's the time you accept that fact."

"Not when because of it, you keep dragging me and everyone else into the messes you've created all on your own!"

"And I am forever thankful you are always there to help me to get out of them."

Draco shot him a glare. "For Salazar's sake, Hadrian, I am your cousin, not your freaking babysitter!" He snapped, waving his hands dramatically around himself, stomping on his feet in sheer frustration. "You may not realize this very simple fact, but I don't actually enjoy cleaning up after your messes! Do you know how truly frustrating it is to have to lie to aunt Andromeda about your whereabouts, without her realizing I'm lying to her because that woman is a freaking lie detector, I am telling you." Draco told him quite seriously with his eyebrows arched. "Just, I adore you like a brother I never wished I had, but please, start thinking ahead before you do something reckless like accepting Blaise's wizarding duel request."

"It's quite funny." Hadrian admitted as he stopped mid-walk. "We don't even actually like each other and yet, we still have each other's back at the end of the day."

"Well, you are far too thoughtless for my taste."

Hadrian grinned. "And you do tend to complain too much for mine."

"But that's what it means to be a family, Hadrian. We may argue a lot and we may not always get along or agree on things, if ever, but we are a family. And that means more than stupid arguments about which sport team is the better one ever could."