Hadrian's True Potential

Chapter Fourteen

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, J.K. Rowling does.

     The end of school approached quickly, and with it came exams. Hadrian wasn't worried, as he was already very far ahead, but still took extra time to study the material. He, Ron, and Hermione spent plenty of time in the common room or library reviewing. Ron wasn't too enthusiastic about it though, and made his opinion load and clear, making it difficult to concentrate.
     Hadrian prefered to study with his dad as it was much calmer in his father's rooms. He could go down to his quarters in the evening and they would chat about their days and Severus would also help him review, particularly in defense and potions. They even dueled sometimes in the living room, although it was a little dangerous, as stray spells often ended up hitting lamps and tearing up the couches. Nothing a repairing charm couldn't fix, though.

     Hadrian sat in his potions exam completely bored out of his mind. He had completed the written test very quickly, and still had an hour before he could leave, so he did what any logical person would do and took a nap. When he woke up an hour later everyone was leaving, so he got up and went to find Draco and Blaise. They had promised to meet each other after the exam and go swim in the lake, something that they all enjoyed doing.
     The three quickly found each other and got dressed in their swim trunks. They all ran down to the lake and Draco and Blaise jumped in. Hadrian, being the responsible one, brought his wand and a towel, and put them off to the side before jumping in as well.

     The three swam in the lake for hours, playing tag and splashing each other. They were all sad when it started to get dark and they had to go back to the castle, but promised to meet and do it again tomorrow.
     Hadrian headed up to the Gryffindor tower and crawled into bed after brushing his teeth and putting on his pajamas. He fell asleep quickly, as he had exhausted himself in the lake. When his roommates came up to sleep he didn't stir, even though they were all talking and laughing loudly.

     The next morning at breakfast Hermione was worried about the potion and transfiguration practicals. She was rambling on and on about what she knew, and Hadrian in the nicest way possible told her to shut up, as she was driving him crazy. She continued to mutter to herself about potion recipes, and the rules of transfiguration. 
     Hadrian met up with Draco and Blaise after their transfiguration practical, which Hadrian did very well at, to go swim in the lake again. The boys all brought towels this time, as drying charms made their hair poofy.
     They spent their time having swimming races, which Draco and Blaise mostly won, due to Hadrian being shorter than them by a decent amount. And played tag, which was Hadrian's favourite.
     After a while they were getting bored so Draco shouted, "Why don't we see who can do the best flips off the dock!"
     "I call going first!" Blaise yelled in response. Blaise then climbed out of the lake and went onto the dock. He did a front flip, making a large splash when he hit the water. His flip was good, and would be hard to beat.
     "Hadrian, your turn." Draco exclaimed.
     Hadrian was a little nervous as he had never done a flip off the dock before, but wanted to try nonetheless. He shivered as he left the water, and quickly made his way to the end of the dock and took a breath before flipping himself into the water. He made a large splash and went under water. He came back up and started to laugh, Draco and Blaise following suit.
     "I think you need a little work, Ri. Blaise's flip definitely was more elegant." Draco said through laughter.
     "Hey! My flip wasn't that bad!" Hadrian said.
     "I'd stick to academics and art, Hades, trust me." Blaise said in response, trying to not laugh. Hadrian's flip was not the worst flip he'd seen, but needed a lot of work.
     "Fine. I still think I did amazingly." Hadrian said jokingly. "You're turn Draco, see if you can beat my flipping skills."
     "I will, it won't be hard. I have elegance, unlike you." Draco replied with a smirk.
     "I have elegance!" Hadrian shouted.
     "Says the person who just flopped into the lake" Draco muttered under his breath, barely loud enough for Blaise and Hadrian to hear. Hadrian huffed and rolled his eyes in response, and Blaise just laughed.
     Draco made his way to the end of the dock and did a front flip off the dock. His was much better than Hadrian's as he actually managed to do a good flip. But Blaise' might have been a little better, which Hadrian made sure Draco knew.
     "Mine was definitely better than Blaise's." Draco said loudly.
     "No, Blaise's was way better. He had more, what did you call it? Right, elegance. His was definitely more elegant than yours." Hadrian said in a joking manner.
     "Oh Hadrian, how you wound me. I thought I was your best friend, but you're picking Blaise's flip over mine." Draco said, as he pretended to cry.
     "Don't worry, Dray, you're still my favorite." Hadrian responded. "But Blaise is just better at flips than you."
     Draco started to splash Hadrian for the comment about the flips, and soon all three of them were in a splash war. They splashed each other until Hadrian surrendered, as Blaise and Draco had teamed up against him, and he had no chance against the pair of them. When he surrendered, Blaise and Draco picked him up and lifted him over to the dock and threw him into the lake. Hadrian popped back up with a pout on his face, "That's just mean." He said.
     Draco and Blaise just laughed in response.
     Once all three boys were out of the water and dry they lay in the grass in the shade under a large tree, and talked about what they were going to do over the summer.  
     Blaise talked about going to Italy to be with his mother and her latest lover, after the last one mysteriously died last fall. He explained that he would be going to Diagon Alley in late August to get his school stuff so they should meet up and buy their stuff together.
     Draco spoke about him going to France with his parents to go shopping and attend some ball that he had little interest in. He also mentioned that his parents were going to try and sign a marriage contract for him over the summer while meeting families at the ball. Draco was really hoping he could convince them not to because he already liked someone, but wasn't sure how his parents would react to it.
     Hadrian talked about joining a dueling club that his father had signed him up for, which he was really looking forward to. His father also hired someone to teach him hand to hand combat so that he would be more adept dueling if we lost his wand. He didn't say anything about Draco's parents signing a marriage contract, but secretly hoped it didn't happen as he had a small crush on him. He was sure Draco was straight though, so he was content just being his friend. Hadrian had yet to tell anyone about his sexuality, as he had only recently realized he liked boys over girls, but would probably tell his dad sometime over the summer. He knew his dad wouldn't care, as he was bisexual himself.

     Eventually the boys grew tired and decided it was time to head inside the castle. They had already called a house elf for dinner, so they could stay out late and look at the stars.
     The boys wished each other goodnight and went their separate ways to the Slytherin and Gryffindor dorms respectively.
     Hadrian walked into his dorm and talked with Ron and Neville for a while. Ron and Neville told Hadrian about their summer plans, and how they both were sure they had failed the potion practical.
     Hadrian eventually said goodnight to the pair and went to sleep. He was looking forward to going back to Spinner's End for the summer, and being able to have a calm summer after the crazy year that he had.