11 parts Ongoing MatureHarry Potter was never the hero they thought he was. Not deep down.
Before his ninth birthday, he meets Death and learns what the world will never understand: affection is a currency, power is safety, and control is everything. Death arms him with knowledge. Tom Riddle offers him vision. The Wizarding World, in its ignorance, gives him the perfect mask.
Sorted into Slytherin, Harry becomes exactly what they want to see-the golden boy with the easy smile, the savior draped in light. But behind the angel's face lies a mind forged in shadows, ruthless and ravenous.
Hadrian Peverell does not crave survival. He craves devotion. He craves fear. He craves a world that kneels because it loves him too much to resist. And when he finds Tom Riddle's diary, speaking and thinking and plotting... well, why go back to the 1940s when you can bring the Dark Lord to you? He dreams of drawing him close, of building an empire hand in hand.
Together, they'll build something better. A world worthy of their brilliance. A world that loves him, fears him, needs him.
Harry Potter was born to die.
Hadrian Peverell was born to rule.