It was the early hours of the morning when Adrian woke, still fully clothed on his bed. He could hear the steady breathing of Dorian on the other side of the room, telling him that his roommate was fast asleep. Luckily the curtains were closed around Adrian’s bed so the other boy wouldn’t have seen the state he was in.
Trying to stay as quiet as possible, Adrian changed into his pyjamas and got under the covers properly. Once there though, he suddenly found himself unable to sleep. The pain and exhaustion from earlier on had gone, and now his brain wouldn’t switch off and his thoughts just kept swirling round and round in his head.
He hated himself for casting the curse on the boy. At the time it felt like he hadn’t had a choice but he must have done. He could have refused. The boy would have been even more hurt, but surely that still didn’t make it okay?
He thought about Gemma and how often she was in detention. He was very rarely still up when she returned so he had no idea what sort of state she was usually in. Did the Carrows have her as the caster or the victim? He thought he probably knew the answer to that question. They wouldn’t have someone as outspoken as her doing the casting. Surely she would be the one they would make the others torture in an attempt to break her down. But still she continued to cause trouble, kept landing herself in more and more detentions.
It was her fault Adrian had been there. She had known exactly what would happen to him in that room. But why? Why did she care so much? What had she thought she was going to achieve? Was this just revenge? She obviously didn’t want to be friends again but did she really want him to get hurt? Or was she trying to show him something? Adrian already knew the Carrows were bad teachers. He already suspected that they weren’t really following a Ministry approved syllabus, though of course he still found the detention shocking. He just wasn’t sure what to do with the information. He briefly thought about going to Professor Snape but he thought the headmaster probably already knew what was happening and was choosing to ignore it.
Perhaps the school was not under the control of the Ministry anymore. Adrian couldn’t possibly believe that the Minister of Magic would let such things happen. He had heard so much talk about He Who Must Not be Named, maybe he was behind what was happening in the school? Though why were so many people just letting it happen? After all, it was the Ministry who had declared Hogwarts attendance compulsory. Unless that was He Who Must Not be Named as well? But then if he could influence the Ministry, what did that mean?
At some point in his thoughts, Adrian must have dropped off, because when he woke up the dormitory was empty. He glanced at the time - he was late for breakfast and would miss his first class if he didn’t hurry. After rushing to get ready, he joined the rest of his class outside Charms just in time, if a little out of breath due to running from the common room. He was hungry, but hopefully could wait until lunch to eat.
Dark Arts followed Charms and Professor Carrow glared at Adrian when he entered. It was clear the Professor’s opinion of him had changed a great deal after the previous day, which Adrian found confusing. Had they really thought he would perform the spells without question? Was that the kind of person they thought he was? Was that how everyone thought he was? He didn’t even know who he thought he was anymore. At the beginning of the year all he had cared about was his brother and his friends and now he had lost his friends and hadn’t spoken to his brother since Christmas. Were they the ones with the problem or had it been him all along?
That evening, he wrote to Samuel.
Dear Samuel,
Sorry I haven’t written for so long. And I am sorry for what I said at Christmas. I just want you to be happy, so I think you should do what you want. I miss talking to you.
School is the same as always - I have too much homework to do! I am already looking forward to the holidays again but Easter feels like a long time away.
I hope you are having a good term.
Adrian.
The letter didn’t seem enough somehow, but he wasn’t sure what else to say. He just hoped his brother would read it and forgive him.
He had avoided Hector and Duncan most of the day, choosing to eat lunch and dinner alone. He knew they would ask about detention and he didn’t really know what to tell them - definitely not the truth anyhow. He had also avoided having too much contact with the other fourth years. He couldn’t stand the thought of the smug look he imagined on Gemma’s face or the pointed blanks from Dorian. They could all go to hell.
It took a few days for things to start getting back to normal. He began spending a lot more time in the library and though he was eating with Hector and Duncan again, it wasn’t the same.
He couldn’t help feeling a little pathetic. After all, some people were in detention every night, going through the same horrible experiences day after day and they seemed to cope. But they had friends to support them. Adrian’s friends hated him, and those that didn’t would if they really knew him.
To make matters a little worse, he didn’t get any reply to his letter to Samuel. He wondered if this meant his brother hadn’t forgiven him at all.
He really wanted to speak to his dad but he didn’t think he could put everything he wanted to say in a letter. Maybe the Easter holidays would give him an opportunity to finally ask all his questions.
Lessons with the Carrows became unbearable. Now they had decided that Adrian was not on ‘their’ side, they began to target him as badly as anyone else. He never spoke out of turn and put as much effort in to the lessons as possible, but still they found reasons to snap at him and he couldn’t help feeling that it was only a matter of time before he ended up in another detention. He just couldn’t understand why; what had he done that was so bad except refuse to hurt some kid two years younger than him? He knew really though that even in this small way, he had proven to the Professors that he wasn’t like them and that he wouldn’t be part of whatever they were trying to achieve. Now if only he could prove that to everyone else as well and prove it in a way that wouldn’t hurt Samuel.
There was one other problem for Adrian. Though he never really admitted it to himself, the truth was that he still found it difficult not to believe everything he had been taught by his mother and the Ministry. He so desperately wanted to believe that there was a chance for Samuel to be a wizard one day and their explanations had always made so much sense to him. It was obvious that life wasn’t as simple as he had first thought, but he wasn’t quite ready to let go of his most fundamental beliefs.
Most of the details of that year in Hogwarts would eventually fade from Adrian’s memory, but even decades later there were things he could still recount with complete accuracy, including something that happened early in March, a month after his first detention with the Carrows.
It didn’t seem like a particularly special evening at first but it was one that Adrian would remember as changing everything for him.
Unusually for him, he had gone to the common room rather than the library after dinner and was playing a game of Exploding Snap with Hector and Duncan. Inevitably, the game had become rather rowdy and a few of the other fifth years had joined in, while more gathered round to watch. Hector had just won a particularly dramatic round when the door to the common room opened. Initially no one paid much attention - there were always people coming and going in the evening but gradually a silence fell through the room and the boys playing cards looked up to see what was happening.
Professor Carrow stood at the door, looking straight at the card players.
Immediately the game halted and everyone stopped talking. Though more common over the last few months than ever before, a Professor in the common room was still relatively unheard of.
–Radley,†the Professor called, –come with me. Now!â€
Adrian rose and without seeming to think about it, the other students moved aside, creating a clear path between him and the Professor. He stole a quick look at Hector and Duncan who gave him concerned glances before looking back at the Professor.
Adrian followed Carrow out of the door. Without realising it, he had started shaking. He tried to think back to everything that had happened over the last few days, searching for anything that could have got him into trouble, but there was nothing.
He could feel the eyes of everyone in the room on him as he left and he knew that everyone would be wondering what he had done, and what was about to happen to him. The one thing they could all be sure of was that it could not be anything good.
The Professor led him in silence to his office where someone else was waiting for them. Adrian didn’t recognise the man, who was dressed all in black and had a stern look on his face.
–Adrian Radley?†he asked as they entered. Adrian nodded.
–My name is Ralph Richards, from the office of the Muggle-born registration committee. I have been instructed to escort you to the Ministry of Magic for questioning. The headmaster and your parents have been informed. Do you understand?â€
Adrian nodded again. In truth he had about a thousand questions but he doubted the man was going to answer any of them. To test his theory, he tried the most obvious one. –Sir, why am I being taken? I am not a Muggle-born.â€
–Everything will be explained at the Ministry. I have not been given orders to reveal any further information beyond escorting you to the Ministry.
–We shall be travelling by Floo powder. I trust you are familiar with this mode of transport?â€
–Yes, Sir. What destination should I say?â€
–It won’t be necessary. This fire place is set up with a direct network to the Ministry. There are no other possible exits. I will go first and wait for you. The Professor will ensure you follow promptly.â€
Adrian realised this was being done to make sure there would be no opportunity for him to run away at either side. Something was obviously seriously wrong if it was a situation they suspected he would want to run away from. Still, he was confused. He was not a Muggle-born and he had not done anything in the last week that could be cause for Ministry questioning. He thought of Gemma and of the others who caused trouble everyday but were never punished beyond the detentions with the Carrows.
It did make him question the Ministry’s relationship with the school however. Things could not be all that bad if they still had a direct connection, and if members of the Ministry were allowed to simply remove pupils from the school without notice.
There was no further time for questions or even for thinking, however, as the man from the Ministry threw powder in to the flames and vanished. Carrow threw another handful into the grate and pushed Adrian forward. –Don’t try anything stupid,†were his last words as Adrian stepped in to the flames and Hogwarts vanished behind him.
It was unlike any of his previous experiences with Floo Powder. This time there were no other fireplaces, no other exits along his journey, just a black, silent tunnel which eventually came to an end with him stumbling out of a fireplace somewhere he didn’t recognise. Almost instantly a hand grabbed his arm and held him upright. It was the man who had speaking to him minutes before. Another man, also dressed all in black, stood on Adrian’s other side.
They were in a small square room with bare walls and floors, empty except for the fireplace from which he had just emerged and a door immediately opposite. The men marched Adrian towards the door and they into a corridor with other doors going off to the left and right.
Adrian had only been to the Ministry a few times in his life, when he had occasionally accompanied his dad to work, but he had never seen anywhere like this. They walked for a few minutes, twisting and turning down different corridors until finally, just when Adrian was sure they must be lost, they ground to a halt outside one of the many plain black doors. One of the men used his wand to open it and they led Adrian inside.
The room was already occupied by a man who sat at a table, looking tired and worn. It took Adrian a minute to realise that this was in fact his father but when he did so, his heart leapt. He felt suddenly confident that whatever this was, it couldn’t be anything too awful if his dad was here. Surely Edward would never sit by while his son was mistreated or forced to do things he didn’t wish to do.
Edward looked up as the door opened and he gave Adrian a reassuring smile before glaring at the other men. –I hope you have not mistreated him. He is not even of age yet. I think it’s absurd that you have even insisted on bringing him here - this could just as easily have been done at the school.â€
–It is policy that all questioning take place in Ministry premises and it has been deemed necessary to speak to your son regarding this matter. We have allowed you to be present at this questioning but you must stay silent. Any further arguments will lead to us being far less accommodating.â€
Adrian took the seat next to his father, while the two men sat on the other side of the table. Adrian looked at his father, trying to find some sort of clue as to what was going on from his face. He looked older than the last time he had seen him, and as if he hadn’t slept properly in weeks. His face was drawn and frown lines creased his forehead. He did not speak again, but Adrian could tell that something was wrong. Whatever he was going to be questioned about, he was obviously going to have to answer extremely carefully.
–Tell us about your brother,†said the man whose name Adrian didn’t know.
–Samuel?†he asked, confused. –What do you want to know?†This wasn’t exactly the line of questioning he had been expecting.
–What is his blood status?â€
This was a strangely loaded question. Surely, they must know that Samuel was a Squib, so why were they asking? And what was even the answer - a few months ago, Adrian would have known for sure, but now he didn’t have a clue. He felt his father tense beside him and he knew his answer was important.
–He’s a pure-blood,†he said, trying to sound confident. He was being questioned by the Ministry after all and this is what they would want to hear.
–So why is he not at Hogwarts?â€
–He doesn’t have magic, Sir.â€
–Why not?â€
This was the big question, the toughest one to answer, but the most important one to get right. It was something Adrian had tried not to really think about in a long time, but now he knew he had to give his old answer, even though he didn’t really know if it was what he believed anymore.
–He was born without it, Sir, because it was taken from him by Muggle-borns.â€
His questioner nodded his head, and Adrian felt relieved that this was indeed what they had wanted to hear.
–Does Samuel believe the same?â€
–I think so.â€
–Has he ever spoken to you about not wanting to be a wizard?â€
–No, Sir.†Adrian’s reply was just a little too quick and he saw the man’s eyes narrow.
–I hope you are being honest with us, boy. Lying now could have severe consequences for both you and your family.â€
–I am, Sir. Samuel is happy at his school but I’m sure he would rather be at Hogwarts if there was any way for him to obtain magic.â€
–You wrote a letter to your brother recently, didn’t you?â€
–Yes, Sir,†Adrian replied, wondering how they could possibly know this.
–Can you tell me what it said?â€
–I…don’t remember exactly. We had had an argument at Christmas and I wanted to apologise.â€
–You told him that you wanted him to be happy and that he should do wanted. What exactly does that mean?â€
Adrian started to hear the words of his letter read back to him, but suddenly it occurred to him that maybe the reason Samuel had never replied was that the message had never reached him. He paused for a moment, trying desperately to think of an answer to the question that would sound convincing.
–He, um, he wanted to take a wizarding history class but I said he would be better off doing Arithmetic so he might be able to work in the Ministry with Dad and we had an argument about it. It was silly really.â€
The questioners frowned. Adrian knew he wasn’t saying what they had expected but he desperately hoped it would be enough to keep Samuel out of whatever trouble it seemed he may be in.
–Surely you have heard enough from my son now! It is very late at night and he needs to get back to school,†Edward interrupted at this point.
–Mr Radley, you will not be warned again. You will wait here while we step out of the room to confer.â€
The two men rose and left, shutting the door firmly behind them and leaving Adrian and his father alone.
–Do not speak.†The sound of his father’s voice made Adrian jump. It sounded so loud inside his head. He looked at him, but his father was staring straight ahead.
–I am using magic to communicate with you without speaking. You won’t be able to reply - it’s a very tricky form of magic. They will be watching us though, so do not speak. They want you to say something wrong.
–I am not sure what has happened. I think one of Samuel’s teachers may have told the Ministry that he has been talking about going to Muggle-school and they are not happy about it. They want to contain Squibs in the Institute and they don’t want them living in the Muggle world. You did well, Adrian, thank you.
His father sighed, out loud this time before his voice entered Adrian’s head again.
–I am worried about what they might do to Samuel. I believe he could be arrested for attempting to join the Muggle world so I am taking him out of the country. You will be safe here so long as they believe what you have told them. It is better for you to stay than try to run with us as I do not know how I could get you out of school without suspicion and we can’t wait until the Easter holidays. Your mother will believe that I have left her. It is too dangerous for her to know anything else. You must act as if you know nothing until she communicates with you.â€
He could obviously see how much Adrian was fighting to speak but he just gave a small shake of his head. –I am sorry, Adrian, there is no other way. You won’t be able to speak to us for a while. I am asking a lot of you but I know you will not let us down.â€
The voice stopped and they simply sat in silence. Adrian was not sure long they were waiting before the men came back in to the room.
–You may leave,†said Ralph Richards. –I will escort you back to Hogwarts immediately. Mr Radley, you will be accompanied back to your home address.â€
–I am sure I can find my own way,†Edward replied stiffly.
–The only way to leave this part of the building is accompanied by a department employee so unless you wish to remain here indefinitely, you will need to accept the escort.â€
His head whirling, Adrian barely remembered to say goodbye to his father before they were separated, led to separate rooms to be transported to their respective locations. He wished there was more he could say to make his farewell more meaningful, more suitable for what could be a final goodbye.
As before, he travelled via Floo Powder as it was impossible to Apparate to Hogwarts, seemingly even for Ministry employees. Ralph Richards went first, while the other guard threw the powder into the flames for Adrian and pushed him forwards. Moments later, he arrived back in Carrow’s office, where the Professor was waiting.
–I will return you to your dormitory as it is past curfew, Radley.†He gave a curt nod to the guard who returned the gesture before disappearing back in to the fireplace.
They moved through the corridors in silence and it was not until they reached the entrance to the common room that Professor Carrow spoke. –You will tell no one of what happened this evening. If questioned, you will say that you were serving detention. I am sure no one will find that too difficult to believe.â€
–Yes, Professor.â€
Thankfully, Carrow stopped short of actually following Adrian to the dormitory. The common room was empty when he stepped inside; he had obviously been gone longer than he realised. Glad not to have to talk to anyone, he made his way silently to bed.
He was lying with his eyes shut when he heard Dorian speaking quietly.
–Are you okay?â€
Adrian didn’t answer. He had nothing to say.
When the silence continued, Dorian tried again. –It’s just, I thought something might have happened to Samuel.â€
–Leave me alone, Dorian,†Adrian said wearily in reply. –You’re not supposed to care anymore, remember?â€
This got no reply, and after a while Dorian’s familiar regular breathing filled the room and Adrian too closed his eyes, hoping for a sleep that he feared would be beyond him that night.
Stolen Magic by coolh5000
Chapter Notes: As promised, here I am with another new chapter. The one after this is already with my wonderful beta, Kara, who is to thank for this chapter as well. Things take a slightly more dramatic turn here, so I hope you enjoy!
Chapter Endnotes: In my imagination, Edward was using a form of legilimency to talk to Adrian - I thought about this a lot and decided that with Edward having been a Ravenclaw and a very intelligent man, learning this skill wouldn't have been beyond him. Also, there may be more to him than meets the eye. Please let me know what you thought of this chapter in a review and I'll see you with the next one in a few days!