You could never know me

Chapter 25: Don't get caught

Foreword: Hello again! Okay, so we've hit 3k! Awesome! Thank you so much, I can't believe it. But I have some bad news. I am currently 61 on Harry potter. Before, I was 28. So Hadrian and Tom have ordered that, on pain of the Cruciatus, your poor dedicated author asks for help. Think you can get those ratings up? As a special reward, if we get back up to at least the 30s I will release the ideas I have for my next fanfic. And you get to choose which one I write. Sound good? Anyway, on with the story!

Harry woke up to the deafening roar if Ron's snoring. It was only 4 in the morning, but he knew he wouldn't be getting back to sleep. Hade dressed hurriedly before grabbing his cloak and the diary. Tom would be up by now. He made his way over to the astronomy tower. It was still dark, and a non-verbal, wandless Tempus showed that no-one would be awake for another hour at least. Summoning a never-ending ink quill he began to write in the diary. Voldemort? Hadrian waited for a few minutes before the ink faded into the page, and new words appeared. Hadrian. I'm glad you've written. When you didn't yesterday I was worried Dumbledore had discovered what happened. And since when did you still call me Voldemort? Hade sighed in relief when he answered, before feeling slightly guilty for making him worry. It was strange how the Dark Lord could make him feel so much. I'm sorry. Granger and Weasley wouldn't leave me alone. Don't worry, Dumbledore bought it, but he doesn't seem happy that I won't tell him where I was staying. I'm sorry, what should I call you? I know you don't like your real name. The lack of reply worried Hadrian. Was he mad at him? Maybe he shouldn't have mentioned it. It annoyed Hadrian how insecure he was getting. This wasn't him, he wasn't this emotional. He was better than that. I forgot you knew that name. I dislike it as much as you dislike Harry. Perhaps you can come up with another moniker for me. You aren't my follower, or even just an ally anymore. You don't have to call me by my title. Hadrian thought it through for a moment, before he had an idea. How about Vol? Short for Voldemort but also Marvolo. Its more personal and no one would see it as anything but a nickname. I doubt even Dumbledore would make the connection to your original name. Voldemort didn't respond immediately and Hade could see in his mind how he would be thinking it over. He'd probably be in the study, with his chin resting in his hand whilst he absentmindedly stroked Nagini. That was his thinking pose. Very well. I like it. You will call me Vol from now on. Hadrian chuckled lightly at the command. Vol never really stopped being a Dark Lord. As he went to reply he heard a creak, and candle light streamed in as the door opened. Hade froze and quickly wrote someone's here. Will talk later and slammed the book closed. Just as he lifted his wand to stupefy whoever had come in, he recognised the visitor. It was Luna. Her light blonde hair shimmered in candlelight and she swayed as she glided over to the balcony. Humming lightly she leaned over the rail, looking out at the grounds. "Its a beautiful sunset. The battles aren't around so much today. Today will be a good day." Despite himself, Hade smiled. Luna never changed. He didn't know how but she always just seemed to know things. "Don't you agree Harry. Oh sorry, its Hadrian now, isn't it?" Chuckling, he pulled the invisibility cloak off and walked over to the balcony, pulling the small girl into a hug. "I've missed you little moon." Luna smiled serenely and held back tightly. The Ravenclaw was very affectionate, but only really spent time with Neville and Harry, whenever Harry could get away from the ginger and bookworm. "I assume I don't really need to tell you about my summer then?" Hade asked even though he knew the answer. "Of course not Hadrian. I support you completely, you should know that" she admonished. He nodded and took her hand, pulling her down to sit. "You can call me Hade you know. You're my sister in all but blood. And one day I will convince you to change that." When Harry had been in his 4th year, Luna her 3rd, he'd asked to blood adopt her into the Potter family, making her his sister. Luna had said it wasn't time yet, something Hade had never understood. This time however, her answer was different. "Soon." Was all she said. Raising an eyebrow, he didn't reply. Lulu knew what she was doing. "Whatever you say clever bird."

Both Luna, Neville and Hadrian had come up with a variety of nicknames for each other as none of them had parents present enough to give them one's, or friends that cared enough. Luna was Lulu, little moon, Raven and clever bird. Hadrian was Snake, dragon, and big brother. Neville was Vine, badger, Nev and Scorpion. There were reasons for all their names. Luna's was quite obvious, but the others had better reasons. When Harry had started speaking Parcelmouth around them, he became Snake. They only called him dragon because of his fiery temper. And he was a big brother to both of them. Neville was nicknamed badger when he revealed the hat wanted him in Hufflepuff. Not that this had been a big shock. They only called him Vine when he started obsessing over plants again and Scorpion because of his scary ability at producing and using poisons. After Ginny had ignored him at the Yule ball, he'd sneaked a paralytic poison into her drink. The ginger had been stuck in the hospital wing for a week.

"The Scorpion cares for the Snake. His sting will protect Snake from harm. Trust is needed for harmony as the sun falls, obscuring the light in shadows." The cryptic message broke Hadrian out of his sleepy daze. That was another reason why he and Luna were so close. He was the only one that always understood what she meant. He just needed to talk to Nev and he would join the Dark, with Hade. Grinning, he kissed Luna on the cheek and lifted her up from the floor. "Thank you! I'm glad to hear that! Let's go to breakfast." As they walked towards the Great hall, Hadrian remembered what Luna had first said. "You know what Lulu, you're right. Today is going to be a good day."