Remus Lupin was enjoying a cup of tea, listening to a headache-inducing ramble as James and Sirius tried to explain to the group how they smuggled a live deer into Hogwarts as a cover for James' Animagus form.
It was an elaborate story, one Remus regretted having been associated with. He had been indisposed then and hadn't ever heard the story. He could only imagine Dumbledore's face when he realized it was a genuine wild deer.
"Oh James," Mrs. Weasley laughed, smacking him gently with a rolled newspaper, "I can hardly tell what's real and what isn't!"
"Yeah dad," Skylar laughed, a large grin lighting up his entire face, "Tell them about that time you took me flying and we found the flock of-"
"No no..." James quickly waved his hands, pointing at Lily, "That did not happen. Not at all."
Sirius leaned over and whispered loudly to the Weasleys, "I don't know this story, but It totally happened."
"Yeah mate," Ron laughed, clapping Skylar on the back of his shoulder, "What about the story with the dragon-"
Skylar clapped a hand over Ron's mouth quickly. He grinned sheepishly to the steadily worrying Lily Potter.
"Skylar," She warned, "What is this about a drago-"
The conversation was broken by a unique loud shriek. The group jolted in surprise at the noise, not recognizing the cry. Mrs. Weasley quickly rushed towards the kitchen window, peering out quickly to try and spot the culprit.
A bird appeared, at first she had mistaken it for a Snowy Owl. It scrambled, long talons clawing grooves in the windowsill as it struggled to perch on the tiny lip. Its wings flared, flapping heavily to keep it aloft and balanced.
"Oh dear," Mrs. Weasley stumbled, hurriedly unlatching the window so the poor thing didn't have to struggle any longer. Once the glass swung open, the bird jolted and dove inside hawkishly, glaring fixed around the room.
"A letter?" Lily asked rhetorically, reaching out to stroke the sleek feathers on the bird's head. It snapped its hooked beak angrily, much more temperamental than an owl.
"There shouldn't be a bird here," James grimaced, watching it carefully as he drew his wand slowly, "The wards…"
"No no," Remus interrupted, looking tired and uncertain, "I... I must apologize. I spelled her a tracer to always find me, despite wards."
"You know it, Moony?" Sirius asked with a frown, blinking curiously before a large wolfish grin spread over his face, "Oh, Is it that kind of person?"
James gave a low whistle, Sirius wiggling his eyebrows suggestively on cue.
Remus blushed, choking before he composed himself.
Remus sighed fondly, standing to let the bird inside, "I'm afraid not, although I didn't expect a letter to be honest-"
He uncurled the parchment, a growing sense of dread grew as he noticed the parchment wasn't folded or rolled as carefully as Adrian Selwyn would roll it.
"Who is it, Moony?" James asked, walking up behind to peek over curiously, "A secret admirer? Some seventh year missing their professor?"
"Leave the man alone, James." Lily scolded, "Go set the table if you're so full of energy."
Sirius winced, "Walked right into that one, mate."
James rolled his eyes but obliged, throwing a funny face at Skylar who mimicked it right back.
Remus smiled, unfolding the parchment to look for words.
Lupin
The handwriting was unmistakable, but had a distinctly shaky style that was uncharacteristic.
Lupin's smile fell and his face must have conveyed something because quickly the chatter lowered and all eyes were on him.
I know you're probably busy. I don't know if this letter will find you. She's looking for me and she's going to find me.
I don't know where to go, she's angry.
It didn't need to be signed, Remus knew exactly who it was from.
"Remus," James spoke, clapping one hand on the man's shoulder, "Everything okay?"
"No I..." Remus sighed, one hand rubbing into his eye socket much harsher than he probably should, "James, Sirius, can I talk with you outside?"
The two exchanged looks. They stood and slipped outside through the back door, not saying anything.
"Moony," Remus paused in the doorway. He glanced over his shoulder, seeing Skylar, who was awkwardly shifting in his seat, "Is there something I can do?"
Remus smiled softly, "No, everything's okay. We'll be inside in a second."
Skylar hesitated but nodded, looking for Ron and vanishing up the stairs to where the other boy had gone.
Remus exhaled through his nose, passing through the door to meet with his two friends waiting anxiously outside.
"Alright," James crossed his arms, looking serious, "what's wrong?"
"A student of mine- or a past student," Remus rubbed his arm uncomfortably, "He sent me a letter."
Sirius didn't take the opportunity for an innuendo, which showed how serious they were taking the situation.
"What's wrong with the kid?" Sirius asked, bouncing on his heels, "..Is it a... ah….a furry little problem?"
Remus flinched, "Merlin I hope not. I think he's in trouble."
James frowned and licked his lips worriedly.
"What kind of trouble, Moony?"
Remus exhaled through his nose, "I need you to track the bird. Her name is Hedwig. Her owner may be injured."
"A student of yours may be injured?" Sirius looked at James unsure, "Alright, on it, Moony."
Sirius turned to peer inside. The bird flared its wings and threw itself onto the open window. Sirius flinched as her long talons chipped off a piece of painted wood.
The bird snapped its beak angrily, looking fierce at the two aurors.
Sirius waved his wand, pointing it at the bird and recited an incantation. A blue mist surrounded her, sinking under her feathers and casting her in a near invisible glow.
"Alright girl," James shoed with his hands, "Go home. Go back to whoever, we'll follow."
"Follow?" Sirius asked with an eyebrow raised, "Not sure bout you, but Moony doesn't fly, mate."
"I'll apparate back and tell you where we are," James promised Remus, "Padfoot and I will follow her."
Remus gave a slight nod, looking worried, "Probably smarter, they may be watching me. If you find him...when, when you find him. You, ah, you won't miss him, don't approach him. Get me instantly."
Sirius barked a disbelieving laugh, "What, they'll curse at my pretty face?"
"Yes." Remus deadpanned, causing James to snort uncomfortably, although the auror looked very cautious.
"Sure know how to pick 'em, Moony. Alright, we'll let you know when we find him."
Remus nodded, looking worried and back at the house, "Should I..."
"Eh, tell Lil's that its Auror business." James advised, "She'll understand."
"Good luck." Remus added thoughtfully, looking at the annoyed and preening Hedwig, "You may need it."
"What do you mean exactly, by 'nearly killing' me?" Adrian asked carefully, voice betraying his worry.
His father crossed his arm, face stony and expressionless. His red eyes, shadowed by the dark hair made his entire face seem that much more sinister.
"Your face needs to be disguised, any glamour or warding would be too easily detected by Dumbledore, no matter how subtle." his father explained, drawing the pale white wand, resembling exposed bone, "A possible disguise is by altering your very own features with a deformity."
Adrian nodded, his throat clogging and hysteria bubbling under his skin.
"People tend to look away from disfigurement. It'll help aid your story, as well as keep others from wanting to look too close."
His father leant forward, still so very tall to loom over Adrian. He pressed his wand to Adrian's jaw, just under his chin.
"I'm going to have Bellatrix cast a spell," he spoke gently, red eyes shimmering with a higher intelligence Adrian only hoped to match one day, "which will disfigure your features and disguise you enough to cast doubt over our resemblance. The effects of a curse scar will correlate to your untimely….addiction."
Adrian flinched, but sustained eye contact as Voldemort lowered the wand from pressing into his skin.
Adrian completely understood it- he would have agreed to it without a doubt if it wasn't for the implications. It would hurt, certainly so; it would disguise him and cast him in a specific lighting which would be pivotal with his role in the new war.
Bellatrix though... he had witnessed her lapse in sanity all too closely in the last month. Her moments of staring emotionlessly at inanimate objects, hysterical fits or sudden bouts of rage at random stretches of walls.
She would be able to cast a curse strong enough to scar, no doubt in his mind. He doubted if she would be able to do so without leaving him with lasting damage.
"I don't want Bellatrix," Adrian blurted suddenly, his hands shaking at his side as he suddenly second guessed his outburst. Red eyes observed him coldly, "I... I want you to cast it, father."
Surprise flitted across for a brief second. An amused smile pressed on thin lips, "Me? You crave pain?"
"I..." Adrian swallowed against the lump and bowed his head with silent prayer to fate itself, "I know that the spell will be performed successfully."
"Is that so?"
His father's shoes were silent on the floor. How had Adrian never noticed that before.
A bony hand tilted his chin upwards, framing the identical cheekbones and the wide eyes.
"I find it a shame," his father paused, "to impair such potential. It's unfortunate that this is so necessary.
Adrian swallowed, his throat moving under his father's hand, "I trust you."
The wand was pressed under his chin, alongside his throat nearest his right ear. Adrian's breathing sped up.
"This will hurt," his father deadpanned.
That was his only warning.
The white falcon was fast; almost too fast for James and Sirius to chase. It was only through their years of Quidditch and occasional recreational matches were they able to follow her fast banks and sudden unexpected dives. Sirius was suspecting that the bird was doing it just to make their life so much harder.
The two had cast charms to disguise their bodies as they flew over muggle populated towns. Sirius's teeth chattered against the wind chill as they flew towards the more occupied areas of London.
"Ay!" Sirius shouted over the wind, swooping over to fly alongside James although he was careful to keep the gyrfalcon in his eye sights at all times, "who is this kid?"
James grimaced, although it may have been the wind pulling at his lips and cheeks, "No clue, Padfoot!" he shouted over the wind.
The bird seemed to notice the shouting and disapproved of it. She took them on two sudden corkscrews, pulling up at the last moment to avoid smashing into a house.
"Bloody hell..." Sirius swore, twisting to avoid being tangled in a muggle telephone wire, "this bird is mental!"
James nodded, watching as it gave a loud cry of aggression, flapping its wings strongly to ascend once more into the sky.
James pulled out his wand, shaking wobbly on his broom. He double checked the tracing charm, making sure that the tracking charm was still working. He had a feeling he'd be needing a way to follow it once the sun started to set.
Adrian woke with a spasm and an unbecoming whimper slipping past bloodied lips.
"Adrian?" A low calm voice asked.
Adrian tried to open his eyes, wincing as his brain finally began to decipher the signals his body was sending.
Every muscle hurt, they throbbed as if he had undergone a strenuous training exercise without any breaks. His heartbeat raced in his ears, the roar of blood just slightly louder than the irritating whistle that didn't seem ready to fade anytime soon.
"What..." Adrian coughed, instinctively curling and arching against the padding of his bed. His throat was on fire.
"Don't talk," idiot, went unsaid. His father trailed one hand over Adrian's face, tracing invisible patterns over his skin, "You entered a near seizure state. I detected no brain injury, however your body has suffered accordingly."
"Oh," Adrian croaked out, ignoring his father's advice completely. His hands and feet were in a near permanent state of tingling, as if they had fallen asleep, "Did it work?"
"It did," There was a pause, "You have sufficient disfiguration."
There was something admittedly sad in the way he said it. Voldemort hadn't wanted to actually do it, it was necessary. Adrian understood that. It was necessary.
"Good to hear," Adrian mumbled, the words sounding slurred together. He tilted his head, pressing his overheating cheek to the cold pillow, "Hedwig?"
"Already left hours ago with your letter. My wards alert me that she is returning to the predetermined location."
Adrian nodded ever so slightly against the pillow, barely conscious. "S'good."
There was a dip on his edge of the bed, just near his hip. A cold hand moved through his hair, pushing his bangs back to feel the skin of his forehead.
"You're warm," his father paused, "I've cast the countercurse for the spell. I can't administer any potions for the sake of our story."
"Bellatrix is a terrible mother," Adrian garbled into his pillow, his mouth twisting into an exhausted smile, "the worst."
"Oh absolutely," His father agreed with a sigh, "Although she has her uses."
Adrian made a unspecific sound of agreement.
He wasn't aware how much longer it was, but the next time he was completely lucid he was able to open his eyes.
The room was dark, illuminated by tasteful blue lights set in glass lamps. His bedroom was the same, although there was a suspicious lack of Lutain.
He moved, wincing as his entire body protested at the movement. Tears spilled from the corners of his eyes, over his cheeks which stung against the salt.
He moved his arm painstakingly slowly- blinking hurriedly to try and force his eyes to focus faster. It wasn't his imagination, feathery patterns of darker skin trailed down his arm towards his palm in an almost delicate pattern.
The door opened, throwing brighter white light into the dim room. Adrian winced and closed his eyes as it assaulted his senses and brought his migraine to the forefront of his mind.
"I was able to treat your muscle exhaustion, although it is only temporary," His father spoke, sliding into the seat set up next to his bed. His pale skin looked archaic in the blue lighting, "Such spells can easily be dismissed as your own instinctive magic."
Red eyes watched carefully as Adrian shakily lifted his hand to his face, feeling the smooth skin questioningly, "What does it..."
"Increased levels of energy always seek to return to the Earth," Voldemort started, red eyes looking violet as they were engulfed by the slit pupil, "The scars across your body resemble that of lightning strikes."
Adrian almost frowned, "Like my one…?"
Voldemort's lips twisted into the rare displays of genuine humour, "That may have been an inspiration."
"You're awful," Adrian breathed, wincing as the loud ringing returned to his ears, they felt wet, "Now, now what?"
Voldemort peered out of a window to see the darkened outdoors, "Now you will continue with the plan and appear in an area of Knockturn alley for the wolf to find you."
"Right," Adrian coughed, hating the way his entire body twitched, "And I'll see you at
the Quidditch World Cup?"
"We will communicate the finer details as the time grows near," Voldemort's eyes flickered southward, pointedly looking at a spot below Adrian's collarbone. The tattoo he had would be able to bypass most wards and spells.
"Alright," Adrian wheezed, "Lutain-"
"Will be taken care of and tended to by Nagini," Voldemort rose slowly, his dark cloak made it near impossible to distinguish him from the walls of the room, "You will be unconscious until you are revived."
Probably for the best considering how his left leg was growing more numb over the course of the conversation.
"Stupify."
Adrian's body slumped limp against the bed once again.
The bird flew and soared over the darkened Victorian architecture just outside the muggle entrance to Diagon Alley. They flew themselves, just alongside the wards of the alley to the point where the postal service gateway enabled the Gyrfalcon to swoop through.
"Well," James Potter grimaced, "He's in Diagon."
"Bad luck, mate," Sirius winced, peering around the sky above, "I'll get Moony!"
Sirius then casually stood on his broom, throwing his arms out for balance. With a twist and a startlingly loud snap!, the man vanished and left the broom hovering aimlessly in the air.
James sighed and snatched the broom, shrinking it and stashing it in his inner robe pocket.
James turned and flew down towards the courtyard just outside of the Leaky Cauldron which publicly allowed brooms and other modes of transportation into the alley. James had barely landed and stashed his own broom when two resonating snap! popped right in his ear.
"Merlin!" James jumped, not expecting Sirius to clamp one hand on his shoulder, "Warn a bloke!"
"Never," Sirius grinned, looking at the faintly smiling werewolf alongside him, "Anyways, the bird vanished in the postal corridor for birds."
Remus nodded, "Let's check Knockturn. Do you know the local floo channels or the stores hooked up to the floo network?"
James' jaw dropped, "Wait, why do we have to go right to Knockturn?" James hung his shoulders, "you know I can't go down there, mate."
Sirius grinned, "No worries, Prongs. Just search around Diagon then! We'll handle the search and rescue!"
Remus tried to smile, although he still looked ridiculously worried, "Actually, James. You may want to keep mediwitches on standby. Just in case."
Sirius's smile fell, "The kid may be injured?"
Remus didn't say anything, instead he pulled his brown worn cloak further over his shoulders and took off further down the road.
Sirius glanced at James unsure before he looked around for any visitors. Sirius jogged towards a small storage room, slipping inside before running out as a large shaggy black dog. He sniffed a few spots, giving a playful bark at James before taking off after Remus.
James Potter sighed, looking around the entry point with a growing sense of unease.
According to the plan, Adrian shouldn't have woken up until Remus had found him.
Like everything in his life, his plan went out the window when he felt sharp claws digging into his side and trying to pull him further into an alley.
Adrian's eyes flickered open, vision foggy although he could recognize that ratty feathers and orange claws normally meant something had gone wrong.
He fumbled for his wand, feeling his body protest to the movement. The creature squawked, claws digging in deeper.
"Harpy," He rasped out with a glare, focusing singing flames to lick the flammable wings through his migraine. It stung, hurting his face and his skin as it flared through his blood. He gagged, as if suffocating or breathing water.
Flames sparked, the harpy shrieked and released him and hopping away leaping from one foot to the next.
Adrian groaned, rubbing the back of his head which pulsed so angrily. He felt like his gums were bleeding, aching sore through his teeth all the way to his bones and skull. His side was bleeding sluggishly, the harpy's claws were effective in puncturing his skin near his shoulder.
Adrian struggled to grab his wand, it having rolled a few feet just out of his grasp. Once he held the wood in his grip, his worry faded slightly although it did nothing for how his head throbbed.
Black spots danced in his vision as he struggled to right himself, pressing his shoulder and cheek to the cold stone of the nearest building. He was getting something slimy against his skin, stinging and aggravating the injury his father had made.
"Why didn't you bite it Lu-" Adrian cut himself off, suddenly overwhelmed by the crushing sensation of loneliness.
"Right," Adrian breathed slowly, the alley was unsettlingly quiet, "You're not here."
The ominous sounds of Knockturn suddenly sounded much more intimidating.
"Okay," Adrian breathed, stepping away from the stone wall. He cut off a choking sound as his entire body burned.
Remus would be on his way soon, Adrian just had to find his way back to the stop he was at before the Harpy found him. And fend off the curious vampires that would almost certainly be attracted to the smell of blood.
"One step at a time," Adrian mumbled to himself, taking a limping stumbling step out towards the main openway of the alleyway.
He figured he must have looked terrible. The few people he saw walking past only glancing at him briefly before they hurried down the path to wherever they were trying to go.
Adrian kept his wand on him at all time, clutched tightly in his shaking grip. An emaciated dog ran up to him, growling lowly and sniffing him from a distance.
"Go away," Adrian grunted, his face already numb along the left side and his vision tinting badly, "Go away." He snapped at the dog.
It paused, then snarled and took a closer step.
Adrian closed his eyes with a sigh, clutching the pipe he was holding to remain stable on his feet.
Lutain would comment about how if he was a noble kind, he could scare the dog with a single hiss.
He was a noble kind.
Adrian's eyes flashed open and his lips curled back in a feral hiss.
He waited one second, not feeling the shifting of bones or flesh. He almost sighed at how he failed his Animagus transformation yet again, but some of it must have transferred properly. That or he just looked scary. The dog stiffened, eyes widening and its tail tucking between its legs. It made a loud yip before running off suddenly.
Adrian's eyes stung like he forgot to blink for the longest time.
"You lost?" A low croaking voice asked, a man with vibrant purple eyes and translucent skin, "What is someone like you doing-"
"Go away," Adrian clipped sourly, blinking to try and removing the itchy feeling, "I'm fine."
The man chuckled lowly, smiling to reveal two rows of teeth, and what looked to be a black tongue. "I don't think so..."
Adrian felt his magic prickle, surging beneath his skin but for some difficult reason, it was struggling to pull itself to the surface. Resilient and resisting, similar to the Fury only being singed.
He felt nauseous, like something was writhing in my stomach.
It reached out, it had an extra digit on its hand. If Adrian was thinking, or if he could through the pounding of his head, he could have named the exact species of the humanoid.
"Go away," Adrian warned, pointing his wand at the man, "Your last warning."
It didn't even blink, and Adrian hissed out the first curse that came to mind.
"Abrumpo!" Adrian hissed, gagging as the sudden surge of his magic at the movement.
Adrian slid to the ground, his legs too weak to support him. His eyes blurred, warmth and pleasant sparks illuminating his blood and permitting him to relax.
No, no he couldn't. It wasn't the time.
Yet, his blood sang and tickled, a contrasting feel against the stinging burn of his skin. His senses were flaring out in confusion, and he felt himself groan somewhere between bliss and agony.
Adrian panted, eyes barely able to focus as he saw the other creature collapse to the ground. It screamed inhuman angry shrieks as it fumbled across its chest to stop blue silvery blood from staining its clothing. He hit it then, good.
"Oh," Adrian slurred, smiling breathlessly as the euphoric sensations washed aside the pain of his skin, still leaving him twitching and spasming on the ground. "You're mermish."
The creature glugged angrily. Its bright eyes filled with fury, glazing through its savage blood loss. It reached out again, the extra digit on its hand suddenly made sense, it was a fin.
"You!" It gasped, its voice was wet and thick. "You- you-"
No, a mermish didn't make sense. Adrian blinked, barely aware he was talking out loud through the heavy feeling and the ringing in his ears, "A siren? Mermish don't eat humans."
It shrieked in anger, unhinging its second set of teeth to make a serrated cavern of hungry bone. It was kind of pretty.
A black dog slammed into the creature, knocking it to the ground where it had barely managed to rise. It glugged angrily, blood splashing onto the ground.
Had the dog from before come back?
Adrian finally was able to hear the other voices, the persistent horrified shouting that was growing closer.
Ah, no. It was a different dog, one that was big and shaggy and a startling shade of black.
Something popped in his ear, a bubble that had been blocking his hearing. The shouts suddenly made much more sense.
"Remus?" Adrian gasped, waving with one hand intently as the pleasant sensations of darker magic and the pain really dimmed his thinking. "Remus? You..."
Hands coddled Adrian, searching over him with feather light touches. Golden eyes were wide in unmistakable horror as they took in Adrian's face, focusing on something below his eyes.
"Adrian," Remus sighed, looking on the verge of tears, "I'm so sorry-"
"Oh," Adrian blinked sluggishly, seeing a circling white spec in the sky above. "Hedwig found you?"
Sirius Black appeared, looking around carefully with his wand drawn. He kept his back to the two, leaving some semblance of privacy.
"Moony," Sirius grunted, scanning the road and the corpse, "That him?"
Remus exhaled shakily, pushing back Adrian's hair to look over his face and exposed skin better, "Yes- yeah. James has a few already- lemme send him notice." Sirius sent his wand moving, the shimmering fog of an obvious patronus shot out and vanished before Adrian could tell what it was.
"Adrian, i'm going to pick you up," Remus soothingly stated, although his voice shook. Remus reached out, carefully sliding his arms around Adrian with the gentlest touch.
"Sirius, do you know any numbing charms?"
"Yeah, one sec." Sirius grunted, casting a complex movement with an incantation Adrian didn't hear. "There, give it a few seconds."
Adrian groaned quietly in relief the moment his nerves stopped burning. He could feel the strong arms around him, barely more than firm pressure. They were moving, leaving the alley.
"Sirius Black?" Adrian asked, eyes rolling in his head from the combined pain and his magical exhaustion. His voice was flat, slurred and monotone.
"When did... when did you get here..."
Sirius paused as he deciphered the lisping sentence, taking it in stride and not drawing attention to how horrid Adrian's speech was.
"Right before that vampire was going to take a snack," Sirius grunted, scanning the surroundings with practiced ease, "So, good timing on my part."
"Oh," Adrian spoke, wincing as his head pounded from the sudden flash of sunlight, "Not a vampire, mermish."
Remus laughed slightly, it wasn't his normal laugh. Anxious and nearing hysterical, an attempt to dispel his nervous tension.
"That was a brutal hex there, kid." Sirius noted distantly, moving in stride to walk next to Remus and nearest Adrian's head.
"What spell was that? Not diffindo, that's way above you, unless old Dumbledore is driving slave labor."
"Oh," Adrian slurred, head starting to hang limply as his neck relaxed from supporting him, "Bella taught me."
Sirius froze, and Remus stiffened. Remus swallowed, his heart loud as Sirius scrambled to catch up a few strides, already hissing under his breath.
"Bella? Bella? As in Bellatrix? Moony, what the f-"
Remus glared, causing Sirius' jaw to click and a vessel to pump near his temple.
"Moony- you, this..." Sirius' shoulders slumped as he exhaled furiously, "Wait, you knew?"
"Sirius, can we talk about this later?" Remus muttered lowly under his breath, eyeing the curious people who were starting to watch them, either from Sirius' obvious indignation or Adrian's limp body.
"Oh no, I've been in too many dead ends to just let this go."
"He's injured." Remus harshly whispered back, gesturing with his head to Adrian's limp body. Adrian's face was twitching, spasming under his eye and twisting his features into some more garish.
"Wait-" Sirius floundered, nearly choking on saliva. "You mean Bellatrix did that?"
Remus shot Sirius a stern look, "Later, there are too many people."
Sirius swore, shaking his head before looking at Adrian with a sympathetic sigh, "Sorry kid, can we stun you? You'll wake up at St. Mungo's-"
"Please," Adrian gargled, his face twisting into a smile that was unsettling and somehow twisted all in one. Sirius felt his heart pound firmly, nearly leaping through his chest. Adrian looked bored, obviously in pain but somehow looking disinterested as if the entire situation was something lackluster.
Adrian lifted his hand, stiffly and with obvious effort; he stared at the unique darkened marks that snaked around his arm and hand like a whip of snowflakes.
"How bad is it?"
Sirius nearly tripped, and suddenly felt like vomiting on the cobblestone under his feet. "You haven't... you haven't seen it?"
Remus shuddered, the movement of his arms twitching traveled through his body and into Adrian's.
"It's...It's distinct." Remus struggled, looking as if he'd rather bite his tongue.
"Looks bloody awful, that's what it is." Sirius muttered darkly, "No worries, we'll get this sorted out. See you soon, pup, Stupify."
Adrian collapsed limply and heavily the moment the spell touched him. Remus had anticipated the sudden casting, and adjusted his weight accordingly.
Now it was just those two, cradling an unconscious child who looked like he had gone through some sort of squid attack
Sirius pulled the hood of his cloak up self consciously; the magical creatures and humanoids of Knockturn seemed fixated on watching the group.
"This place is giving me the creeps," Sirius confessed, jumping to avoid a puddle of questionable origin as they hurried on.
Remus glanced up and most likely saw something he didn't like. He hunkered lower, his body looming and curling over the unconscious body in his arms.
Something gave a shrieking laugh. Sirius snapped his head up, hair on his neck rising as he readied for a fight. Instead, he just spotted something perched on a roof, swinging its legs and grinning impishly at the two. It laughed again, sounding stunted and thrilled at the sight.
A woman on the street looked at them curiously, approaching them to pass by with a purple shawl over her hair. She smiled politely, not even glancing at Adrian.
Remus swallowed and didn't make eye contact. Sirius nearly tripped as the woman's eyes bled violet and her exposed chin puckered and popped out two insectoid barbs.
"Afternoon," She tittered, and Sirius coughed something illegible and hurried faster down the street.
They had almost a mile of confusing alleys and anti-apparition wards before they could breach the barriers and apparate Adrian to St. Mungos.
It was going to be a long trek.
Adrian woke up slowly with his body uncomfortably numb.
The room was too bright, too white, and smelled of something sterile instead of aged parchment and rosewood.
His eyes focused slowly. His arms cooperated in inching his body into an upright sitting position, although it took a moment for his limbs to cooperate.
There was a mirror directly across from him; the white light and the white robes he was dressed in made his pale skin seem even more fragile. He looked washed out, almost translucent.
The lights also made the unique scar patterning across his skin stand out starkly in shades of angry red and magenta.
Adrian lifted one hand, moving it to his cheek.
As if written by his father in his spidery penmanship, delicate lines decorated the hollow of his cheek and along the pronounced bone ridge of his cheekbone.
It looked like feathers were branded to his skin, pressed and seared there. The longer he looked, the less they resembled feathers.
Snowflakes, something organized yet chaotic. A burning touch of winter frost from where the electricity incinerated his flesh and cauterized the wound.
"Oh," Adrian breathed, touching the scarring where his entire body was numb. He pressed harder, digging his clipped fingernails into the marks until one blister ruptured and oozed over his flesh. He didn't feel it, he didn't feel pain.
It had worked, the spell had worked.
He didn't resemble his father anymore, yet, he still did. It was hard to see, difficult to recognize through the distracting colours.
Adrian grinned wide enough his face felt foreign. He breathed hurriedly, loud and excited.
It had worked.
He was happy