About 3 weeks after Hadrian had gotten his acceptance letter to the School of Wizardry, a large man, almost a giant, came to Dursely's house.
Hadrian didn't know what to feel about wizards after seeing a disappointment like him. His name was Rubeus Hagrid and he seemed rather loyal to the headmaster, Dumbledore.
With the antics that the Giant Wizard thought would be funny, Hadrian was not impressed at all.
After a conversation, where Hagrid told Hadrian who he really was, who his parents were, how they were actually killed, their legacy, and finally about an entity called the dark lord, Hadrian thought that he must be something like a messiah to the wizards.
Or at least the wizards seem to believe it. They even had a nickname for him - 'The boy-who-lived'.
His nickname and the history of the wizarding war intrigued Hadrian, more so, the entities called the dark lords... They commanded great power and fear. Something close to what Hadrian wanted...
None of the Durseleys dared to interrupt Hadrian's meeting with Hagrid, they didn't even try to eavesdrop. And after an hour of talking, Hadrian left with Hagrid to shop for the school supplies.
Along the way, the giant wizard kept yapping about how he didn't like this or that thing built by the Muggles society. He sometimes told him important information too, which Hadrian noted at the back of his mind.
Hadrian observed that the Hagrid wasn't really fond of non-magical people or 'Muggles' as he called them. Hagrid kept looking down on minuscule things that Muggles had, be it a car or a simple bulb.
From the way Hadrig talked about 'Muggles', Hadrian concluded that it wasn't just Hagrid that might be biased towards 'Muggles', the whole wizarding world might have such views too.
As the magical society was revealed to him layer by layer. Hadrian couldn't help but feel an unease crawling up his spine.
The world of wizardry was absurd. Not bound by common sense at all...
After the visit in Gringotts, Hadrian found out that he was rich too. The question was why was he living in a damn shithole for all his life when he was supposed to be the savior of the wizarding world and the only heir to the Potter family fortune.
When he asked Hagrid about it, the Giant smiled and reminisced about his reverent master Dumbledore's words.
"Well, Hadrian yeh see, I don't know the exact reasons fer that but I'm sure Dumbledore said that it was fer yer greater good." Hagrid said.
"I see..."
"Dumbledore's the greatest man I know."
"You already told me that twice, I believe you."
After a long day of shopping, where Hagrid took Hadrian to shop after shop, buying books, robes, hats, and finally a Wand. Hagrid also gifted him a white owl.
Finally, Hadrig handed him the ticket to the Hogwarts train and then returned him home, back to Durselys.
After his return, Durselys became even more terrified of Hadrian. The look on Petunia's face, when he would just flick the 11 inches of holly and phoenix wand, was amusing to look at.
That night Hadrian used his dream manipulation skill for reading and learning the wizardry from the books Hagrid had bought him.
His dream manipulation skill allowed him to create the world around him to the last detail, obviously, the books and their contents were copied in the dream as well.
Since he could spend as much time as he wanted in the dream without it affecting the time in the real world, he learned everything the books had to offer in just a night.
He also practiced a few spells there. At least those spells didn't require another living being to be tested on.
The next day he tested the spells that required living target Dudley. And after two hours of using the fat boy as his test subject, he tested the final spell.
"Obliviate"
A memory charm that wipes out a specific memory of the target.
However, it was hard to control. Hadrian just wanted to wipe the memories of the past two hours instead he wiped out a week's worth of memories. He needed practice.
Hadrian planned to buy more books from that Diagon Alley, after all, he knew the route after the giant wizard showed him that.
Soon, it was time for Hadrian to depart for school. Durselys seemed a bit too happy for Hadrian's taste so he reminded them that the Commisioner and his wife were still looking for vengeance.
As he sat comfortably while he read a book titled "Home Life and Social Habits of British Muggles", Hadrian heard a knock on the compartment's door.
A red-haired boy entered, saying he couldn't find a seat elsewhere. He introduced himself as Ron Weasley.
Hadrian nodded and told him his name as well. The red-haired went wide-eyed and hesitantly asked if Hadrian had 'the Scar'.
Hadrian just deadpanned, he already knew he was a celebrity when he met fangirling old men and aunties in the Leaky Cauldron.
He also met a bushy-haired girl named Hermione on the train, she was looking for a toad...
The next noteworthy thing that happened later in the day was the Sorting Hat.
The old, dusty hat sat on his head and whispered in his mind, "Hm... Plenty of ambition I see. And I see plenty of greed. There is also an extreme desire for power. And great talent too... Hm... Some parts of the mind are hidden... something I've never seen, something dark lurks there... Eh, whatever... not my business... However, I've figured out the house that suits you best."
And then the hat bellowed, "SLYTHERIN!!!"
The hat was then taken off Hadrian's head. A round of applause from Slytherin's table was offered for Hadrian.
"We've got Potter. We've got Potter!" A few boys cheered, and the girls squealed with joy, his celebrity image coming in handy.
However, the hat's decision was unexpected for many. Hadrian looked toward Hagrid the always-smiling man, had a rather disappointed frown on his face. Ron, the red-haired Weasley also looked at him as if he was a villain.
It was amusing to see... how just getting sorted in a house could elicit such a reaction from those who tried to poison his mind against just a house for kids.
Dumbledore was surprised as well but he simply chose to let it be. It wasn't like sorted into Slytherin was some sort of curse.
"We meet again, Hadrian. Welcome to Slytherin," Draco said, extending his hand.
Hadrian shook his hand, "Pleasure to meet you again, Draco."
The blonde had approached him for friendship a while ago too, and of course, despite seeming animosity between Weasley who was his co-passenger, and Malfoy who seemed like he came from some important family, Hadrian chose to accept the blonde's goodwill.
A couple of girls also came to introduce him and left after fangirling a bit over him and soon the night ended and the following day the classes began.
The classes were a breeze for him. Severus Snape, the Potion master and the head of his own house, seemed displeased to see him for some reason and even targeted him by asking questions. However, Hadrian just answered the irritated professor which for some reason vexed him more.
Other than forming connections, for now, Hadrian was just observing and learning about this new wizarding society and how its people think.
In his dream manipulation, he could recreate the entire Hogwarts. He could access all the quarters of the grand school. Every library, every chamber, every door would unlock itself for him once he willed in his dreams.
All the books, potions, apparatuses, and everything non-living and non-conscious worked as real as in the real world.
He used his ability to the fullest, spending years in dreams and waking up the next day with just more knowledge of the wizardry.
In the first week rather than learning about magical spells or potions, he spent years in the dream world focussing only on the Wizarding history, its common sense, its wars, its legacies, its heroes, and its villains...
The Villains of the Wizarding World, the Dark Lords... each felt like they were just a... failed... future version of... HIM.
Each Dark lord wanted nothing but power and world domination...
Gellert Grindelwald and Lord Voldemort were the most recent Dark Lords both having their own ideologies.
Grindelwald sought to establish a global wizarding order that would enslave Muggles all "For the Greater Good", while Voldemort sought to gain unmatched power, immortality, and to impose pure-blood supremacy on the wizarding world.
However, at the peak of their lives, they both fell victim to the same wizarding world they wished betterment for... even if it were a lie, or even if they truly wanted it in their own twisted way.
Obviously, luck was a major factor as well, there was a freaking prophecy for Voldemort's downfall.
Since they seemed too similar to him, Hadrian wondered if he would meet his downfall later in life as well...
He wondered for a few days both in real life and in the dream world...
They sought to rule, and so did he.
They were power-hungry, and so was he.
They lacked empathy for everyone but themselves, and so did he.
They had their glorious goals, and so did he.
They were all similar, perhaps that's why they were all called by the same title. Perhaps, in the future, Hadrian would be called a Dark Lord too...
But... if there was one thing that was different in him and other Dark Lords. It would be that he wasn't really... fond of the Wizarding Society all that much.
Hadrian wouldn't care if for his goals he had to sacrifice the entire wizard or muggle populace, it didn't matter to him if they were pure, half, mud-blood... His ambitions weren't clouded by notions of specific group supremacy or the betterment of any society for some Greater Good.
Hadrian was driven by a pure, unadulterated desire for power. Power to an extreme degree. To a point where no one would be able to stand above him. No one would be able to look down on him. No one could control him.
He needed his supreme authority over all.
And that was his goal from the start.