Hadrian used his 'Dream Manipulation' to investigate the oddities in the school.
He found out that a particular section of the school was laced with even more traps and surveillance spells than the others, and at the end of everything, he found the philosopher stone kept in those secure chambers.
And of course, he wanted to covet the stone for himself. Ageless Immortality seemed like a nice perk...
He now knew where the stone was hidden and the various enchantments protecting it.
However, he put this plan of his on hold.
It all smelled like a big fat trap, clearly meant to capture someone specific.
And they kept such an item in children's school for protection...
'Must be because of Dumbledore...'
Whoever the thief was, they were not going to make a serious move till Dumbledore was in this school. And it didn't seem like they had the power to kill the old headmaster either.
For now, Hadrian decided to wait. He needed to get the stone for himself while also pinning the blame on the 'expected thief'.
He also had to put the whole house of Slytherin under his control, however, this was something that must wait as well.
Mentally, Hadrian might be more mature than even adults but unfortunately, his body was merely 11 years old. Whether it was the wizarding world or the muggle society, appearance mattered everywhere.
Besides, Hadrian was in no hurry, he had to increase his knowledge and skills before anything. The first thing that he needed to learn was how to remove the magical traces
As the school year progressed, he noticed that the bushy-haired girl's initial growing closeness with Evelyn stopped.
The reason for that was pretty easy to guess— The boundaries between the houses.
It was a more serious matter than he had initially thought. They treated houses like nations.
Meaning, they all have their internal politics — something he should be able to exploit in the future.
And soon the winter came and so did the christmas. Most students left for their homes, but a rare few stayed, including Evelyn and Hadrian.
On Christmas night, he received a rather interesting 'gift', the Cloak of Invisibility. One of the three deathly hallows. He was rather grateful to whoever sent him this.
'Most likely Dumbledore...' Hadrian smiled.
The next day...
"So, did you get any letter or something from your home?" Hadrian asked Evelyn as he tried on the cookies Evelyn gave to him in the Slytherin common rooms.
Evelyn shook her head, "No, Hadrian... maybe they forgot about me..."
"That's fine," Hadrian said, "They don't matter to you anymore do they?"
Evelyn shook her head with a smile, "Not at all."
Perhaps freeing her from the attachments she felt towards her parents, Hadrian did a good thing.
"I suppose on summer holidays, we'd have no option but to leave for our homes, don't we? Kill your parents when you meet them." Hadrian said, feeding a cookie to Evelyn with his hands. "That way, you'll have no ties left. And you will be able to give your all to me."
"Hmm." She just nodded.
Soon, the holidays ended, the schools resumed, and on one particular day, he got the news of Dumbledore's absence...
.
.
.
Quirell's plan to steal the Philosopher's stone for his master who lived at the back of his head, was near fruition. After passing through one more gate, he should be able to grasp the ruby-red stone...
However, what he saw, he didn't expect.
The emerald-eyed boy was already there... as if waiting for him.
"Hadrian Potter... is this the part where Dumbledore ambushes me?"
"No, no, Quirell, there is no scheme here. Nothing at all. I merely wanted what you wanted. But there is nothing here... except for this stupid mirror of illusions..."
Quirell laughed, no it seemed two people were laughing at the same time.
Taking off his turban he turned around, showing another nasty face at the back of his head.
"I always thought you were a threat, but never thought that you would be a greedy prat..." The chuckling ugly face spoke.
'Voldemort... makes sense...'
.
.
.
Quirell might be a good pawn, but he wasn't that well-versed in dueling. A simple high-level spell was enough to throw him off his game and Voldemort wasn't able to do much except yell instructions and shout at Quirell.
After disintegrating Quirell and planting a few false pieces of evidence, Hadrian called forth Evelyn, his own pawn.
There was a strange enchantment on the mirror — Only someone who wanted to find the stone and not use it would be able to obtain the stone.
Since Evelyn fulfilled the criteria, she was able to obtain the stone which she obediently handed over to Hadrian. After which Hadrian destroyed the mirror and all evidence of them being here.
.
.
.
A few days later, the headlines of the Daily Prophet read: "Philosopher's Stone Missing! Dumbledore's Failure to Protect It, and the Disappearance of a Hogwarts Professor! A Failure or a Scheme by the Greatest Wizard?" The shameful photograph of Dumbledore was printed with big, bold text.
Hadrian smiled, 'A simple "Question Mark" at the end of whatever sentence they write, provides them with such a great force of diplomacy... The power of media is really something not to be underestimated.'
Soon, the 1st year ended and each of them returned to their homes.
Hadrian was back with Durseley's, Petunia's face went pale again when saw him at the door.
Two weeks into the vacation, Hadrian received a letter from Evelyn that said that her parents were killed in a robbery.
'She has grown to be a bit cunning as well, huh... Not bad...'
=====================
Thanks for reading!