Hadrian Salazar Riddle - A Harry Potter Fanfiction

Chapter 28

Hadrian had been thinking for two weeks about his identity, Death not interrupting it at all. He had come to a conclusion.

Father,

Do to past revelations, I have decided that I will not be coming to Riddle Manor for Yuletide this year. Instead, I will be spending time with Sirius Black to get information. Please tell Nagini for me.

Hadrian

He had decided to see what Black thought of this conflict, since he would have been close to Harry Potter.

He spent the next few days tracking the man.

~•~•~•~•~

Hadrian found Black in a cave near Hogsmead, sitting and staring at the walls.

"Hello Black." Hadrian said, stepping out of the shadows he had been residing in.

The man stood quickly, instinctively reaching for a wand, before realizing he didn't have one and opted to glaring

"Who are you?" Black asked.

"I have many names." Hadrian replied, not wanting to say who he was yet.

"What do you want from me?" The man barked, getting angry.

"I have an offer."

"What?" Black growled.

"You have two choices." Hadrian started.

"Just tell me already!" Black snapped.

"The first is that you give me the information I want and I release you from all of your charges. The second is that I kill you right now." He stated bluntly. Black's eyes widened, worried about the obvious threat.

"What information do you want?"

"So you are a smart man. Of course, you are a Black. A pureblood like me."

"What. Do. You want."

"I have a problem that needs immediate fixing, and your opinion will help me immensely. I will first tell you my names though." Hadrian started. "My birth name is Hadrian Salazar Riddle. I currently live with my father, Tom Marvolo Riddle. My second name, one forced upon me, is Harry James Potter."

Black stood unmoving, a deep growl coming from his throat.

"Do not lie to me. I would know my pup when I see him."

"Oh believe me, I am telling the truth. How about we sit down, and I'll tell you a story." Hadrian suggested, conjuring two chairs and sitting down in one. Black sat across from him, still conscious of the fact that this kid said he would kill him.

"Now then. Let's begin with my birth. I was born on July 31, 30 seconds before midnight. Lily Potter also had a child that same night, a couple minutes before me, but the baby died because it was premature.

"On my first birthday, a traitor killed my mother and took me to the Potters, going through a blood ritual to change my looks and make it seem as if I was Harry Potter. The Potters spent the next couple of months flaunting me to the Wizarding World, making sure they saw Harry Potter. The child you thought was your godson was me. The actual Harry Potter was dead. My father attempted to take me back on Halloween and killed the Potters, however I was taken by Dumbledore and my father lost his body. I believe that you people on the light call my father 'He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named', or Voldemort as he likes." Hadrian finished. By now, Black was gaping, half terrified and half amazed.

"You're You-Know-Who's kid?!" He exclaimed, standing up. Hadrian nodded, and motioned for him to sit back down.

"Now, I would like to have a civil conversation like the Purebloods we are. You are the godfather of Harry Potter. Do you think of me as Harry Potter or Hadrian Riddle?" He asked.

"You are not my godson. My pup is dead. I would never take a replacement." Black stated after a moments hesitation.

"Thank you for your time. I will have you released by the next week." Hadrian replied, shaking the man's hand.

"And how will you do that?" Black asked, unbelieving.

"I have connections." Was all Hadrian said, before he stepped into the shadows and went back to the common room.

~•~•~•~•~

Death came back a few days later, looking like he had just been ravaged by wolves.

"Employees." Was all the albino said, before collapsing on Hadrian's bed and passing out.

The next day, Death was still asleep, so Hadrian did his homework in his room since it was a Saturday and watched over the man, slightly worried.

At 2 o'clock, Death woke up groggily, before seeing Hadrian and immediately perking up.

"Good morning my little snake!" Death greeted, getting up and sitting next to the raven.

"It's two in the afternoon." Hadrian mumbled.

"Oh." Death replied. There was silence for awhile, which was rather strange when both were in the room.

"Are you..." Hadrian cleared his voice. "Are you... okay?" He mumbled again, feeling awkward about asking how the other man was.

"Aw, was Hadrian worried about little ol' me?" Death teased, leaning into the teenager.

"Of course not! I was just being polite!" Hadrian exclaimed.

"Mhm. To answer your question, I'm good now."

"What happened anyways?"

"To put it simply, the souls that work for me don't seem to be able to work without me guiding them. They rely on me too much." Death said dramatically, shaking his head.

"Souls?" Hadrian asked, suddenly curious.

"Yep. Any souls that were bad in life come to me and work for me."

"What, so you mean that there is actually Heaven and Hell?"

"Ya. All souls go to Heaven, but any evil ones are led to "Hell" for punishment in the afterlife. Really though, you only spend a couple years in Hell, depending on the severity of your crimes, and even then it isn't that bad. You just have to work for me, and I try not to push souls too hard."

"What work do they do?"

"Filing documents of souls that have passed, guiding souls to Heaven, or just giving me food when I want it." Death explained.

"So there is a God."

"Of course! And he's really awesome too! When I was made, it was when Adam and Eve took the apple from the Tree of Knowledge, and it was so that there was no eternal life for things on Earth. But when I was made, he was super chill about me being Death and all, and he even gave me a job to do! So ya, he's cool. And has an awesome sense of humor." He replied. Hadrian raised an eyebrow disbelievingly.

"So if I die, I might have to work for you?"

"You never know. I'm just a creation of God like you. I can't predict the future." Death said. Hadrian nodded, and went back to his work.

Inside, he still thought Death was an idiot.

~•~•~•~•~

"Don't you have a name?" Hadrian asked one day.

"What do you mean, snake?"

"Don't you have a name besides Death?"

"Sure. I'm called Ash, for the ashes that were once the bodies of the living." Death replied.

"Ash." Hadrian muttered, testing the new name on his tongue. "Ash."

"Ring around the rosie, pocket full of posies, Ashes, Ashes, we all fall down!"

~°~°~°~°~°~°~°~°~°~°~°~°~°~°~°~°~°~°

Yay! A new name for Death! Special thanks to SAK01248 for the suggestion! The "Ring around the Rosie" song is about the Black Plague. Black Plague = Death! I thought it was a fitting theme song for Ash. Thanks!

Amber Silverwood