An Uncle

1947, 30 October- Thursday.

It seemed to have now become a habit of his to wander the grounds of the Manor with hopes of further familiarizing himself with his new home. How could he not want to wander around? It seemed like common sense to see everything your home had to offer, especially with it being a sudden change. He was used to having a two-story house with four bedrooms, not a mansion with too many rooms to count. He was used to a small, homey garden, but this big field that surrounded his new home.

He found himself in a garden of sorts. He hadn't been sure what it was as it just seemed like a maze of beech hedges that were tall and hard to look over, but it was easy to navigate through it. After a few turns, he was greeted by an open area adorned with a statue situated in the middle.

A woman it was. He read the name of the statue that was at the bottom of the stone.

'Columba-1754'

It had been interesting to see, had him thinking how only the Manor was, when had it been built.

The sculpture's face was not one of joy, nor of the kind of happiness that makes you laugh, but of the kind of responsibility that comes with safeguarding freedom and health. It was a statement of the seriousness that great love brings, of the soulful protector's awakening and the inner jester's coma.

Walking further into the maze, it seemed to finally end, leaving him in an open area with various plants scattered around in a decorative manner. It was clear that they were all planted carefully in a particular pattern, with all the pants all in their own colour groups, trees scattered around them, their long branches arching over the area, but not completely.

In front of him was a lake in front of the plants. The nature that filled the air was alluring and peaceful. He was awe-struck.

The scent of jasmine filled the air along the lake's edge. This was not a meltwater-filled natural basin. The surface was an opaque green from six feet up, yet it was clear enough from two feet up to view the plants and creatures below. He hadn't anticipated the brightly coloured arrangement, but he wasn't disappointed. He was genuinely impressed. They were massive and numerous, each measuring nearly the length of his arm. He looked across the wind-ruffled ground to the blooming lily pads, their white or magenta petals catching the breeze. Slowly, he inhaled. Peace.

Now he was sitting on the bench that adorned the edges of the beech hedges, staring at a particular plant. The garden bench was made from a wind-felled tree, with the legs made from pieces of the trunk still covered in bark and the top made from a fine longboard varnished in a deep sombre brown.

He was in another world that had magic. So it made sense they would have their own plants. Now he was wondering what their animals looked like- were their plants and animals magical to some extent?

"Beautiful, aren't they?" a voice said from behind Orion on his right, where the archway to the little maze was.

He turned at the voice. It was someone he hadn't met before, which confused him. was his parents just allowing people to come over now? Obviously, this person was a family member as he noticed the crest sewn into the man's robes, the House of Black's crest.

Instead of waiting for Orion to reply, the man crouched down beside him, pointing to a particular plant. It was the green and purple one he had been looking at not too long ago, not because of the colour but more so because of its shape.

The man had short dark hair. His eyes were a mix of hazel and grey. Noticing them as they met his eyes. Nothing went through Orion's mind as he just listened to the man.

"Those flowers there…" the man trailed off, turning his gaze back to the flowers. Orion looked at them and nodded slowly.

"Yeah, I'd suggest not touching them. If you do, try not to touch places such as your eye or mouth, or perhaps not touch them if you have an open wound." The man suggested to him.

Orion frowned slightly, "Is it poisonous?" Orion asked.

The man snorted, "Yeah, very. Wouldn't do good to nearly lose your life a second time, huh." the man casually said.

"I'm your uncle." The man finally revealed his identity, with an amused look on his face as if they were playing a game.

"You do know you have an uncle, right?" the man continued talking as he turned to the lake.

"Of course. I've memorised most of the family tree, so I know I have two uncles on my paternal side. I'm not too sure about the maternal side. The tapestry doesn't show that since it's linked to the House of Black." Orion said to the man.

"Yes, yes… you only have one uncle on your maternal side, you mother's brother, Alexander Macmillan- right git he is, trust me, you would not want to be stuff in the same room as that man." The man told him with a small frown on his face as though he remembered something distasteful.

"So, which uncle are you? Uncle Lycoris or uncle Regulus… or will you have me guess?" Orion asked.

"Wow, it's strange- I've never met anyone that had amnesia before… then again, it's not really common, especially in the wizarding world," the man thoughtfully said, "You know it might be a good thing." The man continued.

"What?" Orion blurted out.

The man turned to him, giving him a nervous smile, "Well, you do know a lot of my secret… now with the amnesia you've got, I don't have to worry about you threatening me with them", the man said smugly, nodding to himself with a smile.

Orion rolled his eyes. How nice of his uncle. Orion's hand shot to his head, "Ah", he said in pain. The man turned to him with a worried gaze, "What?" he asked Orion. "My memories… I think they're coming back- Seriously, uncle? Perhaps now I really should let out your secrets, seeing as I remember some of them, albeit foggy but still there."

The horror on his face showed Orion that the secrets must be terrible. Orion snorted before laughing, seeing his face, "Relax, I was only messing, uncle… you seem like a Regulus. You're my uncle Regulus aren't you."

The man narrowed his eyes at his nephew, "Yes, I'm your uncle Regulus- your rather different from the old you, yet still have the same mannerism in some ways." The man grunted out, looking away from Orion.

"What are you doing out here anyway?" Regulus asked.

Orion shrugged his shoulders, "Didn't really have anything to do, and I thought taking a walk would be nice after having my lessons." Though he wanted to try his broom out. He had tried taking it out yesterday evening, but Arcturus had caught him in the act of walking out with the broom. He huffed at his memory of the man, telling him he rather not have his heir break his neck because he can't remember a simple thing such as flying a broom.

Orion raised a brow at the man, Regulus. He was laughing.

"Sounds like something my brother would say- I'll take you riding, I'll show you how, it really is easy- I'll even tell you about quidditch!" the man told him happily as he stood to his feet, staring down at Orion who looked up at him in confusion.

What just happened? Orion was finding it hard to comprehend what had just happened. Had he spoken out loud?

"Oh… right, sorry about that- I really can't help it. I was born a natural legilimens. You didn't speak out loud." Regulus said apologetically, seeing his nephew's confusion.

Orion continued staring at his uncle.

A what?

"Um, let's just say it gives me the ability to read minds at eye contact", his uncle again replied to him when he had not spoken out loud. Immediately hearing 'read minds', he turned his head from him, completely baffled.

"You can read minds?! Bloody hell!" Orion spat out as he stood up.

"Sorry about that… you're a really powerful occlumens, Orion- Well, you were a good occlumens, seeing as I did read your mind. The last time I was able to read your mind was when you were twelve… how strange."

Orion still did not face him, feeling slightly nervous. "And what is an occlumens, might I ask?" Orion said. His uncle hummed, "To put it simply, with that, you would be able to block me from reading your mind."

"…Well, that's something I didn't think could be possible, but it is. Fascinating. What did you mean by natural Legilimens? You said you were born one… then am I correct to assume that it's rare for someone to be born as one, and it is possible to learn to become an legilimens?" Orion carefully asked.

Regulus stood there with his hands in his pockets, rocking back and forth on his heels, feeling rather bored. This was a conversation he always had whenever he accidentally answered a person's thoughts- which was why he tried not doing so and pretended he couldn't hear their lies, their fascinating assumptions, their strange ambitions.

"Yes, Orion, you are correct." His uncle answered him.

"Then I can be correct to assume that there is such thing as a natural Occlumens? But I'm not one, seeing as you said you couldn't read my mind when since I was twelve, meaning I learned it by then and was decent enough to refuse you entry to my mind. How would I do it again? You said I was a powerful one, but it seems to not be working right now. Would you help me return it to the state it once was?" Orion spoke, still refusing to turn to the man who was now silent, taking in his words.

"Well, yes, you are correct in all you have said. I suppose I can help you learn Occlumens, but I'm sorry to say I'll be given up if you don't get it immediately. I'm not exactly an expert teacher. I'll give you an hour of my time. Perhaps if you succeed, I'll teach you about quidditch and show you how not to fall to your death on a broom."

Thus his explanation of the subject began with both Legilimency and Occlumency. The man gave his own interpretation of them both, from experience and experimenting.

First, he began to give another simple description of both, in which Legilimency was the reading of someone else's mind, while Occlumency was the blocking of someone's mind to Legilimency.

Legilimency gives someone the ability to see the surface thoughts as well as push people to think about things. They could simply ask someone a question or influence a person to think about a memory that the Legilimens wish to see.

How handy was that…

It can be done as a wand-casting spell that creates a magical conduit between the caster and the target, one that is mostly but not totally within the caster's control. The Legilimens can inject qualia into the target's mind and read the reaction qualia through this conduit. Legilimens must correctly interpret what they are reading and take appropriate action. Most people have enough trouble consciously considering what's going on in their own heads. Therefore interpreting what's going on in other people's heads and influencing it with any level of accuracy and predictability necessitates prodigious levels of general intelligence and working mem and a great deal of practice.

It was simple for someone like his uncle, Regulus, to accomplish such things. It comes as second nature to them as a natural Legilimens. When they looked into other people's minds, they didn't always realize they were doing so. They can read an individual's surface thoughts without a thought, but they can readily infiltrate one's mind with enough concentration.

To be able to perform Legilimency is considered to be hard and near impossible to master, with only a very few collect of people being able to perform it effectively.

Occlumency can work to categorise or store information and then place mental barriers around the information, protecting it from attacks.

It was simple for someone like his uncle, Regulus, to accomplish such things. It comes as second nature to them as a natural Legilimens. When they looked into other people's minds, they didn't always realize they were doing so. They can read an individual's surface thoughts without a thought, but they can readily infiltrate one's head with enough concentration.

It requires a skilled Occlumens to detect the probe, as, without familiarity with the sensation and an open mind, a probe would be missed due to non-existent walls. The Legilimens would not probe into anything because there are no mental barriers.

An Occlumens can project certain memories to someone, thus making fake or altered memories being shown possible and helping to hide certain information in favour of less important information. Following this sort of theory, Legilimency would ultimately counter this, attempting to find certain memories or information and pass the mental barriers.

His uncle believed since he, Orion, had once mastered Occlumens- which the man found rather impressive as it was rare for someone of his age to be able to have gotten to that stage of having such a structured mind. Having the ability to easily close his mind off that even his uncle Regulus as a natural Legilimens was unable to break through without using all his force and magical experience.

Orion wondered what the previous Orion was thinking. Why had the boy pursued to master the act of Occulumency at his young age?

Had someone been trying to go through his mind?

Though hearing all this… Orion knew he had to try it.

⪧⪦⪧⪦ ⪧⪦⪧⪦

"Just clear your mind, Orion." His uncle told him for what felt like the hundredth time.

"I've been trying! Your meaningless and unwanted jokes have really been distracting." Orion muttered as he closed his eyes again, trying to emerge himself deep within his subconscious. He ignored his uncle's scoff, only taking deep, relaxing breaths.

His brows furrowed as he began to see a light- had he done it? He hadn't remembered opening his eyes, yet there he was, seeing it all, wherever he was. He spun in a circle. It felt so real. He hummed in thought as he realised these were the constructed barriers Orion- the original Orion had made.

Which he seemed to be based on a sort of Manor. Although, it wasn't the Black Manor that was for certain.

Then was that it? He had reconstructed what once was- so he was done, right? Now he just had to have this body familiarise itself with using Occulumency after reactivating its barriers.

Now how did you go back to the real world? He closed his eyes, trying too what he had to to get there in the first place. He wanted to explore the mindscape, but he wanted to understand and know how to get back first before sauntering around without a worry, but now he was actually worrying because nothing he did was sending him back.

He opened his eyes again. Looking around, he wasn't where he had been anymore. He had been standing at an entrance. The door was wide and tall, the entrance decorated with what wealth could buy- now he was in a long hallway, as fancy as the entrance had been.

There were so many doors, all different, in shapes and colours.

He walked through the hallways slowly, staring at each door, each of them emitting an emotion. He shivered after passing the door that was completely black. He wasn't scared, just confused and slightly disturbed when he looked at the gap under that black door. He jumped back when he saw an eye.

Yup- keep walking, keep walking.

Don't look back- you know what? Running should be better, so he did. He fucking ran- this was some horror movie shit. In all honesty, he vaguely remembered seeing something like this on a show he watched, perhaps on 'the Originals'.

He completely forgot the context of the situation in the show, but he knew each door was some sort of memory, but he wasn't sure about it.

He stopped running finally, looking backwards from where he had run from, slowly walking backwards. He looked to the doors on his side. His hands were at his side, stiff, his hands tight in a fist as he controlled his breathing. If he was going to pick a door, he might as well choose the one that was on his right.

It was yellow, a bright yellow- yellow was good.

No fucking random eyes staring at him from the gap below. There better be rainbows and leprechauns.

Each handle of each door was different. Some had a knob, some not. This one had a knob. He couldn't exactly remember ever using a doorknob as opposed to a door handle. He turned it, breathlessly still recovering from the unexpected sprint.

He wasn't sure what he was expecting, but a completely white room wasn't one. He stood there with furrowed brows, not yet entering the room, just inspecting it from the doorway, looking left and right for some type of trap-

He sighed in annoyance before muttering under his breath as he ran into the room.

"Fuck it!"

…

…

…

1933, 4 March- Wednesday

"Grandmother said we should do it together!" a small boy of four snapped, his eyes narrowing at the older girl in front of him that was simply ignoring him. He watched her swiftly lift the white garland into the air as she began to walk away from him.

The boy stopped his foot in annoyance, "Stop ignoring me! I don't like it!" he yelled. It was just the two of them in the room. Orion Arcturus Black and his older sister Lucruitea Melaina Black, who had just turned eighteen.

She turned to him, annoyance clear on her face.

"No, Orion. Grandmother requested I do the honour, but little Orion, heir to the House of Black, must always be in the spotlight- deciding to throw a tantrum as usual. You don't even understand what is going on!" she shouted. She had enough of her insufferable little brother. Her words went through one ear and out the other as he tried getting the garland out of the air.

"Give it to me! I want to hold it!" he hissed at her pushing her as he tried to get it. Without thinking, she pushed him.

"Ow! I'm telling mother on you!"

"And what is going on here?! For the love of Merlin, Orion, stand up!" a loud voice sounded in the room. Orion whipped his head towards the door of the lounge to see his mother in all her glory standing there. She looked angry. He furrowed his brows and bit his lip nervously. "Mother! she pushed me!" Orion quickly told her as he did stand up.

"You are so insufferable, you know that?" his sister snapped at him as she walked past their mother. Orion stood there gaping, looking to the doorway his sister had just left through, then to his mother, who was pestering him over his clothing.

"Mother! You didn't scold her! That's not fair- she pushed me and called me insufferable." Orion whined, stomping his foot again, in annoyance.

"Orion." His mother said in a scolding tone.

"But mother!" he whined once again, getting slightly angry more than being annoyed at that moment.

"You always do this! You never defend me! You're always on her side. It's just not fair- I hate her, I wish she wasn't my sister!" he continued his rant, folding his arms.

Then his cheek began to sting. His jaw clenched as he huffed air through his nose as he tried not to cry. "Orion Arcturus Black, I will not have you speak to me- your mother! in such away. Now Luciana is your sister, your older sister. I will not have you saying such words you do not mean. You do not hate your sister." She told.

His face scrunched as he turned away from his mother, refusing to look at her. He did hate her. He hated her and would always hate her- she was so annoying, always telling him what to do, how to behave. He didn't like her at all!

He looked anywhere but at her, looking to the window. He found himself relaxing as he tried to decipher what he was seeing. It seemed like a figure beside the draped curtains. Orion gave up, knowing he just saw things.

"I do hate her! And there's nothing you can say that'll change my mind! I'm telling father!"

Adrian stood confused after having Orion stare in his direction. The scene before began to change yet again. He had gone through a few memories about Orion and his sister. Perhaps that was what the yellow door was about. His sister.

All the doors were Orion's memories.

…

…

…

1943, 6 November- Monday

"Honestly, you would think they would just get rid of those sanctions- Orion, are you even listening to me?" a voice directed at the dark-haired boy at his side. It was Theo Avery that had spoken, he was completely bored, and no one wanted to do anything, so he sat with them at the round table in their common room, reading 'The Daily Prophet.'

The paper ruffled in sound as he moved it from his vision, as he glanced at Orion, who was seated in front of him, hunched over the table in deep thought. He rolled his eyes.

Orion was more interested in trying to form words to write a letter to his sister. She had been ignoring him for a while. They had some words before he attended his fourth year at Hogwarts, and he hadn't bothered fixing it or even apologising for the lack of respect he had shown her. His quill starched the parchment in frustration.

"I'm sure no one is", another voice joined, having just arrived at the table that housed three fourth-year Slytherins. Orion Black, Theo Avery and Aldrich Carrow were all doing their own thing.

It was Hendrix Travers that had arrived, seeing Orion scribbling whatever it was he was scribbling. There was Theo, who had the daily prophet in his gasps, looking up at Enrique, who decided to join them this evening, and then there was Aldrich, who was absorbed in the thick book his eyes were scanning through, which wasn't a surprise.

"How nice of you to say, Enrique," The Rowle heir, Theo drawled, as he folded the paper. Hendrix rounded the table and sat on the free seat beside the bored Theo. "Where were you then?" Theo continued to speak.

An awkward smile was placed on Hendrix's lips as he turned to Theo, "Oh, you know… around and about", he replied before snorting.

"He was with Carina Alderton," the Carrow scion spoke, Aldrich. Having looked up from his book, looking to both Theo and Hendrix.

Orion, too looked up to look at them, but only after hearing his friend say the name Carina Alderton, his interest piqued. The girl had the type of body you would want to see without all the clothes she wore, she always seemed like the innocent type, but they knew that wasn't true.

"Did you fuck her?" Orion blurted out. Hearing that, Theo snorted, rolling his eyes as he stared at Orion before turning his gaze to Hendrix.

"More like, did you fuck, while she screams for you to stop?" Theo offered.

Orion groaned in annoyance, "Hendrix, do tell me you didn't do that," Orion muttered as he picked up his quill in his hand again. His friend's antics would someday have him in Azkaban if he messed with the wrong person, but then again, he was likely to get away with it. He was a Travers, after all.

"You promised you wouldn't again," Aldrich drawled.

"Seriously?! Guys, relax. I've learned my lesson after that mudblood. I like it when they're willing to suck me off- and the mouth on Alderton…." Hendrix trailed off as he leaned back on his chair.

"What? You got her to do that?! You literally only began to speak to her last week- is she that easy?" Aldrich asked curiously as he leaned forward, his arms resting on the table.

"Why? Trying to get yours sucked too?" Orion joined the conversation again, laughing as he spoke. Aldrich flushed in embarrassment, leaning back, "Oh shut up, Orion!" he snapped.

"Why? Looking at you turning red. I can't believe you haven't done anything with a girl yet," Orion teased.

"I have", Aldrich confidently responded, only for the three other boys to burst out laughing, "Yeah, and I'm dating bloody Ezra Rowle," Theo said sarcastically, knowing that his friend was only lying.

"I have," Aldrich said more firmly, even though he was lying, but he didn't want them to make fun of him more than needed. Orion raised a brow, "Really? with who?" Orion asked.

"…Iris Baron, we didn't fuck, but we did stuff", Aldrich lied. "Really? Is she any good or anything?" Hendrix asked, already imagining the things the girl could do. She wasn't ugly nor beautiful, she was quite plain in looks, but her figure made up for it.

"Nah," Aldrich waved off, hoping they'd lose interest, and they did.

"Orion, have you done the essay for transfiguration yet? I want to see it so I get what it's supposed to look like. I'm struggling to try to structure it in a decent way." Theo spoke. Orion looked towards him and nodded, "Yeah, no bother. I'll give it to you after dinner- I'm writing a letter to my sister, but I don't know how to start it. I'm trying to apologise." Orion spoke.

"Apologise? For what?" Aldrich asked. Orion shrugged, thinking back to it, "…I'm not sure that's why I'm not sure how to start it. Well, I know I said stuff to upset her, but I really don't see what it was that upset her. In all honesty, I just know it was something I said." Orion told him.

Theo burst out laughing, "But you can barely remember what you've had for breakfast, so I doubt you even remember what was said." Theo said between laughs. Orion huffed, knowing Theo was right.

"Why bother, though? She's a grown woman, is she not, and she's also your sister. Just wait until you see her again and act all sad and shit when you apologise to her, and she'll forgive you." Hendrix suggested as he took the book from Aldrich's grasp, curious about what he was reading.

"I don't know about that… but I feel like I'm just going to keep procrastinating writing this letter and do what you've said," Orion responded as he glanced down at the parchment, still unsure how to start it.

"Oh, don't listen to that rubbish, don't worry, I'll help you write it, Orion," Theo told him.

Adrian Coleman watched the scene before him in fascination as he walked around the room- so this was what Hogwarts looked like. It was brilliant- magical, even. He wandered around only to come back to the table the Original Orion and his friends were sitting. It would seem they had another discussion.

"You stole it?! Are you an idiot or something" Orion snarled as he ran his hand through his dark hair, huffing in annoyance. Hendrix rolled his eyes, "It's an invisibility cloak. Of course, I stole it. Besides, Sayre was annoying me, and it's not my fault he left it lying around like an idiot. You would think a Ravenclaw would be smarter." Hendrix continued speaking.

Adrian's eyes widened as he watched the scene before him, practically breathing on the boy's neck, 'Hendrix' staring at the cloak in his grasp, an invisibility cloak? Bloody hell, he tried to be surprised, but he really was- something that could make him disappear, he could understand perhaps a spell doing so, but a dusty old cloak?

He sighed as he moved away from the boy.

"You're an idiot. He'll probably have you checked first if he tells a professor." Aldrich said uncaringly, but his eyes showed interest in the cloak.

"Hand it here", Orion ordered, his hand held out, waiting for it to be given to him. Hendrix stared at him with a raised brow. Orion's gaze only got more intense as if daring Hendrix to defy him.

Hendrix sighed in annoyance before throwing it towards Orion, who caught it and inspected it, "I'll give it back to Sayre myself." Orion told him- lied, he wasn't actually thinking of giving it to him face to face. He'll have it dropped somewhere he'll find it. What he really wanted was to test it out. He stopped himself from smiling.

"You remind me of Tom sometimes", Hendrix drawled.

"Don't compare Orion with some mudblood who thinks he's our better merely because he can speak to insignificant reptiles," Theo snapped, turning to Hendrix.

He clenched his jaw, "He's powerful, so there's no way he's a mudblood." Hendrix refuted.

"His name is Riddle. What is it you do not understand? At best, he's a half-blood, yet he's claiming to be completely pure." Orion drawled, placing the cloak on his lap under the table.

"It's pathetic, really. I can't believe my brother follows him- I don't bloody care if he's the heir to Slytherin. He's filth who inherited something that wasn't meant for him." Theo spoke again, staring at Hendrix. He spoke again, "Are you planning on joining his little group, Hendrix? Planning on kissing his feet?" Theo said in amusement.

"Oh, shut up!" Hendrix snapped.

"Perhaps Hendrix is in love with the bloke- does Hendrix Travers enjoy the company of men? Are you fucking Tom Riddle? Is that why you keep defending him like some lovesick lover?" Aldrich joked as he laughed, causing Orion to snort and Theo to chuckle along with him.

"I bloody hate you guys!" Hendrix hissed as he stood up, his fist banging the table in frustration, "I'm not a fucking faggot. I was merely telling you that he's powerful!" He snapped, his arms crossing as his face scrunched up, his heart racing. His friends were treating him like some Halfblood to mess with.

"Orion's powerful is he not- perhaps that's why you're his friends, seeing as you scurring to befriend Riddle. Is Riddle more powerful than Orion Hendrix? Where does your loyalty lie? Here amongst your closest friends? Or with some pretender." Tho further teased him. He had always found it amusing to get under his skin. All three boys turned to Hendrix, waiting for a response.

Hendrix looked baffled, "What? You're making me choose? Merlin's beard!"

Hendrix sighed in annoyance, "Like you said, you're my closest friends. My loyalty lies here. I'll stop with the Riddle nonsense, for fuck sake. I bloody hate you all." He sank into his seat as they sat in silence.

"No hard feeling, right, Hendrix?" Orion said slowly, trying to rid the air of the tension that was forming. Hendrix glanced at him, shrugging his shoulders, "I didn't like that. You treated me as though I was beneath you all." He snapped.

Hey glanced at each other before they all sighed. "Right then, I apologise, Drix, forgive me? I was only joking at first. In all honesty," Theo droned out.

"Right, I too apologise," Aldrich told him. Hendrix didn't seem to take them to heart.

"I'll get you a date with Rena Goodman", Orion told him, leaning back, knowing that would do the trick. The scowl on his friend's face disappeared as he snapped his dark eyes to Orion's grey eyes.

"You mean it?! She rejected me already. Do you really think you could get me one?" Hendrix blurted out. "Bloody hell, Drix! Do you still like her? I thought you were over her. She thinks too highly of herself, especially after rejecting you," Theo spoke.

"I don't blame her for rejecting Drix. We've barely been in school for two months, and he's already known as a manwhore. Do you really think Rena will go out with him, Orion? You have a better bet at getting her to go out with me," Aldrich said smoothly, hinting at his interest in the girl.

"Back off, Al, she's into tall guys." Hendrix waved Aldrich off. Aldrich scowled, leaning forward, "What?! What do you mean taller guys? You make it sound like you aren't just about an inch taller than me!" Aldrich snapped.

…

…

…

Orion stood there under the cloak, frowning as he saw Riddle walk towards his older cousin, the one he liked the least. Walburga Black, he hated her, and hated both their parents were suggesting they be engaged to marry- he knew it was her idea since Cygnus, her younger brother had a big mouth and didn't shut up.

He was stood in the great hall, having left the common room. He had told his friends he planned to return the cloak, but he wanted to use it first.

Adrian watched him do it all, following his every step through the halls of Hogwarts- it was memorizing; he started to wish he had joined this world at a younger age to experience Hogwarts. It was also interesting to see Orion use the cloak. It was weird. He could still see Orion with the cloak on, but as the boy walked through the halls, he was completely invisible to others, with him walking in front of people standing there, waiting for a reaction that never came.

Adrian watched Orion glare at the girl who was glaring at someone else. She looked annoyed as though she had tasted something foul.

The seventh-year Slytherin girl stared- no glared at the dark-haired boy that decided to disrupt her peace and quiet by having the audacity to sit across from her on the Slytherin table in the great hall. She enjoyed eating alone, refusing to have another sit with her.

She found the pointless conversations a bother. The rest of the Slytherin already knew this and left her be at such times, not wanting to hear her loud voice reprimanding them.

Adrian watched as Orion's glare moved from Walburga to the boy sitting across from her elegantly. Adrian watched in interest as he walked through the table away from Orion's side, to the side the boy was sitting at and stared at him. There was a sense of authority to him, in a sense.

"Riddle, to what do I owe the pleasure?" Walburga sneered at him. Realisation dawned on Adrian as he realised this was Tom Riddle, the Tom Riddle Orion and his friends had been talking about in the common room. The Riddle, Solrey, had said Orion hated, distrusted.

The one who had used his magic on Orion at some point.

"Your cousin." The boy replied smoothly. "My cousin?" Walburga responded, with suspicion, staring at Riddle.

"I would like him to join my… group. He is of noble, pureblood- an heir to a noble and ancient house at that. He's young and adaptable, I believe… don't you think Scion Black?" he continued speaking. She said nothing at all, only staring at him with narrowed eyes.

Adrian turned to Orion to his see his eyes widen, confusion across his face as he continued staring at Riddle. Suddenly it was suffocating- the air, it was strange, was it, Orion? Was he supposed to be feeling this? Could Tom or Walburga feel it? He turned to them to see no indication that they could.

Then why could he?

He turned back to Orion- his heart skipped a beat as he nervously took a step back. Orion was… staring at him as if he could see him. Staring right into his soul.

"Um, can you see me?" Adrian hesitantly asked. He got no response.

Just like that, it was happening again. He hated when it happened. He always got a headache when the scene changed. Everything morphed around, changing into nothing before a bright light took over before having him appear in another place.

⪧⪦⪧⪦ ⪧⪦⪧⪦

He closed his eyes and shot, waiting for the bright light to pass, and it did. He opened his eyes. He was not in an open space. It was foggy, a mist covering the area.

He could barely see past the midst, though it was his understanding that he was in a forest.

"Hello?"

Nothing.

He walked and walked, trying to find someone or anything other than a tree. Usually, when the scene changes, he is usually placed around Orion. This time didn't seem to be the same, but why?

He stopped walking when he saw someone.

A boy- it was a small boy that seemed to be dressed in a nightgown, in the midst. Suddenly Adrian felt more and more worried than he had been before… this was the stuff you'd see in horror movies, and he didn't feel like being a part of it, and it didn't help that he couldn't find his way out of there. The boy wasn't facing him but in the other direction.

It had to be Orion. He was younger this time.

"Adrian."

His heart began to beat faster as he turned around, his eyes scanning the fogged area- the voice, it had said his name, from his previous life, yet it didn't come from the boy, no it sounded like it came from everywhere. He couldn't pinpoint where the voice had come from. As he turned and turned, he saw how the boy was no longer there.

"Hello?" Adrian hesitantly called out, trying to keep his emotions in check.

"Adrian?" he heard the voice again. This time it sounded small, sounded unsure- sounded scared… the voice sounded like a child's voice, and this time he could hear which direction it was coming from. There was already no way out, he tried, so he decided he would follow the voice.

"Are you coming back?" the voice said again. Adrian could hear how hopeful he sounded, so he kept up his pace. He stopped walking, staring unsurely at the door that began to appear with each step through the midst.

A few more steps and with one lift of his arm, he would be able to open the door, but he didn't. He just stared at it. He wasn't keen on finding out what was on the other side. He stood there thinking deeply- the voice was of a child… and he was in his mind, wasn't he?

He wanted to say this voice was him from his childhood, but he didn't sound like that, so it couldn't be. Perhaps it was someone he had once met. The voice had said was he coming back, meaning he had met them before, but he couldn't think of who it could be for them to have sounded that hopeful.

He took a deep breath in as he closed his eyes shut, holding the breath in for a few seconds. Then he opened his eyes, letting that breath out as his hand reached for the door handle, pushing it down. He heard it click, and just like that, the atmosphere began to change, rather quickly, too fast for him to comprehend. It felt as though he was using a portkey once again.