Caution: This is the writer's first draft.

Rating: Adult

Pairing: Hadrian/Theodore

Warnings (for this and later chapters): m/m, slash, language, toys, adult games, male pregnancy

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by J.K. Rowling. This disclaimer applies to all following chapters.

Chapter One

The First Time…

Harry James Potter stared after the young blond boy who just stepped off the stool beside him. He didn't know whether to be angry or horrified. The other boy reminded him all too much of the kids he went to school with, the children who claimed to come from good homes and be good people but treated him horribly because of the clothes he wore or some stupidity his cousin made up. He hated them. They claimed to be better than him but they weren't smart enough to see through Dudley's stupid lies. They were all talk, no substance.

The blond appeared to be just like them, thinking that because Harry dressed or looked a certain way he had the right to judge him. "Idiot," he muttered. And what was that stuff about houses. Slytherin this, slytherin that. It was almost as bad as Hagrid's talk about Gryffindor.

"Ignore Malfoy. He can't help himself."

Harry turned slightly, Madam Malkin was still kneeling at his feet and she was armed with sharp needles, and regarded the boy who spoke. He was standing on another stool, just a few feet to the right of where Harry stood. The boy had light brown hair, almost the color of honey, and gangly long arms and legs. Harry was nowhere as tall as him. Harry mentally pouted. Everyone was taller than him.

What the hell? Where his parents dwarves? Did dwarves actually exist? He knew goblins did as they went to the bank first and they were rather short beings.

"You're finished here, Mr. Nott."

The now identified Nott gave the seamstress helping him a small smile before jumping down from the stool. He strode over to stand to the right of Harry. "My name is Theodore Silenus Nott." He held out a hand.

Harry glanced at Madam Malkin. She huffed and then lifted her hand. A few twirls of her wand and he could move his arm without being pinned to death. He took the boy's hand and shook it. "Harry James Potter."

"Hadrian," Theodore replied.

"Huh?" was Harry's intelligent response.

Theodore gave him a smile similar to the one he gave the seamstress but this one was more mischievous. Harry recognized the signs from watching his cousin, but where Dudley's fat face smiling made him nervous, this made him excited. He got the feeling that Theodore's mischievous smile was dangerous, but not to Harry.

"Your birth name is Hadrian. You should not allow people but family and friends to call you anything as personal as a nickname. It allows them to treat you a certain way and that is not a good thing."

His name was Hadrian? He remembered all the times his aunt complained that Harry was a very boring name and perfect for a very boring child who was nothing like her precious Dudley. Though he had to wonder how he could be a freak, an abomination, and boring. Did she know his name was actually Hadrian and hid it from him like everything else about who and what he was?

Harry made a decision then to stop believing anything the fat man or long-necked woman told him. They were liars of the highest sort.

Hadrian James Potter. Harry considered it for a minute. He wanted friends. He had none. But he didn't want people to treat him like the Dursleys' or the people in Little Whinging did. He came to a decision then. Hadrian was a chance to be a new person. Harry was, well, a freak that the Dursely were forced to keep. Hadrian never was and never would be.

"Hadrian James Potter."

"Nice to meet you, Hadrian. As I was saying ignore Malfoy. He and his family give all Slytherins a bad name."

"You're a slytherin?"

Theodore shook his head. "No, I'm going to be a first year, just like you and Malfoy. I will probably be a slytherin though. I was raised by a family of snakes," he said with a chuckle.

"I was raised by …normal…well, muggles."

"Then you have an equal chance of being in the other three houses, but you'll probably be in Gryffindor, just like your parents."

"How do you know that?" Harry asked, surprised by Theodore's knowledge. Hagrid told him a little about his family, but he figured he knew that stuff because he was a friend of the family. Nott couldn't be.

"I read it of course. There are whole books about your family and you, the Boy Who Lived. Most of them are absolute rubbish, but the ones that aren't written for star-gazed girls and boys are pretty interesting." Theodore considered him for a moment and Harry could feel the weight of his gaze on him as though it was a livable thing. "I strongly recommend that you check out the books on you and your family at Flourish and Botts. Also, you should ask all the store owner's for the Twist special with your orders."

"The twist special?" he asked, intrigued.

"Yes, the Twist Special. Everyone in your position is recommended it. I'm surprised the teacher sent with you didn't ask Madam Malkin for it already. You need it. Trust me on this, Potter."

Harry didn't know why he trusted Theodore's words, but he did and so he asked Malkin for the Twist Special. Her face screwed off in surprise and more than a little anger. Then it cleared. "Of course, my Lord," she replied. Then she turned and caught the eye of one of her subordinates and shouted of some orders for her. Harry didn't know what she added to his purchased because she used numbers and odd terms so he was very surprised when his final order was large enough to take up the whole counter.

"This, Mr. Potter, is the Twist Special." Then Madame Malkin began to explain just what the special entailed.

It seemed that over half a century ago, a muggleborn student was killed one summer by some "healer" his conservative family sent him to go see. The investigation in his murder revealed that the boy could have been saved from his horrendous death if he had a few protections. Every item ordered as part of the Twist Special came with certain charms, including, but not limited to, notice me not, muggle repelling, anti-fire, and anti-theft. Malkin's Twist Special including a full wardrobe in both muggle and wizard clothing, at no extra cost.

Hadrian guessed it was paid for by some fund.

Hadrian made sure to get the Twist Special on all of his stuff. He even went back to the stores he already visited to get Twist charms on the items he ordered before. He now had an apartment trunk, clothes and shoes, books, and a pet his relatives couldn't see, let alone touch. Honestly, why hadn't Hagrid ordered this for him? He knew all too well just how horrible his relatives could be.

Theodore Nott was long gone when Hadrian learned about the Twist special so he couldn't thank him. Hadrian decided then and there to trust Theodore's every word, after all, the other boy was the only one beside Hagrid to notice he wasn't being treated right by his relatives, and even then he'd done more for Harry than Hagrid did. After all, Theodore gave him a way to escape his relatives even when he was forced to stay in their house.

Theo left while Madam Malkin was explaining the extras a Twist Special came with from her store. He hoped Hadrian Potter had the good sense to ask all the shop owners for the Twist Special.

He still couldn't believe a professor was irresponsible enough not to make the demand for Hadrian himself.

It was probably a little imprudent of him to bring attention to himself after what happened with Malfoy, but he couldn't help it. The Malfoys, the Blacks, and the Flints were some of the worst slytherins to ever enter Hogwarts. They didn't understand the meaning of cunning and drive. Ambition and pride were their best friends but they rarely employed tools that allowed them to reach the tops of Great Britain's political sphere without bring the worst kind of attention to themselves.

Cunning meant not allowing the whole world to know what and whom you've done over to get to the top. Malfoy was just exhibiting the talents his parents instilled in him. Honestly, what sense did it make for Malfoy to preach about his blood views in the middle of Malkin's store where anybody could hear and without any idea to whom he was talking. It wasn't the kind of thing done in polite company, let alone public.

Hadrian James Potter.

Of all the people it had to be him. Potter was the second most powerful person in Great Britain, maybe the world if he was being totally objective. Potter's name meant something, almost as much as Dumbledore's did and for the same reason. They both defeated a notorious Dark Lord.

And Malfoy was doing his damned best to alienate Potter from purebloods and slytherins. There was no telling the long-term repercussions of such foolish boasting. Theodore couldn't allow Potter to walk out of that shop thinking all British wizards were like Malfoy. He also couldn't keep his mouth shut when he saw another child was being abused by muggles.

He hoped Potter forget him. It wouldn't do for the boy to seek him out. Theodore believed in cunning in the strictest sense of the word. He longed for and needed the shadows and Potter's life would be defined by the masses. He only needed to see Dumbledore's life to know what lay in Potter's future.

The sun was shining brightly and Theodore's robes weren't nearly as light as they should be. He moved to the side and into an alley. A quick glanced proved he was alone. He took a moment to open his robes at the neck and tie up his hair before he cast a cooling charm. He wasn't so foolish as to use the wand Ollivander gave him. Everyone with any sense in wizarding Britain knew Ollivanders wands were all made according to Hogwarts and ministry standards and both required trackers that showed if someone underage was using it during the summer or in a muggle heavy area.

No, his wand once belonged to one of his ancestors. Theodore didn't even pretend to know which one. His father was all about his heritage but he treated their relics like rubbish. Theodore found the wand in an old cherry wood box that was practically falling apart when he was forced to clear his father's gathering room by muggle means as punishment.

It was his father's favored punishment as he felt his pureblood sons would be horrified by the very thought of cleaning by hand. Their large manor fairly sparkled at noon because of Theodore. If only he knew just how much Theodore learned about his family, heritage, and himself during these punishments. It would surely clue his father into the reason for his disgusting inability to cast a dark curse properly.

He slipped the wand back into the sheath on his knee high boots, released his hair and redid the buttons on his robe. Then he stepped back onto the road and continued until he made his way to the Leaky Cauldron. He kept his gaze ahead and didn't meet anyone's eyes. He also walked at a normal pace. Wizards and witches never noticed anything and they especially wouldn't notice a little boy walking in and out of the Cauldron. Muggleborns walked in and out often.

Theodore made it through the Cauldron and out onto the muggle streets without any problem. He hailed a cab the first chance he got. Five minutes later he reached his destination.

According to the muggle records he was an emancipated orphan. His pureblood family didn't exist in the muggle world and his money, withdrawn from his trust account and converted into muggle cash, and his maturity, along with a damned good attorney was enough to grant him the emancipation.

He walked into the building and up to the young man who sat at the desk at the main entrance to the firm. "How may I help you, sir?" he asked politely despite Theodore's obvious youth. This was one of the things he loved about working with his solicitor and barrister. The others he hired hadn't lasted long because they kept treating him like a child who didn't know what he wanted or needed.

"Morning, my name is Theodore Nott and I have an eleven am appointment with Wes Barnes."

He checked the register and confirmed Theodore's appointment. "I'll just let Mr. Barnes know you've arrived. Please take a seat sir. Someone will be here momentarily to show you the way."

Theodore went and took a seat in one of the lush, fabric covered seats to the side of the man's table. He wasn't sitting long before an attractive brunet woman called his name. She led him down a familiar hallway. "Would you like something to eat or drink? We have croissants, muffins, and scones. For drink we have apple juice, orange juice, milk, and an assortment of teas."

He shook his head. "No, thank you." Theodore ate a hearty breakfast this morning. One of the benefits of house-elves. He grabbed a glossy covered magazine targeted toward muggle women and flipped through. He never read any of the stuff laid out for casual perusal before so he was very surprised by the layout and content. It was very interesting and gave him many ideas. They also made him blush brightly. The things these women wrote and read about in public. He learned quite a bit about the female and male body then.

"Mr. Nott?"

He jerked like he was caught stealing. He coughed and settled himself before lifting his head to find Mr. Barnes watching him with amused eyes. "Hello, Wes," he called with a smile as he stood. He placed the magazine back and strongly considered acquiring a subscription.

"Ready to sign the papers?" Barnes asked once Theodore was standing next to him.

He nodded. "Yes. I just want this purchase to be over."

They walked in silence. Barnes opened the door and Theodore stepped in. The seller, an old man with leather-worn skin and thin, silver hair was startled by Theodore's identity. He obviously wasn't expecting Mr. Theodore Nott to be an eleven-year child.

Theodore ignored his curious looks and took a seat. He went through this before. This was his third land purchase. By the end of the hour Theodore Silenus Nott would be the owner of over 100 square miles of land in Northern Territory, Australia.

No matter what happened Theodore Nott had somewhere to go after graduation to escape the light and dark side of wizarding Britain.

AN: There you go. That's my view of Theodore Nott. I gave him a middle name and it means something for this Nott, as opposed to other fan writer's version. I hope you liked him and my Hadrian. I also hope you give this characterization a chance. This story started as a self-challenge for me. I wanted to write a number of things:

A truly cunning slytherin who sticks to the shadows and doesn't need praise or worship.

A fairly normal Hadrian who is not perfect or the leader of the light or dark.

An independent side that is actually independent.

So, tell me what you think.