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Ratty Apartment, Ratty Apartment Building, London
–Damian Hawthorne–
He cracked his neck, and sat upright on the bed. Time to meet the mystery guest, then. The building was not that big, just enough for him to cover its entirety with his magical senses, allowing him to see the man casting spell after spell at every door, as he made his way up.
Likely the Homenum Revelio or more specifically, one of its variations that could detect magical creatures, like elves, vampires, and of course, wizards as well. He wondered how that spell would work on Sorcerers or on people using Chi, but that was an experiment to be added to the already long list of experiments he had to perform when he got access to Hogwarts, its magnificent library, and above average teaching from the staff there.
Feet dangling on the bed, he checked the small amount of defenses he had installed in the apartment, and found them…wanting. In his defense, he had not expected to be attacked here in the first week itself. He still had his gear on and that was more than enough to eviscerate this entire building if need be, but that would be an extreme response, and no one below the likes of Dumbledore himself could force him to risk the lives of innocent, just so he could flee.
In fact, even Dumbledore couldn't evoke that response from him. It would have to be someone who would unquestionably kill him. Only then could he stomach the thought of sacrificing innocent lives for his own.
With those somber thoughts in his mind, he looked to the door, preferring a straightforward approach for now. This was basically someone searching for him, and he could only think of one place that could leak his current address, especially since he just moved in.
Hogwarts.
The leak had to come from Hogwarts. Maybe in between them sending the letter and it being attached to the Owl? Donning a disguise and confronting them outside would have been preferable but he did not feel that was necessary for now, since it was just some nobody.
And depending on what they were planning to do with him, he might just have some extra judicial punishments to belt out on them. Some questionable experiments as well. His grin took on a manic edge as he thought of all the stuff he had never done, either because it could harm him or because it needed to harm someone else to get tangible results.
He shook his head, banishing those thoughts as his magical senses pinged the man just a floor below. It would have been kind of hilarious if the man had found someone else who was a wizard in the building but there was a reason he chose this one, aside from its cost as well as immediate availability.
There was not even a hint of magic in the entire neighbourhood when he first came here. Not even on the roads, or around the stores. It meant that no magical creature had come here for, quite possibly, weeks on end. Which made it perfect for his use case. So, when the wizard stopped on his floor, he felt a wave of magic washing over him. He tensed, ready to act, only to fall short as there was a knock on the door, before a young-ish voice spoke.
"Hello? This is Auror Hawthorne, please open up!"
His eyes widened. What the hell? The illustrious prodigy of the Hawthorne family, the Auror, knocking on his door. The timing was all wrong, and before he could really say or do anything, because no matter what he told himself mentally, he had never really been able to prepare himself for the inevitable confrontation with his blood family, the door's lock was hit with a potent wave of magic, unlocking it.
The door was shoved open, and he laid eyes on William Hawthorne for the first time in his life, meeting the eldest sibling of the Hawthorne Family. Both of them froze as they saw each other, the apartment's layout meaning that the bed was right by the window, in direct view of the door, giving them a clear view of each other.
Damian could definitely see the resemblance between them, the same hair, the same face structure, including the height. He was on his way to reach that size as well, if things went as hoped.
"Um, Hello?" In the end, he was the one who initiated the conversation, however awkwardly it might be. He was still on his bed, still tense, but in a different manner. He was not expecting an attack, at least he hoped not, but meeting a family member like this was making him feel tense.
William remained frozen for a few more seconds, before he seemed to break out of it, clearing his throat and stepping inside, startled as the door closed on its own. Looking at the smiling Damian with his finger in the air, William realised that Damian had just used magic.
___xx___
Few painstaking awkward moments later….
"So," He said as he set down the cup of tea in front of William, on the only table inside the apartment, opting to hold onto his as he settled into the quiet decent chair, one of the pieces of furniture he had added when he moved in, "What can I do for the heir of the Illustrious Hawthorne Family?"
William, instead of answering his questions, or reacting to his snide way of addressing his family, was openly gawking at the cup, and then at him, multiple times, in succession. If such a small display of wandless telekinesis was enough to surprise him, he wondered what their reaction would be if he displayed even a tenth of his toys. Man, that would be a great aura farming moment, but it would be such a useless and self defeating thing that he would never do it.
Nice to imagine everyone's reactions, though.
William, eventually, did snap out of it before he asked, "Where were you?" The question was asked with such deep hurt that it made him pause for a bit, the banter dying on his lips as he saw the intense look in his eyes, laser focused on Damian's expression.
"Away," Was all he said. He did not give the man any chance to push further as he opened another line of enquiry, "So, I ask again, what are you doing here?"
"W-What am I doing here?" William asked him, as he nodded while sipping on his tea, "I am here because I finally got to know that my brother, the one that I thought I lost forever, is not just alive but living right here, in Muggle London. What I should be doing is asking you- Where have you been? Who are you living with?"
"I was in a forest. Also, I live here, alone. Next."
William looked taken aback at his replies before taking a deep breath and exhaling. "I see." Then, he waited, as if debating whether to ask the next question or not, before taking his chances, "Will you come home?"
He looked the man in the eyes as he finished his tea, before replying, "This is home to me."
"Will you be attending Hogwarts?"
"Does it look like I have a choice?" After a pause, he added, "Yes, I will be attending."
"Is there any chance I can convince you to come with me?"
"Not a chance in hell." He said before waving his hand lightly, both the tea cups floating back to the kitchen.
"That!" William pointed at him, "How do you know Wandless magic?"
"Is that supposed to be hard?" The words just tumbled out of his mouth, as he instantly realised how show boat-y they sounded, but what's done was done so he remained firm by them.
"I see." Wow, was that pride and happiness on the man's face? For someone who he had not known for the past three years? Three years was a long, long time for someone's personality to change, especially in the early years of their life.
Not to mention the fact that he had no memory of the previous days of this body. Supposedly, his past self had been lavished in every way that mattered before he disappeared a day after his 8th birthday for some inexplicable reason, leading to the previously mentioned bounties.
William then stood up, "I am sorry for coming in this late. There is much I wish to talk about but I know now is not the time. I will see you in a few days. Stay safe, brother." With that, the man walked out of the apartment.
He felt William linger outside his apartment for a moment before he went down, took down the wards, and left the area. He sighed, just being in the presence of someone with whom he shared blood, leaving him tired, as he activated the protection wards, the walls flaring orange for a moment before the wards turned invisible.
Another mental flick turned off the light fixtures in the place, dim as they were, as he walked to his bed, his mind running multiple scenarios, as to what could happen next. He had exposed himself to be living alone, having means beyond someone his age should have, Wandless magic and a propensity to give curt, rude answers to someone who was supposed to be much stronger than him, in every way that mattered.
Then, instead of thinking too much, he just made sure his magical protections were in place, shrugged, and dismissed any concerns over stuff that was no longer in his hands and went to sleep–the small amount he needs every day anyway.
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