Hadrian sat beneath the skeletal branches of the old oak tree, its bark cool beneath his fingers, the wind stirring with an almost curious breath. He had kept his head down for weeks now, ever since the toothbrush incident and the whisper of accidental magic. He'd stayed quiet, watching and thinking.
And remembering.
There was something missing.
Someone.
He didn't know how or why, but ever since he'd awakened in this body, this world—the world—he had felt it: an ache in his chest, like a string once tied around his heart had been cut. He'd assumed it was loneliness. Grief, maybe, for the life he'd left behind.
But today, sitting beneath the cold, grey sky, he knew better.
It wasn't grief. It was absence.
He opened the Book of Lived Time in his mind again, flipping past the facts he'd already etched into the weave of reality: that he was Hadrian James Potter, the son of Lily and James; that he was a Metamorphmagus, bound to hide; that he was hidden from history.
And now, he dipped the mental quill and began to write anew.
There is no Harry Potter.Lily and James Potter had twins.Their names were Hadrian and Iris.Iris Lillian Potter was born moments after me, on July 31st, 1980. At Godric's Hollow, when Voldemort came, she was the one who stood before him. She survived the Killing Curse.I, Hadrian, was present too—but our mother's magic, desperate to protect both her children, split us. My body vanished in a burst of golden fire, hidden by ancient protection. I was placed in an orphanage with no memory until now. The world believes only Iris survived. Iris was raised as an orphan with the Dursleys. But she is not alone. She has always felt a piece of herself missing. The twin she can't remember.
The ink shimmered as it faded. The Book pulsed in acknowledgment.
✅ Confirmed: Timeline adjusted. Iris Potter is sole widely known child of James and Lily Potter. Hadrian Potter hidden status preserved.
✅ Magical twin bond established. Subconscious awareness initiated.
And suddenly, he felt it.
Like a heartbeat.
Far away, in a quiet cupboard under the stairs, someone stirred.
Elsewhere – 4 Privet Drive, Little Whinging
Iris Potter blinked awake in the dark.
The cupboard was too quiet tonight. Her dreams had been strange—filled with light, green fire, and a voice she'd never heard before whispering her name like a promise.
She touched the thin lightning-shaped scar on her forehead and whispered into the silence:
"You're out there, aren't you?"
A flicker of warmth pulsed in her chest—nothing dramatic, just… familiar.
"Whoever you are… come find me."
Back in London
Hadrian leaned back against the tree and smiled.
She was real. His twin.
The world had forgotten him, but she hadn't.
He didn't need to be a hero. He didn't need the spotlight.
All he wanted was to stand beside her.
And if anyone tried to take that away from them again?
Well.
They'd learn that even the forgotten child has his own kind of magic.