Another quick note, about the Hydrus-Bellatrix romance. People are commenting how weird/uncomfortable/cringy it is, but that's how it's supposed to be. Not only does it exemplify the 'pure blood' world he's attempting to steep himself in, it shows how morally misguided Hydrus is as well as his own twisted view on love. I try to have him describe it mechanically, almost like a value proposition, compared to how we see others do it (such as Lily in this chapter). I don't go hard in the paint with those descriptions, just short lines here and there to keep things moving, but it is intentionally weird and wrong. As we get further along we'll see more of the why behind what's turned Harry into this sort of person, especially and directly on the 'love' front. I'm 100% not trying to glorify a bat-shit insane older woman putting the moves on her cousins teenage son. To assauge concerns though, there aren't going to be any detailed/graphics sex scenes in the story as far as I can tell at this stage. I'm a much bigger fan of 'fading to black', no pun intended, and what we've seen thus far is about as far as things will go in terms of descriptive intimacy.

This story is one where Harry/Hydrus is already a very powerful wizard with somewhat easily-overcome handicaps, and thus I need to start his 'personality'/moralities at a low point to give him growth throughout. In a general sense he's almost lawful-good, but by that same token, he's someone who's gone full 'for the greater good' in regards to what he's willing to do in order to achieve his goals. He came to this time thinking it would just be like the 'base' Harry Potter universe was at the start of year four, only to find a peaceful world where a war-time general with mental-health issues like him isn't needed. I'm not saying I'll do a great job at that journey from 'contorted leader' to 'sensible hero', I can't get an agent to like my novel queries for a reason, but that's the goal.

Also, no one's mentioned it, but there are a small handful of OC's in the story. They won't be main characters. They're mainly just there so I can have a larger cast to have Hydrus and others interact with, and do things that wouldn't 'fit' into the world otherwise in terms of 'real' character's backstories. I only mention this as someone who hates OCs myself, in case anyone was worried about that.

Hydrus stood with his arms, or arm and a half rather, behind his back, at the end of the line of first years closest to the center aisle between tables in the grand hall. He'd been stunned when he first entered and saw just how many more students there were, perhaps two and half times more than there had been during his original fourth year at the school. There were two rows of tables for each house, and they were packed to the brim. Slytherin seemed to be the least populated, but even there he saw many faces that were completely new to him.

All those new faces meant countless eyes were shooting him glances or just outright staring. Luckily, Dumbledoor stood to speak even before the sorting began.

"Good evening, everyone!" he bellowed. "And welcome to yet another year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!" He allowed a cheer to ring out before continuing. "I'll save the regular speech for a moment, but for now, I wanted to make one quick announcement. This year, it is my pleasure to announce that we have two more new family members joining us than the usual first years.

"First." He turned towards where Bellatrix was sitting, as prim and proper and pretty a pureblood you could ever ask for. "Allow me to introduce Professor Bellatrix Black. Professor Quirrel has taken a sabbatical on account of his health, and she shall be assuming the mantle until further notice."

Bellatrix stood and gave a slight bow, earning a louder round of cheers and applause than Hydrus had expected. Either Quirrel was a terrible teacher even before being infected by Voldemort, or she really was just that renowned as a duelist. Even the Gryffindors seemed pleased with her appointment.

"And Professor Black hasn't come empty handed, as it were," Dumbledore continued, with a gesture towards Hydrus. "Allow me to introduce Hydrus Black, who has transferred to our esteemed school and will be beginning his fourth year. I expect you all, especially his housemates, to help him settle in and catch up on anything he might need help with." Dumbledore clapped his hands together. "Now then! Let's see who those housemates shall be, shall we?"

McGonagall waved Hydrus forward and he stepped up to the stool where the sorting hat sat. An idea came to him and he decided to give it a go without much caring for the consequences. He waved his hand as he approached, and the small stool meant for first years shifted into a proper bar stool that was much more suited to his height, even despite his rather diminutive stature. A few people gasped and McGonagall looked impressed at the wandless, nonverbal transfiguration as Hydrus took the sorting hat and placed it on his head before sitting down.

'HOoooo boy,' the Sorting Hat said as soon as it was in place. 'Those are some impressive occlumency shields.'

'Thank you,' Hydrus said. 'Could you please sort me into Slytherin?'

'Ha, not so fast.'

Hydrus shuddered as his shields were… bypassed? It felt unlike anything he'd ever experienced. His occlumency had been tested, battered, destroyed, pushed aside, confounded, or opened in the past, but this felt as though the Sorting Hat had simply walked right through the metaphorical walls like a ghost. After a few moments passed, the Hat 'returned'.

'Interesting…' it said. 'Are you really sure that you want Slytherin?'

Hydrus snorted, earning a confused look from McGonagall. 'You once asked me the opposite when I said not Slytherin. Now you're trying to push me away from them?'

'Back then you were just a scared child from an abusive family who'd been called worthless his entire life.' An image of his scrawny, near-lifeless self appeared in his mind at the Hat's bidding. 'Now you're a broken and lonely man traipsing about in a child's body.

'You once needed confidence, ambition, pride,' the Hat continued. 'Now I'd say you need love and friendship far, far more. Even if not in Gryffindor with your own self and past friends, perhaps Hufflepuff is where you'd be best suited.'

'The only Hufflepuffs with the connections I need are Diggory and Bones,' he snapped. 'In Slytherin I'll be able to rise to power and protect this world far better.'

'This world doesn't need your protection, my child,' the Hat said gently. 'You've given more than your fair share.'

'Just put me in the damned house I ask for,' Hydrus thought sulkily. 'It's not for you to decide what's fair and what isn't.'

The hat sighed. 'So be it.'

"Slytherin!"

Cheers from their table broke out and Hydrus made his way over to sit beside Draco. As he settled in, the boy leaned over.

"Took a bit longer than expected, eh?"

Hydrus shrugged. "Took a while for it to get past my occlumency shields."

That seemed to shock the boy as well as the neighbors who'd been listening in. Hydrus paid them no mind as he turned to watch the first years begin their own sorting, once McGonagall had undone his transfiguration anyways. He politely clapped for each one being sorted, no more loud for his fellow Slytherins than the other houses, the latter of whom got extremely stilted responses from his housemates. He hardly recognized any of them, even the ones he should've, and it wasn't until a particular name was called that he really paid attention.

"Dahlia Potter!" McGonagall called.

The girl was tall for her age, and seemed to have inherited an even amount of features from either one of their parents. She had black hair like their father, and the same green eyes Hydrus himself had once received from their mother. The Sorting Hat seemed to take its time with her, nearly five minutes passed before he called out, "Slytherin!"

There were some gasps, but to Hydrus's surprise the girl herself seemed pleased. She made her way to the Slytherin tables amidst a delayed, but especially loud round of cheers from the snakes, taking her seat and greeting her neighbors quickly.

'Interesting,' Hydrus thought. 'Guess I'll have to look out for her.'

It was strange to see the children around him genuinely happy to have a Potter in their midst. It seemed they'd taken it as a win to get one of their rivals on their side, rather than ostracizing her. The lack of Voldemort and the war he wrought was really beginning to settle in on Hydrus.

The sheer amount of magical families who had been killed was staggering, the lack of underlying blood feuds between school children was disturbingly unfamiliar, and even little things like Dumbledore not being half as put-out by Bellatrix's arrival as Hydrus had expected all left him wondering how much of what the Sorting Hat had said was true.

Obviously he didn't need coddling like the thing had suggested, but perhaps his drive for power and leadership wouldn't be necessary here. Then again, that could just be his own self-loathing trying to fight back against the dominance his self-confidence now held. He decided to put that little bit of self-therapy away for now. The middle of a dining hall filled with teenagers probably wasn't the best place to potentially have a breakdown, after all.

Finally the last first-year had been sorted and Dumbledore stood once more.

"Now then, before we begin our feast, allow me to make some more announcements."

He went on to give his usual spiel about the Forbidden Forest living up to its namesake as well as the fact that Filch had updated the list of contraband. To Hydrus's surprise, he mentioned that the 'dueling' and 'creatures' clubs would be maintaining their usual schedules, but that the quidditch season had been canceled. It wasn't entirely surprising that the Triwizard Tournament was being held like he remembered, but it was a pleasant surprise to hear there were actual clubs in this timeline.

'Knowing Bellatrix,' Hydrus thought as he watched Dumbledore continue on and reveal the Goblet of Fire. 'I'll have to enroll in the dueling club, which she'll no doubt have taken over.'

"I would like to assure everyone that this tournament will have much higher safety standards than past years," Dumbledore said. "I would, however, like to recommend caution for you all. This will still be a competition where people have died in the past." He frowned slightly. "Despite my own requests, the ICW has decided that there shall be no restrictions on who is allowed to enter, but I would personally recommend not entering your name unless you're of age."

Hydrus had to bite his tongue from groaning. 'Oh god, forget the dueling club, she's going to make me participate in this nonsense.' He cast a glance over at Cedric Diggory who was beaming with excitement at the Goblet. 'Perhaps I won't be chosen, Diggory was a great wizard too, after all.'

"What do you think?" Draco asked, having a similar grin to the older boy Hydrus had just been observing. "You going to enter?"

"I don't plan to," Hydrus muttered back. "I doubt I'll have a choice though."

Before Draco could respond, plates and platters of food appeared before them. Hydrus paid the boy no further mind as he began to levitate food stuffs towards his plate, earning even more awe from his fellow students as he did it without any gesture at all. He began to eat even before all the magical deliveries were finished, and before long people grew bored of the display and began to dine as well. Although he managed to do so with manners and grace, he did gorge himself on the nostalgic feast, earning a new set of stares as some began to patiently wait for him to finish before they could leave as a group.

The meats were especially good. Some sort of brisket melted in his mouth and what he could only assume was either duck or goose contrasted it with a sharp gaminess that he had to fight to sink his teeth into. Vegetables of all sorts were eaten in turn, corn and peas and broccoli and potatoes all falling before his massive appetite as they were interspersed between bites of meat and bread. The bread itself tasted like it was fresh out of the oven no matter how far into his meal he went, and he made great use of the gravy pooled at the bottom of his plate to soak the fluffy bites in.

When he was finally finished he stood, and Draco along with the boys from their train ride joined him in leaving.

"Snape will probably want to speak with you tonight," Draco told him. "He's our head of house, left a bit before we did."

Hydrus nodded. "That's fine."

Draco 'led' Hydrus down to the dungeons and spoke the password so that they could enter. The common room was far larger than Hydrus remembered from his second year when he and Ron had snuck in. People were milling about, and more than a few stopped to come over and give their greetings to the Black family's possible heir. Once that was done he settled into a chair by a fireplace, the common room now had more than one, and studied his class schedule.

Half their classes were with Gryffindors, the rest split evenly between Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw, but luckily the only one of his electives he shared with the Slytherins' rivals was Creatures. The last thing he needed was to be caught off guard in Runes or Arithmancy by one of them while he was actually trying to learn something new.

"Mr. Black." Hydrus looked up to see Snape had come up to him. "Come see me in my office."

"Yes, sir."

Hydrus stood and followed after the greasy bat. He'd never been in the man's office before, and was surprised at how 'normal' it all was. There was a cabinet that probably held student files, new and old, as well as several shelves of books and a personal fireplace connected to the floo network. A desk sat in the middle of it all with neat stacks of paper carefully arranged on its surface and a single ornate, leather backed chair behind it. The only other feature of the room was a door on the opposite wall that no doubt led to Snape's bedroom.

As the professor took his seat, Hydrus decided he wasn't about to stand alone and so conjured up a chair that mirrored Snape's. If the man took a message from that, it was on him he decided as he took his own seat.

"What can I do for you, Professor?" he asked.

The man had a stoic expression; if Hydrus's magic impressed or annoyed him he didn't show it. "As your head of house, its my responsibility to ensure that you're not falling behind in any of your classes. Clearly you have some talent for certain magics, but please give me an accurate breakdown of your skills."

Hydrus was impressed. Sirius might not have been the Marauder that Snape hated most, but he was definitely in the top two. So far the potion's master had been nothing but polite.

"With regards to Charms, Transfiguration, and Defence, I would say I've already surpassed the highest levels taught in this school," he started. "For Astronomy, Herbology, and Potions, I could O the OWLs' written portions, but I need more hands-on practice, especially in Potions. History of Magic is a bit of a wash, I'm extremely well versed in some aspects, others such as the Goblin Wars that I've heard are intrinsic here much less so." He paused to take a breath. "As for my electives, I'd say something similar to History for Creatures, though I'm much more confident there. My understanding of Arithmancy and Runes, on the other hand, are both much more limited and I expect that is where I'll struggle."

Snape had nodded along as Hydrus spoke, then waited a few moments before responding. "Have you at least studied the previous year's textbooks for those last two subjects?"

"I've read them cover to cover as well as some recommended reading from Aun-, Professor Black." Hydrus had purposely slipped, to try and reinforce that he was closer with her than the man's hated enemy from school. "That said, my actual practicing has been limited, especially with Arithmancy. I can draw a few runes and wards, but I wish to understand them, not just be able to copy and power them."

"Good." Snape began to write something down. "I'll note a few of your fellow Slytherins who can help you if you find yourself struggling, but please make sure to remember that their own studies come first. If you aren't able to keep up, we will be forced to revert you back a year in those subjects."

"I understand," Hydrus said as he took the parchment Snape offered him. "As the teacher for Potions, I hope you'll be able to pair me with a good hand in class. I've got a firm grasp on the subject theoretically, I don't believe I'll be troubled by any year-appropriate quiz you could offer, but my actual experience with brewing is a touch limited."

"Of course," Snape said. "I'll have you work with Malfoy, Granger, Potter, and Shnopps. Their group was the top of their year last year, and I expect similar results from this one."

Hydrus blinked. The man hadn't even grimaced when he said 'Potter', let alone 'Granger'. It was as if he didn't hate them at all. "I'll look forward to it then, thank you. Are there any other questions I can answer for you professor?"

"I'll be waiting to hear from the other professors to see if your self-assessment is correct; if it is, then no, we'll hopefully be finished." The man gave him a pointed look that was far from anything that would've once intimidated Hydrus. "If it isn't, then we'll need to meet again. For tonight though, I bid you goodnight."

Hydrus stood and gave a small bow before leaving.

'That wasn't so bad,' he thought. 'I wonder if him and my dad somehow managed to patch things out.'

It was hard to imagine, but it would certainly be nice.

Hydrus drummed his fingers on the desk he, Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle sat behind as they waited for Flitwick to finish demonstrating the summoning charm. This was one of the classes they shared with Gryffindors and Hydrus thus far had done a good job at avoiding any eye contact with his younger self. The fact that the classroom was almost more of a multi-leveled auditorium and packed to the expanded brim made it a lot easier.

"Mr. Black." Hydrus returned to paying attention to the diminutive professor. "As the newest member of our class, would you like to give it a shot?"

Hydrus snorted, realizing the man was probably just annoyed at what he clearly recognized as daydreaming. Without so much as moving Hydrus performed the charm and sent the pillow Flitwick had gestured at careening towards him. He stopped it with another burst of magic so that it flopped onto the desk.

"Well done, Mr. Black!" the professor said. "But if you wouldn't mind, with your wand and the verbal component as well."

Hydrus shrugged and banished the pillow back to where it started only for it to hit and fall off the podium, slightly annoying him that he hadn't managed to properly judge the power behind his spellwork to get it to land and stay on it. He drew his wand and did the spell properly, but this time it rocketed towards him and if he hadn't dropped his wand down his sleeve to catch it, the thing would've smacked him in the face. He gently sat it down on his desk and maintained a bored expression, as though he'd done it on purpose rather than simply being unable to control the amount of magic he used in the spell.

The reason he preferred nonverbal, wandless magic was that while his body might've been underdeveloped and immature, his magic was anything but. By putting up 'hurdles' for his spellwork, he innately reduced the effect of spells compared to the amount of magic he spent. He just had to hope that the massive amounts of food and rest he tried to get would help his body catch up to his magic sooner rather than later.

"Well done again!" Flitwick said. "Ten points to Slytherin! Now then, everyone, let's clear the room and get to practicing. Mr. Black, as well as anyone else who can succeed with the charm, be sure to help your neighbors!"

Hydrus stood along with the others and was rather amazed at the desks and benches disappearing as the auditorium changed its shape into a proper space for them to practice. It seemed Hogwarts was more than capable of adapting to the record-setting amount of students that now graced its halls. Hydrus did as he was asked and began to give some tips and pointers to the three boys he'd sat with. Once he was confident that they, or at least Malfoy, would get it with some more practice, he moved on to the other Slytherins.

It was almost nice to be 'teaching' again. Once everything had gone to hell after his fourth year, he'd spent countless hours teaching and being taught how to fight. Considering his old standard for this spell was wandless at the minimum, in order to help wizards and witches retrieve wands lost in a fight, helping these students do it with wands was a walk in the park. They were all surprisingly receptive to the knowledge as well. Usually with ones this young, this proud, it was like pulling teeth to get them to listen.

"Stop pulling back with your wand," Hydrus said to Tamina. "I know it makes sense to 'pull' the object towards you, but you're interrupting the more natural pattern for the wand to do its work."

She huffed at him. "Didn't you do it without a wand at all?"

"Yes," he agreed. "But wand-work requires unique patterns based on the flow of magic that function differently than you might expect. With wandless magic, you can do more or less whatever you want so long as it feels right to you, the caster."

Tamina grumbled but tried it again without the more natural pulling motion, and Hydrus was pleased when her pillow twitched. He patted her on the back and was about to return to his own desk when he was cut off by a familiar voice.

"Excuse me." He turned around and saw Hermione along with her group of Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and another girl that Hydrus didn't recognize. The other three looked as uncomfortable as Hydrus felt with Hermione's calling him. "Could you please assist us?"

Hydrus glanced over to see that Flitwick had apparently gotten stalled working with Neville, Seamus, and two boys he didn't know. The professor was wearing a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes as he seemed to repeat something for the umpteenth time to Neville. He turned back to Hermione and nodded. "I suppose I can. I was just under the impression that Gryffindors wouldn't want my help."

"You don't have to help," Ron said quickly, with a look that practically begged Hydrus to bugger off. "Really, we'll figure it out."

"Unless you managed to do it while I wasn't looking, Ronald, be quiet."

The boy's shoulders slumped and Hydrus had to really, really try in order to not laugh at how much more submissive this version of the boy seemed to be towards the genius witch. Perhaps they'd started dating much earlier in this time line.

"Right," Hydrus said. "Show me what you're doing."

For Hermione his advice was the same he'd given most students, to just focus more on the desire for the pillow to come towards her. She was a bit put off by it boiling down to just 'trying harder', but nodded. Ron and the other girl, a short and mousy brunette named Dianne, both needed to work on their wand movements which were sloppy. When Harry cast the spell, the pillow just did a small flip and remained where it was.

"You're using too much power," Hydrus said. "It's almost the opposite of Hermione's issue."

"How do I fix it?" Harry asked. God it was weird talking to himself. "Just… try less?"

Hydrus hummed. "It's hard to describe. It's like…" He really didn't want to use the metaphor he'd worked out that had actually worked for him, but it really was hard to find a way to explain it in black and white terms. "Think of it like this. You're normally told that when you're casting a spell, it's important to maintain a visual of what you want to happen. Obviously that's most relevant in transfiguration, but it applies here too. The more you focus on that visual, and the more you desire the outcome to happen, the better. But… Well, it's a bit like chasing after a girl you like."

He tried not to be too embarrassed at the scandalous and skeptical looks that earned him from the Gryffindors.

"I'm serious. If you put too much effort into it, chase after her too much, put too much pressure on her, she'll just say no and start avoiding you." He shrugged. "Instead, be more casual about it. Make your interest known, but don't overdo it. I know it sounds silly, but try to use that mentality. 'Interested, but not desperate.'"

Harry still looked like he thought this was just a prank, but turned back to the pillow, and after a moment and with an almost lackadaisical tone he tried it again. This time the pillow sprang towards him and the boy nearly missed the catch with his left hand. Swallowing the bitterness that welled up in him at the sight of his other self still having the limb, Hydrus nodded.

"Told you." He turned to the other three. "Keep in mind, that particular advice won't apply to all of you, in regards to spellwork anyways. It's specific to the fact that he was putting too much power into the spell."

"Well done, Mr. Black and Mr. Potter." Flitwick had joined them after seeing Harry perform the spell correctly. "Five points to both your houses, for completing the spell, and doing a fine job helping!"

Hydrus bowed his head in acknowledgement and glanced over at the clock to see the class had just four minutes remaining. He made his way back to Draco and found the boy glaring at his pillow.

"It's not fair," the blonde muttered. "Him or that mudblood always get the spells first."

"Then do better," Hydrus said coldly. "If the only thing you can do in the face of failure is swear and blame others, or cry that its unfair, I'll be severely disappointed."

Draco practically withered under Hydrus's stare and refused to meet his eyes as he grabbed his satchel and prepared to leave.

"Seriously, Draco." Hydrus placed a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Don't just whine about them. Practice. I learned this spell at eight years old without a wand or a teacher. If I can do that, you should be more than capable of figuring it out here and now. If you actually put the effort in ahead of time, prepared yourself, set yourself up with an advantage like a true Slytherin would, you could put them to shame."

Hydrus hadn't learned the spell at that age or disadvantage, he hadn't even known he was a wizard at the time, but it didn't hurt to embellish when you were trying to inspire.

Draco just swallowed and nodded. "I'll try."

"Just let me know if you need help," Hydrus said. "We'll work on it in the common room tonight."

"James!" Lilly called.

She immediately regretted it as she burst into coughs afterwards. She'd caught a bout of flu recently and it had done a real number on her throat. Luckily, her husband had come running thinking she needed something important. She smiled at the receding panic when he realized that she was fine.

"Honestly," she said. "You'd think I was dying the way you react."

"You know I always worry about you," he grumbled with an adorable blush on his cheeks. "What's up?"

They were in the dining room of the familial Potter home which they'd moved into once his parents had retired to America. It was much cozier than any other pure blood mansion that Lily had visited, which wasn't many admittedly, and she absolutely adored it. The table she sat at had her breakfast along with a letter which she had been about to open.

"Iris wrote us," she said, pleased at their daughter's attentiveness. Today was their first real day of classes and already she'd thought of them. "I was just about to read it."

"Here." He snatched the letter from her. "I'll read it so you can rest that pretty voice of yours."

Lily rolled her eyes but smiled. "Fine, go on then."

"Dear my favorite, beloved daddy and whomever else happens to read this," he started before Lily kicked him in the shin. "Ehem. Hi Mum and Dad. Just wanted to write and let you know we all got here safe and sound.

"There's a new professor for Defence, that Bellatrix Black woman we saw in the restaurant. I knew Uncle Sirius had a family he didn't like to talk about, but you guys never told us just how important they were. Emily looked at me like I was crazy for not thinking it was a big deal." James snorted. "Jeez, maybe Sirius was right about her going for his son if she followed him all the way to Hogwarts."

"Keep going," Lily snapped, upset that no one had told her there would be a new professor, let alone it being Bellatrix. "What else did she say?"

"There's also a new fourth year, got sorted into Slytherin, named Hydrus Black. I think he might be her son or something, but he looks JUST like Uncle Sirius. Wait till you find out that…" James groaned. "Oh no…"

"What?"

"They put Dahlia in Slytherin!" James whined. "How could they do that to my girl!"

Lily glared at him. "My best friend was in Slytherin, you know."

James pouted back at her. "I thought I was your best friend?"

"Only when you're not being stupid," she said. "Keep going."

James heaved a dramatic sigh but did as she asked. "...till you find out that Lee got sorted into Slytherin too. She looked really happy about it for some reason. Anyways, I hope you feel better soon Mum, Charms won't be the same without you. Love you both a lot, tell the twins I love them as well, Iris."

"I love her too," Lily said with a smile. "Hopefully I'll be done with this soon."

"Tell me about it," James said with a suspicious amount of sincerity. "I miss getting to play hookie from work and have this place to myself."

Lily kicked him again much more playfully. "In that case, maybe I'll stop letting you exhaust me so much."

"Oh no no no no." He had caught on immediately. "I was just joking, my beautiful, wonderful, amazing wife."

Lily giggled and reached out for a hug which he gave her with aplomb. She really was the luckiest witch in the world.

As James finally pulled away he stared at the letter again. "Think we should tell Sirius?"

"Tell Sirius what?" Both Lily and her husband jumped at the voice and saw Sirius standing in the doorway, eating a bowl of cereal. "I was bored so figured I'd drop by."

Lily grabbed a link of sausage from her plate and threw it at the man, only to be mildly impressed when he caught it in his mouth, not completely unlike his animagus form. "You're an animal," she snapped at him. "And Iris mentioned your son in a letter she wrote."

"Oh?" Sirius asked stiffly. The man still looked like he was being lectured by a teacher whenever his son was brought up. "What did she say?"

"Not much," James said gently. "Just that he was sorted into Slytherin and looks just like you. But guess what?"

"What?"

"Your cousin got herself a job as the new Defence teacher," James said, grinning a smile that told Lily exactly what type of joke he was about to repeat. "Seems she really does have the hots for him, eh? Seems like your boy'll live up to your old fantasy of managing to bag a- owowowow."

Lily had dug a finger into his ribs until he stopped talking. "I assure you there will be nothing inappropriate going on at that school if I have anything to say about it."

Sirius hadn't so much as grinned at James' joke. "I hope he's doing alright."

Both Potters had winced and Lily spoke up. "I'm sure he's doing fine, but maybe you could write him? I know he said he doesn't want anything from you, but that doesn't mean you can't still offer it. Make sure he knows his father is there for him."

Sirius didn't say anything.

"Come on, mate." James pulled out a chair. "Before you spill your… Hey, those are mine!"

James had developed quite a taste for the muggle cereals that Lily had introduced him to, and she laughed at his protectiveness over the 'Fruity Shark Bites' that Sirius snagged. Her laughter faded when she saw the man still didn't perk up at James' exclamation, he just sat down in the offered seat and quietly took another bite. Her heart really did break for him. He was usually so jovial, to the point of exhaustion if she was being honest, but she would've done anything to see the man she considered a brother-in-law back to his old self.

In this case, that meant allowing him to beat a dead horse.

"You really should write him," she said. "I'm serious."

"No, I am," he said, obviously out of habit. Then he snorted, James snickered, and before long her two idiots were both just laughing. She rolled her eyes but for once even she smiled at the joke. "Thanks, Lils."

"You should just let him know you'd like to get to know him better," she said. "Don't be too pushy or ask any questions, just make sure he knows you're there and available to him whenever he'd like."

"Alright," Sirius agreed. "I will."

"Don't come off as too interested though," James said with a mock-serious tone. "You know how that scares 'em off, play it cool."

Sirius just shook his head at the joke. "I think you know that better than anyone."

This time Lily laughed and James shot her a betrayed look. "It worked out in the end didn't it!"

"Hi Mom!" Remus suddenly shouted as he appeared with his brother.

"Hi Dad!" the younger Sirius shouted in turn.

"Hi Uncle Sirius!" they both shouted at the sight of their favorite uncle.

The two hyperactive children practically tackled Sirius out of his chair in greeting. He immediately began laughing and wrestling with the two of them. It completely baffled Lily that the man could be so terrified at the prospect of having a child when he so clearly had it in him to be a great father; there wasn't a single person in the entire world she'd rather have as a godfather for her children than the notorious 'Black Sheep'. Even if he had just accidentally knocked his bowl of cereal off the table.

"Sirius!"

"Wasn't me!" the man said in tandem with the twin he had in a headlock. The other boy was literally hanging off his neck but failing to properly cut off the air flow.

Lily just sighed as James cast a few spells to clean it up, and prayed that she'd be healthy enough to go back to work soon.

Hydrus knocked at Bellatrix's door and faintly heard her shout for him to come in. He stepped into the Defence professor's office but found it completely empty besides a plain desk with a few papers on it. He shut that door behind him and made his way towards another one on the opposite side of the room and knocked again. Her 'Come in!' was much louder this time.

This room was properly decorated. Black, silken drapes hung on the walls and in between them were filled bookshelves. It was dimly lit with just enough light coming down from the mostly-covered chandelier to see, and the air smelled of incense and a touch of perfume. It nearly gave him a heart attack when he spotted Bellatrix standing before a wardrobe wearing nothing but her knickers.

He immediately wheeled around to show her his back. "Why did you tell me to come in! What if I was someone else!"

"Please, dear," she said with a giggle. "I've already told you that I always know where you are."

That still bothered him more than he was willing to let on, especially since he'd spent no small amount of time looking over every inch of his body to find whatever mark she'd left on him. It wasn't the right time to fight about that now, though. Not when it would've been so difficult to look her in the eyes.

"Still doesn't explain why you told me to enter."

"Do you really need an explanation for that?"

He sighed and didn't respond. She really was incorrigible.

"There," she said. "I was just changing into something more comfortable." Hydrus turned back around and to his disappointment and delight 'more comfortable' meant just a thin negligee that didn't stop him from seeing anything. She sat down on the bed and patted the spot beside her. "Come. Even if I can't cuddle to sleep with you every night, I'm still going to get my Hydrus time."

Not wanting or willing to argue, he took his spot and allowed her to nestle into the nook of his arm, her legs going on quite a bit longer than his, to his embarrassment.

"I really need this growth spurt to hit me already," he said. "This is sad."

"Hm, I'll love you no matter how tall you are," she said. "Though you will look a lot more handsome once you're done growing."

"Maybe." Hydrus pressed his head against hers, for once allowing himself the creature comfort of enjoying the touch. "How was your first day teaching?"

Bellatrix practically purred at the contact before answering. "It was fine, even if I didn't get to teach you. Though I did hear something rather annoying at the staff table this morning."

"What's that?"

"Apparently that mudblood Potter is teaching here as well, as an assistant professor," she said with a scowl. "It's a travesty that they're allowed to teach at all."

"If she's the most capable, then there's no problem." It was hard to keep his tone neutral given who it was that she was talking about. "Pure blood or muggleborn, it makes no difference to me. All that matters is power."

He was becoming more and more comfortable with using that rhetoric. In truth he didn't care how powerful someone was beyond where that was actually relevant, but it seemed even pure blood hard-liners like the Malfoys and Blacks would at least accept it. The people around him were able to easily accept that he believed it as well, given the power he wantonly demonstrated. It didn't matter how pure your blood was before someone whose magical power was like an ocean before their puddles and ponds.

"It's a good thing I'm so powerful then, isn't it?" Bellatrix huskily whispered into his ear, causing him to shiver. "Would you like to see for yourself?"

"If you'll allow me to take the innuendo out of your question, yes, I would," he said. "I'm struggling to not overpower my spells when I'm using my wand, and if you have any advice on that, I would appreciate it."

Bellatrix was probably one of the few people who could stand a chance against him now that he was a teenager again. She and her husband hadn't been an easy conquest in his original life, but they certainly hadn't been half as dangerous as Voldemort. Now though? She wasn't quite as insane, still had all of the Black family's knowledge and spells, still had decades of dueling training, and hadn't spent over a dozen years in Azkaban.

He was definitely glad to be, figuratively and literally, in bed with her.

"That's not surprising," she said. "I'll check the family library and see if we have any resources for you. I'm sure there's been someone with similar struggles."

Hydrus yawned, and wished desperately that he could stay here all night. He wouldn't admit it to the woman, but he really would miss getting to sleep with her keeping him warm every night.

"Rest, dear." She placed a kiss on his forehead. "Aunty Bella will wake you up when your detention is over."