Hydrus was pleasantly surprised to see a school owl delivering him a letter with an ornate WWW emblem for a seal. They had only been at Hogwarts for a few days, but it seemed the Weasley twins were more than a touch excited at the prospect of funding. Either that or he was about to be pranked. After weighing both options, and trying to remember just how many of the boys' japes could fit inside an envelope, he decided to throw caution to the wind and open it.

To his relief it really was just what he'd expected, a list of potential expenditures. He briefly skimmed over it to make sure there weren't any obvious jokes like 'funds required for ensuring Professor Snape is as miserable as possible', but everything appeared to be above board. The only thing that gave him pause was a three-hundred galleon 'nest egg' and even that wasn't especially egregious. He set that section aside and saw that the twins had also set up three different contracts, each with different costs and shares/stakes ratios. The largest of them offered him a thirty percent stake in the business at the cost of financing the entire start up. The full investment would be just shy of two-thousand galleons, which was nearly double what he'd 'donated' last time, but still seemed a more than fair ask. The real question, in Hydrus's mind, was how much it would cost for him to get an even larger stake in the business. Perhaps he could arrange some clandestine meeting with Lee Jordan and purchase whatever he'd bought.

The twins had never gotten to see their shop become anything more than school-boys' dreams in his time. The war had stolen that from them. Hydrus had no idea if they'd actually manage to pull it off this go around, if they had the sense to run a business right, but he would give anything to let them have a chance at achieving their dream. It was the least he could do for them.

Either way, for now this would be fine. He read through the entire document twice more to make sure it was all sound. If he had to guess, he'd say the twins had gotten their brother Percy to write up the contracts, though it was hard to imagine the bookish busybody actually helping them. He drew his wand and used it to sign his name with a spell that thankfully didn't cause the papers to combust, what with the way his magic had been flaring lately. After that he pressed his scion ring next to his name, and thankfully it took the amount of magic needed to leave his seal all on its own.

He folded it back up and resealed the envelope by pressing his ring into the wax. This time there was a larger draw as it reheated the wax and overwrote the original marking to leave the Black family's. He would have to make a quick trip to the owlery to have it delivered by school owl, so he pocketed a sausage so that he could bribe Hedwig into not being offended for choosing another owl over her.

The breakfast meats here were to die for. The sausages probably would've been more appropriate at dinner or on a pizza, but they still had a scrumptious blend of spices that made the delectably sweet maple-soaked bacon stand out all the more. There were turkey-based alternatives for both of the former options, and the leaner meat was just as delicious as its counterparts. Hydrus was almost worried that Hedwig's own tastes were somehow becoming his own the way the thoughts drove him to load his plate up yet again.

"Good morning," Draco said as he took the seat beside him. "What's all that?"

"Just the business I worked out on the train, coming to fruition."

Draco had pleasantly surprised Hydrus since their first Charms class. The boy had waited for him to return from his 'detention' that first night and asked for Hydrus's help with both the summoning charm as well as any other classwork he was concerned on. He might not have the same drive that Hydrus had come to expect from his previous timeline's 'students', but for a schoolboy who could get straight T's on his OWLs and still be set for life, it wasn't bad at all.

All of their year-mates had joined in as well, and they'd formed a sort of study group that dominated a portion of the common room every night. A few sixth years had tried to interrupt, but a cold, unflinching stare down with Hydrus had sent them stomping away. Hydrus had thought he'd mastered the art of 'Try Me.' stares in his previous life, but it seemed there was something about the Black family's eyes that gave it an extra oomph.

"We've got Defence today," Draco said. "I wonder what Aunt Bella has in store for us this time."

"Probably a shield spell or something else that's actually useful," Hydrus said. "Apparently she pitched a fit to Dumbledore about how awful the curriculum Quirrell had set up was, and the man actually agreed."

"Thank Merlin for that," Blaise chimed in, sitting across from them. "You should've seen him with the boggart last year, we literally had to deal with it ourselves after he passed out at the sight of Potter's."

"What was it?" Hydrus asked.

Draco smirked. "An oversized boa constrictor."

That drew snickers from all the 'snakes' around them. It was a touch amusing to Hydrus as well, but he managed to do nothing more than smile. He supposed that he had been a little scared of them the first time he found a grass snake while managing the garden for the Dursleys, but the snake had clearly been more afraid of him than vice-versa. Perhaps him noticing the snake's mood was just an early sign of his Parseltongue capabilities though. His alternate self here didn't have the gift, and Hydrus was certain that he was luckier for it given the price that had been paid for the 'blessing'.

'A price must always be paid.' The memory came unbidden to him. 'What are you willing to sacrifice?'

"What about you?" Tamina asked. "What's your boggart? Or have you never seen one?"

"A dementor," Hydrus said. "Awful things, pray you never meet them."

"How the hell did you meet on-, ow!"

Draco had managed to slip with his knife and carved a groove into his opposite hand's index and middle fingers. His eyes widened and the colour began to drain from his face, but Hydrus waved his hand and the wound closed itself over. He reached out and gave the fingers a brief squeeze, one last burst of magic to ensure there wouldn't be any infection, then returned to eating his meal.

Being able to deal with minor wounds like that was almost a bare minimum back in the war. There weren't any safe hospitals in either world for him and his rebels, so they'd had to learn how to take care of themselves. Hydrus was a fair hand at it, though he was a far cry from a proper mediwizard. Potions mastery was still the king of the medical field for magical folk, and he had to fight hard to even be called average in that department. He was lucky that this was his second go around at the class, but next year he might have to tarnish his sterling reputation.

"You were saying?"

"O-, Oh." Draco finally looked away from his fingers. "I was going to ask how you met one? I thought they were all in Azkaban?"

"They're also drawn to dark, powerful wizards." Hydrus took a sip of his cider, trying to push down the memories. "And I've met more than my fair share of those."

His classmates stared at him with curiosity and awe, their doubts in him and what he said having long since faded thanks to feats like just now. Snape had only spoken to him once outside of class since their first meeting, and it had just been to say that if the other professors were to be believed, Hydrus had undersold his abilities. Even runes and Arithmancy, the two subjects he'd been least confident in, had given him little trouble. As it turned out, it was a lot easier to focus on school work when he didn't have the sword of Damocles hanging above his head at all times.

"How much longer till the other schools arrive?" he asked Draco. "This month? Next?"

"Father says they'll be here by Halloween, but that's all." The boy rolled his eyes. "It seems they're scrambling to find professors to bring with them since they don't trust our own."

"Well considering how long Quirrell held his… Position…" Hydrus trailed off as he watched a woman step into the Grand Hall. He wasn't the only one to notice either, as a polite round of cheers broke out for her from the other houses. "Seems we have company."

Draco turned to look and grimaced. "Potter's mother is the assistant Charm's professor. How do you know her?"

"Bellatrix and I ran into her whilst we shopped for my school supplies." Hydrus looked away quickly. "It seemed like they don't get along."

"I hope that doesn't surprise you," Draco said with a sneer. "She's a mudblood after all."

Once more his patience was tested by someone calling his mother that, but he decided to just focus on his breakfast. His plate was still piled high with sausage, bacon, grits, and eggs. From what rumours he'd overheard, the sheer amount of food he ate was the only thing people had managed to try and mock him for, but sadly no one ever said anything to him directly. He would've happily explained how the amount of magic he had required more fuel than they'd likely ever need.

"Have you put your name in the goblet yet?" Michael Shnopps asked him. Hydrus still didn't know the boy well, he usually kept to himself outside of study group and times like now when they had to be together. "We've all done it."

"No," Hydrus said between bites. "I don't plan to, and I'm just hoping that Bellatrix doesn't put my name in it for me."

"Why not?"

"Because I'd rather not have to steal an egg from a dragon or whatever other sort of nonsense they cook up."

A few of the students around him paled. "You don't think that's actually what you'd have to do, do you?"

"It's supposed to be safer than previous years," Hydrus said. "I'd say that something as 'simple' as that is a more than likely possibility."

Technically things might be different in this time line and it could be a totally different event, but considering the 'butterfly effect' hadn't completely knocked the planet off course from what he remembered, it wouldn't surprise him to see the same tasks come back again. None of the old ones would actually bother him, he imagined he'd be able to complete them much more easily this go around in fact, he just didn't want to bother with it all.

He just had to hope Bellatrix assumed he'd put his own name in, and no one told her otherwise.

"Mr. Black," Professor Black said. "Since you seem so interested in this, why don't you tell us what you'd do if I launched the pustulating curse at you?"

Hydrus rolled his eyes at the woman taking offence to his boredom. "I'd dodge it. The curse has a distinct, narrow effect and is easy to avoid so long as the opponent isn't firing it from an inch away."

"And if you had no room to dodge?"

"I'd use the protego shield."

"If despite your monumental talent I still managed to hit you?"

"I'd launch a bludgeoning spell at your stomach." He refused to give her the answer she wanted. "That curse isn't lethal and would take five minutes at the minimum before it became debilitating, assuming you really wanted it to hurt."

He stared his would-be lover down and tried not to smile at the impetuous stare she hit with him. "Since you're so confident in your skills, why don't we see for ourselves. Everyone, clear the room."

The Defence classroom was much like the Charms one, and once more the desks and chairs fell away to leave an open and levelled area for them to practise in. Hydrus stepped apart from the crowd of Slytherins as Bellatrix took her spot with her back to the Gryffindors. Deciding to take even more wind out of the woman's sails, Hydrus erected a protegigante shield over the entire space, something she had no doubt been about to do herself. It was clear so the other students would be able to see through the wall, but spells and audio would be locked behind it.

"Shall we then?" Bellatrix asked.

Hydrus bowed. "M'lady."

They raised their wands, and Hydrus at least managed to follow the first part of his plan as he dodged the first cast of the curse. The next seven or eight left him practically dancing around as he was reminded of just what made the Death Eater so deadly in his original life. The fastest of Voldemort's followers had been a Dominican man whose half-blood status left him with something to prove in the dark lord's ranks, and he'd done so by being the quickest wand that Hydrus and no doubt Voldemort had ever seen. The man could launch three curses in the span of a second, each unique and capable of wreaking horrors.

Bellatrix wasn't quite at that level, but Hydrus certainly wasn't the man who'd killed that speed-casting menace anymore either. Finally he was forced to throw up the shield he'd promised as his second step, and that gave him several seconds to catch his breath as the curses slammed against it harmlessly. If there was one spell he didn't mind overpowering, it was that one. The more power that went into it, the stronger it would be, but it would also go from being transparent to the solid smoky-white colour that it was now, preventing him from seeing his opponent.

That meant she couldn't see him either, though.

He leapt to the right of his shield and threw out a pair of bludgeoning spells. Bellatrix easily deflected them but it gave him time to close some of the distance. She fired off a barrage of the pustulating curses, and to her obvious surprise he allowed each of them to strike his chest. Her gasp was the last thing she managed before her wand was torn from her hand and landed safely in his, alongside his own.

Hydrus dropped the protegigante Shield. "And now that you're disarmed I can defeat you at my leisure, and even if your dodging is as good as my own, I'll have plenty of time to cast the counter-curse."

He did so now without his wand or words and tried not to show too much relief as the boiling blisters that had begun to crop up on his skin faded away. The skin on his chest would be a bit sensitive for the rest of the day, but it was worth it for the applause he was receiving as he handed his old enemy's wand back to her.

"Well done," she said stiffly. "But that would've been foolish if we were using our full spell arsenals."

Students had begun to crowd them now. "There are still lessons to be taken from it, however. Knowing which spells aren't immediate dangers can allow you more opportunities to strike back. Catching your opponent off guard by doing something unexpected. Taking advantage of your favourite professor's good will to hit her with a surprise attack."

She huffed at him, but it seemed his last comment had earned him enough favour to spare him from a proper lecture.

"Everyone," she called. "Can anyone else cast the pustulating curse?" To Hydrus's surprise, the two hands that went up were Draco's and Harry's. "Then the four of us will set up the practice targets, and after that everyone shall make attempts at the counter-curse. Once you've gotten it down, be sure to help your neighbours."

Everyone broke away and began to chatter amongst themselves as the target dummies appeared along the walls. Just as Hydrus was about to curse his first one, a mild stinging jinx caught him in the chest and forced him to suck his teeth. He turned to see Bellatrix smirking at him like a petulant child.

'Bitch,' he thought. It had taken what little restraint he'd built since returning to the past to not curse her back on instinct. 'Seems even a bit of ass-kissing can't save me from her all the time.'

"I heard you had quite the class with some of your fourth years," Albus said to Bellatrix. "The students were quite impressed with your display."

'Stupid old man,' she thought. 'Don't think I don't see through your charade.'

"It was just another reminder that Hydrus is an exceptional student," she said neutrally. "I had hoped to curb some of the hyper-confidence he's developing, but a classroom setting might not be the best place to do so."

That was the last thing she wanted to do, in fact, but it was the sort of thing Albus would want to hear. She had hoped to have an excuse to show off for her little water snake, but he'd turned the tables on her quite spectacularly. The only thing that really set her on edge was just how much practice he seemed to have with wandfare; fighting him had felt like a bit of light sparring with any of the other dueling lords and ladies she'd become familiar with during her time on the circuit. How in Morgana's name had a fourteen year old boy managed to reach that level of skill?

"Still," Lily chimed in. "You probably shouldn't be dueling children, Bellatrix."

Bellatrix's nostrils flared at the mudblood's accusation, but to her surprise it was Fillius who came to her defence.

"Oh hush, Lily," the diminutive man chided. "Bellatrix is as fine and storied a duelist as we could ask for here at Hogwarts. She could've defeated the boy before he even drew his wand, or made it seem as if he could do the same to her. He just caught her off guard in a demonstration."

It seemed a duelist's pride extended to one's peers.

"He's certainly a unique challenge," Severus said. "Normally the most frustrating part of a teacher's job is a student who is incompetent. In young Hydrus, we have a student that seems to be capable of teaching half the classes he's supposed to be learning from."

Lily bit her lip. "Is he really that far advanced?"

"I think it'd be fair to say he's the most gifted student this school has had in a hundred years," Filius said, looking toward Albus. "What say you?"

"From what you've all told me thus far, the boy certainly seems to be talented." Albus hummed to himself, and Bellatrix wondered if the old codger was about to fall asleep the way his eyes glazed over. "I believe what we need most is to find ways of challenging him. Idle hands can often lead the mind astray."

"He certainly hasn't been idle," Severus said. "The boy has managed to wrap Slytherin's entire fourth year around his finger, he has them all studying together every night. I suspect that by Halloween the other houses will be playing catch up with them."

"Perhaps," Minerva said, clearly not happy with the thought of her lions falling behind the snakes. "I'll admit the boy certainly has a knack for teaching, handling his class has become a lot simpler due to having the extra hand for all the extra heads."

Bellatrix almost rolled her eyes. Every meeting it seemed the professors would waste half the time complaining about how many students they had to teach. If their headmaster would just relinquish some of his power over hiring practices, they could all have assistant professors like Filius, and ones of much higher quality than that red-headed wretch.

"For now we shall simply continue to observe the boy's progress," Albus said. "Perhaps if this study group that Severus describes shows signs of success, we shall allow him to expand it. Maybe even form a proper club from it."

"I'm sure he would love that," Bellatrix said. "He seems to enjoy teaching, and being the head of a club will certainly be a good look for his future."

"Moving on," Albus said. "I've received word from Durmstrang and Beauxbatons. It seems that they'll be arriving earlier than expected."

"How much earlier?" Minerva asked. "It will take some time for us to make adjustments to the Great Hall."

"They'll be arriving on the last day of the month." Albus stroked his beard. "They'll only be bringing their seventh years, and they wish to avail themselves of our Defence Against the Dark Arts, Potions, Charms, and Transfigurations classes."

"Even more students for us to teach?" Filius asked with a sigh. "We're already stretched thin enough, Albus."

Bellatrix once more held back her irritation as the meeting devolved into the same old drivel.

"So?" Sirius asked as soon as Lily stepped through the fireplace. "Did you get the chance to see him?"

Lily gave him an apologetic, and extremely patronising, smile. "No, Sirius, I told you I don't have fourth year charms till the day after next. I did see him at meals, however."

"And?" he asked impatiently. "How was he?"

"He looked fine," she said with a laugh. "He certainly seems to be trying his best to fill out. I swear he ate twice as much as any of his classmates, and that includes the Crabbe and Goyle boys."

Sirius nodded. The one time he had seen his son, the teen had practically been a corpse with how gaunt he was. It was good to hear that he was eating well now.

"From what I heard from the other professors, though," Lily continued. "The boy's the next Dumbledore."

"Really?" The thought of his boy being so talented lit a strange new flame of pride within the Black Sheep. "What'd they say?"

"Hmmm…" Lily had taken on a teasing tone as she removed her outer robe and settled into the love seat across from him. "Maybe I should wait until James is home, I'm sure he'd love to hear how his best friend's boy is doing too."

"James!" Sirius called. "The jig is up! She knows you're home!"

Lily gasped, and Sirius shot her a look warning her not to betray him and reveal that he'd betrayed his best mate. He knew she would eventually, the Potters held no secrets between them, but that could wait until after he'd heard about Hydrus. Eventually Prongs made his way down the stairs and into the foyer, a bashful grin on his face.

"Hey, Lils," he said. "You see, work let out early and… Yeah, no, I called out sick to hang out with Sirius. But it was his idea!"

It most certainly hadn't been, but Sirius didn't particularly care right now. "Now, your husbands here, tell me about Hydrus."

"Yeesh, Padfoot," James said as he settled in beside Lily. "You went from being terrified that he really was your kid, to begging to hear about his day."

Lily came to his defence by gently slapping James on the arm. "Hush, mister. I don't want to hear any lip from you after you skipped work just to play with your friend." She shook her head. "Honestly it's a miracle you catch any criminals at all with how much time you take off work."

"I catch enough when I am there that they don't mind if I take time away," he replied cheekily. "I'd have the record for most busts if it weren't for our new single-father over there."

'More like if you didn't spend half your time with your kids or going off to Wizengamot meetings,' Sirius thought.

In a straight duel, Sirius was more than a match for his best friend. James had the edge in transfiguration, and used that to a spectacular advantage whenever he could, but it paled in comparison to the sheer amount of spells Sirius knew and raw-magical power. Orion had used all but the unforgivables on him in his younger years in order to prepare Sirius to be the heir of the Black family, and although Sirius avoided using some of the more lethal ones himself, he still made great use of the experience out in the field.

Where James stood head and shoulders above the rest of the department was his ability with people. Sirius was a fair hand at interrogation, but James would manage to win over and gain the confidence of complete strangers, and hostile ones at that. He'd simply take the arrestee into the holding cell, spend an hour with them just chatting and helping them understand the situation they were in as well as the options that were available to them, and before long they'd simply cooperate with everything in order to earn leeway before the courts.

"Sirius?" Lily prodded. "You alright?"

"Yeah," he said. "Just got lost in a train of thought. What did the other teachers say about Hydrus?"

"Basically what I already told you," Lily said. "Flitwick said he's the best student we've had in nearly a hundred years, all but comparing him to Dumbledore. And get this: apparently he managed to get one over on Bellatrix."

"Oh?" That was certainly pleasant to hear. "What happened?"

"Apparently they had a mock duel when she was going over the counter-curse for the pustulating curse," Lily said. "He managed to come out on top and disarm her."

"How the bloody hell did he manage that?" Sirius asked. "I wouldn't piss on the bitch if she was on fire, but Bellatrix is one of the best duelists I've ever seen."

Lily shrugged. "Apparently he caught her off guard by letting her hit him with half a dozen casts of the curse, and hit her with a silent expelliarmus while she was distracted."

"Was he alright?"

"Of course he was," she said with another warm smile. "Look at you, all worried about your boy."

Sirius's cheeks flushed. "It's not that, I was just curious."

"It's alright to be worried, mate," James said. "It's what parents do."

Sirius grumbled but allowed the point. "Did they say anything else?"

"Nothing too specific," Lily said. "Severus said that he's got all the Slytherins in his year following him, and even leads a study group for them. McGonagall mentioned that Hydrus even helps assist in teaching when the class splits up for practicals. So far no one's managed to give him a spell he didn't already know."

That same proud flame burned even brighter inside him at her words. His boy was a leader. "What about your own rugrats?"

"They're all fine," she said. "Despite James's worrying, even Dahlia came up to me after dinner to give me a hug. Like I told him, she's still our baby girl."

"Hmph, just you wait," James said petulantly. "She'll be speaking Parseltongue before you know it."

Lily rolled her eyes. "You're ridiculous."

"Better that than being serious."

"Do you think Hydrus entered his name in for the Tournament?" Sirius asked, not rising to the obvious bait. "What if he did?"

"It wouldn't surprise me," Lily said, almost apologetically. "And if what we're hearing is true, he wouldn't be a bad choice either. Severus thinks the boy could ace his NEWTs in Charms, Transfiguration, and Defence. He's a bit rough in potions apparently, but, well, Severus isn't exactly the easiest judge in that department."

Now that was certainly a strange feeling in his stomach. Hearing that a man who hated him had such high praise for his son was a surprise. That it meant his child was that skilled pleased him. Knowing that it could lead to Hydrus being in grave danger absolutely terrified him.

God, being a father was hard.

"I just hope he'll be alright," Sirius said. "I still haven't written him."

"Well, do it already!" Lily snapped. "Honestly, it's like you're a child who won't go to the doctor. The longer you put it off, the worse its going to be."

"She's right," James said. "Come on, you know that if you don't she'll just keep pestering you."

"What if he doesn't want me to," Sirius countered. "I don't want to bother him."

"Sirius." Lily waited until he looked her in the eye to continue. "He's fourteen. He doesn't always get what he wants. I'm not telling you to write him a two-foot long essay, just a quick letter so that he knows you care, which you clearly do."

Sirius sighed. "Fine. I'll write it right now."

James gave him a lopsided grin. "Right, write your writ, that'd be righteous."

"You're an idiot," Lily said as she stood and gave her husband a kiss on the side of his head. "I'm going to see the twins."

James waited till she was out of earshot to lean forward. "About the Tournament, think of it this way. If he does get picked, you'll have an easy excuse to go see him."

"I don't want him to be picked," Sirius said. "It's dangerous."

"All the more reason he'll need his father, a trained auror and the best damned hitwizard I know, backing him." James now stood and Sirius joined him. "I'm serious, mate. Everything'll be alright."

"I sure hope so."

"Leave her alone," Hydrus said coldly. "I won't tell you twice."

He was in the Slytherin common room with a nervous looking Draco and a pissed off Tamina backing him up. Before them was a pack of five seventh years who'd cornered Dahlia Potter and were giving her hassle because of her father. The girl had been doing a fine job of standing up for herself, but the seventh years had crossed the line when they knocked her books off the table she'd been studying at. The entire room had come to a stop once Hydrus stood, but Draco had followed him out of some sense of loyalty and Tamina had simply fallen in line once she'd seen that she wasn't the only one who'd gotten up at the sight.

"Back off, Black," the leader said. A Macnair if Hydrus remembered right. "We aren't afraid of you."

"I will not." He stepped towards the much larger boy, technically a man since he was seventeen, and stared him down. "She's our housemate, and I won't tolerate this."

In truth, Hydrus had been expecting this confrontation a lot sooner. Despite the short amount of time they had spent in school thus far, it was clear the older students were wary about the new student rapidly forming a power base. Normally the years formed a distinct hierarchy within and between themselves, but never before had a student so clearly dominated an entire class, and that meant he could very well lay claim to the whole house if the upper years weren't careful.

He doubted they'd expected him to take the side of a firsty as his initial shot across the bow, however.

"You'll 'tolerate' whatever I tell you to," Macnair snapped. "You think you run this place just because you're a Black?"

"It certainly makes me think I'm better than you," Hydrus said. "I'm surprised you're talking back at all, considering your family is usually too scared to raise a hand against anything beyond harmless animals."

Macnair snarled and went for his wand, which was all that Hydrus needed to begin. He threw the boy back with a banishing spell that set him crashing against the wall and eliciting a crack as his skull bounced against it. Not giving the already unconscious teen a chance to fall, he used a summoning charm to whip him back forward and allow the teen to collapse at his feet. He placed his boot atop the side of Macnair's skull and stared down the other seventh years, all of whom had gone pale as ghosts and were already beginning to back away.

"I won't tolerate any further harassment of fellow Slytherins." His voice was as cold and low as he could make it. "Whether it be Potter, my friends, or even Macnair here now that I've knocked him down a few pegs. Do I make myself clear?" They all nodded. "Good. You may leave."

He stepped off Macnair with a hard scrape, leaving a black mark on the boy's face, before turning and returning to his spot by the fireplace. The other fourth years were staring at him in awe. He settled in with a pleased sigh at the fire's warmth and tried not to bask too much as Draco took the seat beside him with an ounce of trepidation.

"Aren't you worried you'll get in trouble?" the boy asked. "He still hasn't woken up."

"I was protecting myself and others," Hydrus said, bored. "It was self defence. And I'll pin the blame on his friends for not getting a professor if anyone questions that."

"Get a professor for what?" Hydrus turned to see Snape had stepped into the common room. "What did you do?"

"As you heard, I was defending myself," he said, trying to come off as clinical as possible. He gestured towards where Macnair was, to a small amount of relief, finally groaning and getting to his knees. "Macnair was bullying Potter, threw her books across the room, and drew his wand on me when I told him to knock it off."

Snape turned his gaze on Draco and Hydrus expected the boy's mind was about to be read. "Is that true?"

"Yes!" Draco exclaimed, shooting a glance at Hydrus. "All he did was push him against the wall and bring him back."

Snape continued to stare at the boy, and Hydrus was now certain he'd done a bit of legilimency. Eventually the professor nodded and moved over to Macnair, who'd gotten to his feet but was looking around in confusion. "You. Come with me."

The student stumbled but did as he was told, though he paused like he was about to throw up, still looking around for some clue as to what had happened. Hydrus watched them go with a small amount of annoyance bubbling up inside him. If Macnair didn't even remember the confrontation, he'd be twice as likely to try again in order to reclaim the pride he'd lost from the one-sided beat down. Next time he'd have to use less concussion-inducing methods.

"Thank you." Hydrus glanced down to see Dahlia had gathered up her stuff and was standing beside his couch. "For helping me."

The girl was staring down at the ground, clearly embarrassed at the scene she thought she'd caused. He reached a hand out and ruffled her hair, which earned him a squawking sound as she swatted his hand away and glared at him. He laughed.

"Think nothing of it," he said gently. "Just don't be stupid if they do pick on you again, tell me straight away. I'm not saying that out of concern for you either, I won't tolerate it if I find out they've disobeyed me. Got it?"

The girl nodded. "I will. Thanks again."

She scampered off and he watched her go with a bemused smile. Perhaps it was because she hadn't existed in his own life, but it felt much more comfortable interacting with her than it had been whenever he had a run in with her older brother or the rest of their family. It was strange to think of his parents having such a happy and healthy family compared to the hellhole he'd grown up in at the hands of his aunt, uncle, and cousin.

"I think she likes you," Tamina teased. The older girl seemed quite fond of him too after what he'd done, if her smile was anything to go off of. "Is it already time for another Black/Potter courtship?"

Hydrus crinkled his nose. "Absolutely not. She's a Potter." He snorted as a thought occurred to him. Besides, Bellatrix would never allow it. She's quite insistent that I only marry the 'proper' sort of women."

Zabini cocked an eyebrow at him. "Women?"

"As Draco said when I told him, she plans to go 'old-school' with me." Casually mentioning that the blonde boy heard things from him first, implying they were closer than he was with the others, was a fine reward for standing beside him in the face of danger. "I'm just leaving her to it and hoping she has enough sense to not try and pair me off with too many pretty witches."

"Yes, that would be so dreadful for you," Tamina said sarcastically. "Truly a tragedy."

Hydrus allowed them all to continue bantering amongst themselves, the study group having more or less stopped for the evening after his little display. It didn't take a genius to feel that the air in the common room had changed. Everyone, younger or older, was shooting him wary glances and giving their group a much wider berth than they had before. Despite the fact that his machinations meant he'd have to take advantage of them all eventually, for now he was content in simply allowing his reputation to grow in a direction that said 'don't mess with him, and he won't mess with you', which it hopefully would if they all remembered to mention he'd been standing up for someone else when he tossed the seventh year around like a ragdoll.

"Hydrus?" Draco asked.

"What?" he said. "Sorry, I wasn't paying attention."

"I asked if you knew who you were going to take to the Yule Ball."

Hydrus shrugged. "I'll probably just ask someone from the other schools. They can't have any awkward expectations or read into it too much if I won't be seeing them once the year's up."

"Do you speak any other languages?" Zabini asked.

"Je parle juste un tout petit peu Francais," he said. "Just a little French. I knew a witch from there growing up, her and her parents taught me a bit."

Hydrus rarely spoke of his childhood, not wanting to keep too many lies straight in his head, but he didn't mind dropping the occasional half-truth like that.

"Looking to nab one of those Beauxbaton beauties then, eh?" Draco asked. "My father nearly sent me to Durmstrang, but he said there wasn't a chance he'd send me there. Too much frivolity, according to him."

"Please," Hydrus scoffed. "Aunt Narcissa would never let you go so far away, no matter what reasons your father comes up with."

That earned him a laugh and Draco took it well, "Like you're one to talk about overprotective women in your life."

"Touche," Hydrus said. "I get the feeling no matter who I ask to Yule, Bella won't approve."

At the very least, he hoped she'd take it well when he didn't just ask her to be his date, even if it should've been obvious why he couldn't escort a teacher to the dance. Sometimes the logical and obvious things went right over the insane witch's head.