I think I'll do a Saturday/Wednesday schedule. I've just hit the 100,000 word mark in my writing for this, and its the first time I'm doing any sort of flashback (in that point, not in this chapter), which I think is pretty good. I've put on a cover picture for this story, just some AI-generated skull merged into an ouroboros. As always, thank you all for the kind reviews. I literally had a dream the other night where someone was complaining that I'd stolen something from another fanfiction (They said "Let me guess, he's going to send a letter to Ron next" and I had no idea wtf they were talking about) and I was upset because I hadn't even published the chapter that they were referencing, and it left me very confused. I should probably quit drinking so much.

"What do you mean you haven't put your name in the Goblet yet?" Bellatrix snapped at him. "What are you waiting for?"

Hydrus sighed as his 'detention' started to feel like it actually was one for once. He'd been in school for just over three weeks now, and had really been hoping this wouldn't come up.

"I don't see the point in entering," he said. "You've made it clear I don't need the money."

Bellatrix had happily covered his investment with the Weasley twins; even if she was disapproving of the boys and their family, it pleased her to see Hydrus already making business moves, and in her own words it would be 'an important lesson in not wasting your money on frivolities'. He suspected she planned on collecting her investment back from him in other manners once the business 'surely' failed.

"It's not about the money." She crossed her bedroom to where he'd been sitting at her desk reading a book on Arithmancy. "It's about the prestige. This is a rare opportunity for one so young to earn a page in the history books."

"Please," he said. "Name one person who's ever won the tournament."

She smirked at him. "Cruxus Black, won the tournament in 1777."

"Of course a Black won it at some point," he grumbled. "I just don't want to be distracted from my schoolwork."

"You mean the work that has left half the staff stumped on what to do with you, and the other half convinced we should just put you in the NEWT classes already?" she asked. "Yes I'm sure that takes up so much of your time."

"Don't even think about letting me skip a year," he said. "I need this time to lay the groundwork for my future power base."

Bellatrix let out a maniacal giggle at that, as she always did when he made it clear his ambitions lay far beyond the norm. She draped her arms around his neck and rested her head beside his own. "If you truly wish to begin paving a path for yourself, the Triwizard Tournament is the way to go."

"Fine," he said, not at all influenced by her lips grazing his cheek. "I'll put my name in tomorrow."

He'd do no such thing, but as much as he hated lying to the woman, she really didn't understand that the tournament wasn't half as important as people made it out to be. Not to mention the amount of reporters he'd have to deal with, though if he got the chance to torment Rita Skeeter, he'd certainly be tempted to put his name in.

"Oh don't worry about it," she said. "I'll do it myself."

Hydrus stiffened. "You don't have to, I can take care of it."

"Nice try, my little water snake."

She giggled again and pulled away, leaving him to his book as she returned to where she'd been trying on dresses for the Yule Ball. At least on that front she'd been more reasonable. He'd have to have at least one dance with her, but she was more than satisfied with his plan to simply take someone from another school, 'so long as they're the right sort.'

"What do you think?" she asked. "Too showy?"

Hydrus turned around to see her wearing an elegant black gown that really wasn't all that different from the last three she'd shown him. He knew better than to say that though, and tried to pick out something unique to compliment.

"I like the gems," he said. "They certainly draw the eye to, well…"

She smirked and turned back around to stare into the mirror. While she was distracted, he cast a quick tempus charm and saw his time was nearly up. He gathered up his books and made his way up behind her to give her a hug.

It was hard to put into words the sort of relationship they were developing. She'd mostly stopped with her mothering, but every once in a while she'd slip back into her 'Aunty Bella' persona that sent exactly the wrong sort of chills down his back. She also had to come off as a fair and impartial teacher in classes, and it was only because the rest of the staff were just as big of pushovers for the boy-wonder that she got away with half the privileges and leeway she gave him. In private she was almost too affectionate though, at least, that's what the logical part of his brain said. The part that was desperate for the connection, the intimacy, the love? That part of his brain always seemed to make short work of its colder half.

"I'll be going now," he said as she turned to return the embrace. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Of course, love." She leaned down to give a kiss on the cheek. "Tell Draco I said hello."

He nodded before making his exit and heading towards the Slytherin dorms. He waved a greeting at the Ravenclaw prefect he passed; all of the monitors had grown used to his nightly 'detentions' with Bellatrix. It took all of one second upon entering the common room for him to have swept his hand up like he was flipping a table and thrown up a shield to catch the bludgeoning charm someone launched at him.

Not wanting to give up any further momentum, he waved his hand to spread the over-powered shield out so that he could see through it. It seemed the entire seventh year of Slytherin class had joined forces to try and take him out, and several more spells harmlessly bounced off his pseudo-protegigante shield. He drew his wand and conjured up a makeshift throne to sit in.

It was time to teach these children a lesson.

In his own experience on the battlefield, and from what his friends and teachers had told him, his greatest gift was a high-level balance between reaction and casting speed. He wasn't the greatest at either, but few could compete with him on both fronts. Shortening the distance between him and his prey allowed him to use that advantage best, but that was hardly needed to deal with a bunch of pumped up teenagers. He deflected some sort of leg-locking curse and launched a stunner that sent an older girl flying. Having lost first blood, the rest of the seventh years began to focus on just launching everything they could think of at him, but he was already beginning to take them out one by one.

The students' spell selections weren't terrible per se, in fact he doubted the other houses would know quite as many of the increasingly darker magics they were tossing at him as he continued to remain in his seat and move his wand like a conductors baton. He used the wand to deflect and counter spells, and used innate magic to attack back in turn, picking off panting Slytherins whenever they showed an ounce of weakness. He kept his own attacks limited to stunners, disarmament charms, and a constant stream of transfigurations to capture or at least debilitate the teens. Anything more than that and he might accidentally kill one of the morons.

It took nearly ten minutes to wrap it all up; to his surprise none had fled, but before too long he stood and moved on to tower over their various fallen forms. Most if not all of them were unconscious, though a few were simply immobilised by transfigured furniture. He wiped the sweat off his brow and pushed his hair back behind his ears before glancing around to see if he could find any of his other classmates. Seeing none, he turned to one of the seventh years.

"Where are they?" he asked. "Don't make me hurt you."

"L-locked them in the dorms," the boy stuttered out. "We just locked them up."

Pleased that this child had enough sense not to put up a front, he waved his hand and transfigured the chains around him back into a table. "And Snape?"

"He has detention with some Hufflepuffs till nine," he said, quickly. "H-He won't be back for another hour."

"Wonderful. Go and retrieve the other children."

The boy ran away and Hydrus began to line up and fully immobilise each of his 'seniors' with body-locking spells. By the time the whole of Slytherin had joined him in the common room, each of the twenty seventh-years were awake, on their knees, bound by transfigured chains against the wall, and had their wands laid out before them. Hydrus turned to face the rest of his housemates, and found them thoroughly enthralled.

'Right then,' he thought. 'Time to channel your inner Tom.'

"Good evening, everyone." He'd used the slightest sonorous charm he could manage, but still his voice boomed and echoed around himself. "I'm glad to see you're all unharmed despite our housemates' betrayal."

His eyes swam through the crowd, each time he met someone's eyes their reactions varied from cowering and simpering to smiling and nodding. When he glanced at Draco, the boy seemed especially pleased, like a cat watching the family dog being punished.

"Potter," Hydrus called, drawing everyone's attention to the first-year girl whose eyes widened. To her credit, she didn't falter, but instead stood even taller. "Help me recall, what were my orders whilst dealing with Macnair and his cronies?"

"That there would be no further harassment of fellow Slytherins," she answered immediately. "You even said not to bother Macnair himself."

"I did, didn't I?" he spared a glance at the impotently furious young man. "Perhaps it's my fault then, I should've allowed the cannibals to do themselves in. Tell me, Draco, would that have prevented this?"

"No." The boy called out. "They needed to be taught this lesson."

"Do you agree…" Hydrus now faced the seventh-year who'd been cooperative thus far, and the only one left unchained. "What is your name, again?"

"A-Adrian Macgruber."

The boy looked like he wanted to be anywhere but in front of Hydrus. He had a thick, sturdy build that seemed like it was about to collapse in on itself, and Hydrus wondered how the boy had ever managed to be sorted into the house of ambition. Then again, Gryffindors were the brave ones.

"Tell me, Adrian, what do you think I should've done so that I didn't have to repeat myself?"

"I, we just… I-, I don't know."

"A pity." Hydrus turned back to the other seventh years. "Now then, what should I do with you all?" He began to pace back and forth before them. "Perhaps I shall give you all the same handicap, no pun intended, that I find myself faced with."

That elicited gasps from the peanut gallery, and although the seniors couldn't actually say anything, their complexions began to turn to pallor. Hydrus let loose a grin that bubbled up within him from some part of his soul he hadn't fully understood yet.

"Or perhaps I shall simply use some of the Black family magic that I've been so diligently studying as of late. You all should make suitable test subjects."

Murmurs began to erupt around him. Even the most sheltered of children knew just how dark his family's magics skewed, their name being as apt as they came.

"Or perhaps I'll simply do what a dutiful student should. A student who isn't stupid, at any rate." He turned to Draco. "Bring your Aunt Bellatrix here. Now."

The blonde boy nodded and quickly swept out of the room. Hydrus turned his gaze back on the crowd.

"While we wait for them, allow me to reiterate my point from before, since I have such a…" he glanced back at the seventh years. "Captive, audience.

"I will not tolerate infighting. I will not tolerate bullying. I will certainly not tolerate any attacks on my person, though I admit that seeing the rest of you unharmed is the sole reason I'm willing to show mercy by merely allowing the staff to handle this." He flared his nostrils. "Had there been any serious harm done to any of you, this would've been a far bloodier affair."

To his bemusement, a hand shot up. He gestured towards the second year. "How did you beat them all?"

"With practised ease and more power than the lot of them combined." The boy seemed a bit disappointed by the vague answer, but Hydrus didn't care. "Remember, at the end of the day, its better to have one seasoned auror watching your back than a dozen wet behind the ears teenagers, even if the latter had more magical power than the former."

"How are you going to get away with it," Michael Shnopps called out. "It'll be your word against all of theirs, aside from them barring us up in the dorms."

"If it comes to it, I'll happily submit to veritaserum or giving my memory of the account." There was a wave of whispers at that. "The Ministry and IWC might allow us pure bloods to avoid such treatment, but given that I'm truly the aggrieved party, I have nothing to hide."

"What if they ask you about your secrets?" a first year called out.

"Then the school would face the wrath of the entire Black family," he said coldly. "And believe me when I say that me stomping on the pride of a few cocky children isn't worth that."

That drew the impromptu Q&A to a halt, and he simply stood and waited for Bellatrix to appear. The rest of the children began to squirm before long, but he didn't mind it at all. Let them all engrave this memory into their minds, forever remember what he'd done. It took nearly ten minutes for her to arrive, and to his annoyance she wasn't alone; Dumbledore was in the lead and Bellatrix along with Snape were merely following in his wake, Draco struggling to keep up.

"What happened?" the headmaster asked. "What is all this?"

"I was ambushed upon entering the common room," Hydrus said. "The seventh years had locked everyone else up in their rooms, and turned this place into a warzone. I defended myself and defeated them all."

All three professors looked dumbstruck at the notion. "That's a rather difficult story to believe," Albus started. "Even if you are a gifted young wizard, to take on so many others is unheard of."

"Then I congratulate you on having now heard of it." Hydrus tried not to smile even as Bellatrix allowed a terrifying one of her own to split her face. "I'll happily give you a memory of the affair if you'd like to see it as well."

That stole the smile from his pseudo-fiancee. "You don't need to do that."

"I insist." He gestured towards Michael who stiffened. "As I told Mr. Shnopps there, I have done nothing wrong, and have nothing to hide. I'll even allow you to test me with veritaserum, if it comes down to it, so long as my guardian is there beside me."

"I see." Albus waved his wand and simultaneously undid Hydrus's transfigurations and his immobilizations. "All of you are to return to your dorms for now. We'll be interviewing you all in turn, but for now I'd like to speak with Hydrus in my office. Severus, you'll stay here to ensure there are no further incidents."

"Of course, headmaster," Snape said before turning to the children. "Go, all of you."

Hydrus followed the headmaster and Bellatrix out of the room after shooting a wink at Draco, and the trio began to make their way towards Dumbledore's office. To his surprise, the ancient wizard spoke up.

"Bellatrix, I appreciate your joining us until now, but we will not be needing you any further tonight."

"Excuse me?" She asked with a tone that mirrored Hydrus's own feelings. "As the student's guardian, I-"

"You are not young Hydrus's guardian, Miss Black." The man had stopped and Hydrus's stomach was curdling as he realised what the game was. "You might've been taking care of him until now, but you are not his parent, nor is there any paperwork on file proving an adoption has taken place. Rest assured, I shall be contacting your cousin Sirius as soon as we reach my office, and no further action will be taken until he's arrived."

'Oh god,' Hydrus thought. 'What the hell has crawled up Dumbledore's ass tonight?'

"I see," Bellatrix said, cold and neutral. "I suppose I'll have to get that paperwork sorted sooner than I thought then."

"If you manage to do so before the night is up, I'll happily see you instead," Dumbledore said. "Until then, I shall continue to follow the letter of the law and our school's charter. Come along, Mr. Black."

Hydrus shot a smile at Bellatrix, who looked like she wanted to draw her wand at the old man, but quickly followed after him. It had been decades since his last visit to the office, but he still knew his way there. When they arrived, the headmaster quickly offered him a seat as he took his own, then reached for one of the lemon drops on his desk.

"I hope you'll forgive my brusqueness tonight, Hydrus." He met Hydrus's eyes. "Is it alright if I call you that?"

"Of course," he said smoothly.

"Wonderful. As I was saying, I hope you'll forgive my brusqueness tonight." He began writing something down. "It's not a particularly pleasant sight to find nearly two dozen of my students bound in chains."

"So long as your tone changes to one of gratitude at my restraint once my words are proven true, I won't pay it any mind at all." Hydrus knew he was probably pushing his luck, but it had taken quite the mental fortitude to not simply maim the children. "As they say, it takes a strong man to kill another, a stronger one to spare them instead."

"Indeed."

"With regards to my guardian, that's really not necessary. I don't mind just going through this all on my own."

"I'm afraid that's not up to me," Dumbledore said before standing and moving towards Fawkes, the paper he'd been writing in hand. "This is an extremely dire situation, and it's paramount that you have representation."

Hydrus took a long, deep breath to stop himself from groaning. Hopefully Sirius would at least be sober; from the wall of 'decorative' bottles along the man's shelves back at his apartment, he'd taken to believing that his 'god'father enjoyed as stiff a drink as Arcturus. Regardless, he resigned himself to having to meet the man once more, and having to squash down the emotions that had welled up in him at the thought of seeing the only person he'd ever truly thought of as a parental figure once more. While they waited, Dumbledore dug around in his cabinet for his pensieve, and a thought suddenly struck Hydrus.

"I don't suppose now is the best time to share that I've never actually taken a memory from myself before, is it?" he asked as Dumbledore sat it down at the table. "Could you please tell me how to do it?"

"Of course," the headmaster said. "It's relatively simple, just place your wand to your temple and project the memory you wish to share. Most find it easier to fixate on the start of the memory, but it does lead to them running on a bit longer than we intend. From there simply begin circulating your magic and, whilst keeping the memory held firmly in your mind, begin to draw your wand away."

"That's fine," Hydrus said. "As I've said, I've got nothing to hide."

Before he could practise it, the fireplace burst into emerald light and Sirius stepped through, a bemused Fawkes on the man's shoulder. Hydrus realised with a snort that the man hadn't remembered the phoenix could simply flash them to wherever they needed to go.

"Ah, good evening, Sirius," Dumbledore said. "I hope we haven't interrupted anything too important?"

"No," the man said awkwardly. "Was just over at the Potters."

The headmaster gave a hefty chuckle at that. "It does an old man's heart wonders to hear that friendships forged in his halls have lasted so long."

"Er, right." Sirius turned to Hydrus and looked as uncomfortable as the boy himself. "You alright then?"

"Fine," he said. "I apologise that the headmaster has done this, I promise I tried to assure him that you didn't need to be disturbed."

"No, no," the man said quickly, almost panicking. "I, I'm happy to be here."

"Only you would be happy to hear that his son has to be interrogated over potentially assaulting the entirety of Slytherin's seventh-year students." He couldn't stop himself from making the joke, and the smile it wrought from Sirius made it worth it. "Now then, let's give this a try."

He placed his wand to his temple, and began to attempt to draw the memory out. He focused on his brief encounter with the Ravenclaw prefect, tried to remember every detail of where he was and what he was feeling, then began to pull his wand away.

It was a unique thing. It felt like his head was an old VHS tape, and the memory was film being pulled away from the reels. Innately he watched as the memory progressed, and by the time he was halfway through his fight with the seventh-years his wand had already reached the bowl. He took a guess as to what to do next and so simply kept his wand there; it seemed to work as the memory continued to play out in his mind at rapid speed and its physical form continued to spool out towards the pensieve. After another half-minute, he 'cut the tape' shortly after he'd finished restraining the teens.

"There," he said. "Hopefully that works as intended. As I mentioned, I've never done this before."

"It seemed like you did a fine job," Dumbledore assured him. "Excuse me."

The man placed his face into the pool, and Hydrus was left 'alone' with Sirius who had taken the seat beside him, and Fawkes who'd returned to his perch.

"So…" Sirius said. "What happened?"

"The seventh years ambushed me on my way back from 'detention' with Bellatrix," Hydrus said simply. "I defeated and bound them up until the teachers could arrive."

"Why the bloody hell did they do that?" Sirius said, and Hydrus was touched at his anger. "What's their problem?"

"I stopped them from bullying one of your Potters," Hydrus said. "They didn't take kindly to my interference and had been waiting for a chance to get me back."

"What?" Sirius snapped. "Dahlia?"

"I believe that's her name," he said noncommittally. "I made it clear that I won't tolerate any bullying towards our own, and they made it clear that some dogs need to be beaten twice for a message to stick."

It still felt wrong to use his 'pure blood persona' on Sirius, but he just wanted the man to be left out of the future Hydrus was planning. Sirius had done what no one ever thought possible and broken free of the myopic malignancy of his family, and the last thing his 'son' wanted to do was drag him right back into it all. He deserved the peace and prosperity this timeline offered him.

"Are you alright?" Sirius asked. "It couldn't have been easy."

"It was." Hydrus shrugged. "Compared to what I've dealt with in the past it was, well, like bullying children."

Sirius hummed and seemed to be looking him up and down, as though looking for some injury. "If you say so…"

Silence took hold of the room, Dumbledore still hadn't emerged from the memory. Hydrus sincerely hoped that he hadn't messed it up, but he supposed that the worst case scenario was that he'd simply left too much of the waiting period in there. It'd be a bit awkward if Dumbledore saw the way he'd lectured the other Slytherins, but that really wasn't too awful considering the message he'd shared.

"I was going to write you," Sirius said quietly. "I just… I just didn't know what to say."

"As I told you last time, I don't need anything from you," Hydrus said. "Arcturus and Bellatrix have both taken wonderful care of me, and as you now know, I can handle myself." He refused to meet the man's eyes, and tried not to flinch at the hurt he still caught there. "Just keep… Living your life, I suppose. I know how much you hate the politics and 'cloak and dagger' that comes from being a Black, but I intend to immerse myself in such things. There's no need to subject yourself to it for my sake."

"You're my son," Sirius said. "I would do anything for you."

That nearly broke him. For the briefest of moments, he was Harry Potter once more. The memory of Sirius taking a killing curse for him, one sent by Voldemort himself, flashed across his mind and nearly left him crying for the millionth time at it. He could still smell the damp, forest air and feel the drops of rain stabbing into his skin as he screamed in agony at the sight of Sirius's boldly crumpling to the ground.

"As I've said before," he managed, though not entirely able to keep the feelings from his voice. "That won't be necessary."

Luckily he was saved from any further assaults on his emotional walls by Dumbledore finally sitting up from the pensieve.

"Well that was certainly something," the ancient wizard said. "I must admit, you've put to rest any doubts I had at your professors' praise for you, Hydrus."

"Thank you," he said, now fully in control of his voice and feelings. "As I mentioned earlier, I hope you'll better appreciate my restraint given the circumstances I was facing."

"Of course, of course," Dumbledore said. "You handled yourself incredibly well. Few could've done so at all, let alone at the cost of nothing more than figurative and literal bruises."

"Can I look?" Sirius asked.

Dumbledore raised an eyebrow at Hydrus who shrugged. "Be my guest."

Once Sirius had replaced the headmaster in the pensieve, Hydrus finally relaxed again. God, he really did need Bellatrix to hurry up with that paperwork.

"Tell me, Hydrus, what are your goals in life?" Dumbledore asked. "What do you plan to do once you're out of Hogwarts?"

Hydrus raised an eyebrow at the sudden personal question. "It probably won't come as a surprise when I say that I intend to someday take over as the head of House Black."

"What about in the interim?" the headmaster pressed. "From what I recall, your grandfather Orion is the current heir to Arcturus."

"For now," Hydrus said. "But there are other things I can accomplish until it's my turn."

"From what I've heard from Professor Black, you seem to enjoy teaching." Dumbledore took another one of his lemon drops and popped it into his mouth. "Perhaps I'm 'jumping the gun', as muggles say, but have you given any thought towards pursuing a career in education?"

"Forgive me for being 'brusque', Headmaster," Hydrus said. "But just because you were scared to be given too much power, doesn't mean that I am."

That certainly put a damper on the conversation. To the man's credit, Dumbledore merely gave him a questioning look and an, "Oh?"

"If I'm not mistaken, we're currently experiencing the longest stretch of time that our society has gone without a dark lord rising," Hydrus said. "I intend to do everything in my power to keep it that way. Even if that means just standing atop the mountain as an ever-present bulwark against them."

"I see."

They waited in silence for Sirius to 'return'. Hydrus was tempted to get up and say hello to Fawkes, but the bird wouldn't know him, and no amount of breakfast meats and mental probings would earn the phoenix's trust the way it had with Hedwig. He contented himself by simply observing the bird as it preened its shimmering red feathers.

Before too much longer, and to Hydrus's surprise, Sirius reemerged in a few minutes' less time than Dumbledore had. Either the headmaster had been rewatching certain parts of the memory, or he'd simply been pretending to still be in there as he and Sirius spoke.

"Jeez," the man said before taking a deep breath. "You're a monster, kiddo."

"I was dealing with untrained teenagers," he dismissed.

Sirius scoffed. "What's that make you?"

"Well trained."

"Oh." The man suddenly stiffened. "By Arcturus?"

"By the world." Hydrus looked away. "Besides, with all due respect to your grandfather, Bellatrix has been the one most invested in my training."

"She hasn't taken it too far has she?" Sirius asked. "She isn't… You know…"

"Torturing me?" Hydrus asked, bemused. "Honestly, I know the two of you don't get along, but believe me when I say she adores me. If she didn't take her duty as an unbiased teacher so seriously, Slytherin would be drowning in house points on my account."

"She certainly limits her praise of you more than some others," Dumbledore said. "You may return to your dormitory now, please inform Professor Snape that he may escort the seventh years to me next, all together."

"I shall." Hydrus stood. "It was a pleasure to meet you, headmaster. Hopefully the next time will be under better circumstances." He turned to Sirius. "As I said before, I'm sorry you were dragged in here. I shall endeavour to have Bellatrix-"

He was cut off as the man caught him in a paralysing bear hug. Stunned for a moment, he eventually returned the gesture with far less emphaticness. The man's voice was half-muffled the way his face was buried in Hydrus's scalp. "You're my son. I'll always be here for you. No matter what time of day or however often, never hesitate to reach out."

"Right." Hydrus tried not to show how much the man was affecting him as he was finally released. "I appreciate it."

Sirius was immediately ambushed when he stepped back into Potter manor. Part of him had wanted to floo back to the Leaky Cauldron to avoid the interrogation, but he didn't want to bite the hand that fed him when it came to parenting advice. He waved the Potters off so he could take a seat on their couch, and words couldn't describe how grateful he was for the fire whiskey James offered him as soon as he did. He swallowed it down in a single gulp and his gratitude was doubled as his best friend refilled it without hesitation.

"Well?" Lily asked. "Is he alright?"

"Alright?" Sirius barked out a laugh. "He's a bloody beast."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Lily asked, hesitating. "What did he do?"

"He took on and defeated the entire seventh year Slytherin class after they ambushed him," Sirius said. "He showed Dumbledore and I the memory, I've never seen anything like it. He's better than half the aurors."

"What?!" Lily yelped. "Why on earth would they do that?"

Sirius laughed once more, a wolven grin taking over his face. "Apparently they'd been picking on a certain emerald-eyed first year, and they didn't take too kindly to him standing up for her."

"What?" James asked, and Sirius shivered at the biting tone. "What did they do to my girl?"

"I… Don't know?" Sirius offered lamely. "But my boy put a stop to it. I mean it James, I've never seen someone so talented."

"She never said anything to me," Lily said hotly. "I'll be speaking with Severus about this tomorrow."

Sirius deflated a bit at the Potters focusing on that instead of Hydrus's accomplishment, but he supposed he couldn't blame them. It'd left him rather riled up to hear the Potter Princess had been getting bullied as well when he first heard of it.

"Did you get a chance to talk with him?" Lily finally asked. "Properly talk?"

Sirius nodded. "I did. It was… nice."

"See?" she said. "I told you it would be fine."

"He still didn't want anything from me," Sirius said. "Told me that he doesn't want to force me back into Black family business."

"Well…" James trailed off. "I mean, I guess you could take that as him showing kindness towards you. Everyone knows you hate your family."

"He sure doesn't hate them." Sirius couldn't keep the bitterness from his voice. "He also made sure to tell me how good a job Bellatrix is doing looking after him."

"Isn't that a good thing?" Lily said. "You told us you were worried about the way they might be treating him."

That had been before his son made it clear just how little he needed Sirius. A part of him was terrified he'd wake up tomorrow to a ream of adoption papers on his living room table, and the internal war it would be to decide whether or not to sign them. He wanted Hydrus to be as happy as possible, but he also didn't want to give the son he'd never even known he'd had up. He took another long draw from his glass of fire whiskey, and wished it had been from his grandfather's stock.

"I should talk to Arcturus," he said. "Hydrus mentioned that he'd have Bellatrix help to make sure I wasn't 'bothered' again. I think he wants her to adopt him."

"That's for you to decide," Lily said firmly. "Like I've said, he doesn't-"

"If that's what he wants, I'll do it." It hurt more than he'd expected to say that. "I won't become an overbearing tyrant like my own parents were."

"Sirius…"

"Like I said." Perhaps it was the whiskey giving him confidence, or maybe he was just tired of pussy-footing around. "I'll talk with Arcturus. I'll go over there tomorrow and… And I don't know. Show Hydrus that I don't want him thinking he has to avoid me just because I'd prefer to avoid them."

"Don't you work a double tomorrow?" James asked. "You're leading the safety meeting, aren't you?"

"Shit, you're right." Sirius wanted to bite something. "I'll just go another-"

"Oh no you don't," James interrupted with a smile. "It's about time I got to pay you back for all the coverage you've done for me and my kids."

Sirius sucked his teeth. "Prat. You only brought that up to mess with me."

"Of course I did," James agreed. "Marauder's honour."

Sirius stepped out of the floo and into the summer home his grandfather had 'retired' to, and tried not to shiver at the feeling of his familial magic flooding over him. He'd always hated the Black wards, dark and misanthropic things that would leave unwanted visitors dead quicker than they could say 'delivery!', though he supposed he should just be grateful that they'd even let him through in the first place. He stared across the parlour, and was at least glad to see that the house seemed more pleasant than Grimmauld Place where he'd grown up.

"Filthy blood traitor has returned." Sirius turned with a crinkled nose to see Kreacher had stepped out of the next room. "You is not welcome here."

"That's not for you to decide, wretch," Sirius snarled. "I'm here to see my grandfather."

"Ha!" Sirius flinched. "The prodigal brat has returned."

Arcturus had limped in past Kreacher, and looked much the same as he had when Sirius last saw him. His face was still gnarled with one of his eyes leaking a trail of half-dried tears, his frame still drawn-out and lanky but belying a powerful, long-lost youth. His cane was a thin pillar of ivory that ended with a wooden top that concealed his wand. His robes hadn't been in style for well over half a century, but somehow that suited the ancient patriarch in a way that modern robes couldn't hope to achieve.

"Grandfather," Sirius said stiffly. "I've come to speak with you regarding my son."

"Your bastard, you mean." The man hobbled over to one of the chairs before the fireplace, and the fire he magically fanned there matched the one of anger in Sirius's chest at the man's words. "At least you had the good sense to knock up the proper sort."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sirius demanded. "I thought he didn't know his mother."

"He doesn't," the man said with a crooked smile that couldn't quite manage to make its way to the paralyzed half of his face. "But her gifts have made themselves known."

"Gifts? What gifts?"

The man cackled. "You don't even know."

"Don't test me, old man," Sirius snarled. "I assure you I'm not above whatever fucked up form of patricide it would be to end you."

For the first time in years, decades really, the old wizard nodded at Sirius in approval. "It seems you still have a spine, at least."

Sirius bristled at the compliment. "I want you to put the idea of adoption out of Bellatrix's mind."

"And why should I do that?" Arcturus asked. "You clearly deserve no claim over the boy."

"He's my son," Sirius said. "Nothing will ever change that."

"Then why are you so worried about a little paperwork?" Arcturus jabbed. "If nothing will ever change that, why's it brought you back to the family you hate so much?"

"Because I don't want you and the rest of them twisting and corrupting him the way you did Regulus." Sirius stared down Arcturus and the old man met his gaze without flinching. "I won't fail my boy the way I did him."

"You failed 'your boy' the moment you impregnated some stranger without a marriage in place or a home for him to call his own." Sirius immediately withered under the verbal dagger. "You failed him when he grew up without ever having a family. You failed him the moment you fought against your future and spat on the name he so obviously cherishes, just as you should have."

"Even still," he said after just a moment to recover. "I'm here for him now, and I want it to stay that way."

"Hmph."

Now it was the old man's turn to stare down Sirius. Although one of them was filmed over, Arcturus's eyes were a mirror of his own, and Sirius decided he could at the very least take away a lesson on how to use them the next time he was trying to intimidate some contraband smuggler that decided to get tight lipped on him. Still, he'd weathered worse in his adolescence, and he wasn't about to buckle under the pressure now.

"You want something from me, I'll have something from you." Arcturus called for Kreacher to bring him some genealogy book, and Sirius decided he definitely didn't like where this was going. Once the elf had done as asked, and not without yet another dirty look sent his way, Arcturus tossed the book at him. "Bring me an alliance."

"Excuse me?"

"I won't allow my great-grandson to remain the property of someone purged from the family tree." The old man had a nasty grin on his face now. "Find yourself a pure blood family that we aren't already tied to, get married to them, and I'll reinstate you."

"Excuse me?!"

"You heard me, boy." Arcturus's tone left no doubt as to how serious he was. "I'm giving you more leeway than I ever gave my own sons. I'll even wave the dowry if it comes down to it. And besides." Once more the twisted half-smile grew on the man's face. "Doesn't our Hydrus deserve a mother?"

A part of Sirius wanted to curse the man. Another part just wanted to storm out as he'd done all those years ago. A third considered just cutting the patriarch's hand off and taking the Head ring for himself. All of them were silenced by his son's words, echoing in his head.

'I intend to immerse myself in such things. There's no need to subject yourself to it for my sake.'

"Fine," he said. "Keep Bellatrix away from adoption for now, I'll need time."

"You have one month to find someone," Arcturus said. "By then you need to at least be in negotiations."

"Fine," Sirius repeated. Without waiting to be dismissed, he turned on his heel and returned to the floo. He tossed in a handful of powder and said, "Ministry, Black Office."

With a whoosh of green flame he found himself in his office. He cleaned his robes with a flick of his wand and stepped out into the Auror's Hall, nearly bumping into Amelia Bones.

"Black?" she said. "I thought you were taking the day off."

"Business finished early," he muttered. "Will you marry me?"

She snorted. "Fat chance. I'd rather remain disease free, thank you very much."

"The only thing you'd catch from me is a bad case of family drama," he shot back. "Where's James?"

"I'm afraid he's already married," she said, smirking. "But I'm at least pleased to know I was your first choice."

"First one I saw since meeting with my grandfather, at any rate." He was scanning the room for a messy mop of black hair. "Bastards got me by the balls."

Amelia cocked her brow at him. "I thought you were separated from your family?"

"That was before I had a son." Finally spotting his friend, he nodded goodbye towards his senior. "Let me know if you change your mind."

Leaving her shocked at the bombshell he'd dropped and the apparent seriousness of his offer, he quickly tried to catch up with James.

"Oi!" he called. A few more heads than intended turned to look, but all but the one he wanted turned away quickly. "There you are."

"Done already?" James asked. "I hope you're not here for an alibi."

"Yes, and no I'm not." Sirius fell in line with his friend and the two made their way to the breakroom. "He agreed to call off Bellatrix, but only if I agree to get a marriage alliance with a pure blood family."

"Oh god." James cringed on Sirius's behalf. "How on earth are you going to do that?"

"No clue."

"You ask Bones?" James asked as he began to pour himself a coffee. "You always fancied her, didn't you?"

"She said she doesn't want to catch a disease."

"That's fair."

"Hey." Sirius glared at his supposed friend who just grinned through his sip of coffee. "I've always been careful."

"Clearly not always," James shot back.

"Well I at least have a ministry-certified clean bill of health," Sirius grumbled. "She knows that."

"Try asking her to dinner first." James clapped him on the shoulder. "Work that 'Black Magic' you're always going on about."

In truth, Sirius's 'crush' on Bones wasn't half as large as he made it out to be with his flirting towards the captain. They both just knew she'd never say yes, so he allowed himself to try out some of his bawdier lines on her before taking them out on the proverbial cat walk. If they managed to get a snort from the mature ice queen, he knew that they would slay at the pubs. He certainly did have some sort of fondness for her though, and she was probably as fine a bird as he could find around his own age that wasn't already married or widowed with kids.

Not that he could afford to be too picky given the time-frame he'd been given.

"I'm serious, Sirius," James said quietly. "Don't go joking around and have a legitimate talk with her about it. She might surprise you."

"Surprises are the last thing I need more of right now."