Hydrus was trying, and failing, to meditate. He was running out of possible explanations and solutions for his broken power, and desperation had driven him eastward in his search. He'd been at it since classes let out, even going so far as to skip dinner, but now Study Club had begun and the hall was full of noises. The worst part was that he couldn't even be mad about it since he'd specifically warded his chair to not block incoming sound in order to make sure he wouldn't miss any incidents. As yet another echoing, but unworrying, boom rang out through the hall, his eyes snapped open and he decided to track it down.

Eventually his gaze landed on a duelling platform, and he realised that the loudest of the hall's noises were coming from its occupants. He stood and began to stomp over.

"What the hell are you two doing?" he demanded. "Blaise? Draco?"

Both boys, sweating and panting, turned to look at him with confusion written across their faces. Draco spoke up first. "What?"

"I asked what the hell are you two doing?" he repeated. "Why are you just slamming your magics together?"

"Uh…" Blaise started. "We're practising duelling."

"That's not duelling!" Hydrus exclaimed, probably too emphatic for the situation at hand. "You're acting like morons."

"That's how you duel," Draco argued, face flushed. "It's how you beat Blaise the other week!"

"Oh, I'm sorry." Hydrus slammed his magic out onto the two teens, and both dropped to their knees. What felt like the whole hall came to a stop to watch his display. "Did I misread either of you two's magical prowess? Is either one of you strong enough to compare to me? Are you able to bring others to the ground with nothing more than a thought?"

To his surprise, Draco actually managed to gurgle out a, "No."

"Then why are you trying to emulate me?" He finally pulled back his magic and both boys gasped in relief as they nearly collapsed. "You think what I just did, or what I did to 'Blaise the other week', would work against Professor Black? Headmaster Dumbledore?" Hydrus waited for them to shake their heads but apparently neither boy could muster up the energy. "If I thought the two of you were capable of such feats, I'd teach you that. But since you're not, I don't. Focus on the skills and training Professor Flitwick is giving you in the Duelling club and leave my own strategies to myself."

With his last word given, Hydrus stormed back to his chair. He shoved the embarrassment he felt at overreacting aside and got back to his attempts at mediation.

'Why the hell is nothing working?' he thought angrily. 'What is wrong with me?'

Even trying to repair his missing hand, and later the chunk of arm that went along with it, wasn't as annoying as this. At least with the crippled limb he could just write it off and move on. His magic, the thing that made him special, the ability that saved him, was another story. He would never write it off. He could never. Still, even now with the slightest touch to the power, it burned him. It felt like even the smallest set off would cause him to explode, not unlike what had happened with the priest's body, and it almost left him scared to use his own magic.

"Hydrus." He opened his eyes to see Bella standing before him, arms crossed and with a frown on her face despite her pleasant tone. "I have to make sure the others think I'm scolding you, so play along."

"It's creepy how well you can make your voice not match your face," Hydrus muttered. "We need to beat some sense into your nephew." He shook his head. "Honestly, trying to mimic me of all people…"

"Can you blame him?" Bella asked, her voice coy despite her stern expression. "It's natural for the weak to imitate the strong."

"Like a kitten emulating a rhino." Hydrus sighed and leaned back in his chair. "He needs to learn his own strengths. He'll never achieve what I have envisioned for him otherwise."

"And what's that?" This time her tone matched her expression. "What use is a traitor like him?"

"Mind yourself, Bella," Hydrus said coldly. "I should hope you of all people know that the sins of the father don't pass to the son." His fiancee stiffened. "As for Draco… he'll become my understudy."

"Huh?"

Hydrus relaxed back into his chair. "Despite Arcturus's constant nagging, I'm well aware of the dangers I face as the heir to House Black. Should I die, I hope to have raised Draco to a point where he'll carry on my dream."

Bella gave him an owlish blink.

"He's not making it easy, but I'm slowly convincing him of my stances and viewpoints," Hydrus said. "I bring him along for everything I can, and will continue to do so as we grow older. If anything were to happen to me, he shall take my place at the top of this world and continue to strive for the goals I've set."

Honestly, a part of Hydrus wanted to see that happen. Get the teen to a point where he was certain to follow in the time traveller's footsteps, then just leave him to it. Let him be the one that the world turned to when shit went sideways, and let the burden of all that responsibility slam onto his shoulders. Draco certainly had the potential for it; Hydrus had already broken the link between him and his father, his family magic was far better suited for the sort of 'vibe' a hero was supposed to give, and he definitely wouldn't baulk at the task.

The only roadblock was that Hydrus really would have to die before he let someone else suffer that fate.

"And just what exactly do I have to kill for you to realise you don't need such contingency plans?" Bella asked, leaning in close and threatening. "Hm?"

"My strong grip on reality." He turned away from his fiancee as someone entered the privacy 'bubble' around them. "What do you need, Luna?"

The girl beamed at him, and Hydrus had to admit it did work to brighten his mood a touch. He'd relied on the woman's sense of optimism during the war; back then, no matter what sorts of bombs or pursuers the rebellion was dealing with, she'd been a ray of sunshine throughout it all and kept that same smile going no matter what. Today she was wearing her robe backwards, and there was some sort of daisy pinned to her chest.

"I was wondering if you came across any Olympian pixies while you were in Greece," she said. "I've never seen one in person, but my father has!"

He cocked an eyebrow at her. "How did you know I was in Greece?"

"Draco told me," she replied easily. "He said that's what all the hub-bub was about the other day."

'When the hell did those two start talking to each other?' he thought. "No, I didn't. Despite the name, they don't actually live in Greece. They were displayed there by Athenians in the classical era, but they were all originally captured in the region of modern day Syria."

Almost ninety-five percent of the creatures Luna raved about were nonsense, but a decent enough amount of them were real. The only reason he even remembered 'Olympian pixies' was because the vermin had tried to raid his forces' stocks when they holed up in the region. If it hadn't been for the flighty girl knowing that the beasts were drawn to silver, and that Hermione could subtly curse such substances, they would've been in quite the pit back then.

Luna's eyes widened then creased in delight at his response. "Then you've seen them before?"

"Of course," he scoffed. "The little bastards are worse than a pebble in your shoe."

"Ah!" Luna practically squealed in response. "I'd love to hear all about them, can I write an interview with you?"

Hydrus nearly denied the request, but he thought back to the way he'd already rejected her request for an interview regarding the Triwizard tournament. "Fine. But only if you keep me confidential as your source." He sighed dramatically for effect. "I wasn't sorted into Gryffindor for a reason. I'm not brave enough to deal with the potential push back on the truth."

"Of course!" Hydrus stiffened as the girl gave him a hug. "Thank you so much!"

"Yeah, yeah," he muttered. "Come talk to me tomorrow when you're ready."

"I will!" Then she leaned in closer to his ear. "Hopefully this'll distract Professor Black from yelling at you."

He snorted at the revelation of her Ravenclaw side as she released him and skipped away. As he watched her go, even more memories came back to him. She was a fair enough fighter, maybe on the weaker side, but she'd done a lot to help Hermione. The brainy witch constantly complained about Luna's presence when the blonde woman wasn't around, but almost half of her breakthroughs had come from some tangent or quote Luna shared. If there was anyone from his past he felt almost no guilt towards, it was the constantly upbeat Luna, but that almost made him want to work harder to make up for his failures towards her.

"What was that?" Bella demanded. "Why are you watching her?"

"Don't get jealous," Hydrus chided. "I was just wondering whether or not Draco had a crush on her."

Now that changed his fiancee's tune. "A crush?"

"He never mentioned that he was still talking to her." He rested his elbow on his armrest and leaned against his hand. "Which means he was hiding it from me."

"Oh really?" A devious smile took hold of Bella, one that almost reminded Hydrus of his 'father'. "His Aunty Bella can get to the bottom of this."

"Let him have his fun," Hydrus said. "If you go after him now you'll scare him off."

Bellatrix cocked her brow at him. "What? Do you actually like that pairing?"

"Why not?" Had this conversation taken place back when he 'first' met Bella he would've sung a different, more 'pureblood' tune, but he felt comfortable enough now. "She's a sweet girl, and would do well to balance Malfoy's haughtiness. Besides, they'd make a cute couple."

"I guess," Bella said, frowning slightly. "Isn't she only a half-blood though?"

"All the better," Hydrus said. "Like I've already said, his fate is tied with my own. If I can get him to take the 'hit' on the pureblood side of things for the political benefit it will bring to have one of us marry out of order, then so be it."

Bella purred in response. "You certainly won't be able to afford such measures."

His eye twitched at the reminder of her 'stance' on his romantic ventures. Ever since his confession at Castle Black, she'd made it very clear that she was done looking for other brides for him. He'd originally hoped that by introducing Bella to his goddess he could convert her into worshipping Magic like he did, but instead it seemed like the woman was willing to spit in the deity's face for 'getting in her way'.

"Has Sirius reached out to you?" he asked. "Regarding Giannis."

"No," she huffed. "I'm sure that bastard would rather kiss a fish than talk to me." She sneered. "Not that that's saying much, with a lout like him."

"He's still my father," Hydrus reminded her none too gently. "He deserves your respect."

"But why?" She pouted at him. "You constantly insult him."

"I get to do that because he's my father," he said. "If you want to complain about Cygnus, be my guest."

"Hmph." Bella folded her arms over her chest. "Whatever."

The two of them stayed silent for a while. Hydrus's thoughts towards Giannis were distracted by the pain in his arm, which angered him further, which cyclically made the limb hurt even worse than before. The pain had started creeping into his ribs and his healing magic was struggling to keep up. He would be unable to stand against Britain's top ten fighters, let alone the world's, if this kept up. He tried to banish the thoughts away to keep up his meditations, but they kept coming down on him like a hammer.

"Once Study Club wraps up, go to Amelia Bones' house," he said. "Check on Giannis. I won't be able to sleep tonight otherwise."

"Of course."

Giannis turned another page in his book as his heart bloomed at the sight of the next illustration. Some sort of toad-like creature bounced across the page, trampling words as it went, and it was clearly agitated at having been closed over for so long. As the little amphibian's tongue slapped against a semicolon, the door to his room opened and he turned.

"Bella!" he shouted as he stood from his miniature chair and ran to her. "You're here!" The woman knelt down to return his embrace, and he noticed the extra bracelet beside the stone-like snake Hydrus had given her. "What's that? Did Hydrus make that too? What's it made of?"

"It allows me to understand what you're saying, and vice-versa," she said. "No, Hydrus just bought it for us. I believe it's silver."

Giannis fingered the jewellery in awe. "How can it do that?"

"Runes." Bella ran a hand along his face. "Our Hydrus thinks you'll be great with them someday."

The Greek boy's eyes widened. He remembered Hydrus mentioning 'runes' in their messages, he'd called them little symbols that were like a language all on their own. They were able to concentrate and manipulate magic in ways that normal wizards couldn't.

"How does it work?" he asked. "Where are the runes?"

Bella locked up and for a moment Giannis worried he'd upset her with the way her cheeks turned red. "I'm a duelling master, my area of expertise doesn't involve runes. I never studied such things."

"Oh." He still half-expected her to slap him, but he smiled in spite of the fear. "Then is there someone who can teach me about them? I want to be able to talk with Hydrus on my own."

"Of course there is," she cooed at him, and Giannis felt relief at the gentle touch she used when she pinched his cheek. "You're going to make me and Hydrus so proud."

"Okay…" He wasn't really sure what to say to that. "Do you like my room?"

Bella frowned and he winced. She didn't even bother to look around before saying, "When it's time for you to live with us, this room won't even compare. You'll see."

"I like it," he mumbled. "Miss Bones said I can decorate it however I want."

"You can decorate the room we give you too," Bella argued. "And it'll be twice as big! Hydrus won't spare any expense—"

The woman was cut off as Giannis's door slammed open, and Miss Bones appeared. She looked half as angry as Bella did, but luckily it was squarely focused on said woman.

"What are you doing here?" Miss Bones demanded. "Breaking into someone's home is a crime, need I remind you."

Bella sneered at her. "I didn't break in. I came through the floo to visit Giannis, but apparently you don't have the means to employ anyone to greet me."

Giannis's head shot back and forth between the two women. Bella certainly seemed a lot scarier, but the fact that Miss Bones wasn't backing down spoke volumes. Unconsciously his hand moved back towards his book to protect it. Mister Black and Miss Bones had given it to him, and he couldn't afford to replace it if something happened to it. As the tension rose in the air, his eyes began to water.

"Enough!" Giannis jumped. Hydrus's dad had arrived. "What the hell is going on?"

The pressure in the room vanished, and Giannis released a breath he hadn't known he was holding. As he panted, he fell back into his chair. His whole body was shaking and he didn't know why. Before he could apologise, Hydrus's dad swept across the room and picked him up, pressing Giannis's head into his chest even as the boy buried his face into it. After a few seconds, the man spoke.

"I don't know what you two were thinking, but it ends here." The man's voice vibrated through Giannis as he spoke. "Cousin. Why are you here?"

"Hmph," Bella grunted. "Hydrus asked me to check on Giannis, since you didn't bother writing."

"Amelia?"

"She brok—"

"I didn't break in!" Bella screamed. "I already told you—"

"Enough!"

Giannis grabbed hold of Hydrus's dad's shirt, and the only thing that stopped him from peeing himself was the memory of his parents' beatings from such accidents. The whole house seemed to shake, and everything felt cold. After several seconds, all of which were punctuated by Mister Black's heartbeats, things seemed to return to normal.

"Both of you, out." Giannis finally relaxed. "Cousin, if you ever flare your magic around my boy again, I'll kill you." He tensed back up. "Amelia, if you do it, I'll… Break up with you, or something. Get out."

Giannis heard both of them leave, and after a short moment Mister Black knelt and sat him back on the ground. The man who looked so much like Hydrus brushed his hands through his hair. Eventually he nodded and collapsed into the chair Giannis had been sitting in. The boy giggled.

"What?" Mister Black asked, smirking. "You got something to say, huh?"

"You're too big for it!" Giannis said, running over. "You can't fit!"

"I fit just fine!" To prove his point, Hydrus's dad folded one leg over the other and leaned back in the far too tiny chair. "See?"

Giannis giggled again and clambered up on top of him, nearly sending them both to the ground when the chair began to wobble. Mister Black lifted him up into the air and the younger wizard squealed at the act. Hydrus's dad turned him to and fro, making whooshing sound effects as he went. After a few loop-de-loops, the man sat him back down.

"How are you liking the book?" Sirius asked. "Hydrus said you liked animals"

"It's great!" Once more he climbed on top of the man so he could show him. He pointed at the little amphibian which was watching them wearily. "What's that?"

"Ah," the man scratched his chin and leaned in closer. "The book says it's a froad, or a toag depending on who you ask. A magical creature that was first created a few hundred years ago when one half of a class of students attempted to transfigure a boulder into a frog, while the other half tried turning it into a toad."

Giannis's eyes widened. "You can do that?"

"Of course." Sirius smiled at him. "Magic can do almost everything."

The young Greek's eyes stared at the froad in wonder. The creature stared back grumpily, then hopped away to go and give the other page's map showing where it lived a literal tongue-lashing. Hydrus had told him about some of the amazing animals that secretly lived around them, but he had no idea just how many there were.

As he thought back to the written conversations he shared with his best friend, it led him to thinking about what happened to the diary. What he'd done. "Mr. Black?"

"Just call me Sirius, kiddo."

Giannis swallowed, unused to calling grown ups by their first names. "Sirius… Did Hydrus really kill Father Cornwell?"

The man frowned and it made him flinch. After a second, he sighed. "Yeah."

"Are you sure?" Giannis pressed. "I… I think it was me who killed him."

"Why would you say that?" Sirius asked gently. "I'm sure you—"

"Because I hit him!" Giannis finally confessed. "He… He was pushing my face into the fire and it hurt and… And I used my magic to push him back. He hit the wall really hard, and his head was bleeding, and he wasn't moving, and he, he, he—"

Sirius cut him off with a hug and began stroking his back, whispering shhhh over and over again until Giannis settled back down. "I promise, you didn't kill him. Don't you remember? Hydrus took the potion that made him tell the truth. I know you couldn't understand him, but he told us that he was the one who did it."

"But what if he's wrong?"

"Trust me," Sirius said, looking… Sad, for some reason. "He wouldn't have made that mistake. You didn't do anything wrong, okay?"

Giannis took a deep breath, then slowly nodded. "Okay."

"So what other animals do you think look cool?" Sirius asked, pointing at the book. "I'll try and tell you some more about them."

The boy nearly launched into a spiel about it, but another thought struck him. "Bella said that there were runes on her bracelet that let her talk to me. I think the necklaces he gave you and Miss Bones work the same way." He looked up at the man who'd taken him in, a determination filling his spirit. "Do you have any books about runes?"

"Er, I mean, maybe." Sirius scratched at the back of his head. "But that's pretty advanced stuff. Even I don't know much about them. We definitely don't have anything in Greek…"

"Oh." So much for that. "Okay."

"Well, I'll try and find you something," Sirius said, quickly. "Something simple and in Greek so you can actually read that one, okay?"

Giannis beamed at him. "Really?"

"Really," Sirius said, smiling back before frowning. He ran his thumb over Giannis's cheek. "Huh."

"What?"

"Nothing." Sirius shook his head. "Just looks like you got a little bug bite here…"

"Really?" Hydrus asked as he stared at Dumbledore's guest. "I know I said you could play therapist, but that doesn't mean I want family counselling."

Sirius was sat in one of the headmaster's chairs, somehow still managing to look like a student who'd gotten in trouble. The headmaster himself was in his usual spot, sporting a set of chocolate-brown robes that Hydrus seriously hoped weren't supposed to be some sort of message that was going to go right over his head regarding the tie selection earlier this week.

"He's here for another reason," Dumbledore said placatingly. "He had some questions regarding Giannis."

"Fine." Hydrus couldn't begrudge him that at the very least. "Let's get this over with."

Sirius cleared his throat. "Was it you or Giannis that killed the priest?"

"Giannis."

"What?" The man's jaw dropped and Hydrus snorted. "But you said you did. I watched you take the veritaserum."

"No, you watched them drop the liquid onto my tongue."

Hydrus stuck it out now, and flooded it with his magic. After a second of burning pain he stopped, made sure his father got a good look at it, then healed it. It took a few seconds despite the 'simple' nature of the injury, but at least it was faster than it had been the first time in Greece where he had to cover it up with a delay in a yawn. Once he was certain he wouldn't be lisping, he continued.

"I destroyed the organ—"

"Muscle," Dumbledore corrected.

"I destroyed the muscle," Hydrus adjusted with some sarcasm. "And with it the effects of the elixir. Obviously the boy wouldn't have gotten into trouble, but I wanted to make sure he wouldn't have to suffer that burden on his conscience."

"Oh." Sirius was frowning, but eventually he shrugged. "Fair enough… I guess…"

"No wonder you were so quick to volunteer for it after the incident with the seventh years," Dumbledore said with a cocked brow. "I suppose I'll have to be more careful in the future."

Hydrus rolled his eyes. "I didn't need to lie then. I would've taken it straight."

He wouldn't have. The rebellion had come up with nearly a dozen contingency plans for the truth-forcing potion in case of capture, and his caustic magic was just the newest and simplest one yet. It was certainly a lot easier than Hermione's extremely thin, small, and localised shield charm that she had been horrified to discover was called a 'tongue condom' by the rest of their forces behind her back. Now that had been something that Luna had done which actually annoyed him; revealing the 'secret' to Hermione without even thinking the other woman might find it offensive.

"You're bleeding," Sirius said quietly. "Are you alright?"

Hydrus glanced down in annoyance and saw he had a spot of red on his white school shirt. It was almost directly on top of his sternum, far further than the wounds had ever gone before and definitely nowhere near where he'd been focusing his countering healing spells. With a sigh he magically pinched the wound shut, vanished away the blood, then began to heal the internal side of it. "I'm fine."

Dumbledore hummed. "You still haven't realised the source of your affliction?"

"Oh, and you have?" Hydrus demanded with a sneer. "I—"

"I believe so." He froze. "I was hoping you would have come to the same conclusion by now."

"What?" he half-whispered. "What is it? Actually." He turned to Sirius. "If you're done, you may go."

"Actually, I'd like him to stay." Dumbledore stood. "I want him to hear this cautionary tale since you've gotten him caught up in this. I won't share more than is needed, nothing you'd be offended by I believe, but still. Let's head to your marvellous Study Hall, Hydrus."

Hydrus internally groaned, but decided not to put up a fight when the information he'd been so desperate for was in the balance. He doubted the headmaster would've truly kept it secret if he demanded Sirius leave, but he also couldn't imagine Dumbledore not still telling his godfather whatever point he was going to make later. It was better for him to know in advance what information was being shared.

The trio made their way to the Study Hall, and Hydrus's thoughts swirled with what it could be. The fact that his mentor was insisting on Sirius's presence, and called attention to the way the time traveller had gotten him involved in whatever was happening between Magic and Death, meant that it probably had something to do with the spectral deity. He supposed it made sense; in fact, it made a lot of sense. His magic had always been a bit too much for his body to handle, perhaps in reflection of Magic treading dangerously close to Death's territory by turning back time and incidentally 'reviving' so many people. It had gotten worse, far, far worse, when he'd taken in Apophis who'd been drenched in Death's magic and could perform feats using the stuff.

But what was it about Death's power that was so destructive? Did it apply to anyone who worked too closely with it? Was it because of his bond with Magic? Was it something about the Black family magic that reacted wildly with it? As he continued to contemplate, they arrived.

"Tell me, Sirius, what does this room feel like to you?" Dumbledore asked as he closed the door behind them. "What does it remind you of?"

Hydrus watched as his father scratched at his stubble, brows furrowed. "I… don't know? It just feels like Hogwarts."

"And what does Hogwarts feel like?"

Hydrus took a guilty amount of pleasure in finally not being the one his mentor was grilling. Sirius threw up his hands. "I just said I don't know. It's like a thousand different kinds of magic all mixed together."

It was like a bolt of lightning struck Hydrus as the realisation hit him.

"Exactly correct," Dumbledore said, side-eyeing Hydrus without a hint of subtlety. "It's a miracle of our ancestors' engineering that even I don't know how to accomplish. They somehow found a way to take in all the various magics of all the various students, and rather than disperse them or overwhelm them with some all-powerful force, they combined them into a beautiful blend that to this day continues to grow and serve as Hogwarts' source well.

"But tell me, Sirius," the old man continued. "What would happen if a young boy sacrificed to his 'deity' something, something great and terrible which I won't reveal, in order to gain more power? To gain the power of legendary wizards he respected. What would happen if we just took your family's magic, and tried throwing it together with…" He would've made a good actor with how genuine his 'random' selections seemed. "My own magic, the Potter family magic, and the magic of, I don't know, someone like Grindelwald?"

Dumbledore was now blatantly staring at Hydrus over the rims of his glasses. "What would happen to that child's own power?"

Sirius was frowning and had clearly picked up what Dumbledore was trying to 'hint' at. "I'm… Guessing it would be bad."

"It would be explosive," Hydrus muttered. He remembered just recently teaching Hermione and the rest of the students around them about the fact just recently. "Family magics are distinct for a reason, and don't play nicely with each other if it isn't set up properly and exactly."

"But…" His godfather was glancing back and forth between him and Dumbledore. "And please, quit with the fake anonymity, but if that naked lady from before—"

"Magic." Hydrus said. "That was Magic herself."

"Er, right. If Magic was the one who did it, and she's a goddess…" Sirius continued, perfectly dancing to the headmaster's tune. "Why is it hurting him? Why isn't it like it is with Hogwarts?"

"Well, far be it from me to criticise a 'goddess'," Dumbledore said. "But, as was recently pointed out to me, even gods are fallible. Perhaps she made a mistake." The old man folded his arms behind his back. "Or perhaps something has changed with Hydrus himself, or the sacrifice he made."

Sirius's head whipped around to him. "What did you sacrifice?"

"Ha!" Hydrus bitterly barked out the laugh, recognizing the echo of his own question to the man from their short visit to St. Mungo's. "Nothing important. Nothing I want back."

"Hydrus." Dumbledore's tone was hard and overbearing, but he couldn't find it within himself to care. "Do you even remember what you sacrificed?"

"I've got a pretty good idea."

He closed his eyes and began to think. In his second bargain with magic, he'd apparently sacrificed his love for Ginny. Along with it went every memory he had of his would-be wife. At some point, he'd somehow broken the bargain, but what that time was like was also filled with hazy blurs since the pact had returned in full force when Fleur died at her own hands, at Harry's behest. But what could he have sacrificed for his third bargain, the one that had made him into Sirius's 'son'.

He'd 'sacrificed' his friend Kaltuf for his first blessing. Looking back on it he doubted the centaur's already-fading life was worth much, but perhaps for something as simple as being able to speak to snakes, Magic was more than happy to get him on the hook. Like a drug dealer who kept first timers' prices low. He'd sacrificed romantic love in his second bargain for control of the trace. He'd sacrificed his peoples' lives to travel back in time…

"That's enough, Harry."

He opened his eyes and was no longer in the Study Hall. Instead he was in some sort of black void. There was nothing beneath his feet, nothing above or around him besides a simple wooden table with two occupants sitting on either side. The first he recognized as Magic, glowing and bright, wonderful power radiating off her like heat from the sun. Across from her sat a spectral figure he didn't recognize, though he could make a pretty good guess as to who it could be.

"What a pleasure it is to finally meet you," Death said. "I would've answered your earlier calls, but that would've been against the rules."

"Be silent," Magic snapped. "He's mine."

"For now." Death waved his hand, and a third chair appeared that practically called Hydrus towards it. "Come. Take a seat, young man."

"Absolutely not," Magic hissed. "He does not belong here."

"And yet, you have called him."

"That—"

"Besides," Death said as Harry sat down. "Why doesn't he belong here? After all, he's the one who set the table."

He took stock of the two gods. Magic was as beautiful and magnificent as he could ever remember, and Death was as unnerving and ancient as he could've possibly imagined. His own deity was clearly riled up, while the other seemed as pleased to see him as an eel who'd caught a crab scuttling too close to its burrow. They were both oozing with power, so far beyond his own it left him wondering if he could even compare it to the way his classmates looked at him.

"The hell does that mean?" he demanded, finally finding his voice. "What's going on?"

"Nothing," Magic said hurriedly. "I can handle this on my own."

"Can you?" Death drolled. "How bold…"

Although it didn't look like there was any face hidden within the god's hood, Harry could sense him smiling. "Is this about my fourth bargain?"

Both deities turned to him, Magic confused and Death bemused. It was strange how he could more feel than see their emotions. Death especially was like an open book as he, with a teasing lilt to his voice, said, "Not at all. It wasn't my domain that Magic tread upon with that little stunt."

"And I already told you that Fate said it was fine." Magic's usual sky-blue aura was darker than Hydrus was used to seeing, though that might've just been the atmosphere of this 'room'. "Speak no more."

"Or else what?" Death snapped his boney, almost translucent-skinned fingers. "Did you really think this would distract me from your little goblin cult?"

"You'll see," Magic said, as if anything that was going on made perfect sense. "It's time for you to go, Harry."

"I don't believe it is," Death said. "After all, don't you owe him an explanation for this unexpected visit?"

Harry felt like he was being torn apart for a brief second, and then he actually was. For half an instant his brain registered his body being torn to shreds, a visceral recreation of what he'd done to countless doors and other pieces of furniture as of late, but then he was back together. Every last inch of him was icy cold, and he could feel the horror rolling off Magic.

"You should really be more careful with your toys," Death said. He somehow winked at Harry, or at least that's what it felt like. "That one's on the house."

"Of course it would be," Magic hissed. "You're the one who—"

"Stopped you from banishing him away?" Death interrupted. "I allowed you to bring him in here, just as I shall allow you to send him away. When he's ready."

Although he certainly wanted to leave, Harry knew it wasn't time yet. "Why did you bring me here?"

"Because you were about to break our third bargain," Magic answered, anger rolling off of her. "I've already warned you before to not press too hard, that you were about to break what should not be broken."

"And why shouldn't he break it?" Death asked. "Just look at what it's doing to him."

"That's not my fault." Magic folded her arms across her chest. "He pushes too far."

"He is a human." Death's voice seemed to echo around them. Despite the fact that he hadn't raised his voice, it felt wrothful and powerful, and even Magic flinched back. "What he does follows the natural order. If you are too weak to perform your so-called blessing without the sacrifice of love for his past and future children, then you should not boast such grand miracles."

Then it was as he suspected. He… Had once had a child. Harry tried to find those memories, but his mind repelled him like the wrong end of a magnet.

"I told you to stop," Magic said, her tone gentle but her emotions clearly upset. "First it was the snake, then the human boy. You need to quit searching for what you sacrificed."

"Or you could ignore her," Death snarked back. "Regain your strength. You've already done a fantastic job at manoeuvring things around. If 'Hydrus Black' were to die tomorrow, is there anything that a lost Potter scion really couldn't achieve?"

"HE IS MINE!" Magic roared, and for the first time in his early-orphaned life Harry felt a pang of sympathy for the children of divorced parents. He had to imagine that listening to these two 'gods' arguing over him was about as close as he'd ever come to being in their shoes. "Enough of your meddling!"

"You said that I set this table," Harry said, trying to ignore how uncomfortable his goddess was making him feel. "What did you mean?"

Death smiled at him. "You chose my symbol as the mark of your faith in Magic."

Harry blinked. "That's it?"

"It may sound simple," Death continued on. "But if I allow you to continue, my own personification shall grow weaker in the world."

Harry glanced at Magic, but found her staring down at the table, eyes wide and her lips moving silently.

"Ah, don't mind her," Death said. "She's just discovering that she's not the only one with tokens on the board, and certainly not the only one who doesn't mind sending assassins after the other player's pieces." Death laughed at some joke that Harry didn't get. "As I was saying. If you continue to push Magic as the being behind that mark, it will potentially overshadow my own legacy. I shall grow weaker, and she shall grow stronger.

"On the other hand, if you were to disavow your faith in Magic, break your bargains and swear off her influence on your life, she loses her first and most powerful human follower." Death ran a finger over the table, and Magic's silent words became even more panicked. "Now do you see the game we play?"

"Can't I just pick another symbol?" Harry asked, seeing nothing on the table they were apparently playing on. "One that doesn't involve you?"

"Can you?" Death asked back, mocking. "Please, be my guest."

He tried to think of some shape or mark that came as close to the Deathly Hallows as being as influential over his life, but nothing came to mind. When he'd first picked the symbol it hadn't been all that important to him, not in the grand scheme of things, but by now? After all the significance he'd attributed to it?

"And so you see our dilemma." Once more Death manoeuvred his finger on the table. "I'd be more than happy to help you break your bargains. Since Magic merely acted as a middle-man between you and Fate for your fourth bargain, I won't touch that one. But I can make you back into the man you were. You'd lose your control over the Trace, but you don't need that anymore." He cocked his head to the side. "I'll even do you a favour. Since you made such grand sacrifices to try and get my attention and they went unanswered, I shall even replace your ability to speak to snakes, so that you may continue to bond with your familiar.

"All you have to do is renounce your faith in Magic."

Harry thought about it. He considered Death's earlier point that the world didn't need Hydrus Black in it. The whole persona had been a disguise to ensure he could ingratiate himself with the pureblood side of society and better stem the outpouring support they'd give to a returning Voldemort, assuming he failed in the initial attempt to stop the man from being revived in the first place. He thought about the way he'd snapped at Blaise and Draco earlier thanks to the frustration he felt from the pain in his arm and chest. The boys hadn't deserved that.

He could see himself back in his old body. He was standing in the formerly dark and moody Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom and it was full of awed children as he taught his favourite subject, sharing anecdotes that he could never back up with proof but could never fail a test on. Giannis sat in the front row, head rocketing up and down as he struggled to keep up between watching and taking notes. Apophis was coiled in the corner of the classroom, looking like a particularly deadly basket with how tall he had to wrap himself in order to not get in the way. Bella…

Bella wouldn't be there. She would, to borrow her own metaphor, rather kiss a fish than be in the company of a Potter.

Somehow some way, that tipped the scale.

"Aha!" Death's joy was overwhelming. "We're making progress."

"What do you mean?" Hydrus demanded, trying and failing not to portray shock at his apparent adversary's excitement.

"Magic was never going to come out ahead in this little rendezvous of hers." Death leaned back in his chair. "I may have failed to sell you on the whole premise, but your second bargain with her is hanging on by a thread."

Now that was concerning. Although Harry didn't have any need to seek people out using the Trace, and it was only rarely useful in battle, it did still allow him to use his magic freely despite being in a fourteen or fifteen year old body.

"I can take care of that if you'd like." Harry froze. Was Death able to read his mind? "More or less I can, but I digress. Instead of putting your sacrifices towards preserving your first bargain, I can instead take them as the cost for severing your tie to the Trace."

"No." Harry turned, it seemed Magic had finally returned her attention to them. "Stop this at once. He is not yours."

"Nor is he wholly yours." Death reached for the table once again. "As is obvious."

"Wait!" Death paused. "No more, allow this round to play out however it does without further interference, and give me a moment."

A further wave of superiority rolled off Death as he pulled back. "You're going to lose the battle anyways. And please, spare me from any tired lines about battles and wars."

Magic waved her hand and both Death and the table disappeared. Or maybe it was Harry and his goddess who had vanished.

"Harry," Magic said, exhaustion pouring off her in waves. "You need to leave. Please, for all I've done for you, don't do this."

"I am a loyal man," Harry… No, Hydrus said. He knew he wouldn't be here for much longer, and he had to get back into character. "But I don't know how long I can keep this up. I have no control over the fact that I feel a sort of… Parental bond towards Apophis or even Giannis. The first I literally raised from an egg, the second is practically a mirror to myself. What do you expect me to do?"

"Reforge the bargains with me," Magic said. "Just like we did before."

"What do you mean?" Hydrus asked.

Annoyance was all he could feel now from her. "During your fourth bargain. We remade the second. Made it stronger to try and stop it from breaking again. We'll remake your second and third bargains, even stronger this time, to stop you from falling into these traps."

"What would happen to you if they broke?" Hydrus asked. "Why are you so desperate to keep them, and Death so insistent on breaking them?"

"Does it mat—"

"Yes!" Hydrus snapped, for once feeling like he was completely justified in his anger for the goddess. "I'm done being led blindly by the nose, Magic. Tell me exactly why it's so important to you."

"Because it's power." There was authority and imposition in her emotions now. "Power I need more now than ever."

Hydrus thought back to how Dumbledore had tried telling him just how powerful 'love' could be, but it was finally settling into his mind as a fact. A part of him wanted to just acquiesce to Magic's requests, and once again stamp out the various flames that Bella, Apophis, and Giannis had sparked inside of him. Another far, far larger part of him wanted to be done with this.

He was tired of war.

"I will continue on as I am." Before Magic could say anything, he kept going. "I will live as I have been, in your service and worshipping you. But if the bargains between us break? Then so be it. It is my life, not yours, and I shall live it as such."

"Harry—"

"Hydrus." The void around them was fading. "My name is Hydrus Black. Goodbye."

As the 'normal' world returned, Hydrus took a second to steady himself. Both Dumbledore and Sirius were staring at him in worry, but he didn't particularly care. He could hardly even remember what they'd just been saying when he'd 'left' to go speak with the deities. He forced the Black portion of his magic to overwhelm the rest of his power, temporarily snuffing out the other influences, then summoned his 'throne' from the other side of the Study Hall.

It felt incredible how easily and delightfully the magic came to him. Between burying the other portions of his magic, and the cost it took to do that, he only had between fifty and sixty percent of his strength available that way, but still. For the first time in what felt like years despite having only been months, it didn't hurt.

"Sirius," he said. "Go and ask Remus if he'd be willing to help me on a project. Professor, I'll need your help as well, along with anyone else you both trust and whose skills you respect." He rolled his neck and grinned as he continued to relish in the lack of pain. "The more creative they are, the better."

He'd talked a big game about dual channeling and visualizations, and now it was time to put his money where his mouth was.

BBaRtS

Twenty-nine, looking fine. We got to see extremely minor progress on the 'small plot' front, then a major jump on the 'god plot' side. I feel like this is gonna be another polarizing chapter, with some people hating it and others loving it. Some reviews/comments say they hate how slow things go, others hate whenever things get serious, so we'll see!

We now know what's been going on with Hydrus's magic, and I hope people feel like that was a good, well-earned explanation. All the pieces were there, extremely small hints were dropped like Hydrus's arm sometimes bleeding even when he wasn't using his magic if Apophis/Giannis were around, and yeah. This is one of those things where I'm not super concerned about there being any plotholes regarding it, but I wouldn't be surprised if someone was like "Well then why did X, Y, and Z happen?" because I didn't explain it in enough detail and it looks like plotholes.

We also got Magic and Death knocked down a peg in Hydrus's estimation. (On the personal side of things, they're both literal gods compared to him in terms of power, as he said.) Magic especially went from being this untouchable, unfathomable deity in his eyes to a woman that was seemingly on the back pedal in a 'game' that involved life or Death consequences. He still respects, and yes worships her, but I think the flawless image he had of her in his mind is gone. We'll see how that effects his moves going forward, especially in regards to this apparent war that he's started.

Next chapter, the 'dream team' of Dumbledore's devising will arrive. Including Hydrus, Remus, and Dumbledore there will be a total of nine characters there, and I'm curious to see who all people think will show up. I'll say that there's only one OC, the rest are characters (met or otherwise) from the original books. That chapters already written, I'm currently ~1k words in chapter 31, so we'll see.

Review time, typing out my interpretation of the comments/reviews instead of copy pasting to keep the WC down.

A review mentioned me doubling down on the Lucius trick Hydrus pulled on Sirius, and that's on me. I should've written better that on the second 'realisation' Sirius was trying to catch his son in a lie, but Hydrus didn't even bat an eye with his admission. It sounded like that in my head, and I didn't put it into words correctly.

Another talked about the religious themes, and Giannis's name. I kept the religious side as generic as possible to try and make sure it wouldn't be pointing fingers at any one Christian sect. I imagined it as a local, quasi-denomination born out of years of relative seclusion from the Catholic or Greek Orthodox churches. As for Giannis's 'dark lord' name being Leorex, it's purposefully simple and edgy (Lion + King in Latin) because he was literally a preteen when he came up with it in the other timeline haha

Another talked about the story dragging on, especially in regard to Hydrus's arm, and here we are. I had actually just started writing chapter 30 when it was posted, so hopefully this'll make you happy lolol

Talking about how Hydrus resisted veritaserum, again, now we've seen it and I threw in an extra paragraph featuring another solution he could've/would've employed just for you haha

Same one mentioned loving Dumbledore breaking up the tension, and next chapter we're gonna see a LOT of the old warlock as he recruits the 'crew', both his whimsical and more dangerous sides...

Some asking for harem/smut, both of which are still answered by 'pretty much no' and 'no' respectively. Nothing wrong with either, shout outs to the polyamorous and the horny, but it won't be in this story.

Speaking of harem, another asked about more thoughts/feelings from Hellena, but I can't really promise that. Originally her and Tamina were just going to be an example of Hydrus gaining favours with figures he hoped would be powerful in the future, but because of some severe homophobia in the comments/DMs, I bumped them up one tier from 'spear carrier' to side character. Her and Tamina love each other and, like teens are want to do, think they'll be together forever (And maybe they will, who knows), and Hydrus decided to change the intended-to-be-broken marriage contract into one they'll follow through with so he doesn't have to deal with more people in his life who expect him to love them romantically. Maybe I'll need to use her POV at some point in the future, I wasn't planning to use her as Hydrus-to-Giannis translator originally for example, but for right now its not in any concrete plans.

And that's that! Thank you all so much for reading and for your kind words and considerate critiques. I'll see you all next Saturday, lessthanthree~