Hydrus glared at the specks of blood beneath his fingernails as he tried to scrape them out with his thumb. He could've cut the tips of the digits off entirely and be done with it, but that seemed a touch extreme for just a bit of gunk. He'd tried a few cleaning spells already and each one had failed since the spot they were trying to clean was so closely connected to where the magic itself was coming from. Once more he was being forced to reconcile the fact that he really, really should've been more careful with that damned ring.

He gave up on the blood with a huff and decided that he'd make Remus help him out. There had been something on his mind ever since he'd begun his Death worshipper massacre, a little nagging voice in the back of his head that just wouldn't go away. Putting such things to bed was the werewolf's job so he had decided to pay his teacher a visit before he put himself to bed.

The halls were mostly empty, and the few students he passed did little more than give him a nod or avoid his gaze entirely. It seemed like he was giving off a 'don't bother me' aura. In truth he didn't feel like he was in a particularly bad mood; it was just that stupid, nagging little sensation in the back of his head that wouldn't go away.

When he got to his former advisor and current teacher's office, he plopped into the second-hand office chair Remus usually sat in. Say one thing for the man, he knew how to pick cozy furniture. Hydrus rocked back and forth using the chair's half-busted reclining option.

Comfy indeed.

After nearly an hour Remus appeared carrying a stack of books that completely hid his face. If the man weren't a werewolf Hydrus would've been impressed at how easily he was carrying the massive tower.

"Hey, Remus," Hydrus said, startling a yelp out of his teacher who dropped the stack in a panic. He tried to hold back his laughter as he continued, "So brave."

The other man just glared at him, saying nothing as he began to pick up the tomes. Hydrus watched it all with a grin. He decided to have some mercy on his teacher and got up to move to one of the other two chairs on the opposite side of Remus's desk. He propped his legs up on the other as he waited.

The werewolf took his time, making sure each book he'd dropped was unmarred and carefully setting it on a shelf. Was he being spiteful because he'd gotten scared? Was Hydrus really that scary?

Considering what they were about to talk about, probably the wrong question to ask.

Hydrus laughed.

"I see you've gotten over your cold," Remus finally said, taking the seat Hydrus had warmed up for him. "Where were you?"

Now it was Hydrus's turn to stall. He glanced about the office and decided it was definitely a very Remus-y space. The books that had been abusing the man's living room table were now properly shelved on the walls alongside the ones he'd just brought in. An already noticeable accumulation of gifts from students took up a shelf on their own, and a few portraits of his friends and their children were up on the walls as well. The most noticeable thing about the office were the first layout prints the man had drawn up for the city they were building, framed on the wall like art, and Hydrus took his time to re-admire the work.

"Hydrus?"

"Yeah, I know." Remus was much more impatient towards his therapy than Dumbledore had been. "I've been up to some… Some 'rotten' shit."

"Okay," Remus said, frowning and pulling out a piece of parchment, apparently finally realising why Hydrus was here. "Go on."

"And the weird part is I don't… Really care?" He continued. "I've probably doubled—, no, well, probably not doubled, there was this whole thing with Dumbledore and my memories so, I may or may not be a bit older than I thought I was, anyways I was—"

"Take a second to collect your thoughts," Remus interrupted. "You're rambling. You're not usually a rambler."

Hydrus chuckled. He was definitely a rambler; he just usually did it with a bit more grace and charisma.

"I killed a lot of people today. Enough that we'll probably see something about it in the news tomorrow." Remus stiffened and Hydrus sighed, preparing himself for the judgemental reaction. "But I don't feel guilty about it. They were almost all people who worshipped, or at least in some way supported, Death.

"Instead, you know what's been on my mind since before I started my killing spree?" he asked. "My sister Dahlia calling me rotten for bullying Regina Lestrange."

"Okay," Remus said. The werewolf swallowed, frowned, and stared down at the scroll of parchment. He always kept one around when they had their therapy sessions. "That's… Not what I was expecting. Give me a minute."

"Take your time."

A part of him felt a twisted sense of pride that he was still finding new ways to make Remus uncomfortable. It told him that he wasn't weak for struggling to deal with it all himself. He loved Dumbledore to death, but sometimes dealing with the unflappable warlock left Hydrus feeling like he was a whining child.

"Why is that what you want to talk about?" Remus finally asked. "What's your goal in talking through the issue with me?"

"It just seems weird." Hydrus shrugged. "Mass murder? A-okay in my mind. Disappointing my sister? The worst."

"Do you want to feel bad about killing all those people?"

"No?" He looked away. "I'd much prefer to not feel bad about disappointing my sister."

"That's not really how people are supposed to work, though," Remus said. "Guilt is a good thing. It's what keeps us from becoming the monster you're scared that Sirius will find out you are."

"Bit late for that," Hydrus muttered. "I can't just—"

"Tell me honestly, Hydrus." Remus reached into one of his drawers, fished for a moment, then drew out an identical sheet of parchment to the one he'd been writing on. He read over it for a second. "If you came back in time, and discovered that 'Voldemort' was not just alive, but an upstanding and benevolent member of society, what would you do?"

"I'd kill him." Anything else would be disrespectful to what was sacrificed. "No hesitation."

"You don't think he can be redeemed?" the werewolf asked. "He can't be—"

"It's not about redemption, it's about vengeance." Hydrus stood and began to pace. "If he wasn't already dead, he would need to, to make up for everyone who sacrificed their lives to make that happen."

"Is that what they would want?" Remus asked. "They would want you to kill an innocent man for something that, in this timeline, he had nothing to do with? How rotten do you think that would make Dahlia think you are?"

"We're back to the whole 'I would rather not care what my sister thinks' thing." He wished Fawkes was here, the bird was good for his soul. "Any advice on that front?"

"No, Hydrus, and even if I had some I wouldn't give it to you." Remus stood too so the time traveller paused his pacing to meet his stare. "The guilt you feel is a good thing, and the best way to alleviate it is to stop doing things that make you feel that way."

"I can't—"

"I'm not saying you have to become an actual saint, Hydrus," Remus interrupted again. "I'm just saying you need to stop and think about the consequences of your actions more, and take more time to prioritise what needs doing."

"I'm in the middle of a war."

"Then be better at it." The professor sat back down in his chair and Hydrus looked away, not yet resuming his pacing. "Don't kill people, take them prisoner. You have a bloody castle, I've been locked in its dungeon myself, use it.

"You're always going on and on about how much better you are than everyone else at everything." Hydrus made to protest that but Remus kept going. "Prove it! I can only speak for myself, but believe me when I say, I would never, ever resent you if you failed to keep me safe because you were being a good person."

"You did resent me!" Hydrus shouted, flaring his magic and sending his teacher cowering. "You and everyone else in my fucking army. You all blamed me every time something went wrong and someone died. Everything and anything was my fault!"

The werewolf slowly straightened up despite the pressure Hydrus was pushing down on him, and his eyes were yellow when he did so.

"Maybe we wouldn't have if you deserved our empathy." Hydrus reeled back, accidentally stopping the magical assault he was throwing out. "Maybe if we knew that the man we followed was righteous and just, we wouldn't be so quick to judge you for when the monstrous actions you took failed."

"That's not—"

"Did you ever think that your soldiers were just a reflection of the man they followed?" Remus demanded. "That if you were a better person, a kinder soul, they would have been the same?"

"You don't—"

"And now you have the opportunity to lead a better war and be a better man." His former advisor stood back up and approached him while Hydrus wanted to just sink into the floor. The werewolf pressed his hands down on his shoulders. "The next time you have a decision to make, I want you to ask yourself: What would Dahlia think?"

"I'm not going to base my battle plans on what a twelve year-old girl thinks," Hydrus snapped."I just need to end this and be done with it."

"Or you could act like a proper Gryffindor and be brave for once."

"I'm not a Gryffindor anymore."

"You'll always be your original father's son, even if you have another father now too." Remus brought Hydrus into a hug. "Don't run from this, Hydrus. This is your chance to redeem yourself."

"I don't want redemption," he whispered.

"Then do it for me." The werewolf continued to hold tight to him. "Redeem yourself so I can stop having nightmares about the things I witnessed myself doing in your time. Please."

"People could die, Remus." Hydrus tried pulling away but the werewolf's grip was tight as steel. "I'm not going to—"

"If they do, then we'll mourn together," his uncle said. "You're not a god like they are. You don't get to decide who dies and who lives. All you can do is choose how you react to it."

"I don't want them to die," Hydrus muttered. "I want to save them."

"I would rather die than see you be a monster." Remus squeezed him even tighter. "And I promise you, everyone else feels the same way."

"But—"

"You can come up with whatever excuses and platitudes and delays you want," Remus said. "It won't change the facts I've given you. Be better, Hydrus. Please."

"I don't know how."

"Then just do what I, and your conscience, have told you," Remus continued. "Listen to that voice in your head.

"Ask yourself, is this what would make my family proud of me?"

Arcturus's smile cracked his lips with how wide it spread. The blood trickled through his facial hair as he swung his wand once more. A huge swathe of the earth before him was decimated as his magic tore through the air and annihilated everything in its path. He stared down at his hands, his grandson's hands, in delight.

This was true power. This was what it meant to be the Lord of House Black. If he weren't so caught up in the insane delight at the destruction he wrought, he would've mourned for the years spent churning about as a lowly politician and patrician. There was no one on this god forsaken rock in an unknowable universe that could stand in his way, so why had he wasted so long being so mere?

"Our Chosen, Death has sent another—"

Arcturus evaporated away the peon, and continued his rampage.

Merlin, it felt good to be young again. To have his muscles roar in harmony with his own voice. To take each step without fear that it might be his last and to take them with the sort of gusto that he usually berated in others. That too had been a bit of foolishness he could only now see. He hadn't despised them for their foolhardiness; he was jealous of their ability.

But now he was returned once more to his prime.

Now he was able to swing his wand and summon up horrors the likes of which he hadn't seen since the war or his dreams. Now he was capable of willing away the various annoyances in his life as if they were never such to begin with. Now there was nothing standing in the way of him becoming everything he'd always known he should've been, from the first breath he gasped let alone the first step he took let alone the first word he spoke.

He was Arcturus Sirius Black. Lord of House Black.

He was a true god.

"Mortal," a voice said. Arcturus growled and turned. "Your arrogance is truly unbound."

"Caveman," he sniped back. "What do you want?"

"I don't like coming down here," the god half-growled. "When I send an omen—"

"I don't speak to my lessers, so you should be grateful I deign to even acknowledge your words." Arcturus swung his wand again, but it was hard to get back into the spirit of it now. "If your sister hadn't done me the favour she had, you wouldn't be worthy. What do you want?"

Death's power nearly strangled him. "It's time for you to make your first move."

Sirius grabbed hold of the pommel of his sword, and glared at the impudent banker. He could just feel the goblin sizing him up, and for the first time since Hydrus strapped with the stupid thing, he wished someone would make him draw it. Eventually the goblin looked down at the paperwork he'd yet to look past the first foot of and sighed.

"We don't offer loans with that sort of rate," Gallowfoot said. "The absolute, bare minimum, family discount is three percent."

"Too bad." Sirius leaned over the counter and glared at the goblin. "I'm not your customer today. I'm the father of the wizard who you tried to kill. A zero-percent interest, three-hundred thousand galleon loan."

"That's not—!"

"Step aside, child."

A new goblin appeared, one who looked twice as old but half as cantankerous as the last. Sirius gave him a once over and wondered how he would try to dissuade him from getting what Hydrus and Cygnus assured him he could get. The new goblin stared back, and the unwilling Lord of House Black wondered what he was wondering about.

Just one great big circle of wondering and wandering and wondering and—

"We're not just gonna give you hundreds of thousands of galleons without knowing what it's about," the goblin said, snapping Sirius out of his unexpected bit of madness. "What do you want with that sort of coin?"

"It's all in the paperwork I gave you!" He exclaimed. "He didn't even look at it!"

The new goblin frowned, his nostrils wrinkling to a comical degree, and he turned to look at the first goblin who took a step back.

"Is that right?"

Sirius leaned hard against the counter as the new goblin finally got to reading the scroll Cygnus had handed him earlier. It laid out all the details of the purchase they were trying to make, the pitfalls they were going to avoid and the windfalls they were counting on. If Hydrus and Bella's trust in Cygnus wasn't completely misplaced, it should convince anyone to give them the money they needed.

"Why don't you and I make a quick trip to my office." The older goblin stood and shot a glare so dark at the original clerk that Sirius couldn't help but grin. "Gallowfoot, why don't you go and clean vault one-seven-eight."

"Sir, I—"

"One-seven-eight!" The senior goblin turned back to Sirius. "Right this way, Lord Black."

Sirius made it about halfway into the depths of Gringotts before it even occurred to him that this might be a bad idea. The last time a Black was in Gringotts, his son and cousin had to murder their way out. That fear only lasted for a few seconds before it was squashed beneath his self-admitted massive ego.

If a fourteen year-old and his much weaker cousin could handle themselves, then so could he.

Plus he had the stupid sword Hydrus made him carry.

That counted for something, right?

Eventually the pair stopped in front of a door and Sirius read the name 'Basalt' on the door before he was ushered in. He plopped into one of the chairs in front of the goblins desk, and he stared at 'Senior Manager Corkshire Basalt' as the goblin climbed up onto his own seat behind the name plate.

"So tell me, Lord Black, what are your personal thoughts on this investment?" the goblin asked. "You're asking for a lot of money, but is it truly something you're passionate about?"

"It's a hell of a lot more interesting than all the other shit my family is trying to get me to care about," he grumbled. "At least this is something my friends and I can chat about. Something that I can care about at all."

"I see. So you want an investment that you actually care about." Sirius blinked. "You want to feel a connection to your money."

"I…" That was almost exactly how Hydrus and Cygnus had phrased it. "I guess. Or at least that's what my family wants."

"That's good. A man should feel a connection to the things that he invests in." Cobalt rapped his knuckles on the desk, but Sirius couldn't help but feel like it was performative. "So tell me, Mr. Black, what would you do if this investment should start to fail your expectations?"

"Then I'd rub it in my uncle's face." He snorted at the thought. "And use it against my son to get an advantage over him."

"I see, I see." Basalt ran his finger down the scroll, slowly unravelling it further. "But how would you repay the loan?"

"Hydrus can mint however many coins he wants to," Sirius said. "Kid's got secrets he can sell for millions, let alone how much we need now."

"Then why bother with all this rigmarole?" Basalt asked. "Why are you asking to borrow the money?"

"Uh…" Sirius struggled to remember what Cygnus had said. "It's about half way through that? I think? That explains it."

"Right."

Once more the goblin went rolling through the paperwork, and Sirius finally felt a bit embarrassed. He'd been coming at this issue like a petulant child, and it seemed like the goblin was finally on the same page as him. He didn't know what was going on with him today.

The madness, which he'd been coming to imagine as an even more temperamental version of his own mother just festering away in his soul, had been temperamental lately. Just this morning it had grabbed hold of him in the weirdest way possible, bringing a few small tears to his eyes just for staring up at some clouds in the sky. He returned his attention to Basalt when the goblin began to speak.

"'The House of Black hopes to endear future good will with the goblin species with this investment, and plans to prominently display their cooperation with the presidency throughout the tenure of their ownership'." Basalt sat the paper down. "So you're looking to use this as an opportunity to show off how close your family is with my people now that the dust is settling after our brush up?

"Tell me, Black, what are we in for here?" the goblin asked. "What will the Black family be doing to 'display' our people's bond?"

"How should I know?" Sirius asked. "What do the people who watch this stuff like? Hydrus is a bigger fan than me."

"Sirius, you're not just talking about an investment here, you're talking about quidditch." The goblin thumped his fist into the table, or maybe he was trying to pound it and just didn't have the muscle mass to make up for it. "Don't you watch quidditch?"

"Not unless my brother or godson are playing," he grumbled. "I like riding the broom myself, but I don't really care for the sport."

"Then why should my people think that this will be a good investment?" Basalt asked. "Why should we think that you'll give it the care it deserves?"

"I don't really give a shit what you think," Sirius said. "Hydrus and Cygnus both said you'd approve this loan, and that if you didn't, Hydrus would come visit himself."

"I see." Basalt folded his fingers together and leaned over his desk. "I see…"

Sirius waited to see what exactly it was the goblin was seeing. It felt like he was at some sort of study to find out what was wrong with him thanks to the way the goblin was acting. Why couldn't anything just be a simple transaction in this forsaken family? Why did everything always have to—

"May I share something with you, Lord Black?" Basalt said. "Without fear of reprisal?"

"Knock yourself out."

"When we first met, I called you Lord Black. Then it was Mr. Black. Then just Black. Then I called you by nothing more than your first name." Cobalt leaned back in his chair as Sirius cocked an eyebrow at him. "At no point throughout those namings did you so much as flinch."

"Don't really care what you call me," Sirius said. "Just want the money my boy needs."

"You're a lot stronger than me," Basalt said. "You could kill me if you so chose."

Sirius frowned. "What's that got to do with anything?"

The goblin frowned back at him. He was looking at Sirius like the human had some critical flaw in his character. What the hell was his problem?

"You really aren't quite what your family wanted you to be, are you, Sirius?" Basalt said. "Well. Let's do this then. I'll approve this loan request of yours. In exchange, I want a bit of information."

Well that wasn't what Hydrus had said would happen. What sort of information would the goblin want? Sirius narrowed his eyebrows at his newfound opponent, straightened up a bit, and looked deep into the goblin's eyes. Basalt leaned back just half an inch.

"What sort of information?"

"What's happening between Magic's former chosen and Death?" Basalt asked. "What's become of our war?"

Sirius grinned, feeling that uncomfortable sensation of madness creeping up his spine but not caring for once. "He's coming to kill every last member of Death's little posse. Not a one of them is going to survive."

"Shame," Basalt said. "I quite liked my third cousin. So you lot are fully on Fate's side then?"

"Fate?" Sirius asked with a grimace. "We're not on anyone's side but our own. Fate's just…" He tried to come up with a good metaphor and failed. "She's just the creepy man-lady who shows up every once in a while to cause a kerfuffle and then leave as soon as the moment is over."

The whole atmosphere in the room changed. Sirius glanced about for a moment, trying to figure out what was happening, and eventually he realised the goblin was flaring his own magic. It felt like a sudden rain in the middle of a sunny afternoon. It was warm and not quite unpleasant, but certainly unexpected and unwanted, so he banished it away with a quick flourish of his own magic.

"Forgive me, Lord Black," Basalt said. "I… Lost a bit of myself there. You're saying that you've seen Fate yourself?"

"Yeah?" Sirius shrugged. "I've met her. She bitched at me for having bad divination grades." He sighed and shook his head. "She ain't as pretty as Magic, but at least Hydrus seems to like her more, or at least likes her in a less creepy way."

It was nice chatting about religion with someone who didn't look at him like he was crazy the way Amelia did. Gods were real, and they were annoying as shit. Even if this Basalt fellow was worshipping one of them, at least he took what he said seriously. It was a nice change of pace.

"I see. Thank you, Lord Black." Basalt hopped off his chair and walked around his desk to hold out his hand for Sirius. "It would be my honour to approve this loan. Tell me, is it really just to purchase a quidditch team?"

"As far as I know?" Sirius said, taking the hand and shaking it uncertainly. "Like I said, just going with the flow."

"Good, good." The goblin nodded. "The flow of time is an inescapable yet unknowable process." He stared up at Sirius who squirmed a touch. "Congratulations, Lord Black.

"And I wish you success in your ownership of the Chudley Cannons."

Bellatrix ran her thumb over the rim of the vial. Inside was one of countless subjects she'd taken from her love when he was in his true body, and it meant the entire world to her. Inside were small motes of skin that had flaked off when she and Dobby had been exfoliating her love with a pumice stone. She tilted the vial over and watched as the fine white powder fell to one side like grains of sand.

There was a knock at the door and she shouted for whoever it was to wait a moment. She shoved the vial back into its slot in her collection, recast the protective charm she'd broken to examine it, then closed the lid of the box. She resleeved the lock into its spot, clamped it shut, then shoved the whole case into the shoe space in her closet.

It was the one place Hydrus would never look.

"Come in," she beckoned once the closet door was shut. "Who is it?"

"It's me, Black," Bones said as she entered. "I need to talk to you about something."

"And what might that be?" Bellatrix asked. "It better not be about that idiot cousin of mine."

"What the hell is going on?" Bones demanded. "Hydrus left Hogwarts. Sirius is at Gringotts. You're just… Just…" It seemed like her future cousin finally took stock of her. "You're naked."

"I'm getting dressed," Bellatrix said. "Be more specific in your questioning."

As she began to pull on some underwear, Amelia continued on.

"You… Whatever. Why is Hydrus missing from Hogwarts?" she asked. "What's going on?"

"He's punishing the wicked," Bellatrix said. "Teaching them what it means to oppose the House of Black."

"Bellatrix, I've already got three missing persons cases on my desk," Bones said. "And the disappearances all occurred while your little boyfriend was missing from school. He could go to Azkaban for this."

"Good luck," Bellatrix laughed. "Honestly, just try and throw him in there. See what happens. I dare you."

She was infuriated with her future husband at the moment, but that was no reason to let it get in the way of her bragging. Hydrus was the most powerful wizard in the entire world, and everyone else deserved to be reminded that he was all hers. That thought brought a smile to her face as she began to shimmy into her evening gown.

"Bellatrix." The other woman folded her arms. "I'm serious. What's happening?"

"Tie me up," Bellatrix said, turning around so that Bones could close her dress. "If you must know, Hydrus received information about some vampires that worship Death. He dealt with them."

Her future cousin-in-law signed but did as she was told, taking hold of the strings. "This is a lot more than just 'some vampires'." The woman definitely pulled too hard with the final knot on purpose. "At least one of the victims is human."

"A human who worshipped death, no doubt." Bellatrix moved over to sit down in front of her mirror to begin applying makeup. "We're at war. The sooner you accept that, the better off you'll be."

"You might be at war, the rest of the world isn't!" Bones stepped up behind her to look her in the eye via the mirror. "As far as the Ministry is concerned, that means Hydrus murdered someone in cold blood."

"Can 'the Ministry'." She'd put on a mocking voice. "Even recognize my little water snake's handiwork? It's not like we'd let you live if you tried to rat him out."

A less than subtle threat, but it would do. Bellatrix had been looking forward to having this woman in the family before, but it was becoming rapidly apparent that she wasn't cut out for the more macabre of the House of Black's manoeuvrings. Oh well. Even if it turned out to be a problem, it wouldn't last for long. If she didn't manage to fit in, then just like with Sirius, as soon as Hydrus came of age he'd drive her out.

"What do you expect me to do? Lie?" Bones demanded. "This is—"

"Good idea!" Bella smiled; what a smart little thing her future cousin was. "Lie. Tell them it was my grandfather. Any signs Hydrus left behind can just as easily be explained as his."

Bella was pleased with her Bonesy. The other woman obviously hadn't meant what the future Lady of House Black… No wait they were both future Ladies of House Black… Hm.

Bella was pleased with the heir apparent to the Ladyship of House Black. As the Ladyship of House Black that was next in line after Bones, it did her heart good to know her throne would soon be well kept. Even though the woman eschewed the more common virtues that dames of their stature required, she more than made up for it with a unique and—

"God damn it, Black," Bones snapped. "Are you listening to me?"

"What?" Bellatrix blinked, looking about for a moment. "Where are we? Why are you interrupting me?"

"I…" Bones squinted at her in the mirror. "Bellatrix, are you alright?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine," Bellatrix said with a sigh. She resumed what she must've been doing, her makeup. Yes, yes she needed more eyeliner. "The madness has just been in a mood as of late."

"You don't say…" Bones said. Bellatrix frowned at her and the tone she was using. "Sirius has been having more issues as well. Has Hydrus?"

"It's never an issue," Bellatrix answered. "The madness is a blessing."

"Right." Bones heaved a massive sigh. "You're no help. I'll see you around, Black."

"Mmkay, dear," Bella said, pulling the skin on her face tight to make sure she didn't slip up her next stroke of the brush. "It was nice seeing you."

"You too."

Bellatrix frowned and turned as the door slammed in Bones's wake.

Had that been sarcasm?

Amelia closed the door behind her, and breathed out another sigh. What the fuck was going on? First was Sirius crying over a cloud that 'looked like Hydrus' this morning, now it was Bellatrix giving her gentle smiles the madwoman usually reserved for her 'children'. It annoyed her to no end that the only person she could think to ask next was Hydrus himself, but she needed to get to the bottom of this.

"Bones?" Her head whipped around at the call of her name. "What are you doing here?"

It was Sirius's brother, Regulus. The younger man looked confused, but relatively sane. As sane as any Black was, at any rate.

"Reg," she said. "I need to ask you something."

"Please don't call me that," the man groaned. "It's bad enough my brother got my boyfriend in the habit, I don't need you doing the same."

"Oh, er, sorry," Amelia said. "Anyways, has your madness gotten worse?"

He wrinkled his nose at her. "Excuse me?"

"No! I mean." She huffed. "I mean Bellatrix and Sirius both said that they're having more issues with the madness lately. Have you noticed anything like that?"

"Not really?" The effeminate man shrugged. "But I'm not as strong as they are. I don't buy into the whole 'madness is strength' nonsense, but it's an undeniable fact that the stronger you are, the stronger the madness is."

"So what then, they've been working out?" Amelia asked. "And it's driving them crazy?"

"How should I know?" Regulus petulantly snapped. She could've strangled the man. "It could be a lot of things. The madness gets worse the more you use it, so maybe you drove them both insane!"

"What is your…" Amelia blinked and realised something. "Oh for-, you've gone mad now too!"

"What?" Regulus blinked. "Ah. Sorry about that. Maybe it is getting worse."

Now it felt like she was the one going insane. Her future step-son was on a mass killing spree thanks to a fucking jihad, her fianc-, her boyfriend, was crying at clouds, her future cousin-in-law was flashing her, and her future brother-in-law was…

Well, Regulus wasn't as bad as the others at least.

"Regulus, is there anyone who isn't a Black that knows a lot about them?" she asked. "Someone who can answer some questions about your family's 'blessing'?"

"Lucius Malfoy?" He offered. "He probably knows more about the family than anyone besides Bella herself. He came off like such a fanboy when he was trying to bed my cousin." The man began to cackle, then suddenly cut himself off. "Oh! Or Kreacher, he technically doesn't count."

"Thank you."

She began to leave, and tried to tune out the sound of Regulus beginning to sing. Something was very, very wrong here. Sirius had always bemoaned his family's curse, but he'd always kept it under control. Even when he'd snapped and murdered his grandfather, it had technically been in self-defence. The only times he went mad these days was when someone did anything against the people he cared about.

Until this morning, anyway.

"Kreacher?" Amelia called once she got to the den. "I need to ask you something about the Black family."

A few moments passed and she sighed. Technically the elf owed no allegiance to her, so he was free to—

"Kreacher is here, Lady Bones." She jumped and spun around. "What is you needing to know, m'lady?"

She blinked. Sirius never called on the elf if he could help it, and Dobby was usually the one looking after Giannis, so she'd not interacted with him much. Her boyfriend always described the Black family's servant as disgusting and wretched, but looking at him now he didn't seem any worse for wear than any other house elf she'd met.

"What can you tell me about the Black family madness?" she asked. "Can you think of anything that would suddenly make it grow—" She had nearly said 'worse', but the elf might not like that. "Stronger?"

"The Black family's blessing…" Kreacher muttered. "Yes, yes… So strong. The madness is their greatest treasure. It grows stronger with each consecration. The masters' strength of wand also influences the effect of the blessing. The more of the family that are together, the louder the chorus can grow as well."

"Okay…" The elf was much better spoken than Sirius had made him out to be as well. "So… The more often they go mad, the madder they'll become. The stronger they are, the stronger the madness is. And if there's more than one of them together it gets even worse?"

The house elf scowled at Amelia and she winced. She was supposed to be talking up the madness, not disparaging it.

"The Black family's blessing is a sign of its greatness, Lady Bones." He practically spat out the last word, and Amelia was finally beginning to see what Sirius had been talking about. "Kreacher's masters are the pinnacle of human-kind."

"Right, of course," she muttered, barely keeping the sarcasm out of her tone. "So can you think of any reason why the whole family would suddenly be experiencing more of the blessing than usual?"

"Kreacher has told Lady Bones all Kreacher knows about how to strengthen the blessing," he said. "Mistress Bellatrix may know more."

"I don't think she'll be of much use to me right now," Amelia muttered. "She's… Too blessed."

"Perhaps Lord Master Hydrus?" Kreacher said. "Kreacher shall bring him here."

"No, wait—" But it was too late, the elf had popped away. 'Son of a bitch.'

If the madness really did get worse the stronger one was, then Hydrus was going to be worse than the rest of the family put together. Resigned to her fate, Amelia wandered over to the couch and fell down onto it. It seemed like the madhouse was only going to get crazier.

"Hey, Amelia, what's up?" She turned around to find a rather sane looking Hydrus. "Kreacher was saying Kreacher shit so I didn't really understand."

"Are… You okay?" She asked. "And by 'okay' I mean are you sane?"

"Yeah?" He frowned. "Why?"

"Because the rest of your family isn't." Amelia sat up and frowned. Hydrus's eyes were nearly green. "Did you change your eye colour?"

"Is it really that noticeable?" He mumbled. "Uh, no, not on purpose anyways. When you say everyone's gone insane, how bad are we talking? Blood on the walls or…?"

"No, no, just… Being weird." She shook her head. "Even for your family."

"They'll be your family someday, better get used to it." Hydrus sighed and rubbed at his forehead. "I suppose my own madness has been getting worse lately. I thought it was just me being shite at controlling it, to be honest."

"You don't seem too bad right now."

"I had a therapy session today." He sat down in the loveseat across from her and a glass of wine appeared in his hand, courtesy of Kreacher no doubt. "And Remus is a lot better at playing therapist then Dumbledore was. I'm worried about that old man."

She stopped herself from scoffing. At this point it was more amusing than anything else the way Hydrus constantly acted like he was the oldest person in a given room. It was like he and the very same man he was just carping about were polar opposites in that regard. As Amelia watched the teen continue to rub at his forehead, eyes glazed over in thought, she at least had to give him credit for pulling off the performance well.

"I wonder…" He muttered. "Kreacher, has Arcturus tried to summon you?"

The house elf appeared already prostrating himself. "No, Lord Master Hydrus. The connection between Kreacher and Old Lord Master is still being there, though."

"Can you go to him without him or anyone else knowing?" Hydrus asked. "Tell me if he's gone mad?"

"Kreacher shall return."

The house elf popped away and Amelia's mouth fell open.

"Are you serious?" she asked. "Why didn't you do that in the first place? He could take us right to Arcturus."

"Didn't occur to me till now," Hydrus said with a shrug. "If this works then—"

Kreacher reappeared and Amelia thought she was going to die. It felt like the entire world was ending, like Death himself had arrived and wrapped his hand around her throat.

Everything faded away.

"I'm gonna fucking kill him," Hydrus muttered. His magic was flooding the Black summer home as he tried his best to heal the dying house elf. "Gonna rip his fucking heart out."

"Kreacher." The house elf heaved, gasping in a breath of hair. "Is sorry, Lord Master Hydrus."

"Shush, I need to heal you." He gave up on saving the limb and practically quartered Kreacher, cutting the elf from just shy of the throat to just below the armpit. "Come on, come on."

The elf had reappeared with a rotting limb that scared Hydrus more than anything in the world. He'd recognised the curse that had killed Dumbledore in the other timeline and had stolen his hand in this one. It had been moving much faster through the diminutive being's form.

He waited and watched. If the curse resumed its treacherous march through Kreacher's body, he'd kill the elf himself out of mercy. If it didn't… Well, he'd cross that bridge when he came to it. It had cost him several inches of his arm when he'd kept trying to regrow the limb, trying various methods to decurse himself. Kreacher would probably want to keep as much of his arm as possible, but who knew how far the curse had gone up the limb before Hydrus severed it. If he tried regrowing a bit of it, it might just allow the dark spell to finish making its way to the elf's much more vital parts.

Shit. How the fuck did Arcturus know about that spell? Hydrus had spent countless hours trying to find any trace of it and came up completely empty handed. Was it some old Black family magic that Bellatrix had someone learned and shared with Voldemort in the past but never learned in this time? Why the fuck hadn't she learned it in this timeline?!

"I'm gonna fucking kill him," Hydrus repeated. "Scale him like a fish, pull out the bones, and feed the scraps to Apophis…"

"Father," his familiar hissed, appearing around his shoulders. "You're hurting Miss Bones."

Hydrus glanced over and saw the woman's lips had gone a touch blue while her nose was bright red. Like yanking back on a dog's chain he reeled in his magic, and refocused his efforts on Kreacher. The house elf was missing a lot of blood.

"Dobby, get me some berries. They're blueish-purple or nearly black if they're ripe, the size of a human eye." He tried remembering where he'd found some last but couldn't think of any specific location. "They grow in small bushes over magical grave sites. If you can't find any, go to the Flamels and give them the same description."

"Hydrus?" A voice at the top of the stairs called. He glanced up to see Bella standing there. "What's going on?"

"Kreacher's hurt," he answered. "I'm fixing him."

Apparently his uncle was home too because the man nearly knocked Bella over with how quickly he came flying down the stairs. The madness was pouring off of him and practically demanding Hydrus's own meet it, but Amelia was still keeled over on the couch and looking half-dead herself so he didn't want to bother her further. To Regulus's credit, when he crouched down beside Hydrus all he said was,

"What can I do to help?"

"I'll tell you when I need help," Hydrus answered. "I've just sent Dobby to retrieve some—"

"Here's you is, Master Hydrus." The house elf appeared with a pile of the berries sitting in his cupped palms. "Dobby can get more!"

"That shouldn't be necessary." He grabbed a few and shoved them in his mouth, trying to keep his dinner down as he chewed them into a pulp. "'ole 'is ow o'en."

"Pardon?" Regulus asked. Hydrus rolled his eyes and pointed at Kreacher's mouth, gesturing for it to be opened. "Oh."

Regulus pulled open the house elf's mouth and Hydrus spat the disgusting poultice in. It would've been simple to do it magically, but his uncle would feel better being able to 'help'. He conjured up a glass of water and began swishing it around in his mouth before spitting it back up into the glass. The bit of glass spellwork immediately began to curdle in on itself like melting plastic.

"What the fuck?" Regulus asked. "What—"

"Don't worry," Hydrus said, healing his mouth. "It's toxic to humans, but it's like steroids on steroids for house elves, centaurs, and who knows what else." He winced as the taste refused to leave his mouth. "Trust me, it's what he needs. Give me a few more, Dobby."

As Hydrus chewed up the next bit of medicine, Bellatrix finally made it down the stairs herself. To his surprise she sat down on the couch next to Amelia and began looking after the woman.

Should he be worried about how close those two were getting?

Once they were out of berries for him to chew up, he cast a few basic diagnostic spells. The good ones didn't work on house elves, or anything that wasn't human for that matter, but these were simple things that told him about how slow Kreacher's heart rate was and how low his blood pressure had gone. It told him the elf's brain wasn't dead, but it wasn't exactly firing at full blast. It told him that the fight wasn't over.

He finished swishing his last glass of water around in his mouth and then turned to Regulus. "Go get me the Flamels, Dobby can take you."

He could've sent Dobby on his own, but his uncle still looked like he was going to have a stroke if he didn't have something to do. Hydrus reached into his pocket for the tin he kept his cigarettes in, only to remember he'd quit the habit years ago. Why'd he ever have kids again?

"Fuck," he muttered. He began to rub at his forehead, just above his rapidly greening eyes. "Magic, you half-assed runesmith. You're lucky I don't—"

"Hydrus?" Bella interrupted. "Bones is waking up."

"Good for her, give her my best," he muttered. "Remind me to see if they've invented coloured contacts yet."

"What?"

"Never mind."

Hydrus sighed and reached down to feel Kreacher's forehead. The elf's skin was cold and clammy, even more so than usual. It suddenly occurred to him how little he knew about hearts, human or elf. Did it matter when he severed the limb and shoulder? Should he have waited for just before a heart beat? Just after? He knew how to fix a heart, how to destroy one, but how did the blood flow actually work? Could he have saved half a pint with timing?

"Let me see, dear."

Hydrus turned to see Perenelle had joined him, and he scooted over so she could sit beside him. Like he'd done a moment ago she felt at the elf's forehead. Then she shoved her hand between Kreacher's remaining armpit, and it took him a moment to realise she was feeling for a pulse. After that she pulled open one of the elf's eyes. Hydrus winced when he saw it was nothing but white and pupil, his iris was completely swallowed.

On an eye as big as his, that looked rather perturbing.

"What have you given him?" Perenelle asked. "Bosom berries?"

"Never heard 'em called that, but if they're poisonous to people and—"

"Did you mash them first?"

"Chewed them myself."

"You—" Perenelle's head snapped to him. "You what?"

"I'll be fine, focus on the elf." He jerked his own head at his friend. "He got some kind of rotting curse. Same one that stole my arm. It was spreading too quickly, counter curses don't curse, had to cut it."

"What sort of rotting curse?" The old woman demanded. "How was it moving?"

"Like a fucking plague," he answered. "I think it caught him on the elbow, when he appeared it was about a handspan long. Looked like a mummy or an inferi." The details were trying to blend together with his own suffering of the curse, but he shoved that away. "In the first second, it spread in another inch. Two more seconds, two more inches." His knuckles began to pop as his spine chilled over at that feeling of helplessness coming back to him. "I made the cut. Sealed the wound. Gave him the berries. Called you here."

Fuck he wanted a cigarette.

"What do you think, Nicky?" Perenelle turned and Hydrus followed her gaze to Nicholas Flamel who was standing a few paces away, looking down at them. "What could that curse be?"

"Too many possibilities," the alchemist muttered. "I'd need to see it for myself."

"I can show you." Hydrus stood and began to steel himself. "You have…" How much did he want to sacrifice? "Five seconds to figure it out."

He pulled off his robes and shirt, but that apparently told Bella what he was about to do.

"Wait!" She jumped to her feet, sending poor Amelia slumping over as the still-dazed woman lost her only support. "What are you about to do?"

"Showing off the curse." He held out his hand to stop her argument. "I'm not losing Kreacher, Bella. I'll be fine."

Not giving her a chance to respond, he healed his left arm. Roughly an inch of healthy flesh and bone appeared. Then it was a lot of rot and ruin. The flesh that appeared was brownish-yellow at first, like it had gone septic, and then it turned black and pruny. By the time he got to his wrist the skin itself was little more than leathery paper wrapped around the bones of his forearm like it was shrinkwrapped.

'One… Two… Three…'

Flamel pulsed his magic and it felt like bathing in honeyed wine. "Stop."

That was all Hydrus needed to hear. He severed his arm just up past the elbow and began the process of 'anchoring' his bicep and tricep muscles to the end of his newly shortened humerus. It'd be a hell of a lot easier with a bolt but the people around him probably wouldn't have appreciated the Frankenstein treatment.

"That's not a curse, Hydrus," Flamel said. The pseudo-immortal wizard was staring at his arm like it was a pile of manure on his dinner plate. "That's… That's something else entirely."

"What is it then?" Hydrus asked, furrowing his brows in confusion. "Or do you just mean its a jinx or—"

"That is old, Hydrus. Very old. It's the sort of work that I've only seen a small handful of times in my entire life." Flamel gave a 'give it here' gesture and Hydrus moved over to offer the still-raw stump of his arm. "It's not magic at all. It's… I don't truly have the words to describe it."

That reminded Hydrus of something he'd seen just once, and a memory that he'd rather not have to revisit.

"You know much about druids?" Hydrus asked. "Real druids, the old world type."

Flamel frowned. "I may be old, but they were long extinct even before I was born."

"They used something besides 'not magic' too," Hydrus said. "They tapped into forces that connected them with gods. I can't do anything like that, but my familiar can use some of Death's abilities. Diviners do it every time they have a prophecy."

"I see." Flamel frowned and pulled at his moustache. "I'm sorry to say I don't have much experience with such matters."

"It's alright." Hydrus muttered. "I don't think anyone is. I'll figure it out."

Flamel recognizing the working as 'not magic' was already a huge win for Hydrus. It confirmed his suspicions that Death wasn't satisfied with just the amped up form of his grandfather from the resurrection ritual that had supercharged Voldemort, and was doing something deific to strengthen him further. It eased his pride a bit to know he hadn't been a complete idiot for not recognizing the dangers attached to the ring when he first put it on.

There was still the small matter of why on earth the ring was cursed with the power of Death to begin with, but he could figure that out later.

Most importantly of all, it told him where he'd need to look for answers in order to heal Kreacher. Once the house elf was conscious again, Hydrus would have him bring the tablets back out. He'd become a full fledged druid himself if that's what it took to fix Kreacher.

"Ah yes, you'll just 'figure it out', will you?" Flamel muttered, still staring with a wrinkled nose at Hydrus's arm. "Just 'figure out' the unfathomable and unknowable."

"You did, so why can't I?" Hydrus knelt back down beside Kreacher, and ran his hand over the elf's head. "What do you think, Perenelle? Is he going to be alright?"

"Well, he's still going through a trauma response, but I believe so," the old witch said. "There really wasn't much else for me to do. You were perfect, Hydrus."

"If I was perfect I wouldn't have sent him to find my grandfather in the first place," he muttered bitterly. "I appreciate your coming here, ma'am. I can have Dobby bring you a bottle of our wine or anything else you might want."

"You hush, dear." He tensed as the matronly woman wrapped him up in a one-sided hug. "You know we'll always be there for our little Alby's boy."

Hydrus rolled his eyes but didn't push her away. He'd let her have this moment of affection out of gratitude for the promptness.

"Dobby," he said. "Put Kreacher to bed, and be sure to look after him."

"Dobby shall, Master Hydrus." Dobby gently twirled his fingers and Kreacher rose up into the air. "Can Dobby be doing anything else for Master Hydrus?"

"No, Dobby," he said. "Kreacher is your number one priority until he's back on his feet.

"Bella, can you help Amelia to bed?" he continued. "Reg. Go grab your boyfriend and move into Castle Black with your parents and uncle."

"Uh, no?" Regulus said. "I—"

"It wasn't a request, it was an order." Hydrus stared down the other man who immediately began to shrink. "You're the only one who can stomach being around your mother for longer than five minutes. You will also be in charge there."

"I'm not five years-old, Hydrus." Regulus glared at him, once more the madness was rising in him. "What the hell does 'being in charge' even mean? I get to pick their bedtime?"

"It means you don't need to put up with any of their shit," Hydrus answered. "If they so much as put a toe out of line, you have my permission to… I don't know, call Sirius and get him to tan their hides."

"How empowering," Regulus muttered. "Hydrus, I've got my own problems to deal with. Sirius has practically set a civil war into motion with my boyfriend as the figurehead and—"

"I will personally kill any and every witch or wizard standing in Octavius's way if it gets you to sit your ass in that castle," Hydrus said. "Do you realise how much work Giannis and the old man there have put into defending it?"

Regulus's madness was continuing to rise, and the man spun around to Flamel. "Are you going to take that from him?"

Hydrus snorted. No wonder Arcturus had called him spineless, he couldn't even fight his own battles.

"Child," the alchemist began. "If I got a bug up my ass every time someone called me old I'd be a beehive by now."

"Plus, you wouldn't be able to fit all the other bugs you get from everything else in the world," Perenelle teased. Flamel rolled his eyes, grumbling something under his breath. "But truly, Hydrus, I'm impressed with how well you performed treatment if the curse was that severe."

Flamel coughed. "Not a curse."

"Shush," Perenelle chided. "Have you considered becoming a mediwizard?"

"I—" He cut himself off before he repeated what Regulus had said nearly verbatim. "Have more important things to do."

"More important than saving lives?"

"Saving more lives, as a matter of fact." He began to struggle to put his shirt back on, shooting a glare at Perenelle to stop her attempt at helping him. "I appreciate you two coming to take a look at him. Flamel, I'm also grateful to you for your mentorship of my ward as of late.

"I doubt you two will need to worry, but Arcturus Black is alive once more and about to go on the warpath." He finally got the damn shirt on and began to rebutton it. "It still wouldn't be unwise to beef up your own defences."

"Yes, yes, between Giannis and Albus we're well aware," the immortal alchemist said. "Tell your house elf to bring me a bottle of wine. That impudent little gremlin I call a student brought me some Italian swill and expected it to work as a bribe."

"We both know he probably did that on purpose," Hydrus muttered. "What's he bribing you for, anyways?"

"No business of yours." Flamel waved him off. "Make with the wine, child."

Hydrus sighed.

He hated old people.

Bernstolf stared held out his arms, his hands dripping in the blood of an adolescent swan. He waited for one of the strands of power wafting off the veritable mountains of gold on either side of him to fall into his palms, then grabbed hold of it. The power of fortune took hold of him, and he guided it to the still damp newborn babe. The strand wrapped itself around the infant's throat, and its screams became strangled.

He fought for control, trying to wrest the power back. His wife's third child, perhaps his first, could still survive. Three was a strong number. Perhaps it would be strong enough to help him cement this babe as his first true heir. With a roar of exertion he finally managed to tear away the power.

It faded into nothing. The only evidence it had ever existed was the still-smoking branding around the babe's throat. His babe. Bernstolf began to laugh with delight as he lifted his son up into the air. The colour was slowly returning to the infant's face and he brought it tight to his chest.

"Felix," he named him. "Child of Fortune."

"Well done, Brother!" His former apprentice called. The younger man limped over, leaning on his staff as always. "You're finally a father."

"A blessing to us all," Bernstolf said. "My wife will be pleased."

"Finally quit her neighing, aye?" The other man clapped him on the shoulder. "And a boy no less. Told you it was for the best we lost the last one."

"Aye, aye…" He ran his thumb over what would no doubt be life-long scars on his son's throat. "It'll be tough to hide this one from the mud, but the blessing should be worth it."

"It always is."

The dragon's den they were in began to fade away. Bernstolf's rough and bloodied thumb faded away along with most of his left arm. His heart began to race, his blood went cold, and it only got worse when his son disappeared as well. What had happened? Where was Felix? What had… Why did he care?

Hydrus blinked and rubbed at his forehead.

"The more I learn about these assholes," he muttered. "The less I respect them. They're like a psychotic college frat."

'Bernstolf' had killed his first two children in attempts to bless them. His poor wife had been dragged into the cave a dragon was nesting in and gave birth amidst a horrific display of fire and violence in order to lay claim to the beast's horde. The baby had been more ripped than pushed out when it was finally time. And then there was fucking swan…

"You alright?" Sirius asked, offering him a towel. Hydrus grabbed it and began to wipe the blood from his eyes and nose."That one seemed pretty rough."

"I'm fine, when'd you get here?" he asked. "Remus get too squeamish?"

"I think he just went to bed, kiddo," his father said. "You've been at this all night."

"What time is it?"

"Let's just say it's a good thing I don't have to go to work anymore." Sirius caught the towel Hydrus threw back at him. "I think you should get some sleep."

"I'll sleep the next time I'm dead." He would take a moment to enjoy the conversation as a much needed break though. "First time was boring. There was a train station and my d—" He'd nearly said 'dad'. "Dead grandfather was there."

"Wait, like my dad or…?"

"No." Hydrus snorted. "Though wherever I'm going next time I might see him there. Been through a lot since then."

"Wait, did you actually die?" Sirius was frowning in confusion. "Is that why you know rituals to bring someone back to life?"

"It would take way too long to explain it all," he said. "I got hit with the killing curse, had two souls in my body at the time, it was a whole thing."

"What—, I—." Sirius shook his head. "I would really, really like to know what the fuck happened in your first life."

"I know," Hydrus mocked. "I get off on taunting you with that fact."

"Gross." Sirius shook his head and looked away to the tablet Hydrus was studying. "Have you learned anything useful?"

"Got some theories," he said. "I'm starting to think a lot of spells are based off these old workings. Spells and potions. That last one probably had a kid who lived a life like he was hooked on Felix Felicis.

"I also think that the workings need to have a lot of influence from either a god or whatever a god draws their power from." He thought back to the piles of gold and jewels in the dragon's den. "Also, apparently there's a separate god called Luck or Fortune? That's totally different from Fate?"

"Of course she is, Silly."

Hydrus jumped and something popped in his neck when his head whipped around to see Fate standing behind him. The goddess was smiling at him and the form she took sent chills down his spine.

His Bella would never smile that kindly.

"Fate," Hydrus said. He glanced over and saw Sirius was frozen this time, stuck blinking like a bad photograph. "I was wondering when you'd show up."

"Then you should've called me sooner!" she whined. He winced at the way Bella's chest jiggled as the goddess stomped her foot. This was way too weird. "I can't just pop in whenever I want, you know."

"You can't?"

"Well, I can, but that would break the rules I set for myself." Fate shrugged. "It's no fun without any rules."

"Right, 'rules'," he said sarcastically. "What kind of rules does Death have again? Anything about using your powers to revive my dead great-grandfather with enough juice to wield the primordial force of death?"

"No, pretty much just the 'no direct interference' rule," she said earnestly. "Which, honestly, you should probably be more grateful for. He would've smited you like a bug if I hadn't made that rule for him."

"I'm more grateful than you know," Hydrus said with a sigh. "Anyways, what's up? What brought you down here?"

"I just thought you might like to know why me and Luck are different," she said. "It's a really cute story about a mortal who tried tapping into my power."

"Not super interested in stories, Fate," he said. "But since you're here, do you know how I can get enough of Life's power to counteract whatever the hell they did to Kreacher and I's arms?"

"I mean, I do, but are you really going to throw an orgy that large?" Fate asked. "Cus you're going to need a loooot of—"

"Never mind." Hydrus snapped his fingers and a muggle marker appeared in his hand. "Gimme a sec."

He uncapped the writing instrument and began to doodle on his father's face. Sirius already had a full beard so all he could really do was draw a penis on the man's forehead, but it was the thought that counted. Once that was done he vanished away the marker and nodded at Fate.

"I'll see you around," he said. "If there's nothing to be done about our arms then these tablets are worthless."

"If you say so," she replied. "It was nice seeing you as always, my favourite."

Sirius opened his eyes and breathed a sigh of relief. He couldn't believe he managed to get away with that. He also couldn't believe Hydrus had taken the time to draw what he could only assume was a cock on his forehead.

The pride in his chest was immeasurable.

"You two are cute," Fate said. He jumped. "It's a shame it's taking him so long to get over his hang ups"

"Tell me about it," Sirius said, eyeing the goddess suspiciously. "Why didn't you tell him you didn't pause me?"

"Why would I?" she asked. "I would've missed out on feeling that burning, fatherly pride in your chest."

Sirius held up his hands over his chest. "Pervert."

"So I'm told." He laughed along with her this time. Seriously, why couldn't his god be as fun as this one? "My brother's not so bad, he just grew up in a turbulent time. You try growing up with a father who was trying to eat you because he was too stupid to understand that you were his own child."

"No thanks." Sirius shook his head. "Why you wearing my cousin's skin anyways? It's gross."

"I'm trying to spiritually seduce your son." Fate grabbed hold of Bella's dress and lifted it up a bit to twirl it around. "This seemed to have a good effect on him."

"I bet." Sirius shook his head. "Hey, can I ask you something?"

"Shoot!"

"Is Hydrus going to be alright?" he asked. "He's normally so confident, but these days he's been talking about how there's someone he can't beat in a fight."

Fate laughed. "You really don't get how strong your son is, do you?"

"Apparently not?" Sirius shrugged. "So he'll be alright?"

"Dear, my siblings once said that he was as strong as Magic herself when she was his age," Fate said. "Do you know what my sister did when she was a hormonal, human teenager?"

"No?"

"She sank the only magical country in the entire world to the bottom of the ocean." The goddess's smile sent chills down Sirius's spine. "I believe these days its called 'Atlantis'."

"Oh." Sirius swallowed. "So he's going to be alright?"

"Yes, dear, he will be alright." Fate's pitying expression didn't fit on Bella's face at all. "You should worry about yourself."

Draco cut open the letter he received and prayed that it was from Hydrus. He was surrounded by a bunch of his paranoid classmates who were all going crazy over the fact that Hydrus and Dumbledore had both gone missing. People were coming up with all sorts of conspiracy theories ranging from a campaign to take over Africa to the headmaster having kidnapped Hydrus to steal his body.

The worst part was his own girlfriend was responsible for over half of the nonsense.

"So you're sure he's fine?" Tamina asked. "This is weird, Malfoy."

He didn't bother to respond this time, too busy reading his letter. It was from some German woman inviting him and a plus one to some fashion gala. Who the hell was Zara Raabs?

He voiced that question, and to his surprise it was Hellena who answered. "Oh that's my Aunty! She's the best. How do you know her?"

"I don't," he muttered. "She's inviting me to some fashion show."

"Hydrus knows her," Hellena said. "Maybe he passed your name along?"

Draco sighed and tossed the letter on to the table. "I swear he just does whatever he wants without any concern about how it affects me."

"Wonder why he wants you to go to this," Blaise said. He'd picked up the letter and was reading it over. "Maybe some clandestine meeting while whatever he's up to is going on?"

"For the last time he's not doing anything important!" Draco snapped. "Well, it is important, but it's not like, you know, something secretive."

"Then why won't you tell us?" Daphne asked.

"Because!" Draco rolled his eyes, tired of coming up with excuses. "Just… Just trust me. It doesn't have anything to do with any of you. It's Black family business, and unfortunately my mother was a Black."

"So is mine," Zabini drolled, setting the letter down. Draco furrowed his brows before he realised the pun and scoffed. "Hellena, what's your aunt like?"

"She's the best!" the flighty girl repeated. "She's like, hm, she's like a celebrity or something? My mum doesn't like her, but she doesn't like a lot of people. She says she's dumb."

"Right." Blaise gestured at the parchment. "Hydrus probably has no idea you were invited, and the lady just invited you because he said no."

"I hate how much sense that makes," Draco said with a sigh. "I want to say no. Can I say no?"

His friend shrugged. "Ask Hydrus."

Draco groaned and shoved his plate away. He'd lost his appetite. When his father had taught him about the sort of life he'd lead as the Malfoy family head, he'd warned him about 'their lessers' trying to cling on to him. He hadn't realised it would start long before he even became the head.

"Cheer up," Tamina more ordered than suggested. "It's Hogsmeade weekend this weekend. Even if you do have to go, you can bring your little girlfriend along with you."

Draco wasn't sure if that was actually meant to cheer him up or if it was just a weirdly aimed jab at the fact that Luna was shorter than Hellena.

"By the way." He figured if he was going to be reaching out for some help answering Hydrus's questions, he might as well put it all out in the open. "Anyone have any ideas as to why my cousin made Snape my godfather?"

Everyone around him frowned. Daphne and Blaise met each other's eyes, as if checking to see if either one of Slytherin's 'third place's had the answer, but both were lost. He sighed as he resigned himself to being stuck with yet another unanswered question.

"Um." Michael raised his hand and Draco stopped himself from rolling his eyes again at the trepidation. Where was the teen's pride? "Snape's actually my second-cousin. Not on Hellena's side. He's a half-blood, you know."

Draco frowned. "So?"

"So…" Michael looked down at the table. "He's… You know…"

Tamina punched her girlfriend's cousin in the arm and he yelped. "Out with it."

"His mother was the last Prince," he said. "The family's going to die. Hydrus started the Slytherin branch family to adopt muggleborns. Maybe he wants you to do the same with the Prince family."

Draco blinked, then gave an impressed frown. He'd never really put much thought into their house head's lineage besides pity for being just a half-blood. The Prince family… He didn't know anything about them.

"That sucks," Blaise said. "Kinda asking you for a lot, isn't he?"

'Stand by my side, Draco, and see for yourself just what sort of world I can build.'

Hydrus's words echoed in his mind. His cousin had chastised him over his 'fear' of muggleborns and them taking over his spot in the world. Now he was giving him the opportunity to prove that the fears he accused him of were unfounded.

"Not a lot at all," Draco said, pushing forward as much pride as he could as he stuck out his jaw. "It's an opportunity that I won't let go."

Arcturus was waiting. He was sitting atop a building in Hogsmeade, waiting for the students to arrive. It was only Thursday, so he'd be waiting a while, but that was fine. He had these new friends of his to keep him company. His hands swam through one of the creature's fur, feeling the powerful muscles flexing beneath the skin as it angrily paced in front of him.

'It will be beautiful,' he thought to himself. 'Poetic.'

He and the beasts were invisible, cloaked in Death's power. The pathetic fools down below were all just milling about like their lives weren't in jeopardy at his mere presence. With so much as a twitch of his finger he could stop their hearts, rot their flesh, push their souls into the meat grinder.

Just like he'd done to that little treacherous bastard Kreacher.

The little shit had thought that Arcturus wouldn't see him, but Arcturus could see them all. He could see all the souls around him, like the stars in the night sky had come down as pockmarks on the skin of the earth. All these insignificant little lives just festering around him…

One of the beasts headbutted his thigh and he backhanded it, sending the invisible creature stumbling away with a whimper. Damned thing thought it could push him around, did it? He stood and the beast's soul began to flutter in fear. Stalking closer, his madness grew in time with its terror. Once he was close enough, he began to kick it.

"Don't you." Slam. "Ever." Slam. "Think." Slam. "To command." Slam. "Me."

He finished his punishment by stomping down hard on it, enjoying the feeling of bones breaking beneath his foot. His madness was roaring in ecstasy as he ground whatever part of the beast he was standing on underneath his heel.

It felt so, so good to be young again.

He laughed as his madness, still unstopped since his rebirth, grew all the stronger.