"Well... This is worrying."
Hydrus and Dumbledore were around two-hundred metres beneath the surface of Klöntalersee, a lake just west of the town they'd been eating in, roughly four times as deep as muggles thought it went. The headmaster had sworn his oath just before entering, and they'd been walking along the bottom of its depths for some time now in a large bubble that Dumbledore had conjured up once Hydrus realised their guide wasn't going to show.
"Perhaps your estimation of the worst case scenario wasn't so far off." The old wizard's voice was calm and collected, and Hydrus hoped he was doing half as good a job emulating it. "We're still on track, however?"
"Yes, yes." He scratched at the stump of his arm. "I can get there on my own, I just worry about Francis."
'Francis' was the massive water snake whose species Hydrus had taken his name from. Hydruses were behind in size only to ancient basilisks, jormungants, and the occasional emperor constrictor. Unlike their terrestrial cousins, they spent almost their entire life cycles in bodies of water like this one, only leaving when they'd go hunting for partners. Then they'd mate, fight to see who would surrender their den to the clutch of eggs (who, upon hatching, would then fight and eat each other to see who got to keep it), then go their separate ways. Legends had it that each ocean held a single, massive hydrus and their territorial wars were the cause of tsunamis. There was a great deal of overlap between their mythos and jormungants', but the latter species was named purely for its size, not any sort of nautical habits.
And now, somehow, one that could've easily eaten a cow whole had gone missing.
"Perhaps this 'Francis' has become friends with your basilisk," Dumbledore suggested. "I've heard of stranger bedfellows."
"Perhaps." Hydrus doubted that's what happened, snakes were both literally and figuratively cold-blooded more often than not, and he suspected they'd find an over-fed basilisk who'd used its gaze to kill its much, much larger cousin. "We're nearly there."
After several more minutes of walking, they reached a magical barrier. Hydrus stepped through it and after making sure the coast was clear, invited Dumbledore in. The space itself was a dry, magical den that Francis had made in preparation for potential children. Since the hydrus was several decades away from being ready to seek a mate, he'd not minded allowing the 'lord' to borrow the nest.
The ground was a fine mixture of sand and shed scales, broken into as fine a powder as possible. When Francis wasn't hunting, he would slither about the nest over and over again in order to make the ground as soft for bedding. Hydrus sank nearly an inch into the sand just by his weight alone, so he cast a mild levitation charm over himself and the headmaster to ensure they wouldn't fall below the ground entirely by the time they reached the centre.
"Francis!" Hydrus called in Parseltongue as they went. "I have returned! Show yourself!"
Yelling in the snakes' language was difficult; the hissing tore at his throat and he couldn't do it often. He waited for a response, and when none came, he opened his mouth again but was stopped short at the sound of rumbling. A quick glance downwards showed the sand violently vibrating and he pulled them away just in time to watch the massive hydrus tunnel out from the sand.
'How the hell did he manage that?' Hydrus wondered. 'They don't usually burrow…'
The snake itself was roughly two-thirds the size of the basilisk he'd slain in his past life, which meant he and the headmaster were in for a rough day at the office if the thing decided to betray him. Its scales were a dull, greenish-grey that let it blend in well with the lake. Two massive, frilled whiskers hung out of either side of its mouth; in the water they served as sensory organs for detecting prey, but on 'land' like now they just gave it the appearance of a particularly wise catfish.
The beast opened its mouth and Hydrus expected it to speak, but instead it lowered its head to the ground. A massive, forked tongue folded out from within, and to Hydrus's utter bafflement, a much smaller snake came slithering out from atop it like a red carpet.
"Father!" the basilisk called. "Welcome!"
"What is this?" Hydrus demanded as Francis lifted its head back up. "Why were you in his mouth?"
"Forgive me, my lord," the hydrus rumbled, its voice sending ripples throughout the sand. "The young one said it would be funny. I apologise for not being there to guide you."
"It was funny!" the younger snake said. "Father apparently has no sense of humour."
"What are they saying?" Dumbledore asked.
"Apparently the basilisk thought it would be humorous to surprise us by coming out of the hydrus's mouth." The younger man rubbed at his brow and took off his goggles. "Keep yours on just in case, but it doesn't seem to mean us any harm."
The basilisk itself was as he remembered, just a good bit longer. Now from head to 'toe' it had to be at least three metres long and a bit wider than Hydrus's wrist. It had vibrant, green scales with just a touch of crimson plumage beginning to sprout from atop its head. Its yellow eyes were dull behind the clear, retractable ocular scales that allowed Hydrus to take off his eye protection.
"Have you come to take me away at last?" it asked. "Uncle Francis has taught me well, you will not be disappointed."
Why was it acting like this? Snakes were supposed to be cold, hard beings with little to no care for others. It was one thing for it to show him respect, it was another to call the giant serpent 'uncle' and to be playing jokes. Hydrus reached out with his magic, and felt first the resurrection stone resting within the beast's gullet, and then the connection that had somehow formed from the few days he'd initially spent with the basilisk.
The bond was a far cry from the one he shared now with Hedwig, let alone the one he'd shared with her in his past life, but it was there. Unlike his experience in the pet shop, he was on the receiving end for desperation this time. He could feel the snake's magic trying to entwine itself around him, not unlike the way its physical form would kill other massive animals when it grew to full size, and not unlike the child it apparently thought it was to him would wrap around their parent.
Something about that left Hydrus feeling melancholic.
"I've come for the ring I implanted within you." His tone was chilled and neutral. "It's paramount that I have it."
"But it's mine," the basilisk said petulantly. "You gave it to me."
"He doesn't want to give us the ring." Hydrus couldn't believe he was about to ask this, he'd planned on killing the thing from the start. "Can you think of some way to retrieve it without killing him in the process?"
Dumbledore hummed. "Well, why does it not wish to give it up?"
"He said it's his." Hydrus rolled his eyes. "Said 'you gave it to me' like some child."
"The creature is a child, Hydrus." Dumbledore knelt down and despite Hydrus's warning removed his goggles. He reached out and the basilisk allowed him to run a hand over its head, stretching the feathers that were just beginning to blossom there. "Ask what it would like to trade for the ring."
"I like this one." Hydrus doubted the snake understood what the headmaster had said, but its eyes were almost rolled back behind their ocular scales as it leaned into the gentle pets. "I shall allow this one to live."
"If you even thought of killing him, I would end you." The basilisk's eyes came back down to focus on Hydrus. "This man is like a grandfather to me. You will show him the respect he deserves."
"Yeessss…"
"What would you want in exchange for the ring?"
The snake poked its tongue out, flickering it about in the air. "Take me with you."
"He wants to leave this place, come with us," Hydrus said. "He also said he likes and will spare you."
"How generous, I certainly like him too." Dumbledore allowed the snake to lean in closer to 'taste' the air around him. "Well, were you planning to just leave him here since you no longer wish to kill him?"
"Where the hell would I put him?" Hydrus asked. "The only place I know of that can fit a basilisk is already occupied."
"Where would that be?"
"The Chamber of Secrets." Dumbledore started at that, which startled the snake in turn who pulled away cautiously. "Slytherin's basilisk is down there, and I don't think she'd like the company."
"There's a basilisk in my school?" Dumbledore was looking at him with furrowed eyes and a slightly opened mouth. Hydrus snorted. "You know where the Chamber is?"
"I'll tell you about it later." He reached a hand out to pet the basilisk himself, but the snake instead took the opportunity to begin slithering up his arm. "I don't know what to do."
"I'm afraid I'm not too familiar with the growth rate of such creatures." The snake was now wound about Hydrus like a shawl, its head resting beside his own. "How quickly will he be growing?"
"In theory they grow until they die, Slytherin's is the largest I've ever heard of let alone seen, and she's about fifty-percent bigger than Francis there." Hydrus reached up to stroke the smaller snake's scales. "The little one here's only been around for about half a year, and started out no bigger than my middle finger. It was large enough to swallow the ring in less than a week, and has grown to this size since then. I suspect by the time I graduate it'll be just a touch longer than the Knight Bus, and wide as my head."
"You seem to have a great deal of herpetological knowledge." Dumbledore stroked his beard. "Were you considering such a profession?"
"No." Hydrus rolled his eyes. "We've already had our career day talk."
Hydrus's knowledge was a matter of necessity. Voldemort might've had a distaste for most creatures, magical or otherwise, but snakes of all varieties were his closest friends. They were used as everything from menaces on the battlefield, to spies, to assassins. Hydrus had lost his ability to speak to them when he was 'killed' during his duel at the end of his fourth year with the dark lord, and it had left them blind to the reptiles' threat until he got it back.
The first of four bargains he'd made with Magic. The first time he'd communed with his goddess. The first of two times he'd sacrificed something besides himself.
After that he'd become intimately familiar with all manner of snakes, magical or otherwise. Hydruses like Francis weren't something he was particularly knowledgeable about, but he had killed two of them, both when trying to secure water sources for his people. Basilisks, on the other hand, were common enough during the war that he could probably write a book about the bastards. Obviously none of them were the size of Slytherin's, but that didn't make their gaze any less deadly, their venom any less destructive. He'd lost at least three dozen people over the years to them alone.
Hydrus shook his head. Beneath several hundred million cubic-metres of water with an apex predator wrapped around his shoulders was no time for a breakdown.
"So Minister of Magic then?" the headmaster asked. "Perhaps aiming for my own jobs as Supreme Mugwump and Chief Warlock?"
"Any and all positions of power I can make use of." It was annoying having to go over this again, but it was also giving him time to think of how to deal with the basilisk. "I'm already working towards preventing any radicalization within Slytherin, and spreading a more tolerant viewpoint of muggle born wizards and witches."
"What was it again? 'Power above all'?" Dumbledore cocked an eyebrow at him. "Hardly what I'd call tolerant."
Hydrus twitched. How the hell had that gotten back to the ancient wizard? "I'm boiling frogs here."
"I hope that's an expression."
"It means if I start waving my wand about and shouting that people need to respect and love one another regardless of status like some sort of biblical figure, I'll be scoffed at and kicked out of my family," he said. "If I warm them up to the little things first, get them on board with the 'proper' sort of muggleborn, I can eventually move on to the others."
"What's that to do with the frogs?"
"Say that I'm boiling blast-ended skrewts if it makes it more relatable," Hydrus said. "You put them in the water before its hot and boiling, and they won't jump out until its too late to do so."
"Why not just stun them beforehand?"
"It's just an—!" He stopped when he realised the headmaster's eyes were twinkling. A laugh escaped him; he'd forgotten that Albus liked to do that. "You got me, you old goat."
"As the Quibbler should've informed you, I've long since cured myself of that affliction."
"Whatever…" Hydrus shook his head, still smiling. "You know what? I'm sure my family has some property we can stick him on, and if not we can certainly buy one."
"No." Hydrus jumped at the basilisk suddenly joining the conversation. It unfurled a bit and tested Hydrus's shoulder muscles as it stretched out to stare at him. "I wish to be with you."
"You can understand what we're saying?" he asked. "How?"
"The voices have taught me many things." Hydrus shivered. "They spoke, and I listened."
The massive Francis began to coil around himself, rumbling the earth around them, before speaking. "The young one is powerful. He has many gifts, my lord."
"I will be useful, father," the basilisk said. "Just give me a chance."
"It's not about how useful you are," Hydrus hissed back. "You are a basilisk, far too dangerous. It is illegal for you to even exist, and it will cause me problems just to have others see you."
"Then they shall not." The snake suddenly vanished. The weight was still there, and Hydrus could still feel him through their connection, but the beast had become invisible. "Uncle Francis speaks the truth, I have many gifts."
"Incredible," Dumbledore said. "It's just like the invisibility cloak."
"It would certainly seem my hypothesis about it growing more powerful from contact with the stone was correct." Hydrus reached out a hand to where he knew the basilisk's head was, feeling the feathers as it reappeared. "There is still the danger. You can kill with a glance, and if you were to do so, it would cause me a great deal of problems."
"You can do that too though!" Hydrus winced as the snake 'yelled' at him, and was reminded that no matter how many blessings the serpent had received from Death's power, it was still just a toddler. "If you want the ring, you have to bring me!"
Hydrus cringed as some strange feeling welled up within him. It felt like nostalgia's weaker cousin.
"I don't have a place for you to fit." He didn't know what would convince the angry infant. "There's no space for you to grow."
"Then I shall take the old queen's nest!" The basilisk flared its feathers up. "I shall have her home for myself!"
"She would eat you as a pre-snack appetiser." Hydrus's hissing was cold and quiet, and his 'child' had the sense to shrink back. "I wouldn't spare you for the sake of letting you go and kill yourself."
"Trouble?" Dumbledore asked.
"He can understand what we're saying," Hydrus said. "I'm trying to explain that we don't have room for him, and thus he wouldn't be able to come directly back with me."
"Then you won't get the ring!"
"Hush!"
"Perhaps you should listen to my suggestion about boiling either skrewts or frogs," Dumbledore offered. "He is still quite young."
"That won't work." Basilisks had a magic resistance that even manticores would be jealous of, and even as a juvenile the snake could've resisted any sort of stunning spell he threw at it. "Trust me. I think we might be at a crossroads."
"I will starve." The snake was staring at Hydrus now. "I will grow no further, I shall stay this size until I can eat once more. No one will know I'm there."
"That's-"
"I can survive for years without eating," the snake interrupted. "Lord Grandfather Herpo said so. Lord Grandfather Salazar agreed." It sounded desperate. "I will harm no one, and that will give you plenty of time to find a new place to live."
Hydrus swallowed. Having a basilisk around to keep him safe in his sleep certainly didn't sound bad, but at the same time the last thing he needed was to kill a fellow student just because they got into a schoolyard row with him. It was one thing for him to learn to keep his own instincts in check, another to ask a snake to do the same. He could still feel the beast's magic trying to become one with his, still trying to cement the bond that would mark it forever as his familiar.
"Give me the ring," he said. "Spit or shit it out, I don't care. Do that and I will bring you with me."
The beast could be convinced later. For now he just wanted to get away from here with the Deathly Hallow that might provide him some connection to his own timeline.
"Agreed."
Hydrus gasped as Magic accepted their agreement as an oath, despite the fact that he'd neither spoken the proper words or drawn his wand.
"Are you alright?" Dumbledore asked, alarmed.
"Fine," he said before thinking, 'Son of a bitch.' He glared at the basilisk who was looking at him, head cocked to one side. 'Little shit probably knew that was going to happen.'
"You didn't seem fine."
"I…" Great, now he was going to have to lie to Dumbledore. "It seems I've formed a familiar bond with the basilisk. It caught me off guard."
"How marvellous." Dumbledore seemed quite pleased at that. "Even if he is a bit antithetical to my own familiar."
"Don't remind me," Hydrus grumbled. "Now, give me the ring."
The basilisk shifted, and Hydrus only just managed to pull off the catch. Somehow the snake had 'summoned' the stone from within its stomach, and for the briefest of moment's Hydrus lost himself wondering if it was something similar to the way house elves were able to conjure things up effortlessly. When a wizard did something like that, like when he would 'conjure' chairs, what he was actually doing was transfiguring a simple object, even one as small as a grain of sand, into the actual thing he wanted. It gave the spell an ethereal quality, like the object was fading into reality, completely unlike the instant transmission house elves and apparently his basilisk could perform. Dumbledore was able to transform the ground itself somehow, perhaps partitioning it into a section and manipulating that, and did it so perfectly that it was like clay being moulded rather than turning from one object into another.
"At last…" the headmaster breathed when Hydrus showed him the ring. "The resurrection stone."
"We still need to do diagnostics on it." He slipped it back into his pocket and held firm even under the headmaster's longing gaze. "We'll get started as soon as we're somewhere a bit cozier."
"Let us be on our way then."
As they turned to leave, Francis suddenly reared up. "Wait, my lord."
"What?"
"May… May I come with you too?"
"No!"
Draco stepped to the side to avoid his father's stunner, and threw back an expelliarmus of his own. The spell was one that Hydrus was particularly fond of, the shorter boy had gone on and on about how useful it could be, and the Malfoy heir had long since given up on questioning advice given to him by the future lord of House Black. His father easily countered it, and gave his son no time to breathe before two more stunners came hurtling towards him.
"Protego!"
Unfortunately his shield was a beat too late and the spells both slammed into him. The only thing that kept him conscious was the enchanted duelling robes his mother insisted he wore when practising with his father, despite his protests that he never used them at school with his friends. They did nothing to dull the ache from hitting the floor nor the depression at what was about to come next.
"Too slow." His father said, nose up in the air. "If this is all you have to show for your time at school, I'll be highly disappointed."
Draco struggled to his feet. He knew damn well that he'd improved by leaps and bounds this year, he had come so close to beating Potter, but it was never good enough.
He was never good enough. He was nothing. Just like Hydrus had said.
"I'll do better," he said dutifully. "Again?"
"Not today." His father had tucked away his wand and was pulling off his duelling gloves. "Go get yourself cleaned up, we're having company for dinner tonight."
"Yes, father."
He wondered who the company could be, but he knew it wasn't his place to ask. Hopefully it would be his best friend, but more likely it would be either the Parkinsons or the Greengrasses. It didn't particularly matter who it was that he got married to, any of the three girls were pretty enough, but he wished they'd hurry up and decide already.
Draco made his way up to his room to bathe and change into proper robes. His mother would've preferred the ones that had the silver trimming, but he went with an all black set. After getting Dobby to make sure everything was shaped up properly, and giving the thing a kick for being in his way, he made his way back down stairs. The mansion was cold and it was obvious whenever you were drawing near the warming runes interspersed about the place, something that drove his father insane but Draco didn't particularly mind.
"Mother," he said in greeting when he stepped into the parlour where they'd wait for their guests. "Who are we hosting tonight?"
Without so much as a twitch on her face, and with only the slightest movement of her lips, she said, "You'll see."
Draco blinked. It seemed it wasn't going to be one of his potential brides after all. He took the seat beside hers and settled into as comfy a position as could still be called proper. His mother was stock still, stoic as a statue and giving nothing away, except that in the absence of emotion Draco could only assume she was upset about something but wasn't allowed to express it. Maybe it was one of the girls and his mother just wasn't happy about the choice?
They sat together in the parlour for nearly an hour, in a complete silence that left Draco bored and wishing he'd spent more time kicking Dobby before coming down. When the fireplace finally came alight with green flames, he knew immediately why his mother was upset.
'Merlin's beard,' he thought. 'What is father thinking?'
Archibald Macnair, along with his cousin Walden and brother Donald, had stepped into the parlour looking as ogrish as possible. Donald's son had been the first of the seventh years Hydrus had humiliated, and the entire family should've been persona non grata. Why on earth were they at the Malfoy manor?
His mother stood and Draco followed. "Greetings, Lord Macnair." She curtsied to Archibald, not offering a hand as was proper. "Welcome to our home."
"Lady Malfoy." Archibald gave her a bow. At least the man had the sense to not be offended at the disrespect. "We are eternally grateful to be here."
"Follow me to the dining hall."
Again there was no propriety in his mother's actions, not even towards him when she looped her arm into his and practically yanked him away from the Macnairs. Normally she loved to 'stroll' through the house, pointing out various pieces of art and happily answering any questions about the architecture and decor. Now she was pinch faced and storming towards the dining room like she had one of that oaf Hagrid's skrewts in her heels. When they arrived, and after giving a second for the Macnairs to catch up and enter, she released Draco and bowed to his father.
"Your guests, dear husband."
She straightened up and took her seat on his father's left. Draco moved to take the seat opposite hers and prayed things wouldn't get too out of hand. If the Black family found out about this, especially Hydrus, Draco's life would become a living hell.
Hydrus was as dangerous a person as Draco had ever met. When he'd first seen the other teen, he'd just been a short, scrawny, crippled thing that the blonde could hardly believe was his relative. Their time together, both before and during school, had transformed him into the next Merlin in his eyes. Even if he was still short, scrawny, and crippled. Watching him butcher the manticore like it was nothing was just the cherry on top of all the feats he'd pulled off, but it should've been more than enough to tell his father that this was a bad, bad idea.
"Greetings, Lord Macnair, Scions Macnair." Lucius bowed his head slightly. "I hope you're all well."
"Thank you, Lord Malfoy," Archibald said. "It would be my greatest wish that we have a fruitful discussion tonight."
"Agreed." His father rang a bell and a feast appeared before them. "After dinner, of course."
It was hard to actually enjoy any of the food with the tension in the air. His parents still ate with complete dignity, but Draco knew well enough the signs that things weren't right in the Malfoy family. If the Macnairs noticed, they certainly didn't show it. They had only been eating for a few minutes when a magical power that was becoming all too familiar to Draco washed over the entire manor. His mother gasped and all the men at the table tensed up.
Footsteps were slowly approaching the dining hall, each one clacking and echoing as hard soles stomped upon marble flooring. The magic that was smothering them all only grew stronger with each bang, and Draco wished for all the world that he were anywhere but here. The lifeless head of the manticore being held up as Draco and everyone around him roared in delight flashed across his mind. Finally the footsteps reached the doorway, but it wasn't Hydrus who entered. It was a man who looked like everything his son could someday become.
Sirius Black, the Black Sheep, had arrived.
Shortly Before.
"What do you want, old man?" Sirius demanded. "I'm busy."
And for once, that excuse was true. Things had been hellish as of late at the office, at least for him, James, and Amelia. The woman might've slowly been opening herself up to him, but if Sirius had expected that to earn him any slack in the noose the trio were sharing, he was sorely mistaken. If anything it gave his 'girlfriend' even more leeway to demand things of him, not the least of which were the least romantic dates of his entire life as they burned the midnight oil and then some whilst going over everyone that could in any way, shape, or form be the Shadow.
He probably looked more like his son than ever with the eyebags he was dealing with.
"I have a job for you," Arcturus said. "One I think you'll like."
"Fuck off," Sirius snapped back. "I ain't your dog."
Arcturus slammed his cane against the ground and Sirius flinched out of habit and instinct. That thing had nearly broken his shin bones and had broken the skin on his arse on more than one occasion when he was a boy, and just the sight of it left his jaw tensed, let alone the sound.
"Watch your tone, boy." It seemed the ancient wizard was in one of his foul moods today, normally he almost got off on the fact that Sirius 'had a spine' as he constantly put it. "Shut your trap and listen to what I have to say, or I'll adopt that brat of yours myself."
Sirius's nostrils flared, and it took every ounce of auror training he had to not snap the way his son had during the trial.
'You aren't like them,' he reminded himself as he took a deep breath. 'You're not mad.'
"As I was saying, you'll like this." Arcturus threw back a long swig of whiskey and passed the bottle. Sirius took it and drank just enough to outdo his grandfather, then set it back on the desk with a smack of his lips. "I need you to go and crash a little party, one hosted by Lucius Malfoy."
Sirius cocked an eyebrow. "Narcissa's husband? What'd he do to end up on your shit list?"
"Married above his station for one," Arcturus grumbled. "But this time he just needs a reminder of exactly how far above he's gone. He's hosting a dinner with a few Macnairs."
Macnairs? Sirius vaguely remembered the family, but the only thing that came to mind was the old bastard in front of him congratulating Hydrus for the message he'd sent. It suddenly struck him that if he really was going to get back involved with things, he was going to start having to keep track of which families hated which other families, and that almost made him want to bugger off back to the Ministry.
"Still not seeing why you think I'd like to be your bitch." He snatched the whiskey once more to take another swig. "Getting to be a bit rude to Lucius is hardly worth my time."
"You know," Arcturus said with a tone that told Sirius he would probably regret starting to get drunk and risk losing his temper. "Considering how you're out here trying to be a 'caring and doting' father, you sure don't keep up with your son, do you?"
It was a rare thing for him to hate being right, but now was one of those times for Sirius. He couldn't stop his magic from flowing over and he stared down the patriarch of his former family with thoughts of murder in his mind. The only thing that stayed his wand hand was that the thing was busy strangling the bottle, thus leaving no room for his would-be murder weapon.
"Mind yourself," he said after a few minutes to calm down. "I may not be your dog, but I do bite."
"Macnair's nephew is the one who started that whole mess with the seventh years."
Sirius blinked, and then remembered just what drew the older students ire in the first place. "He was the one bullying Dahlia? James's daughter?"
"Hmph, like that's relevant." Sirius bit his tongue. "But yes. And he's also the one who organised the rest of those idiots to attack Hydrus. I paid them a visit myself, and spread the word that they were dead to the world, but now that fool Lucius is consorting with them." Arcturus's crippled smile drew his face taught, the wrinkles almost fading away with how little skin still clung to his skull. "And I thought you would like the opportunity to make sure you're cousin-in-law knew just how fucking, stupid, of an idea that is.
"Of course, since you're not interested, I'll just ask Bellatrix."
Sirius threw back the whiskey, the drink no doubt more expensive than a dozen of his paychecks combined, and swallowed the rest before throwing the empty container just to the left of Arcturus's head. To the old man's credit, he didn't so much as flinch as it flew past him and crashed into the book shelf behind him in an explosion of glass and what little drops of the stuff were still in there.
"Fine."
"Tell them I wish to see my granddaughter." The patriarch paused. "Bring his boy as well. Remind him of just what he stands to lose should he cross me."
"Whatever."
Sirius moved back towards the floo. Doing the old bastard's bidding rubbed him the wrong way, but in this one case the man was right. He did want the chance to get some payback on the shit-heads who'd harassed his goddaughter, tried to hurt his son. Just as he was about to toss the powder down, Arcturus came hobbling around the corner.
"And remember, boy," he said. "The Macnairs are already dead to us."
He threw the powder.
"Malfoy Manor."
Draco was paralyzed in fear. Hydrus was one thing. The two boys were friends, or at least he thought they were, and the blonde might've been able to decry his father's actions well enough to spare him the wroth. But Sirius Black? The Sirius Black? One of Marcus Flint's uncles had been killed by the man when he tried to fight an arrest, and if what Marcus passed on about the encounter was true, it hadn't been a pretty affair.
Now the man was standing in his dining hall, glancing about the place like a parent disappointed in their child's messy bedroom.
"Narcissa," he said.
His voice had the slightest slur to it, and Draco wasn't sure if him being potentially drunk was a good thing or an absolutely awful one.
His father stood. "Auror Black, what are yo-"
"Shut up." The man hadn't even looked at his father, instead focusing on his mother. "Narcissa. Grandfather wishes to see you. He said to bring the boy."
"Of course." Narcissa stood, and Draco wasn't stupid enough to side with his father by not following. "Come along, Draco."
"Auror Black!" Draco winced as his father shouted. "You are interrupting our dinn-"
Draco stumbled to the floor as the magic redoubled, and his mother completely froze up on her feet. He tried to stand back up, shame and embarrassment driving him to push against every instinct in his body that told him to just curl up and pray for mercy, but he couldn't move.
It felt like the man's magic, a mirror to his son's, was trying to crush his own. The Malfoy magic was a beautiful, bright, and powerful thing that gave them fortitude and strength. The Black magic, on the other hand, felt like a preternatural force whose sole purpose was to kill. It was like being trapped in a block of ice with death itself chiselling at it to take you away. It was the feeling you were filled with when you woke up from a nightmare but hadn't realised it yet.
"What's that?" Sirius asked. Draco could barely hear him over the ringing in his ears. The magic relented slightly, and he staggered to his feet just in time to see the Black Sheep had walked his father down and back into his chair. His father's eyes were bulging out, and Draco was almost relieved to see he wasn't alone in his fear. "I didn't quite catch that.
"It sounded like you said I interrupted your dinner, but that'd be silly, wouldn't it?" The man leaned in close, his head cocked to one side and his nose almost touching his father's. "After all, you're just eating with your wife and son. My cousin and 'nephew'. As family, there shouldn't be any problem with me arriving uninvited, is there? You don't have any guests, do you? Do you, Malfoy?"
"N-, No."
"Good!" Finally the magic vanished entirely and Draco sucked down a breath of air he hadn't noticed he'd been missing. "Let's go."
He stalked out of the room and Draco moved to follow until he noticed his mother locked in place still. "Mother?"
She collapsed.
"Mother!"
Propriety now lost to him, and for the first time after countless attempts at coaching from Hydrus, he flung his arm up and, despite not having his wand and despite not using a spell, the table that separated him from her went flying. Foods and glassware alike were scattered everywhere and his father was collateral to their spillage, but in that moment Draco didn't care. He dropped to his knees at her side and he thanked Merlin that her eyes fluttered open.
"I'm alright," she said. "I'm alright, dear."
His heart finally began to still and he breathed out a sigh of relief. He helped her to her feet, and regretted sparing a glance at his father. The older blonde looked at him with anger and disgust unlike anything Draco had ever seen, cheeks flushed pink and brows so furrowed his eyes were hardly visible. Draco quickly looked away and helped his mother forward towards his self-proclaimed 'uncle', and was surprised to see some modicum of respect in the man's eyes as he looked down on him.
Sirius led the way back to the parlour and gestured towards the floo. "You're going to Grandfather's summer home."
"U-, Understood." His mother managed to get out. "Come along, Draco."
"What about you?" Draco asked Sirius.
"I'll be there soon." A wolven grin split the man's face and Draco's breath caught in his throat. "Once the two of you are delivered, my business as a Black will be over."
"Sirius?" Draco's mother asked. "What are you doing?"
"As I said, my business as a Black will be over." He turned away from them. "As Dahlia Potter's godfather though? I'm still owed a pound of flesh. Now go."
Draco didn't need to be told twice, and pulled his mother into the floo.
"Sirius, my husband-"
"Yeah, yeah, I'll leave him alone." He turned back to face them one last time. "I won't tell you again."
Draco threw the powder down. "Black Summer Home!"
And with a flash of emerald flames they were away.
Bellatrix sat with her grandfather in his study, pouting. Not only was her Hydrus off on some journey that he refused to bring her on for, but now she'd been passed over in favour of Sirius for a chance to put Lucius in his place. The mutt hadn't even done a proper job of it, though they weren't sure how yet, and he'd left her sister drained of almost all her magic. The poor thing had been practically dead on her feet and hadn't gotten out of bed since Draco helped her in.
She supposed it shouldn't have been a surprise that he was where Hydrus got his gift from, but it still set her on edge to know the idiot could potentially wield her magic against her, let alone that it might uproot Hydrus's chances at being the heir.
"It's not fair," she muttered. "I should've gotten to do it."
"We need to ease Sirius into his position," Arcturus repeated patiently. "Give him things to do that he'll say yes to in order to get him in the habit of obeying."
"Like I said, he never will." She huffed at her grandfather. "He's a waste. Just take Hydrus for yourself and cut his father loose."
"And like I said." The patience in his voice was running out. "He can become a valuable asset to us."
"Humph." Bellatrix crossed her arms and looked away. "You always liked him best."
"I did. Still do, some times."
It stung, hearing him say that without any hesitation. Sirius was always the golden boy in their generation of Blacks, no matter how often he screwed up while she and the others struggled just to get noticed. Even her own father didn't fight to push his daughters' statuses up and always kowtowing to his brother's whims, to say nothing about her uncle himself. That man practically acted like his nieces didn't exist.
'Things will be different when my Hydrus is in charge,' she thought. 'He's different from them. He'll love his children equally.'
And even if he didn't, so long as he loved her the most, that was fine. So long as Bellatrix was the one he held above all others, she would do the same for him, the way things were supposed to be between a man and his wife, between lovers, between-
"Sirius is back," Arcturus announced. Bellatrix frowned at her thoughts being interrupted, but said nothing when the man entered the study. "What did you do?"
Sirius was handsome enough that she looked forward to Hydrus finishing growing, but he was obviously drunk and grinning an ugly grin.
"The Macnairs are in jail," he said before collapsing into the chair beside her. "Sans a few nasal bones."
"I told you—"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," the cad interrupted. "And as the Black's messenger, I made sure to have Lucius pissing his pants and denying the fact that he had three gargoyles sitting across from him."
"And as the Potter girl's godfather?" Draco had told them everything that happened in as much detail as the poor thing could. "What did you do?"
"They're in jail for attempted assault on an auror." Sirius belched and Bellatrix wrinkled her nose. "'Course, they keep going on about how I started it, but who're my impartial and not-at-all biassed coworkers going to believe?"
"You should've listened to Lord Arcturus," Bellatrix snapped at him. "You mangy cretin."
"Fuck off."
"You fuck off!"
"Enough!" Bellatrix winced back in time with her cousin as Arcturus slammed his cane down. "Honestly, the two of you are going to put me in an early grave and we'll wind up with that pissant Cygnus as head of the family."
"Sorry, grandfather," she said with as much filial respect she could manage. "Forgive me."
"Whatever." Sirius stood and nearly fell forward in his stupor. "I did what you wanted, but since I took my payment on my own by knocking them silly, we'll call it even. Goodnight."
The dog left without waiting for Arcturus to give him leave.
"Thank Merlin for Hydrus," Arcturus muttered before giving a sigh. "Having Sirius in the deck is going to come in handy, at least."
"Come in handy?!" Bellatrix nearly screeched. "He shows you no respect! He does whatever he wants and you do nothing about it! He's a, a, a—"
"He is a Black." Arcturus stood. "And one of the only ones who can beat you in a duel if I remember right."
"That was over a decade ago! I'd like to see him try it now," she snarled back. "I am a two-time world champion, and he's not been tested against anything besides the dregs of society. I am far superior to him, I have the skills to prove it, I am Bellatrix Black, I, I, I—"
"And you're going to marry the next head of our family because of those skills." Arcturus began to tidy up his desk in preparation of leaving for the night. "Be grateful for that."
Bellatrix was stunned. "You've decided then? Hydrus will be your heir?"
"He'll get the position when he graduates or I'm on my deathbed, whichever comes first," her grandfather said. "Enough time to stop your aunt and uncle from protesting too much, and a significant enough occasion for him to not be put off that I waited till then."
"Thank you."
It had been frustrating when Arcturus had given the ring to her father instead of just letting Hydrus have it, but it seemed her grandfather had his reasons. Of course he did. He was the patriarch of their family for a reason. She needed to spend less time around her awful cousin, the deviant mongrel was rubbing off on her with his lack of familial respect.
"Have a good night, Bella."
"Good night, grandfather."
Chapter 14 done. I was working on chapter 19 most recently, decided I didn't like the vibe, and so have restarted it despite being 2k words in. I definitely feel more comfortable with this release schedule giving me time to fix things like that. I'm the sort of person who'll write 100 words one day, then 10,000 words the next, and it makes it hard to budget time. Not gonna lie, took me a long time to get over that chapter 16 slump, but I finally feel like I'm back on track and writing properly.
I know I promised that there wouldn't be any frequently featured OC's, but we met the one exception in this chapter. I love 'gremlin' characters, and that's what I intend for Harry/Hydrus's new-found familiar to be. I have a name picked out for him which we'll see next chapter. No, the snake won't be replacing Hedwig, but its not like she was making a ton of appearances as-is in the first place.
Only real concern I saw in the reviews was people being confused about the motives for agreeing to a temporary marriage contract with Hellena. I didn't think it needed to be spelled out, but to put it bluntly: He wants as many people in his debt as possible. Unreturned favours and unpaid debts are a source of political power that he can covet and save even while he's still at school. As the old saying goes, it isn't what you know, it's who you know. That being said, one of the reviews that complained about it was extremely homophobic/offensive, so now I'm thinking about just having him get married and supporting her and Tamina all the way. Just give him a whole 'harem' of lesbian purebloods who don't mind sharing a beard lolol.
To all the kind reviews, thank you very much, love them all lessthan3
