Hydrus stood above three skeletons. Two adults, one infant, all completely toothless. The bones had to have been buried for decades, appeared completely unharmed aside from the missing teeth, and had been more or less piled together in the ground without any care given to the process. He'd laid out the bones and arranged them into the proper order, thanks in part to Apophis somehow being able to determine whose bones were whose, but he was no archaeologist and so couldn't discern more information from them.
The Forbidden Forest was as still as he'd ever seen it. Apophis seemed to have that effect on nature, at least on the animal side, but there wasn't even the slightest stir of wind this morning. The sun hadn't quite crested over the horizon, but twilight left him still able to take in everything around him. There was a strong smell of earth from where he'd dug up the bodies, and an underlying hint of decay.
"Father?"
"Hm?"
"If that one's the banshee lady, and that one's her baby, then who's the other one?"
He still wasn't sure how his familiar was able to differentiate them so well, but he was sure it had something to do with how long he spent with a Deathly Hallow in his gut.
"I have no idea," he said. "To be honest, it's completely thrown off some earlier ideas I had for who the woman could be."
In truth she may very well still be Merope Gaunt, and an infanticided Voldemort, but then who was the third person? There was no one left unaccounted for in relation to the missing Dark Lord, not even on his father's side of the family. If it was someone unrelated to the Riddles and Gaunts, then why the fuck were they buried with them?
'Honestly,' Hydrus thought. 'Why does this whole thing just keep getting more and more complicated?'
He stroked Apophis's plumage. "What else can you tell me about these skeletons?"
The snake slithered forward, on and around the bones. His forked tongue flickered over them as he wound his way around the skeletons and the whole scene was like something out of a wizarding horror movie. Eventually he came to a stop and made his way back to Hydrus, wrapping around the time traveller until he was up on his shoulders.
"They have been touched by death."
Hydrus rolled his eyes. "Obviously."
"Noo…" A shiver ran down his spine. "They have been touched by Death. Just as you have been."
"What do you mean?"
"The magic of death has touched them," Apophis hissed. "All of them. Just as it has touched you."
Hydrus frowned, then drew his wand and pointed it at a tree. "Avada Kedavra!"
The bolt of green energy struck the tree, and although nothing outwardly changed about it, he knew that in a few months or maybe even years it would fall and become food for the beetles.
"Like that?"
"Yesss…"
So it had been the killing curse that did these people in. It wasn't much of a surprise given how unmarred they were, but at least it was confirmed. Voldemort would've been born at the tail end of the great war or right after it, so it wasn't like there'd be a shortage of people who were used to the curse back then. Still though, who could the third body be? Who else had the motive to kill Merope Gaunt? Who else would be buried here in the Forbidden Forest, had they been there during Hydrus's first life, and what did it mean that Apophis had been drawn to them?
"Father?"
"Hm."
"Miss Banshee says she wants to talk to you."
Hydrus froze. "You can speak to her?"
"Of course!" The little, or perhaps not so little with how long he was getting, snake lifted his head proudly. "For I am Apophis! Son of—"
"Ask her what name is." The immature serpent could go for minutes on end listing his various attributes and accomplishments. "Is she Merope Gaunt?"
The snake deflated a bit. After a few seconds, he said, "She is."
"Aha!" Hydrus thumbed-off Slytherin's ring and began to turn it over in his hand. "Come, Merope, speak to me."
Slowly the woman appeared. She looked much the same as she had in the various memories Dumbledore had collected and shared with him; weak, tired, and rather homely. She glanced about in a panicked confusion.
"Who are you? Why am I—" She suddenly locked up, then settled down. "There." Her eyes had settled down, and Hydrus frowned at how calm she suddenly was. "I'm using the illusion you've created to speak with you, Lord Black."
"Who are you?" he demanded.
"I am Merope Riddle." She bowed and curtsied. "The artefact you possess, although it does provide a 'reflection' of the lost, cannot truly summon their spirits the way your familiar can. It did allow me to make this temporary link, however."
"You're not quite what I expected," Hydrus said. "Far more… Composed."
"Death has a way of wiping away the troubles of life…" The mother of his most hated enemy turned away, staring off into the distance as if lost in thought. After a few seconds she shook her head and turned back to him. "You're the only one who can help me. Avenge me."
'Probably shouldn't tell her I don't plan anything of the sort,' he thought. "What happened?"
"A man came when I was pregnant, just before it was time," Merope started. "He said that it would be his honour to help a lady of Slytherin's line. It… It was an older man. He had to be at least in his sixties, though maybe even older if he was a powerful wizard.
"He took me away to this forest… Kept saying it was just a little bit further, just a little bit further, just a little bit further, JUS—" She let out a strangled sound, then settled herself once more. "He led us to this clearing and… And he cut open my stomach. He used the killing curse on my baby. He used it on me."
Hydrus nodded along to the woman's story. "What did he look like?"
"Mostly black hair, but with plenty of greys. Not too tall, but definitely not short. He was well-dressed, like a businessman or solicitor." She scowled. "He was handsome, with a short, thick beard. He wore glasses, a wedding ring, and had a woman's perfume on him."
"I se—"
"His voice was warm and friendly. He made me feel safe!" The spectral woman's voice was rising louder and louder. "He told me he just wanted to help, and that everything would be okay! He! HE!"
Suddenly Hydrus felt Apophis's tail wrap around his eyes, and the woman's voice cut off. Slowly the tail unwound from around his head as his familiar said, "She was going to scream again. I hate the screaming."
True to the snake's words, her face was contorted, half-resembling her human self, half-resembling the banshee he'd dispelled the other day. Hydrus turned the ring over in his hand and she slowly faded away, far slower than one of the spectral reflections usually would. It left him wondering what the implication was that the creature had nearly returned thanks to the combination of the hallow's power and Apophis's ability.
"Still don't know who the other one is," he muttered. "Probably just a bystander."
"Or maybe it's the baby's father," Apophis said. "Right?"
Hydrus shook his head. "That child's father is buried in muggle lands."
With a few waves of his wand, the bones were shuffled back into the hole where he'd found them and covered in dirt once more. He transfigured the stone circle he'd carved the symbol of death into back to dirt, and turned to make his exit out of the forest. Now he knew what had happened to Voldemort, but the questions that really mattered still remained. How, why, when, who?
"Father," Apophis hissed. "Strangers approach."
Hydrus came to a stop. Slowly, a familiar sound came clopping through the forest, and before too long he was faced with a pack of nearly a dozen centaurs. They lined up before him, quivers on their backs and bows in hand, in groups of three with one standing in front of the other nine. Hydrus's eyes swam through the herd, trying to spot Firenze, the centaur who'd saved him in his first year, but he wasn't present. The lead centaur stepped closer, then knelt.
"Lord Hydrus," the stranger said. "It is our honour to greet Magic's chosen."
The other centaurs knelt now. It was an awkward thing with their horse-like bodies, but somehow they pulled it off smoothly and with grace. Although Hydrus managed to maintain his composure, internally he was even more confused.
"The honour is mine," he started. "I am unworthy to have such a noble tribe greet me in this manner. Rise."
The centaurs did so without argument, and their leader nodded. "My name is Ayodele. At the behest of our goddess, I and my warriors have travelled far to serve you, my lord."
"For what purpose?" he asked. "As far as I know, I have no need for warriors."
"We do not know." The centaur bowed his head. "We go as guided by the signs and whispers."
"I'm afraid I don't know either, and Magic hasn't deigned to respond to my calls." He tried to keep the annoyance out of his voice, every centaur he'd ever met was fanatical to some degree in whatever they believed in, and the last thing he wanted to do was set these ones off. "For now, if you're here to serve me, then my only request is that you don't disturb the local populations beyond necessary." He glanced upwards at the rapidly-brightening sky. "Magic may guide us, but that does not give us permission to sink to the level of others. Be above them, even if they are too blind to see it."
"Yes, Lord Hydrus." Ayodele along with the other centaurs bowed their heads. "Was there anything else?"
"No." He began to walk away. "If anyone else shows up, tell them the same."
He didn't know what was going on with his goddess, but he figured it must have something to do with Death showing up. He hadn't the faintest idea what their conflict was, but considering neither one of the fucks would show up and talk to him, he didn't particularly care. Just so long as they left him and…
'They said if I 'pledged myself' to them they'd heal me,' Sirius's words echoed in his mind. 'Pledge myself.'
"Son of a bitch," he muttered. "Son of a fucking bitch."
"What's the matter?" Apophis asked, concerned. "Should I go back and kill them?"
"No!" He took a breath. "No, kiddo, no. Just a lot going on.'
More than just his arm ached as anxiety began to fill him. His mentor might've been making a bother of himself trying to convince Hydrus that Magic wasn't a deity, but Hydrus now feared just what this apparent feud between her and Death could lead to.
Hydrus swept through the streets of Hogsmeade, his fourth years in tow. A few residents of the small town stopped and waved at him, especially those with relatives who worked for one of the various businesses there. He did his best to give small smiles and nods in return, but his mind was wandering after the morning's ventures. Draco, Zabini, and Daphne were discussing plans for the second years in the Study Club on Monday. Tamina, Michael, and Hellena were arguing over where to have lunch, or at least Tamina and Michael were arguing while Hellena just played the peacekeeper. Crabbe and Goyle walked ahead of him, acting as his self-declared bodyguards. Pansy and the rest were stuck back at school working on homework.
The weather was finally beginning to warm a touch, though if any sort of wind brushed them it quickly reminded the group why they still had their winter cloaks on. Everywhere around them was the sound of children talking, laughing, shouting, and generally being children. All in all the atmosphere was a stark contrast to Hydrus's own mood.
"Hydrus," Michael called, unusually loud for his quiet self. "Where should we go to eat?"
He hummed. "Who scored the highest on their potions essay? The one on Merlin's Toes Root."
"I did!" Hellena chimed in excitedly. "Professor Snape only marked me down for my handwriting."
"Then Hellena gets to pick."
With neither of the two debaters satisfied, Hellena took the lead of the group, and made her way towards the same restaurant she always picked, and thus the restaurant they most often ate at given how frequently her girlfriend and cousin picked it on her behalf.
It was just a small joint, the sort that served a wide variety of local cuisine but was really only known for its bangers and mash. When they stepped in, however, the place was emptier and louder than normal. A group of men had pulled two tables together in the corner and were either drunker than sailors or suffering a confounding curse the likes of which even Hydrus wasn't confident he could pull off. The moment the owner saw his group enter, the little old lady's eyes lit up and she waved him over.
"Oooh, Hydrus," she crooned in that way grannies liked to do. "I'm so glad you're here, dear. I don't know what to do. Those—"
"I'll take care of it, Mrs. Herschel." He nodded at Draco. "Deal with them."
The Malfoy heir nodded back and moved with Crabbe and Goyle following along in his wake. Hydrus returned his attention to the old matron.
"How are your bones feeling?" he asked. "Last time we were in you said the weather was killing them."
"Oh I'm fit as a fiddle, dear." There were some shouts in the background as Draco no doubt said something disagreeable to the ruffians. "Even ol' Howard can't keep me down forever."
Ol' Howard was the name of her first husband, a 'miserable, disagreeable lout with more cents than sense', according to Mrs. Herschel. Apparently he'd bought her hand in marriage for two farm's worth of goats and pigs, and had been haunting her ever since he passed in a bar fight in France during the war, leaving her with aches and chills. Hydrus had done a more than fair search of the restaurant and her home after she'd told him that the first time, but the only thing 'haunting' the place had been her second husband, Gregory. That man couldn't harm a fly.
An explosion drew Hydrus out of his pondering, and he turned to see that Crabbe and Goyle had decided to cut to the heart of the matter and blew the drunks out of the diner entirely. The wall they'd flown through looked like the Knight Bus had driven through it, but just as Hydrus went to draw his wand, Draco did the same. The blonde went through the same motions Hydrus would've, nonverbally casting the reparo charm and slowly rebuilding the wall and tables. Before long the groaning drunks outside were cut off as the last brick settled back into place.
"Well done, boys," Hydrus called. He fished around in his pocket and pulled out a stack of galleons at least ten-tall. "For those gentlemen's meals, and our own."
"Nonsense!" The old woman huffed at him. "You put that away right now, young man. Ain't no way I'm taking your money after a good deed like that."
"You're always so stubborn." He vanished the coins away into the money box she 'secretly' kept beneath the counter. "Very well. I'll have the bangers and mash, a double order."
The rest of the group quickly ordered, most going with the house special like him. They sat in the same doubled-up tables the evicted strangers had been in, and conversation quickly moved to the third task. They were all speculating about what it could be, if any of them would be asked to help like Draco had been, and who would come in second and third places. Hydrus took it all in as he simply enjoyed the meal.
"What do you think, Hydrus?" Blaise asked. "Is it finally time for you to slay a dragon?"
"No." He took a sip of water to clear the rest of his mouthful down. "A dragon would've suited the first task. If I were to take a guess for the third, it'll be a labyrinth of some sort, at the centre of which is the triwizard cup itself." He smiled ruefully as more memories came back to him. "Inside the labyrinth there'll be horrendous traps and monsters, like a sphynx, Devil's Snare, and even some of Professor Hagrid's skrewts."
The other students laughed at his 'joke' before Michael spoke up. "Well if there's skrewts involved I'll have to change my whole bet around. There's no way even you are getting out of it unscathed."
"Just so long as I walk away with three out of my four limbs attached, I'll be happy."
Before too long they'd finished their meals and were back out on the street with a good-bye hug from Mrs. Herschel for all of them, even despite most of their eye rolls and grumbling. They got a few steps down the road before one of the drunks stepped out of the adjoining alley way, wand drawn and pointed at Draco.
"Occu—!"
Hydrus's spell caught the man like a sledgehammer to his gut, slamming him into the road and cracking the back of his head against the pavement. The time traveller didn't stop moving however, and it took a few seconds for his classmates to catch up with him. They stepped around the unconscious and bleeding man while Hydrus stepped on top of him. He made sure to scrape his heel along the man's forehead, reminiscent of what he'd done to the Macnair who'd attacked and leaving a similar black mark on it.
"You really don't hold back, do you?" Draco asked.
"Show kindness to all you can. For those you can't, show no weakness." He was quoting Dumbledore, one of the many life lessons the old man had given him. "And that was me holding back. Trust me."
"Hydrus?" Hellena asked. "Has Giannis written to you recently?"
The time traveller snorted, and made a resolution to never be caught in a conversation between his future 'wife' and Dumbledore. "No. You've read what his parents are like; I'm sure they've got him locked up in the basement again."
"Who's Giannis?" Draco asked. "I don't recognize the name."
"A muggle-born boy; he'll come to Hogwarts after we graduate." Hydrus stepped into a small stationary store, intent on buying some parchment and quills to give Hermione as a gift for eventually completing the rune arrays on the rings. "He shall one day rise to prominence in this world of ours."
He ignored the questioning look his peers gave him, especially the wrinkled nose of Draco, and made his way to the shop's proprietor, named Gene or Jon or something along those lines. The man was ecstatic that Hydrus was finally making a purchase himself at the store, and pointed out where the things he needed were once Hydrus flatly refused the offer of being led there. The rest of the teens dispersed to browse on their own, aside from Draco along with his 'half-troll' duo.
"What do you mean he's going to rise to prominence?" Draco asked as Goyle grabbed one of the bottles of ink off the shelf and smelled its contents. "Who is he?"
"He is a savant in all things runic." Hydrus ran his hand along the surface of some vellum, and although it felt wonderful to touch, he doubted Hermione would want to write on the stuff. "He doesn't know it yet, but he has the capability to completely upturn this world with his gifts."
"Is that what that journal is?" Draco prodded further. "The one you and Hellena are always writing in."
"Mhmm." Hydrus handed a thick stack of enchanted papyrus to Crabbe, hoping the boy wouldn't accidentally crush it. "He's not quite mastered English, so I need Hellena to communicate with him over writing."
"She speaks Greek?"
"She writes it." Hydrus frowned. "How'd you know he was Greek?"
Draco shrugged. "You had me give a letter to a Greek girl, I know you went to Greece with Aunt Bella, and Giannis is a Greek name."
"You're smarter than you act, Draco," Hydrus 'complimented'. "You did well earlier as well, with the repairs."
"It's what you would've done." Draco handed him a quill. "How about this one? It's made of a cockatrice's feather."
Hydrus ran it over in his fingers before shaking his head and putting it back on the shelf. "I'm looking for something smoother. Something that feels like you're holding metal, or well-sanded wood."
"Maybe one of these?" The blonde reached out to grab what looked more like a crossbow bolt than a quill. "They're artificial, but they can retain ink like nothing else, and come with a self-cleaning charm."
Hydrus took it, and stared down at it, shaking his head with a smile. "I can tell you want to ask me just 'how' Giannis will become so amazing, but it's because of things like this."
Draco cocked an eyebrow at him. "Because of pens?"
"Because of how awful it is!" Hydrus laughed. "Muggles have pens and other writing instruments that far surpass this, using no magic at all." He shook his head again. "This world of ours is stagnant, Draco."
"It's not," the blonde argued. "The muggles are constantly changing, constantly moving on to newer things, constantly being forced to reevaluate the world around them and it causes untold amounts of war and chaos."
"Correlation and causation aren't the same thing." Hydrus finally settled on a raven's wing feather quill. "Change is natural, Draco. You might say that we wizards are as such because we defy nature, but tell me this. If you could undo the changes you've gone through this year, go back to the child you were before you met me, and stay that way forever; would you?"
"No," Draco said, frowning. "But I am a child. I'm supposed to grow. If something is done growing, the only way for it to go is down."
"And you think this world is done growing? That it is absolutely perfect and there is no room for improvement?" Hydrus stared down his best friend, and it occurred to him that he actually was staring down at the boy. It seemed he really had been hitting a growth spurt as of late. "If you truly believe that, then you should switch houses. We are, and I am, Slytherin. My ambitions for myself, for you, and for this entire world are far, far greater than what we have now."
Draco opened his mouth, but closed it without saying anything. After a moment or two he nodded. "I see."
"Your father has told you for too long that the muggles and muggle borns will come in and disrupt this world, push people like us to the bottom." Hydrus put on his best sneer. "That is because he is a coward. He doesn't have the balls to take the initiative for himself, to take the dragon by its horns and ride it forward. He fears that he isn't strong enough to hold onto his spot at the top of society, that he'll be cast to the wayside once others realise he's exactly what his own father said he was.
"Stand by my side Draco, and see for yourself just what sort of world I can build." He began to make his way back to the teller, but stopped to say over his shoulder. "Or stay where, and what, you are. And watch as it passes you by."
Bellatrix hummed in pleasure as Hydrus's magic pulsed throughout the empty study hall. It moved in time with his heart beat, slow and steady, each wave bringing on a new surge of dark energy that filled her with glee. Her little water snake was sat near the centre of the practicals side, apparently still trying to practise his control in order to not harm his arm and chest. He still only ever talked about hurting his arm, but she paid closer attention to such things; she saw the way the wounds were slowly beginning to inch closer and closer to his torso.
Honestly, one of the most incredible parts of it all was his healing magic. Having a lot of magic was something easy to imagine, having potent magic was as well. There were countless legends and tales of Blacks who were supposedly, if doubtfully, as powerful as her future husband; but there weren't any stories of ones who could heal the way her Hydrus did. Even outside of their family, the only thing that came close were ancient legends of gaelic druids who could heal all but the most dire of wounds.
But those were just old fairy tales.
Hydrus was real.
Once more the magic washed over the room, and once more his poor arm and shoulder erupted in quickly quelled blisters. She pouted, just thinking of the pain it must be causing him, when a presence stepped through the barrier separating her from him. She tensed and whipped around, but it was just the old codger.
"Hello, Bella," Albus said. "How are you this evening?"
"I'm fine, headmaster." She straightened up. "What can we do for you?"
"Nothing at all, I just came to check in on Hydrus." The old man leaned against the wall beside her behind her desk. "It truly boggles the mind just how much power one so young can command."
"Perhaps its time you begin considering retirement then," Bellatrix said. "When you're ready, Hydrus will be more than prepared to fill the gap you leave behind."
"Oh I'm sure he would be." Albus stroked his beard. "I just don't think that's what he truly wants."
"Excuse me?"
"He talks about power and position as if its inevitable, as if its a burden he alone can, and must, shoulder some day." The old coot shook his head. "Perhaps with you he speaks of it differently, but within my confidence I've never once gotten the feeling that it's what he truly desires."
Bellatrix frowned. Hydrus had said the ancient warlock could be trusted, but she was beginning to doubt that. Just what was he trying to get at?
Dumbledore hummed. "I sincerely hope you manage to get through to him, Bellatrix. I hope that you succeed in making him love you."
Bellatrix blinked. "Excuse me?"
"You have no idea the sorts of pain he's gone through, the sort of turmoil love has put him through." The old man's eyes dimmed as he looked away. "He's terrified of going through that pain again. Scared to face the pain he ran away from in the first place. If you're able to break those chains that bind him, perhaps he can free himself of the other ones he's confined himself within."
"Would you just speak plainly?" she demanded. "What are you getting at? What do you want?"
"I want Hydrus to be happy. I want you to be happy, Miss Black." He looked at her, and for the first time since she was a small school girl Bellatrix felt even the slightest bit of awe for the legendary wizard. "I wish that I could explain it more clearly, but to do so would betray his trust. Just know that I am, and will always be, his supporter. Just as I will be yours, if you continue to prop him up and continue to brighten his world."
She put up a scowl, but she knew the pleased blush on her cheeks betrayed her sincerity. "We are Blacks. We do not brighten this world, we—"
"It's alright, Bella." Dumbledore patted her on the shoulder. "Just please, don't stop what you're doing. Continue to love him. Continue to get through to him. Continue to break down the wall his goddess has put up between the two of you."
"What?"
The old man winced. "Never mind that. Excuse me."
He left, and Bellatrix watched him go with a frown. 'What wall is he talking about? What did that bitch do?'
She hadn't liked the divine woman ever since she first laid eyes on her, all naked and glowing. The way Hydrus's eyes had lit up at the sight of her, awed and almost… No, not almost, definitely worshipping. He didn't look at her that way. The most she'd ever gotten from him was an unabashed lust when she was nude, or at least most of the way there. Why didn't he ever look at her with those almost tear-filled eyes that he apparently reserved for Magic?
Why didn't he love her?
That question echoed in her mind as she began to bite at her nails impatiently, as if the bits of flesh she chewed away held the answer. Was it because of her? Was it that wall Albus spoke of? Was it just some metaphor for Hydrus's feelings for the unattainable deity? Was it something more literal? Was it that she had somehow stopped her Hydrus from loving her? Was that it? What had she done? Why was this happening? How could Bellatrix change it? Why didn't he love her?
"Bella?" She glanced up, and saw Hydrus was frowning at her. "What are you doing?"
She felt his magic begin to heal her, and she looked down to see she'd been chewing on more than just her finger nails. "Nothing. I'm fine."
The tips of her fingers were gnawed almost all the way through. Blood coated her entire hand, and had pooled on the floor at her feet and dripped down her robes. Hydrus made short work of healing her hand, then did so again with cleaning the blood. He stared into her eyes, and she winced at her earlier lying.
"What's wrong, Bella?" he asked, soothing and warming her heart. "Talk to me."
"Nothing," she sniffled. "I'm fine."
He sighed. "Please, Bella, just talk to me. I can't help you if I don't know what's wrong."
"Why won't you love me?"
And there it was again. The anger. It washed over Hydrus's visage so fast and so hard it almost scared her. The same thing had happened at the last time she'd brought it up. The same thing had happened when Dumbledore had tried to get information on their future children. It was like…
'A wall,' the headmaster's voice finished for her.
"I've already told you I—"
Bellatrix silenced her future husband by closing his lips with hers. She had stood and spun to push him against the wall. He was stunned at first, his body tense like a statue and completely unwilling to meet her halfway, but his resistance melted and slowly he was returning the affection. The future lord even went so far as to reverse their positions and pin her now.
'Whatever walls that bitch has put up between us,' Bellatrix thought as her hands dug into Hydrus's body. 'I swear to Morganna I shall knock them down.'
Hydrus drummed his fingers along his 'throne's armrest. The other students had come to calling his chair in the Study Hall that, some to tease him, others out of a weird genuinity. He had his fourth and sixth years coaching some of the younger students on shield spells to help ease his worries over their safety while they were on the practical side of the hall. Ever since the dual channelling incident he'd been wasting too much mental energy on making sure the children on that side weren't about to blow themselves and others up.
At least with a decent shield spell they'd be able to protect themselves to some degree.
"Hydrus?"
"Yeah, Nev?" He blinked as he called his former subordinate by an old nickname, but tried to skip over it quickly. "What can I do for you?"
The chubby boy stared down at his feet. "I-, I was wondering if you could help me."
"With what?" Hydrus wasn't even sure why the boy was so pitiful in this time. Wasn't the root of his issues in the other timeline his nan? "What's going on?"
"Nothing I just… I just want to get stronger. I want to be as strong as my dad."
"Your dad?"
"Yeah!" The boy's eyes took on a new light, one that was familiar and haunting. "He's an auror, just like yours, except, well, I mean, he's a captain." Neville actually blushed as he continued on. "They say he slew a manticore, just like you did. And… And I want to be strong like him."
Hydrus frowned. "Why do you think you need my help for that?"
"Well…" The boy trailed off for a moment. "Nan says I'm not like my dad at all. She thought he and my mom might've lied to her and secretly adopted me, saying there's no way they could be my parents."
A wave of unconscious anger spilled out of Hydrus, sending his magic pulsing out and nearly sending poor Neville running away. "Why do you care what your grandmother thinks? She's not the one who raised you."
"W-, W-, Well she kinda is." Neville swallowed. "My dad's always busy with work, and so's my mum. Sh-, She's not that bad! She's right, I should be…"
"Enough." Hydrus cast his gaze around the Study Hall, and found most of his Slytherins still had an eye on him after his little 'outburst'. Luckily, Hellena was amongst them. He jerked his head to the side in order to summon her. "Fine. I'll help you."
It didn't take long for the girl to appear, nodding at him before moving to stand at his side. "What do you need, dear?"
It seemed Tamina had been drilling into her head how to act like a proper 'fiancee' around strangers. "Teach Neville Spanish."
Neville looked at him like he'd grown a second head, but Hellena just nodded. The pudgy boy looked between them both with furrowed brows. "Spanish?"
"I don't have the time nor the patience to break you, Longbottom," Hydrus said, careful not to call him 'Nev' again. "But I swear on my name and honour that if you do as I say, I'll make sure you grow into a wizard that will put your father to shame and your nan's critiques to rest."
"Which Spanish?" Hellena asked. "Spanish Spanish, or Mexican Spanish?"
"Whichever one Dominacans use," Hydrus said. "He doesn't need to be fluent, he just needs to get through a day or two there."
"Oo," she said excitedly. "I love the flair they use, though I haven't practised it much." She rattled something off in the language that went straight over Hydrus's head. "I can't wait to go back to it."
"Right." He turned his attention back to Neville. "Do whatever she says, and I promise I'll take care of you from there."
Neville just gulped, but before the boy could say anything he was dragged away by the arm by Hellena. Hydrus watched the two go with a small smile on his face. Despite the boy's stuttering and clumsiness, he was stronger than almost any one he'd ever met. Neville had constantly shouldered the burdens of expectation that his grandmother and family dumped on him in the past life, and it seemed that even in this one he was doing the same thing. It would've been admirable if those expectations weren't acting like a chain around his neck.
So Hydrus would just have to break him, and let the teen rebuild himself from the pieces left behind, without that chain around his neck.
And he knew just the man to do it.
"Contact your lawyer?" Amelia demanded as Sirius groaned in defeat. "Sirius?"
"I said I'm sorry!" His hangover was killing him. "Kinda went through a near-death experience, scrambled my brains a bit."
His fiancee slammed her hand against her desk, sending another wave of pain through his mind. "Sirius, do you realise how it makes us look when you of all people start abusing your privileges? Killing people in broad daylight and just walking away without so much as checking in?"
"I do." He took a long breath. "And I'm sorry, Amelia. I wasn't—"
"Do you know what the first thing that idiot McBrady said to me was?" Sirius winced as he heard the crack in her voice, and he knew the lecture was only just beginning. "Barged right into my office and shouted 'Black got hit with a killing curse!' as loud as you please.
"Do you realise what that means, Sirius? What that apparently means to everyone else in the world besides you?" He groaned and buried his head even further into his folded up arms which were resting on his desk. "I thought you were dead, you stupid idiot."
"I'm sorry," he said. "Please. Yell at me later, I already feel like I'm gonna die."
His grandfather hadn't been holding anything back when he broke open the cellar for him. Sirius might've hated the old man, but that day, night, and early morning they'd practically been best friends the way they carried on. He didn't remember much if any of it now, not outside a moment early on when he blew up at the old man and got an actual apology in return. That was stuck in his craw something fierce.
Amelia knelt down in front of him, between him and her desk, and buried her face into his leg. It took him a second to realise she was crying, and not even one hundredth of a second for the guilt to hit him like a troll. He immediately lifted his face up and moved one of his hands to her head, gently stroking her hair as she near-silently sobbed into his leg. Any guilt he felt was doubled, then tripled, then quadrupled as it went on.
"I'm sorry, Amelia." He took a breath. "If it makes you feel any better, I'm not even sure I can die right now."
She let out a choked scoff. "Why's that?"
"Cus I sold my soul to Death," he said. "Hydrus wasn't the one who healed me down in the cells. It was Death."
Finally his future bride looked up at him. She almost never wore makeup, but apparently she'd needed it today because there was mascara or whatever it was called running down her face. "What?"
"You know, Death?" He tried and failed to muster up a mischievous grin. "Guy from the Three Brothers? He showed up when Hydrus was about to blow himself up cus I nearly killed us both on accident, and offered to save me if I pledged myself to him or whatever…" He reached up and pushed his hair out of the way, showing off his brand. "Hydrus didn't give me this. Death did."
"You can't be…" She shook her head, avoiding the most common pitfall of his name. "You're joking."
"Not joking, but I'm not certain either." A shiver ran down his spine as he thought back on the spectral figure. "Maybe it wasn't Death, but between this mark and surviving that curse…"
Amelia ran her thumb over the symbol, then did so again. It was like she was trying to wipe away a smudge. Sirius closed his eyes once more to try and avoid the pain of his hangover but he had to reopen them when she moved both her hands to his cheeks. Her eyes were a bit red, but she definitely wasn't crying anymore, so that was good at least.
"You need to tell me everything," she said. "I mean everything this time, got it, Black?"
He grinned. "Got it, Bones."
Hydrus stepped through the grounds behind Hogwarts with the other champions. Fleur looked as gorgeous as ever, and even Krum was smiling a rare smile. Leading the way for them was Crouch, the only one with a dour expression on the bright, early-spring day. The air smelled of nature, and when he glanced at the Great Lake he saw Francis's scales just barely cresting the surface as the hydrus swam near the surface to take in the sun.
"Alright you three, it's time we told you about the third task," the stern man said. "Come here."
He held out a conch shell, and Hydrus wondered if it was supposed to be some dig at Fleur, or at least her country's protests. Krum was the first to grab it, with Fleur taking the opposite side, and Hydrus grabbing it in the middle with the edges of his one hand brushing against Krum and Fleur's. Crouch nodded then took a deep breath.
"Kalamazoo."
With a vacuuming like whirl they vanished, and reappeared somewhere that Hydrus didn't recognize. It was certainly a lot warmer. The ground beneath their feet was hard stone, but everywhere around the slab they stood on was sand and more sand. In the distance, so far that Hydrus had to squint to make out any details, was some sort of fortress.
"We're currently in the Sahara," Crouch said. "By the time of the third trial, temperatures will rise to nearly forty degrees. I'm sure you can all see that structure in the distance?"
Hydrus and the other two champions nodded.
"Inside you'll find all sorts of misfortune." Crouch folded his arms behind his back. "We've secured the finest and most ferocious beasts from across the world. Curse breakers from here to the states were given free reign to design pitfalls even your worst nightmares couldn't imagine. It will be the ultimate test of everything you've learned, whether in school or in life, and will push you to your breaking point. Perhaps even beyond that point."
"Dementors?" Hydrus asked, completely unphased by the man's posturing. "Can't be all that cursed of a tomb if you can't even get those raggedy monstrosities to join in on the fun."
"Yes, actually." The time traveller blinked. "I worry for the two of you, Mr. Krum and Miss Delacouer." Crouch didn't bother looking at either of them, and instead stared deep into Hydrus's eyes. "Due to Hydrus Black's actions, the two of you are forced to face far greater dangers than you would've, had he not done his best to diminish our efforts thus far."
Before Hydrus could speak up to defend himself, Krum did. "Then we should thank him." He nearly doubled over as the Bulgarian slapped him on the back. "My pride can't take any more assurances that this competition will be 'safer' than in the past."
Fleur joined in next. "My only fear is that your people will try and say that this heat gave me an advantage when I win." She turned and winked at Hydrus. "I prefer the cold, where my heat is more valued."
'What the hell has gotten into her?' Hydrus wondered as he straightened up. "I appreciate you trying to breed enmity between my competitors and I, Lord Crouch, but I'm afraid I've done far more to try and endear ourselves to one another than you can dissolve with some vague complaints."
For what very well might've been the first time in the man's life, Crouch smiled. "Fair enough. But I hope the three of you are still prepared to put on a show come the third trial."
"I may be in last place," Krum said. "But that will just make it all the more exciting when I win."
Fleur laughed. "It doesn't matter what place I'm in, it will always be exciting when I win."
"There you have it," Hydrus said. "You're second and third place champions are rip, roaring, and ready to go."
It was dark. Just like always. There was a smell that some repairman had called 'mildew' in the air, though his father had rebuked the stranger and told him to shut up and just do what he was paid to do. The only semblance of light was the small crack beneath the door at the stop of the stairs, but even that faded long before it reached him. Down here, down where 'he belonged', there was only darkness and slow-passing time.
'You are special,' Hydrus's voice said. 'You aren't a freak.'
Then why was Giannis down here? Why did his own parents hate him?
Even Father Cornwell had said there was something wrong with him, and according to his mom priests couldn't lie. It was against the rules or something.
'You shall not suffer a witch to live!' the priest had cried in church. 'Or my anger shall wax hot, and I shall strike you down with a sword!'
But the witches… The witches had been kind to him. They had made him feel happy. They had never locked him down here in the dark, awaiting freedom and the 'joy' of being ignored once more. All he'd even done this time was try and cheer his mom up by giving her a flower. When he'd plucked it the petals had been white, but his mom's favourite colour was purple, so he'd somehow turned the whole plant to that colour. When he'd given it to her, she threw him down the stairs, and said he should be grateful that his father hadn't been around to see it.
'You are special.'
If he was so special, why was he down here? Why couldn't he be free?
Giannis slid onto his back and stared up at what could only be the ceiling. He imagined the night sky, and the constellation that shared its name with the kind man who'd given him hope. His parents rarely let him out after dark, and always beat him if he came home after it settled, so it was a rare sight. Still, all the stars and all their positions were mapped out before him, and it took him a second to realise that they weren't just in his imagination. Somehow he'd wound up on his house's roof.
'They're gonna be mad,' he thought. 'So mad.'
There was no way to sneak back inside. HIs parents always made sure to lock the doors, the inside ones and the outside ones, so they'd know that somehow he'd managed to get out of the dark. As he stared upwards though, at the full moon and the stars that kept it company, he decided he didn't much care. His eyes swam through the sky, labelling the various constellations he'd learned about after researching Hydrus's name, and before long he'd mapped them all out.
His eyes slowly began to droop, and he embraced the sleep that met him there.
It was seemingly short lived however, and he awoke howling in pain from his side. His vision was blurry from the tears, but when he looked around he realised it was morning, and that he must've fallen off the roof. He tried to scramble to his feet, but by the time he did so it was too late. The front door to his house had slammed open, and his father stood there staring at him slack-jawed.
"D-, Dad," Giannis stuttered. "I don't know what happened, I—"
He was cut off as his father grabbed him by the hair and began dragging him inside. It hurt. Everything hurt. The man dragged him inside, shouting about how embarrassing he was and how evil he was. He felt more than heard the basement door slamming open, and he definitely felt the steps crack into his bones as he was once again tossed down them. When he came to a rolling stop, the last thing he heard before the door slammed shut once again was, "You're lucky your mother didn't see this."
And just like that, Giannis had been thrown back into the darkness.
Hydrus finally managed to break away his stare. If there was one class, just one class he hated above all others, it was Charms. It seemed that Professor Flitwick had decided to just try and avoid him ever since the incident with the Ravenclaws, which meant that Hydrus's mother taught them on her own. It left him equal parts frustrated and avoidant, as well as curious and desperate.
From what he could tell, just like others had told him in his past life, his mother really was an intelligent woman. She didn't always have the best initial explanation for the spells she taught, but she truly shined when the questions came in, and constantly found new ways to teach the magic. He'd never heard of someone complaining about her classes, aside from some of the haughtier purebloods upset with her position in the first place, and it was obvious why.
"Hydrus?" He turned his attention back to his mother as she called his name. "You managed to avoid actually getting in the water for the second trial, but tell us: Which charm would you have used in order to breathe underwater?"
"I wouldn't have used a charm." He knew what answer she wanted, but refused to give it. "I would've taken gillyweed instead. It offers a much more versatile array of benefits than a simple Bubble-Head Charm."
Alright, maybe he would give the answer. Just because it tugged at his heart strings to be around his mother didn't mean she deserved to be sassed.
"And do you have gillyweed on you right now?" she asked with a cocked eyebrow. "The benefit to spells such as that is how readily available they can be. All you need is a wand and the know-how."
"I don't have any on me, but I do have people who would go and get it." He dismissed her concern with a wave of his hand. "And if it were an urgent matter, I would simply create a barrier to separate myself from the water or gas. To replenish the air I would simply need to transfigure the particles around me back into oxygen."
He hadn't wanted to keep back talking, but it wasn't like he could back down after she'd pressed the issue. In return, his mother huffed at him.
"And if movement was key to survival as well?" She asked. "The Bubble-Head Charm provides the user mobility, whereas your barrier and transfiguration scheme would leave you locked down, or at least very slow moving."
Another voice chimed in now, his own. "C'mon, Black, just give up." Hydrus glanced at his past self on the other side of the classroom and saw the teen was rolling his eyes. "Trust me, my mom'll never let you win."
"It's not about winning," he shot back, even though it definitely was. "She's just wrong. Even the second years, including Iris, in Study Club are learning mobile shield spells." He turned back to the annoyed Charms professor. "I can guarantee you that there's nothing the Bubble-Head Charm provides that I can't achieve without it."
"Prove it." His mother folded her arms in front of it. "Let's see it for ourselves."
"Fine."
Hydrus moved to stand, but noticed that there was a thin trail of smoke leaking out of his bag on the floor. He grabbed it and as soon as he opened its top a plume of the acrid smelling smoke belched out. A wave of his hand blew it all away and he went digging to find out what it was that had caught fire. All eyes were on him now, but he paid them no mind as he reached into the bag all the way up to his shoulder, with his head poked in as well, to try and find the source. Eventually he came out with a rapidly charring book. It took him a second to recognize which one it was.
'Giannis.'
BBaRtS
Chapter 3 times 9 is done, and is the second longest chapter I've posted thus far. A lot of things going on all over the place. I'm fully recovered now, and I hope putting out a longer chapter shows I wasn't just going to slowly start abandoning this fic, which is what I worried people would think with back to back short, late-ish chapters. I even tried posting this one as close to the start of Saturday as possible. One thing before we get to reviews, just in case people are worried given the complaints about angst in the past, the Giannis story line will not drag out the angst portion. This chapter for him was dark, the next one will be a touch morbid, and after that we won't see a ton of him but it will be more cheerful when we do.
"This story continues to be interesting and original with great dialog, but I am getting whiplash with all the plot pivots . I may need a compendium to keep track of it all." - This is one of those problems where I recognize it, I know how to 'fix' it, I just won't. One of the important pieces of advice in writing is 'kill your darlings', and I do try to follow that advice with my non-fanfic writing, but since it is fanfiction I just leave em all in lol. I suppose I could try and do better with adding... Idk what to call it, 'call back' prose, where you just drop a line to remind readers what's up with something, like you see a lot in book sequels, but Idk.
"the only thing I noticed was you using duel for dual, as in dual casting." - Honestly doesn't surprise me, I lean heavy on Google Docs to keep me straight with my grammar but it struggles with homophones sometimes.
"Update !" - I'm trryyyyiing.
"Sirius is getting too much lime light as of late," - This is another one where I empathise with the issue, but it probably isn't going away any time soon. He's listed as a main character for a reason, and his conflicts with Hydrus aren't just there for nothing.
"Also hopefully we don't have any more randoms in the Slytherin household, " - I don't have strong plans one way or the other for specific membership of the 'family'. The whole point of it isn't to be a hyper-exclusive organisation, it's meant for Hydrus to have a reasonable excuse to help and support people he cares about, as well as to be a political tool to help win over votes from the 'other' side. He's not going to be dropping scion rings into kids' bags on Halloween, but I don't imagine he'd be particularly stingy with them either.
"I think Harry/Hadrius is really wrong in the head." - You and me both, brother. Or sister. Or gender-non-conforming sibling.
"Kudos to writing a decent Dumbledore tho no cap. Always have to see him poorly written as some greater good scheming asshole" - I actually enjoyed getting to drop Dumbledore into this chapter and show that he DOES have those manipulating/scheming chops, but I feel like what he did isn't anywhere near as like... Comedically machiavellian as some people make him out to be.
"I'm one of those people that read via audio " - I'd never actually considered someone listening to the fic via text-to-speech, I hope none of my attempts at stuttering/onomatopoeias/verbal tics have left you confused lol
As always, thank you all so much for your comments and reviews. I felt bad not being able to fully respond to them before, and for more or less half-assing the last couple chapters. Everyone was very supportive through it though, and it meant a lot to me. Lessthanthree, thank you yet again, and I'll see y'all next Saturday!
