Tonks launched another stunning spell at where she thought she'd heard Bones heading to, but it faded into the magical smoke they were surrounded by and hit nothing. She tried to tune out the sound of her heart pounding, and her breaths gasping, to listen for any hint of her boss. There was nothing.

Until there was.

A lot of somethings.

Tonks tried dodging, contorting her body into more of a pretzel shape to avoid the various bolts of crimson energy shooting for her, but it was futile. She landed with a hard thud, but thankfully on her side so her head didn't crack against the ground. Just her poor, already bruised shoulder did. To her surprise, the spellwork didn't end, it just redirected itself and a few seconds later there was a second thud to match her own. After that the smoke filling the training room faded away.

Standing in the doorway, twirling his wand around his fingers like it was a muggle gun, was the Black Sheep.

"Still got it," Sirius said, with an obnoxiously wide smile splitting his face. "Now, who to free first…"

Tonks rolled her eyes.

"My lovely, beautiful, amazing, intelligent, skilled, did I mention beautiful, girlfriend…" He was glancing at a spot her paralysed neck couldn't get her eyes to, then turned his attention to her. "Or my adorable, childish, misfortunate, poorly-named, niece…"

'Girlfriend?' Tonks thought. 'They got back together?'

"Renervate." Her toes still didn't work, so he definitely hadn't cast that on her. "Sorry, my dear niece, but I know where my bread is buttered."

"What the hell do you think you're doing here?" Bones demanded. "Just because—"

"I am here-uh," Sirius said in an extremely ridiculous, extremely posh accent. "As a r-r-r-r-representative, and head, of the Most Noble, and Ancient, House, of, Black!"

The way he rolled his R's, and the way it got a snort from her boss, told Tonks that the man was definitely impersonating a specific someone and hadn't just pulled that out of nowhere. Still paralysed, she desperately wished she could glare at the idiot. When her mother had first told her that the best way to handle the Black Sheep was percussive reprimands, the thought had seemed insane. Now it just seemed like more of a futile one.

"Again, what are you doing here?"

At least Bones seemed to be on the same page as her.

"Here to report a crime," Sirius said. "You see—"

"Sirius, I swear if this is—"

"No, no, this time I'm not here to report that your ass—"

"Sirius!" Bones snapped. "Auror Tonks is right there."

To Tonks's relief, it seemed like their duelling interruptions routine was over. Her mother's favourite cousin cast the reinvigorating charm on her and she could finally scrape herself off of the floor and back onto her feet. She glared at him.

"You're a wanker," she said. "Why'd you attack us?"

"Please, that wasn't an attack," the man said. "Just a taxpayer who wants to make sure the aurors he's paying for are up to snuff." He began tutting. "You two aren't making me feel particularly patriotic, I'm afraid."

"Shut up." Tonks rolled her eyes. "You're the Black Sheep."

The only two people she could think of that stood a chance against the man were Albus Dumbledore or Hydrus Black. Maybe Bellatrix Black. God, why did all of her distant, very distant, relatives have to be the scariest nutjobs this side of the channel. Even Regulus, who her mother swore up and down was the weakest of the lot, was at one point the most wanted criminal in all of magical Britain. It was like the whole family was bred for the sole purpose of becoming powerful, pompous arses.

Well, except her and her mom, of course.

"Was, I was, the Black Sheep. Now I'm just your annoying uncle." The man winked at her. "Who just so happens to be able to—, yah!"

Captain Bones had casually stepped towards him until she was close enough to slam the side of her fist into his thigh. Sirius hissed through his still smiling teeth and turned his attention back to the woman as he rubbed the spot she had punched.

"You're lucky I'm into that."

Tonks's nose wrinkled. "Ew! Captain, I'm going now."

Before her 'annoying uncle' could annoy and disgust her further.

"Alright," Bones said, sighing with either frustration or embarrassment. "Have a good evening, Tonks."

The rookie auror left, wishing to unhear what she'd just heard. It was bad enough in the academy when she had to listen to her fellow trainees gush about how 'handsome' and 'charming' her relative was, and now right when she'd thought she'd escaped having to see the man making literal kissy-faces at her boss, he was apparently back in her life.

God, she hated her family.

At least, that side of it.


"What are you actually doing here?" Amelia asked. "You can't just waltz in here whenever you want just because we're…" She hesitated. "Figuring things out."

"Really?" her idiot asked. "Even if there's something about you that I'd just love to 'figure out'?"

He wiggled his eyebrows at her and she rolled her eyes. "Sirius."

"Fine, fine, I'll be serious." He sighed. "I really am here to report a crime, or at least an update on one. We got that stupid Smith woman's cup back, finally."

Amelia frowned. "How'd you manage that?"

"Stole it."

"I…" She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. "Do I even want to know?"

"As the soon-to-be head of the DMLE?" Sirius gave an exaggerated frown and shook his head. "Definitely not."

The breath she'd taken came out in a long, exhausted sigh. Why couldn't she have fallen frustratingly and undeniably in love with someone who wasn't a constant source of headaches. Did such a person even exist?

Before she could tell him that she did want to know, Sirius embraced her. Resigning herself to her fate, she hugged him back; pressing her face into his chest and shoulder. The man growled a pleased hum as he leaned his head against hers and began to rock back and forth on his feet, pulling her gently along in the laziest 'dance' possible. After a few seconds of that, and then a few more to make sure she'd gotten the most of it, Amelia pulled away.

"What am I going to do with you?"

"Wouldn't hold it against you if you put me under house arrest," he said. "So long as it ain't my own house, anyways."

"Yeah, right." She shook her head. "You really just came here to tell me about how you're putting the last nail in the coffin of what would've been the biggest collar of my entire career?"

"Of course not." Sirius leaned in close, breathing into her ear. "But it was a nice excuse for the rest of what I'm here for."

Her breath hitched as his lips drifted down her neck, but she shoved him away when she heard the door to the training room beginning to open. She wasn't sure if she should've been relieved or not when it turned out to be her once-and-maybe-again-someday future father-in-law. Orion Black shut the door behind him, and to her mild surprise he actually gave a small bow to his son.

"Lord Black." Ah, right. "You wished to see me."

Sirius let out a growling sigh. "Not yet I didn't. Whatever."

He held out his hand, and with a pop his house elf appeared, holding up what would have been exhibit R3 if exhibits A1 through Q3 hadn't been withdrawn due to relevancy. The Black family had been doing an excellent job of sweeping everything their second youngest member had done under the rug. The Head Opposing Barrister frowned at the Hufflepuff cup.

"You managed to retrieve it?" he asked. "Your brother said it wouldn't be possible."

"He gives himself too little credit," Sirius said. "The man he sold it to came down with a bad case of buyer's remorse."

Amelia shot him a look. What was that supposed to mean, other than what she sincerely hoped it didn't.

"Understood," Orion said. "Bring it here." Kreacher crossed the room and held it up for him. "I'll give it back to the toad, then."

"Have fun," Sirius said, his tone as genuine as the plywood firebolts they'd caught a hawker peddling outside of Diagon Alley once. "Be sure to be insistent."

"Hmph, I don't need to be taught how to conduct business by my own child." The HOB turned to leave. "Lord Black."

"Bastard," Sirius muttered. "Now, where was I?"

He had turned around and was leaning towards her, but Amelia pressed her hand over his mouth and gently pushed him away. "You were just about to tell me everything."

"Ha." He took her hand and kissed it. "Right, how could I forget.

"So! It started when I heroically led the charge into the evil, demonic, haunted vampire's lair…"


Bellatrix pushed open the doors to Malfoy Manor and guided the werewolf inside so that he wouldn't trip over the wards. The doors shut on their own behind them, and she made a show of wiping off her palm with a handkerchief from where she'd taken his shoulder. Her cousin's friend rolled his eyes at her.

"Real mature," he said. "Shall we?"

She stuck her nose up in the air and began to strut deeper into her bitch-sister's home. They stumbled across one of the Malfoys' new butlers, and Bellatrix snapped her fingers to get the man's attention. He jumped at the sound and spun around, panic painted across his face.

"You," she said. "Bring us to my nephew."

"Oh, uh, I…" The bumbling fool shook his head. "Yes, of course, right away, Madame."

The man bowed low then began to lead them further into the home. He kept glancing back to make sure they were still following, as if Bellatrix would get lost somehow, and she contemplated jinxing him. Perhaps a nice ingrown toenail curse, something he wouldn't notice at first but by the end of the day he would be—

"Here we are, Madame." The servant bowed again then knocked on the door. "Master Malfoy, your guests have arrived."

The servant bowed yet again before practically scurrying away. Bellatrix ran her finger down the length of her wand, but the door opened and she decided to spare the cowardly little servant.

"Aunt Bella, Mr. Lupin," Draco said. "It's good to see you two."

Bellatrix leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on either of his cheeks, pinching the second one as she pulled away. "It's good to see you too, my little nephew. Are you all ready?"

"Of course," the blonde child said. "Though, I do have a few questions."

"I'll answer them along the way," Remus said. "Come on, time is short these days."

Her eye twitched. She wanted to order the werewolf to show her nephew the proper respect he deserved, but that would just incite Hydrus to give her another lecture on morality. That was the last thing she needed. As much as she loved her little water snake, he could definitely get a bit preachy when it came to how they should treat their lessers.

"What do you mean 'along the way'?" Draco asked, brows furrowed in confusion. "Aren't you just going to apparate us there?"

The werewolf grinned. "Come on. Hydrus insisted that you get the chance to experience the Knight Bus."

"Eww." Bellatrix shook her head, deciding to not even ask. "I'll never understand that man…"

She made like she was following along with the other two as they left, but quickly took a turn they didn't. Her love had said that she couldn't kill her sister, but that didn't mean she couldn't give her another reminder. Luckily her sister's pissant husband had good taste with how he'd chosen to layout his mansion, it was similar to that of Castle Black so it didn't take her long to reach the garden.

Funnily enough, the nervous looking servant was heading towards the couple who were seated around a table for a picnic lunch as well.

'Delightful,' she thought to herself, already drawing her wand. 'A perfect example.'

Just as she was about to launch a curse at the man, he drew his own wand and pointed it at her sister.

"Avada—!"

Bellatrix snapped.

"Crucio!"

The much more instantaneous spell struck the 'servant'. She'd been wanting to try the unforgivable ever since Hydrus had told her about how frequently she'd used it during his war, though that was at the very furthest reaches of her mind now.

For now, her thoughts were solely and wholly devoted towards torturing the would-be assassin.

"Insolent!" she screeched, still holding her wand stabbed forward with magic pouring into her working. "Treacherous!" She walked the man down as he writhed on the ground, drawing one of the lengthy pins she kept in her hair out. "Wretch!"

How dare this fiend attack her sister. How dare he think himself worthy of killing a member of her family. How dare he still even be breathing.

Bellatrix finally stopped casting the spell as she knelt down and began straddling the man's chest. She raised the needle-like hair ornament into the air and stabbed it down into the man's eye, eliciting yet another screech from amidst his sobs. A part of her wanted to pull it, and the eye it had impaled, out of his skull, but it looked rather nice the way it was.

In fact…

She pulled out the second pin from her hair, fully releasing the locks so that they cascaded over her face, and stabbed it into his other eye.

There.

Now he had a perfect set.

"Bella…" her sister started.

"Shut up," she snarled, blowing out a puff of air to get her hair off her face. "I'm still mad at you."


Narcissa held up her hands in immediate surrender. She had no idea what was going on. One moment she and her husband had been lunching on some food their newest chef had made, the next a man she'd never seen before was trying to kill her, and then Bella appeared and cast the same spell her fiance had on Narcissa just a few months ago. Now… Now there was a dead body lying in the middle of her garden.

The man let out a heaving, wheezing breath.

Maybe not so dead.

"Bellatrix," Lucius said. "What's going on?"

Narcissa looked at her husband. His cheeks were a shade paler than normal. His chin was tucked ever so slightly down. His remaining shoulder was turned inwards slightly, like he was waiting to protect the weak side.

Her love was as nervous as she was, then.

"I came here to get the werewolf past the wards," Bellatrix said, sneering at them both. "I was going to deliver a gentle reminder of where you and I stand, when this little reprobate decided to attack you himself."

"You…" Narcissa started. "You saved my life."

Bellatrix glared at her. "I did not."

"You did!" She argued. "He was going to kill me!"

"No." It was like they were little girls again thanks to her sister's petulant stare. "I. Did. Not."

Lucius cleared his throat. "What are we going to do with this—"

A sound like thunder rang out in the air. Narcissa frowned and glanced up at the sunny sky just in time to see a rather large swan falling out of the air. Her eyes followed its trajectory until it crashed directly into, and through, her would-be assassin's skull in an explosion of gore and feathers. All three of the purebloods flinched back when the blood splattered across their clothes and faces.

"You—!" Her sister let out a shrill scream as her head snapped up to the sky, eyes wide. "How dare you kill him before I was ready!'

As Bellatrix continued to rant and scream at the sky, Narcissa turned to Lucius.

"I think…" she started. "We should probably go get cleaned up."

Her husband stared a moment longer at his insane sister-in-law ranting at the sky. "I think that would be best."


Draco stepped off the demented bus and nearly fell on his face. The only thing that saved him and his robes was the firm grip Lupin had on his collar as he stepped down beside him. The man pulled him up straight like he weighed nothing more than a broom, then set him back on his feet.

"Mind your step," he said. "I believe we're here."

The future prefect flinched at the loud vroom the Knight Bus let out as it took off. They were in the middle of a quiet, Cornish village just off the coast. There were a few sheep grazing in a field behind them, a sure sign they were in the middle of nowhere, but he had to agree.

"I believe so too," he said. "Though, I've never actually been here myself, so…"

"Lead the way."

With a nod to himself more than the other man, Draco made his way towards the front door of the building they'd been delivered too. It was a clay-roofed, stone-walled house that looked at least two centuries old, and not in a fashionable way. He grabbed the handle and found it was locked. With a frown, he drew his wand to unlock it.

"Wait." Lupin had grabbed his wrist, and again Draco was shocked at how athletic the unassuming man was. "Just knock."

"Knock?" Draco asked, insulted.

Lupin rolled his eyes. "Knock."

The man rapped his knuckles against the wooden door. Draco pocketed his wand with a frown, unsure why he should have to announce his arrival. After a few moments, there was a clicking sound and the door opened. Standing on the other side was a comely woman, in a plain sort of way, who smiled at them.

"Hello, gentleman," she said in a thick, Welsh accent. "How can I help you today?"

Draco cleared his throat to get her attention off his make-shift bodyguard. "We're here to see about a house elf."

"Oh! Of course!" The woman flashed them a bigger smile that ruined any prettiness she might've had thanks to an almost perfectly alternating set of missing teeth. "Come inside."

The inside of the building was as mundane as the outside. A hearth in the middle of the floor was unlit and had several chairs surrounding it, woollen rugs were spread out everywhere, and there was a thick smell of mustiness to the place. The woman removed the apron she'd been wearing and smiled at them once more, unfortunately.

"Name's Briarfir, Beca Briarfir," she said. "So, what kind of elf were you interested in, sweety?"

"A specific one." He lifted his chin up high. "The mother of the elf you sold my parents some years ago; his name is Dobby."

"Dobby, Dobby…" Briarfir tapped her finger against her chin. "Oh! But that must mean." She gave a playful squint at him. "You must be Draco Malfoy, am I right?"

"I am—"

"Ha! I should've known it." She shook her head. "You look just like that noble father of yours. Of course I wouldn't mind selling it to repeat customers like you, though, I'm not sure what good you'll get out of it."

Draco frowned. "What do you mean?"

"The one you got was the bitch's last pup." Briafir shrugged. "The only reason I keep it around anymore is to watch over the juveniles whose mothers died in the birthing process. I won't lie to you, dear, it's not long for this world."

'Shit. Hopefully Hydrus won't mind,' he thought. "Right, well, that's still fine."

"Really?" She frowned at him. "Why?"

"We're—"

"That's no business of yours." Draco almost jumped, he'd nearly forgotten Lupin was even there. "Just take us to her."

Briarfir tutted at him, then turned to the Malfoy heir with a conspiratorial wink. "He's a surly one, isn't he?"

"Uh." Draco spared a glance at the man, and noticed at some point he'd put on a pair of leather gloves. "Yeah. He's right though, we're in a rush."

"Alright, alright." The woman heaved a dramatic sigh. "Come along you two."

She led them into another room with a trap door in the ground, a small cupboard against the wall, and nothing else. Briarfir made her way to the cupboard and retrieved some squares of cloth, two of which she held out for them.

"Here you are," she said. "Trust me, the smell is just awful down there if you aren't used to it."

Draco reached out to take it but pulled back with a hiss when his 'bodyguard' slapped his hand away. He just knew it was going to bruise the way the stinging hadn't let up yet.

"That won't be necessary," Remus said. "Let the boy breathe it in."

'The boy?' Draco glared at him. "I would rather not."

"Too bad." The man reached down and flipped open the trap door, and Draco didn't miss the way the lock broke off with it. "Let's go."

Without a moment to prepare himself, he descended after Lupin. When he was nearing the bottom, to his slight humiliation, he was gently lifted off the ladder and sat on the ground by the man. A few seconds later Briarfir joined them.

"Well then," she said. "Follow me."

The smell was awful enough that he now knew for sure that he had wanted the cloth. It smelled of poop. It smelled of still water. It smelled… It smelled of death. It smelled of all sorts of nasty things that Draco hadn't been able to imagine till now and the only thing that saved him from vomiting was his new-found 'friend' wrapping a hand around his mouth.

"Not here." To his disgust, Draco was forced to swallow his own sick. "Don't give her the satisfaction, child."

'Boy. Child. What's next, infant?' Draco thought as he straightened up just in time for Briarfir to turn and look at them. "Whatever. Just needed a moment to adjust to the darkness"

"Oh, yes, of course." The woman looked no more bothered by the smell than Lupin did, to his horror."Come along!"

She led them further down the hall. Along the walls were countless doors with barred windows on their faces. There was a dim torch hanging every couple dozen doors, so for long stretches of walking they were in almost complete darkness. Briarfir hummed some cheery song as they went, as if this wasn't an absolutely disgusting and… and almost scary dungeon. After several minutes longer than he would've liked they reached the end of the tunnel and were standing in front of a door. It was what capped off the path and Briarfir opened it up with one of several dozen keys hanging off a loop on her waist.

"Here we are," she said. "The old bitch."

Draco stepped into the room. There was a small pile of rags and filthy straw in the centre of the room, atop of which lay a house elf that even Draco could tell wasn't long for this world. A thick iron collar which probably weighed more than the elf itself rested on the ground and around her neck, and he couldn't imagine her managing to lift her head up with it attached to her. The being's eyes drifted over to them slowly.

"Mistress Briarfir," the elf wheezed. "Doppsy is so pleased to see you."

"Whatever," the woman said. "Anyways, there it is. Like I said, you definitely don't want it. I'd be happy to show you one of our newer—"

"That will be all," Lupin said. "Leave."

Briarfir huffed at him. "As the proprietor for—"

"Leave," Draco echoed. "Now."

The woman huffed again, but she did as she was told and began to leave. She paused before stepping out of the room… no, the cell, to say,

"Be careful." She was sneering at the elf. "The whole building is warded to prevent magic usage, so if the thing tries to bite you, well…"

"I'll bite back." Remus turned to the woman, and although Draco couldn't see him, he could see the way she pulled back. "I told you to leave."

Briarfir left holding up her hands and Draco turned back to the house elf. Before he could say anything, Lupin crossed the room and knelt beside her. The blonde winced at just the thought of putting weight on his knees on a floor like this.

"Hello, Madame," the man said, surprisingly polite for some reason. "My name is Remus Lupin. I am a friend of your son."

"What?" the ancient elf muttered. "Which one?"

"Dobby," Lupin said. "My nephew loves him to death, considers him to be one of his closest friends, and that means I am his friend as well."

"Oooh," Doppsy croaked. "Oh, oh, ohhh." The elf's chest wheezed up. "Doppsy's… Doppsy's Dobby. Doppsy's precious Dobby. Such a good boy."

"He is, Madame," Lupin said. "He is."

"What's wrong with her?" Draco asked. "Why is she…"

"She's dying." His heart nearly stopped. "We… We were almost too late."

"Where is he?" Doppsy asked. "Where is my little Boppsy?"

"Dobby is just outside," Lupin said. "Come on."

Before Draco could question what the man was doing, the… maybe not the 'man' had reached down and snapped the collar off with his bare hands. He gently slid his hands under the elf's knees and shoulders, and lifted her into the air. Draco tried to get the door before him, but Lupin had already kicked it open.

"Fucking cunt!" Briarfir exclaimed in a much different accent than she'd had a moment ago. "Oh, uh, sorry, startled me. Can I—"

"We'll take her," Lupin said. He turned to Draco and the Malfoy heir froze. "Pay the woman."

Despite the part of him that his father had meticulously trained in bartering, Draco reached into his pocket. His supposed companion was already walking away, but he drew from his coin purse a handful of gallons and tossed them at the woman's feet.

"Take it or leave it."

At first he kept pace with Lupin but before long the other man was running away at a speed he couldn't hope to keep up with. Draco shouted for him to wait when he completely lost sight of him, but if Lupin heard he didn't stop. When the Malfoy heir got to the ladder he scrambled up it as fast as he could. He ran back outside where he found his companion laying the old elf out in the field with the sheep.

"Dobby!" Lupin cried out. "It's your mother! Get here now!"

'He won't be able to—'

Draco's thoughts were interrupted by the elf somehow appearing. He knew for a fact that his cousin hadn't given the elf to Lupin, so how had—

"Mother!" Dobby exclaimed. "Is you okay?"

"Oooh," the elf croaked. "Oh, little Tolly, come sit with you's mother, dear."

"Dobby is here, mother," Dobby whispered. "Dobby is here."

Draco began to squirm in place, and he wasn't sure why. His former house elf had gotten down on the ground beside his dying mother, and the much older house elf's knotted fingers reached up shakily. She was stroking his ear, and it reminded Draco too much of how his own mother used to always brush his hair.

"This nice sir says he is being Dobby's friend," she said. "Doppsy can't believe it. Moppy…" She took another rattling breath. "Dopply's little brother has a human friend."

'How many children has she had?' Draco morosely wondered.

Dobby's head gently nodded up and down, but even that was too much and it dislodged his mother's hand from his ear. The limb hit the ground with a soft thud and her eyes drifted towards the sky.

"It is being time," she said. "Time… For Doppsy to serve Lady Magic. For Doppsy to be free."

"Mother…" Dobby said, sniffling. "Magic is—"

"Let it be, Dobby," Lupin said softly. "She… She's free now."

Dobby began to sob. Teardrops nearly as large as snitches were dropping from his massive eyes until he buried his face into his mother's still chest. Never before had Draco heard the sorts of sounds the elf was making now, not in all the years of abuse that… That he himself had him put him through. He was wailing and snorting and hiccuping and whining and whimpering and doing it all in such a cacophonic blend that Draco wondered if he'd ever be able to forget it.

He jumped slightly when something bumped his leg, and he looked down to see one of the sheep that had been grazing had stepped up beside him. The dull eyed beast was staring down at the two house elves and let out a loud bleat that failed to compete with the sounds Dobby was making.

"Dobby," Lupin said. "Why don't you take her to Hydrus. He'll take care of her, and you."

Dobby shook his head, sending tears and snot in every direction. "Master Hydrus is bus—"

"He's not too busy for you," the man insisted. "Go, he'll be mad if you thought he wouldn't want to be there for you."

Something about that seemed to upset Dobby further because he began to cry even more. Still, the elf did as he was told, and with a pop he and his mother vanished.

Draco just stood there, sheep pressing against his hip, and stared at the spot on the ground where they had just been. The most uncomfortable, unknowable mixture of emotions was rolling around in his gut and he didn't have the faintest idea of how to settle it down. He'd never seen someone die before, let alone die as… Die as miserably as that.

"What now?" he half-whispered before clearing his throat, suddenly realising he'd lost his voice. "What do we do now?"

"We've done what Hydrus asked us to."

"What?" Draco turned to the other man, shocked. "We can't just… We can't just leave like this. That woman—!"

"Did nothing illegal." Lupin was running the back of his thumb along the bottom of his eye, wiping away a tear. "After all, Doppsy was 'just' a house elf."

"But…" Anger was quickly becoming the largest emotion in the bundle in his stomach. "But that's not right! I… I'll just buy them all, then."

"So she can turn around and buy even more with the money you gave her?" Lupin asked.

"What then?" Draco demanded. "Do you expect me to just leave them here?"

The man shrugged. "What do you want to do?"

"I want it to stop!"

"Then stop it."

"How?"

Lupin looked deep into his eyes and Draco almost took a step backwards. Without thinking about it he put his hand on the sheep for some stability and comfort, earning another bleat from the beast.

"Why do you think Hydrus had you come here in the first place?"

Draco blinked. When he'd gotten Lupin's letter, he hadn't even questioned why Hydrus wanted his old house elf's mother. He just assumed it was some whim of his cousin, asked for because of his soft spot for the elf and to remind Draco of his punishment. But of course there was more to it than that.

There was always more.

"So I…" he started. "I need to figure out some way to stop this."

"If that's what you want," Lupin said. "Like I said, you were only given the one job."

For some reason, it was what Draco wanted. Dobby and his mother were both still burned into his eyes, as if they hadn't left the spot another sheep had wandered over to. He could still hear his former servant's heart wrenching weeping echoing around his mind. This, all of this, was wrong.

"I still don't know how to stop it," he said. "We can't just kill her."

Lupin's eyes widened slightly, but he schooled his expression quick enough that Draco wondered if he'd even really seen it. "No, probably best if we don't."

"Like you said, if I buy them all, she'll just go buy more," he continued. "So what then, see if the Black Sheep still has friends in the auror department to arrest her?"

"Arrest her for what?"

"I don't know," Draco said, trying and failing not to sound too defensive. "Something, anything. We could make something up."

"And put the most prestigious house elf breeder in Britain in Azkaban?" Lupin asked. "You might find that a bit difficult."

"She lives in a shack!" Draco said. "How 'prestigious' could it be?"

Honestly, just the money left over from buying Doppsy would be enough to buy a home in a nicer location that was twice the size.

"She definitely doesn't live there," Lupin said. "And it looks like this because it appeals to the house elves' magic. The more homey it is, the more happy they are, the more babies they have, the more money she makes."

"What the hell do we do then?!" Again the sheep beside him bleated its support. "Are you saying its hopeless?"

Lupin smiled at him like he'd said something he'd been waiting for. "It certainly feels that way sometimes, for people like Dobby and his mother. Come on."

Unsure of what the man was about to do, but not wanting in the least to miss it, Draco followed.

After he shooed away the herbivore who had tried following him in turn, anyways.

Lupin knocked on the door, and after a few seconds Briarfir opened it. "Hello again, I'm afraid there's no refunds."

"Keep the money." Lupin pushed past her to step inside. "We need to have a talk."

Draco awkwardly stepped past the woman himself now as she glared at his companion. She slammed the door shut in his wake and he flinched. His eyes drifted back to the other door, back to the room leading to where all the other house elves were being kept.

"What do you want?" The woman's earlier pleasant demeanour was gone, and she was sneering at Lupin. "I told you the bitch was on her way out."

"And now I'm telling you," Lupin said. "That she was the last house elf you'll ever sell. Close your business, or else."

Briarfir's sneer deepened, revealing more of the gaps in her teeth. "Or else what? My family has been running this shop since seventeen—"

"You switched to breeding house elves no more than sixty years ago, following a 'generous', anonymous donation of several members of the species to what was once the Briarfir Orphanage." Lupin folded his arms over his chest. "I did my research. Your parents should've stuck to what they were good at."

"Well what are you going to do about it?" From beneath her apron, the woman drew a strange object. "I told ya, the place is warded." The thing made a clicking sound as she did something to it. "But this'll still put a hole in ya."

Just like when they'd startled her, Briarfir's accent had changed. Now she sounded less like a friendly, Welsh farmer and more like some of the especially uncouth Gryffindors he'd had to put up with over the years. But what on earth was the thing she was holding? He thought it looked a bit familiar, but he couldn't imagine where he'd seen something like that before.

"Go ahead." Lupin began to walk the woman down. "Try it."

Draco nearly leapt out of his skin when a bang nearly as loud as the spell he'd used to beat Potter in their end of year duel rang out. Then another one came and he clamped his hands over his ears. He could feel the sound as four more bangs filled the air, and when he finally unclenched his eyes he saw the thing she'd been holding had a small line of smoke rising from the end of its tube.

"Would you like to reload?" Remus said, hardly audible. "Give it another shot?"

"You…" Briarfir was backing away, terror in her eyes, until she tripped over one of the chairs around the unlit hearth. "What are you?"

Lupin said nothing as he continued to step towards her. Draco had suspected he might not be human, more than suspected really, but apparently it had been confirmed. Briarfir was scooting away from them, crawling on her palms.

"You!" she shouted. "You're a werewolf, aren't you?!"

Draco's eyes snapped open. That was where he recognised the man from. Hydrus had named him in his acceptance speech for his Order of Merlin. When Lupin knelt down, grabbed the woman by her throat, and lifted her up into the air and against the wall, Draco began to see how the man could've been the one to teach his cousin a thing or two.

Lupin was saying something but Draco couldn't hear him now, so he stepped closer.

"...gine how many beings have suffered because of you," the werewolf said as Draco stepped up beside him. "How many of them died because of you."

Briarfir seemed to be struggling to breathe, and was definitely unable to respond.

"I… We are not beneath you." His leather gloves creaked as his grip tightened. "… But I am above this."

He tossed her to the side and her unconscious, but not dead, body hit the ground. Lupin's chest rose up high as he took a long breath, then slowly compressed as he hissed it out through his teeth. Draco watched as he did that two more times.

"So…" the Malfoy heir started. "What do we do with her?"

Lupin turned to face him, and Draco's eyes widened when he saw the six, soot-stained holes littered around the man's chest and the bloody and already bruising skin beneath them. "That's a good question."

"What happened to you?" Draco asked.

"What?" Lupin looked down at where he'd been staring. "I got shot. I'm fine. Not like they were silver bullets."

'Bullets…' Draco thought. "Was that a gun?"

The man laughed. "Yes, yes it was." He shook his head. "You're as bad as your uncle."

"Who?" Draco asked. "The Black Sheep?"

"Mm, he and I were schoolmates." Lupin scratched at his jaw. "Anyways, I think I know what to do with her."

"What's that?"

The werewolf grinned, and Draco finally noticed that his canines really were just a touch larger than average. "I'm gonna take a page out of Hydrus's book."


Regulus continued to sip his tea as his mother ranted and raved about how unfair everything from his trial and how its court proceedings were going to the way their latest delivery of fresh dragon bile had been delivered. The woman swore up and down that the stuff, when mixed with the right herbal poultice, kept her looking young. Regulus didn't have the heart to tell her it wasn't working.

He waited for her to come to an even half-way decent stopping point and take a breath before saying, "Mother."

"Yes, dear?" she said. "And please, don't even think about bringing up that dreadful brother of yours. Honestly, I don't know where he—"

"I wouldn't, mother," Regulus interrupted, knowing she had just been about to start up again. "It's regarding Hepzibah Smith."

"Heppy?" his mother asked, wrinkling her nose. "That nasty thing?"

"Well, I recalled how you used to get along with her, before everything happened," Regulus said. "And I was hoping we might use that to our advantage."

"Oh," his mother sighed. "I suppose the old nag did always have a soft spot for me."

"How could she not," Regulus said with perfect, deferential geniality. "You have that effect on everyone."

She chortled. "This is why you're my favourite son, dear."

"I know," he said. "And now that your least favourite has turned the cup over to father, I think you might be the best person to try and broker peace with Smith. Would you mind trying to visit once the cup has been delivered to her?"

"Of course, love." His mother stepped over to him and Regulus tried not to wince when she leaned over and placed a long, loud kiss on either of his cheeks. "Anything for my little man."

"Thank you," he said. "Is there anything you need before I leave? I'm afraid Hydrus has made me terribly busy these days."

"Don't mention him either!" his mother snapped. "That awful boy, I can't believe he excluded me from the family meeting!"

"What do you expect from Sirius's—"

"I said not to mention him!" his mother screeched. "Get out!"

The magic words finally spoken, Regulus set his teacup down and left. Kreacher had been waiting for him on the other side of the door, and it brought back fond memories to hear the pitter-patter of his oldest friend in the world's feet keeping pace with him.

"Little Master," Kreacher said. "Lord Master Hydrus has given word that you are to make a delivery for him."

Regulus groaned. "I am not an errand boy."

"No! No, of course not, Little Master," Kreacher said. "But you is the only one who knows the… the recipient, well enough."

He rolled his eyes. "And who might that be."

"Is being." The elf made the face he only used when he didn't want to do something. "Is being Miss Zara."

Well, that explained why Kreacher was cringing and gritting his teeth. He and the vampire heiress didn't exactly get on, what with Kreacher being, well, Kreacher, and Zara being…

"Well, Zara is still holed up somewhere in Morocco last I heard," Regulus said. "What does he want with her?"

"Lord Master Hydrus says Little Master must make an exchange with Miss Zara," the elf answered, still more spitting than speaking her name. "Miss Zara may have her father back, if Miss Zara tells Little Master about all the other nasty rotten filthy vampireses."

Regulus stroked his thin moustache. It wasn't hard to imagine why Hydrus wanted that information, but the teen was going about it in entirely the wrong way. He should be offering to finish off Zara's father instead.

"I'll talk to her," Regulus said. "Do you have the…" He grimaced. "The head?"

Kreacher held out his hand and a burlap sack appeared in his palm. The former thief reached out with this thumb and finger so as to avoid getting too much of the dirty thing on him, when it suddenly spasmed and fell out of the house elf's palm.

"Argh!" the suddenly wriggling bag yelped. "Let me out of here you ingracious beast!"

"Morgana's…" Regulus took a huffing breath, definitely not startled. "He can speak?"

"Oh, yes…" Kreacher knelt down and stabbed his finger against the sack, eliciting another yelp. "Kreacher likes to make it scream."

"He's just head! He doesn't even—" Regulus cut himself off, shaking his head. "I don't even care anymore." He knelt down and picked up the rapidly reddening burlap bag. "Go tell Octavius I'm popping over to Morocco, and that yes, I will get him those grapes he likes while I'm there."

"Of course, Little Master," Kreacher said with a bow. "Shall Kreacher also tell Mister Octavius that you will not be telling anyone about your relation to him?"

Regulus snapped his fingers and pointed at his friend. "Yes, be sure to do that."

He still wasn't sure what the feud between his boyfriend's family and most of the north African purebloods was about, the man had tried explaining it several times but it was rather dull, but he was sure that he didn't want to come home to a pouting Octavius.

"I'll be on my way." He lifted up the sack to eye level. "And you are going to start wishing you'd let Zara have that bicorn she said she asked for a century ago."

Who knew, maybe this would finally stop her from repeating that ancient tirade every time she had one too many drinks.

Somehow he doubted it.


Andromeda gave her husband a kiss on the cheek as she sat down beside him, pulling him in closer. He leaned in and rested his head on her shoulders. They were watching the latest episode of some singing show he liked down in their den, and she popped the beer she'd grabbed open with a tap from her wand.

"What'd I miss?" she asked.

"Just the sob story," Ted said. "Her cousin's got cancer or something."

"Definitely deserves to win then," Andromeda said. "Straight to the top."

Ted snorted and nuzzled closer into her neck. As they watched the girl in a silver slip dress belt out the lyrics to some muggle song she'd never heard before, the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it," Andromeda said. "Nymphadora prolly just forgot her key."

After a pinch to her bottom on her way out, she made her way up the stairs and to the front door. When she opened it, her casual smile fell away and a chill ran down her back.

"Father." She stuck out her jaw. "What are you doing here?"

Andromeda expected a long list of potential things from there. She expected her father to match her posture to a pompous degree she couldn't hope to match. She expected him to sneer at her. She expected him to wince and look at her like she was something he'd found on the bottom of his shoe.

The absolute last thing she expected was for him to hug her.

"Andromeda," he said. "It's so good to see you, at last."

"Daddy," she said out of what she'd thought was a long-lost habit. "What are you doing?"

"I missed you, my dear." He finally pulled away and Andromeda breathed a sigh of relief. "How have you been?"

"I…" she started. "I have been fine."

Her father didn't look like he was dying. He wasn't wearing anything fancy, or at least, nothing fancier than normal so he hadn't been at some life-altering meeting. His goatee with a tipped moustache wasn't even quivering as he looked at her, he just seemed… Normal.

"May I come in?" the man asked. "There is much to discuss. It's finally time."

"Time for what?" Despite her demanding tone, she stepped out of the way and waved for her father to come in. "Why are you here?"

"Sirius has taken control of the family on paper, but Hydrus is the one running the show," Cygnus said. "He's soft. Weak. It's the perfect chance for you to come back into the fold."

Andromeda froze. What the hell was her father talking about? "What do you…"

"It's now or never, my daughter," her dad said. "All you have to do is ask, and Hydrus will say yes. Then you… Then we can finally be together as a family again."

Andromeda tried to scowl, but it felt nice to see her father beg. "You do realise I have no intentions of divorcing Ted, don't you?"

"Who cares?" her father said, widening Andromeda's eyes and nearly stopping her heart. "You must move now before it's too late."

"Well…" She took up a lock of her hair and began to twist it around her fingers. "To be honest, Hydrus did already offer."

It almost surprised her how happy this conversation was making her. When she'd first rebelled and more or less told her parents and grandfather to fuck off, it had felt like a weight off her shoulders. The massive hardships that came in the wake of that day as she discovered things like washing her own clothes and making her own meals had definitely put a damper on how much fun it had been, even if she wouldn't trade the new life for the world.

"You simply must accept the offer, Andromeda," her father said. "The family has changed, and—"

A knock at the door interrupted him. Andromeda winced.

"That's probably my daughter," she said. "Nymphadora."

"My granddaughter," the elderly man said. "I'd love the chance to meet her."

"I'm not sure that's such a great—"

This time she was the one getting interrupted, by the door opening entirely now.

"Knew I hadn't forgot my…" Nymphadora stopped, hand halfway to her pocket with the key. "Mum." She stepped up in front of her and turned to face her grandfather. "What is he doing here?"

Andromeda stepped around her daughter and wrapped her arm around hers. "Nymphadora, this is your grandfather, Cygnus Black."

"I know who he is." Her daughter's hair was turning a bright red. "I saw him at the funeral."

"You're a metamorphmagus," her father said, eyes widening. "Your… Your grandmother was as well. We'd thought the gift had been lost…"

"Just skipped a generation," Andromeda said, squeezing Nymphadora's arm to stop her from saying anything. "Nymphadora, he came here to invite me back into the family."

"She doesn't want to go back," her daughter practically snarled. "Get out of this home, now."

"Nymphadora!"

There was a flame of pride burning inside Andromeda now, to see her daughter unflinchingly and unwaveringly trying to protect her; standing up for what she believed in even face to face with a man like Cygnus Black. It was still unneeded though.

"It's alright, Andromeda," her father said. "Granddaughter—"

"I am not your granddaughter."

"Which is something I would like to change." The man was wringing his hands in front of his chest, something she'd only seen him do before when he was getting scolded by his own father. "Please, I'm begging you to give us a second chance, my little buttercup."

Andromeda's face went bright red. "Don't call me that in front of my daughter!"

Morganna, no matter what happened from here, she was definitely going to be hearing that from now on.

"Listen, I don't care what you want to change," Nymphadora said. "I will never be your granddaughter, not after what you did to my mum."

Her father tensed. "Has… Has Hydrus not spoken to you yet?"

Andromeda blinked, and a bolt of blue ran across her daughter's hair showing her own confusion.

"Hydrus?"

"During a family meeting," Cygnus started, leaving Andromeda wondering when the hell they started having those. "He had mentioned that your mother refused to join the family. At the time he said he was moving on, and was going to try and convince you to join his branch family, that way you could get away from some of the problems you might be facing at the Ministry."

'We have a branch family now?' Andromeda thought. 'What on earth is going on over there?'

"He hasn't spoken to me at all," her daughter said. "And besides, I'm still not—"

"If she joined the… 'branch family', would that mean she wouldn't be a Black?" Andromeda asked. "How does that work?"

"Mum?"

"As you know, Hydrus's mother was a Gaunt," her father said. "He's in the process of reforming House Slytherin, so that he may adopt talented muggleborns and half-bloods that need more social backing, like Nymphadora or his own ward, Giannis."

"I do not need—"

"I thought Giannis was Sirius's ward?" Andromeda interrupted, even more curious now.

"That was just while your sister was busy working at Hogwarts."

"Wait, did she quit?"

"Yes, you see—"

"Mum!" Nymphadora had pulled her arm free and was facing her now, hair even redder. "Are you seriously gossipping with this bastard?"

Andromeda frowned. "I wasn't gossiping, I was just… Discussing…"

"Family business?" her father finished.

"We are not family!" Nymphadora shouted. "Mum, what do you think Dad would say about this?"

"Wrong rope to tug, princess." Andromeda turned to see Ted step past the doorway leading into the kitchen. "I've been waiting for your mother to change her mind ever since Hydrus asked in the first place."

Her father straightened up. "Theodore."

"Cygnus." It was a rare thing to see her affable husband looking so stoic. "Welcome to our home."

A knot formed in Andromeda's stomach when her father began to cross the room to get closer to Ted, but she still pulled Nymphadora back when the girl tried to stop him.

"I've already apologised to my daughter, but allow me to apologise to you as well," he said. "I won't act like some new man who has no qualms about… All of this, but I do regret the things I said to you." Andromeda's mouth fell open when he bowed. "From the bottom of my heart, I'm sorry."

Ted just stared at him for a moment or two. "I've been called worse."

Andromeda's ears began to burn red. She'd just been a stupid, ignorant teenager back then. Despite knowing for certain that her husband had long since lost any grudge he held over it, he did still like to bring it up in order to tease her when the mood suited him.

"That being said," Ted continued. "What you said and did to my wife is unforgivable. Only time, should she choose to give it, can heal those wounds."

Her father straightened up and nodded. "I understand."

When he faced her, Andromeda didn't know what to say. She'd long since given up on this fantasy. For the first few months after she and Ted got married it was always in the back of her mind, that someday her father and mother and grandfather would all come begging her to come back. She'd been young and ignorantly stupid about that too, though, and it wasn't until her mother died a few months later that the dream truly faded away.

It was almost ironic that her grandfather's death was what made it a reality.

"Well, Andromeda?" her father asked. "Will you please give me, and the entire House of Black, a second chance?"

"I…" She swallowed. "I will."

"Mum!" Once more her daughter got in front of her. "Don't I get a say in this? I don't want to be in the Black family!"

She frowned. "Didn't you hear? Your grandfather said Hydrus would be willing to adopt you."

"I don't want that either!" Tonks shouted. "I don't want to be a part of any pureblood family!"

"What?" Andromeda scoffed. "Why not?"

As her daughter began to rant about the various 'reasons' why, she barely heard her father begin to speak to Ted.

"Well," he said. "I should probably leave you two to it."

"Oh no you don't," Ted said, and it made her smile to see him wrap an arm around his now very uncomfortable looking father-in-law. "Family's got to stick together, don't we?"

"I really should be go—"

"Come on." Ted began to pull him back into the kitchen where he'd been hiding earlier as their daughter got even louder. "I'll grab you a beer."


Hydrus continued to rub Dobby's shoulder as the elf, standing on top of a stool beside him, continued to mourn for his mother. The decrepit looking old house elf matron was laid out on a desk in Castle Black's library, wrapped in a makeshift shawl that had previously been one of the massive room's curtains. Giannis was sitting on his opposite side, on a stool of his own, staring down at her body with a stoic expression on his little face.

"I'm sorry, Dobby," Hydrus said. "I should've gotten her out of there sooner."

"It's not Master Hydrus's fault, Master Hydrus," Dobby said, shaking his head. "And Dobby's mother was… Dobby's Mother was happy in the end."

He gave the elf's shoulder a squeeze. "What would she have liked us to do with her remains? Anything in the world, my friend, just name it."

"It's not mattering, Master Hydrus," Dobby said with a loud sniffle. "She is with bad-goddess Magic now."

"Right…" He sighed. "Well whatever you would prefer, then. When you're ready."

He'd already cast preservation charms on her and her curtain-shawl. That was a spell he had more experience with than anyone besides a mortician should. It was the same spell Hermione had used to preserve Ginny's remains, so he knew it would last as long as they needed it to.

"May…" Dobby started. "May Dobby please go and inform Dobby's brothers and sisters?"

"Of course," Hydrus said, giving his friend a pat on the back. "Take as long as you need."

The elf gave a trumpeting snort as he nodded, then popped away. As soon as he was gone, Giannis spoke up.

"Hydrus?" he asked. "Why is Dobby so sad?"

"Because he loved his mother, and she's gone now," Hydrus answered. "I know your own mother was… Difficult, but how would you feel if Bella died? Or Miss Bones?"

"Oh." The boy reached over and took the stump of his wrist like he was holding his hand. "I… I would be sad too."

Hydrus nodded. "This is why I told you to do whatever you pleased, so long as you aren't hurting and killing people."

"Oh," the boy repeated. A moment of silence passed. "Can we bring her back?"

"No, not really," Hydrus answered. "We could summon her shade, or reanimate the body without its soul, but we could never truly bring her back. Like Dobby said, she's with Magic now."

Hydrus had given a brief explanation about the goddess to the boy before he'd taken up a more antagonistic agnosticism look on life, but Giannis hadn't seemed particularly interested in religion.

"Oh." Giannis took a breath. "Hydrus… Did Father Cornwell have people who would be sad because he died?"

"He was a priest in a small town," he replied. "So yeah, probably."

"Oh." Another repetition, and it too was followed by a long pause. This one stretched out for several seconds as Hydrus continued to stare down at Dobby's mother, putting into practice once more his skill of crushing and compacting guilt till it was all but nonexistent. "I was the one who killed him, wasn't I?"

Hydrus licked his lips, his mouth having gone a touch dry. "Yeah, kiddo, you were."

Giannis squeezed his wrist as tight as the boy could. "But… But you lied then, to stop me from feeling bad."

"No." He was too weary to be anything but blunt. "I did it so you could know a truth without needing it proven." He began to cast preventative healing magic with as strong a visualisation of the phoenix as possible. "So you would know that I will kill anyone who tries to hurt you, and that I am unbelievably strong; strong enough to protect you."

Even despite his preventative measures, his arm began to sizzle. It was nowhere near as bad as it had been back before he'd had the countermeasures, but he was basically kicking the already fragile bargain. He was really going to need to work something out with Magic soon.

"Have you killed people?" Giannis asked.

"More than you can count," Hydrus answered. "And I doubt I'll be able to stop anytime soon."

The boy looked up at him, eyes wide and lip quivering. "But… You mean bad people, right? People like Father Cornwell?"

"Some of them were, some were worse." He put on a tight smile. "But many weren't bad at all. A lot of people have hated and continue to hate me, and I've made countless people sad like Dobby is now. I am myself, a 'bad guy', Giannis.

"That's why I want, no, that's why I need you to do better than me. To not become anything like me." He gave a sardonic wink. "I wouldn't be able to handle the competition."

His grim humour did nothing to ease the unease painted across his ward's face, and the boy's grip on his wrist had loosened substantially, but he hadn't let go entirely. Maybe that hadn't been the right thing to say. It was rough being a 'new parent', even if he'd supposedly been through this already with another child. Before Giannis could no doubt ask another question, the door to the library opened.

"Remus," Hydrus said as his former and returning advisor approached. "How are you?"

"Bit of a stomach ache," the werewolf said, and Hydrus didn't miss the many holes in his clothes. "Not too bad other than that, though. We were almost too late."

"Dobby got to say goodbye," Hydrus said. "Take the small victories when we can."

Another paraphrased bit of wisdom from his old Dumbledore.

"I suppose." Remus stepped up to the other side of Giannis and ruffled the child's hair. "How you doing, Giannis?"

"Fine," he answered. "I'm sad for Dobby."

"Me too," Remus agreed. "Would you mind giving me and Hydrus a moment alone?"

"Sure." Giannis slid off his stool. "Do… Do I have to go back to the Potters? I want to make something for Dobby."

Technically it was a day before his punishment was supposed to end, but Hydrus shook his head. "No, kiddo, though if you want to you can."

To his surprise, the boy actually hesitated. That was good. Hopefully he'd ask to visit more often now. "Nah, I want to go do something."

"Okay, good luck with your project." Once Giannis was gone, he nodded at Remus. "What's up?"

"I didn't kill Briarfir."

"Okay."

Hydrus looked back down at the body of 'Doppsy', wishing again that he could've met her.

"That's why you picked me to go with Draco, isn't it?" Remus asked. "To try and get me to 'toughen up' and kill her?"

"What?" Hydrus wrinkled his nose and turned to Remus. "I don't even know who 'Briarfir' is, why should I care if you killed her or not?"

The werewolf gave him an owlish blink. "Uh…"

"Listen, if you want machiavellian schemes and potentially beneficial subterfuge, go to Dumbledore." Hydrus shook his head. "I like the new you, you're already 'tougher', just… Just less jaded."

"Oh." Hydrus almost snorted at the accidental chorus of Giannis's earlier catchphrase. "Then why did you…?"

"I meant what I said, Draco just needed a babysitter who's a good influence on him," he said. "How'd he do?"

Remus took the seat Giannis had been occupying. "Better than I expected from what you said. I… Might've done some scheming of my own."

Hydrus grinned, knowing it was his turn to say the word. "Oh?"

"I only told him about Doppsy here," Remus said. "Didn't tell him you wanted the rest of the house elves freed too. He volunteered on his own for that. I think seeing her pass shook him up."

"Good," Hydrus said. "Like I said, he's a good kid, he just doesn't know what all that's supposed to mean yet."

He really was proud of his 'cousin'. When he'd first come back to the past he'd been so wrapped up in old, now-one-sided grudges that he didn't think it was possible that he'd actually grow to like the little weasel. But Draco had gone from being a kid who beat and threatened house elves to one who was apparently liberating entire mills of them. There might actually be some merit to Hydrus's half-baked 'understudy' plan for if he ever fell.

It wasn't just Draco surprising him, either. Neville had been growing like an aptly metaphor'ed weed these days. Unlike his and Perenelle's initial landscaping designs which were completed rather quickly, the new, more Black-oriented, plans were only just now coming to fruition. Whenever the teen came to talk to him about how things were going and to get opinions when Bella wasn't around to handle such questions, it was almost like he had his old fighter back. Neville had even started looking him in the eyes.

It was doing something good to him, seeing old victims of life itself doing so much better in this one.

"For now I've told Draco to figure out what to do with the other house elves," Remus said, breaking Hydrus from his thoughts. "When he gives up, what do you think we should do with them?"

"There's always homes deserving of such beings," he answered. "Given the ever-growing size of classes in Hogwarts these days, I'm sure the school wouldn't mind taking some as well."

He vaguely remembered some orphanage Sirius had talked about sponsoring, maybe that'd be a good place for a couple too.

"Also, Briarfir was the woman who owned and operated the farm," Remus said. "Once we finished forcing her to give me 'ownership' of the elves, I dropped her off at Greyback's compound with Rita Skeeter."

"Ha!" Hydrus barked. "Nice, a good fit."

Remus cocked an eyebrow at him. "That's it? Not going to ask how it was, me visiting there?"

He shrugged. "You're the one who was stressing about internal relations. The only reason I ever told you to 'toughen up' like you mentioned is because you were so worried about them not respecting you enough to listen."

The werewolf was probably twice as cautious in this life as he had been, at least with 'big' things like the werewolf colony they were building. He'd been convinced that Greyback's pack would consider him too weak to listen to, that they'd never truly be loyal.

Hydrus had known that even if they didn't respect Lupin, they feared himself enough to deal with it.

"Right…" The werewolf had an honest to goodness blush on his face, and it made Hydrus swallow down a chuckle. "Turns out I might've developed a bit of a reputation over the years of hunting Greyback."

Unable to stop himself anymore, Hydrus laughed. "That right? You the werewolf boogeyman or something?"

"I am for that pack," Remus muttered, face even redder now. "So yeah, that won't be an issue moving forward."

"Good." Hydrus clapped the man on the back. "See? You're way tough, so scary."

"God," Remus shook his head. "You really are just like your father."

"Just don't tell him that."

Once more the doors to the library opened, and this time it was Draco wandering in. Hydrus glanced down and wondered if the blonde even realised there was a tiny house elf sprinting to keep up beside him, probably no more than a few months old and standing just shy of a foot tall. The Malfoy heir certainly wasn't paying any attention to her if he did know.

"Hydrus!" the teen shouted. "I'm not sure what to do with all the house elves!"

Hydrus frowned. "Why are you yelling?"

"What?!"

"The gunshots," Remus answered. "Think it hurt his ears."

Hydrus snapped his fingers and Draco's eyes widened for a moment. "There, you were saying?"

"Thanks." Draco began rubbing his ear. "I can't figure out what to do with all the house elves."

"I can tell." When the teen furrowed his brows Hydrus nodded at the ground. "Friend of yours?"

Draco followed his gaze then jumped. "Shit! Oh, phew, Merlin…" He knelt down and lifted up the small creature. "Sorry, I didn't realise she'd followed me."

"It's alright," Hydrus said. "What's your name, little one?"

The elf shrugged.

"How old are you?"

Another shrug.

"Hmm…" Hydrus hummed. "Dobby!"

The house elf appeared, carrying a bone nearly twice as long as he himself was tall. "Yes, Master Hydrus?"

"Well, first, what's the deal with…?" He nodded at the bone.

"Dobby was helping Dobby's sister Polly with her chores while telling her the news," Dobby said. "Polly lives at a thestral farm."

"Ah." Hydrus just nodded, not really sure he wanted more info. "Draco, of his own volition, freed the other house elves who were being kept with your mother. Do you believe he has earned the trust to have a house elf under his care once more?"

The blonde suddenly stiffened when Dobby turned his attention to him. It put a small smile on Hydrus's face to see the elf look his former master up and down, judging him and sizing him up. It was funny how things could turn around between two beings in such a short space of time. Eventually the elf nodded.

"Yes." Draco's eyes widened. "Mister Draco will take good care of her."

"Do you know her name?" Hydrus asked. "She doesn't seem to know."

Dobby awkwardly shifted the bone in his hands till he was carrying it like a particularly heavy broom in the crook of his elbow, then reached up. Draco knelt down to meet him halfway. The older house elf lifted up one of the juvenile's ears, and Hydrus's grin grew larger at the high pitched giggle it elicited from her.

"She is being Dobby's oldest sister's granddaughter," Dobby said. "She is being too young to have a name. Bad Mistress Briarfir didn't give names until we were a year old."

"I see," Hydrus said. "What shall you name her then, Draco?"

"Me?" Draco asked. "I… I don't know." His eyes darted about for a second. "Um, would… Would it be alright to name her Doppsy?"

Dobby gasped, clenched the bone he was holding so tight Hydrus wondered if it might snap, then began to sob.

"Sorry!" Draco yelped. "I didn't, I mean, I just—"

"Yes," Dobby said through hiccuping breaths. "Yes she can be Doppsy. Dobby's mother would, would, wou—"

Hydrus pulled his friend close so the elf could bury his face in his leg. "It's alright, Dobby." He looked at his cousin. "Thank you, Draco. That was a very kind gesture."

"Well done," Remus agreed. "Doppsy, from now on, Draco Malfoy shall be your master."

There was a slight glimmer in the air, and it made Hydrus frown. He hadn't seen anything like that before when watching house elves transfer owners. After a moment he had to hold back a sigh; it probably had to do with the stupid tablet he'd tried to read and the 'god vision' it had required. He was only just now breaking the habit of rubbing the stupid, non-existent scar his brain kept thinking he had on his jaw thanks to the old druid.

"Dobby, when you're ready, you can return to your siblings. We'll keep your mother in the basement until it's time," Hydrus said. "Remus, you and I will spend this last bit of time before school starts finding homes for the rest of them." He already had a few more ideas about where to send them. "Draco, go visit Professor Hagrid and ask him to tell you what you need to know about raising such a young house elf."

"Okay," Draco agreed, still sounding stunned. Dobby popped away. "By the way, did you reject the prefect position?"

Hydrus snorted. "Of course, I'm not dealing with that nonsense."

Draco grinned. "Right, of course not. I'll, uh, see you at school then. And Mr. Lupin, it was nice to meet you."

"After a day like today, you can call me Remus." The werewolf held out his hand which Draco took after a moment to shuffle Doppsy into just one arm. "Outside of school, anyways."

The blonde frowned. "Pardon?"

"Nobody told you?" Hydrus asked. "Say hello to your future DADA teacher."

"Oh." Hydrus chuckled, and he assumed the other two just assumed he was laughing at the boy's ignorance. "I… Can definitely see why you got the job."

"Thank you," Remus said. "I'd get going now, though. She's starting to look kinda hungry."

"What?" Draco looked down at Doppsy who looked up at him, head cocked to the side. "She is? How can you tell?"

"Go ask Hagrid and find out," Hydrus said. "See you around, mate."

It almost earned another laugh to see Draco speed-walk out of the library, still carrying the little house elf who peaked around his arm to wave goodbye to them. When he was gone and the doors magically shut behind him. Hydrus turned to the werewolf.

"You have no idea what a hungry house elf looks like, do you?"

"Nope."


Hydrus scratched another name off the list. So far he'd managed to donate a dozen house elves to Hogwarts, two to the delightfully named Arcturus Black House (for Muggleborn Orphans), and a few on their own to families like the various Weasleys, the Lovegoods, and even his grandparents in America. Technically it was illegal to own house elves there, but it wasn't illegal to employ them, so he had a drain of one galleon per month on his coffers. One of Dobby's uncles refused to take it until Hydrus promised he could just keep the money in Gringotts, then leave it as an inheritance back to him.

"Oi." He looked up to see Sirius wandering into the Black Summer Home's dining room. "Something weird happened."

Hydrus sighed. "What would that be?"

"Promise you won't get mad."

He narrowed his eyes. "Mad at what?"

"Promise."

"No."

That would be the most foolhardy promise one could ever make to a man like his father. There was a more than decent chance he was overthinking and paranoid about something small, but there was an equal chance he really had done something stupid. Something very stupid, more likely than not.

"Whatever," Sirius grumbled. "I… Might've gotten a bit tipsy, and I might've been about to say something to Amelia that maybe I shouldn't have."

"Alright," Hydrus started. "And that would be…?"

"Well, you know, no need to get into specifics," Sirius rubbed at the back of his head. "But it had to deal with you, and when I tried to say it, my voice disappeared."

"What do you mean it disappeared?" Hydrus asked. "And yes there is a need, what were you about to tell her?"

His father shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "Well…"

"I can explain," a deep, baritone voice said directly behind Hydrus. He jumped to his feet and spun around, only to discover the largest person he'd ever seen in his life. "Hello again."

"Uh…" He looked the stranger up and down. "Hello…"

He was a dark-skinned man that could've rested his chin on top of Hagrid's head comfortably, and was built like a Roman statue. He wore beige harem pants and a vest made of some kind of leather. His hair fell down his back in a ponytailed whip of dreadlocks that swung like a ship's rope as he stepped around Hydrus and pulled out the seat to his right. The chair grew as he pulled it back until it actually fit the gargantuan man when he sat.

"And it's a pleasure to meet you, Sirius," the man said. "You're a fun watch yourself, except for all the boring bits where you're copulating."

"Copu…" Sirius shook himself. "Excuse me?"

It clicked for Hydrus. "You're Fate."

The god… dess? Reached out with a finger half as thick as Hydrus's wrist and tapped him on the nose. "Exactly right!

"Poor Sirius here was so confused as to why he couldn't tell his Bonesy about you really being a grown adult." The deity shook their head. "But I need an anchor to visit, and since neither he nor Miss Bonesy ever take a peek beyond the veil…"

"So you were stopping him?" Hydrus asked. "Why?"

"It's bad enough I have to stop your wrinkles in time from scaring the other mortals," Fate said. "There's this one man, poor thing, in the Department of Mysteries who's convinced he's going crazy because of them."

Sirius raised his hand. "Are we going to talk about how you were peeping on my girlfriend and I's pillow talk?"

"No," Hydrus answered. "So wait, what do you mean you're covering them up? Covering what up?"

"If you were worshipping me it wouldn't be a problem, and don't get confused, I'm not trying to convince you to do so," she said. Hydrus decided to stick with calling her a she, even if 'she' looked like she could bench press a bus and sounded like she should be narrating movies. "But since you don't, if I don't step in every time you tell someone about the former future, it would cause a ripple that would throw things way off track."

"Off track like…?" Hydrus asked.

"Well, take what happened in the future, for example," Fate said. "That Tommy fellow coming back all super-charged and ready to tear down everything in sight. He was supposed to be weaker than before."

"What?" He and his magic snapped, shattering every bit of glass and porcelain in the room and sending the shards exploding outwards. "What do you mean—!"

Once more the goddess tapped him on the nose with her sausage finger, but unlike before, something washed over him. The madness faded away. His magic calmed itself. He felt… Tranquil.

"Settle down, dear," Fate said in as gentle a tone as the baritone made possible. "Your great-grandmother really loved this china, after all."

Suddenly the behemoth of a man began to change. He shrank, first and foremost, then his skin paled and hair thinned. Before too long, he wasn't a 'he' at all, and instead was a rather… sturdy looking woman, with a neat bob of pitch-black hair and a smile that didn't at all suit what must've been a face made for frowning.

"Melania Black," Fate said. "She didn't have much of the sight, but she had enough. Your new love, Bella? Much more talented. And prettier, too!"

"Oh god," Sirius muttered. "Grandma?"

Fate smiled at him. "Not quite, dear. I have echoes of all of those who use my gift ringing inside of me, and I can choose to look like any one of them I choose."

"And you chose to look like that first guy?" Hydrus demanded. "You scared the hell out of me; he's huge."

"Ikemba is one of my favourites!" she said. "He makes that silly walking thing you humans do so much faster with those legs of his."

"You walked two steps!"

"Two very fast steps."

Hydrus took a breath. Fate might've been… Whatever non-insulting word he could think of to call someone like her, but at least she wasn't Magic or Death. As he now knew, the other two gods probably would've smote him for talking to them like this.

"Whatever," he said. "So you stopped Sirius from speaking at all to prevent these 'ripples' from happening, why not do the same to me?"

"Because I still feel a bit guilty about the whole Tommy thing," Fate said. "I wasn't paying close enough attention to my chosen at the time, he did something out of tune, and it caused someone else to make a ripple that I didn't catch in time."

"Wait, you have a chosen too?" Hydrus asked. "Who?"

"Come on," she said, smiling that all-too-uncomfortable smile on what was apparently his great-grandmother's face. "Everyone knows him. Let's see…" She brought a finger to her lips, an immature gesture that didn't at all suit the old matron. "I think his name is Gregory Herschel."


Some years ago.

Gregory stared down at the three pieces of paper in front of him, all alone in a compartment on the Hogwarts Express. He'd already changed out of his school uniform and into a muggle suit, complete with suspenders and a bowler hat whose rim was struggling to survive in his grip. The other students, even his own housemates, some of whom he'd known for all seven years of his time at school, had formed groups without a spot for him. Just like always, it hadn't even been done out of malice.

They'd simply forgotten about him.

Well, all but one of them had.

The first of the three papers was his certificate of graduation. All of his fellow seventh years had them, either neatly folded and kept safe, or rolled up like yesterday's newspaper and shoved into a bag or pocket. His also had a little square thanking him for his three years as a perfect, and an empty spot beside it where a Head Boy award could've gone.

The next paper was his draft notice. He was to report to the DoW, Department of Warfare, no later than one week after today. The other boys, or men he supposed they all were now, had gotten them too. Either report or provide sufficient reason he should not be forced to join, like a crippling injury or enough money to buy such an excuse. Unfortunately for him, he had neither.

Missing the latter was also the reason behind the last, dreadful piece of paper.

It was a letter, the first of the summer and perhaps the last he'd ever receive, from Agatha Smith. It had been rolled and sealed with twine, not a hint of perfume on it, and had just twenty-eight words. He'd counted.

Gregory,

I am writing to inform you that I am to be married to Howard Crabbe. I have appreciated your friendship until now.

Your former classmate,

Agatha Smith

There was almost a twenty-ninth word below her name, but what he could only assume was the beginning of one of her usual post scripts had been scribbled out. There was no further explanation, though on the whole it did explain the way she'd been avoiding him as of late. He'd thought she'd just been sad school was ending, fearing that they would drift apart. Instead she'd been getting ready to slam the door on him. On them.

What the hell was he supposed to do now?

All his life, as far back as he could remember, people were forgetting him. According to Madame Briarfir, he had been left on their doorstep at just a few months old, and he considered it a miracle that he hadn't died of starvation from them not remembering to feed him. He supposed the infantile crying had probably helped.

It wasn't all that bad. Nobody ever bothering to remember him meant he was always missed on the chore rotations, and none of the other kids were able to complain. They'd forgotten he'd been missed too. Last year he'd asked for school supply funds twice, something he'd felt just justified in doing considering how often he missed meals on account of no one telling him dinner was ready, in order to buy a gift for Agatha.

He should've known something was wrong when she'd stopped wearing the necklace.

He'd… He'd just thought that everything would be ok. He'd read the leaves, had the visions, he'd seen that the two of them were supposed to be together. She was the only person who never forgot him, at least not since they were twelve. There just hadn't been a future Gregory had seen where he hadn't spent the rest of his life with her.

Now he was too scared to check again. What if the leaves or ashes or bones or anything else he used to glimpse into the future had changed. For now he could still hope. For now he could still pretend like she wasn't about to get married to some rich pureblood who couldn't possibly love her as much as he did. For now he still had something to live for.

Gregory picked up the second of the three pieces of paper and read it over once more. Nowhere did it say he had to wait the full week after graduation to go to the DoW. He glanced out the train window and saw they were in the underground already, which meant he could…

With a huffing breath to steele his nerves, he stood and picked up the other two parchments. He shoved the diploma and draft notice into his back pocket, then carefully rolled Agatha's letter back up and tucked it into his pack. All his possessions in the world on his back, Gregory apparated away.

He appeared in Madam Briarfir's orphanage and was relieved to find none of his younger 'siblings' there. He grabbed a pinch of floo powder, a precious and rationed resource these days, and tossed it into the fireplace before calling out, "Ministry of Magic."

It took a minute or two before the connection finished. When he stepped out he was immediately pulled aside by an auror, a grizzled man who looked like he was old enough to be Gregory's grandfather, and a spell was cast over him.

"Clear," the old man grunted to the other, equally aged wizard beside him. "Wand."

"Here." Gregory handed it over. "It's cherry."

The first time he'd gone through this routine, last summer when he'd picked up his apparition licence after they'd forgotten to mail it to him, he'd nearly gotten himself arrested for being too slow. They'd even gone so far as to throw him in a room while they 'checked his story out'. After a few minutes he'd left, knowing no one would remember he'd been snagged in the first place.

"Name?" the second auror asked while the first ran more spells on Gregory's wand. "Purpose for your visit?"

"Gregory Herschel," he said. "Draft."

Both men looked at him, really looked at him now, and frowned. The first one handed his wand back.

"Too damn young," he muttered. "Keep your neck covered and your head down, kid."

Gregory offered a smile that didn't reach his eyes. "Thanks."

With the formalities out of the way, he began to head to where the notice said he could find the DoW. Various grave-faced women and old men were moving around him, rarely managing to notice him before they'd accidentally rammed their shoulders into his, and no one stopped to apologise. He reckoned he was around halfway to where he was supposed to go when someone grabbed his already-bruising shoulder and jerked him into a room.

"Gregory Herschel?"

Gregory blinked. He certainly didn't know who the ancient-looking woman who'd snatched him was, which made it the very first time in his life that someone recognised him before he recognised them.

"Yes?"

"My name is Elizabeth Crouch, I am the head of the Department of Mysteries," she said. "And you are coming with me."

"Uh…" It was rather emasculating how quickly he discovered he didn't have a chance of breaking her iron-claw grip as she began to walk him away from where he was going. "Why?"

She gave him a grim, thin-lipped smile. "Because talent like yours can't be wasted on the front lines."


BBaRtS


Chapter 59.

It's officially been one year of me posting this fic. 365 days cus 2023 was too lazy to be a leap year like this one we're in now. Including this chapter, the longest I've ever done at 14.3k words, I've written 456,364 words for it in that time, and that's NOT including these long-ass ANs. That works out to roughly 1200 words a day, and again we're not counting anything else I've written, so that's mind blowing to me. It took me, like, 3 years to write a 100k word original novel in the past. In these 450k words I (like to believe I) improved a lot as a writer, both in terms of the actual skill and in terms of just... Idk, stick-to-it-iveness lol. Thank you all so much for reading this long-ass, over-stuffed, confusing, maudlin, rougher-than-sandpaper story of mine. Here's to hoping that I can continue to improve in my writing, and that someday I can look back at this fic as a stepping stone and not a peak lmao

Anyways, this chapter was pretty much the end of Hydrus's summer break, and I'm looking forward to continuing to wrap things up and tie others together. I wanted to make sure every member of the House of Black got to appear, and although they clearly didn't all get POVs, we did get to see em all. Let's get on to reviews; not a lot for the latest chapter this go around despite the long wait so maybe I should try to better stick to releasing on Saturdays and Sundays haha

"Now all I can imagine is neckbeard Peter screaming he's hungie for tendies." - Definitely the sort of vibe I was going for, with just being the most toxic husband possible without going into too much depressing and potentially 3real5people specificity.

"Draco, Remus and Dobby on an adventure together, what could go wrong." - Aw, give Remus some more credit than that. He's a man who knows what he's doing, even if he's sometimes wrong about what others are doing lolol. I really liked this moment for Draco too, it was a good milestone moment for him.

"What's going to happen to Ashly and Dianne now?" - We'll see some interactions between Hydrus and Dianne at school, but for the most part their part, at least Ashly's, is done in the story. They'll just keep living their lives, just without a shitty Peter around to make them miserable.

"Is Hydrus possessed by some old druid?" - Less possessed, more just an echo that's sort of, well, echoing in his mind. It was more like he and the druid's memory fused while he was looking at the tablet, Apophis jerked him away from it, and now he's just still got a weird tick going on, that's mostly corrected itself now.

And that's all! Again, thank you guys so much for reading, responding, and everything else. This fic ain't going for another full year, but we should be back on track for regular releases now for sure. Thank you all, love you all, see you all next weekend lessthanthree!