Bellatrix pouted as Sirius and her little water snake continued to argue in the Black summer home's den. They'd just gotten home after the old codger gave up on trying to find a trace of where Grindelwald had been taken to. Hydrus had tried using the headmaster as an excuse to not come with her, citing the fact that he should make sure his mentor was alright, but she'd put a stop to that real quick.
There was no way she was going to be dealing with her annoying cousin all on her own.
They were sitting in the den with Bellatrix sitting properly on one end of the sofa and Hydrus sprawled out across the rest of it with his head in her lap. She could feel their first baby gently slithering around the pair of them, 'itching his new scales' as her love had put it, and she was enjoying the family cuddle time. Much less enjoyable was the family head sitting on the loveseat across from them and glaring at her fiance.
"The hell is the point of making me wear this stupid ring if you and Bella aren't going to listen to me?" Sirius demanded. "I looked like a complete jackass just sitting there waiting for you two to show up."
"Oh, please," Hydrus said, rolling his eyes. "You're just mad you got stuck in a room with your mother."
"Damn right I am!"
Bellatrix began to whine. "Uuughh…"
No one was taking this seriously. The only thing Hydrus was concerned about was the fact that he couldn't figure out how Death was planning to make Arcturus a threat. Sirius only cared about getting 'abandoned' by his son. Even the headmaster himself had been more concerned with his stupid missing boyfriend than anything else. No one understood the gravest issue at hand.
"This is going to be humiliating," Bellatrix muttered, catching the other two's attention at last. "Even after Hydrus went through the whole vigil that night, Arcturus still came back. People are going to say he's a vampire."
Both of the men looked at her like she was crazy.
"If they think he's a vampire, that'll be for the better," Hydrus said. "Some might think this means that he's in charge again."
"They wouldn't dare," she argued. "The ingrate wears the ring."
Sirius growled. "Would you quit calling me that?"
Before Bellatrix could respond, Hydrus did.
"Let's just be glad she's not calling you anything worse," he said placatingly. "I'll interrogate your parents, by myself, if you leave it at that."
Now she was torn between wanting to be annoyed that he was talking about her like she was a child, right in front of her too boot, and being pleased with his acknowledgement. She really was trying to be nicer to her cousin, and she deserved that recognition. Trying to be kind to a miserable, lazy, ill-mannered, childish, caddish, idiotic, incompet—
"Whatever." Sirius slouched back in his chair. "So what are we going to do about the old man coming back? And are we certain it's really him?"
"I'd bet my—" Hydrus cut himself off for some reason. "I'd bet anything that it is him. As for what we're gonna do about it, I have no idea.
"Truth be told, I want us all on lockdown. Lock everyone up in Castle Black, except for myself, and just wait for the bastard to make a move." Her love sighed. "Unfortunately, I think I'd have better luck getting a house elf to attack their master than I would at getting you lot to listen to me."
"Oh I'm not getting locked up anywhere." Bellatrix had to make sure she was very clear about that. "Well, not unless you're there too, of course."
"You know I get claustrophobic," Sirius muttered. "And that castle isn't half big enough for a family like ours."
Bellatrix cooed when her and Hydrus's first baby became visible on his shoulders. The basilisk was hissing something at Sirius who flinched away.
"Don't mind him," Hydrus said. "He's just mad that you called 'his' castle small."
Apophis hissed again.
"Whatever," Sirius grumbled. "If I'm not getting chewed out by you, I'm getting chewed out by her, or Amelia, or Cygnus, or that blonde twat; and now I've got the damn snake on my ass too."
"Don't forget Remus," Hydrus said. "He probably gets after you more than the rest of us combined."
"Yeah but that's like, your mum yelling at you," Sirius said. "Well, not my mum, but you know what I mean. He just wants what's best for me."
"Ugh." Bellatrix scrunched up her nose. "You—" She bit her tongue. Literally. "Just, ugh."
"See?" Hydrus said. "She's getting better."
"Right, better." Sirius rolled his eyes. "Most people's cousins don't have to learn how not to be awful."
Her love's eye twitched. "That's because their cousins aren't embroiled in a love triangle so homoromantic that it makes your much more directly gay brother seem straight by comparison."
Bellatrix giggled as Sirius scoffed.
"Seriously, Dad," Hydrus continued. "You love Remus, Remus loves James, James loves you. It's like something out of a damn soap opera."
Sirius coughed. "That's not—"
"James is the confident, gilded social butterfly that Remus wishes he could be," Hydrus said. "Remus is everything this family isn't, logical and kind, so you idealise him." He shrugged. "And Merlin himself couldn't explain what the hell James sees in you, deadbeat."
Bellatrix cackled before saying, "I wonder if we should warn Bones."
"Oh, she knows," a new voice said, stealing the mirth from the future Lady of House Black. "Sirius, Giannis is finally in bed. You're in charge of the bedtime story next time."
Amelia Bones was joining them, dressed in a nice if cheap-looking dress. Bellatrix knew she shouldn't judge the woman too harshly. Considering she was from the Bones family and was living off of just an Auror's salary, it was a miracle she looked half as well dressed as she was. Perhaps once Sirius finally married her Bellatrix would consider helping her with her wardrobe.
"Yeah, I know," Sirius half-sighed. "Kinda dealing with the end of the world here."
"Is it really that bad?" Bones asked Hydrus as she settled on the loveseat next to Sirius. "I was hoping it was just something to do with the grave robbing."
"It was," Hydrus said. "Figured out what's going on. We, meaning the family, have bigger problems now."
"It's always something…" Bones shook her head. "Is there anything I can do?"
"Keep an eye out for a revived Arcturus Black, he's come back for revenge," Hydrus said. "Under no circumstances should any one engage with him. He'll probably be on a level similar to myself, Dumbledore, and Grindelwald."
"How could he come back to life?" Bones asked with a frown. "That's impossible."
"I can name three rituals off the top of my head that can achieve it," Hydrus muttered. "But that's not the point. The point is that he's going to be gunning for someone to die in the family. I can't imagine how he'd kill me, but I'm not counting out the possibility."
"Don't be ridiculous, dear," Bellatrix warmly chided. "You're the strongest wizard in the entire world."
She shot a glare at Bones who had rolled her eyes. The woman was lucky she might be family someday, else Bellatrix would've had to remind her of how she came to be a duelling champion.
"You really the strongest?" Sirius asked, staring his son down. "You're not just talking a big game?"
"There's only one person in the world I wouldn't be able to beat," Hydrus confirmed. "And it ain't Dumbledore or Grindelwald."
"Who?" Sirius demanded.
Bellatrix made to snap at him to mind his business, but Bones spoke up first. "He's just flirting with your cousin."
Bellatrix blinked, then sat up a bit straighter. She knew that wasn't true, but it seemed her future cousin-in-law had a better grasp of their family's situation than Sirius himself. It made perfect sense for that to just be a flirtation from her love. Now her little water snake wouldn't even need to come up with a—
"Alright there's two people I couldn't beat," Hydrus said, completely derailing Bellatrix's plan. "Three if you wanna throw Giannis in there under the same 'wouldn't be willing to hurt' banner." Apophis hissed from his shoulder. "Yes, yes, you too."
He and Sirius continued arguing, escalating to an annoying degree when Hydrus flatly refused to say the same thing about Sirius himself. Bellatrix was, for once, not paying her love any attention. Instead she was watching Bones, who seemed to be thinking hard about something. Did the woman figure it out?
There was only one thing the Black family entirely agreed on. Every last member, besides Sirius himself, was unanimously against letting him discover the fact that he could call on their magic with ease. Everyone, besides Bellatrix herself, wasn't happy that Hydrus could do it too, but at least he was responsible enough to be… Well, not trusted. Trust never went further than a knife in the family. But they knew what to expect from him having such an ability.
Sirius though?
Amelia began to open her mouth, so Bellatrix stood. "Bones, could I speak to you in private for a moment?"
For what felt like the millionth time in her life, everyone in the room was looking at her like she was crazy.
"Why?" Bones asked, clearly suspicious. "I don't—"
"If you don't, you'll regret it," Bellatrix said. "And that's not a threat." She shot a glare at Sirius who'd begun to growl. "It's just an honest statement."
Bellatrix strolled out of the room, and was glad to hear Bones sigh and follow behind her. She led the way to Sirius's office and closed the door behind them.
"Now what's this about?" Amelia asked. "I don't like being in closed-quarters with you, Black."
"That's wise," Bellatrix agreed. "I want to know what you were about to say, and if it's what I suspect, then we'll need to negotiate for your silence."
The pureblood woman narrowed her eyes at Bellatrix. It was hard not to take personally, but Bellatrix would allow it. She supposed on some level she did have a modicum of respect for her cousin's choice of partner. Amelia Bones was a powerful woman, both politically and genetically, not to mention her years spent as an Auror captain. If Sirius had, as Hydrus liked to put it, 'shacked up' with some half-blood or Morganna-forbid a mudblood, then it would've been impossible to even have this conversation.
"I was going to say," Amelia started, testingly. "That the only person Hydrus can't beat in a fight is Sirius."
Bellatrix sucked her teeth. "Fine. Now what's it going to take for you not to say that?"
"Why shouldn't I?" The woman crossed her arms. "Are you really that protective of Hydrus's ego?"
"It's not about his ego," Bellatrix snapped. "It's about Sirius's. The only things in the entire world that can bring that man back down to earth are you, Hydrus, and our pet werewolf."
"First of all, Remus is not your pet." Bellatrix growled at the woman's tone. "Second, you just listed two different ways Sirius's 'ego' can be kept in check besides Hydrus acting like he can beat him in a fight. Especially since we all know exactly why he can't beat him."
'How the hell did she figure…' Bellatrix interrupted her thought with a grin. 'Clever bitch.'
"Don't treat me like the dung-brained sods who are stupid enough to get caught and interrogated by you, Bones," Bellatrix said. "I am entirely certain you haven't the faintest idea why Hydrus wouldn't beat my cousin."
Amelia's eye twitched. "Then maybe he and I should put our heads together and figure it out."
"Or maybe you should learn not to rock the boat." Bellatrix told her madness to settle down, and instead relied on her years spent learning manners and decorum to guide this conversation. "The last thing this family needs right now is power shifting."
"Let's start with this then." Amelia tilted her chin up. "Because this isn't something I'm willing to negotiate on. Why is it that Hydrus thinks that Sirius would beat him in a fight, but Dumbledore couldn't?"
Bellatrix weighed that out in her mind. The knowledge was dangerous, especially for her little water snake. As far as most people were concerned, Hydrus was either invincible or they were underestimating him. They either knew their place was beneath him, or they were cursedly ignorant. If word got out about what Sirius could do, that could all change. On the other hand, Amelia would be family soon, so it wasn't like the secret needed to be kept from her for long anyways…
"Hydrus has a very unique ability," Bellatrix finally said. "It allows him to draw on other members of the Black family's magic, rendering them inert whilst he does so." Amelia's brows furrowed. "Unfortunately, as we've come to learn, he actually inherited the skill from Sirius, who has no idea."
"So he can stop Hydrus from being able to cast any spells?" Amelia asked. "That's…"
"Not just Hydrus; anyone with the Black family's magic. Him not knowing he can do it is a secret that the entire family agrees must be kept, every last member." Bellatrix began to gnaw on her thumb, trying to at least not break the skin this time. "Can you imagine what he'd do to my aunt and uncle if he found out? Do you want to have to marry a murderer?" She sucked the wound she'd left on her digit for a second, having failed not to bleed herself. "Actually I suppose he'd be a serial killer at that point. He's already a murderer."
"That's… He wouldn't…" There. There was the weakness in her future cousin-in-law. "That wouldn't happen, and we're not engaged anymore. We're just… dating."
"Please, you're getting married." Bellatrix didn't know why the woman was even trying that bluff. "Marrying a Black is the greatest thing one can hope for when they don't have the fortune to be born one."
"Morganna, you're insufferable…" Amelia muttered. "Either way, he wouldn't—"
"He would if he snapped," Bellatrix interrupted. "We both know that. It's a miracle it hasn't happened already. You know how much of a baby he is when it comes to his childhood."
"They tortured him!" Amelia snapped. This time Bellatrix flared her magic, but Bones rebuked it with her own. "How many times have you had to regrow your own eyes?"
"I've never been slow enough to have to find out," Bellatrix said, increasing her magical output and growing more and more frustrated with how Amelia met her at every step. "But I'd be happy to ask Hydrus. I happen to know he's actually been tortured, and has regrown them on more than one occasion."
"Stop with the theatrics." Bones dropped her magical projection, so Bellatrix did so as well. "Unless you want them coming to find out what we're discussing."
That was a good point. Bellatrix really was looking forward to having this very sensible woman as a relative. She hadn't even considered that might happen, but that oaf Sirius would've made a scene and Hydrus might not've taken her side this time.
"Fine. But let's get back to the topic at hand," she said. "What'll it cost to buy your silence?"
They had a much more comfortable staring contest now. Amelia was chewing through everything Bellatrix had said. Bellatrix was chewing on her thumb. Hydrus had told her she should break the habit, but after the way he'd chewed through half his palm she felt like she could safely ignore that request. Eventually the other woman spoke.
"Tell me how this would benefit Sirius in any way," Amelia said. "I don't want to bargain with you, Black. I don't negotiate with people who may or may not become my family someday."
Well that was a silly rule to have.
"It would benefit him by preventing conflict with Hydrus, keeping his already massive ego in check, and it would make him happier to know you're not having issues with his family." Bellatrix stepped forward and Bones finally showed the proper concern for standing before her, taking half a step back. "Believe me when I say that, short of Hydrus himself, there is only one person in this family you need on your side, and that is me."
"I don't need anyone." Amelia leaned in close herself now, still refusing to be cowed. "Sirius and I—"
"Keep telling yourself that." Madness filled Bellatrix, and she pressed her forehead against Amelia's. "But you know as well as I do that Sirius isn't going anywhere now. If you make me miserable, then I will make both of you miserable. Wouldn't it be better to play nice and get along…" She raised the pitch of her voice. "Bonesy?"
Bellatrix could actually feel the woman gritting her teeth with their heads touching like this. "Get off of me."
"Not until—"
"Fine!" Bellatrix immediately settled her madness and pulled away. "I won't tell him if you promise to never touch me again."
"Deal."
Bellatrix began humming to herself as they headed back to the den, pleased that she'd done so well and that her future cousin was so uncomplicated. It would be nice to finally have someone in the family who did what she expected them to. If it wasn't Sirius somehow proving himself an even bigger idiot than she had thought, it was Hydrus choosing not to eat brunch with her, or it was her older sister marrying a mudblood, or it was that bitch Narcissa trying to kill her own future brother-in-law, or it was Regulus being—
"Wait." Bellatrix nearly bit Bones's hand as the woman held it up to stop her from reentering the room. "What are they…?"
"Come on," Sirius was whining. "Just take a guess."
"Swear to…" Hydrus muttered something. "Listen, I'm gonna tell you something you should've figured out a long, long time ago. When a woman asks another woman to talk in private, you don't, ask, questions." He was punctuating each word with a tink sound, probably tapping his glass against a table. "And when they come back, you don't ask why they've changed clothes or why they're licking their teeth or anything else. You just pretend like nothing happened."
Amelia scoffed and muttered. "How the hell is the teenager more of a gent—"
"Changed clothes?" Sirius sounded disgusted. "What the fuck is it that you think they're doing in there?"
"Oh for the love of…" Amelia finally pushed open the door and strode in. "We're back."
"Where were you two?" Bellatrix's idiot cousin asked. She rolled her eyes as she settled into Hydrus's lap. "Why did—"
"Sirius, you're too old to still be asking questions like that," Amelia chided. Bellatrix giggled at the shocked look Sirius gave. "Mind your own business."
"Wh—"
"Told you," Hydrus said as he wrapped his arms around Bellatrix. "Dumbass."
Bellatrix giggled again, this time at her little water snake's confidence. She'd have to tell him the truth later, but for now she'd let him incorrectly assume it had been some 'womanly' problem.
"Whatever," Sirius grumbled. "So. What are we gonna do?"
"Well, I might not be able to put you all on lockdown, but we are going to have to up our defences." Bellatrix pouted when Hydrus shifted so that he was no longer embracing her. "First off, we need ward upgrades. Every piece of property we live on or use needs the best money can offer. That goes for the Burrow, the Potters' residences, and Remus's place too." He mumbled some profanity before adding. "Do the same for that boarding house Stefanos named after the old man too, plus anyone I've adopted into Slytherin."
"You said he's come back for revenge," Amelia said. "Wouldn't that just mean we need to keep Sirius safe?"
Hydrus scoffed. "Are you kidding me? Killing the man was probably the most respectable thing Sirius could've done in Arcturus's eyes. That's not what he's pissed about."
"Then what?"
Bellatrix watched her love's reaction. She could see the madness waxing and waning in his eyes as he tried to come up with an answer. For all the effort he'd told her he put into being able to only give off the appearance he chose, it seemed the Black family's blessing was just that little bit stronger. Poor baby. Yet another reason he should just give up on his stupid bargain and become her not-so-little water snake again.
"I lied about who my mother was," he finally said. Sirius immediately straightened up. "She was not a Slytherin or a Gaunt or anything else. She was just a muggleborn.
"I wanted to be a greater wizard than that. I needed to be. So, I made a deal with the goddess, Magic, and had her implant runes on my bones to change who I was down to my very soul." Bellatrix wanted to cringe at how much he reminded her of the old coot now, it was like he was imitating him. "I made sure that my appearance would look exactly like you, Sirius, so that way there'd be no mistaking who my father was. I added the strength of the most powerful wizard in the world. I added the gift of the most noble of all families. Finally, I threw in a back up plan in case nothing else worked."
Hydrus took a long, seat-shifting breath, disturbing Bellatrix from the mild stupor his speech had caused. It might've just been an impression of Dumbledore, but it was rather enthralling to listen to him speak so grandiosely. She wondered how it would've sounded coming from his much more powerful, much more mature self.
"I told you before, Sirius," Hydrus continued. "I am not your son. I am you. I am you with enough of Dumbledore, Salazar Slytherin, and the Potters to ensure that no matter what happened to me, I would be safe."
A silence fell on the room, and Bellatrix pulled Hydrus in close. Everything he'd just said had been… No, not everything just… What he'd just said wasn't entirely true. But the way he'd said it all, it still felt like something that deserved a hug. She pressed her face next to his and squeezed him tight.
"But…" Bones started, earning a glare from Bellatrix. She was ruining the moment. "Why would that make Arcturus want revenge?"
To her surprise, it was Sirius who answered. "Because the ancient fuck is insane. To him, Hydrus did the absolute worst thing imaginable."
"What?"
"He diluted the bloodline," Bellatrix said, finally realising what Sirius was assuming. "If he'd just made himself a perfect mirror to Sirius, he'd have forgiven him. Instead he added others."
"That's—!" Amelia was finally beginning to understand. "You're seriously saying he came back from the dead just to get back at Hydrus?"
"Technically he was forced back," Bellatrix's love muttered. "He was revived by Death because I pissed off the god."
"How did you piss off the Grim Reaper?!"
Bellatrix sighed. This was going to take a while.
Hydrus sat in the stands, one arm over Draco's shoulder, the other over Ron's who felt as stiff as a board. They were in the front row of a large crowd of students and most of the Hogwarts staff, encircled around a singular duelling stage. He had put up the strongest wards he knew about on Castle Black last night, kidnapped his 'grandparents' and future father-in-law, then stuffed them inside with orders not to leave. Giannis and Flamel were in charge of setting up the rest of the wards on the castle and everywhere else. True to Perenelle's word, it seemed the ancient alchemist really had taken a shine to the kid.
When Hydrus first told the Greek boy about how he needed his help, the first thing Giannis said was that he wanted to bring in Flamel. Even after explaining that the alchemist might not agree, Hydrus's pseudo-son had insisted that the old man needed to be there. When they got to the house in the clouds, Flamel had seemed more annoyed to see Hydrus than Giannis, and even went so far as to try and get rid of him so that he could get back to his tutoring.
'Pompous tit,' Hydrus thought. 'Whatever. At least he's getting along with Giannis now.'
The actual school day had gone by frustratingly slowly, and now he was more annoyed than anything else that he had to sit through this mockery of a duel. With everything that had happened he'd forgotten about the fact that he'd promised that American bird a duel against Bellatrix. The foreign 'guest performer' for the Duelling Club was already standing on one end of the stage and having an enthusiastic conversation with Flitwick. The half-goblin had all but tripped over himself to accept her joining for a demonstration today.
Apparently the young woman was actually quite the rising star on the duelling circuit.
So now they were all just waiting for Bella to arrive.
"Uh, Hydrus?" Ron said. "You're being a bit… Touchy…"
"I know," Hydrus confirmed, pulling the redhead in closer. "I like making you uncomfortable."
Ron scoffed and yanked the half-limb off of himself. Hydrus just laughed and pulled Draco in closer on the other side; his 'cousin' knew better than to fight off Hydrus's penchant for annoying others so directly. He'd have to come up with something to properly 'punish' Ron for rejecting the annoyance later…
A round of cheers broke out, and Hydrus applauded on instinct; pulling Draco back and forth as he gently smacked the stub of his left arm. After a few seconds, his fiancee finally came into view.
Bellatrix was dressed in her usual robes for duelling. Instead of being made of a single piece of fabric, the robes were actually hundreds if not thousands of individual strips of cloth sewed together in a complex weave that, every once in a while, would reveal the slightest bit of skin. Beneath it all, of course, was a proper bralette and other undergarments to make sure nothing too scandalising was shown, but most onlookers didn't know that. It just looked like a beautiful bit of hope-brimming clothing thats runes and wards ensured the wearer was no less safe than a knight in armour. When Bellatrix first made her debut and shot up the duelling circuit rankings, that style of robes became all the rage. It was only as of late that their popularity had diminished.
Hydrus suspected a comeback was in order.
"Ladies and gentlemen!" Flitwick bellowed. "It is my utmost pleasure and honour to introduce our duellists this evening!
"On the port side we have Jessica Fontaine! The North-Eastern America's under-forty divisional champion, this young woman is already on her way to making quite the name for herself!" There was a polite round of applause and shouts. "But on starboard…"
The whole school erupted in cheers, and Hydrus smiled to himself at the delight he saw on Bella's face. Despite all her complaints about the 'awful monsters' she taught, he knew better than anyone how much she enjoyed the respect and awe her students doted upon her. The Black family might not have ever lived up to her needs on the attention front, but the rest of the world sure did.
Or at least the school children were more than willing to cheer on their 'representation' in the face of an American.
Either way.
"We have Bellatrix Black! Divisional, national, continental, and world champion!" Again the crowd roared. "Who else is excited to see who comes out on top between the rising star, and the seemingly unending sun?!"
Hydrus laughed. He'd never seen Flitwick like this. It seemed that the Charms professor's passion for duelling was greater than he'd let on during the war, and that was becoming clearer and clearer with each syllable he belted. Maybe this was the sort of entrance he'd always wanted on the circuit. It had certainly put a smile on Bella's face.
"Fontaine! Are you ready?" Flitwick called. "Black! Are you ready?"
Both duellists had nodded at his question, and a silence took hold of the Grand Hall. Every student, teacher, and fly on the wall was waiting with baited breath.
And they waited some more.
And then some more.
Gods damn. Hydrus had to give his former soldier credit for this pause.
"Aaaaand! Begin!"
Bellatrix won.
Hydrus blinked.
She hadn't even given the American witch a second to prepare, she'd just launched a blasting curse. Then a cutter. Then an explosive bit of transfiguration that turned half the air in front of the other woman to combustible material, followed up with a spark that ignited the whole explosion. It had all happened so fast that Hydrus was only half way to the American by the time Flitwick called an end to the duel.
"Your winner!" he called. "Bellatrix Black!"
Hydrus skidded to a stop before Jessica and knelt down. Visually he saw the woman was bleeding from a massive laceration across her chest, her pupils were so dilated that her irises were barely visible, and almost all of her skin was swelling and reddening as it finally reacted to the explosion. He needed—
"Stop the bleeding." He looked up to see Pomphrey kneeling beside him, drawing her wand. "I'm going to look at her brain."
He gave an acknowledging grunt, then got to work disinfecting and sealing shut the laceration. It was almost surprising how well he worked with the school's actual doctor to heal the foreign witch, but he supposed it shouldn't be. Pomphrey had been the one to teach him half these spells in the first place, after all.
After nearly ten minutes they were done, or at least as done as they needed to be for the mediwitch to feel comfortable taking the American to the medical ward. Hydrus sighed and slumped down on top of himself as he laid onto the ground.
Medical magic was fun. A problem cropped up, he took care of the problem. Another problem cropped up, he took care of that problem. Problem, solution. Problem, solution. "Problem, solu—"
"Come on, dear." He allowed Bellatrix to haul him up to his feet. "Our adoring public awaits."
"You're the worst," Hydrus grumbled. "I hope you remember this for your next duel. The worse you fuck up your opponent, the longer it'll take me to heal them."
A round of cheers shook the hall and Hydrus was forced to stop in time with his 'teacher' as she paused to bask in it. He supposed she deserved it. She really hadn't thrown anything too ridiculous at the poor teenager, it was just that the attack had been so out of character that Jessica couldn't have expected it. As he stood with his love in her celebration though, a duo approached.
'Ah shit.'
"Scion and Heir Black." Hydrust straightened up perfectly in sync with Bellatrix as Headmaster Fontaine joined them, Dumbledore at his side. "That was quite the show you put on."
"My apologies, Lord Fontaine," Hydrus said, trying to come off as embarrassed yet nonchalant. "Between your granddaughter's excitement and my fiancee's pride we—"
"Settle down, son!" Fontaine's hand slapped so hard against Hydrus's shoulder that he actually winced. "And congratulations, Ms. Black. Jessy hasn't shut up about how excited she was for this since you first offered it, and now I get to rub it in her nose how silly she was she being."
Hydrus nearly missed what Bella said as he reigned in his madness at the 'assault' on his shoulder.
"Of course, sir." Bella curtsied. "I would have loved to take more time to educate her, but I don't think she would've appreciated the underestimation if I did so."
"Damn right she wouldn't." Fontaine stood up even taller, though he was still dwarfed by the amused looking Dumbledore. "So thank you, for respecting her pride."
As Bellatrix released Hydrus to accept the American headmaster's handshake, he couldn't help but think it was ridiculous. All his wife—, his future wife, had done, was trample over the younger woman's pride. What would happen if some tragedy occurred while she was laid up in a hospital bed? He'd been in that scenario frequently enough to drive the thought to the furthest side of 'deplorable' as possible. Why on earth would—
"Hydrus?" Bella said.
"Yeah?"
"Should we continue?" she asked. "Or should we stay here?"
He realised he'd just been standing around for the past few seconds, and his cheeks lit up.
"Let's go."
How the hell was he supposed to control his madness? The Apophis-like substance inside of him was swaying back and forth like it was basking in the sun, just waiting for an excuse to pop up and complicate his life. How was he going to cage it? Every day he wanted more and more to just do away with his bargain with Magic, and come up with some new non-Hydrus life. How the hell would he fit that into his schedule though? How would he manage to still keep Draco on board as his understudy? How would he—
Before he realised what was happening, Bella had him pinned to a wall and was practically touching the back of his throat with her tongue. He more expected then felt the need she was pressing onto him, and he allowed her to hold him captive for a moment longer. Then another moment longer. Then another moment. God he loved the way she whined into his—
"Eh-hem."
"What?" Bella demanded, pulling away to glare at Dumbledore who had joined them in the unoccupied classroom she'd dragged Hydrus into. "What do you want?"
"I was hoping to see if you'd had any progress toward locating Gellert," the ancient warlock said. "I would consider that to be—"
"Give it a break, old man," Hydrus said. He was building up his magic without releasing it in order to counter his master's incoming rebuttal. "No one cares about Grindelwald. We're all just glad to see him gone."
Hydrus expected his teacher to retaliate. He planned to counteract the volcanic temperatures the man could summon with arctic ones of his own. No matter what Dumbledore did, there was no way his self-proclaimed apprentice couldn't counteract it.
"…Professor?"
Dumbledore's shoulders sagged down, and he stepped out of the classroom. Hydrus pulled, then jerked, himself away from Bellatrix who didn't seem willing to let him go. He quickly caught up with the man who'd taught him everything he knew, and silently followed beside him in case anyone was watching as they returned to his office. Once they were inside, Fawkes crooned at them from his perch but didn't bother to get up. It seemed he was too old at the moment to be bothered with physical intimacy.
"I…" Dumbledore started. "I'm sorry, Hydrus. I just can't help but worry."
"No, I'm sorry." Hydrus bowed his head. "That was out of line, and wasn't at all what I wanted to say. It's not enough to be called an excuse, but the madness has gotten harder and harder to control as of late."
He genuinely felt awful. This wasn't his Dumbledore; this wasn't the man who'd gone through not one or two but three wars. This was the Dumbledore who many veterans considered a coward and a pacifist. He hadn't gone through the crucibles that had forged the man who'd taught Hydrus everything he knew, and that meant he shouldn't be held to those same expectations.
This Dumbledore just didn't understand what it meant to give up on love for the sake of duty.
"I understand, Hydrus." The ancient warlock was sitting with sagged shoulders and heavy eyes. "I'm sure that's—"
"I already said it's not an excuse," Hydrus said. "Don't write it off as just that. I crossed the line, and you should feel comfortable expressing your displeasure with that. It's alright, Albus."
The headmaster stared at him now, the weariness in his expression gone. His brows were narrowed, there was a downward turn in the corner of his lips, and for half a moment Hydrus thought he was actually about to get a lecture.
"Your eyes…" Dumbledore started. Hydrus blinked. "They're hazel."
"What?"
Hydrus conjured up a hand mirror, and true to the old wizard's word his eyes were indeed a different shade of grey. He wasn't sure if he would go so far as to call them 'hazel', he wasn't entirely sure if he could define hazel in the first place, but they definitely weren't the exact same colour as Sirius's anymore.
"That bitch," Hydrus continued, glaring at his own expression. "'Reforged the bargain' my ass."
"Perhaps you've been pressing things more wantonly now that you had more confidence in it," Dumbledore suggested. "The difference between an untested fence and a besieged wall."
"Or maybe that half-cocked deity just sucks at her job." He vanished away the mirror and glared at the wall, slumping down in his chair. "Can't believe I wasted all that time worshipping her."
"You bought years and lives with that worship, Hydrus," Dumbledore said. "I'd hardly call that a waste."
"In the end—!" He cut himself off, and took a deep breath. He'd already yelled at the ancient warlock once today, he didn't need to do it again. "It still feels like a waste, and I'm afraid words aren't enough to change that. I appreciate you're trying though, thank you."
"Tell me," Dumbledore began. "Have you mentioned these issues to Remus, regarding the madness?"
"If you're asking because you genuinely want to look after me then I won't answer," Hydrus said. "If you're asking because helping people makes you feel better, then I will."
His teacher blinked, then began chuckling. Hydrus waited patiently, but the laughter only seemed to grow louder. Eventually he rolled his eyes and got up to wander over to Fawkes and begin petting his former familiar. Apophis appeared and reached down to nuzzle against the phoenix as well. He grinned as he watched the two animals get along for once.
"Forgive me, Hydrus, but I really appreciated that moment of brevity." Hydrus turned back to see Dumbledore wiping a small tear from his eye. "May I ask you a different question?"
"Of course." He scooped up Fawkes and carried the phoenix over to hold in his lap while the conversation resumed. "Go ahead."
"How old do you think you are?"
Hydrus blinked. "Uh, I don't know? Somewhere in my mid to late thirties?"
"I wonder…" The ancient warlock hummed. "Tell me about young Bilguun, the Mongolian boy who survived your encounter with Jasiel."
"He was a good kid." Hydrus had no idea why the old man was asking about him out of nowhere, but if Fate herself was scared to try and understand the old man's mannerisms, he wasn't about to start trying himself. "Strong, real strong. I had high hopes for him.
"He was probably the closest thing I had to an apprentice myself, though Neville did more of the work than I did. I wanted to make sure he was taken care of after I got all his friends killed." He sighed. "I let him take the elder wand at one point. He kept breaking the mispaired ones we gave out, and he was the only one besides me and Neville who seemed like they could handle it.
"I remember he had the weirdest sense of humour, real gallows stuff." He smiled thinking back on that. "Deadpan as a stoic, but always spouting off the weirdest shit imaginable. One time he… He…"
Hydrus blinked. What was the joke he was about to share?
"You don't remember, do you?" Dumbledore asked. "Tell me, was he one of the ones you sacrificed?"
"Yes." The answer came immediately, but when Hydrus tried to remember it… "I… I think so anyways…"
"Could it be possible," the ancient warlock said. "That you loved him as you would a child of your very own? And that, like with your natural born heir, parts of your time with him were lost as well?"
His heart sunk deep down in his chest. He'd contemplated the way that he often thought of the students at Hogwarts as his children, the way it affected his arm before the recent changes to his bargain, but it had never occurred to him how he would've felt in the past. He'd only ever considered the memories lost about his son or daughter with Ginny. How many memories were gone? How many people? How many years…
"That's why you were asking how old I thought I was." It was a statement, not a question. "You think I might be a bit older than that."
"I was thinking of how much you reminded me of myself," Dumbledore said. "And in a moment of humility, assumed that to be your own maturity rather than my own child-like wonder."
Hydrus snorted. "Right."
He tried imagining that, the missing memories. He supposed he did think highly of Bilguun, at least to the extent that Jasiel's near-victory was a permanent fixture in his nightmares. But how many others were there? He'd met, recruited, and raised countless children for his army. Thinking back on it now though, all he really remembered was soldiers. Was that a sign of his own intentional distancing, or a side effect of a bargain that was proving to be more of a hassle than it was worth…
"I know I've asked this before, but please have patience with me," Dumbeldore said. "How many children are you planning to have with Bellatrix?"
"As many as she wants." The answer wasn't too dissimilar to the one she herself had given when the headmaster asked last time. "Despite her distaste for others' children, I know how much she loves the ones she considers ours. I would never stop her from having that."
He began intently focusing on his petting of Fawkes. Apophis slithered up under his arm so that he was being incidentally petted as well. Eventually the basilisk descended down from around his shoulders entirely and coiled around the phoenix like he was a nest for the bird to sit atop of.
"And how do you feel about the proposition yourself?"
"I don't care," Hydrus said. "Well, I'd prefer not to have any while dealing with Death's promise to kill a member of my family, but beyond that I just… Well, like I said, I don't really care."
And he didn't. Whether he or Bella were infertile or had a dozen children of their own, it didn't make a particular difference. There were certain challenges that should arise in either scenario, but neither side was particularly damning for a rich and powerful family like theirs. Even the temper tantrums that his future wife would throw if she found out they couldn't have a child could be mitigated by just adopting some, or stealing them from Sirius or Regulus or her sisters.
"It may sound odd," Dumbledore said. "But I've never particularly enjoyed the thought of having a child."
Hydrus blinked. That was odd. The headmaster seemed to love raising and educating children as much as anyone he'd ever met.
"In the era I grew up in, romance was entirely traditional and revolved around marriage and children and alliances and such." Things weren't too different now on the wizarding side of things, but Hydrus thought he could pick up on what the older man was saying. "I was however, as they say, a man in search of a roommate.
"A child was part and parcel of the more conventional lifestyle, so I was immediately disavowed of it within my mind. Having a child meant betraying myself, so I never entertained it." The ancient warlock stared up at the ceiling. "But, seeing as how I am as human as you or anyone else, I was fighting a battle within myself. I turned towards teaching others as the closest I could come to such a thing without having to actually stoop so low as to bed a woman."
Hydrus laughed. "What a saint you are."
Dumbledore grinned before continuing.
"I mention this because I love you as my own child or grandchild, Harry," he said. Har—, Hydrus, stiffened. "In moments where I want to lash out, or give up, or surrender to any other of my more initial desires, I think of the example I would be setting for you.
"I think of that, and it gives me the strength to be and do better. It reminds me of the gift I have been given." Fawkes cooed in time with Dumbledore breathing out a long sigh. "But you do not feel that same love, and so you are at a disadvantage. You don't have that voice whispering inside your head to say that you need to be better for the sake of the children you love so much."
That sentence hung in the air for a while as Hydrus processed it. After a minute or so he realised what the point of the conversation was. Dumbledore was getting everything he wanted out of it. He did just genuinely want to feel better after Hydrus acted so rudely, and so he was criticising him. He also did want to discuss what the issues at hand were, and to him that was Hydrus's bargain and the negative effect it was having on the situation. There was also the fact that he enjoyed keeping people off kilter, and in that sense he was having more success than any other.
"True enough," Hydrus eventually agreed. "Instead I've got the opposite voice, the one whispering in my head to just torch the lot of you and be done with it."
The madness in his soul hissed in delight at that thought.
"I don't say that to berate you," Dumbledore said. "I trust you enough that I am merely thinking aloud here."
'Right,' Hydrus thought internally. 'Never the sort to berate, are you…'
Whatever. He loved the old man as much as Dumbledore loved him, if not more so, so he didn't mind getting chastised. Especially not in a moment like this where he deserved it.
Dumbledore cleared his throat. "Do you have any idea where Gellert might've been taken to?"
'There it is,' Hydrus thought. "I don't, but I know the European vampire scene is steeped in Death's influence. I told my uncle to get me a list of everyone involved, and plan to start kicking over rocks as soon as possible." He popped his knuckles. "I assume you'll be covering any absences?"
"I'd prefer it if I didn't have to," the headmaster said with a sigh. Hydrus's eye twitched. "You were only in Hogwarts until your fourth year; this is the beginning of an important time for you."
Hydrus scoffed. "Are you kidding me? I'm only here until I can get this Death situation sorted. If winning this war takes longer than that, then I've failed my job."
"This isn't a war, and 'winning' isn't your job." The headmaster straightened up, and Hydrus mirrored his posture, shifting the basilisk and phoenix in his lap slightly. "You need to stop thinking in terms you're more familiar with, and start trying to come up with the proper label for things."
"I… What?" He shook his head. "Tell me what you mean."
He'd learned long ago that questions were always a dangerous thing with Dumbledore. Always safer to give out statements. Answering a question left a million possibilities, responding to a demand had only the one the demander deemed fit. A lesson this very man had taught him.
"You've been at war for too long. It paints every interaction and scenario you have in the light of such combat." Dumbledore picked up one of the pieces of candy in his desk's bowl, and Hydrus did the same. "But let's examine it in another way. Sirius swore himself to Death, then turned his back on him. Death wants a life in return, since the one promised to him was taken. Are lives the only thing that the deity values?"
Hydrus thought about that for a moment. He allowed the idea to tumble across his mind as he batted away the basilisk-like madness inside him, then came to a conclusion.
"I don't really care what he wants." Dumbledore stiffened. "I've spent too much of my life being governed by others' decisions and actions to let anyone, a god or otherwise, tell me how to handle my problems." He leaned back in his chair as Apophis hissed in pleasure at his petting. "We have a conflict. The only conflict I'm good at handling is war. I want it to be war."
War was simple. Their guys versus your guys. Your supplies being defended against their raids, their supplies being defended against your raids. Movement, tactics, supplies, defences, spies, and all the rest. Trying to rephrase the conversation into something else would only disadvantage him at this point.
"I understand you're more accustomed to war," Dumbledore said. "But what about the rest of us?"
"The rest of you are useless." Hydrus allowed the basilisk inside himself to coil itself around his heart. "Grindelwald got himself captured and potentially killed. You're sitting here talking to me instead of doing anything. Sirius, Bella, Amelia, James? They're all just sitting around waiting for someone to tell them what to do. I'm the only one who can fix this, so we're going to solve it my way."
He had plenty of soldiers to call on now. Jasiel's school could be hired for a pittance thanks to how poor they were. The students of Hogwarts weren't worth much, but they were all very loyal, all very malleable. That American school head could be used to some degree. There was the werewolf pack he had at his beck and call, not to mention the goblins that would be more than happy to get their sword back and a side to pick in the internal war that had broken out.
There were just so many options if a war were to break out…
"I'd much prefer if such a thing didn't come to pass." Hydrus glanced up to see his master staring down at him with a cold expression. "War is never the answer."
"It's always an answer, though," Hydrus said. "And it's one that I'm particularly skilled at. Unless you've suddenly become some god's chosen, and have the solution to all my problems, I'd suggest you don't stand in my way."
"Hydrus," Dumbledore said. "Your madness?"
Hydrus blinked, and reeled it all in. His face immediately flushed over in shame and embarrassment.
"Sorry," he mumbled. "I promise I really am trying to—"
"Stop talking and focus on regretting what you did," Dumbledore interrupted. Hydrus tensed up. "I want you to engrain this moment in your mind, and forever remember your constant failures at keeping the madness in check."
Harry began collapsing in on himself. He grabbed hold of Apophis on instinct and pulled the basilisk in tight, trying to find some comfort as Fawkes squealed and flew back to his proper nest. Dumbledore yelling at him was always difficult to deal with and he needed all the support he could get. Apophis squirmed a bit in his grip. Still, he couldn't let the reptile go. He needed his son. He needed—
"Harry James Potter." Dumbledore's voice cut through the madness that had once more consumed him. "I… I'm sorry. I'm trying so many avenues to get through to you, but it seems none of them are working."
Hydrus blinked. "What are you talking about? Don't apologise, you're just doing your job as my teacher."
He stared at the headmaster who was looking back at him with furrowed brows and wide eyes. What was his problem? The Dumbledore he knew always pushed him to uncomfortable boundaries, pushed him further than was safe and natural, all in the name of making him ready for anything. Sure he hadn't been performing as well as he should've thanks to his madness, but it wasn't like he'd failed. His answers were ones anyone could be proud of.
"Would you ever talk to Gianis with the same vitriol I just did?" Dumbledore asked. "Or the other students here at Hogwarts?"
"Of course not." Hydrus resumed his more gentle petting of his familiar. "They're not 'Harry James Potter'. They weren't raised to be spoken to like this."
Dumbledore collapsed into his chair and he stared down at the floor. "What you just said hurts far more than your comment regarding Gellert."
"Quit trying to take all the credit, you self-aggrandising old coot." Hydrus offered his teacher a grin to try and lift his spirits, but it didn't seem like it was working. "I was raised by the Dursleys, remember? They—"
"Were forced to adopt you by myself," Dumbledore said. "You can reframe it however you wish."
'Jeez, no wonder he pawned off my therapy on Remus,' Hydrus thought. 'It's annoying listening to someone complain about themselves so much.'
He stood and half-cradled Apophis as the serpent coiled around his shoulders. "I'm probably wasting my time by asking this of you, but try not to get too down on yourself, alright?
"You old-folk are always so concerned about carrying the next generation, about being the giants whose shoulders we stand upon." With an apologetic wave to Fawkes he began to leave. "But sometimes you just need to get out from underneath us before you're crushed under the titans you've reared."
Albus's apprentice closed the door so he composed himself. "Well, that didn't work."
Fawkes crooned in sympathy and he sighed to match it. What the hell was he going to do with that boy?
"Titan indeed," his own voice muttered behind him. Albus turned to see the portrait of himself fade back to life. "He certainly has inherited our arrogance."
Albus looked away and snagged a lemon drop. He'd managed to reverse engineer the portrait-shielding spell that Hydrus had invented into what he believed was his apprentice's starting point for the working. He wasn't sure where the time traveller would've found a spell that simply blacked out a painting, let alone why it would've been invented in the first place, but he was fairly confident that the spell he'd used had been the basis for Hydrus's new working.
"As he has said, that pride was necessary for keeping his spirits high in the darkest of times," Albus said. "I do fear that what were acceptable side effects of such hubris have become less acceptable, however."
"Hmmm…" His portrait was stroking his beard now, seemingly deep in thought. "I wonder…"
"Yes?"
His portrait shook its head. "Allow me to keep my puzzles to myself. I am merely contemplating the answer to an unimportant question."
"Sometimes even the most unimportant—"
"Details can solve the grandest riddles; I'm well aware."
Albus sighed once more. Perhaps if he painted a portrait of Hydrus it would do as good a job as this one at humbling its subject. Everytime he spoke with the living canvaswork it reminded him of just how many failings he had, both in his own mind and in Hydrus's.
"What a curious time this must be for you," his portrait said. "You were a coward throughout your first war, and are now having your moves dismissed as unnecessary in your second."
"Don't you start calling this a war too." Albus glared at the reflection of himself and it grinned back at him. "It's just one man."
"Wasn't that all it was last time, too?"
"Gellert moved with the hearts and minds of thousands," he riposted. "He was not a single man."
"No, but Gregory Herschel was." Albus flinched. "Was it painful seeing him having returned to his prime, once more being forced to step into the shoes that you refuse to wear?"
"Not even he himself knows why Fate returned him to—"
"But you do." The portrait's tone wasn't cold or harsh or judgemental, nothing at all like what he'd tried to do with Hydrus. It was like he was reading from a textbook, doing nothing more than educating his much more three-dimensional self. "She wanted to remind you of your past failings, and to encourage you to step up and protect her favourite actor."
Hydrus had all but pulled the warlock into his mind to show him the memories of his latest encounter with the deity. It had been quite flattering to hear the goddess had such a high opinion of Albus's character, but beyond that there hadn't been anything too bright.
Just when he'd thought he'd unshackled his grandson from the unfathomable being he'd sworn himself to, he was being courted by another. It was like the boy couldn't survive without… Without someone like himself to look up to.
Albus rubbed at his eyes.
Of course. For all the boy's arrogance and bravado, there was one person who had immediately and easily cowed him. The portrait of himself had immediately brought Hydrus back down to earth in their very first conversation. It was the failsafe the other Albus had installed in the teen's psyche while raising him. For every drop of arrogance he nourished him with, there were two drops of dependency. When the other version of himself passed away, it had left a vacuum that the boy struggled with until he found a much more literal god to serve.
But now that Albus was back, why did the boy not return to him? It would've been fine if he simply remained independent, the warlock had no desire to re-enslave his grandson. Instead he was latching onto a goddess who'd already corralled him into a future-dated murder. Was it really as simple as Albus being too weak for the younger man to still look up to?
He studied his portrait, who looked more like a mirror now that they were both stroking their beards in thought. Had the canvas already deduced all of that? Its first piece of advice to its younger self was to grow stronger, to prepare for the worst case scenario. Had it been correct for the wrong reasons? Had it purposefully lied in a bout of mischievousness? Were they both just incorrect?
"Tell me," Albus said. "Do you have any recommendations towards growing my own strength?"
The portrait broke from its own musings to look at him, frowning slightly. "You already have an answer to that question. The same answer we came up with as youths, alongside our Alexander."
"Ah." Another one of his greatest shames, and yet, the most pivotal moment in his entire life. "Of course." He stood, trying to enjoy the aches of old age. "I'll need to find a nice wine."
"Something French?"
Albus smiled sadly, thinking back to his own master's tendencies. "Of course."
Hydrus sat atop his throne in the Study Hall, Bellatrix on his left and Sirius on his right. It was the middle of the night, and aside from the three of them, there was only one other person there.
Zara the vampire was sitting cross-legged in front of him on the ground. She was wearing a bored pout and enough jewellery to have Stefanos Stellavigil drooling. That thought momentarily distracted Hydrus, left him wondering what the Greek sycophant was up to these days, but he pushed it aside. They had more important business to take care of.
He'd have preferred to have this meeting at home or in Castle Black, but as it turned out Giannis hadn't created a continent-slaughtering army in less than a year by accident. The child was an unending well of energy and motivation, and it was all poor Dobby could do to get him to rest and take meals. Already half the properties they needed to protect were as warded as the Ministry itself. Or, as Giannis put it, the properties were almost half-way done. Some of those wards stopped dark creatures from even existing in their walls, so he'd snuck her and his father in through Remus's office and dragged them to the Study Hall where he felt most safe.
"When I said I wanted the names and addresses of every vampire you knew," Hydrus said at last. "I meant just their names and addresses."
"I ain't sorting through all that crap." Zara made a gagging sound. "You should be grateful for all the extra!"
He grit his teeth. The vampire heiress had dumped a veritable mountain of papers beside them which Kreacher was currently sorting through. He'd glanced over a single scroll at random only to discover it was a list of some Norwegian vampire's favourite night clubs ranked in order of how easy it would be to sneak in to meet them.
"Tell me then," Hydrus said, not wanting to burn a good lead too early. "Where would Death be keeping his chosen?"
"How should I know?" The moron's sincere confusion nearly broke Hydrus's composure. "I'm not into all that religious ick. Daddy's the one who goes gaga for that gross church aesthetic."
"And your father is currently…?"
"Dead." Zara shrugged. "I told him he should've bought me that bicorn."
He rubbed at his forehead. A glance to one side told him Bella was barely awake. For all her earlier swagger, she'd really popped off against the American to show off her skills, and it had been a long day of teaching before that. At least Remus would be back tomorrow. On the other side Sirius was much more awake, but his mouth was hanging half open in boredom and he was staring at the wall blankly.
"Can I go now?" Zara whined. "I'm booooored."
He nearly snapped at her, but took a breath instead. 'I need all the help I can get.'
"If you're not 'into' religion, then tell me," Hydrus said. "How much would it cost to get you to bring me some vampires who are?"
She scoffed. "I don't need money, I'm rich."
"Is there something besides money I can offer?" He pressed. "What would it take to get you on my side, Zara?"
"I'm already on your side, dummy."
Hydrus blinked. Once more the woman's sincerity had caught him off guard, and once more he wondered just how much of an idiot she was.
"Why on earth would you be on my side?"
"Uh, cus I love Regulus, duh?" She rolled her eyes. "And Octavius too I guess. Now that Daddy's dead, I can do whatever I want."
"Oh." He settled deeper into his seat. "Right, of course."
He had allies now. His family's ties, odd and niche as they may be, were at his disposal. Regulus definitely should have been at this meeting, and instead he'd ignored him because he wrote the man off as being useless. Maybe in a fight that was true. Maybe in a Black family drinking contest that was true. But here he was trying to 'woo' a socialite, and that was exactly his uncle's forte.
"How about this then," Hydrus said. "My family recently purchased a herd of thestrals. If you'd like, once the dust settles, I can acquire some bicorns as well."
Once more Zara rolled her eyes. "I can buy my own, thank you very much."
"True, but do you really want to deal with the smell?" She froze. "They might be graceful beings, but they are still horses more or less. Do you want their manure stinking up your home?"
"I can just—"
"Wouldn't it be nicer to have the experts I have on retainer looking after them, making sure they're well-groomed and happy?" He continued. "And, best of all, whenever you brag to your friends about them you can point to my uncle and say 'I let my little Reg's family look after them, you know how it is~'."
He'd pitched up his voice at the end, letting the madness have a little fun, and she'd begun to grin. Hydrus could almost see the little hamster dancing on the wheel in her mind. Regulus might be better than him at being a socialite, but that didn't mean Hydrus was incapable of manipulating one.
Plus, it wasn't like Zara was a tough nut to crack.
"You just want someone who's in the church, right?" she asked. "Anyone?"
"I'd obviously prefer someone who also has connections like you," Hydrus flattered. "But so long as they can lead me to at least one other potential lead, we'll call it good."
Zara got up and began tossing the papers around like they were confetti. Kreacher growled at her for messing up his work, but Hydrus sent what he hoped was a reassurance through their bond. The connection wasn't as strong as the one he had with Dobby, let alone the familiar bond he had with Apophis, but Kreacher was growing stronger every day.
A house elf's strength was their family's strength, or more accurately, their family's health. As the House of Black grew closer and more… wholesome, so too did Kreacher's health and prosperity. It was why Dobby was always able to answer commands unbidden, and why the grumpier elf was learning how to do it too.
"Here!" Zara called. She was waving around a thick roll of vellum that Hydrus snatched up with magic. "The Botfly family are, like, super religious. I don't know who all will be home when you go knocking, but one of them should know something."
'What an unfortunate last name…'
It looked like the document was a family register, including the location of their 'den of origin'. The names all seemed rather plain, Alana Botfly or Broderick Botfly. The address was somewhere in Canada, and given how long the location's name was it seemed like it was somewhere remote.
"Russian immigrants?" Hydrus asked, wondering how there could be a prominent family in Canada of all places. "Or just lucky new bloods?"
Zara gave a shrug and an 'iunno' sound. "Daddy made me stay with them back in the eighteen-hundreds whenever he got mad at me."
Something told him Arcturus wouldn't stand for the arctic chill and nouveau riche aesthetic of such a place, but if they were part of Death's cult it would be a good start.
"Alright then. Sirius." The man started a bit, caught not paying attention. "Send a letter to Hagrid tomorrow and have him look into purchasing a few bicorns."
"Wait, what?"
"Zara, thank you so much for your help." He took the woman's hand and placed as chaste a kiss as he could manage on its back. "And I'm glad to have you on my side."
She batted her eyelashes at him, earning a growl from Bellatrix. "Of course, I'm glad to see you're all beginning to understand how wonderful it is to have your big sister Zara Raabs around!"
After bullying Sirius into escorting her away, Hydrus sat down, stretched, and yawned. The yawn was cut off near the end as Bella plopped into his lap. Chuckling, he resettled himself and wrapped his arms around her. She nuzzled up to him, letting out a gentle whine as she did so.
"Bella is sleepy," she muttered. For once she didn't put in much of a baby voice, she just sounded tired. "Sleepy Bella…"
"I know, dear." He kissed the side of her head and she hummed in delight. "Are you going to make me carry you to bed?"
"Nooooo," she droned with a sigh. "I just need a moment."
"Somehow your 'moments' always drag on to minutes and then some," he teased. "Come on sleepy Bella, let's put you to bed."
Her eyes snapped open and she sat up, staring down at him with suspicion. "You're coming to bed too."
"I have work to do." He held up the vellum parchment. "Duty calls."
"Hydrus, it's one in the morning, you can't—"
"It's not up for debate, Bellatrix." He felt her tense, but he didn't regret his tone. "I don't plan on wasting a single moment of time, which means I'm going to tuck you in, kiss you good night, then go siege a vampire den."
"I am not a child, Hydrus, I can take care of myself." Her madness was rising up, he could feel it stirring his own. "I'm coming with you."
"I know you can, and normally I count on that," he placated. "But right now you're half-dead already. I promise, I'm not looking down on you. I just need my best at her best."
"That still doesn't mean I can let you go on your own." Any exhaustion in her voice gone, Bella was practically stabbing him with her nails now. "For all we know this is a trap, or it's where Arcturus is and he's ready for you, or anything else."
"I'll be bringing Apophis, it'll—"
"Only make me worry more!" she snapped. "That's our child you're talking about!"
"So?"
Her eyes grew even wider, and Hydrus immediately began to regret his choice of word. He braced himself for the sort of fire and fury Fleur used to reign down on him whenever he crossed a line he shouldn't.
Instead, Bella just narrowed her eyes.
"He is our baby, Hydrus."
Her voice was soft, gentle, and filled with kindness.
It was terrifying.
"And I love him. I love him with all my heart, almost as much as I love you." She'd stopped trying to pierce his skin with her nails, and was staring deep into his eyes. "Just like Giannis. I love them both so, so much. At times it hurts just how much I love them."
"I… I know that, dear," he said. "He'll be safe though."
"I know you would keep him safe, just as safe as safe as you can," she crooned. "Just like you tried to keep your first child safe."
Mentally he felt fine, but that sentence seemed to freeze over his blood. He frowned in confusion.
"What are you—?"
"I know how much you loved them. How much it hurt to lose them." Hydrus blinked, and was surprised to find tears falling from his eyes. What the hell was going on? "And I know that if you hadn't been so lost in that grief, you never would've given away the love you felt for them.
"I also know you would never put our baby in harm's way if you still felt the love you have for them." He shivered in discomfort as Bella's tongue ran up his cheek, licking up the tears. "Because you do still love them, Hydrus. Your first child, and your new ones. You love them so much I can taste it."
"Bella, I know what you're doing." He grimaced as she licked the other side of his face now. "But it's not going to work. I reforged the bargain."
"You love your first child. You love Apophis. You love Giannis." Bella whispered in his ear. "Say it."
"I loved all my children." It looked like he had fireflies sitting beneath his skin with how hard the runes were working to keep him whole. "By stoking the flames of that lost love, all you're doing is making that which I sacrificed to Magic even stronger."
"I've already broken one of your bargains," she said. "Now I'm going to break this one."
"Can you do this tomorrow instead?" He pulled away, at least as much as he could. "You need your sleep and I need to go kill some—"
"You love them!" Bellatrix screamed. "Say you love them!"
"Somnis."
He caught Bella before she slumped to the ground, then began to levitate her. She would be mad at him tomorrow, but the madness had taken over and he wasn't in the mood to be screamed at. Not when such time sensitive matters were at hand. He'd let her scream at him tomorrow.
"Come on, dearest." He began to make his exit. "Time for bed."
Harry waited for the door to shut behind Hydrus and the snoring Professor Black before untensing.
"What the fuck."
He'd asked Poppums to let him know if Hydrus got up to anything sneaky, worried that his god-brother would try and cheat at the competition and definitely not because he was just nosey. When she'd told him that he and Sirius were meeting in the Study Hall, he had been especially worried about the sanctity of their capture the flag game and gone to investigate. What he hadn't expected at all was… Pretty much everything that had happened after they'd locked the place up and put up the silencing spells he'd just narrowly fit inside of.
Gods, vampires, creepy-ass incestual face licking; it was all way, way too much.
After making sure he was wrapped up tight in his invisibility cloak, he headed back to the common room. To his relief, he found Hermione was still up and studying by one of the fire places. He rushed over.
"Hermione!"
"Ahhh!" She screamed and he jumped along with her at the sudden outburst. "Harry, you—!"
"Sorry, sorry," he said, holding up his hands. "I didn't mean to, I swear."
"If you weren't a prefect too I'd take house points." She was glaring daggers at him. "What are you doing up so late?"
"I…" he began. "I don't even know where to begin."
Hydrus vanished away his last victim. The building they lived in was too small to be called a mansion, too large to be looked down upon as a house. All of the furniture in the room had been haphazardly smashed against, and in some cases through, one wall. There were several perfectly carved half-spheres in the ground from each one of the vampires he'd wiped from existence with a flick of his wrist.
There had only been half a dozen of them, and none of them were trained in occlumency. Not well trained, anyways. The youngest didn't have any defences at all, and it only took a single Cruciatus to loosen up the patriarch's defences enough to barge right into the being's mind.
There he found countless memories of worship. Just like Zara had promised, this was a particularly religious bunch of bloodsuckers who were well acquainted with their god. Death never directly interacted with them, of course, but his missives came and went in the form of portents and omens that Hydrus only half-understood. Luckily the head of the family had been raising an heir, another one of Hydrus's victims, so most of the memories had come with explanations for each sign.
For all Death sneered at Magic for her direct actions in the world, he sure was a chatty bastard.
This family hadn't been particularly important. He recognized the sort of communications they were being given for what they were. Propaganda and fluff.
"Death's chosen has risen."
"The slaughter is coming."
"The end is nigh and He is strong."
On and on they went, with nothing actually useful to be found. He was going to need to track down some of the others he saw in the churches the man and his family frequented. Hopefully Kreacher would be done organising the paperwork Zara dumped on them and could more easily cross reference it.
Just as he grabbed a pinch of floo powder, a thought occurred to him. "Ah, there were those other neophytes…"
The patriarch's eldest daughter, just a hundred or so years old, had married a muggleborn wizard. Her father hadn't been happy in the least about the pairing, but he'd still purchased a small townhome not far from here for the couple to live once the husband was turned. Only the daughter worshipped Death though…
"Whatever."
He strolled out of the now empty home and began the walk over. He thought about just having Dobby pop him over, but he probably wouldn't have time to exercise before classes the next morning. It had only been half an hour or so since he put Bella to bed, and there was a near-endless supply of vampires and other Death-worshipping beings for him to track down. He hadn't been blind to the humans in some of the services he saw the Botfly family worshipping at. If Death had half a brain behind that oh-so-spooky hood of his, he'd know better than to keep Arcturus somewhere with just non-human companionship.
"Master Hydrus?"
He glanced down to see Dobby padding alongside him now. "Hey there, Dobby. What's up?"
"Little Master Gianis is refusing to go to bed," the house elf said. "Dobby needs Master Hydrus's help getting him to go to bed."
"He's just like his mother…" Hydrus grumbled. "Alright, take me over."
With a pop they appeared in…
"Where the hell are we?"
It was a large marble hall with tall, thin windows lining the longer sides. There were rows of tables set up with benches on either side of them and a few lit candle sticks on their tops. Plain curtains were hung up along the walls, and it wasn't until he spotted a properly ornate tapestry in the midst of it all that he realised where they must have been: The Arcturus Black Home.
'How ironic…'
"Hydrus!" A Giannis-sized weight slammed into Hydrus's back, bending him forward into an almost perfect bow. "I missed you!"
"I missed you too, kiddo." He straightened up and helped his monkey-like ward clamber over onto his chest so they could look each other in the eye. "Imagine my surprise when I got word from your uncle Dobby that you weren't being good."
The boy's eyes widened in shock. "I-, I'm being very good. I'm working hard!"
"Giannis you are eight—"
"Nine!"
"You are nine years old." He'd forgotten about the kid's birthday, hopefully he didn't take it too hard. Bella probably covered for him. "Sleep is important for children your age. If you don't get as much as you need, your body and mind won't develop correctly."
"It's too hard," Giannis whined. "I can never fall asleep cus I can't stop thinking, and then when I do fall asleep, I just wake right back up an hour later."
'Nightmares?' Hydrus wondered. "I have just the thing. I'll put you to sleep, and then I'll hang a dream catcher your m—, I mean, that Bella gave me. It's always done a great job at keeping me asleep."
Giannis stiffened. "I didn't say I was having bad dreams."
"Sorry, kiddo, there's no hiding that sort of thing from me." He gave a cheeky grin at the boy's suspicious look. "Come on, let's get to bed. I'll teach this spell to Sirius and Amelia so they can help you sleep as well."
He figured this place should be magical enough to hide his magic, so he apparated back to their home and began making the trek up the stairs.
"But what about you?" Giannis asked. "Won't you start having nightmares again?"
"I'll just get another one," Hydrus lied easily, smiling at the boy. "I can go a single night without it, especially since I'm already up now. Let me look after you for tonight."
"Okay," he said. "If you say so."
Once Giannis was tucked in, Hydrus sent Dobby off to retrieve the dream catcher and leaned in to place a kiss on the boy's forehead. "Don't worry, this won't stop good dreams, just nightmares."
He was just going off of Bella's word on that one. Ever since he started using it his sleep had been as uneventful as possible, minus the physical side effects of the caught-nightmares, though he'd never been one for good dreams in the first place. The last time he'd had a good dream was…
He genuinely couldn't remember. Sometime during his first go around in Hogwarts, maybe? Before he started having visions of Voldemort murdering groundskeepers, anyways.
"What are your nightmares about?" Giannis asked, breaking him from his musings. Dobby was standing on the bed beside the child's pillow, levitating the dreamcatcher up onto the ceiling. "Mine's always about the stairs… Or Father Cornwell…"
"That sounds rough." He ran his fingers through Giannis's hair. "Do you ever have problems with the stairs here? Do you want me to put a ramp beside them?"
"Really?" Hydrus almost winced at the excitement there, he was trying to put the boy to sleep, not wake him up. "Can I say no and still get a slide?"
"If you want a slide I can just conjure one up in the yard," he gently chided. "I'm only replacing the stairs if you need it."
"I want the slide." Giannis closed his eyes once more. "But no, I'm not scared of the stairs."
"Good, I'm glad." He'd take care of that before he returned to hunting. "Now. Let's get you to sleep."
"You didn't answer me," Giannis half-whispered. "What are your nightmares about?"
"…My bad dreams are too awful to describe to someone as young as you, Giannis." The boy hated being lied to, so Hydrus wouldn't. "I dream of horrible, terrible, monstrous things. Things that I would never, ever let you experience."
"Oh." Giannis was purposefully keeping his eyes shut if the wrinkles in the corner of his eye were anything to go off of. "That… Sounds rough."
Hydrus laughed at the purposeful mimicry and ruffled the boy's hair, ruining the earlier 'combing' he had done. "Good night, kiddo, and thank you for all your hard work."
"G'night," Giannis said. "Love you, Hydrus."
"…Somnis."
Silently he willed Dobby to apparate him back to where he was. When he arrived, he discovered he had a slight glow to his skin once again.
"So annoying." He gave a sigh and shook his head. It was still better than self-immolation. "Whatever."
He pushed aside the gentility he'd needed to be a pseudo-parent to a troubled youth, and once more allowed the madness to coil itself around him.
"Off to kill some vampires," he began to sing quietly. "The… Horrible, vampires of… Oz?"
Maybe he'd leave the songs to Bella.
Sirius gently ran his knuckles up and down Amelia's side as she slept. She was cuddled up to the crook of his arm, and he enjoyed the soft, cool texture of her skin against his. He'd thought he'd managed to sneak back in without waking her, but she'd either been waiting for him to return or just instinctually latched on once he was back in bed with her.
Merlin, he loved this woman.
There wasn't much running through his mind, he just didn't want to miss any more time with his fia—, girlfriend. It was nice just lying here with her, pretending like his psychotic grandfather hadn't come back from the dead, and playing like he wasn't walking a tightrope over the mouth of a dragon. Here and now he was just a guy holding his girl.
"Sirius?"
Damn, maybe he really hadn't done a good job of not waking her. "Yeah?"
"If your cousin asked me to keep something a secret from you," she began. "And said it was to stop you and Hydrus from fighting. Would you want me to keep it from you?"
"N—" He cut himself off. "I… Like, a secret that Hydrus doesn't know either?"
"He knows," she said. "Everyone in your family besides you knows."
"Wait, what?" He sat up a bit, and his girlfriend opened her eyes to meet his. "Like, everyone everyone? My parents included?"
"Yes?" Amelia frowned. "She said the entire family has kept it from just you."
"Like, including Andromeda?" he insisted. "Like, my mother and Andromeda are on the same page?"
"She just said the entire family, lots of emphasis on it."
"Then definitely don't tell me." He shook his head and settled back down, pulling Amelia in tight. "It's probably something stupid anyways."
"…That's it?" Amelia asked. "You aren't curious at all?"
"I'm dying to know." He shrugged, 'accidentally' bringing her in even closer. "But if the best, worst, and my most son-liest members of this family all agree on me not knowing, then it's probably for the best. Especially if you think it'll make me and Hydrus fight." A smile spread on his face as a bit of pride rose up inside him. "He called me 'dad' earlier today, and this time it wasn't to manipulate me. Just did it without thinking about it."
He more felt then saw Amelia's eyes digging into him now. Merlin, the lady could stare.
"Okay." His smile grew even wider when she stretched over to kiss him. "Just no complaining if you find out later."
"Can't I have a little complaining?" He 'whined'. "You know how much I love to complain."
"No," she said with extra firmness, playing along with his goofiness for once. "No complaining, Mister."
"Fiiiine." Sirius pulled Amelia on top of him now, holding her tight and leaning into her ear. "I'll just have to do something else I love instead."
"Send word to Draco to cover for me," Hydrus said, vanishing away the blood on his hands. "I've come down with a cold, and am too exhausted for class today."
"Yes, Lord Master Hydrus," Kreacher replied. "Is there anything else Kreacher can do for you?"
"Bring me a spot of breakfast." Hydrus moved on to the human woman who was next. "Something I can eat while I work."
"Of course, Lord Master Hydrus." Kreacher bowed. "Kreacher shall return."
The elf popped away, and Hydrus grabbed the cowering woman's hair and lifted her head up so that their eyes were locked. He'd actually managed to find the location of one of Death's churches, and he was around halfway through with its parish. Vampires, humans, and even a few other beings like centaurs or veela had been in the midst of some grand communion when he tore the doors open, and half of them had gone to join their master already.
"I'm going to give you one opportunity to—"
"They're down! My occlumency shields are down!" The woman practically shrieked, having already heard his rehearsed speech. "Please, please don't hurt me."
"I hope I won't have to," he said. "Legilemens."
Arcturus slowly carved off another bite of meat. True to Death's word, the flavour did indeed remind him of boar. He was seated at a dining table lit by a single brazier, surrounded by undead beings that the so-called god had commanded to serve him, deep in the heart of some pitiful castle. The beast who'd prepared the meal stood beside him waiting to be asked for seconds while the others were lined up behind them.
"Mead," Arcturus finally said. "This will pair well with mead."
His chef snapped its fingers, and a pair of footsteps began trudging away. "As you say, our Chosen."
The Lord of House Black growled. He'd demanded that the filth call him by his proper title, but that was the one order they refused to listen to. They insisted on referring to him by that innocuous and unimportant title the hooded savage had given him, as though that were anywhere near as important. They were all lucky to already be dead.
"Our lord has given us a sign, our Chosen," A new voice said. Arcturus turned to see another one of those hideous vampires had arrived. "The portent warns of a coming slaughter, and to be prepared to avenge ourselves upon the sinner."
"Like I care how many of you roaches the charlatan kills." He tore into another bite of flesh. "I will move when the time is right."
"As you wish, our Chosen."
"Hmph." The one who'd gone to fetch him a drink finally returned and he snatched up the carafe, throwing it back and draining it down to its last honeyed drop. "More."
Another bottle was immediately set beside the first, and he gave another grunt. Normally he didn't care for sweet alcohol, but it seemed to suit the bitter tasting main course. His madness was probably the only thing keeping the food in his stomach to begin with considering what, or rather, who it was. It was bad enough that Death was insisting that he 'feast on the flesh of thine foes', but then the bastard had the audacity to change 'foes' to 'foe'.
"Please, eat to your heart's content," the chef said. "The donor has already had my king's blessing bestowed upon him. Given his strength, we don't have to wait more than a few moments to recover that which we take."
"You should just kill the bastard and be done with it," Arcturus said with a sneer. "There are others who are strong."
"Per our god's instructions—"
Arcturus swung his wand at the sycophant, wishing to destroy the infernal being. It burst in a gorey explosion that sent blood and bone flying in every direction. He licked the liquid off of his beard and moustache, feeling the transferral of energy that came with the 'consumption'. It was nowhere near as strong as supping on the fillet he'd been given from that wretch Grindelwald, but it was still strength.
"See?" Arcturus demanded of the annoying deity, nowhere to be seen. "Instead of leeching off that bastard, I could just slaughter a few thousand peons and achieve the same effect."
He continued to rant as the servants around him cleaned up the mess.
