Arcturus Black sat in fear. This shouldn't be possible. Gregory Herschel should've been… Well, if not dead, then at least as decrepit and decayed as he himself had been. Why the fuck was he back to his younger self too? What god could've brought him back to life? Was there a 'Life' to go along with Death? This shouldn't have been possible; this wasn't fair.

He was sitting in the near-dark of the castle Death had him staying in. He'd dismissed or killed all the servants, he couldn't remember which, so everything was silent. The room looked like a beast had rampaged around in it, but that was thanks to his own machinations. He'd mended the curtains to keep most of the light out, but everything else besides the chair he'd fallen into when he first came 'home' was in pieces.

"Do you now understand the gravity of your situation, mortal?"

Arcturus turned to glare at the deity who'd suddenly arrived. The god's figure was like a shadow being cast by the small amount of moonlight trickling in through the window, the bottom of his cloak fading into nothingness and the top stretching up past boundaries of normal biology. It might've been impressive if it weren't for how pathetic Arcturus knew him to be.

"How is he still young?" Arcturus demanded. "Have you betrayed me?"

"You betrayed yourself, you fool," Death snapped. "That man is nothing more than a charlatan. What he did during the war he did with the help of my sister, Fate."

"Fate you say…" What a ridiculous concept for a god. "And what's to stop her from doing to me what she did to the mudbloods all those years ago?"

"That would be breaking the rules," the god said. "She made them herself to stop me from smiting that pissant human."

"So she is stronger than you?" Arcturus scowled at the deity who was turning out to be more and more pathetic with each detail he learned about him. "What a miserable—"

His next words were strangled away from him as his throat was torn to shreds. The pain and discomfort made him want to puke blood, but he didn't want to give the deity the satisfaction. Instead he grabbed hold of what little remained of his neck and glared at the immortal being.

"And here I hoped your insanity coming to an end would mean you'd have more respect for your betters." Arcturus spat a mouthful of blood at the god, but it passed right through him. "There is no more time for games, mortal. You see now that the enemy is a worthy one.

"You must no longer dawdle on your path to greatness. The measly amount of flesh you consume isn't enough. If it weren't for your ability to drain the boy's magic he could've snuffed you out like a candle." Death leaned down and Arcturus glared into the empty void of his hood. "You are still weak."

The deity reached up and placed a long, bony finger along against Arcturus's forehead. In a moment, the rotting and gorey chunks of flesh in his throat he was holding onto merged back into perfectly healthy skin.

"Perhaps that's because the god I was forced to serve is weaker than the one who nourishes him," he said with a sneer. "Perhaps you should reflect upon your own failures."

"Right now you're the largest failure I have to contemplate." Death began to fade away. "You must consume the strong, Arcturus Black."

Hydrus glared at Fate, who was looking back at him with a coy expression. It wasn't an expression that belonged on the face she was wearing. Mainly because it was his face.

"You're really rubbing it in, aren't you?" Hydrus said.

"Not rubbing it in," Fate said, pouting. "I'm just trying it on for the first time."

He was standing and she was sitting at the edge of a cliff. The waters down below were sloshing up against the stone face and he glanced over the edge to contemplate if the height was tall enough to kill him if he fell. It probably would.

Eventually he worked up the patience to speak. "You're annoying sometimes, you know that?"

Hydrus rubbed at his forehead, he'd regrown his good arm, and finally returned his attention to Fate, looking over his former body. Had he really been so… Old? He had salt-and-pepper hair that was awfully light on the pepper. There were muscles, sure, but it seemed more like the sort that were only being shown because there wasn't any fat to hide them. His cheeks were as drawn out as a cadaver's, which didn't help his youthfulness at all.

Why on earth had Bella thought he looked attractive like that?

It almost made him appreciate his current form. His left arm was still entirely missing, but he'd regrown his right once it became clear Magic hadn't done half as bad a job at rewiring his bargain as he'd thought. The stupid thing really was unbreakable, even if he'd gotten his cowlick back and his eyes were growing greener by the day.

He'd called Fate as his last resort.

"Let's just get this over with," Hydrus said. "Do to me like you did to 'Gregory'. Turn back my time to before I had these runes carved into my flesh."

"Now, now," Fate said. "May I tell you a story first?"

Hydrus's nostrils flared, but he stopped himself from snapping at the deity. His madness was practically a kitten now. It seemed Arcturus hadn't fallen back into his own insanity, which was good.

"Please make it quick," he said. "A lot of the people I know and love are in danger."

"Time is never an issue with me around, my favourite," Fate said. "Now then, before we begin, you should know that this story takes place in a thread entirely removed from your own. One so separated that it split its course from this one back when my brother first rose to his throne.

"That being said, it takes place just a few years from now, and began a few decades ago. It's the story of a ticket collector." Fate waved her hand, and Hydrus shuddered and slammed his eyes shut as the spiritual sight he'd needed to read the tablets opened against his will. "It'll be alright. Look."

Warily, he peaked out of one eye, and then the other. They'd vanished away from the cliff face they'd been standing on and had reappeared in London. Muggles were wandering about in small groups, though most faded away until only a man and his son remained. The man was wearing slim cut pants, a jacket with some sort of tartan pattern on it, and a fedora. The boy had on tweed shorts and a matching jacket, and was holding his hand.

"Please, father!" the boy cried, tugging at the adult's arm. "Please, please, please!"

"I said no, boy!" Hydrus's eye twitched in empathy. The man reminded him of Arcturus, or Vernon Dursley. "We're going to your grandfather's and that's final!"

"But!" The boy was literally dragging his heels as his father pulled him forward. "Grandfather said he never wants to see you again! Please, Father, we don't need him!"

The man stopped and raised his hand at the child. Hydrus stepped forward as the boy flinched, but Fate pulled him back.

"Just watch."

The father's hand didn't come slamming down. It just held in the air for a moment, then dropped to his side like its strings had been cut. For a while he was silent, but eventually the man said, "Alright. Fine."

The scene faded away.

"The man took his son to a movie theatre that day, rather than to his father's to babysit while he worked as a mason," Fate said. "He was also moonlighting as a drug dealer, though his family never finds out about that. Well, except for his father. He found out when he went to buy some heroin, hence the whole 'never want to see you again' thing."

"Okay," Hydrus said, keeping his cool despite how boring this was. "What happened next?"

"They had a wonderful day." Hydrus's eyes flinched as images passed through his mind like he was really seeing them. "They saw The Sword in the Stone, ironically enough."

'Ironic?' Hydrus thought as he continued to see images of the boy and his father watching the film, eating snacks, and smiling. 'Ironic how?'

"You'll see," Fate said, hearing his thoughts. "It was quite the pivotal moment for the boy. His father wasn't around much, you see, and so this was quite literally the happiest day of his life."

The scenes continued to flash in Hydrus's mind as Fate continued to speak.

"His first job was working at that very theatre, as an usher," she said. Images of a skinny, pimply-faced teen came to mind, taking people's tickets and peering in to watch movies by the door. "And wouldn't you know it, he went on to fill the theatres himself.

"His films were loved…" Scenes of people lined up by the same theatre played out. "Until they weren't.

"He fell into a depressive cycle after his father passed away. His mother told him it was a heart attack, in reality it was an overdose. Just like his grandfather's 'natural causes' a few years after he watched that first movie with his father." All Hydrus could see was the back of the man's head now, watching a massive television screen playing The Sword in the Stone. "He'd lost the spark of joy he'd once had, and his movies reflected it."

Now Hydrus was in a movie theatre, sitting beside Fate. The movie playing on the screen was in black and white despite the seemingly modern theatre, and it showed a woman sitting atop a grave and smoking a cigarette. The theatre was empty beside the two of them, and a lone man sitting in the row in front of them. Probably the same one as before.

"It is," Fate confirmed. "This was his last commercially produced film. Despite only needing a budget of ten grand, to pay for the actress you see there's fee and what not, it still failed to recoup it's losses.

"He continued to make films though." Again he was watching the man from behind, he had lost most of his hair and was holding some sort of small camera, following a long trail of ants. "For no one beside himself, exploring what had 'ruined' his career in the eyes of so many."

Now they were back in the theatre, it was completely empty besides the man who was back to looking like he was in his late teens. He was looking around in confusion until a figure that made Hydrus scowl appeared.

"Hello there," Death said. "And welcome home."

"You're Death." Although he looked like a teen, the man's voice was old and tired sounding. "I'm a fan of your work."

"And I yours."

Death held out his hand and rested it atop the man's head. It made Hydrus's skin crawl; he was treating him like a dog.

"Is it any worse than how you treat Dobby or Kreacher?" Fate asked.

"Are you seriously trying to make me humanise the shithead who's trying to kill me?" Hydrus demanded. "Because if so, it's not going to work."

Fate laughed. "Ah, 'humanise', what a wonderful word choice."

Now he was watching the revitalised man in various place, ushering them along to wherever people went after life. He must've been Death's chosen in this other 'thread' that Fate was showing him.

"But no, no I'm not trying to humanise my brother. I simply wished for you to see how different someone can be in a different thread." She waved her hand and the scene faded away, returning them to the cliff face. "From those at the very top such as my brother, to those you would consider below anyone else."

"What, was that Tom or something?" Hydrus asked. "You're not going to change my opinion on him, either."

"No, your earlier guess was correct," Fate said. Hydrus shot her a confused look. "That was none other than Vernon Dursley."

"Oh. Damn." He turned away to look back over the cliff face. "Well, it's not like I still hated him too much anyways. His 'villainy' is so slight compared to the monsters I've met since."

"We both know that's not true, Hydrus." He tensed as Fate changed. It took a bit of a fight, but eventually he shut off the godly sight she'd forced him to open. "Your one true encounter with stepping into my brother's threshold, long after you first witnessed the atrocities that your kind have to offer, the place you envisioned was King's Cross Station."

"So?" Hydrus scoffed. "It was a place of travel."

"But that theatre we just saw wasn't." Fate settled back down into Lockhart's body and Hydrus wiped away a bloody tear the momentary glimpse at her true form had caused. "It was where Vernon had the happiest moment of his entire life."

"You're thinking about it all wrong," Hydrus muttered. "That might've been the happiest moment of my life, but it wasn't because everything I ran away from was the worst. It was because everything that came after was a miserable slog that could never live up to that childish joy."

"Ah." Fate somehow made Lockhart look intelligent, taking hold of 'his' jaw and frowning in contemplation. "That does make sense. Thank you for the insight.

"But still," she continued. "Just as nothing can live up to the wonder and joy of innocence, so too can no terrors truly overshadow the ones that ruin such innocence."

"Does it matter either way?" he demanded. "I'm here to swear myself to you and in exchange have you revert my body back to what it was."

Hydrus still wasn't sure how he was going to explain it. Maybe he'd just kidnap Bella and Giannis once Arcturus was dead, run away to some hole in the middle of nowhere like Quinn did, and live out the rest of his life in hermitude. Perhaps he'd figure out the maths needed for him to be the child of Charlus and Dorea Potter. If he became Fate's chosen, could he simply tell the truth, or would that still cause ripples in the time stream?

"It matters a great deal," Fate said, interrupting his train of thought. "The runes you wish to regress away from aren't just carved into your form, Hydrus. They're carved into your soul."

He frowned. "So?"

"So as you can see, whether it's an abusive brute like Vernon Dursley or a murderous deity like my brother, a person's soul is what defines their very being." Fate reached out like she was trying to grab the setting sun, and Hydrus's eyes snapped wide open when she actually did. "Your soul is particularly ancient."

Hydrus stiffened as the sun didn't grow at all as she brought in close to him. It was radiating heat, but no more so than a ray of sunshine would've. He glanced about but the world remained as illuminated as it was before.

"Your second bargain broke because you truly loved your Bella," Fate said, turning over the celestial body like it was a simple marble. "You don't feel that same love for Giannis or Apophis. Not yet."

"I do," Hydrus 'argued', sounding more timid than he would've liked on account of the display of such flippant… 'Power' didn't even come close to describing what he was witnessing. "The constant near immolations they caused me are proof of that."

"You felt love for them, but it wasn't whole and unending," Fate said. "So much of human love is predicated on chemical changes within your physical form. Do you really think your inhuman ancestors would've tolerated the screaming dead weight that dragged them down with each and every cry if you didn't have a little extra help?"

Hydrus scoffed. "So what? Are you saying that orphans will never be loved since their adopters don't have a chemical boost?"

"No, I'm saying that it takes time and effort. All love does." The sun in her hands was beginning to change colour, once more stopping his bravado in its tracks. "Sometimes even for one's natural born children. It took you nearly three months to truly love your daughter, after all."

"I—" Hydrus's mouth went dry. "I had a daughter?"

He'd always wondered if it was a boy or a girl…

"Don't mistake my words, you did love her, but it wasn't… It didn't have…" Now she was making a much more Lockhart-esque expression: confusion. "It wasn't the sort of love you'd need to break your bargain now. It scared you more than anything in the world, left you terrified that you were an awful father for not feeling that 'special' bond all the other parents told you about.

"Then one day it happened. You sat down beside Ginny after a long day of being Harry Potter, and as soon as you did, your daughter reached out for you to pick her up." The sun was growing in size, though it was still miniscule compared to whatever sort of explosion it was mimicking should've been. "It was a truly beautiful, wonderful, and human moment."

Hydrus… Couldn't imagine it. Sure it made him grin when he saw how excited Giannis was to see him, and he did get a lot of satisfaction from 'parenting' Apophis, but if the sun itself was supposed to represent the feelings that moment had given him…

"It is, I'm glad the metaphor worked," Fate said. She turned her hand around the exploding star and it reverted back to what it once was. "So you see, you don't need me to break it."

"I don't have time to just sit around waiting," Hydrus said. "I need to be able to defend myself against Arcturus Black." He gave a snort. "Or at least close enough to him for Apophis to be able to eat him."

"That won't work," Fate said. "Trust me on that."

"What?"

"It was fair," the goddess continued, looking away. "You have been touched with the divine, given our sight and, thanks to Magic, our capacity for growth."

Hydrus wanted to puke. "Please tell me you're not referring to how much more unwieldy my magic has become thanks to the new runes allowing my magic to become even stronger."

"I'm afraid that's exactly what it was," Fate said. "Arcturus has been given that same sight, and his own method of growing in a godly fashion." Once more her form changed, now she was back to pretending to be Bella. "He consumes the flesh of his foes, or foe as the case may be, to grow stronger. To put it in simple terms, he's too big for Apophis to eat now."

Hydrus snapped. His arm reared back, but before he could fling it forward in an empty gesture at the sun, Fate grabbed his arm. No, she'd frozen his arm in place. He could tell the difference because the pain of ripping his humerus from the shoulder socket immediately brought him back to sanity.

"What the fuck?" he demanded. "Why'd you stop me?"

"You underestimate your own strength." Fate twirled her fingers and his arm popped back into place. "It wouldn't have done much, but even a simple sunspot can send astronomers into a tizzy."

"Weren't you just treating the sun like a dog toy?" Hydrus grumbled.

"That's because I know what I'm doing, dear." His nose wrinkled. It felt wrong to be called that by Fate in Bella's body. "Really? You didn't mind so much last time…"

"You didn't call me that last time." Or if she had, he was too mad to remember. "Back to the topic at hand. I definitely need you to rewind me."

"I've been trying to explain that it wouldn't be healthy." Fate argued. "It's bad enough you let my sister scribble all over it. If I rip it back to what it was, you could completely reverse its trajectory."

"What do you mean its trajectory?"

"Like the sun!" Fate shouted, now doing a spot-on impression of Bella. "It has a natural path! If you 'rewind' it, it might start going backwards instead." She huffed at him, keeping up the childish mimicry. "It's like you didn't get the metaphor at all."

Hydrus wanted to strangle the goddess, but it was hard enough to work up the courage when she was acting all goddess-y. Now that she was wearing Bella's skin it was impossible. He buried his face in his hand and squeezed the sides of his temple.

What the fuck was he going to do?

"It's not too late to love them," Fate said. "You always treat things as if they were ephemeral. I just told you that despite a change having taken place millenia before hand, your uncle Vernon was still born into the world. My presence alone solidifies, grounds, and eternalises so much of everyday existence."

"What are you trying to say?" he asked. "That things will work out no matter what?"

"Not no matter what," Fate said. "But so long as you're trying they will. You keep changing how this thread is going to go, but things still don't end poorly for you."

"I can't know that!" Hydrus shouted. "I want to be able to—"

"It'll be alright, Hydrus," Fate said. "Be well."

"Be—" He gasped as the goddess disappeared. "Get back here!"

Magic watched the man as he hugged his wife. Her power surrounded him at every angle, his ability to cast spells was important to him, and he was ambitious as they came. It would be a perfect match if she could seduce him.

The human eventually left his mate and wandered up some stairs into his office. Magic subtly reached out her senses to feel if her sister was still in this 'thread' or another one of the countless possibilities that could come to exist, and when no one answered her 'peering through the window' of existence, she felt like now was her best chance to break the rules. Once her chosen-to-be had settled down behind his desk, she appeared in front of him.

"Hello there," she said, projecting as much love and kindness as she could manage for one of the meagre creatures as possible. "I believe it's time you and I had a talk, Lord Stefanos."