Hydrus sat on the couch in front of a fireplace in Castle Black, stroking Bella's hair as she rested her head in his lap, sprawled out beside him. He listened to Remus explain the decision he'd come to. The future Lord of House Black was holding a wine glass in his temporarily returned hand, enjoying just holding something again with it. Remus had his back to the fire and it gave him a rather impressive aura despite how unsure of himself the man seemed.

"So," Remus said. "From now on, take whatever information you can from them, then feed them to Apophis."

"I see." Hydrus really did, but… "And what if my petulant son gets too arrogant and greedy?"

Apophis began to rear up, so he wrapped a hand around his head. The basilisk tried to fight him off, thrashing about for a bit, but snakes' jaws were meant for clamping down. Trying to open them against another force was nearly impossible.

"What are you talking about?" Remus said, frowning. "He's your familiar."

"He's a god-to-be." Apophis finally began to settle. "Although I can't say I support his decision, it's his to make. Every soul he devours empowers him further, and hostages are only useful when you give them up or in a final bid to demoralise your foe."

Remus blinked. "What?"

"What if my son doesn't want to give up his prisoners?" Hydrus asked. 'I wouldn't know how to force him, and at this point I'm not sure if killing him would release the souls." He snorted. "Not even sure I could kill him."

"Of course you couldn't," Bella said, looking at him with a pout and furrowed brows. "He's our baby."

Apophis finally pulled his head free, mucking up his feathers in the process, and hissed in agreement. The basilisk slithered off of him entirely and coiled up into a pile in the crook of Bella's knees, resting his head on her thigh.

Remus shook his head. "The three of you look like you're posing for a portrait."

"Oh!" Bella sat up a bit. "Can we do that? We absolutely—"

"Only if it's a mundane one." Her nose wrinkled. "Unless you can teach Dobby how to paint, no one would be able to capture your true essence properly enough to be enchanting."

His fiancee smiled and settled back down, making Hydrus shake his head in amusement. All this wedding business had been doing a number on Bella's mental state, and she'd gone full giggling schoolgirl for the past few days. 'Love was in the air' as she put it, and that meant she was particularly cherubic and doe-eyed rather than diabolical and whip-tongued.

"Anyways," Hydrus said. "There's no guarantee that I'll be able to pry the souls from Apophis's gullet should the time come. I also sincerely doubt that things with Death will splay out into a full on blow-for-blow war with a god, which means there will never be an opportunity for me to destroy them all and demoralise him and his forces."

"I wouldn't say no to giving them up!" Apophis hissed, careful not to spill any venom on his 'mother'. "You're treating me like a child."

"You still haven't given me my ring back," Hydrus pointed out. "You're very possessive."

Apophis slunk down a bit. "You didn't ask for it."

"I didn't give it to you in the first place."

"Yes you did." The snake looked away from him. "It's the only thing you've ever given to me."

Hydrus blinked. That wasn't fair. "I gave you life. I gave you a home. I gave you an uncle. I gave you—"

"I mean a real gift!" Apophis snarled. "You promised the stone was mine to protect!"

For fuck's sake. He'd done this song and dance already, and back then the basilisk hadn't been a demigod. Why were they rehashing it? He didn't particularly need the thing, he just… He just liked that small connection to his own past timeline. Even if the ring no longer had the crack's running across its surface, it still felt nice to fiddle with when he was stressed.

"By the way," Remus said, interrupting his thoughts. "Do you think you'd be able to steal the souls of those you already killed?"

Hydrus shook his head. "I didn't bring Apophis along for half the hunts in the first place, and even if I had, it's not like I'd…"

Wait. He remembered Apophis joining him in a pensieve one time. Perhaps it would be possible to call upon the souls of those he'd already dealt with. Hydrus held out his hand, wanting for his pensieve, and it appeared courtesy of one of the house elves. He muttered a silent thanks to whichever one had brought it then set it down on the coffee table separating him from Remus.

"I'm gonna see how much I can remember from one hunt, then see if Apophis can use it on his own to pull them back out of the veil and eat them," Hydrus said. "If not, I'll see if there's enough for me to at least summon them with the stone, and Apophis can take it from there. If it's still not enough, though, then we'll have to give up on the idea."

Remus nodded. "Sounds like a plan."

"Bella, my love," Hydrus began gently. "Would you be opposed to—"

His flirtatious attempt to get her head out of his lap was cut off by the world fading away. With a frown he appeared in the void of the gods once more, though surprisingly only Fate and Death were there. Fate was standing across from him, smiling, while the hooded figure of Death sat in his usual spot with a boiling cauldron of displeasure emanating up from inside him.

"Hello, Hydrus!" Fate said. "I'm trying to make a judgement, and wanted you here to speak on your son's behalf."

"Pardon me?" Hydrus asked. "What is this about?"

He moved over and took the seat opposite of Death since Magic was apparently missing. Her absence left him wondering if she'd been smart enough to bow out of the competition, but just considering the idea made him feel like an idiot. The goddess probably just wasn't involved in this 'judgement'.

"Well, the rule was 'Let gods deal with gods, mortals deal with mortals," Fate began. "But your little Apophis is getting a bit too big to still be called a mortal, especially after what Queenie did."

Hydrus frowned. "Queenie?"

"Oh, uh, Slytherin's basilisk," Fate said. "I needed a name to call her by, so I figured…"

"She'll love knowing that she was named by a goddess, assuming you would have known about any name Slytherin gave her himself," Hydrus said. It seemed like casual conversation, but he was stalling for time while—

"You don't need to stall, silly," Fate said, rolling her eyes. "You're dealing with the two most patient gods in existence."

Hydrus snorted at the 'compliment' towards Death, but didn't argue with her.

"Don't gods need a domain?" he asked, trying to gain some more to work with. "Apophis isn't a god of anything."

"Technically he's already the 'Patron Deity' of House Slytherin and House Black, you bestowed such honours upon him already," Fate said, making Hydrus wince. "Beyond that, although there's already a god of snakes, Apophis is well on his way to dethroning them; if only through proselytization. Don't you remember that cute little army he made?"

"Okay, but I have it on good authority that Arcturus Black is 'too big' for him to possibly eat," Hydrus said through gritted teeth. "He would have a stronger claim to being the deity of House Black, if only through tenure. That would put him and Apophis neck and ne—"

"And so you see the crux of our issue," Fate interrupted. "I like things to be fair, but Death's put you in quite the pincer here. If I allow Apophis to perform godly feats against mortal souls, then all bets are off and he gets to smite you. If I allow Death to smite him, then Death gets a member of your family in his court, just like he wants."

Hydrus ran his hand over his face, then realised he was missing his beard. He glanced down and saw his fake arm was gone too. It seemed Polyjuice didn't work in a deific void. He sighed and shook his head, wondering who or what he looked like now.

"Apophis's devourings haven't been a problem until now, and he's grown into the power he has fairly," he said. "Alright, give me a second to think."

He hated thinking, especially with gods who could apparently read his thoughts so close by. As soon as the idea of eschewing 'fairness' and 'rules' fluttered across his mind, he could feel Fate get upset. She liked her rules, she liked fairness. Anything else would…

"You like stories, and although I'll relent and not allow Apophis to eat the souls of my past victims, I think it's perfectly within the bounds of the 'narrative' that he can devour and hold hostage the souls of any future victims," Hydrus said, deciding to just wing it. "He has earned that power, and Death has allowed it to happen thanks to his own missteps. Although taking from the past wouldn't be fair, and could unbalance everything, I think allowing my son to take what's his by right of conquest is perfectly fair."

Death's bubbling cauldron of hatred and annoyance seemed like it was about to spill over, but Hydrus ignored it. Fate had put her thumb and index to her chin in an obvious thinking gesture, so Hydrus knew he had to lay it on some more.

"I've gone above and beyond in keeping things entertaining, even going so far as to make a deal with one of Death's followers." Death's anger came to a stop, and Hydrus was a touch impressed that somehow Dracula had apparently kept the god in the dark about their conspiracy. "I'm fighting a war, not playing a game. I wasn't the one to pull you out of the performance to demand arbitration. I just play my part to the best of my abilities."

"Oo, good point, good point," Fate said, nodding. "Alright. Death won't have any complaints if you don't go digging up anyone besides new kills for Apophis to eat. Hm, you know what? You've earned your leeway. I won't enforce a complete and total ban on it, but you need to ensure you're not setting up circumstances to do it on purpose, got it?"

'What?' Hydrus thought. "I don't 'go—"

"Apophis ate Salazar, who you didn't kill, but there were no protests there," Fate explained. "So if similar situations arise, I won't penalise you, but don't do them on purpose. Got it now?"

"I…" Hydrus just sighed instead of completing his bafflement. "Yeah. Sure. Got it."

"Good!" Fate positively radiated cheerfulness. "I'll see you soon, dear."

"I'm sure that you're sure you will."

And then he was back to where he was. Before either Remus or Bella could ask what that was about, he waved them off and took a moment to process things. He'd basically just been bullshitting his way through that interaction to avoid having his mind read, but the ramifications weren't lost on him.

He couldn't just beef up Apophis to a ridiculous degree without his familiar getting smited. He could offer up anyone he killed in the future. Small bits of unfair takings would be overlooked if it fit in Fate's idea of the game. Fate really did like when he played his part in the story like there wasn't a game at all. Death was completely helpless when the goddess wanted him to be.

"Don't get mad at me for breaking the fourth wall, Fate," he said aloud. "I'm just gonna let them know what we discussed so they don't pester me over it."

Once he filled in the other three in the room, Remus nodded. "That's fine. That was just an idea that occurred to me, the important part is for the future."

"Mm," Hydrus agreed. "I don't know if I wholly agree with this, Remus, but I'm willing to take the risk with you. Best case scenario, it works. Worst case scenario, it doesn't, and I'll just fire you so you can stop worrying about helping me. It's a win-win."

The werewolf flinched. "I'm sorry that I'm hesitant to—"

"Don't be, not with me," Hydrus said. "I only said that so you'll quit worrying and overthinking things. I'm sure you've been making all sorts of unfavourable comparisons between me and my version of Dumbledore." His uncle's eyes widened. "But you're not looking deep enough yet. I know damn well what he made me into. I know damn well who I am. And I know you're smart enough to work with that knowledge and adjust things accordingly."

"That's…" Remus hesitated. "I guess. It's very… I don't even know the word. It's like you don't even see yourself as a person, Hydrus."

"I don't, I see myself as a tool for world saving and battlefield destroying," he said. "And as a journeyman-level fiance to the most beautiful woman in the world, where I'm trying my best to earn my mastery."

He knew better than to leave Bella ignored for too long,and she laughed at his remembrance. She reached up and caressed his cheek as Remus rolled his eyes.

"You're worse than your father," the man muttered. "I'll see you tomorrow for the wedding."

"See you then," Hydrus agreed. "Thank you for your help."

Once his former DADA professor left, Bella wiggled about for a bit to get more comfy. "For the record, you're not allowed to kill Apophis under any circumstances."

"I'll kill anyone if the situation calls for it," he muttered. "I literally killed everyone I still had to love at one point, Bella, don't test me on that."

"You can't do that anymore." She glared up at him. "It's not allowed."

"I'll do whatever I must," Hydrus said, frowning at his love. "It's not like I have any plans to, but I'm not going to bind myself to anything either."

'Damn,' Hydrus thought as Bella sat up and really glared at him now. 'This is going to be a fight, isn't it?'

"No killing our children!" she demanded. "Kill other people's children, but not ours!"

'What the hell kind of fight even is this?' he wondered. "Apophis, do you mind if I kill you if it's the only way to stop a family-ending apocalypse?"

"No?" the basilisk hissed. "Is that going to happen?"

"It's happened before," Hydrus hissed back."See? He doesn't mind if circumstances call for it."

"That's not—"

Dobby appeared in front of them. "Master Hydrus, Mistress Tonks is wanting to see you."

Hydrus cocked his head to the side. "Really? What's she want?"

"Dobby is not knowing why, only that she does." The elf shrugged. "Dobby wasn't sure if he should be doing it or not."

"Yeah, sure," Hydrus said. "I'm just more surprised than anything."

He'd expected the young woman to avoid him like a plague after he'd had to tattoo her then headbutt her sternum like a slow but very patient rhino. What on earth could she want? When she appeared with a fork in her mouth, falling to the ground like she'd just been sitting, something told him she hadn't actually asked to be brought here.

"What the hell?" Tonks snapped, pulling the utensil away. "What do you want?"

"You's was wanting to speak to Master Hydrus!" Dobby answered cheerily. "Dobby brought you's to him!"

"I didn't want to see him right this second!" Tonks shouted. "I was eating!"

"Dobby is sorry."

Dobby didn't look sorry. Was… Was the elf developing a mischievous streak? That thought awed and delighted Hydrus.

"Sorry, cousin," Hydrus said, trying to placate her despite himself. "But since you're here…?"

Tonks stood and began straightening herself out. For once she had her hair long, though it was oddly shaped, like she wasn't used to trying it yet. She may very well not have been. The only times she ever wore it long in the other timeline were when she was trying to catch the eye of someone who seemed to like it that way, having long since stopped caring about people taking advantage of her gifts.

After all, she'd become more the sort to take advantage of them.

"I was just wondering if I could cover up the tattoo with like, make up or something," Tonks said. "I still don't like it."

"Tattoo?" Hydrus frowned, feigning ignorance. "Oh, right, forgot about that."

"…You forgot about saving my life with magic that has had the Unspeakables stalking me ever since?" He definitely remembered the creepy duo that had been watching him do that. "Just a regular Tuesday for you, then?"

"Imagine how arrogant and pompous I'd be if I spent all day recalling the countless times I've saved lives," Hydrus teased. "I've saved yours… No less than two dozen times?"

That was probably a fraction of the truth, but if he tallied up all the times his 'cousin' had saved his own life in the other timeline and put them on the other side of the scales, then it was probably around two dozen in his favour. Despite his magnanimity, Tonks rolled her eyes.

"Right, my own personal guardian angel," she muttered. "Can I cover it up or not?"

As Hydrus was about to answer, he saw writing appear on the side of the coffee table his feet were resting on, opposite of where Tonks could see. The words slowly spelled out 'Master Black and his Miss Bonesy is spying, Master Hydrus.' Were they now? Maybe it was time to test something. What was he supposed to be answering again?

"No." Hydrus shook his head. "As I said, a big part of the mark is that you believe in it and what it's doing for you. If you hide it, pretend it doesn't exist, then its efficacy will fade away."

Tonks sighed and her hair shrivelled up into a perm. It wasn't like someone could see the ink without undoing half the buttons on her shirt, so why was it bothering her so much? Hydrus didn't particularly care, he'd learned long ago not to pay too much attention to teenage fashion quirks otherwise the kid woul—

A flash of pain blinded him for a second, and he tensed. Both Bella and Tonks locked up as well, looking at him like he'd just flared his magic, which he might've done on accident. Hydrus fought to grab hold of that pain, to make it last longer, but it had vanished almost as soon as it arrived.

Oh well. Every little bit of breaking his bargain helped.

"Sorry about that," he muttered. "Had a thought that let me twist my soul around a little bit."

Tiny fragments of his memories towards loving those he considered to be his children had slowly been returning to him. He rubbed at the scar on his chest, where he'd carved Death's symbol during his final sacrifice. For all Hydrus knew, one's 'soul' might be in their chest, their head, their foot, or in an entire other plane of existence, but it felt thematic to rub the ridged skin over most of his sternum where the 'wand' portion was carved. Fate might not be in the mood to help him break his bargain, but she'd also not dropped any direct warnings with what he'd done thus far.

'Well, she did,' Hydrus thought, thinking back to when she'd pulled the sun out of the sky. 'But that felt more like a warning about having a quick and sudden reversal.'

"Are… You okay?" Tonks asked slowly. "That felt really weird."

"I'm a forty-some-odd-year old man, using Polyjuice potion made with hairs his fiancee stole while he was unconscious, to hide the fact that my soul is so twisted it's got my body changing more than a drunken metamorphmagus," he said. "You should've seen yourself at that party, the way your hair and nose—"

"Would you—! Wait. Fourty?" Tonks embarrassment faded away quickly, her hair turning from pink to blue. "What?"

"It's too long a story, but just know an unfathomable deity beyond human comprehension will stop you from telling others if you try to share it around," Hydrus said dramatically. "But yes, I'm well over forty."

"But… Then…" Tonks's hair was growing and shorting in a repeating pattern. "The Black Sheep isn't your dad?"

"No, he is," Hydrus said. "Like I said, too long a story."

"What; did you—"

Tonks's voice suddenly shut down, and the un-thought test Hydrus had in mind happened. He'd had his 'god eyes' on to see what happened when she figured out the truth and tried to confirm it. It hadn't really been all that impressive though, just the faintest glow emanating from her mouth as she tried to speak. Probably just Fate using some deific power to stop the sounds from escaping the space.

More importantly, Hydrus hadn't told Tonks what had happened. All he'd said was that he was Sirius's son despite being older than the man, and she'd put enough together to trigger the response. It wasn't anything important in the grand scheme of things, but it did confirm and open up a new line of strategy for him to contemplate.

He had been treating his feud with Death as though it were a mortal war, when really it was a game between gods that he was punching above his weight class in. Like he'd told Fate and used to his advantage, he hadn't been gaming the system at all. He'd just done his best as a tragic, mortal hero destined for failure.

It was time to start abusing the rules to his advantage.

But doing it in such a way that it still looked good enough for his voyeuristic patron.

"See?" Hydrus said with a sigh. "Unfathomable and incomprehensible forces at work. Are you beginning to understand just what sort of a war we've gotten ourselves into, dear cousin?"

Tonks scowled at him. "What the fuck was that."

"Unfathomable and incomprehensible."

"You!" The girl looked like she wanted to strangle him for the repetition, but settled herself down as best she could. Her hair was still purple though; she was still nervous. "I don't like that."

"I know, so just keep what you figured out to yourself," Hydrus said. "Sirius hasn't even been able to tell Amelia yet, though I know for a fact she's listening just outside the door."

That startled Bella too, and she sat up a bit to look over the back of the couch they were resting on. After a moment, Hydrus heard the doors behind them open. Two pairs of footsteps entered.

"Sirius, Amelia," Bella said. "Were you spying on your lord?"

"I'm the lord," Sirius grumbled, coming around the couch and hugging Tonks, much to her disdain. "Hello, dearest niece."

"Gerroff me," she said, shoving him away. "Ugh."

"Does it really count as spying if Hydrus was aware the whole time?" Amelia asked.

He hadn't been aware for the entire time, but he'd allow the woman he'd call his step-mother to have that leeway a bit early.

Bella narrowed her eyes but didn't press. Hydrus had to give at least this much to Bones; she knew how to get his love to agree to something. Make it seem like the thing Bella was agreeing to was part of Hydrus's plan and she would go along with anything.

Still, he needed to tease her for that.

"You're just a pawn in my game, girl," Hydrus said, putting on his best and most ominous tone, waving his fingers over the coffee table like it was the gods' game board. "You have yet to perceive the machinations behind my moves and motions."

He glanced up to the ceiling and winked at Fate as Amelia rolled her eyes.

"Don't call me 'girl'," the woman chided. "I don't even know if I believe you."

"You hear that, Apophis?" Hydrus cooed. "We got us an agnostic in our midst."

It was hard to tell behind the basilisk's murky, amber eyelids, but he thought he saw his familiar roll his eyes.

The little shit really was growing up.

"Anyways, I'm assuming you two weren't just here to try and peer into the wonders of the cosmos," he said. "What did you need?"

"Just wanted to make sure you were still on for the wedding tomorrow," Sirius answered. "I'd rather know now if something's come up."

"I'll be there," Hydrus said. "One in two weddings I get involved with end up being attacked, though, so be prepared for me to make a swift exit in order to make sure you don't get disturbed."

His father snorted. "One in two? Out of how many?"

"Dozens if not hundreds," Hydrus said with a sigh. "Too many weddings, too many funerals. There's a reason I'm good with speeches."

Hydrus sat in the front row of the massive space that Sirius had rented for the wedding ceremony. Bella had tried convincing the man and Amelia to hold the ceremony in Castle Black, or Castle Apophis Two as his sons called it, but even Hydrus hadn't tried to help her with that argument. The place they'd chosen instead had once belonged to Helga Hufflepuff, or at least so the owners claimed. The room they were in was easily as large as the Hogwarts Great Hall and its walls were made of an odd marble that had a swirling sheen to its texture.

All around him were some of the most important people in the world, from public-facing politicians to backstage ringleaders. The ambient magic in the room was as chaotic as Hogwarts itself, but it seemed to settle around them comfortably rather than causing a chaotic resonance. That actually gave some credence to the idea that this place was once owned by one of the founders. Usually when you got so many members of the Black family in one place, and in such emotionally high states, things took on a rather cold and dismal tone.

Instead, it just felt like any other wedding: full of the highest peaks of emotion and the deepest trenches of boredom.

Bellatrix was wrapped around his arm like he was about to disappear. She'd been in the throes of madness for most of the morning, and even now was mumbling under her breath about flowers and rituals. Every time Hydrus tried to listen to the specifics it just left him more and more confused as to what the hell was going on in his beloved's mind.

To his left and at the very edge of their row was the only person with a higher social standing than him for this wedding, Cygnus. Sirius's parents weren't allowed out so that meant he was the senior-most member of their family for the ceremony. On the opposite side of the aisle from him sat Amelia's Grandfather, the Lord of House Bones.

The old man was a bit younger than Arcturus had been, but not by much. Before the dark lord had passed and revived, Arcturus had been quite pleased with the thought of bringing him to the table, not that he ever told Sirius that. Amelia's grandfather had a lot of the same features as her, though it was hard to tell with the short but thick grey beard that dominated his jawline. He had a stoic expression so Hydrus was curious to see whether or not it would break at the sight of his granddaughter.

"Hydrus!" He turned with a small frown to see Bellatrix glaring at him. "You're not paying attention to me."

"Sorry, my love." A quick kiss to her forehead was the best he could do to try and keep her temper under wraps. "If I stare too long the temptation would be too much."

He ignored the snort from Cygnus beside him as he said that.

"Hmph." She pouted but the madness in her eyes wasn't fluctuating. "I said when do you think we're going to be married?"

"When the war is over," he answered. "A lot of things will settle after that, and we'll be able to prepare for things properly instead of going through this chaotic rigamarole."

"But when do you think that will be?"

Hydrus took a long breath. "I'm not sure, dear. This is hardly the place to discuss it."

Bella whined again but went back to her mumbling. Honestly he was just hoping that her being mad meant that she'd be ready for an attack. It hadn't been a joke when he told Sirius that every other wedding he went to was the victim of some sort of tragedy, usually in the form of an attack. Whether it was a raid from Voldemort or a dragon getting woken up or a betrayal from some new recruits that he hadn't seen coming; half of all weddings he attended were ruined in some way, shape, or form.

Hydrus wasn't sure if he was due for a bad one or not, but if nothing did happen, he would just assume that his own wedding would get carpet bombed.

Thoughts about what he would do if something happened plagued him throughout the rest of the morning. He mostly just copied whatever Cygnus did as the ceremony marched forward, paying no mind to the various little details like Sirius going from being a nervous wreck to stunned in awe to nearly crying by the end. It was dangerous for Hydrus to let himself get too wrapped up in the festivity when the potential for danger was so high.

It took nearly a full hour for the whole thing to come to a close, and everyone was handed the portkeys to take them to the massive forest glade that they would be using for the reception. It had been Sirius's idea apparently, and one Amelia actually let him get away with. The Black Sheep hated 'stuffy and noble' places like where they were now, so his wife had agreed to let him do the party portion of the day outside instead.

Then people began to call out the portkey activation phrase, and nothing happened.

Hydrus stood, jerking his arm out of Bella's hands as he flared his magic in a massive pulse to see if he could feel anything. People gasped when the power flowed over them, leaving them more scared of him than whatever it was that had—

"Don't get mad!" a voice shouted. Hydrus looked over and saw Giannis, who had served as the ring bearer, running over. "I turned the portal keys off!"

"Why?" he demanded.

"Because I made a better place!" Giannis beamed at him. "Dobby! Kreacher!"

Before Hydrus could ask what sort of nonsensical scheme the kid had come up with this time, there were two echoing claps that shook the whole world. After a momentary feeling of getting squeezed through a toothpaste tube, he and every other guest reappeared somewhere that could've been ruled over by fairies.

The sun was still high in the sky and it lit up what looked like some sort of open-air temple. There were pillars of carved stone erected with long banners running across them, providing shade and decoration. Bright birds of various shades of white and black were streaming across the sky and chirping in pleasantly mild tunes. It looked like Giannis hadn't known the ceremony was going to be held somewhere else, so there was an altar and chairs set up as well that could be easily cleared out. The food that the house elves had prepared was all laid out on massive tables to either side of seats, leaving the air smelling of a mix of that and the refreshing scents of nature.

"Giannis," Hydrus said. "I warned you not to do things without telling me."

"But it was a surprise!" Giannis shouted. "I wanted to—"

"I don't care, you're grounded." Hydrus glared hard at his son who flinched. "When the wedding is over, I'm sending you somewhere quiet and animal-less."

His heart was slamming against his chest. He'd been expecting some sort of fight only to discover that he was getting whisked away by his own child.

"Whatever," Giannis grumbled.

And then the party continued. Hydrus danced with Bella, drank with Sirius, and gave a brief speech at some point as the groom's son. The events all just blurred together as he tried to keep his guard up and stand ready against whatever foe came their way. Eventually the sun set, the guests began vanishing away, and he had to begin coming to terms with the end of the wedding.

"You doing alright?"

It was Sirius. Hydrus took a long sip of his wine as he tried to find a proper answer.

"It's not over yet," he eventually said. "When everything is done I'll be alright."

His father flinched, but it was Amelia who responded. "Why are you so—"

"Every member of House Black that's an enemy to our enemy is still here," Hydrus answered without letting her finish. "If you were our foe's general, would you let such an occasion go untested?"

His parents, one new and one old, frowned but didn't respond.

Hydrus resumed tapping the ball of his foot against the ground. He was sitting in one of the countless chairs Giannis had set up, waiting for something to happen. Anything. The remaining people were all in high spirits, or at least pretending to be well enough that it didn't trigger any further paranoia from him. If someone had betrayed them, they were doing a damned fine job of hiding it. He'd seen proper spies, people he loved and trusted, acting more suspicious before betraying him during events like this one. Perhaps he was being too casual; he should go out and—

"Would you care to dance with me?"

Hydrus blinked and looked up. At some point Sirius and Amelia had left, and now standing before him was Dumbledore. He threw up an amused grin.

"Careful, old man," he said. "The school board will—"

"Come on." His teacher pulled him onto his feet and began dragging him away. "Let's dance."

There wasn't even time to argue before the formerly-ancient wizard drug him out to where a few others were still spinning about in pairs. Lucius and Narcissa were there, as were Tonks and some boy he didn't know which had him suspicious, but otherwise it seemed safe.

"So what's this about?" Hydrus asked as they twirled. "What's got you so randy?"

"You're the one sitting like you're waiting for death in Azkaban," his mentor responded. "I'm just doing what I need to in order to make sure you don't ruin Sirius's big day."

Even if he was less manipulative now, Dumbledore still played his games. As Hydrus made a slight bow and stepped back, another step in this old dance he barely remembered, he was impressed. Leave it to the ancient warlock to still be able to coax a smile onto his face.

"Relax, Hydrus," Albus said as they came closer together. "Your mind is working far harder than it needs to in a time like this."

"You say that, but you don't know what it's like." Hydrus allowed the man to lift him up slightly and turn him around in the air. "Weddings are dangerous times."

"The only reason I'm not insisting on kicking you out is that I do understand," Dumbledore said as he set him back down. "But if this is the mood you held for all the weddings you presided over, then I don't envy your soldiers. You're an absolute drain."

Hydrus snorted at the mild insult. "I didn't ask for Sirius to get her pregnant. All of this is just me dealing with the cards I'm dealt."

"That doesn't excuse you from this chastising," Dumbledore said. "As your mentor, there's very little left for me to instruct you on in terms of magical prowess. There's still a wide, wide berth of much more important subjects to cover though."

"Oh yeah?" Hydrus asked as the dance came to an end."Such as not being 'drain' at parties?"

"I like to consider myself a master of all things joyous," Dumbledore said with all the gravitas of a king giving a speech. "You shall be blessed with my teachings."

Hydrus laughed. He knew his teacher was manipulating him and all but forcing him to let his guard down despite how inadvisable it was, but he couldn't help himself. Merlin, he'd missed his grandfather.

"Well, I'll be sure to remember your mastery if or when something does go wrong," he said. "Let's hope I won't have to waste too much time cheering you up if that happens."

After all, he'd definitely be blaming the man if it was deserved.

"We'll see." Dumbledore tilted his chin up ever so slightly, a challenge and yet another sign of his youthful regression. "If you'll excuse me, I think I'll have a much more fortuitous time seeing if I can ignite a spark of jealousy in your uncle."

It took Hydrus a second to figure out which 'uncle' that meant as he watched the warlock walk away, but it quickly became clear when he approached Regulus's boyfriend. A brief thought went towards what sort of reaction that would cause in the African political scene, but he quickly dismissed it. His concerns towards the more mundane machinations of his life weren't high on his priority list these days.

"My turn!"

That was the only warning Hydrus got before his own fiancee pounced on him for the thousandth time that day, demanding yet another dance of her own.

James drank a long sip of his punch as he listened to his wife with half an ear, and to the general hubbub of the dwindling crowd with the other half. Hydrus was acting like a caged lion and it had him on edge, he walked around with his lips cocked down and his eyes narrowed at the world itself. James knew his own instincts weren't as good as his brother's, but they were good enough to stay sober and not get too carried away by the festivities. Sirius wasn't doing the same at all, and was spinning his bride as they danced, both wearing rosie cheeks for completely different reasons.

"You're not listening to me." Lily suddenly said.

She'd been talking about the food and how good it was, but he was smart enough to know showing off he knew that wouldn't get him out of the hole.

"Sorry, Hydrus is distracting me." Under the Knight Bus his wayward son went. "He looks like he's spoiling for a fight and it's got me on edge."

Lily studied Hydrus, who looked like his Uncle Charlus for some reason, and began biting her lip. "I wonder why."

"No clue." He shrugged. "But still, I'm sorry for not telling you I was distracted."

"You're fine, dear." Lily kissed him on the cheek, telling him he'd succeeded in dodging her anger. "I'll go ask what's wrong."

He winced. "Let's just leave him be."

James still couldn't figure out what had happened that led to his son hating him so much. It was clear Hydrus didn't hold quite so much a grudge towards his mother, but he was still awkward around her. Merlin's Balls, he didn't even know why they had another child to call their own, but if there was one thing raising five of them so far had told him, it was that confrontation was just about the last thing they needed. Potters required… A certain touch.

The only reason he even knew about his prodigal son was Poppums. The Potter house elf had immediately been tethered to the young man when he suddenly appeared, and told him about the connection. He'd been collecting further pieces of information since but there were a lot of gaps.

"You know," Lily began, nearly making James grin as he recognised a teasing barb coming. "When you sat me down all those years ago to talk about all the political nonsense we'd have to deal with when your parents retired, I didn't realise that would include petulant teenagers running around looking like old men."

"I'm pretty sure I explicitly told you it would be a bunch of old men who are really children," he shot back, earning a laugh. "Do you want to dance?"

She shook her head. "You'll just step on my toes with how distracted you are."

"I'd kiss them better later," he murmured, bringing a blush to her face. "I love you dear, sorry for not listening."

"You're lucky I love you," she half-heartedly teased. "Come on, I changed my mind. Let's dance."

Remus leaned against one of the stone pillars Giannis had hung the banners and pennants from, taking the wedding in for the thousandth time. It was filling his heart more than he cared to admit to see his best friend so happy. Sirius was dancing with Amelia's mother while his wife was dancing with her father. James and Lily were dancing together as well. A small part of him, a part that had been growing ever since he gave up on his vengeance, wished it could join them.

The part of him that his friends hated, almost as much as it hated him, told him he didn't deserve such companionship.

These days, that part was easy to quiet.

A large man who looked like he was about to burst out of his dress robes sidled up beside him and gave a friendly nod. "Evening. You're Lord Sirius's friend, right?"

"Remus," he answered. "Pleasure to meet you…?"

"Octavius."

"Oh!" Remus gave a few quick nods of his own. "Right, Reg's boyfriend. It actually is a pleasure to meet you in that case."

The man's laughter boomed out around him, and it was pleasant enough to put a grin on the werewolf's face.

"Glad to hear you hold me in such high esteem," the man said. "So how long have you known Sirius?"

"He and I are old school mates." He spared a glance at Sirius who'd stopped dancing and was now feasting on a bit of cake alongside Amelia. "You're currently securing your position as crown prince, correct?"

He'd kept a side eye on that little project since getting brought into the 'thinker' fold as Hydrus put it. Although Remus wasn't counting on much from Octavius since he was in a precarious position himself, it wouldn't hurt to put out some feelers from one pseudo-leader to another. Who knew, maybe the other continent could become the next foothold for the werewolf people.

What a world he could envision these days.

"Unfortunately," Octavius agreed. "Never wanted the job, but c'est la vie."

"I know the feeling." And he did. "One day I'm a private investigator with nothing but a blood feud to my name, the next Hydrus has me propped up as a professor at Hogwarts, the secret leader of the werewolf people, and one of the primary advisors to House Black."

Octavius let loose another laugh. "Seems the family's hoisted you up even higher than they did me. You have my sympathies."

"Swear to Morgana," a new voice said. Remus turned and saw Regulus approaching. "First it was the old man, not it's… Oh. It's you."

"Hey, Reg," Remus acknowledged. He inclined his head and offered a small smile. "It's good to see you."

He knew how strained the relationship between Sirius and his younger brother was, so he wanted to make sure nothing happened on his part to make it worse.

"Yeah, you too," the younger man half-heartedly grumbled. "How are—"

"Come on!" Remus hardly saw the blur that kidnapped Regulus. "My turn!"

"Oh, Zara," Octavius sighed. "I swear, that bitch…"

As the large man continued to carp, Remus got the feeling he didn't actually mind the vampire too much. Now that he thought about it, he had seen him at the brunch Hydrus ran away from chatting with her. He'd just never had a proper conversation with him before now. That self-loathing part of his soul told him to stay quiet. The part of him that had an entire, burgeoning people to look after demanded he do otherwise.

"Since I have you," Remus said. "If you ever need some manual labor that needs a bit more than just a regular wizard's sweat on it, my people would be amenable to such a thing. Sirius told me that you were nervous, and my own people need a leg to stand on, so if you need anything don't hesitate to ask. It would only benefit us both."

He'd used a slightly patronising tone to suggest he was doing the younger man a favour, that he didn't want him to feel embarrassed asking for anything. The memories of Albus teaching Hydrus how to manipulate people might've been horrifying to witness as a fully fledged adult, but that didn't mean they weren't valuable. Octavius nodded after a second and offered a tight smile.

"I appreciate it." He winced. "Sorry, I'm still not used to all this political stuff."

"No worries, believe me when I say I'm right there with you," Remus said gently. "I look forward to working with you in the future."

Hydrus, Sirius, Amelia, and a near-comatose Bella were sitting around a table. Sirius and Amelia weren't too much better off themselves, both having drunk their fill and then some in celebration. Bella was just at the peak of her madness.

"You three should get to bed," Hydrus said. "I'll stay here and clean things up."

"Yeah, yeah," Sirius grumbled with half-lidded eyes. "We're going."

No one moved.

Hydrus sighed. "Kreacher. Dobby."

After some drunken back and forth he got rid of his parents and was left with the most stubborn of the three. Bella was pitifully glaring at him and refusing to leave.

"No!"

"Bella, I'll be right there," Hydrus said. "Just go."

"Noooooooo," she whined. "You promised we'd be together forever."

'For the love of—'

"Master Hydrus." He turned to see Dobby had reappeared, bowing. "Dobby is thinking now is good time to tell you."

"Tell me what?" he asked.

"Dobby told Kreacher not to tell Master Hydrus," Dobby began, trepidation pouring off of him. "The first place where you's was going to have Master Sirius's wedding, before Little Master Giannis changed it… It was attacked."

Hydrus blinked. "What?"

"There was a bad-nasty explosion of magic," Dobby continued, looking down and kicking at the grass with his feet. "Nobody was being there, nothing was hurt, so Dobby didn't want to tell Master Hydrus and ruin Master Sirius's big day."

Hydrus snapped, then let loose a roaring laugh.

"Is that right?!" he called between peals of cackling. "How do you like that, Death? How do you like getting side-stepped by a fucking nine year-old?"

Bella's madness was fuelling his own as it burned ever brighter. That python-like sensation in his soul was coiling round and round inside him like an ouroboros as it fuelled hers in turn and she began to laugh with him. If Hydrus had it within him to care at the moment, he'd probably wonder if it was right for him to be sitting here laughing like a maniacal villain, but that bit of sane self-reflection was lost in a sea of chaos.

"Just you wait, you cannibalistic fuck," Hydrus swore. "You're gonna regret crossing paths with me."

BBaRtS

My life's a wreck so we're going full fuck it we ball till this story's over. Gonna just write and post as chapters get done so I can be done with this story and have one less thing on my mental plate. No more schedules, only Zuul.