Chapter 8 The Plans That Didn't Survive First Contact

Running down the cold streets of Godric's Hollow, Hydrus prayed he wasn't too late. He could now see the smoke coming from the house and noted that no one else seemed to, but that was a question for another time. He had a feeling that that magical blast was the rebounding Killing Curse. He cursed all the people in his life that kept him in the dark. If he had known when they went into hiding he could have prevented this whole night. He thought he had come back early enough to thwart his parents' death, but his planning was futile, they were already hidden when he came back in time.

He Apparated to where the smoke was, maybe he could catch Pettigrew. Hydrus arrived just in time to see the rat come out of the house. He fired off a Sectumsempra Curse catching the traitor on his chest, but it didn't kill Peter and the rat Disapparated. Once more the distraught immortal yelled his frustrations in the sky.

He hurried inside and saw his dad, dead on the floor. It looked like James had put up a one hell of a fight. Furniture was overturn and spell marks marred the walls. His wand was still clutched in his fist, though it was broken, like someone had stepped on it. Hydrus took a moment and closed his father's eyes. He was remorseful that he couldn't save him and knew that his mum was also gone.

Tears ran down his cheeks as he took the stairs two at a time and when he came to the nursery he saw that little Harry crying in the crib, he quickly cast a sleeping charm in the child and looked over the scene. The wall behind the cot was gone; every bit of furniture was damaged. The immortal disregarded the empty robes of the temporarily vanquished Dark Idiot. He cried over his mother for a moment until he heard a noise.

Hydrus picked up Harry, pulled on his Cloak and looked around not wanting to stand in the middle of the room. He could just Apparate out, but he really wanted to catch Sirius before the dogman went after the rat. If he remembered correctly many people came here this night, the stories were conflicting as to in what order everyone appeared. He continued to look around and found what he was looking for. In the ruins of the nursery there was a large old-fashioned wardrobe. The doors were broken, but it looked like he could safely stay in there with Harry and attack if it was an enemy.

Must be from Dad's side of the family, it has the Potter crest on the front, Hydrus thought in relief. Thank Merlin for Pure-blood traditions. He quickly hid in the closet and hunkered down, keeping the still out cold Harry pressed to his shoulder.

From a crack in the door, he saw a dark shadow fill the doorway, and to Hydrus's surprise Severus Snape shakily walked in the room. It had been so long since he viewed those memories that he had forgotten that the man was the first to appear in the ruined house. His emotions about that man were still conflicting, he didn't want to kill him, but he wanted the Potions Master out of Harry's life. However, now was not the time for that confrontation. So, for now all he could do was sit and wait. He leaned back in the closet to rest; he wanted to be alert when Sirius showed.

After what felt like hours of listening to the other man cry through his anguish, heavy footsteps were heard. Snape stood and Disapparated out of the room. A larger shadow filled the doorway and the huge form of Hagrid came into the room. Tears were rolling down the gentle half-giant's face and wetting his scraggly beard. A large handkerchief was being utilized.

After he cried more of the body of Lily, Hagrid went to the crib and when he didn't see young Harry he got confused. He started his search and spotted the wardrobe was partly open. Hydrus held his breath, he didn't want to tangle with Hagrid; he would lose, since he was leery about hurting his first friend. Hagrid's only sin was that he trusted Dumbledore too much.

Harry started to wake, squirming to get comfortable. No, no, no, not right now, Hydrus thought as he gently rocked the child, causing his Cloak to shift.

The large man made his way to the closet, opened the door and noted the shoe peeking out of the Cloak. "Who 're ya, and what 're ye doin' with 'arry?" he asked as grabbed where he thought an arm would be, the Cloak slipped off and he pulled Hydrus out.

Hydrus quickly removed himself from that huge hand. "I'm not here to hurt anyone. I tried to find them and warn them, but I couldn't," he rambled, the tears were now dried track marks. He was hoping that Hagrid wouldn't question how he knew the Potters were in trouble. "I looked everywhere for the house. I just wanted them to be safe."

"Ya look like ya've been cryin', 'ow did ya know the Potters?"

"I didn't really, I just feel bad that I couldn't help them. I overheard some Death Eaters in a pub that some bloke named Pettigrew gave up the secret and that they were in trouble," Hydrus said, thinking of the first thing that came to mind.

"Why didna tell Dumbledore?" Hagrid asked.

"I had not time to send an owl, and I have no idea where he is."

"Well, I reckon that makes sense. So who are ya? Ya look like Sirius. Ya need to give me 'arry," the taller man demanded and went to grab Hydrus again.

The young immortal darted around the crib. Harry started to cry, and Hydrus did his best to comfort him. "Stop, you're going to hurt Harry and neither one of us what that. Really, I'm only trying to help. Look, here, I'll swear to it." Adjusting his hold on Harry, he called his wand and said, "I, Hydrus Williamsford Black, hereby swear on my life and magic I only want to help Harry James Potter." A blue light sealed his vow. "Lumos, Nox"

"iffin ya really want to 'elp then give me 'arry. I've gotta take 'im to Dumbledore," Hagrid said as he held out his large hands for the baby.

Hydrus relented, he knew where was Harry going and he really didn't want to take on Hagrid. So he handed the baby over and moved back. Running footsteps were heard entering the house and tormented cries of Sirius Black filled the air.

Hagrid turned and left the room and went down the stairs, carrying Harry. Hydrus decided to remain until the large man left and then he would talk to Sirius. He listened to his godfather demand Harry and Hagrid deny him, stating he was following orders. He then heard Hagrid tell him there was a cousin of his in the nursery, and that he had given a vow to help. Then Hydrus heard Sirius give his motorcycle to the large man. Sirius then climbed the stairs to see who this mysterious person was.

Sirius whipped out his wand when he spotted Hydrus. "Who the hell are you? You look like a Black, but I don't recognize you. What are you doing here? If I find out you had anything to do with the death of my friends, I'll kill you," he snarled. His grey eyes were crazed and his face was menacing.

Hydrus thanked Merlin that the Order members were taught to be non-lethal. He held up his empty hands and quickly said, "My name is Hydrus Black, we're cousins… my grandfather was blasted off the tree. I've been raised by a squib in the Muggle world. Look, I tried to prevent this. I heard that ole' Voldy was going to be here tonight, so I came to stop him," he said when the wand rose to his head. "Didn't you hear Hagrid? I gave a vow to help Harry. Listen to me, if you want to see your godson again you need to stop threatening me and just listen."

"What do you mean? Hagrid is taking Harry somewhere safe," was the confused response. Then that face turned thunderous, "What are you planning to do to my godson?" he shouted, lifting his wand again, this time casting a stunning curse.

Hydrus ducked and started to yell at the other man. "Nothing, but Dumbledore is placing him with Petunia. You know how she is," he defended himself. "Look, I have a plan, but you need to get to the lawyers the Potters used and get the will read. You need to clear your name or you're going to wind up in Azkaban."

"No, Dumbledore will take care of Harry, so what I need to do is hunt down the rat," Sirius snarled and turned to leave the room, dismissing the unarmed man as unimportant. Obviously the man wasn't thinking straight.

Hydrus called up his wand and yelled, "Petrificus Totalus. Silencio." The spells hit the stubborn man in the back. The time traveler sighed, he had been hoping to talk sense into the other man, but that wasn't happening. He had time to think about his Sirius's actions and the talks they had had, it had given him hope that by threatening this Sirius with never seeing Harry, then the emotional man would stop and think. Looks like plan B.

"Listen to me, you hotheaded moron. Do you want to spend the rest of your life in Azkaban? Leaving Harry to the gentle care of the Dursleys? Think for a minute, you idiot," he said as he advanced on the frozen man. "You go after Peter and you lose, everyone will think you were the Secret Keeper and that you gave up your friends to the Dark Lord. If you don't want that to happen, you will do as I say and get to the lawyers, clear you name, and meet me at this address," he continued and pulled the written address from his pocketspace.

Hydrus could tell from the defiant look in the other man's eyes it wasn't going to be that easy. With a sigh he Accioed his Cloak, grabbed Sirius and departed to his house. He would leave him here while he went and got Harry. So he put him on a bed, took Sirius's wand and conjured up rope to keep the volatile man bound for when the body bind wore off. "I'll be back as soon as I have Harry. You think about what I said while I'm gone. It shouldn't be more than a few hours. Tippy," he called.

"Master Hydrus wants Tippy?" the house elf said when she popped in.

"Can you look after this idiot and make sure he doesn't hurt himself?" he asked, sending a glare at the bound man. He was having second thoughts on keeping Sirius here, but he would give him a chance to redeem himself to Harry.

"Tippy can be doing this," Tippy said with a firm nod of her head. She would do anything for this man. After he bought her; he sat her down and explained that he wanted a free elf. It took a lot of convincing, but they finally came to an agreement. She would be free and be paid two sickles a week with one day off a month, and he would keep her on until she died.

Giving the elf a grateful smile Hydrus donned his Invisibility Cloak and made his way to an alley near Privet Drive. It was close to dawn and the time traveler was a bit confused, there was no baby on the doorstep. He was just about to go and knock on the door when he heard the sound of Apparition. Melting into the shadows and putting the Cloak back on, he saw Minerva McGonagall transform into a cat and sit on a wall. The longer the two magicals stayed in the neighborhood the more muddled Hydrus got. According to Hagrid he had come here right away, so where was he? All day the two sat and watched the house and the Dursleys. The young man chuckled when Vernon tried to shoo the transfigured teacher.

Night finally fell and then something happened, Dumbledore appeared, now everything was playing out like he had been told, but what happened to Harry during the day? How did people know about Voldemort's defeat? Judging from the news reports he overheard on one of the neighborhood tellies about the owls and fireworks, Hydrus concluded that word got out, he just didn't know how or who. He kept far back from the house, making sure he was out of sight of the all-seeing Headmaster. He waited for the scene to play out and after the other magicals left, he crept to number four and gently lifted the sleeping baby.

He felt the blood wards bond to him. That was unexpected, but I guess, reasonable. After all, I have Lily's blood in me and I'm technically a closer relation to Harry than Petunia. This will make taking care of him much easier.

Holding Harry tight, he popped back to his house. Once there he could feel the wards settle on the house and bond with the wards he already had set. Harry had woken and was fussing. His tired face screwed up in confusion as he looked around the unfamiliar room and big person and he said, "Mummy?"

"Mummy is sleeping right now, Harry. You should be a good boy and try and get more sleep. Uncle Hydrus will wake you up for breakfast," Hydrus said, making sure the baby was still clean.

"Mummy sleep?" the tiny tot asked as he rubbed his eyes.

"Yes, Harry, she will be sleeping for a very long time."

"Tay," was the tired response as Harry leaned his head on Hydrus's shoulder and went back to sleep.

Hydrus was actually pretty impressed with his younger self's vocabulary, must be because he had only been around adults. Shaking those thoughts away for now, he took the tyke into the nursery and laid him down in the crib and made sure the baby monitor was on. He gently drew a finger over the wound on Harry's forehead, the famous lightning bolt scar. The dreaded horcrux. It was a good thing he prepared for this. Shaking himself from his musings, he then went to see how Sirius was doing.

The other man was asleep, judging from the tear tracks on his face, he must have cried himself to that state. Sirius was tossing and turning, as much as the ropes allowed, so that sleep wasn't peaceful. Hydrus felt bad for leaving the older — Oops, theoretically I'm older, and isn't that weird—younger man alone for so long. He still didn't understand what had happened since he was at Godric's Hollow. He waved his wand and undid the ropes, removed the silencing charm and left Sirius to sleep.

He was exhausted; the adrenaline was gone. He called up some Pepper-up potion, put the letter that was with Harry aside and decided to meditate on everything that went wrong this evening. The same questions popped into his mind. How did everyone know? Where was Harry all day? Come to think of it, how did Snape and Hagrid know to be there? Snape might have been told by Voldemort, but how did Dumbledore know to tell Hagrid? Around and around these questions chased one another, but no answers came. Once again he cursed everyone for his lack of knowledge.

The sounds of Harry waking drew him out of his meditation. He made his way to the nursery and picked up the toddler. "Ready for breakfast, Harry?" he asked as he checked the nappy. Seeing it needed to be changed, he headed to the changing table and took care of it. He grabbed some clothes he had purchased, just in case, and put them on the silent baby.

Harry during all of this was looking around with wide eyes. Once the big person finished cleaning him he asked, "Mummy?"

"Your mummy is still sleeping," Hydrus said sadly. "I am Uncle Hydrus; I'll be taking care of you now."

"Daddy?" the toddler asked as tears started to well up in his eyes as he got more confused.

"Daddy is with Mummy."

"Pa'fut?"

"He'll be up soon. Let's go see him and then get something to eat while we wait for him to wake up." And with that he carried Harry to the room Sirius was still sleeping in and showed the scared boy that someone he knew was there. That seemed to relax the toddler so they went to the kitchen.

Harry was sitting in a high chair and eating away at some bananas and dry cereal. Hydrus settled on a bowl of the same cereal only with milk. Tippy was puttering around the kitchen. The toddler was quiet as he munched on his breakfast, not really understanding what was going on. He was sure his mummy and daddy would come soon.

It wasn't long until they heard someone barreling down the stairs. A very unkempt Sirius came running in to the kitchen. He skidded to a halt when he saw the other occupants. He reached for the wand that wasn't there and yelled at the only adult, "Who the fuck are you? Why do you have Harry? Where the hell are we?"

That started Harry crying, causing Tippy to do her best to soothe him. Seeing Harry was in good hands, Hydrus got up and grabbed Sirius by his robes and slammed him into the wall in the hallway, out of the view of the child. "If you don't calm the fuck down, then by Merlin's beard, I'll feed you the Draught of the Living Death and keep you in the cellar," he snarled furiously and slammed the other man into the wall again. The deadly look in his eyes showed that he had no problem doing just that.

Sirius tried to break free, but the stranger was stronger than him. He looked at the other man's angry face and roared, "Who do you think you are? That is my godson and I won't let you keep me from him."

"Yes, and you've done such a great job so far," sneered Hydrus. "You abandoned him to Hagrid to hunt the rat. You had no idea where he was being taken, even when I tried to warn you, you were more intent on your vengeance. Now, you've scared the living daylights out of him with your yelling. Yes, such a wonderful godfather you've been in his time of need." He shoved the man once again. "His parents died, and the only person you're thinking of is yourself. Merlin, why did I think bringing you in was a good idea? So, what's it going to be? Are you going to shut the hell up and listen to me? Or am I going to let you go and have you run off after Peter? I can tell you right now if you do then you will never see Harry again."

"Why? That traitor deserves to die," Sirius asked vengefully.

"Because, you inbred moron, if you go after him then you'll wind up in Azkaban." Another slamming into the wall.

"How the hell would you know that?"

"Look, if you stop yelling, calm down, and let me take care of Harry, I'll tell you everything you need to know," was the gentler response. Harry was still wailing at all the angry voices. So Hydrus let go of the robes and returned to his younger self. "Shhh, it's okay, shhh," he cooed as he picked up the scared baby from where Tippy was trying to calm him. "Uncle Padfoot is just sad; he didn't mean to scare you. Did you, Padfoot?" sending a piercing glare to the other man.

Sirius visibly wilted and moved to pat Harry on the back. "It's alright, Prongslet, Uncle Padfoot is sorry he yelled."

Harry hiccupped and looked to his godfather, seeing the man was not yelling any more he snuggled into Hydrus's shoulder, feeling safe with the big person. Hydrus continued to rock him and soothe his fears with meaningless noises.

Hydrus jerked his head to the living room and moved to go there. Settling a now quiet Harry in a playpen that had a few toys, he nodded for Sirius to take a seat in one of the chairs.

"How did you know my nickname? No one knows it except me and my friends," the now calmer, but still frazzled man asked.

Hydrus sighed and ran a hand down his face. "I didn't want to say anything at the cottage, there are too many questions on what happened that night. For all I know the place was bugged… listening charms," he explained at the confused look. "How did anyone know what happened? Two people showed up before you did, so how did they know? One was a Death Eater, the other Hagrid. Now correct me if I'm wrong, but Hagrid had orders from Dumbledore to take Harry to the Dursleys. So how did the headmaster know the Potters were dead? I was there right after it happened and your esteemed leader of the Light never showed his face. Too many unanswered questions. Ones you should be thinking about."

"That explanation leads to the question on how you knew," Sirius accused loudly, once more looking for his wand.

"If you start yelling again, so help me, I'll Obliviate you of the last week and let you suffer your own fate," Hydrus growled softly as he looked to make sure Harry was unaware of the tension. Seeing that the toddler was occupied he shot a threatening scowl at the hothead.

"Fine, tell me how you knew," Sirius huffed, and defiantly folded his arms. He didn't have a wand so he was hindered for the moment.

Hydrus thought about it for a few minutes, going over the pros and cons on telling this ill-tempered man who he was and how he got here. Azkaban must have done a number on his Sirius, because while he had a temper, he thought things out better than this Sirius. This guy was hard to deal with, with his constantly jumping emotions. Then again, maybe he was being too hard on the guy; after all he did just lost his best friend and if Hydrus remembered correctly Sirius was feeling a lot of guilt. The immortal knew the feeling well, years of therapy had helped, but he still felt like he failed. Both men were running on pure emotions.

Coming to a tentative decision he drew the Elder Wand and pointed it at the man, in case Sirius decided to snatch Harry and run. He then called Sirius's wand and threw it at him. "I'll give you one chance to be in Harry's life. You make a vow to me, here and now, that you will keep my secrets and I'll tell you everything. If you don't I will do as I threatened and wipe your memory of me, Harry and the last few days. Make your choice, vengeance or Harry?" he demanded, never lowering his wand.

You could see the war being fought in Sirius's head. His eyes would flit to Harry in sad thoughtfulness, then to Hydrus in confusion and then to the front door in anger. It was a long battle and Hydrus kept his wand pointed at the other man's head. Ten stressful minutes went by and finally Sirius's shoulders sagged in defeat.

"What do you want me to say?"

"Just vow that you will keep mine and Harry's secrets until such time as I release you," Hydrus said, still aiming his wand. He didn't trust the man; he was just so different than the Sirius he remembered. "If you still want Peter after you hear me out, I won't stop you."

"I need your full name."

"Hydrus Williamsford Black," was the succinct response. Hydrus hated that name, but George thought it up; said it sounded posh. So he kept it to remember his brother in all but blood.

That caused an eyebrow to rise. "I, Sirius Orion Black, do hereby swear on my life and magic to keep the secrets of Hydrus Williamsford Black and Harry James Potter, until such time as I am released of said vow," Sirius incanted, a blue light sealing the vow. "Now, tell me who you are and how you know everything."

Hydrus put his wand away in his pocketspace; causing Sirius's other eyebrow to rise. "To put it bluntly, I'm from the future."

"Right, everyone knows time travel is impossible," was the doubtful reply.

"Not if you are the Master of Death and wield the Deathstick."

"That's a myth. Look, if you're not going to tell me the truth, then why did you make me take a vow of silence?"

"Listen, you inbred moron—"

"Will you stop calling me that?"

"—I am telling you the truth." He pulled a book-reader from his storage and handed it to the disbelieving man. "This is a book-reader, invented in 1995 by a man named Frostwell. He left me his vault when there was only a rumor of the Dark Wanker rising again and a second war breaking out," he explained, ignoring the snort of disbelief. "On this device there are thousands of books, both magical and Muggle," he said, using the hated word.

Sirius took the device, but had no idea what to do with it. His knowledge of Muggle things was limited. Lily tried to educate him and James, but since they were in hiding most of the time, there was little she could teach. Sirius looked around the living room for the first time. There were weird items scattered everywhere. Over on the opposite wall from where he sat; there something he thought it was called a telly, only it didn't fit Lily's description. This box was large and flat, not big and bulky. There as a clock on the wall that appeared to be showing the time and the weather outside with numbers instead of hands. A very funny looking radio sat on the shelf, and a box he had no clue what was for, sat on the floor in front of the telly. All in all, it was bizarre, but it didn't prove the other man was from the future.

"This proves nothing, I need something more. I have no idea what Muggles do nowadays." He handed the book-reader back to Hydrus and folded his arms.

"Okay, I'll tell you a bit about your past," Hydrus nodded, he should've known it wouldn't be that easy. "You, James and the traitor are Animagi. You're a dog, James was a stag and Pettigrew is a rat. Remus is a werewolf. The four of you were known as the Marauders. Also I was the one who sent the letter warning you about Pettigrew. How did you send one back, anyway?"

Sirius growled at the mention of Peter, but remained in his seat. "You sent those letters? Damn we should have listened to you. I sent it back with the same owl you sent mine with, just told him to return to sender." He waved it away as unimportant. "What else do I need to know?" he asked, thinking the guy must be barmy.

"My birth name is Harry James Potter."

"What?!" the other man shouted and fell out of his chair, causing little Harry to start crying again.

"Dammit, Sirius, will you stop that?" Hydrus snapped as he got up to calm the toddler.

While Hydrus was rocking Harry, Sirius picked himself up and looked at the other man. He didn't look anything like James; though he had Lily's eyes (Hydrus never used his contacts at home). Looking harder he could see some of his friend's features, he still looked like a Black though. He settled back down in his chair and waited.

Hydrus joined him, with Harry on his lap. "Quit yelling," he said softly, but with a threatening look.

"Sorry," Sirius replied as he looked at young Harry's tear-filled eyes.

Harry was chewing on the ear of a stuffed bear and looking at Sirius like he was going to start using his loud voice again. He burrowed back into Hydrus's chest and kept watching his godfather.

"Now as I was saying, my birth name is Harry James Potter, but I changed it legally and magically. You helped with that, by the way. In order for me to not create a paradox, I had to change who I am," the time traveler explained, keeping his voice normal.

"But… Why did you come back? Was the future so horrible? You mentioned a second war, was that why? Did everyone die?" the rapid fire questions came.

"Not exactly," hedged Hydrus. "Yes, a lot of people died, everyone I called family, but my only reason for this venture is to save Harry. No one should go through what I went through. I did try and save Mum and Dad, but the Fidelius kept me from them. By the time I got there they were gone," he said sadly, stroking the tot's back.

"Alright, tell me everything."

So Hydrus firmed his hold on Harry and started talking. He told about his life with the Dursleys, ignoring the vengeful noises of the other man, but shooting a glare to remind him to be silent. He went on about all of his trials in Hogwarts and how the populace would revere him and then vilify him at the drop of a hat. He went on about all his confrontations with the Dork Lord. The second war and what happened after; Sirius chuckled softly when he got to the revenge bits. He explained all of the preparations that he made to come back and finished with him appearing here and what he had done since he had been back. All this was recanted in monotone as to not wake the child that had fallen asleep partway through.

Not the bedtime story I had planned, Hydrus mentally groaned.

"What I didn't count on is you still being a hotheaded arsehole," he added at the end. When he said "arsehole," the half-awake Harry mimicked him, then the baby snuggled down and went back to sleep. — Oops I'm going to have to stop cussing, Hydrus chuckled to himself. "I guess I should've realized that Azkaban changed you. The Sirius I knew was more serious."

The gobsmacked Sirius didn't even take up the old joke, his mind was reeling with everything he had just been told. He was now starting to doubt people he trusted most of his life. The three sat in silence while Sirius mulled everything over.

"You have Death Eaters in a coma, in crypts, in a Muggle cemetery?" he finally settled on. "So you meant it when you threatened to do the same to me?"

"Yeah," was the cautious answer.

"I'm not sure if that is a great prank or if you're a sadistic bastard," Sirius said just as warily.

"Tell you the truth, I'm not sure either." Hydrus shrugged. He looked at the toddler sleeping in his arms and wondered if he wasn't being a little overzealous in protecting him.