Chapter 9 Calmer Conversations

Hydrus slowly stood, balancing a still sleeping Harry. "I'm going to settle him in his cot. You stay here and think on what you want to ask me. You can call Tippy, but you should know there is no alcohol in the house."

Sirius was still deep in thought and just waved the other man away. So Hydrus took Harry to his room. "Tippy?"

"Master Hydrus is calling Tippy?" the excitable elf asked when she popped in.

"Yeah, can you watch over Harry for a bit? We adults need to talk. He should stay asleep for a little while, but see to his needs when he wakes up, please," Hydrus said as he watched the sleeping tot.

"Tippy can do," the free elf said.

"Thank you, Tippy, you're the best," the time traveler said, with a small smile, and then he left the room to go and join his godfather/cousin. He settled back on the sofa and waited the other man out.

"If I had run off after Peter, I would've spent over twelve years in Azkaban?" a dawning horror coming over Sirius's face. As if he was just now realizing what Hydrus's timeline had held. "No trial, just chucked into prison? Dumbledore didn't try and get me out? Why? I was a good soldier to him," his voice started to rise.

"Sirius," Hydrus snapped, looking to the ceiling, "I get that you're angry, but Harry needs to sleep. I think he's suffering from magical exhaustion. I don't want to keep fighting you, so keep your voice down."

"Why don't you just throw up a silencing charm?" the confused man asked.

"Why don't you just control your temper? I don't use magic for everything," the immortal snapped, one thing he had learned in his self-exile was that magic wasn't the cure-all. "Look," he said, running a hand through his hair, "if you are going to be part of Harry's life I need you to learn to control yourself. I don't want him exposed to a lot of anger."

"Okay, okay, I understand," Sirius said taking a few deep breaths. He still needed to process everything he had been told, plus grieve over all the deaths that happened recently.

"Sirius," Hydrus said, bringing the other man's attention back to him, "I wanted to apologize about accusing you of abandoning Harry, it was a bit hypocritical of me. And I said it in anger."

The other man waved it off as unimportant, there were a lot of things said that were in the heat of the moment. "Can you answer my questions? How did I wind up in Azkaban? Why didn't anyone stand up for me?"

"From what I understand, in what little information I could gather about this whole week, everyone thinks you're the Secret Keeper. When you went after Peter you caught up with him and he killed twelve non-magicals and framed you for his death. Crouch Sr. and Bagnold wanted a scapegoat and you were it. Dumbledore either believes you're the Secret Keeper or was content to have you out of Harry's life, for the Greater Good. I don't know which," Hydrus answered as best he could. He had researched everything he could. Even called up spirits of the dead, but all of the stories conflicted, even his parents couldn't answer some of his questions, like they had been Obliviated, and death hadn't cured them of that. The only way that could be explained was if the spell was cast with the Elder Wand, leaving Hydrus to have more doubts about the Headmaster.

"So what do I do now? I don't want to go to Azkaban," the now desperate man asked.

"First answer a few questions. Did the Potters use a lawyer to write a will?"

"Yeah, Lily insisted."

"Do you know which firm?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, that's good," Hydrus said with a nod of his head, plans forming. He called up a watch like gizmo and handed it to the other man. "This is a sorta glamor/Polyjuice device. It will only change you enough to look like a family member, but not yourself. George invented it, it takes a bit of your blood and combined with the glamor spell morphs your face," he explained. "I don't think that Dumbledore has had time to call the Wizengamot to have the wills sealed. Even with his pull, it would take a few days."

Sirius took the watch with trepidation, he really didn't know the man in front of him; however, Hydrus had stopped him from making the biggest mistake of his life. So taking a leap of faith he put the watch on. His cheekbones lowered, his mouth thinned and his hair shrank to ear length with his facial hair vanishing. It was a weird sensation. He conjured a mirror and looked at his new features.

"Now," Hydrus said, snapping Sirius's attention away from the mirror, "you need to get to the lawyer, have the will read, hire them to represent you and get custody of Harry."

"You don't want custody?"

"No, I have no legal ground; you, on the other hand, are his godfather. However, I do want all of us to live here, where the blood wards are."

"What blood wards?" Sirius asked, vaguely remembering Hydrus saying something about them in his narration earlier.

"Whatever Mum did to protect me and Harry, created a blood ward. That's the whole reason Dumbledore wants Harry at the Dursleys. When I picked him up those protections bonded to me. So the house is now under those wards," Hydrus explained calmly. "The ones from my timeline were weak from the lack of love in the house. I plan on making these as strong as I can."

"We should do something about those people," Sirius growled, getting fired up once again.

"Stop, look, I understand the need for vengeance, but these Dursleys haven't done anything. So, no, I will not do anything to them. I plan on letting them live their pathetically normal life. Without me as a fall guy, that normalness will fade soon enough. The only Dursley I plan on ruining is Marge. That sadistic bitch needs to be taken down, but that's for later." By the time Hydrus had gotten around to Marge in his timeline, she had disappeared, so his need to get back at her was still strong.

"What? After everything they did to you?" was the shocked response. Even after all these years, he still wanted to torture his parents for the way they treated him as a child. So it was hard to understand why Hydrus didn't feel the same.

"I got my vengeance in my timeline. When I left they were still running from wizards. George said he'd track them down every now and then to keep that fear alive," the immortal shrugged. "Years of therapy helped not to want to get it in this timeline. Your constant need to get revenge is unhealthy, so you will see a therapist if you're going to stay here with Harry." It was a demand and not a suggestion.

"What?! I'm not crazy," Sirius yelled in defense.

"If you wake Harry, we're going to have words again," Hydrus threatened, shutting the other man up. "I didn't say you were crazy, I said your emotions were unhealthy. Besides, I know a bit about your past and what you got up to at Hogwarts. What you find funny; I consider bullying. I will not have Harry raised a bully. Pranks are all well and good, if they don't hurt anyone. If you try and make him like you guys were in school, I erase your memory of us and dump you in London," the older man vowed.

"Wait, you're confusing me. One minute you want me to get custody, the next you're threatening to send me away. Make up your damn mind, for Merlin's sake," Sirius said, shaking his head and grabbing his hair.

"I do want you to get custody, and I want you in Harry's life, but there are going to be rules," Hydrus said in a much gentler voice, trying to get the man to see reason.

"How are you going to stop me from just grabbing Harry and running?"

"There you go again, not thinking of Harry," Hydrus accused. "There is no safer place on earth than in this house. No one can find him here, not even Dumbledore."

"Right, blood wards, forgot about them," the Animagus said with a shake of his head. He still wasn't thinking clearly, too much had happened to him in the last month and now this.

"Okay, look, you have to get to the lawyers before they close for the day. The watch changed you enough that you should be able to get there unmolested. Don't go to the Ministry until you talked to the solicitor. Don't forget your vow to keep mine and Harry's secrets."

Sirius looked at his new watch, which surprisingly told time, and noted it was three in the afternoon. He got up, cast a cleansing charm, righted his robes and said, "Right, I best get to it then. I'll be back in a few hours, hopefully."

"Since that huge scene with Peter never happened, you should be okay," Hydrus said confidently, even though he was a bit nervous for the man. "You'll have to go to the fence, only I can Apparate to and from the house. Good luck and keep your temper."

"Right," Sirius said with a determined look on his new face. He then left the house with his Gryffindor courage wrapped around him like a shroud and went to face his fate.

After the other man left Hydrus called Tippy. When she appeared he asked, "How is Harry doing? Is he awake yet?"

"Little Master is being up for a while. Tippy is giving him peanut butter sandwiches in itsy-bitsy pieces and juiceys. Then Tippy is making sure Little Master is playing in his room."

"That's good. Has he asked for his mummy?" he asked, knowing it would be some time before Harry stopped, but the amount of times he did ask would show how well he is dealing with his parents not being here. Hydrus wanted Harry to feel safe and not abandoned.

"It is being very sad, Little Master askes for his mummy when he is waking up and Tippy is telling him she is still sleeping. Little Master is wanting to be waking her, but Tippy is telling him that she is sleeping somewheres else. It is taking a while, but Tippy is calming him down," the little elf explained, with tears rimming her huge eyes.

"You did the right thing, Tippy." Hydrus said, kneeling down to her level and rubbing the sad elf's back.

"Tippy is only doing what Master Hydrus is telling her to be doing. She is understanding why Master Hydrus is telling Little Master lies, but Tippy is wondering when we can be telling the Little Master the truths," she asked shyly, still not use to being able to question the person in charge.

"When he is old enough to understand better, until then, I think I'll to go to the cottage and see if I can salvage anything that might help him keep their memory," he said, rubbing his chin in thoughtfulness. He also needed to find out what happened to Peter. Hydrus may not have been an Auror, but that didn't stop him from training as one. So he knew the correct investigative spells to hunt down the traitor. "Hey, I have to go out for a few hours. Are you okay with Harry?"

"Yes, Master Hydrus, sir, Tippy knows how to take care of babies," the little house elf said.

"Great, I shouldn't be long." And with that he donned his Cloak and popped to the ruins in Godric's Hollow. The place was swarming with people, wizard and non-magical alike. Carefully threading his way to where he had seen the rat last, Hydrus cast a spell to locate where the traitor had Apparated to. Trying to keep as quiet as possible, he popped to that location. Keeping his Cloak on in case the Aurors were also on the trail, Hydrus looked around. There was no more magical signature, but there was a blood trail.

Following that, he came upon a scene where there was a lot of blood. He cast again to see who had been there and found Snape's signature. The only reason he knew the Potions Master's magic was because of the many times he had been exposed to it in his timeline, like when Snape had used the very spell that Hydrus saw the remnants of on Draco to cure the same wound.

Damn, he must have doubled back and followed the trail as well, which means that Pettigrew is alive, he fumed silently. Or, Snape cured Peter enough to question him. Knowing Snape he used Legilimency and got the truth. That means he either took the rat to Dumbledore or he killed him and is disposing of the body.

Casting once more for Disapparition, he found only one trail. That path was blocked from being followed. Cursing the fact that Snape got to him first, Hydrus went back to Godric's Hollow. Once again weaving through the crowd, he made his way to the door. There were a few Aurors doing crowd control, but they had put up some kind of ward to keep the public out. Since Hydrus was still technically a Potter, he got in with no problem. Looking around the shambles of the once nice living room, he saw no one was there. The bodies of his parents were gone, and Hydrus had a fleeting thought as to who took care of that, probably Dumbledore. He knew they were going to be buried in the local cemetery, he'd visit them later.

He silently made his way around the house, picking up pictures and heirlooms and tucked them in his pocketspace. He didn't worry about kitchen items, since he had stocked up on those, but Harry might want things he was used to around, so Hydrus made his way quietly up the stairs and started collecting Harry's things. The Aurors present were so intent on studying the robes on the floor that they didn't even notice that items were disappearing in midair. Thank goodness Mad-eye isn't here. After gathering all he needed: clothes and toys and such, he shook his head at their lack of attention and popped away home.

The rest of the day was spent arranging the things he brought and playing with Harry. The tot asked about his mum a few more times, and Hydrus gave him the same answer. He felt bad for the little guy, who was confused, but knew from his research that Harry just wouldn't understand that his parents were dead. So he continued to tell him they were going to be gone a long time. Hydrus was thankful that Harry had taken to him so well.

After Harry went down for the night, Hydrus also went to bed. Sirius would have to wait until morning. He hadn't slept in three days and Pepper-up potion only took you so far. So an emotionally and physically exhausted immortal fell to his bed, completely clothed, and was asleep before his head hit the pillow.

Either Harry hadn't woken through the night, or Tippy took care of him, either way Hydrus woke up refreshed and much calmer. He did his morning rituals and went to see if Harry was still asleep. When he didn't see the toddler in the cot, Hydrus figured he was with Tippy. So he made his way to the room Sirius used the other night, seeing the man asleep on the bed, he sighed in relief and went to the kitchen.

Harry was sitting in his chair, munching away on his breakfast. So, Hydrus ruffled his hair as he went by and made himself some scrambled eggs and toast. When Sirius joined them this time it was without fanfare. They talked about non-important things, both having been taught the dining room table was not a place for heavy conversation. Hydrus once again asked Tippy to tend to Harry, hoping that when everything was settled better, he could spend more time with his younger self.

The two men made their way to the living room, this time the atmosphere was much more relaxed.

"So how did it go with the lawyer?"

"Well, I got to tell you, we cut it close. I just got the will read, when the summons to the Wizengamot was owled in," Sirius answered, with a shrug. "They were too late, of course. I hired the lawyer, Mr. Greenway, to represent me; I even gave him the memory of the switch. He said it would take a few days and to hide out until I heard from him."

"That's good," Hydrus sighed and then changed the subject. "I went to try and find Peter after you left. But the trail grew cold and I have no idea if he is alive or dead. I have my suspicions that Snape saw him last, but if he found out the rat was the one who got Mum killed, I don't hold much hope of Pettigrew coming out alive." He could try summoning the shade, but he didn't think that would be good for his frayed nerves.

"Snivellus," Sirius snarled.

"I know, I know, but there are a few things you don't know about the man. I'm not going to defend him right now. We have other things to worry about," Hydrus said firmly.

"Like what?"

"Harry, Death Eaters, Dumbledore, Remus, Gringotts, your anger, the whole Boy Who Lived thing or loads of other things," the older man listed, ticking his fingers for each item. "Plus I have my shop and accounts to maintain."

"Let's start with Remus," Sirius said, wondering what happened to the werewolf in Hydrus's timeline. "As far as we knew, until Peter betrayed James, he was under suspicion as going Dark. I didn't want to believe it, but the evidence was overwhelming. He was hardly ever coming to meetings and when he was there he was distant. Now, I don't know what to think."

"Well, I can tell you here and now, that Remus is not and never will be drawn to the Dark. I think you guys were so worried about a spy you grabbed a hold of the first bit of gossip and ran with it. I, for one, think it is disgusting the way people will listen to rumors before listening to fact," Hydrus said with a curl of his lip. Yeah, he still had issues about that.

"What? No, Peter said… Dumbledore was worried…"

"That's another thing, why do you blindly follow that man? Yeah, I get that he stopped a war, and that he should be honored for that. However, one fight does not a leader make," Hydrus interrupted him. "Dumbledore does his best, but you can't fight a war with stunners. Leaving an enemy at your back is suicide."

"But, he is in charge of so many political positions," the confused man said.

"Those were all thrust on him. He never asked to be in charge, the wizarding world simply took it upon themselves to put him on a pedestal and leave him there. Like I said, he does his best, but no one, and I mean no one, should have that much power."

"Dumbledore is a great man!" Sirius yelled in defense, leaping from his chair.

"Don't you bloody well start yelling," Hydrus snapped and waited for the man to sit back down. "I never said he wasn't. I only said he shouldn't have that much control. People with that much political power either wind up hubristic or Dark. And if you look back on his actions you will see that once he sets his mind to something, there is very little that can change it. I put the blame directly on the wizarding public. If the common witch or wizard would just think for themselves, Dumbledore wouldn't have to do all their thinking for them," the immortal said exasperated. It was going to be something he was going to try and fix with his and George's inventions. Not to mention the people that would try and stop him. He might get a few that would be angry enough to try and kill him, as well. He was going to have to be careful.

Sirius was thinking back on all the times he and James had defended Remus, and how the headmaster wouldn't be swayed from his misgivings. Taking a few minutes to go over other meetings and looking at them with new eyes, he did note that everything was argued away by the headmaster in that I-know-better-than-you voice, or looked upon with disappointment in those ever twinkling eyes. He would always look up to the man, but he could see Hydrus's point. He sighed and brought the conversation back to Remus. "So, did you want to bring Remus in to help raise Harry? He is really smart and could be very helpful."

Hydrus let the talk about Dumbledore fade for now. "I am thinking about it. I know he is a good man. He was the only teacher that didn't talk down to me, mostly. So after you're cleared, yeah I think we should find him and ask."

Sirius nodded in agreement and moved on to another topic. "So, Death Eaters, from what you told me a lot of them got away scot free. Knowing you have Lucius and Bella on ice, so to speak, do you think that's going to happen again?"

"Only if Narcissa gets involved, it was the Malfoy money that bought their freedom," Hydrus shook his head. "I have enough money to counter that, only I need you to do it, since you have some pull with your name. You won't get your title until your grandpa passes, but the Black name still gets doors open, especially for the only male heir. I'll be known as an outcast Black, so my name won't have as much pull. My story is I'm descendant of Marius Black, since he is a squib. All of my paperwork shows this, in my timeline he was already dead, and so it was easy. I think he is living in London somewhere."

Sirius grimaced, he really didn't want that title, but the man had a point. So he nodded and said, "I'll write to Cissy and warn her to keep her hands clean. Yeah, Marius was one of the last blasted off the tapestry, so his line won't show. I'll write him as well, to keep the story, if he is still alive that is. He would think it a great prank to the people who turned on him."

"That's a start," the immortal said and the two sat in comfortable silence, thinking over where to go next. Tippy popped in with morning tea.

Breaking the quiet, Sirius asked, "What next?"

"I need to go find Snape; I only have a general idea where he lives, so it might take a minute. But I need to keep him out of Harry's life, so I'm going to offer him freedom," Hydrus answered then looked at the other man. "That means you stay here and watch Harry. Tippy will help, but I need your word that you won't run off. We'll look for Remus after your name is cleared." He knew Tippy would intervene if anything happened. Since she was a free elf, she could defend herself and Harry, if need be.

"You have it," Sirius said, raising his hands in compliance.

"Right," the older man said and called up his book-reader. He looked up Spinner's End on the maps he had downloaded. The only problem was he had no idea of the house number. He would have to search for wards, because knowing Snape there would be some nasty ones. "I don't know how long I'll be so don't wait dinner on me." And then he stood, went to his room, put in his contacts, pulled on his Cloak and Disapparated.

He appeared in a deserted park, it seemed to be a dividing line between two neighborhoods. On one side was a well-cared for middle class street, on the other side was the exact opposite. Now it made more sense as to how his mum and Snape met. He knew from the memories that Snape was from a lower class family, but his mum's family was never poor, at least according to Petunia.

He cast the spell that indicated the presence of magic in the shabby street. Walking down the road, still under the Cloak, he finally came upon a house that was warded to the gills. Calling up his shock gun he blasted those wards, not caring if the man inside knew he was there. He kept his wand in hand and walked closer to the door.

When Hydrus got five feet to the threshold, Snape came out wand a blazing. Hydrus ducked and moved forward quickly, his Cloak flying off. Using his empty hand, Hydrus made a fist and slammed it into the hated teacher's jaw, before kneeing him in the groin.

Snape stumbled back and doubled over in pain, vulnerable from the unexpected attack.

Hydrus used that to his advantage and shoved the man into the house. He Accioed his Cloak to him. When he was out of the public eye he threw the still dazed Snape on to a chair, snatched his wand and roped him down.

"Hello, Snivellus," the time traveler said as he sat on a surprisingly clean chair.

"Who are you?" Snape sneered, glaring hatefully at the man in front of him. "You look just like a Black," he spat the name.

"That's not important right now," Hydrus said, waving away the question. "I am actually here to make you an offer you shouldn't refuse."

"You attacked me," the bound man said in disbelief.

"You attacked me first. That's not the point; the point is I can offer you freedom. You take me up on it, and you'll never have to worry about serving anyone again. If you listen to Dumbledore, you'll be spending the rest of your life in a job you hate. Listen to me and you leave the country tonight and you'll never have to look back," Hydrus explained with a slightly mischievous gleam in his eye. Snape may never serve anyone again, but he would always be on the run. Being the Slytherin he was, Hydrus was sure that the Potions Master would be fine, just very paranoid.

Snape shot him a distrustful look and then barked, "Explain."

"I can remove the Dark Mark, give you enough non-magical money to get out of the country as well as give you a device that will hide who you are. The rest is up to you, you're smart enough to support yourself, youngest Potions Master of the age," Hydrus shrugged as if it was not big deal.

"How did you know about the Headmaster's offer?"

"Sorry, can't tell ya, vow you know. I can tell you that your conversations weren't as private as you thought," he lied.

"And what of my vow to protect the Potter brat?" Snape asked, as his dark eyes flitted around the room. You could see he was honestly thinking about getting out of Britain. There were no good memories for him here, and if they ever found out what he did to Pettigrew...

"He's well protected, thanks to his mum. Besides, Dumbledore didn't keep his side of the bargain, so the vow is worthless."

A look of anguish crossed his face for a moment at the thought of his dead friend. He had trusted Dumbledore to protect her, this man was correct, the vow was void. Then his face firmed into his usual sneer. His well-kept mind was going over the possibilities. "How do you know I'll keep my word?"

"Easy enough, you take a vow to never step foot in the country again."

"And if I am captured?"

"Not my problem."

"My position as a spy?" was the greasy-haired man's final question.

"If I have it my way, Voldemort will never return," Hydrus said in a steely voice. There was a murderous glare in his eyes.

Mulling it over for a few minutes, Snape finally nodded. Hydrus lifted the Elder Wand and pointed it at the man's head. He unbound him and threw him his wand. "Simply say that you will never willingly come back to the United Kingdom."

Taking his wand, Snape incanted the vow and waited. Hydrus pulled out a glamor watch, explained what it did and then gave the Potions Master an expanded Mokeskin bag filled with pounds.

Severus's face changed in drastic ways. His greasy hair turned dark brown and messy, which made Hydrus giggle internally. His eyes went from fathomless black to pale brown. His nose shortened, it still looked like it had been broken a time or two it was just smaller. He crooked teeth straightened a little, so it didn't look like he ate metal on a regular basis, but just didn't care for them. His skin went from shallow to just plain pale. Oh, the Potions Master would never win a beauty contest, but he might not be tracked down so fast with this face. The immortal was surprised at the major differences; usually the watch was far more subtle.

Snape conjured a mirror and sneered at his new face. Hydrus said he might want to change his distinctive style of clothing, which caused the man to snarl. He then indicated for the ex-Death Eater to show the tattoo on his arm. He grabbed the wrist and said in parseltongue, "Finite Incantatem." The mark disappeared, the skin was unmarred. Snape almost showed signs of relief.

It had been a shock to realize that he still had the snake tongue. After a lot of research on the mark he figured out why no one could remove it and was surprised when it was so simple. Voldemort must have thought it a great amusement that so many had tried and failed.

"It is all up to you now. I do have one question though. Did you kill Pettigrew?" Hydrus inquired casually.

Snape shot him a fleeting wary glare, which of course gave the immortal the answer. The younger man's face smoothed and he said snidely, "I have no idea what you are talking about."

"I really don't care; I just want to know if I have to watch out for the traitor in the future."

"As far as I know Pettigrew will never darken your doorstep," Snape said in that silky voice he had. Then he turned and dismissed the intruder and started packing up his house, putting everything in the Mokeskin bag.

Seeing the snub for what it was Hydrus shrugged and left. He had done what he came for and got a bit of extra information in return. So he popped back to the house, scaring Sirius, who was trying to figure out the telly. "What are you doing?" Hydrus asked in amusement.

"This one isn't like the one Lily showed me and James. There is no on button," the Animagus said sheepishly.

"Sit, I'll turn it on. Where's Harry?" the older man said as he pushed the button at the bottom of the telly and turned it to the local news.

"Sleeping again. He's been down for about an hour, so he should be up soon. We had a really good time; Harry is such a bright kid. He seems to be adjusting well. Thanks for getting his stuff, I think that helped," Sirius answered and then looked at the other man's content face. "You got him to leave?"

"Yup," Hydrus said happily, "it was easier than I thought. Then again he all but confessed to killing Peter. Not even the headmaster can help him if that gets out."

Sirius's brow wrinkled in a frustrated frown. He wanted to kill Peter, now Snivellus took that from him.

Seeing that look Hydrus said, "He's gone, there's nothing you can do now. Live with it."

The two men sat and watched the news; there were more reports on fireworks and owls, but nothing important. So, Hydrus introduced Sirius to the wonderful world of video games. With the more important things out of the way, they could talk over the rest tomorrow.