Chapter 16 Solving a Few Things

A medium narration

Almost three years passed in a whirlwind of business and play. Harry was growing up well. The articles printed about him kept the public from putting him on a pedestal. He was learning fast; he could recite his ABC's, spell small words and his name, and count to fifty without a problem. He was talking almost like an adult. He was also starting to show more accidental magic. There was only one incident at daycare, when he was fighting with a little girl over a crayon and her hair turned green, which Sirius was able to reverse and confuse away. They were going to pull him this year and start teaching him at home. He would be going on weekend play dates to magical households starting with the Weasleys this coming weekend.

Sirius was down to monthly counseling. Faith had broken up with him when he told her he had a secret. She said that she couldn't trust him if he couldn't trust her. She was too upset that he kept something from her that she never found out what the secret was. You would think as a counselor she would be more understanding.

It was sad in the house that week, but Sirius pulled himself together and started looking in the magical world. He had his eye set on a young clerk in the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes, whom he had met through Arthur. Her name was Laura Webb, a short, reddish-blonde woman, who was bubbly and flirtatious.

Remus was dating Sarah, and those two were doing well. Dating made the shy man come out of his shell more, and he was far more confident than he had been since the Potters' deaths. He and the others shared the flat that Hydrus set up. Sarah was thriving as a shop owner and didn't care that she couldn't come to the werewolf's house. The Book Nook opened a store in Hogsmeade catering to the older teens, many of the villagers and a few of the teachers. It was doing well.

Hydrus stuck to one night stands, though he kept them to a minimum now that Harry was older. He had spent most of the last few years setting up his businesses to run without him, so he could spend all day at home teaching Harry. He was content with his life, all of his plans were coming together, and little had gotten in their way.

Voldemort was a mere shadow now; he couldn't even possess animals, making the adults confident that he didn't have another horcrux. The Master of Death kept the spirits hounding him, just in case. They still didn't know how to finally rid themselves of Tom. They were hoping he'd just fade away.

Grimmauld Place was stripped of all magic; all the Dark items were stored in the family vault. Sirius had it updated to a non-magical home. He told the contractors his mother was old-fashioned and had recently died (which she had). He then sold his childhood home and never looked back. It was good closure.

Kreacher was brought to the children's home, but, like before, wasn't freed, since he could die if the bond broke. The old elf was content to work in the kitchens, but stayed away from the children. His standards were still Pure-blood, but he followed his master's orders.

The stores were doing well, the appliance store downsized a bit, and a new entertainment store was opened near it. The new store, Fun For All, held computers, TV's, VCR's, and movies. It was a big hit. These items were now commonplace in homes, bar some of the diehard Pure-bloods.

There were even computers being used for recordkeeping in the Ministry and, much to Hydrus's displeasure, Gringotts, since the immortal updated them to store records the same way his book-reader did. The manuals that came with the computers were very simply worded, even the most incompetent wizard-raised should be able to load files. It did help that solitaire and other card games came with the devices.

Hydrus made sure his bank in Sweden was set up with a better system. They paid handsomely for the new workstations.

Hydrus sold Frostwell the gaming consoles idea, for a piece of the profit. Those two businessmen were very friendly competition; they tried hard not to step on each other's ideas. Their playful banter was often heard in one store or another. Frostwell's Wondrous Gizmos also set up a store in Hogsmeade, many of his products were used in Hogwarts now. The calculators were a Merlin send to those studying Arithmancy.

The professors were hard-pressed to keep the radios and handheld games out of the classrooms, and the volume down in the common rooms. They had to revamp the rules to go with all the new devices. They tried to ban them, but the students protested and many parents took the kids' side, since the gizmos didn't hurt anyone. The best they could do was ban them from the classroom or confiscate them until class was over.

The only professor that didn't complain was Binns. The Headmaster thought they were wonderful creations, but had to take the staffs' side and lay down the rules.

Another idea he gave Frostwell was to set up arcades in Hogsmeade. He even took the man to show him what a non-magical one was like. You could see the wheels turning in the inventor's head. It wouldn't be long until one was up and running in both the Alley and village. The immortal tried to get Sarah to add a game to The Book Nook, but she said it would distract the readers.

Hydrus kept his businesses in Diagon Alley and let others make changes; he didn't want to draw too much attention to himself. He subtly set up others in businesses and then would bow out when they were up and running. There were other similar stores popping up in other countries, if they used Hydrus's array then he got some of the profits. The immortal made sure everything went through his solicitor.

There was still no sign of Skeeter; not even magic could locate her. They tried to owl her, but like Dementors, the animal couldn't find the bitch while she was a bug. They also attempted the point me spell, but it only pointed in a general direction and then would twirl again. Hydrus had Sirius turn into Padfoot to see if it was because she was an Animagus. When he called out Sirius's name it would point and twirl, when he called Padfoot it would locate him. So they figured that she also had an animal name.

Hydrus was beginning to think she wasn't in Britain. If she was, she was hiding very well. With The Times doing well, he might just let her show and see what she does before burying her. If she came for a job with the paper, she'd have to take the same vow as the other reporters.

Present time

It was now 1985 and finally there was a warrant out for the arrest of Dolores Umbridge, and Hydrus was tempted to just wrap her up and hand her over. Even if she was somehow found innocent, her reputation was shattered. So with that in mind he sat the others down one night and talked it over.

"So, Sirius, I heard there's a warrant out for Umbridge," the immortal mentioned casually as they all settled in their chairs. There was tea and scones on the coffee table.

"Yeah, one of the Muggle-born she tried to kill came forward with more evidence," the dogman answered, reclining back in his Lazyboy. "Seems she went to his house to break his wand, and when he refused she threatened to kill him with the AK. Even went as far as to draw her wand and start the spell. His wife came home and startled her. They in turn drew their wands and said they were going to turn her in for falsifying a report and using an Unforgivable. Being the weak witch she is, she couldn't fight the two of them so she threatened them once more and Disapparated away," he said and they had a good laugh at the cowardliness of the woman.

"So why wasn't she fired?" Hydrus asked, leaning forward a bit and lifting up his cup of tea.

"When they took their complaints to the DMLE she lied and said she had never heard of the man. They had the letters she sent, but she said she had no record of ever sending a warning to that house. Any evidence there was had been wiped from the Ministry. This was during the end of the war, and it was such a minor thing, it was shrugged off. It was only after some more investigation that it came up again." He sat his chair up, grabbed a scone and shrugged.

"What took so long? I mean, there have to be dozens of similar reports. It's been years."

"The ones they found, the wand was broken and the people vanished either into the non-magical world or dead. This report was buried as solved. They only just talked to the guy a few days ago. Luckily he had kept the letters and gave up his memory."

"Oh, well, I was thinking I might just turn her over to the DMLE," Hydrus said, and measured their reaction.

"You mean she is still alive?" Remus exclaimed, shocked, much to the disappointment of the time traveler, who took a quick look at Sirius and found a passive look on the dogman's face.

"Yes," he hissed, showing how upset he was just by the tone in his voice.

"That is not what I meant. I meant that after all this time of hiding her she has not succumbed to whatever you did, like the Death Eaters," the werewolf back-pedaled, and held up his hands in supplication. "You have not really said anything about her in all this time, so I had wondered if you were just trying to protect us."

"Oh, yeah, well, I can see where you'd get that," the mollified man said, rubbing the back of his head. "Come to think of it, I haven't checked on her since. So it's possible you're right. Let's put on some cloaks like the Death Eaters and you guys get your wands out."

Everyone did as suggested and he then called the chamber pot and put it on a chair in the middle of the room. Using the Elder Wand he canceled the transfiguration. She was still stunned, so they roped her to the chair and cast the Rennervate. The men stood behind her so she couldn't see them, yet.

The toad-like woman blinked as she woke. She looked around the decidedly Muggle home and sneered. "Who dares hold me hostage? Don't you know who I am? I work for a very important department in the Ministry. You won't get away with kidnapping me," she said in her girly voice, trying to come off as intimidating and failing.

"You don't need to know that, Dolores, just answer a simple question. Are you a supporter of the Dark Lord?" Hydrus asked, using a charmed voice.

"The Dark Lord is dead," she snapped, struggling in her bonds.

"That was not my question," he intoned back, and hit her with a stinging hex. He then motioned for them to move to where she could see them, hoping she would tell the truth about her ideals if she saw they were of like mind.

Seeing the men in dark robes with masks on their face, Dolores pondered her answer. She was thinking that she was somehow in the middle of a Death Eater raid. Though, how she got there from her office, she had no idea. "I believe he had the right idea, but went about it the wrong way," she finally settled on, simpering. "He should have started with the Ministry. If he had done what I did then more of the Mudbloods would be dead."

"Wrong answer," Hydrus said gleefully, stunning her again, Obliviating the last five minutes and once again changing her into the chamber pot and putting her in his pocketspace. "So, turn her over?" he asked, looking at the other two.

"I think so," Remus said thoughtfully, shedding his disguise. "But how would you explain her absence?"

"And her lack of memories for the last few years?" Sirius piped in, also ridding himself of the cloak and mask.

"Those are valid questions," Hydrus conceded, thinking furiously on how to solve them. "Well, I could write an anonymous note stating I found her wandering Muggle London dazed and confused. Spouting off how she was going to kill them all. Then make sure to say she mentioned the Unforgivables."

"That might work, as long as you type it up. With computers being more recognized in the magical world there would be no tying it to you," Remus answered.

So that's what Hydrus did, he typed the note, put on his Cloak and snuck into the DMLE in the middle of lunch and went to the head office. He then summoned her out, put her back to herself, stunned her with his holly wand and bound her tight. Using the Elder wand, he cleared his magical signature; left her tied to a chair, stuck the note to her forehead and simply walked away.

Two days later an article appeared in The Times, stating that Dolores Umbridge was found and questioned under Veritaserum. The questioning led to her confessing that she had used two of the Unforgivables on Muggle-raised, giving her a life sentence in Azkaban.

The two dogmen were overjoyed that Hydrus hadn't had to kill. While they thought well of the time traveler that was always an underlying fear of theirs.

The first Saturday with the Weasleys went with only a few hitches. Since Hydrus couldn't join them, he learned about it from Sirius.

"It was going well," the Animagus said that night after Harry was in bed. "The kids were getting along and even the twins were behaving. Though, you were right about that Ron kid, he came off as a tad jealous. Don't know why though the Weasleys are doing well with the deposits you make to their vault. Arthur is still wondering where that money is coming from, by the way." They both chuckled at that. Arthur even tried to give the money back at one point, but to no avail.

Sirius sobered a bit and continued, "I'm hoping to work on Ron; he's not a bad kid, just overshadowed by all his brothers. Anyway, they have a TV, VCR and loads of kids' movies, so the kids watched a show and then went outside. Bill and Charlie were showing me that they have some of Frostwell's portable radios. We were all playing in the back garden, with the younger kids chasing the gnomes, when Dumbledore showed."

"Well, that's disconcerting," Hydrus said, a bit on edge. He had had a few more run-ins with the Headmaster, though nothing really came from them. "How did he even know Harry was there?"

"Arthur was bragging about it at work," Sirius answered, berating himself for not telling the man to keep it to himself. Thankfully all the Death Eaters were dead, imprisoned or gone. "Albus said he only came by to make sure Harry was healthy. The problem came up when he asked Harry how his family was. Harry answered honestly that they were fine. The Headmaster then asked if he was happy and the little guy smiled and said yes. We dodged curse fire today. But, what are we going to do if he asks Harry specifically about his aunt?" Sirius was majorly concerned about that. He was more than thankful that Albus wouldn't go so far as to use Legilimency on a small child, since it was unknown how the child would react. Some say it could cause major pain, while others say that it could affect their brain and slow their thinking.

"Hmmm," was all the answer he got.

"Hydrus," the dogman snapped, "this is serious."

"I know, I'm thinking," the immortal snapped back. "How did the Headmaster react?"

"He patted Harry on the head, talked with me about the Dursleys and Arthur about the movies. He went on to complain that he was still trying to get the Board to let TV's be in the common rooms or set up a theater, and then he left."

"So, he seemed satisfied? No wand waving? Or in-depth questions?" Hydrus asked, his mind going over different scenarios. After all their encounters with the Headmaster, he never once put spells on them. They had checked and were mildly surprised when they always came up clean. Albus seemed content on thinking that all was right with little Harry.

"Yeah, he just seemed happy that Harry was happy," Sirius said thoughtfully. Maybe he was worried over nothing. He just didn't want anything to take away his family.

"I think… no, that won't work… maybe… no, that won't work either… how about… can't ask Harry to do that…" Hydrus mumbled to himself as he paced around the room, leaving Sirius to look at him strangely.

Remus came into the room and looked at the muttering man and asked Sirius, "What has got him so bent out of shape?"

"Dumbledore showed up at the Weasleys and questioned Harry."

"Oh, I can see where that might be a problem."

The two men sat and watched the immortal think of and discard ideas. They were thinking of solutions as well, just not as rapidly as Hydrus seemed to be.

"Is there any way to plant false memories?" Sirius asked, grasping at straws.

"It's too risky," Remus answered, "just like Legilimency, it could have adverse effects on a small child."

"Hydrus," the youngest Black said, loudly, to get the older man's attention. When the immortal focused on him he asked, "Can you get pictures of the Dursleys and doctor them to have Harry in them?"

"That's not a bad idea," Hydrus said, flopping down on the sofa. He had Photoshop on his laptop from the future. "I can get my detectives to get some and then we can tell stories to Harry about the Dursleys, keeping as much to the truth as we can. How they don't like magicals and don't want to have anything to do with our world. How they are in hiding, and things like that. I'd have to make sure to add Padfoot and Harry off to the side, since they wouldn't want to be seen with them. Put them in the background or something."

"The only problem with that is that Harry, being as young as he is, is going to say things like, 'Uncle Hydrus told me that…' outing you as a relative," Remus argued.

"Maybe it's time for Harry and the Dursleys to meet," Hydrus said thoughtfully. He hadn't ever wanted anything to do with them, but if it kept their secrets safe, maybe. "I think we have a while until we face Dumbledore again. Today should satisfy him that his plans are still in action. I might have to be seen with pictures of Harry, that way if he does say that we can say that I met him on outings with Sirius."

"Maybe," the two men said together.

"You know, I'm not sure why we're getting all worked up over this. I mean, I am Harry's legal and magical guardian. There really isn't anything Albus can do to take him away," Sirius said after a few minute's silence.

"That's true, I'm more worried about him finding out about me" Hydrus said. "I mean, we have a good cover story, I've doctored all the correct paperwork, but if someone looks close enough it will fall apart. The press will have a field day."

"For which you have a counter newspaper," Remus reminded him. "You've done so much, got so many thinking for themselves, are you really worried?"

"Well, judging from what happened to me in my timeline, I think I have the right to be worried," the time traveler answered.

"Well, with all the new changes and more politically powerful friends and family, that shouldn't happen again," Sirius said cheerfully, trying to lighten the mood.

"Maybe you're right, and I'm just getting paranoid. On to more pleasant things, I was thinking on taking Harry to Barkley's Children's Home. They're mostly good kids; counseling is making them independent and getting them over their issues. What do you guys think?"

The orphanage had morphed into something of a halfway house with permanent residents. There was mandatory therapy and treatment depended on how the child came to be there. If the family only wanted what was best for the child then everything was done to maintain contact, so the child would not feel too abandoned. If the child was left on the street, then they were given sessions on how it wasn't their fault. The home had classes set up to catch the children up on non-magical studies and lifestyles, and then they would enroll them in state school. Most of the children were between the ages of eight to fifteen. It was working out well.

"Well, he would have more people to play with, and he is an outgoing child," Remus said, thinking of the pros and cons. "But they are all older than him, so they might not relate."

"Won't they pick on him for being magical?" Sirius asked.

"They might," the immortal answered.

"I think you should hold off on that for now," Remus concluded.

"Maybe, you're right, it might set some of them back."

The three talked more into the night and around midnight went to bed without bringing anymore heavy discussion up. Hydrus was beating himself up for not thinking about how the Headmaster would question the child. He was becoming too compliant around the man, maybe it was time to let Albus know that the horcruxes were gone, something to think about. He was going over his story seeing if there was any way to tighten it.

The next day after a breakfast of chocolate chip pancakes, the family went to the living room. Harry was settled in his play area, with one of the many educational toys Hydrus had created for him.

"How are things going with the family, Sirius?" Hydrus asked out of the blue.

"They're actually going well. My Aunt Cassiopeia and I have turned most of them to thinking more on the Grey side, which helps in my political stance. Uncle Cygnus has reconciled with Andromeda. He was reluctant at first until he found out that Nymphadora was a Metamorphmagus, which he thought only Pure-bloods could be. Since it runs in the Black Family, he decided to mend bridges. He still doesn't like Ted though. I think that's more of a clash in personalities." He stopped to sip some tea. "I had a family meeting and made them all vow to keep anything to do with the Black family a secret. Some were reluctant until I told them I would cut them out of the family."

"Well that's good news," the immortal said with a big smile. The more people on their side the better. "How about the rest?"

"Cousin Callidora, as you know, is now the one in charge of finding the squibs and sending them to Barkley's. She has more Pure-blood ties," the youngest Black explained happily, and then his face went neutral. "The rest of the family, like Narcissa, is staying out of the way. I was thinking of getting her to let Draco and Harry play together one weekend to see how she is raising him," he said. He had only met the child for a few minutes when he ran into them in Diagon Alley. Narcissa wasn't sociable that day, so they parted quickly.

"If it turns out that she is raising him to be a stuck up Pure-blood then we'll have to see about future play dates." Hydrus was firm on that stance; he knew he couldn't save everyone. With the deaths and incarcerations of many Pure-bloods they were a minority now, a loud minority, but one nevertheless. Many of the businesses left behind were picked up by the wives. Though, there were some that had to be sold and were snatched up by non-Pure-bloods. Narcissa, so far, was content with being a Pure-blood widow, who simply threw parties and had teas.

Sirius waved it off as a given and went on. "I got a letter from Grandfather, he expressed that he was proud of me for pulling the family back together, and once more making the name of Black something to be reckoned with." He beamed at that, it wasn't often his grandfather would state he was pleased.

"That's great, Sirius," the older man said happily.

"Uncle Hydrus, look," Harry said proudly, bringing the spelling bee game that his Uncle Hydrus had given him for his birthday. On the screen it showed that the four and a half year old (a very important age to a toddler) correctly spelled the word 'home'.

"That's great, Prongslet," Hydrus said, hoisting the youngster on his lap. "Now let's see what the next word is." And the two played with the game for about ten minutes, when Harry decided it was time to do something else and squirmed down. After the child left, Hydrus looked at his watch and said, "I have to go to the orphanage. I told them I'd look over some of their books today. You guys okay with watching Harry?"

"We're fine," Sirius said as he set up the gaming console to play Mortal Kombat with Remus. He was bound and determined that he was going to beat the werewolf one day.

"Tippy," Hydrus called.

"Master Hydrus is wanting Tippy?" the little elf squeaked when she popped into the room.

"Yeah, I have to leave and I don't know when I'll be back, so can you make lunch today? We don't want Sirius in the kitchen again," he asked, ignoring the 'Oi'.

"Tippy can do," she said firmly, glaring at the man who kept destroying her kitchen.

Padfoot looked sheepish, but defended himself. "I was only trying to help. You have so much work to do around the house and the garden that I didn't want to bother you."

"Yet, yous is making more work for Tippy with your messes," the elf said, putting her hands on her hips and stomping her spindly foot.

"Sorry, I do try and clean them."

"Yous does try," she conceded with a nod of her large head. "However, Tippy is being banning yous from the kitchens," she said, finally laying down the law. It had been amusing at first to watch the man attempt cooking and cleaning, but after a while it got irritating when he didn't get any better.

"Alright, Tippy, you win, I'll never cook a meal again, unless I learn how to first."

The others were watching with varying degrees of amusement. Tippy nodded her head again and popped away.

"Well, now that that's settled, I'm off," Hydrus said with a slight chuckle, and Disapparated out. He reappeared in one of the bedrooms designated for magicals to Apparate in. It was one that was high up, near the small owlery, so as to not startle the kids. He made his way down to the offices, happily watching the playing children run down the halls, and found the Matron's office. He knocked on the door and was bid to enter.

The office itself was nothing special. A square room in light beige color. A large desk piled with folders and some family photos, with a filing cabinet behind it. There were two semi-comfortable chairs in front of the desk and bookcases with law and psychology books in them to the sides. There were documents and official papers framed on the walls. It was very businesslike.

Ms. Morgan Cartwright was an older woman with steel grey hair that she kept in a loose, sloppy, bun. She was a bit on the dumpy side, but you could see that she was a beauty in her youth. She wasn't as stern as McGonagall, but she was firm with the children. She was a non-magical who had been married to a Muggle-born that died of Dragon Pox a few years back. They had three children, who were now grown and gone, so far no grandkids, which is why she applied for this position where she could live around children.

"Ah, Mr. Black, how good to see you," the Matron said brightly. It was her never-ending smile that got Hydrus to hire her in the first place, well that and she was wickedly good with kids. She had run a daycare before Hydrus snatched her up.

"Ms. Cartwright, lovely to see you as well," the immortal said as he took a seat. "How are things going? You said you needed me to go over some of the books?"

"As well as can be expected, I guess," she answered with a sigh. "There are some things that need to be updated, like the plumbing and the insulation. But we have the funds for that, but I wanted your opinion. We've gathered twenty squib children and fostered out most of the non-magicals. We do have one child we're looking into bringing in, but he is young. He would need more attention."

"Why bring him in at all?" Hydrus leaned forward, giving the woman his full attention.

"His uncle tried to drown him to scare the magic out of him. One of the nurses we have there informed us yesterday. He's still in St. Mungo's and we're thinking of talking to the parents," she said sadly, then smirked. "I do hear the uncle is in another ward because the father beat him almost to death."

"Do you have a name?" the concerned immortal asked, thinking it might be Neville.

"Yes, it's Longbottom," she said, confirming that belief.

"Hold off on that, I know the family, so I'll go and talk to them later," Hydrus said, and then changed the subject to the repairs the mansion needed. It took an hour to get the numbers situated. Then he gave his good-byes and Apparated to the house.

"Hey, Sirius, we need to get to St. Mungo's," he said, taking a seat on the sofa and interrupting the game still in play.

"What? Why?" the dogman ask, putting his controller down. He was losing anyway.

"We need to talk to Frank and Alice, seems their Uncle Algie tried to drown Neville. I was thinking of bringing Harry along with that old color ball. Harry can make a friend and the color ball will show the Longbottoms that Neville is magical."

"I thought you said it was childhood trauma that kept him repressed," Remus said, joining the conversation.

"I thought it was," the immortal shrugged, "I guess I was wrong."

"Well, Frank and Alice are good people, so I don't mind Harry befriending Neville. Let's get him ready and we'll go see what we can do." With that the two Blacks left the room with little Harry, got prepared and departed to St. Mungo's. When they got to the empty storefront Sirius said, "We're here to visit Neville Longbottom."

The mannequin nodded and they walked through the glass. They made their way to the reception desk and got the room number. When they entered the room they saw the Longbottom parents and little Neville still in bed.

"Hello, Frank," Sirius said, shaking the sandy-haired, lanky man's hand, and then turned to the petite mousy blonde next to him, "And Alice." He shook her hand as well. "This is my cousin Hydrus and my godson Harry," he introduced the two standing silently.

Frank nodded to Hydrus and quickly glanced at Harry's very faint scar. "Not that I'm not happy to see you, but what are you doing here, Sirius?" He turned back to the man he knew.

"I heard Neville was here and wanted to introduce him to Harry, figured it might cheer him up, having someone his age around."

Hydrus approached the bed with Harry on his hip. Harry was holding the color ball and looking at the sandy-haired, plump, boy in the bed.

"Did you get an owie?" the dark-haired boy asked with wide eyes.

"Yeah," Neville replied sadly, still in shock about what happened. He looked at the dark-haired boy shyly and gave a little smile to show he was brave. He was a big boy now.

"Oh, sorry. Are you all better now? Do you want to play with my ball? It changes color when your magic touches it," Harry asked as he squirmed down and climbed on the bed.

"I don't have 'agic," the little boy said tearfully. "That's what Uncle Algie says." His little shoulders slumped.

Alice quickly went to her child and gave him a hug. "You don't listen to Uncle Algie," she said softly as she ran her hand through his hair. "He's a mean old man who doesn't know what he's talking about. You are my perfect little boy."

"Luv you, mummy," the sandy-haired boy said, snuggling into his mum.

Harry watched the scene with a happy smile and then brought the attention back to him and said, "Try." And he rolled the ball to his new friend.

The adults were watching with various degrees of anticipation, all but the time traveler who knew Neville was a powerful wizard. The ball made its way across the covers and stopped in front of the injured child. He reached out his little hands and shakily touched the ball. The ball instantly turned color and said "Purple."

Neville smiled and picked up the ball and shook it to make it change again.

"You're 'apposta to say 'pur-ple' and it'll change again," came the exasperated explanation from the four and a half year old.

"Oh, pur-ple," said Neville and the ball changed to red. While the two children played with the ball the adults talked.

"How did you know Neville was here?" Alice asked curiously as she got up to join her husband, hugging the man and smiling as she watched her child use magic. She never doubted he was a wizard and even if he wasn't she would never condone Algie's actions. She was very proud of her husband's reaction and hoped that old man stayed in the hospital a long time. Frank was talking about kicking the man out of the family and turning him over to the DMLE, it was Augusta who was staying his hand.

"Barkley's," Hydrus explained as he joined the other adults at the end of the bed. "The matron, Ms. Cartwright, informed me that there was a younger child who might be in danger from his uncle. So I asked Sirius if he knew you and we figured we'd come and help." He then explained what Barkley's was and why they monitored the hospital. "Sirius said what wonderful parents you are, so I wanted to see if he had magic and offer our services if he didn't, even if it was just counseling."

"That's a wonderful concept," the mousy woman said with a beaming smile.

"Yes, we thought it might save some of the children," Hydrus agreed.

"And the ball?" Frank asked, happy to see his child playing so willingly with someone his own age. Neville was a shy child by nature. He got it from his mother.

"Harry's favorite as a baby, and the easiest way I could think of to prove you had a wizard child," he said easily.

"You should sell them, they might keep something like this from happening to someone else," the sandy-haired man suggested. He had heard this man owned a few businesses in Diagon Alley, though he never met him. He even shopped at the entertainment store for a TV and VCR with a few of the children's movies, though Alice was bugging him to buy some of the adult ones. With their stressful jobs as Aurors, they needed something to unwind.

That was how Algie got to Neville in the first place. They were at work and his mum was supposed to be watching the child, but let that old man do it instead. Now, they were either going to have to find a sitter or nanny or one of them would stop working, since he no longer trusted his family to protect his son.

"I'm thinking of putting them in Fun For All," the immortal said distractedly as he watched the two toddlers playing on the bed. It was a good idea, one he had been mulling over for a few months now. Seeing the Longbottoms so relieved, he'd have to see about getting a children's section set up soon. Then again, it might make it so more squibs were killed or thrown into the streets at an earlier age. He'd have to talk to Ms. Cartwright to set up a section of the home for younger children.

"Well, whatever the reason, thanks for making my little boy's day," Alice said, kissing each man on the cheek.

"I've been setting up play dates with children Neville's age. Do you think we can come and visit some Saturdays and let the two get to know each other better?" Sirius asked.

"That's a great idea. I heard Harry was living with his Muggle aunt and they were in hiding, so I'm surprised you are allowed to take him anywhere," Frank said, raising an eyebrow.

Sirius stuck with their story about how he was only allowed to see Harry away from the Dursleys and that they didn't like wizards and were only keeping Harry for the wards. The guardians made arrangements to meet again in a few weeks' time and the Blacks and Harry left the hospital shortly after.

"That went better than I thought," Sirius said as they made their way to the Apparation point.

"Nay, I knew Neville's a strong wizard. Since his dad is alive, he'll have his own wand. Then everyone will know how powerful he is," Hydrus said with a wave of his hand and a smile on his face.

"Still, maybe Frank is right and you should sell those toys," the dogman suggested.

"I'm thinking about the pro and cons of it," the immortal answered as they made it to the point. The two adults and one child then Disapparated home. They told Moony what happened and discussed selling the toys some more.

Harry was content that he had a new friend and played with his toys, only to disrupt the adults when he did something correct. They all had a good, relaxing evening and soon went to bed with the knowledge that all was going well.