Chapter 7 Vanquished

The next morning Hydrus slept in. He felt he earned it after causing so much discontent yesterday. It was after ten when he got up, took a long shower, got dressed and had a simple breakfast of cheesy eggs and toast. Then he went to his lab to brew the better Wolfsbane potion.

This draught would not only let you keep your mind, but would also cause you to be sleepy, so you slumbered most of the night and weren't as tired the next day. It also reduced the pain of the transformation by half. Hermione, in the second timeline, had developed it when she found out that Remus was a werewolf. She had questioned the poor man until he had actually hid from her. The results, however, were a marvel.

The time traveler hummed a merry tune and set about preparing the potion. He was hoping to make it a peace offering to the werewolf so maybe Remus would stop fighting him all the time. Another wonder about this concoction was that it was easier to make, so within an hour's time he was done. He poured it into a vial and placed it in his pocketspace. After the lab was set straight and letting Tippy know he wouldn't be home for dinner, he took his leave to the Potters. He went up the walkway, opened the door and entered. It had taken a few weeks, but he was now comfortable with just walking in.

Everyone was seated in the living room, with James and Remus on the sofa reading, Sirius on one of the chairs playing with his handheld game and Lily, with baby Harry, was on the floor playing with the number board. They all looked up when he entered, smiled, called good mornings and went back to what they were doing.

Hydrus stood for a minute taking in the comfy scene. Family, he thought, for that is what they were, barring Remus, but he was a trusted friend. He broke out into a satisfied smile and made his way to his chair.

"Remus," he said, getting the man to look up from his book-reader, "I have a better Wolfsbane potion for you. It's faster, less pain inducing, and you will sleep better." He called the vial and handed it to the werewolf.

"How much will it cost?" Remus asked, taking the vial and examining the green liquid within.

"Right now, it's free of charge, we'll call it a Christmas gift, but in the future when I've marketed it, it will cost around one Galleon and five Sickles," the older Black said, waving away the protest. He knew how the werewolf felt about handouts, so he wasn't bothered. He then explained how the brew was improved and added, "I also wanted to invite you to use my cellar. The people who had the house before me were making a bomb shelter, so the walls and doors are reinforced. You used it well in the last timeline."

"Not that I am not grateful, but I do not accept charity," the werewolf said, trying to hand the bottle back.

"It's not charity, think of it as you being the guinea pig for a new potion," Hydrus said firmly, determined to get this stubborn man to trust him.

"A what?" was the confused response as the vial was set on the table.

"It's someone who tests new things in case of side effects and such," the time traveler explained. "Not that there are any," he added quickly. "This potion has already been tested, but it's new to this timeline and needs an endorsement. So, you take the potion and say it's better than the old one and then we use your word to market it to other werewolves. Most test subjects are paid, so your payment will be the use of a very strong cellar." Not much of a payment, but he knew Remus won't take money.

"Alright, Hydrus, I will take your potion and use your cellar, but I do not want any more of your charity," Remus conceded reluctantly, it would be nice to sleep the night away, not to mention less pain. The addition of the cellar was a bonus, since his house wasn't really stable enough to stop an enraged werewolf, which is why he lived in the woods. Still, there was a risk to anyone wandering said woods and that never sat well with him. That and he was still trying to trust this man, after last night's meeting it was hard, but for his pack he would try.

"Everything I offer you from now on will have a price or like the book-readers, I'll make sure everyone gets one. I honestly don't mean anything I do as an insult. This potion, when it's marketed, will help hundreds of werewolves," Hydrus said, holding up his hands. "I did, however, mean it about setting up a loan and getting you settled into a business that would suit you."

"I am still thinking about it," the werewolf said, putting the potion in his pocketspace, where it wouldn't be broken. The full moon was only a week away.

"Moony, how about if I give you that loan?" James asked, trying to understand why Remus was so, well, not hostile, but very standoffish with the time traveler. Hydrus said it was the vow, but he felt his mate was taking it to the extreme. Maybe if he nudged Remus in the right direction, it would stop. Until then, this was his friend and he wanted to make sure he succeeded in life, and if Hydrus was correct, Moony would settle down well with a bookstore.

"I would appreciate that, Prongs. Let me think on it. Right now, I only want to get through the full moon. If this potion does as Hydrus said, then I will be in a good mood the next day and better able to make a decision." He gave his friend a bright smile and went back to his book-reader.

"Right," Hydrus said, slightly miffed at the distrust and then shrugged it off. He would see how Remus acted once the Order was disbanded. If the werewolf was still wary then he'd have to put some distance between them, which kind of hurt. "Anyway, I have to get to Knockturn Alley. I have quite a few Dark books I need to sell off."

"That should give you a pretty Sickle. I know there are some in my mum's house that could be sold too. Well, when I get her out of there," Sirius said with a glazed look at the thought of gutting that library. If is grandfather wanted the family Grey, then they would have to go.

"What if those books fall into the wrong hands? We would have another Dark Lord to fight," was the rebuttal as the werewolf put his reader away and focused on the debate. "They need to be burned and the ashes banished. That way they can't be used again."

"I'm sorry, Sirius, but I agree with Remus. Dark books should be destroyed," James added, looking to his wife.

"I agree with James, while I dislike book burning, Dark books only have two purposes and that is to kill or maim. Whether it is an enemy or oneself to gain power," she said then went back to teaching Harry how to say his numbers.

"All good arguments," the immortal said with a nod. "Don't worry, I'll take care of it. I do want to warn you that you will never get rid of all Dark books, but if you don't want them around here, then I concede your point," Hydrus said, not the least bit put out. "What are we doing today?" he asked, changing the subject and looking around the room.

"With Tom laying low and all the Death Eaters neutralized, I thought we could make a quick run to Diagon Alley," Lily said, looking up from her game of which number. "I'm running low on a lot of things and we don't have an elf to pop out and get them. Besides, if I stay in the house any longer, I think I might just go a little barmy."

"Barmier," James muttered, earning a dark look from his wife. He held up his hands and gave a cocky smile.

"What happened to your elves?" the older Black asked, he had always been curious about that.

"Lily," was James's mulish answer.

"Well, I didn't know they could be hired back on," she defended herself, picking up Harry and moving to the sofa. "They all just left as soon as I freed them. I had no idea they'd take it so hard. I hope they found good families." She got a remorseful look in her eyes. She had freed the three Potter elves when James's parents died. She had been devastated when they all broke down crying and popped away. She and James had had their first major fight over that, he made her realized just how wrong she had been.

Hydrus stayed well out of that fight, remembering all the time he and Hermione butted heads over Kreacher. "Well, seeing as to how there are so many of us, I don't see a problem with going shopping," he said, knowing how hard it was being cooped up all the time, leaving the elf debate for another time.

"Right, so let's get ready," Sirius said clapping his hands to his legs and getting up from his seat.

So, the little family prepared to visit the wizarding marketplace. Everyone bundled up and they all went to the Floo and then to The Leaky Cauldron. Making their way to the back alley, they opened the portal and the Potters took a deep breath of fresh air.

"It's good to be out," Lily said, balancing a wiggly Harry on her hip.

"It is," agreed her husband.

The other three men gave them sympathetic looks and made sure they had their wands ready. They would let the Potters have their day in the sun, but they would not relax, there was still a war going on. Albeit a quiet one. They had no idea when Tom would come out of hiding, and they weren't going to let their guard down.

The small group stuck together, until they got to Gringotts, where Hydrus stood outside pointedly not looking at the goblin guards, who were sneering at him. Oh, they already knew he didn't bank with them and they were not happy about it. They had seen the man around, and heard rumor of all the gold he spent, and they knew he wasn't keeping in Gringotts. They had already gotten in confrontations with his solicitor on two occasions, when they tried to get the law changed. They failed.

The old men of the Wizengamot would not be swayed. They were firm that wizards could do what they wished with their money. Crouch had been particularly vocal about it.

The goblins had threatened a rebellion, but the government stated they would not offer their support should You-Know-Who attack the bank. So those greedy buggers backed down —for now.

Everyone went to their vaults, got some money and then came out and joined the time traveler. They all started down the alley to do their shopping.

"You know, now that you told me your story, I can see what you're talking about. The goblins aren't nice or trustworthy," Lily said as they wandered further from the bank. "I used to feel pity for them, but now, I don't know, I think they're just greedy. The fees they charge are astronomical and gold is worth much more in the non-magical world than they exchange it for. Are you sure there is no way to break the monopoly? Do you think they will treat with us again?"

"I actually have an idea, but I need to reread the treaty and talk it over with my solicitor. It was something that I thought of in my last timeline, but by the time I got all the information, well, let's just say the goblins had a good grip on society," Hydrus said, with a shrug. "Judging from the way things went the last timeline, no, I don't think they'll renegotiate." He shook his head.

"They're going to make it harder to build a mall," she warned, bouncing a whinging Harry up and down. "They'll never concede to rebuilding the bank." She pulled a teething biscuit from her pocketspace, praising Hydrus silently for the wonder, and handed it to the tot. She garnered a startled look from the witch that passed her at that moment. It appeared as if Lily conjured the biscuit, so the witch was confused, since that wasn't possible.

"I've been thinking about that too," the older man said as he looked fondly at the now quiet child. "We don't need the whole street. We only need to get a few of the shop owners to let us reform their shops. Then we build up instead of out. So, we'll only need to tear down a few of the buildings on one side of the street." He waved to the end of the street, at some old buildings, most of which were empty, and the rest were in sad shape.

They were right across from Knockturn Alley, which was a ways from Gringotts and the entrance to Diagon Alley, and had little business.

"The only problem with that is," he continued, glancing around as if mapping out the Alley and making plans for what they wanted, "if everyone relocates to the mall there will be tons of extra buildings in the Alley. I'm thinking of buying them and making them flats, so more people can live closer to the magical world."

"That's brilliant," Lily said thoughtfully and fell quiet as she contemplated the idea. She looked over the way Diagon Alley and Knockturn Alley were set up and concluded that the new idea was a much better one. She remembered when she was single and had moved from her parents' home. There were not many places to rent out, and if she and James had not married shortly after Hogwarts, then it would have been a pickle.

The group went through the Alley as quickly as possible, getting food and potion ingredients as well as some wizarding games to play. Even though Hydrus told them he had better ones, sometimes a good ole game of Exploding Snaps was just the thing to reminisce their school days over. Staying up late, drinking some fire whiskey and just talking about the good ole days. Lily hated it when they did that because they were very noisy. However, with the Muffliato spell, she was content to let them have their nights.

James made sure to stop at Brigg's Brooms to sneak a toy broom, while making it look like he was buying something for himself. Hydrus caught him, but just winked and diverted Lily's attention to the children's broom, telling her about the time they bought one for Harry. Sirius and Remus just chuckled quietly and did some browsing.

Just as they were about to make their way to the Leaky Cauldron to go home, people in black robes and white masks popped into the alley.

"Quick activate your portkeys!" Hydrus yelled, pulling out the Elder Wand and standing in front of Lily and Harry.

The family did, but wards were thrown up and the group couldn't get away and there were always apparition wards in the Alley, you had to go to the correct area to Apparate out or in. There were usually no wards on portkeys, so that Aurors could use them in case of trouble, not that it would be much help now.

The men knew it would take too much time to drop the ward and that it would leave innocents to the Death Eaters.

"Lily take this and hide," Hydrus whispered, handing her an invisibility cloak.

Lily ducked into an alley with Harry and hid. She tucked behind a trash bin and covered Harry's ears. She didn't want to throw up a silence charm in case she needed to run. Harry was squirming and crying and wanted to go home. He clung to his mum in fear as the tears streamed down his face.

"Shhh, sweetie, it will be okay. Your Uncle Hydrus and Daddy will take care of the bad men. Shhh," she tried to console the terrified boy.

Meanwhile James, Sirius, Remus and Hydrus started blasting the robed people before they even started raining curses on the shoppers.

Screams filled the air as the adults herded the children into the nearest shop. Other adults, like most people of this time, ran as well leaving the four men to fight the ten people that ported in.

The Death Eaters turned to the fighters and started casting some nasty curses at them.

"Where the hell did they come from?" Hydrus yelled as he put up a shield against a yellow curse. "I thought I got all of the minions." He retaliated with a bone crushing curse that found its mark, leaving one Death Eater without an arm. Another Death Eater sent off a Patronus charm, Hydrus watched it as it floated away. He didn't even know Dark Wizards could do that spell, but then again Snape could.

Remus and Sirius also fired off a Patronus each to get help.

"Maybe Tom is recruiting overseas," James suggested loudly, throwing a stunning curse at one robed man and hitting him. "Does it really matter?"

"Maim, if you don't want to kill," Hydrus said him, firing at his own Death Eater. "Watch, his mates will simply revive him, and we'll still have to fight the ones you down." He fired a curse to turn one of the women into a button, it hit her, and all of the Death Eaters turned their attention to who they now believed was the greater threat.

Sure enough, they revived the one James had stunned.

Now that the attention was off the Marauders, which was just plain stupid, they started throwing prank jinxes, things like turning someone into an animal or make thier arm a tree limb. They were still not comfortable with killing, but they had no problem disabling. They were also throwing bone breaking curses, but the prank spells came easier to them.

When those spells hit, Hydrus took the advantage and turned the enemy into buttons or rocks. The powerful Elder Wand threw curse after curse at the enemy, thriving on the fight. The immortal was fighting for his life, sort of; and these minions were playing for keeps.

He didn't want to die and be reborn someplace where there were just too many people watching. So, he ducked, shielded and kept transfiguring them. Making it look to the observers like they just disappeared. Hydrus quickly called all the transfigured people to him and spelled them into his pocketspace.

When Tom somehow ported in and joined the fight, there were only three minions left.

"Kill the others. I will handle this one," Voldemort ordered with a look of disgust at how poorly his Death Eaters had done so far. He really needed to get better minions. When he found the man, or woman, who took out his inner circle, they would pay dearly.

Hearing what Voldemort said, Hydrus prepared to face him. He switched out wands, knowing that the holly one could prevent his death.

"Who are you?" Voldemort asked, recognizing the man from the Longbottoms and throwing a body binding curse at him. He wanted this man alive, if only to torture him and find out who he was or make him change allegiance. From what he could tell this wizard was almost as powerful as he was, it would be better to have him at his side, than to have him as an enemy. However, if the man would not conform, then killing him would be no obstacle. "What did you do to my inner circle?" he added as an afterthought.

"It's none of your business who I am, Tom," Hydrus said, putting up a shield and then casting an Entrail Spilling curse. "What make you think I had anything to do with your minions?" He ducked and weaved from the spells coming his way, and retaliated in kind.

"The spells you are casting, make me believe you have everything to do with the disappearances of my Death Eaters and you will pay for that," the other man snarled. "However, I can be lenient if you join me. I can give you power and riches you could never dream of," he stated as he cast another binding curse.

"That's never going to happen, Tom," Hydrus stated, hitting Voldemort on his side with a cutting curse.

Voldemort cussed, and healed the wound quickly, then he got a confused look on his face. From what he knew of the Order, they didn't throw around curses like that. "You are not one of Dumbledore's, yet you fight with them. Are you related to the Potters, by chance?" the Dark Lord asked, as he brought forth a stone to shield another curse and once again tried to immobilize the unknown man.

"Do I look like a Potter?" was the casual comeback as Hydrus ducked the binding spell and cast a transfiguration at Tom. He really didn't care if the Dork Lord figured out that he had captured the minions. However, he didn't want to have that talk in the middle of the Alley.

"No, you look like a Black, which I must confess has me confused," was the rebuttal, as the Dark Lord ducked another cutting curse. "I thought all but young Sirius and some of the elders had joined my cause," Voldemort said as he batted away a spell and once more tried to bind the enemy. "Will you not follow family tradition and jo…" he was interrupted by a spell that cut his neck wide open, splitting it from ear to ear. He grabbed the wound, but he was losing too much blood too fast. All he made was a gurgling sound as he tried to scream.

Hydrus had cast a Confundus Charm that hit just after the curse that cut Voldemort's neck.

The man started to sway and attempt to port out, but he couldn't grasp his key. He fell face first onto the cobblestone street and didn't move. Blood pooled around his head, and everyone could hear he rasping breath as he tried to hold on to life.

Hydrus watched in shock as the Dark Lord was downed and quickly bleeding out. He shook his head and bound the man so he couldn't get away.

All fighting stopped. The Marauders and the two Death Eaters that were left looked on as the most feared Dark Lord bled to death in the middle of Diagon Alley.

Suddenly a female voice came from an alley.

"That's for targeting my son, you bastard." Lily stated as she emerged from the alley, sans Harry. Her wand was raised at the dying man. Her face was firm and there was fire in her green eyes.

Harry was still in the depths of the alley, behind the trash bin, under the cloak with a silencing charm on him.

The immortal didn't know if she was talking about him or his younger self. He looked at his younger self's mum in surprise, then quickly got his act together and bound the rest of the Death Eaters. It was then that the Order and the Aurors showed up, running down the alley, wands raised and ready for a fight.

The people started coming out of the stores, clapping and cheering.

One of the Aurors came up to Lily and said, "I'm gonna need ter see yer wand." Lily handed it over and it was checked for the last spells used. It was a simple cutting charm that all witches used to prepare dinner. He gave her wand back and said, "I need ter know what happened, Mrs. Potter."

"I was in the alley, hiding with my baby, Harry, when one of his curses came down. It almost hit my baby. I have no idea what the curse was, but I panicked. I hid Harry, got up, snuck to entrance of the alley and cast the cutting spell. I was actually aiming for his shoulder, but he was moving. I didn't mean to kill him, but he targeted my son," Lily said firmly, just barely holding it together.

The Auror nodded as she answered and said, "That was very brave of ya, Mrs. Potter. You'll need ter come in and give a report." He patted her on the shoulder and then went back to his duty.

While she was being questioned, Hydrus went in the alley and searched for Harry. He spotted a little boot covered foot and went to pick up the silenced baby. He could see the tears running down the child's face as he screamed silently for his mum. The immortal removed the spell, winced at that sudden wailing and tucked the cloak away. He carried Harry to the street and stood by Lily all the while making hushing noises. Harry was reduced to hiccups, making grabbing motions to his mum and clinging to Hydrus at the same time.

The Aurors were clearing the battlefield and questioning the Marauders, while the Order just stood guard, except Dumbledore who was also questioning witnesses.

Suddenly there was a loud screech as a black wraith emerged from the dead body of Tom Riddle, causing the onlookers to once again take cover.

"I will be back. You will pay, mudblood," it warned ominously and then it flew away amidst spell fire.

Cameras were going off and reporters were scribbling away. Hydrus recognized Xeno in the crowd.

"Well, damn," the immortal said, watching the specter leave and going up and hugging Lily, who looked like she desperately needed one. "I'll get the ghosts to watch him, don't worry he won't come back without me knowing," he whispered in her ear, trying to comfort her.

She nodded and returned the hug, and then took Harry from him and used the immortal as a shield from the crowd that started gathering. She suddenly wished it hadn't been her spell that downed the Dark Lord. Now, she might never find peace. She remembered well the memories that Hydrus showed her of his first life. She shuddered at the thought of fickle people and hoped that her life didn't end up like his.

Hydrus made some long motions with his holly wand and dropped the portkey wards, wondering how the Aurors and the Order got to the fight. He had a fleeting thought that Voldemort ported in through the wards, then figured that they were keyed to his magical signature.

Hydrus nodded to her and Lily used her emergency key to port herself and Harry away, leaving the throng behind.

Seeing and the object of their interest was gone, the crowd quickly dispersed, babbling and gossiping all in good cheer.

"Hydrus, my boy, where did Lily leave to? I was hoping to have a word with her about what transpired today," the Headmaster said as he came up to the older Black.

"I reckon, she went home," he answered with a shrug. "She's upset and Harry was frightened. The Aurors said she could leave."

"Alas, I will have to speak with her another time. Will you please tell me what occurred here?" the Headmaster asked, looking over his glasses in an inquiring way.

"Well, we were shopping and then the Death Eaters came. We fought, they were losing, then Tom showed up and the rest, as they say, is history," was the simple reply.

"How many Death Eaters appeared? There are too many confused people to get a complete accounting," Albus inquired, stroking his beard.

"I'm not sure, but I only see three now, though there were more," Hydrus answered, doing his best to look innocent and bewildered.

"And you do not know what befell the others? The witnesses could only say they disappeared, though they could not say how. There were wards to prevent portkeys into and out of the Alley, which is why we and the Aurors were so late in coming. We had to come in from the apparation points and they are further down the street, as you know," he said almost apologetically.

"Nope, I have no idea how they disappeared, one minute we were fighting, the next they were gone. Perhaps the wards were keyed to them," he lied, waving away the reason and hoping the Marauders didn't blow his story. He just hoped Remus would keep to his vow and not tell his secrets.

"Yes, that is what James and Sirius said, though Remus would not answer," Dumbledore said thoughtfully, looking over his spectacles at the young man as if he was trying to figure him out, which he was. He had no idea who this young man was or what was his purpose with the Potters. He knew that Tom wasn't gone and was completely baffled that it was Lily that defeated him —for now. He was surer than ever that young Harry would be the one to rid the world of Voldemort when the time came. He would have to offer his protections to the young couple.

"Are you accusing me of something?" Hydrus asked with a tilt of his head, not liking that inquisitive look one bit.

"Not in the least, my boy. I am merely curious as to what happened to the Death Eaters," Albus said quickly, moving his wrinkled hands in a placating gesture.

"I really don't know," Hydrus fibbed with a straight face.

"Will you, by any chance, let the Aurors inspect your wand? Not that I am accusing you of misconduct. I just wish for you to be able to leave, so that you and the others may console poor Lily," the old man said, waving one of the red-robed people over. "Taking a life is a terrible thing."

"I have no issue with that. You're right, we should get back to Mrs. Potter," the immortal answered, thanking Merlin that he switched wands.

The wand was inspected and there were only shielding and defensive curses on it and one transfiguration spell, which Hydrus explained was to block a curse, so it was given back. The Auror told the immortal to come in and give his story.

"I'll bring Mrs. Potter, along with our barristers," the immortal promised, which made the man wrinkle his nose.

Soon enough they could leave the Alley and the men made their way to the apparation point. They got back to the Potters' and were surprised to see a crying Lily; she had been so full of fire in the fight. Harry was nowhere in sight, so they assumed she put him down for a nap before she broke. Well, the Marauders were surprised, but Hydrus knew exactly what was wrong. She had taken a life and no matter how justified it was people almost always broke down afterwards—especially good people.

"Shhh," he said, going up to her and gathering her in his arms. "Shhh, it will be okay," he whispered, stroking her hair. He thought about the first time he took a life and poured his caring and strength into the hug.

"I don't understand. He was evil. Why do I feel so bad?" Lily wailed near hysterics, clinging to his shirt and hoping he had the answers. Taking comfort in the older man's arms, she knew he knew how it felt. He was a good man.

"It is never easy," Hydrus replied in a gentle voice, still petting her hair and gently rocking her.

James came up and took his wife from the oldest Black, cooing and whispering platitudes. He rocked her softly until she cried herself out. He had no idea what to say, he had never taken a life.

She sat up and wiped her tears. "I think I'll take a page out of Hydrus' book and get some therapy," she said with a decisive nod of her head.

"Anything you want, sweetheart," James said, still holding her firmly at his side.

"Here's the number to the clinic I used to go to, they have very good counselors there," Hydrus said, calling a business card from his space.

About an hour later, Harry had woken from his nap. The immortal went and got him. After making sure he was clean, he went downstairs and put the tot in his playpen, giving him a letter board. He then volunteered to make lunch, letting James and Lily cuddle on the couch.

After making a simple meal of ham and cheese sandwiches and crisps, he floated the plates to the living room, hoping to keep it all informal and relaxing.

Lily looked to be doing much better and they talked of non-important subjects. They decided to spend the rest of the day relaxing in front of the telly.

"Sirius," Hydrus said, pulling the man aside as Lily put in a comedy movie. "I need you to get going on the reforming Black family. We need to get that necklace." His face showed just how imperative it was. "Now that Tom is in wraith form, we can take him out without a fight."

"Right, I'll get on some posts tomorrow," Sirius said firmly. There was no way he was going to let Lily's heroics be in vain.

"Thanks, if we get the horcrux then Lily never has to worry about the Dork Lord showing up again," he said as he clapped the other man on the shoulder.

They rejoined the rest and finished watching the movie. When it was done, the three men that didn't live there left, and the Potters settled on the couch. Harry was banging on his new letter board, which thankfully Hydrus lowered the volume on. Lily and James were watching a love story, cuddling in to one another and just relaxing.

Hphphp

Hydrus made his way home, noting the owls in the air and the fireworks in the sky. He shook his head and wondered why they thought Voldemort gone when the entire Alley had seen his wraith. He made it home and called the vengeful spirits to him.

They appeared before him in all their gruesome glory, well, not all of them, but most. A large portion had been tortured before they died and were bloody or missing body parts, while a few had simply been cut down by the Killing curse, so they were whole.

"I need you to find Tom Riddle and watch him. I doubt he will hide under the charm now," the Master of Death ordered. "Haunt him ruthlessly, make sure he doesn't try and find someone who will give him a body," he demanded, not wanting them to misunderstand the order.

The ghosts all nodded and floated away.

Hydrus went about his nightly routine, doing some research, exercising his martial arts skills and then meditated. He hoped Sirius would do what was needed, because if they couldn't get that necklace then they were screwed.