Chapter 19 Time to End This

Hydrus got up off the streets, trying hard not to look at the body of the headmaster. Tears were running down his face, his eyes were puffy and swollen. He was having a hard time seeing, great heaves of grief were making his shoulders shake. He tried taking a few deep breaths, and clear his mind, so he could do what needed to be done.

His family and friends were patting him wherever they could reach. They were trying to make sure he didn't go off halfcocked.

He let them calm him down and sighed. He looked around at all the people still milling about.

They were all staring in fascinated horror at the dead man. Albus Dumbledore was known to them all and they couldn't believe he was dead.

Aurors finally showed, and they too were shocked at who had died. They quickly got the story from the crowd and one of them ported the body away.

"That's it. I'm done playing Mr. Nice Guy. I'm going to find that bitch and the arseholes working for her and they will never see the light of day again," Hydrus vowed. He didn't mean like the Death Eaters either. Those three were going to die. And soon.

"Come on, Hydrus. Come with me," Vicky said softly, when the Aurors left. "Let's get you home." She gently took his arm and Disapparated with him to his house. Blowing right through the wards around the Alley. Not that anyone noticed, they were still all gossiping about what had happened.

The two landed in his front lawn since she was only a guest. They then walked woodenly up the path to the house. Hydrus flopped bonelessly onto the sofa, while Vicky asked Tippy to get some drinks. Without really realizing what he as doing, the immortal man drank the Firewhiskey and thought hard about how he was going to get justice done.

"I can help," Vicky stated, snapping him out of his thoughts.

"How?" he asked, leaning forward, putting the empty glass on the table.

"Hydrus, my parents have been around for over 600 years. I know a thing or two, that the public doesn't. I can scry," she said, with a bright smile.

"You can? For anyone?" he asked in wonder. It was a very rare talent, not even Trelawny taught that. She touched upon it, but it was the only thing she confessed to have no talent in.

"Yes," she answered with a nod. "All I need is their full name."

"Bartemius Crouch, Sr., Severus Tobias Snape, Walburga Narcissa Black," he rattled off immediately.

"Great, now I need some parchment, a map, and a needle on a string," she said, smiling at his willingness to believe her.

"I thought that was just non-magical hooey," Hydrus said, going around the room to get what she needed. He had to call Tippy for the needle, he never used one. Though he supposed, he could transfigure one. But before he could, Tippy appeared holding one in her hand. "Thanks, Tippy," he said.

The elf nodded and popped away.

"It is, for non-magicals, but it is a very true spell for magicals," she said, laying the map on the coffee table. She then scribbled the names on small pieces of parchment.

"Wow," was all he could say as he watched her wrap a piece of parchment around the needle with Snape's name on it.

She then picked up the string, said a few words in Greek, and hovered it over the map. The needle circled around and landed on a small wizarding village in France. Then she did the same for the other two names and found them in the same village, albeit different houses.

"Do wards prevent this?" Hydrus asked, taking down the name of the village.

"No, though this method doesn't tell what wards there are. So, I would not just jump right on over there, if I were you," she said, laying the needle down.

"What about the Fidelius?"

"If that charm is up, then the spell will point you to the Secret Keeper," she explained.

"Oh, I see, then you can find the Keeper and get the Secret," he nodded in understand.

"Yes," was the answer.

"I need to set some things up. I must stop these people before anymore die. I don't like killing and I've prevented most of it so far. However,…" he stopped, leaving the statement open.

Vicky only smiled. "I'm not against killing for justice," she said. "Cold blooded murder, on the other hand…" she too left it open. She cleared her throat and added, "I guess this time it's justice. However, I'd like to say that Snape was acting on false information. I saw his face after what happened, and I don't think he is in his right mind. I'm sure someone has been messing with him."

"He's an Occlumens," Hydrus said in protest.

"Which actually makes it easier to mess with someone," she said, holding up her hands when he opened his mouth to protest again. "Let me explain. An Occlumens feels that they have a good control over their mind. They don't for a moment think that someone can tamper with it without them knowing. What they don't know is that there are many subtle spells that slip right by shields and poison the mind slowly. From what you told me about Mrs. Black, she is immersed in the Dark Arts. It is not out of the realm of possibilities that she knows some of these spells."

"Oh, I never knew that. I mean, I've studied the Dark Arts, but not so much mind magic. I have good shields, but now I think I need to learn more," Hydrus said, settling back to think for a moment. If he thought about it, he knew that she was right. There were many times Voldemort would use mind control on people that had good shields. The man had controlled his thoughts often enough when he was a teenager. "How did you find this out?" he asked.

"My dad did a study on it. You need to know these magics to be able to scry," she explained, waving a hand to the map.

"I guess that makes sense," he said, getting up from the sofa to get another drink. He noted that she still had hers so didn't offer.

"What do you plan to do?" she asked, following his movements with her head.

"I'm not sure," he confessed. "I mean, I just watched Snape kill a man I admired. But if what you say is true, I just don't know. Maybe, I'll get Walburga and question her under truth serum." He shrugged his shoulder as he set the Firewhiskey bottle down and went to sit on the sofa.

"That sounds like a good start," she said, picking up her drink finally and raised her glass. "To Albus Dumbledore. May he enjoy his next great adventure."

"To Dumbledore," he said, raising his glass and then taking a sip.

"Hydrus," someone called from outside, "let us in."

The two got up and went to the door. There on the lawn was Sirius and Colette.

Hydrus lifted and eyebrow at the two. Colette had never been invited here, so she didn't know the secret, she was holding onto Sirius' arm and staring blankly ahead.

"Why are you here?" the immortal man asked instead.

"Colette has an idea," Sirius explained. "I think you'll like it," he offered.

"Let's meet at the Potters," Hydrus suggested, he really didn't want to start letting Sirius' girlfriends in on his secret. Vicky had only known about it two days ago. And it was only because they were getting closer. Right now, she was as good a friend as Hermione had been in his first life. Well, maybe not as close, but still a good friend.

"Okay, we'll meet you there," Sirius said and popped away.

"Sometimes that man," Hydrus grumbled, leading Vicky back into the house.

"I thought we were leaving," she said, a bit confused.

"I need to get something first," he explained, then ran up the stairs. He came back down and led her outside past the wards and they Disapparated to the Potters.

Everyone was there, sitting in the cozy room. It was cramped, but it was the only place where everyone was invited. Lily had let the two women in on the location because they worked for her fulltime and now that she was pregnant, there were times they needed to bring paperwork over. James had no problem with this.

Harry was walking around his playpen, picking up toys and throwing them out of the contraption. Lily would then float them back in from her place on the couch.

Everyone's face was sad. They all thought well of Dumbledore and were terribly upset that they had to see him die. Sure, the man had his faults, but he did try to do what he felt was right. It was easy to forget that sometimes Albus had done something they didn't like now that he was gone.

Remus was affected the worse. He had always held the Headmaster above all others. Even his friends. Albus had been his idol. His thoughts were dark, and his mind was going over all the ways this could have been prevents. And he came to one conclusion. Hydrus.

It was only knowing that he would get nowhere blaming Hydrus that kept him in his chair. Even after all this time, he still felt the time traveler should have never messed with time. Sure, Lily and James would be dead. Sirius would be in prison. He would be neck deep in depression. Harry would be with hateful people. Hydrus had stopped all of that from happening. But now two people had died before their time. And one of those people was the greatest wizard of all time. He would never forgive Hydrus this transgression.

He got up from his chair and left without a word.

"He blames me," Hydrus said, flopping down in a chair and giving a huge sigh. "I don't blame him. I blame me too."

"It was not your fault," Lily said, placing a hand on the knee she could reach. "Severus has always had an explosive temper."

"No, in a way, Remus is right," he disagreed, then looked at the two not in the know. He shook his head and decided not to explain further. Those in the know agreed.

"Colette has an idea," Sirius stated, taking the pressure off Hydrus.

"Yes, I do," the vampire said, from where she was sitting on Sirius' lap. "I want to get the help of the coven," she said with a vindictive grin.

While she didn't know Dumbledore, you didn't live as a long as she had without hearing about the famous man. That and her friends were hurting, and she wanted to do all she could to help. The coven loved getting revenge. They were vampires, and they had a large sense of honor.

"Vicky pointed something out," Hydrus said, waving to the woman in question, letting her explain, which she did. The looks on everyone's face at her explanation of mind magics, reminded him of when he first explained something to Grace.

Colette nodded along with her lecture. Vampires knew more about mind magic than anyone 'alive'. Her source must have gotten their knowledge from the coven.

"She's right," the vampire said, "if they know enough, that could happen. Even I know the Blacks know more Dark Arts that most."

"So… we're not going after Snape?" James asked, cautiously.

"Not until we question Walburga," Hydrus stated, sighing again.

"And you know where she is?" Sirius asked this time.

"Yes, and I'm going to go and get her and Crouch tonight. I'll put Snape on ice, until we know what's what. No, I don't need help. I can do this on my own. However, Colette, talk to the coven. Maybe they can deal with Snape. If he truly was hoodwinked, then they might be able to find out. Let them know I'll pay if needed," the time traveler said, getting up from his chair and leaning over to kiss Lily on the forehead.

"Where are you going?" the redhead asked, a worried look in her eyes.

"To France," he said as he walked towards the door. "I don't want to lose the advantage of where they are right now." With that he left.

Everyone shared worried looks, even little Harry.

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Hydrus went to the Ministry and got a legal portkey to France. He made sure to tell them that he needed to do some business there. Since he was a well-known businessman, they didn't question it. He appeared at the French Ministry, and then made his way to an apparation point. He quietly Disapparated to the village that Vicky had scryed.

Ducking into and alley, he donned his Invisibility Cloak, and used the point-me spell to find he quarry. Sneaking around the houses, and darting through the streets, he followed the spell. It was dusk right now, so most people were home.

He came upon an old dilapidated house and crept to the nearest window. Using a levitation spell, he inched it up so hear what was being said inside.

"…trouble," a man's voice said.

"I know that," snapped a woman's voice. "He was supposed to kill my son, and that squib's kid as well. Not Dumbledore."

That was all the proof Hydrus needed. He slotted his wand into the crack of the window. Took aim and fired two quick stunning spells. When his prey dropped, he jumped into the house, via the window, and transfigured Crouch into a rock. He then tied Walburga up, poured Veritaserum on her tongue, and revived her.

"Did you trick Snape with mind arts?" he immediately asked.

"Yes," she answered monotone.

"How did you find him?" Hydrus wanted to know.

"I just looked for the youngest Potions Master. It might be a small village, but rumors still roam," was the answer.

"Why did you look for him?"

"He hates my son. That made it easy to coerce him into doing my dirty work."

"Have you been killing the lower Blacks?"

"I got two of the traitors, Crouch got the third."

That was all Hydrus needed to know. He shot a bludgeoning spell at her head and felt no remorse when it blew to pieces. He didn't even wipe off the blood before he put Crouch to rights and did the same thing. He then transfigured the bodies to rocks, cleaned up the house with a wave of his wand. He lit a small fire on the corner of the battered rug near the fireplace and left. People would simply think it was a natural fire.

The whole time he was there he was still under his Cloak. He made sure to erase his signature and moved on to Snape's house.

Severus was sitting in a chair, drinking straight from the bottle. There were dried tear tracks on his face, and he was quite drunk. He seemed to be staring off into space, and he was completely unaware of his surroundings.

Hydrus had no problem sneaking in and transfiguring him into a doll. He'd take the man back to Britain and hand him to Colette. He'd let the coven try him and if he was innocent, as Walburga suggested, then maybe they could relocate him. Or something. He just hoped the man didn't get away scot free.

He looked at the doll in his hand and then restored it for a moment. He removed the watch and watched as Snape become Snape again. He then returned him back to his doll form and put him in his pocketspace.

He stayed in Paris for a few days, doing some business, and then went home.

Hphphp

Dumbledore's funeral was that weekend. It was just as large and ostentatious has it had been in Hydrus' first timeline. The late headmaster was laid to rest on Hogwarts' grounds, in a marble mausoleum. The whole of Great Britain mourned the man. He had been well loved and well liked.

His dying had left a power vacuum that would need to be filled quickly, and the government was scrambling to do just that. James was offered a higher Wizengamot positions, so that one of the older members could take Chief Warlock. He gladly accepted, and the Wizengamot appointed Augusta Longbottom to the ICW. The headmaster's position was filled by Minerva McGonagall.

Hphphp

Hydrus was sitting in his home, alone. He was going over all he had done in this timeline and was content at what he had accomplished. Sure, a few people died before their time, but many, many more were alive.

The government was stable, the economy was thriving, his family was happy and growing, even his friends were content. He had nothing left to do. He wasn't raising Harry this time, so he had lots of extra time… to do nothing.

Sure, he could manipulate the timeline if he wanted, but he was content to let it just flow. His relationship with Vicky might grow into something more, but that still didn't take up much of his time.

Now that Voldemort, Walburga, Crouch and Snape were all taken care of, he felt at drift.

Snape had been taken in by the coven. They offered to make him a vampire and give him safe haven. He accepted and never looked back. He was still punished, in the fact that he was a low on the hierarchy, and he would stay that way for hundreds of years. He'd never be allowed to roam, and had to stay within the coven, doing their bidding, until his time was paid. Still, the new vampire didn't seem to care. He could brew to his heart's content and no one would ever trick him again.

Everyone was okay with this, except Remus. After the werewolf had left, they hadn't heard from him. The bookstore had been sold and the man disappeared.

The Potters, and Sirius, were a bit heartbroken. Though they admitted to each other, in private, that they were expecting it for a while. Remus had never settled down about Hydrus. He was always wary and disapproving. James had noted it a while ago when they had had their chat about it. He knew the time would come the moment he told Remus that he'd pick his time traveling son over his friend. He had just been waiting for the inevitable.

Hydrus was relieved. It had been a constant argument with the werewolf. He didn't think he'd have to worry about Remus killing him. It wasn't in the man's nature. He was, however, glad he had never confessed about being the Master of Death. Remus had never earned the privilege.

Still, Hydrus was now bored.

He mulled over what Death had told him and started getting ideas on how to avoid being the 'champion' of this timeline. Now that he had someone he could travel with, who wouldn't die on him, he might start looking into going outside his timeline. As Vicky proved, there was magic he didn't know about. Maybe, he could get her to share. That way he could make plans.

This caused him to daydream of all the realms and timelines he could visit. Like meeting the Founders, or Merlin, or many others. He could learn all there was to learn, and even teach a few things to others.

It was a good dream. One he planned on fulfilling. All he needed was time and magic. And he had plenty of both.