CHAPTER : 33

Magical creatures were also leaving in droves. The centaurs knew, from reading the stars, that they would soon be hunted. They let other creatures know, and it cascaded from there. Even Hagrid left to join Madame Maxime and obtained a position in Beauxbaton as the grounds keeper. The gentle half-giant had given a note to Hermione to give to Harry Potter, explaining that he would always think of him as a hero, and to not let that Skeeter woman keep him down.

The only half-breeds who stayed were the werewolves, who were under the impression that since they fought on Voldemort's side they'd be welcome. He knew better, but he wasn't going to inform them.

The thing that had the young immortal tickled pink was all the pranks that were being played on both Alleys. The Aurors tried to blame George, but he had alibis every time and could truthfully say he didn't do a thing. Hydrus, under his Invisibility Cloak, would take products from WWW and sneak them into meals at the Leaky Cauldron or use non-edible ones to cause chaos.

Canaries and other animals would run around the Alleys at busy times. The Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder would blanket Knockturn Alley at noon, causing people to run into one another. New electronic mines were laid out on the cobblestone streets of both Alleys giving passersby a shock when they stepped on them. The foolish wizard would then look around for whoever spelled him and start a fight with someone. St Mungo's was busy those days. Wizards and witches would leave their shopping day with multi-colored hair and animal appendages.

To say Hydrus Black had a blast pranking these idiots was an understatement.

Present time

Hogwarts seventh years graduated the day before, and Hermione was coming to visit today. So Hydrus made sure everything was put away and that he was glamored. The Floo flared green and his best friend exited.

"Hello, Hermione," he said as he examined her appearance. "You seem to be doing well." She looked good, her hair was tame, her body was fit, and there were no circles under her eyes. "I heard you graduated top of the class, like there was any doubt." He gave her a hug and led her to a chair.

"Oh, you," she said playfully as she smacked his arm when he moved away. "How are your studies going? Will you be taking your NEWTs soon? What about your A-levels? How are those coming along?" she questioned rapidly.

"Whoa, slow down," the young immortal said, holding his hand up to stop her rambling. "I've taken my NEWTs and will be taking my A-levels soon, probably by the end of summer."

"That's wonderful, Harry, how did you do?" she asked excitedly. "I always knew you were smarter than you let on."

"I passed with ten NEWTs," he answered and then changed the subject. "When are you leaving?"

"Tomorrow, I'm going to be staying in a hotel tonight," she answered sadly. "My plane leaves first thing in the morning."

"Why are you taking a plane? Can't you get a portkey?" the confused man asked. "You can always stay here tonight," he offered, knowing his friend was limited on money.

"Not if you're Muggle-born, even Half-bloods have to use non-magical ways to leave Britain nowadays," she explained, disheartened that there was no way she could help England's Muggle-raised, though she was happy that Harry had rescued most of them from poverty and oppression. "The hotel is closer to the airport, I don't want to Apparate in Britain; I heard they were tracking it now."

"Huh, I didn't know that about the portkeys or the Apparition, though with all that's going on I guess it was bound to happen," he said, rubbing the back of his head. "Do you need any money, I've got a bit extra?" he asked.

"No, Neville made sure I had enough, and I'm paying him back when I start my new position," she said, somewhat sharply.

Dropping that topic, the dark-haired wizard stood and made his way towards the door. "Come on, let's go to the kitchen and get some tea."

"What happened to Kreacher?" she asked in concern. She still was upset about Harry keeping Kreacher as a slave, but now she was more worried that he had been right and that freedom would kill the old elf

"He's getting too old to pop, so I've restricted him to dusting. I'm not sure how much longer he has, but he is content doing what little he can," he said sadly as he led them to the kitchen and put the kettle on.

"That's awful, is he in pain?" she asked as she settled at the table.

"No, he's just old and tired. I'm hoping that when he passes away it will be in his sleep."

"What a morbid thing to say, but I guess you're right," Hermione said as she watched him make the tea, glad to see he wasn't relying on his magic to do something so simple.

"Have you decided what to do about your parents?" Hydrus asked as he pulled out some biscuits.

"Yes," she answered with resolve coating her tone, "I weighed the pros and cons and decided that it would only be selfish of me to try and give them their memories back. They are happy as they are and their practice is doing well. However, I am going to try and get to know them as a friend." She said, determined.

....

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