They walked into the bathroom that was for Harry's use and saw the baby, in a shallow bath, splashing a pitiful looking, bubble covered, large, black dog. The two burst out laughing and had to hold each other up. Padfoot gently removed himself from Harry, stepped out of the tub and shook himself off. He then morphed back into Sirius. "Oi, it's not that funny," he snapped at the laughing pair.
"How… how did you wind up being the one to be cleaned?" Hydrus asked between chuckles, all the while keeping his eye on the playing toddler.
"He kept crying," the dog Animagus said. "I know he likes Padfoot, so I changed, but he still wouldn't stop crying until I got in the tub," the still damp man defended himself, folding his arms across his chest and pouting.
"Sirius, why did you think he needed a bath? You could have simply cleaned his face with a flannel."
"Well, I was going to, until I saw eggs in his hair. So, I thought a bath would be better."
"And you were correct," Remus decided to stand up for his friend, causing Sirius to beam at him.
"Sorry, sorry," said the still chuckling Hydrus. "Let's finish cleaning Harry and go outside. It's a nice day, probably one of the last of the season."
After making sure all the eggs were out of Harry's hair, they used a charm to dry him off, got him bundled up and went into the back yard, this time bringing the toddler some toys in hopes of saving the rest of the garden. Hydrus made a mental note to fence that off the next spring. It was cold out, but the sun was shining and they used plenty of Warming Charms to keep the toddler from getting a chill.
"You guys watch Harry for a bit, okay? I'm going to call the clinic," Hydrus said, after he played with Harry for a while. He went into the house and did just that. He made three evaluation appointments in a few days, and hung up the phone. He also checked in on his investments.
It was getting to be around noon, so Hydrus made a nice lunch of tomato soup and hot ham sandwiches. He called the others in and they all sat. Harry had lukewarm soup in his sippy cup and a half of a cheese sandwich (his favorite). The rest enjoyed the hot meal. This time Hydrus cleaned Harry.
"Ready to go, Remus?" Hydrus asked.
"Let me get my coat," was Remus's reply.
"Are you going to be okay alone, Padfoot? Tippy will be here to help, we shouldn't be long."
"I'll be okay," Sirius said firmly.
Hydrus nodded, picked Harry up, took him in the living room and placed him with his toys. After going to his room and putting in his grey contacts, he met Remus at the door. He pulled his coat on and the two men left. They Apparated to the alley next to the Cauldron and went into the pub. It wasn't crowded as lunch was just over. They made their way to the Alley and moved down the street to the shop; Home Appliances of The Future. It had taken a minute for Hydrus to name the store, but he didn't want his name in it. He decided to keep it simple, so that people would know what it was before they ventured in.
The store seemed to be quite busy as they wove through the moderate crowd. Remus looked around in fascination; Hydrus promised he could get a closer look while he did some business, so the two men parted at the checkout counter.
In the back room was a cheerful looking man with wispy white hair. He was going over the books and when Hydrus entered he looked up. "Mr. Black, sir, what a wonderful surprise," he said as he got up to shake his boss's hand.
"Mr. Parker, it is good to see you. Judging from the crowd, business is well?" Hydrus said as he shook the man's hand and then gestured to the chairs near the fireplace. The two men sat and got comfortable.
"Oh, it is indeed," Joshua Parker said. He was ecstatic about his position as store manager. When Hydrus had approached him originally he had his doubts. Now, though, he was happy to be here.
"That's great," Hydrus beamed. "I was wondering if there were any letters or notes for me. I'm waiting for a response from someone, and told them to leave it here."
"Oh, yes, yes, of course. A gentleman did come by and left you a missive. At first he was quite upset then after looking at your rune array and patent, he calmed down," Mr. Parker said as he got up and went to the desk to retrieve the note.
Hydrus let out a small sigh of relief. He wanted to work with the man, not make an enemy of him. Since his design was so different from Frostwell's, he was hoping this would be the outcome. Those hopes were dashed when he read the letter. In it Frostwell stated that while Hydrus's arrays were good, he worked alone, so they would be friendly competition.
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