The other two younger men sat in a state of shock and let the man rant. He didn't wind down for at least five minutes, pacing back and forth, fingering his wand when he wasn't destroying things, shooting piercing glares at the time traveler, as if he would kill Hydrus in any minute. "Give me one good reason not to end your life," Arcturus said, with a murderous glint in his eye.
"If I hadn't come back, the magical world of Britain would have fallen. Your precious family name would be dead. Every member of your immediate family died with no heir. Sirius in my timeline called the name dead in his will. There would be no more Blacks in Britain," the immortal spat as he glowered back. "If Harry went to the Dursleys, this timeline would have played out exactly the same. So don't give me your self-righteous indignation. You would have done the same thing to save your family."
With that Arcturus deflated and dropped bonelessly back into his chair. The boy was right, and if the future he was showed was real, and he knew the method used, he would do just that. He would do it now, if only to try harder in keeping his family from joining the Dark Lord. He had the power, but the time traveler in front of him stated that a special wand was needed.
"Besides," Hydrus continued in a much calmer voice, "you can't kill me."
That caused the old man's head to snap up. "What do you mean, I cannot kill you. I assure you young man I am more than capable."
"I'm immortal."
"How did that happen?" came the shocked, yet, curious reply. The elder Black looked honestly inquisitive, like it was something he too had been searching for. Not that he would ever split his soul, he knew madness lay in that direction, and he was quite fond of his sanity.
"I'm the Master of Death," Hydrus said and he produced the Deathly Hallows.
Once more fingering his wand the old man's eyes turned greedy.
"Don't even try. I have it on good authority that I will be the only Master," the immortal said as he placed the Hallows in his pocketspace.
Arcturus slumped in his chair as he watched the fabled items vanish. "My time is near, as I have said, I would have one favor to ask of you, Sirius," he said tiredly, turning back to his grandson.
The youngest Black had been quiet up till now, letting the other two vent their feelings. "What do you require, Grandfather?"
"Cremate me and give my sister the ashes. I have no want to be set in the ground." It was because of his fear of being used from the grave that he made such a request.
Once again the other two were shocked; it wasn't the Pure-blood way. However, since it was the man's final wish, Sirius would see it done.
"I am done with you two. Do what you will, I will not hinder or help. Leave this old man to die in peace. I will instruct the house elf to tell you when I have passed. Leave," the weary man said, waving his hand in dismissal.
The two younger Blacks got up and left the house, neither one of them were happy about the confrontation, yet were content at the conclusion. They went home, told Remus what had happened and then decided to set it all aside until such time it needed to be dealt with.
Sirius sequestered himself in his room to write reams of letters to the family. That blackmail list would come in handy and Aunt Cassiopeia was known to be on the Grey side. She was more of a researcher than anything else; her fights with other family members were legendary. It was her research on squibs producing magicals that swayed his grandfather to her argument.
More weeks flew by and the spirits that Hydrus set on Voldemort had little good news, the wraith was angry at the ghosts that haunted him and was keeping his mouth shut as to whether or not he made a new horcrux. So the Master of Death suggested they only trail him from afar during the day and haunt him at night, maybe he might let something slip, though that was a long shot. They did tell him the wraith was weakening, he could only possess small animals and only for a short time. That bit of information made the immortal hopeful.
Harry was doing great at daycare; he was learning to play with other children and could now say a few more words and colors. So far no accidental magic was seen, which was a major relief. Sirius had approached a few magical families to set up play dates in the future. The dogman had approached the Weasleys, thanks to Arthur's love of the appliance store, and made arrangements. Hydrus's problem with that was Ron; he still had some bitterness about his ex-friend. He was hopeful that if they got to the child soon enough it might turn out different. Sirius would take Harry to the other people's houses to keep the other two's names away from the child's.
The orphanage was up and running, they had fifteen squib children and three non-magical. Sirius was in contact with Marius and social services about fostering the non-magical ones out. They had a few prospects, but social services were still doing background checks on them. It was hard to keep the magical world from those three, but they talked with the other children and told them to tone it down or say it was their imagination talking. The kids were between eight and fifteen so most of them understood why they needed to not discuss their past in front of the others. Though, some of the older squibs were bitter and wanted to expose the magical world. It was an ongoing battle to keep it all hushed. Hydrus made sure to have on staff two magic knowing counselors, who had mandatory meetings with every child. Marius was a great resource.
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