Hydrus Black chapter 44

Chapter 44 -

"Hydrus!" A furious Bellatrix roared as she stormed into the hospital ring. It didn't take her long to find who she was looking for. One of the beds was occupied with a girl, sitting on a chair at one side of the bed was Daphne, and standing on the other side was Hydrus. Her anger died down as relief filled her system. She quickly walked over to the children, who had all noticed her less than subtle entrance. "Hydrus," She pulled him into a hug, which he gladly returned. "I feared the worst," She sighed deeply before pulling back and looking him over. "What happened?"

"Lockhart," Hydrus growled deeply. "He ambushed me, Mother. "

"Where is he?!" Bellatrix demanded at once. Her rage returned with a vengeance. "I'm going to rip him into shreds!" She vowed.

"I would very much like to see that," Hydrus hummed thoughtfully. "But there is a slight problem as he is already very, very dead." Hydrus frowned, looking quite disappointed. Bellatrix had switched moods easily enough after that.

"Oh, so you killed him?" Bellatrix asked in a delighted voice.

"No," Hydrus's frown got deeper. "I wanted to, but I got beat to the punch."

"How were you going to kill him?" Liv spoke up for the first time. "You didn't have your wand on you," She reminded him. In response to her question, Hydrus very casually reached into his robes and pulled out a small knife. "Damn! How many knives do you have?!" Liv blurted out.

"Why? Do you want one?" Hydrus asked genuinely.

"There you go," Bellatrix said, as she took out a small knife and dropped it into the lap of a wide-eyed Liv. "Now, Hydrus, continue."

"Right, so he ambushed me. I was unconscious when Liv - Miss Cooper, you remember her - revived me," Bellatrix put another knife in Liv's lap, her eyes somehow got wider. "We chased Lockhart into the forest. He told us that he was a fake who took credit for other people's work."

"That explains so much," Bellatrix said with a roll of her eyes as she deposited another knife into Liv's lap.

"I didn't even do anything that time," A confused Liv pointed out.

"Anyway, he said he had been hoping to convince you to become his wife," Hydrus scowled. "He was too busy talking to notice the acromantulas sneaking up on him. Liv and I got out, barely, with Daphne's help."

"Right," Bellatrix growled. If Liv had been intimidated by the spiders before, then that was nothing compared to the look on Bellatrix's face. "Well, the three of you did well. You all will have my full support. Madam Bones should be on the way soon. Explain everything to her when she gets here. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go and plant incriminating evidence of illegal activities in Lockhart's office. Let's see how after-life Lockhart likes getting accused of illegal hippogriff breading. Back in a tic." She informed them, placing one more knife in Liv's lap before walking out.

"Seriously, what did I do?" Liv blurted out before looking down at the knives. Her gaze snapped to Hydrus. "Also, seriously, how many knives do you guys have on you?"

"Not as much as we'd like," Hydrus answered honestly, his lips forming into a pout. "Still, that's the hard part done. Mum will take care of everything."

"Yeah, well...wait a sec," Liv froze. "What did she say she was going to do in Lockhart's office?"

"What do you mean?" Daphne asked innocently. "I didn't hear her say anything."

"Me either," Hydrus added before they both looked at Liv. She glared at the two of them before letting out a deep sigh.

"Perhaps I simply imagined it," She decided. "Probably from stress."

"Most likely," Daphne nodded at once.

"Indeed," Hydrus agreed.

"Fuck the pair of you," Liv said flatly. "So, what now? Your mother makes sure none of us end up in jail, and that's it?"

"More or less," Hydrus confirmed. "Unless you have something else we can fight before the end of the year."

"Not on me, no," Liv said apologetically.

"Shame,"

"Still," Daphne spoke up. "I suppose this will be a good story for you to tell. Your mother and father must be proud of you after they hear this."

"My mother is not...she's dead," Liv said quietly.

"Oh," Daphne said, sounding embarrassed. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to -"

"It's fine," Liv cut her off.

"And what about your father?" Hydrus asked if he hadn't been staring at Liv so intently, then he might have missed the small flinch.

"He's...trying his best," Liv said softly.

"Hmm," Hydrus said, sounding calm. "That's good, good. I hope that he does. Because you, Liv, are a special person. And if he doesn't look after you to the best of his abilities, I will be displeased."

"It's...it's fine, Hydrus," Liv assured him. "Really, it is."

"If you're sure," Hydrus said gently.

"Liv!" A voice called, the trio turned to see Hermione, Ron and Neville rushing in. "Oh, Liv, are you okay?!" Hermione asked at once, as the three stopped by her bed. "There's been rumours, all around the school. I...wait? Are those knives?!"

"It's a long story," Liv said with a deep sigh. "What are the rumours?" Hermione stared hard for a moment before she continued speaking.

"Everyone is saying that Professor Lockhart attacked you?"

"That fraud is no professor," Liv scowled. "I heard him confess himself; he took credit for other people's work." She revealed, shocking Hermione into silence.

"This is probably your fault," Neville glowered at Hydrus. "Liv was only in danger because of you."

"Yeah, in case the information hasn't yet reached the ears attatched to that empty head of yours, I was a little too busy being unconscious to involve anyone." Hydrus glared at him.

"Leave him alone, Neville," Liv said in a tired voice when Neville opened his mouth to reply. "It wasn't Hydrus's fault. Lockhart attacked him. I helped."

"Yeah," Hydrus sighed before he looked back at Liv. "I suppose I owe you," He said thoughtfully.

"Nah, I mean you did for a bit," She said in a joking tone. "But you and Daphne did save me from the spiders and carried my injured self all the way up here. We'll call it even."

"Still, thank you," Hyrus said sincerely.

"Don't worry about it," Liv waved him off. "I'm always here if you need me."

"I suppose you are," Hydrus said, eyes staring at her with an almost unnerving focus.

"Hydrus, are you okay?" Liv asked, after a moment. She looked at Daphne, who was only staring knowingly between the two of them. Seeing no help on that front, she turned her gaze back to Hydrus in time to see him talk to the others.

"You three will have to go," Hydrus said matter-of-factly to the other Gryffindors.

"What?" Ron blurted out. "Says who?"

"Says me," Hydrus replied just as Daphne stood up.

"In a small matter of time, Madam Bones -the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement - will be coming here along with Hydrus's mother." She informed them, giving them all a cold stare. "The last thing they need right now is to have their time wasted on the three of you. A teacher just died, and the three of us nearly got eaten by spiders. The last thing anyone needs is you interfering."

"Yeah," Hydrus agreed. "Besides, the last thing I need is you continuing to bother the best mother in existence," He added to Neville, who looked like he very much wanted to disagree with Hydrus.

(.)

"Another summer back in the trenches," Liv told herself as she arrived outside of her 'home'.

The year had ended with not too much drama; she had ended up answering a few questions during an interview and had to listen to the rest of the school gossip about what had happened. According to some, Hydrus and Lockhart had a massive duel; somebody else had claimed that Hydrus had been the one to rescue her from Lockhart, and one first-year girl had even come up to Liv and asked if she had really beaten Lockhart by using a spell powered by a kiss from Hydrus.

Apart from that, the rest of the year hadn't been too bad. She thought she'd done well enough in her exams, and she had spent a bit of time with her friends. She and Hydrus hadn't talked much since the event, but she had seen him watching her, almost constantly. Daphne ended up joining him in doing that. Sometimes, the two would stare like they thought she was an odd piece of a puzzle; other times, they stared at her with considerate expressions, like judges on a talent show.

Still, that was all behind her now; the year had ended, and she was back here, standing outside her dad's home.

A part of her often wondered why she kept coming here. The simple answer was that she didn't have anywhere else to go. Her money in the magical world was limited to a small fund that every Muggle-born got; she had saved up as much as she could, but it wasn't that much. One option she had was nicking her father's money; he probably wouldn't notice until he couldn't buy his next batch of cigars and/or cigarettes. But then that would end up screwing her over next summer.

Then again, all three of her friends had offered for her to spend the summer at their places. They hadn't suspected anything was wrong at her house and were just being friendly. Liv had at first refused their offers. She wasn't sure why; was it just pure stubbornness from herself that stopped her from saying yes? Was she simply a slave to routine? She wondered why, even as she found her door had been left open and walked inside, even as she closed the door behind herself and looked at her father, it was then that she realised why she had.

She had hoped that he had changed, like she always did.

But evidently, he hadn't.

"Liv, baby!" Her father cheered as he got up from his seat. "I missed you! How was school?! How did it go? Any new -"

"What's that?" Liv cut him off, pointing to a needle on the floor. Ignoring how messy the room looked, she was quite convinced that a pair of seven-year-olds wouldn't have been able to leave this much of a mess if they had been left alone for a week.

"What's what, Honey?" He asked confusedly, before seeing the needle. "Oh, oh that," He froze before looking up. "Pakistani infiltration, I reckon."

"What does that even mean?!" She blurted out incredulously.

"Well, you see, Pakistani means someone from Pakistan. That's this really hot place where -"

"I know what Pakistan is, Dad!" She exclaimed, already regretting coming here.

"And that is precisely why school is important!" He declared, nodding his head proudly as if he had imparted some great wisdom upon her.

"Daddy, what is that?" Liv pointed once more to the needle. "Smoking and drinking weren't enough for you?! You promised me that you'd stop! We can barely afford to keep the lights on in here, and you're tossing money away on these things that are killing you. And now it looks like you're upgrading!" She gestured furiously to the needle. "You promised me that you'd stop!"

"I'll stop...eventually." He said dismissively.

"You said that last summer and the summer before that, Daddy. You always promise me. I thought you -"

"I said I'll stop!" He snapped, his voice cutting through her like a sword. She froze, taking a small step back. "Goddamn, just like your mother, always nagging and nagging! Stupid bitch stressed herself into an early grave! Thought I'd say hello after you came back, all proper and everything, but if you want to nag, you can piss off. Go to your room," He ordered. He shook his head before turning back, ready to sit back down.

"Don't say that," Liv's voice came out, soft and quiet. "Don't say that about Mum."

"Liv, honey, sweetie," He said with a bitter laugh. "Your mother was the worst thing that ever happened to me, and I meant that sincerely." He said, looking at her with cold eyes.

"You...don't say that," She said, trying to sound firm, but her voice shook as tears swelled up in the corners of her eyes. "Don't say that about Mum."

"She was smart, you know," He said, his tone darkening slightly. "Having you, I mean. She must have known I wanted to get rid of her, had you, so I'd keep her around. Ha," He laughed mockingly. "Got rid of her in the end."

"I said, don't talk about her like that!" Liv cried.

"I'll talk about her however the hell I want, you're the only good thing that came out of that bitch!" He said viciously as he stalked forward. "That magic of yours, it's the best thing I've ever experienced. It's the only good thing I've got going on right now. So, be lucky for that, or you'd have been out of here already."

"Like I want to be here!" Liv exploded, tears dripping down her face. "I..I hate it here! I hate the fact that I can't find one spot in this whole place that doesn't smell like cigarettes! I hate the fact that you can't pick up one piece of litter by yourself! You can't even be bothered to look for a new job and -"

"Liv! You're spending so much time at that school that you can't remember what my belt feels like?!" He roared furiously. "Wait there, because I'm going to remind you." He said, hand reaching for his belt. "Just like your stupid mother, can't last a minute without messing things up for me!" He said, ripping the belt out of his trousers. He raised it, moving forward with less than friendly intent.

Liv's eyes closed as she lowered her head, her whole body tensed as she waited for the strike.

...

...

Nothing happened.

Her eyes opened, and she quickly froze at the sight before her.

"Wotcher!" Tonks said with a bright smile, giving her a cheery wave as she stood over her unconscious father, one of her boots was casually placed on top of his back.

"Y...You!" Gasped Liv. "I know you! You were that prefect last year! Hydrus's cousin!"

"Yep," Chirped Tonks. "That's me. Call me 'Tonks'."

"T...Tonks," Liv repeated dumbly. "I...what are you doing here?"

"Hydrus sent me," Tonks revealed with a casual shrug of her shoulders. "He was really worried about you, you know, asked me to follow you home and make sure that you were alright. And, well, I'm not one to refuse my favourite cousin when he asks me so nicely. Gave me the puppy eyes and everything, so adorable," She said with a fond shake of her head. "Anyway, followed you here, made sure you're alright, turns out that you're not. So, pack your stuff and let's get out of here. You can spend the night at the Leaky Cauldron while I work on sorting this out."

"I..." For a moment, Liv wanted to protest, out of habit more than anything else. But she managed to stop herself at the last moment, looking down at the unconscious form of her father. "...yeah, okay. Um...how much does that cost?" Liv frowned.

"Don't worry about it," Tonks waved her off. "Hydrus is covering it. I mean, I offered, but he was insistent on doing it from his own pocket and anything. He must really like you," Tonks said with a knowing grin.