Hydrus Black chapter 39

Chapter 39 -

"Hydrus," Bellatrix said as she opened her son's room, walking in to find him closing his trunk. "Ah, fully packed, are you?" She asked in a pleased voice as she pulled out her wand.

"Of course, Mother," Hydrus nodded in response, taking a step back as she waved her wand and shrunk it for him until it was the size of a toothpick. "Thank you," He said as he picked it up and dropped it in his pocket.

"So, excited to go back to school, are you?" She asked, walking forward and plopping down on his bed. He let out a small sigh in response. "That happy, huh?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. Hydrus remained silent as he sat down next to her, and Bellatrix took the opportunity to lean against him. Bowie popped out of his sleeve and jumped onto Bellatrix's lap and began playing with her fingers.

"It's just...I..." Hydrus sighed once more. "Should I even be going to school? There is a dark lord out and about, you know."

"Oh, are you scared?" She asked genuinely, a frown on her face. She supposed it was understandable, after all, Voldemort wasn't so feared because he was good at the tickling charm. The man was one of the worst dark lords the world had ever produced. It made sense that nearly anyone would be scared of him; that's what she thought until Hydrus looked at her with an expression similar to those who had just had their mother insulted.

"First of all, that's offensive." He huffed. "Second of all, I'm not scared of him. I'm a Black, he's nothing compared to me."

"Atta boy," She said proudly, wrapping an arm around his shoulders and hugging him tight to her. She felt awfully silly now, of course, her son wouldn't be scared of anyone.

"It's just...school feels like a waste of time now," Hydrus admitted with a frown. "Shouldn't I be at home, focusing on combat training instead of whatever boring lessons the school wants me to learn?"

"Your life can't be combat training all the time," Bellatrix told him in a regretful tone. "Too much of a good thing is a real problem, you know, besides, you are planning to live through Voldemort, aren't you? Well, then you'll need an education. Sure, you could probably coast on your reputation after defeating him, but no son of mine is going to do that. You're a member of the House of Black, and we've been going to that bloody school since before your great, great, great, great, great, great, triple-great grandfather was out of his mother. We're not going to run now, just because of Voldy. Don't let him stop you from living your life, Hydrus. Don't let him keep you from the greatness I know you're capable of. Got it?" She looked at him, watching as his face scrunched up in concentration as he digested everything he said. 'Merlin, he's so adorable!' She thought to herself.

"Alright," He said eventually, smiling up at her. "I'll do it,"

"Good boy," She said, kissing the side of his head before dropping Bowie into his lap. "Now, go to the bathroom and be ready to go in five." She said, getting up just as Rocky slithered over and rubbed his head against her foot. She smiled fondly and kneeled down, stroking his head. Rocky hissed in response. "What did he say?" She asked Hydrus as she stood up.

"He said that he's going to miss your scent, it's a lot nicer than mine, apparently." Hydrus grinned.

"Naturally," Bellatrix smirked before walking to his door. "Now, like I said, get ready, and be down in five. You're going to have a good year at school and have fun, or so help me, somebody's going to get hexed."

"Can I help?" He asked hopefully. Bellatrix thought about that request for about half a second before she replied.

"I literally cannot think of a single reason why that shouldn't be acceptable."

(.)

"Hey," Hydrus greeted as he walked into the compartment where most of his fellow Slytherins were sitting. Inside the compartment, Draco sat opposite Crabbe and Goyle, with Theo sitting to his left. Parkinson sat next to Crabbe and Goyle while Daphne sat to Draco's right.

"Hydrus," Daphne smiled brightly as he entered. "How are you?"

"Fine, how are the rest of you doing?" He asked, receiving various responses that all pretty much amounted to a 'We're okay'. "Where's Blaise?" He asked as he took a seat next to Daphne, sitting between her and the window.

"I don't think he's coming back," Theo informed him with a slightly stiff shrug. "He was telling me before he left that his mother was considering taking him back to Italy. And that was before he who must not be named returned."

"I'll name the fucker," Grunted Hydrus. "Are you sure that Blaise isn't coming back?" He asked Theo.

"I'm just guessing," Theo admitted. "But the way I see it, it's probably right. I guess we'll know for sure if we see him today or not."

"Can't really blame his mother," Draco frowned. "Italy will be much safer than Magical Britain right now. Still, he should have at least sent a letter or something."

"He's not really the most well-adjusted individual," Hydrus shrugged.

"Do you really think you have any room to talk?" Draco gave Hydrus an incredulous look.

"Enough room to fit two elephants, yes, why?" Hydrus asked genuinely.

"I just..I...you know what, I'm going to let it slide," Draco decided with a deep sigh. "Anyway, how are things with you? I heard from my mother that you punched Lockhart between his legs."

"He deserved it!" Hydrus burst out. "Incompetent prat tried to grab my mother! He took my pictures without my permission, and then his trouser worm tried to mock me!"

"Trouser worm?" Crabbe and Goyle repeated with confusion.

"Are you trying to say that Lockhart was keeping a worm in his trousers?" Pansy blinked hard.

"He was, it wiggled, I saw it," Hydrus said firmly.

"What a weirdo," Daphne frowned deeply.

"It was mocking me with its rhymic movements!" Hydrus growled. "So I punched it, clearly I also ended up hitting Lockhart in his junk as well." He paused and frowned. "I told Tonks the same thing. She laughed, quite hard, I'm still not sure why."

(.)

"Welcome, welcome one and all to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry," Professor Dumbledore said with a cheery smile.

One train ride later, the students had arrived at Hogwarts. The sorting ceremony had just finished, along with the well-needed feast that came with it. Meaning it was now time for Dumbledore's standard start-of-year ceremony. Hydrus frowned as he looked at the Hugglepuff table, noticing a distinct lack of pink hair. It was a shame that Tonks was no longer with him in school; she had graduated last year, and last he had heard was in auror training. Speaking of aurors, there was a noticeable amount in the hall. Two aurors were stationed by the entrance, four on each wall next to the student tables and another four standing behind the teacher's table.

As he was looking around, Hydrus's attention fell onto the Gryffindor table, where he saw Liv sitting. She looked the same as last year, hair slightly longer, and she was slightly taller with a face that was a bit thinner than before, but more or less the same. He couldn't help but notice the bags under her eyes, as if she had barely been sleeping. Her skin was slightly paler than he remembered as well, perhaps she had simply spent most of her summer indoors? Her gaze met his, and he gave her a nod. A small nod, one that contained a lot of questions. She stared for a moment before nodding back, giving him a small smile, one that said 'I'm okay, don't worry about it'. He frowned slightly but didn't do more as he turned his attention back to Dumbledore.

"Warm greetings to our new first years, and happy wishes to our returning students," Dumbledore continued, standing behind the owl-shaped podium that stood in front of the teacher's table. "Now that we've all eaten, I hope you'll forgive me for taking a few moments of your time to give you our start-of-school announcements. Firstly, our caretaker, Mr Filch, has asked me to inform you that the list of banned items has almost doubled since last year. The list of items is available to anyone and is posted on the door to his office. Also, the forbidden forest is, as the name suggests, forbidden. And for good reason, I might add. Now, I would like to continue by introducing our new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Gilderoy Lockhart." He gestured to Lockhart, who stood up and waved with a very bright smile as many students cheered, mostly females. Hydrus wondered if the man noticed the rather stiff and half-hearted applause he was getting from the other teachers. The man definitely didn't notice the aurors behind him rolling their eyes.

"Yes, yes," Professor Dumbledore continued once Lockhart had finally sat down. "The best of luck to our new teacher. Now, for those of you who haven't heard, I should inform you all, the dark wizard known as Voldemort has returned." Dumbledore paused as many people, of all ages, flinched. If the hall had been quiet before, it was now completely silent. Even Lockhart's near-permanent smile had disappeared in record time. "Those who do not know what has occurred, allow me to inform you all. A wizard, one who has terrorised us for a long time, thought to be dead, was discovered last year in this very hall. The once great wizard has been reduced to nothing more than a wraith. The dark arts, wonderous though they may seem to many, have consequences, and he is currently suffering through those consequences. However, just because he has been weakened, it does not mean that he is not dangerous. Not only is he strong, but he is skilled and smart. Many wizards and witches were lured to his side with a few convincing words and a few displays of power. But he cares not for you, for any of you, only himself.

This is why the Minister has seen fit to send these brave aurors to our school, for your protection. I implore you to inform them or one of your teachers if you see anything out of the ordinary, anything you're unsure of. No matter how small, if you believe it to be potentially dangerous, then let us know. Now is the time for us all to work together." He said, glancing towards the Slytherin table, staring directly at Hydrus for the briefest of moments. "If not, then the consequences could be disastrous. Help will always be given at Hogwarts to those who deserve it. Now, I've kept you all long enough. I wish you all a good night, and I hope you have a good year. Prefects, please lead the first years to their common rooms." He said before taking a step back from the podium, signalling that he was done.

"First-year students, follow me," All fifth-year prefects seemed to say at the same time as they started leading the first years out.

"These aurors aren't going to be much use if we're attacked by him," Daphne frowned as she looked at the aurors around the hall.

"They're probably here to protect from minor threats and to call for backup if he does show up," Theo guessed. "Hopefully, he doesn't. I'd like a peaceful school year, thank you very much."

"Peaceful in Hogwarts?" Draco snorted amusedly. "Sometimes you say the funniest things."

"It is one of my better qualities," Theo agreed instantly as he looked around. The first years were finally all gone. Tradition stated that they give them a ten-minute head start so they could spend some time in the common room before the other students arrived.

"The worst part is Lockhart," Hydrus growled. "We've got one of the most feared wizards of all time coming our way, and we can't even get a halfway decent teacher to keep us alive."

"He probably signed the contract early before the dark lord was revealed," Draco shrugged. "After that, Dumbledore's got no choice but to keep him."

"The prat should have quit and left," Hydrus argued. "I swear to Merlin, in our first lesson with him, he had better seem at least halfway competent and teach us something useful. If not, then I'm going to hex the skincare products off of him."

"I'd pay to see that," Draco admitted honestly. "I showed Mother one of his books once. I could almost hear her eyes roll."

"My mother asked me if I was playing a prank when I showed her," Hydrus said in response. "She looked confused when I told her that I wasn't. She asked me again three hours later, looked even more confused when I said no again. I told Tonks about it, and she thought it was funny until she read the book. She asked me if I was playing a prank. I told her I wasn't. She laughed when I said 'no'."

"So, I take it you're not Lockhart's biggest fan." Theo summarised.

"That man is an irritant, and if his worm mocks me again, then there will be trouble."

(.)

A.N: Hi guys, hope you liked the chapter. A bit short, I admit, I'll try to make the next one longer. Anyway, I hope you guys are alright. I just saw the latest Superman film a couple of days ago. I liked it, it wasn't perfect or the best film ever, but it was good enough, I'd give it somewhere between a seven and an eight out of ten. It got me considering making a one-shot of Harry and Supergirl. I remember reading a fanfic by Megamatt09 before he only started writing smut, where he had her show up as Harry's date to the Yule Ball. (Also, I've heard several comparisons between me and him for some reason, not sure why) Anyway, I was thinking of trying my hand at the same idea. Not like a long story, just a short one that's maybe one or two chapters long. Is anyone interested in that? Let me know.

Anyway, my A.N's done, if anybody is interested, then I'm just going to post a review of the film below. Will include spoilers, so don't read the rest if you don't want to be spoiled.

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Still reading? Okay, here we go.

Overall, I liked the film. It was wildly different from Snyder's Superman, it sort of felt to me more like Superman from the DCAU. Snyder's Superman was like an all-powerful, god-like being while James Gunn's superman seems more like an actual hero.

A few people have claimed that the new Superman is really weak, but they don't seem to realise that he's not actually THAT weak. Yeah, he's a bit nerfed (what superpowered hero isn't on the big screen?) but not a lot. Firstly, the film's intro informs you that he has literally never lost once in like three years of being Superman, the film is literally just opening on the end of the first fight he had ever lost in his life. And that fight wasn't against some random nobody either, it was against a person who was later revealed to be his clone, meaning that the first time he had ever lost a fight was against a copy of himself. Not even just a clone, one that had been conditioned and trained to react to commands by somebody who had spent years studying and developing hundreds of counters to Superman, AKA Lex Luthor.

Luthor was a great villain, at first I wasn't sure if the actor could pull him off great, but he did. He's a bit more jokey than most versions I know but not too bad. He is a massive hater though and did pretty much start an entire war JUST to get to Superman and even killed a guy just because he supported Superman and gave him food once.

The Kents family was great, Pa Kent was hundreds of times better than the Snyder version. Lois Lane was pretty good, though I wasn't a fan of some of the relationship drama as it wasn't really anything groundbreaking or new and felt slightly forced to me. Like...if Superman is not good enough for you then you're a problem. I'd like one superhero movie where a female lead doesn't cause problems for the hero (Yes, I know there are probably some but I can't think of any off the top of my head). The other members of the cast were great as well. I really liked Mr Terrific, his few minutes of screentime was much more entertaining than the Arrowverse version. Nathan Fillion was great as Guy Gardner as well.

The film in general feels like it wasn't designed to be realistic like many modern superhero films. It was designed to be entertaining, they show some stuff that definitely wouldn't work in real life and doesn't make sense but they know it doesn't make sense and they still go for it because the goal is entertainment.

As for the negatives, I think the pacing could have been better, and some moments could have had some more build-up. The costume is okay in my opinion. The colour scheme is good, I have mixed feelings about the symbol and I think it could have done with a few less random lines. I'm hoping that in the future sequel/justice league film he'll get a modified suit. The CGI isn't the worst I've ever seen, nor is it the best, for the most part it holds up.

A lot of people hate on it because of nostalgia or because they want Henry Cavill back. I think Henry was a great superman who was ruined by bad writing and directing. The snyderverse has some great moments, undoubtedly, but let's not pretend it couldn't have been better. It wasn't perfect, nor was Gunn's.

Overall, this film isn't perfect but I feel like it's worth a good watch. If you go into it expecting a dark and gritty, realistic tone then you'll be disappointed. Take it as it's intended and it's quite enjoyable.

That was my review, thanks for reading.