Harry Potter: Hydrus Black

Almost three years passed in a whirlwind of business and play. Harry was growing up well. The articles printed about him kept the public from putting him on a pedestal. He was learning fast; he could recite his ABC's, spell small words and his name, and count to fifty without a problem. He was talking almost like an adult. He was also starting to show more accidental magic. There was only one incident at daycare, when he was fighting with a little girl over a crayon and her hair turned green, which Sirius was able to reverse and confuse away. They were going to pull him this year and start teaching him at home. He would be going on weekend play dates to magical households starting with the Weasleys this coming weekend.

Sirius was down to monthly counseling. Faith had broken up with him when he told her he had a secret. She said that she couldn't trust him if he couldn't trust her. She was too upset that he kept something from her that she never found out what the secret was. You would think as a counselor she would be more understanding.

It was sad in the house that week, but Sirius pulled himself together and started looking in the magical world. He had his eye set on a young clerk in the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes, whom he had met through Arthur. Her name was Laura Webb, a short, reddish-blonde woman, who was bubbly and flirtatious.

Remus was dating Sarah, and those two were doing well. Dating made the shy man come out of his shell more, and he was far more confident than he had been since the Potters' deaths. He and the others shared the flat that Hydrus set up. Sarah was thriving as a shop owner and didn't care that she couldn't come to the werewolf's house. The Book Nook opened a store in Hogsmeade catering to the older teens, many of the villagers and a few of the teachers. It was doing well.

Hydrus stuck to one night stands, though he kept them to a minimum now that Harry was older. He had spent most of the last few years setting up his businesses to run without him, so he could spend all day at home teaching Harry. He was content with his life, all of his plans were coming together, and little had gotten in their way.

Voldemort was a mere shadow now; he couldn't even possess animals, making the adults confident that he didn't have another horcrux. The Master of Death kept the spirits hounding him, just in case. They still didn't know how to finally rid themselves of Tom. They were hoping he'd just fade away.

Grimmauld Place was stripped of all magic; all the Dark items were stored in the family vault. Sirius had it updated to a non-magical home. He told the contractors his mother was old-fashioned and had recently died (which she had). He then sold his childhood home and never looked back. It was good closure.

Kreacher was brought to the children's home, but, like before, wasn't freed, since he could die if the bond broke. The old elf was content to work in the kitchens, but stayed away from the children. His standards were still Pure-blood, but he followed his master's orders.

The stores were doing well, the appliance store downsized a bit, and a new entertainment store was opened near it. The new store, Fun For All, held computers, TV's, VCR's, and movies. It was a big hit. These items were now commonplace in homes, bar some of the diehard Pure-bloods.

There were even computers being used for recordkeeping in the Ministry and, much to Hydrus's displeasure, Gringotts, since the immortal updated them to store records the same way his book-reader did. The manuals that came with the computers were very simply worded, even the most incompetent wizard-raised should be able to load files. It did help that solitaire and other card games came with the devices.

Hydrus made sure his bank in Sweden was set up with a better system. They paid handsomely for the new workstations.

Hydrus sold Frostwell the gaming consoles idea, for a piece of the profit. Those two businessmen were very friendly competition; they tried hard not to step on each other's ideas. Their playful banter was often heard in one store or another. Frostwell's Wondrous Gizmos also set up a store in Hogsmeade, many of his products were used in Hogwarts now. The calculators were a Merlin send to those studying Arithmancy.

The professors were hard-pressed to keep the radios and handheld games out of the classrooms, and the volume down in the common rooms. They had to revamp the rules to go with all the new devices. They tried to ban them, but the students protested and many parents took the kids' side, since the gizmos didn't hurt anyone. The best they could do was ban them from the classroom or confiscate them until class was over.

The only professor that didn't complain was Binns. The Headmaster thought they were wonderful creations, but had to take the staffs' side and lay down the rules.

Another idea he gave Frostwell was to set up arcades in Hogsmeade. He even took the man to show him what a non-magical one was like. You could see the wheels turning in the inventor's head. It wouldn't be long until one was up and running in both the Alley and village. The immortal tried to get Sarah to add a game to The Book Nook, but she said it would distract the readers.

Hydrus kept his businesses in Diagon Alley and let others make changes; he didn't want to draw too much attention to himself. He subtly set up others in businesses and then would bow out when they were up and running. There were other similar stores popping up in other countries, if they used Hydrus's array then he got some of the profits. The immortal made sure everything went through his solicitor.

....

Can't wait to read ahead by more than 60 exciting premium chapters.

Then Join my p*atreon right now.

Link: p#atreon.com/InfinityWeaver (Remove the #)

Free members can unlock 2 chapters.