Chapter 13 Is This the Right Thing To Do?

The immortal went home after the quiet car ride with Remus. He changed clothes, went to the living room, pulled out the Rita button, removed her from the jar, transformed her back to a woman, cast the spell to keep her that way, tied her up and revived her. He didn't bother putting on a disguise since he wanted her to know exactly who she'd be working for.

"Hello, Rita," he said with a sugary sweet smile, the kind you'd see on a used car salesperson.

"I know you, you're Hydrus Black. You broke into my flat and stole all my research," she accused him while trying to get back into her bug form. She knew a lot about this man, she had been digging into his background, since he seemed to come out of nowhere. She had been about to spy on Marius, but got caught before she could.

Her mind was going over all the scenarios about what happened, how long she'd been gone and why he captured her in the first place? The last thing she remembered was going to the new mall to try and get some information. Then nothing until she woke in this very Muggle looking living room, which was nothing like she'd ever seen before with all the devices that looked to be straight from a sci-fi movie.

She cursed herself for going to the mall to dig up dirt on Lily Potter. If she hadn't gone in in bug form, she never would have been caught. But how the heck was she supposed to know they had warded the hell out of the building? She squirmed and wiggled and finally stopped once she couldn't transform. She glared at her captor over her ugly green and gold glasses. Her tight curly hair seemed to come alive with her anger.

"You mean all the blackmail you got by spying in your illegal bug form. Oh, yes, I know all about that. I've read your 'research' and I'm quite impressed. However, if you know what's good for you, you'll leave my life, and my friends, alone," he threatened pleasantly, making sure she understood that he knew all about her nefarious dealings and the fact that he was off limits. He nonchalantly folded his arms and just looked at her as if she weren't tied up and trying to kill him with her eyes.

"What do you want?" the disarrayed woman asked, deflated. She knew this would happen sooner or later, though she did wonder how he knew, she had been so careful. She tried to look compliant and sweet, but failed horribly.

"There are a few things I want, but I can make it worth your while," he offered with that slippery smile, making her sit up and take notice. "I happen to be part owner of The Times. I can make you a reporter there. One good word from me and you're a shoe in, but only if you take a vow that says you will report only what you believe is the truth." He waited to see if she got what he was saying, and when he saw she understood he continued, "I also am in need of a spy."

"A spy? On who?" Rita asked, her interest sparked.

"There's a woman, who fancies herself a Dark Lady. You should know who, I'm sure you've read about her. Anyway, I need someone to find out where she is and who she's working with," he offered her that bit of juicy information, knowing she was conniving enough to bite. It was a gamble, but it was one he had to take now that Dumbledore was showing interest in her. He had no problem killing the woman if she stabbed him in the back, but he was going to give her a chance.

"You'll pay me and not report my Animagus form? You'll let me write what I want, as long as I believe it to be true," she asked, her voice dripping with disbelief.

"That's right," he agreed.

"How did you even know I was a reporter? I've never met you in person." She lifted an eyebrow. She thought she had a good cover by living in the Muggle World. She was going to get as much blackmail she could on anyone important and then make sure she took the Wizarding World by storm. It had been her dream since Hogwarts. Now, this man might ruin all her plans.

"I have my sources," he waved it away, "and, of course, I'll pay you. I'll have you know, I am a fine upstanding young businessman," he answered with a sincere smile.

She snorted, "Yeah, right."

"You're a reporter, of course you can write believable stories," he added, dangling that worm again.

"You're a Black," was the snide comeback.

"Born to a squib," he retorted with a snort

"Oh, right, I forgot about that. Will you give me time to think about it?" she asked, batting her eyes at him, thinking that maybe he'd let her go and she could run. He seemed young enough to fall for that. She didn't think she was a bad looking woman. She had used her wiles before, with good results.

"No, decide now," the time traveller deadpanned, not the least bit affected by her woefully inadequate charms.

"Fine, it's not like you're giving me much of a choice," she spat, dropping all pretense of flirting. And if she could fold her arms she would have.

"Right, one more thing." Rita lifted her eyebrows. "I need a vow from you that you'll never double-cross me or my friends and most of my family." That sugary sweet smile was back. He really didn't care what she came up with on the lesser cousins. Perhaps if she dug up some dirt on them, they could root out the one helping Walburga.

"Fine," Skeeter said, knowing she was trapped.

"My friends are the Potters, Remus Lupin and any Black following the Grey or Light platform. Though, if you get dirt on the politicians, you're free to report that. If it is the truth," he said pointedly, making sure she understood who she could mess with and who not.

"You mean you're friends with just about everyone I wanted to bury?" Rita all but whinged, there went months of research on the man in front of her and Lily and James Potter, even Sirius Black and his grandfather, though she did perk up on the politician bit. After all a good story was a good story. She could wiggle around a vow to report the truth.

"Yup, I went through your blackmail and I have to say you are a very good spy, but you leave Sirius, Remus, and the Potters alone. However, like I said, the Ministry— barring myself, James and Sirius and the Grey or Light Blacks— are free game."

"Alright, I'm game. Anything else?"

"The more you dig up on Crouch and his cronies the better," he offered. He gave her a sinister smile; maybe she could take that vile man down a peg or two, which would help a lot in getting Smeller elected.

Crouch's hatred of all things not pure human reminded him too much of his Uncle Vernon. He would hate to see that man in office. Hell, he'd rather have Fudge. With her working for The Times, her poison pen would be more credible, even if she did have to keep it to the truth.

"Fine, I'll take your stupid vow," she said mulishly, now she'd have to rethink who she could go after. Her mind was whirling with possibilities, but because this man had taken all her research, she'd have to start over.

He loosened one arm, handed her her wand, kept his holly wand trained on her and she gave a vow, which she tried to fake her name in, but Hydrus caught it and made her take it again. When the blue light sealed the vow, he waved his wand to untie her all the way and release the spell that kept her human.

"Who is your Dark Lady?" she asked, folding her arms.

"Walburga Black. She's vowed revenge on all the non-Dark Blacks, so dig up as much as you can on her. We also think she's working with someone, though we don't know who," he answered. "She is strong for an old woman, so be careful," he warned, making sure she understood that that woman was not to be underestimated.

"Right, I'll watch my back," she said and then looked at the young man that captured her. "So, I'll go to The Times tomorrow and drop your name. Then I'll look for your 'Dark Lady'," Rita scoffed at the idea that crazy old Black could be a Dark anything, though she would still walk softly.

"Oh, by the way, if Dumbledore asks, you've been on vacation," he said as an aside, just as she was about to leave.

"Fine," she said as she opened the door, mumbling about having to deal with the 'senile old coot'. She transformed into a beetle and flew away. The conniving bitch took note of where the man lived, but once she felt the wards she decided she wasn't strong enough to overcome them and just went home, making a mental note to move.

Perhaps there might be a free flat in the Alley since it would be closer to her new job. She did like the idea of getting employment there, even if she did have to take a vow, maybe she could fudge that one. With those happy thoughts, she continued home.

The immortal sighed as he watched her leave. He really hoped this didn't come back to bite him. He went to bed, thinking he'd have to keep a cautious eye on that woman. Then his thoughts turned to who was working with Walburga, how much he messed up on that confrontation, what he was going to do about Remus, being the new champion of Fate and Death, who he was supposed to let die and how was he supposed to know, his rising good name in business and politics and where to go from here. It took a long time to get to sleep.

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The next morning it was just Remus that showed for breakfast at Godric's Hollow, since the two Blacks were having a lie-in from the late night they had, Hydrus' later than Sirius'. The werewolf volunteered to make pancakes and sausage, since the Potters looked worn out. Lily thanked him and they ate a quiet meal.

"I have to go to the café early. Colette flooed this morning and said we were out of book-readers. I'll take Harry with me and drop him off at the daycare," Lily said, waving her wand at the table, and watched the dishes load themselves in the dishwasher. The door closed and it starts.

She then wiped Harry clean of syrup, banana and juice. She put him on her hip and was picking up his toys and putting them in her pocketspace. She leaned down, holding Harry, and kissed James on the cheek.

"Goodbye, sweetheart, don't work too hard," James said, kissing her back. "Take care of our little girl." He patted her flat stomach and then kissed Harry on the forehead and added, "And this little tyke, too."

Harry giggled and grabbed his dad's hair and said, "Daddy, tiss Mummy." To which James happily complied, making the young boy giggle again as he let the ever-messy hair go.

Lily smiled and said, "Don't worry, I'll take care of all my babies," she winked at her husband, patted him on the face and then left.

James watched as she flooed away, thinking he'd have to get a car soon and then turned to his mate and asked in a neutral voice, "Do you want to tell me why you don't like Hydrus?" He quirked an eyebrow and gave his friend a firm look.

"He is keeping secrets," Remus said, folding his arms defensively.

"How many people know about your 'furry little problem'? Do your employees know? The people who frequent your store?" James demanded.

"No, but…" Remus said, sitting up straighter. He knew where this was going, but he still had qualms about the time travelling immortal. He had done a lot of thinking on that and came to the conclusion that the man was indeed an immortal. He just didn't know how, and that vexed him, since he felt the rest of the pack did.

"Then you don't have the right to get grumpy," James said abruptly. "When you know if he hadn't come back from the future then you never would have told him about your 'furry little problem'. Hell, Remus, you didn't even tell us, we had to figure it out on our own, and we were best mates," the dark-haired man countered, accusation in his voice, making Remus's shoulder droop with each point.

"Yes, but…" Moony started.

"We all have secrets that we don't share," Prongs interrupted him again, not wanting to hear the argument until he got his point across. "Even me; there are things I've never told you or Sirius, because it doesn't affect your life in any way. I know for a fact, Sirius hasn't told us about all of his childhood. And I, for one, don't want to know. It is his secret to share or not. And furthermore, we all know that Albus keeps secrets from the entire Order. Everyone has a right to tell who they want about what they know," he finished, folding his arms and waiting for his friend's argument.

"I know, I know, you are correct, I know… it is just that… some of the things he does just rub me wrong. I mean, he has the Death Eaters somewhere and all he says is they cannot hurt anyone and they are not dead. And, well… I… just… I do not feel he has the right to do that. No person has the right to play judge and jury," Remus said softly and ran a frustrated hand through his hair. He had the fleeting thought to confront James about Hydrus' immortality, but decided against it. Like his mate said, everyone is allowed their secrets.

"I do understand that, Moony, I really do," the messy-haired man said softly, "but he knows how those bastards are. He knows their crimes, past and future. He knows that if he lets them go, they'll simply get a slap on the wrist and continue to commit those crimes. Hell, if he does let them go, they might rally around Walburga, and we'd have another full-fledged war. However, I truly do see where you are coming from." He placed his hand on his friend's shoulder and gave it a squeeze. "What more can he do to make you comfortable with him?"

"I do not know," Remus sighed, slumping his shoulders.

"Well, all I ask is that you try harder not to fight with him. Maybe, later, when the Ministry settles down more and Mrs. Black is caught, he'll do something to get the Death Eaters a trial and they'll be punished by their peers," James offered. He'd talk to Hydrus about it.

"That would go a long way in making me feel better about him," Moony said as he perked up.

"Moony, my friend, you have to realize he saved mine and my family's life. He saved Sirius from Azkaban. Hell, he probably saved you from an early death. Please, don't make me choose between you two," James said quietly, he really didn't want to have to choose between someone he's known since eleven and the man who came back simply to save him and Lily.

He knew Hydrus would win hands down and that made him sad with the thought he could lose a lifelong friend. They had already lost Peter and it would hurt to lose someone else, but the man he viewed as family came first. He really hoped that Remus got his act together.

"I promise, I will try," the werewolf said, knowing what that choice would be. He really didn't want to cause discord in the pack. He knew he was not the alpha; that had been James until Hydrus came into the picture; however, he was still conflicted at that turn of event. The tide had turned once the time traveller saved the Potters. He still felt that Hydrus didn't have the right to convict anyone without a trial and that caused a lot of struggle between him and his wolf, but he would keep his opinions to himself to keep harmony.

"You do that. Do you have time to play some video games or do you need to get to your shop?" Prongs asked, hoping to lighten the mood.

"I can beat you for an hour, but then I have to go," the sandy-haired man smirked, letting the tense conversation go.

So the two Marauders set about killing each other's avatar. Sirius joined them halfway through the game and cheered Remus on, since he was winning. After the werewolf left, Sirius turned to James and asked, "Did you talk to him?"

"Yeah, he's agreed to try and not fight with Hydrus. He did however make some valid points. I'm going to keep them to myself for now, so if Remus feels the need to tell you, he can. I'll have to talk to Hydrus. He's a reasonable man, so hopefully they can come to a compromise." He mussed up his hair more by running a frustrated hand through it, hoping and praying the talk helped.

"Right, my turn to kick your arse," Padfoot said, picking up the controller and starting a new game.

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Meanwhile, while the men talked, Lily had dropped Harry off and went to work. When she got there, she sighed in frustration. Colette was right; they were completely out of readers. So she spent the morning ordering more. Hydrus had the patent so she couldn't just whip some up, even though she knew how.

After doing that, she spent most of the morning going over inventory to see what was needed and what not. She ordered more Chocolate Frog and non-magical books, since they seemed to be what was selling best. She was happy for this, if people continued to read these books, opinions would change, though a lot of people's way of thinking already had with her vanquishing the Dork Lord. More and more Muggle-born and women were standing up and demanding notice. It was working.

When she was done, she wandered to the front to see how business was going and was cheerful to see the bustling. Her smile never left her face as she rung up customers' purchases, waited on tables, and generally helped Colette and Vicky.

Colette cornered her during the downtime. "So, was that man, who was here Christmas Eve, the one we're supposed to meet? He's quite handsome." She wiggled her sculpted eyebrows and a saucy smile played on her red lips.

"You know I can't answer that," Lily said with a sigh.

"Too bad, I think I'll try for him anyway, be he immortal or not. Who knows, he might come to the Dark side," she said with a giggle, negating the Dark comment. Vampires were considered Dark by the Ministry, for the sole reason that they had to drink blood to live, but they really were peaceful beings, just trying to survive. She knew that it was only because of the matchmaking that she had a job here, but that was okay with her.

Lily smirked and patted her on the back and said, "Good luck", silently wishing Sirius the same.

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Hydrus did indeed sleep in. Unlike the others, he had had a bad night. So when he woke, he did some Aikido, magically sparred with some dummies, meditated and then showered. After his breakfast of Western omelet and bacon, he decided to visit his shops and see how the managers were doing.

Ellie, Mr. Parker and the others that he had hired were doing very well as he knew they would. The Christmas Sales had wiped the stores out and they spent most of the day deciding on what to stock. Mr. Weasley was almost frantic, this was a new experience for him, but the assistant that was hired to help him, Janie Tripe, talked him down and with Hydrus' help they finally got him to understand what needed to be done.

After a long morning of paperwork, Hydrus wandered to Lily's Book Corner to talk to Lily. He sat in one of the chairs and waited for her to join him. He was starting to think that she was closer family than a cousin. She came off as a mum, but he was reluctant to let go of the memory of the woman who died for him. Still, it was a pleasant feeling. He'd just see where it went and hold the memory of his mum close.

Instead of Lily, an athletic blonde came up to him.

"Welcome to Lily's Book Corner. What can I get you this afternoon?" she asked in a sultry voice, like a whisky drinker, though from the looks of her trim body, this woman wasn't a drinker. It was a nice voice.

"Is it afternoon already? My, how the time flies when one is busy. Hey, did Lily get the espresso machine in yet?" Hydrus asked, his eyes roving up and down the nice body. Were he not still mourning the woman he had been married to for seventy years, he might be interested.

"No, it's still on backorder. We do however offer flavored coffee," the still unnamed waitress said as she too looked at the man in front of her, and found him very attractive. Then she listed the flavors they had, what pastries they were serving today and waited for him to decide. "I'm Vicky, by the way," she offered her name.

"My name is Hydrus," he said with a polite smile, not wanting to lead her on "and I'll take a large hazelnut coffee, no cream or sugar, and some of that marvelous chocolate cake."

"I'll be right back," she said and went to get his order. She didn't sway like Colette, but she did have some very nice hips and arse, in Hydrus' opinion.

He looked over at the sultry brunette, who was ringing up a customer, and noted she was just as beautiful. He turned his attention away, looking for something to occupy his time. He figured out right quick that these two new women were the ones Lily was going to try and set someone up with. He really hoped it wasn't him, he wasn't ready yet, so he'd just sit back and watch for now. They were good looking women and he was a healthy male.

There was a copy of The Times on the table, so he picked it up and read all about their ventures at the Ministry ball the night before. He admired the pictures of the Potters, and other rich and famous people, and read the columns, which were short bios on everyone depicted.

Vicky came back and placed his order on the table. "Here you go," she said with a brilliant smile as he placed the tall paper cup and a small plate in front of him.

"Thanks, Vicky. Hey, can you do me a favor and let Lily know that Hydrus is here?" he asked politely.

"Sure, she's a little busy right now, but I'll tell her," the waitress said with a wink and then she went to the next table to get an order.

Hydrus watched the view for a minute and then went back to the paper. There was an article that said that Crouch was losing support. It seemed as if he degraded Lily at the shindig last night to some of the Black family, who voiced their annoyance loud enough for the reporter to have caught it and didn't like it. This made him laugh softly.

Sirius came in and joined him. "So what's got you chuckling?" he asked as he sat, holding up a hand to flag down a waitress.

Colette saw him, gave him a wink and sashayed to the table. "Hello, handsome, what can I get you today?" she purred.

"Hey, beautiful, I'd like a cup of Earl Grey and a blueberry scone," Sirius said with a vivid smile.

"You got it." Both men watched as she walked away.

Hydrus chuckled at the byplay and answered Sirius's question. "Well, it seems ole Barty made a derogatory comment to the cousins about Lily last night and they took offence." He ruffled the paper and showed Sirius the article.

"Hmmm, I think I'm going to have to speak to him about that. I've tried before, since I am the Head of the family, but he just waves me off. I'm going to have to be firmer," the younger Black said, rubbing his goatee. He knew he couldn't shut the man up, but he would voice his opinion, loudly if necessary.

Colette came back with tea and scone, put them on the table, gave Sirius another wink and left.

"You dog you," the immortal said, still chortling. "Two women at once?" he snickered as he waggled his eyebrows at the lady's man.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Sirius sniffed and took a sip of his tea.

"Yeah, right, I saw the little redhead you danced the night away with and now you're flirting with someone who was probably brought in by Lily," was the rebuttal.

"Do you really think so?" the younger Black replied with wide grey eyes. He glanced at the willowy brunette and then got a leer on his face. "Well, at least this time she picked a looker." He shrugged it off and started in on his scone.

After a few minutes, Remus joined them. He had hoped to find them here, since he wanted to talk to Hydrus and this is where the time traveller usually took lunch. He grabbed a chair, sat at the table, flagged down Vicky and ordered some tea.

"Hydrus," the werewolf started with hesitation, "I know I have been standoffish to you, but I talked to James this morning and I was hoping we could start over again." There was a look of mild desperation in his eyes. He really did not want to make the Marauders have to choose between them.

Sirius tensed up, holding the paper tight enough for it to wrinkle. He would remain quiet and let these two hash it out.

"Remus, I know what you think of me and I do understand that your moral compass isn't the same as mine. I've said it before, and I'll say it again, keep your opinions to yourself and we'll get along fine," Hydrus answered with a bit of force.

"I will try," the werewolf said and took a sip of his tea. "James said that, maybe, once the Ministry has calmed down, you might give the Death Eaters a trial?" he said with a great deal of hope in his voice.

"We'll see," was all the answer he got.

The werewolf nodded, resigned, but not wanting to argue. He was going to keep his word to James.

"So what are you guys doing the rest of the day?" Sirius asked, trying to lighten the mood.

And the three fell into a polite discussion on the two men's businesses and how the Christmas rush affected the stores. They talked all through lunch and Vicky and Colette took turns waiting on the table, each wondering which one was the immortal, well, Vicky was, Colette ruled out Remus really quick, since she knew right away he was a werewolf.

James joined them and the males of the family fell into quietly talking about Walburga. Lily had been too busy to come and chat, but she stopped at the table, gave a hello kiss to James, a verbal one to the other men and then had to go back to work.

When lunch time was over the four men parted and went about their day, stating they'd meet tonight at the Potters.

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They did meet up at the house, after a long day of politicking and business. They had Italian takeaway, which Harry loved, since it involved his favorite food, which was cheese, that and it made quite a mess, evident by the sauce in his hair and the pasta in his fist.

"We either need to hire a house elf, or have someone come and cook dinner," Lily stated, tired of takeout.

"Or James could learn to cook," Hydrus said with a chuckle.

"No!" three voices all but shouted, making said man state loudly, "Oi!" and little Harry laugh.

"Why?" the confused immortal asked.

"James is a horrible cook," Sirius said with a full body shudder. "We let him cook twice and both times we all got food poisoning." Those were memorable nights. The other two nodded their heads.

James huffed and folded his arms and pouted.

"Right, well, Kreacher is not free and he won't work for you guys unless I order him too, and I'm not going to. And I like Tippy too much to give her up. So you'll have to buy an elf and free them. Hey, Sirius, see if Narcissa will sell you Dobby," he said, just now remembering the hyper little elf.

"I can do that," Sirius said with a nod, "She hates that elf."

"Who's Dobby?" Lily asked.

"He was my friend in my first timeline and we hired him for the orphanage in the last one. He's a good elf if a bit hyper. He adored Harry and he likes being free," the immortal explained. Hoping his little elf friend still liked Harry, even if he wasn't the Boy-Who-Lived. For all he knew, the excitable Dobby might turn his attention to the Witch-Who-Vanquished; still he'd be in the family and away from the Malfoys.

"Right, Sirius, you do that and let me know, okay?" the redhead said. Even though she didn't like using house elves, the house was becoming a mess and she and James had little time to tend to it and they really couldn't hire anyone with the Fidelius in place. Besides, he would be a free one and paid. She would have to see if there was any place to make a small bedroom, maybe they could corner off part of the mudroom or one of the less used bigger closets. From what little she knew about house elves, they liked to sleep in small spaces.

Sirius nodded and they finished dinner. Lily put Harry to bed and joined the men, who were playing a war game. She waited until someone won, reading her book-reader. When James shouted in victory, she put her reader down and said, "I think; I'm not sure, but I think, I know who Walburga is working with."

"Why didn't you say something sooner?" Hydrus asked with a tilt of his head.

"Well, I'm not positive about it. I'm only going on the clues, but I think, I know who it is, just from the few clues we do have. However, I didn't want to make accusations until something more concrete came along. The article in The Times helped me decide," she explained, tucking her hair behind her ear.

"You don't think it's Crouch, do you?" Hydrus asked. Though it made some sense, they had slighted the man in politics after all.

"Are you sure you're not just basing this on the fact that he's a bigot and doesn't like you?" James asked softly, taking up her hand. He too had read the article and he and Sirius tried to talk to the foul man, but he wasn't at the Ministry today.

"I don't know, maybe, but all the clues fit. You three have made his life hell in the political arena by not backing him. He is family and many of the Blacks have turned their back on him. That and he is missing a son, who you accused of being a Death Eater," Lily answered, putting up a finger for each point.

"All good and valid points, but I just don't see that man throwing around deadly curses. From what I know of him, he doesn't have that much magical power," Hydrus said, remembering what little he knew about Crouch.

"He was strong enough to keep his son under the Imperius for years. As you already pointed out. I wouldn't underestimate him if I were you," Lily snapped, her thoughts turning to his recent death.

"You're right, I do tend to underestimate people. Okay, say he is the backer, how do we get proof?" he asked, holding up his hands to ward off her anger.

She slumped and said, "I don't know."

"Besides, from what I understand, Yaxley was going to see Arcturus that night. So it is more than likely him," Hydrus offered an alternative.

"I've looked into that and he has alibis," was Sirius's rebuttal.

"Right you told me that," the immortal said sheepishly. "Still, with magic alibis are easily come by," he argued.

They fell into a small discussion on which man was more likely.

"Hydrus, what did you do with Skeeter?" Sirius asked after about five minutes of that debate.

"That's right, I didn't tell you guys, I let her go last night," Hydrus answered. Then he told them what he had done.

"How does that help us?" Remus asked confused.

"She's a beetle Animagus. She can get into anywhere as long as it's not warded. I have tons of blackmail on her and I made her take vows. So, she's now employed by me, plus she'll be working for The Times," the time traveller explained.

"Good, good. You get with her tomorrow and sic her on Crouch and Yaxley. See if she can find out if Lily is correct or you are," James said, getting up from the sofa and pulling his wife up with him. "I'm going to put my lovely wife to bed, see yourselves out, will you?"

"Right," came the answer from all three men as they too got up from their seats, donned jackets and headed towards the door.

"See you tomorrow, Prongs," Sirius called as he walked out the door to his sports car. Hydrus offered Remus a ride, and all three went home.

"Bye," Lily called back as the door shut and locked and then she was guided up the stairs.

Everyone went to bed that night, thinking about what Lily and Hydrus had said and weighing who was right or not.