Chapter 16 Moving Along

The next day at the Potters, while finishing a full English breakfast, James turned to the older Black and asked, "Hydrus, what are we supposed to do with all our family heirlooms? Now that we've cleared the vaults from Gringotts, we don't have any place to store them. Well, they are all in my pocketspace right now, but I don't want to leave them there." Well, he had the manor, but he didn't want to store them there, it still stirred up too many memories. He didn't want to keep them in the pocketspace, because if for some reason he died, they'd be lost.

"Yeah, I was wondering the same thing. Some of that shite is pretty valuable and I don't see keeping it in my pocketspace either. What if I die? Then it will all be buried with me and lost to whoever is my heir," Sirius added, echoing James' thought.

Right now, Harry was his heir, but if things started looking up with the two women, he had his eye on, maybe he'd get kids of his own. He had never thought about that before, but seeing the Potters' happy family, with one more on the way, he was thinking more and more about settling down. He finished his eggs and got hit on the head by Lily.

"Language," the redhead snapped, glancing at the busy Harry, who was trying to use his spoon to scoop up some beans. The toddler would get his bite halfway to his mouth, then the spoon would tilt and they would drop back on his plate. Lily leaned over and helped him guide his hand to his mouth, with only a few beans on the spoon. When he finally got something there, he smiled and they leaked right over his chin, but that was okay. Lily smiled back and Dobby popped over and handed her a wet flannel, which she promptly used.

"Sorry," the youngest Black said and then turned his attention back to the older Black.

"Oh, didn't I mention the safety deposit boxes?" Hydrus asked, looking between the two men.

"What's a safety deposit box?" was the curious answer from three different voices.

"Well, it's like a miniature vault. There will be a room with tons of these… well, crystals that will have the pocketspace on them. Each crystal will be stored in a small drawer, which will be numbered and have a key and a magical signature lock. There is a fee for each box. They are password protected and only you or your family can access them. You take the crystal into a large room and empty it and then you can view what's in the 'box'," he explained, taking a bite of bacon.

"No, you didn't mention that," James mildly chastised. He was then hit with another thought, "I was wondering if we could showcase some of the older things that have been sitting around gathering dust in the vaults. Some of those items are really historical and it's a shame that they aren't shared." Picturing what he had in mind. It would be a beautiful building and they had plenty of empty businesses in Diagon Alley. All they had to do was gut a few and make a large showcase.

"Like a museum?" the immortal asked. It was an idea he had puttered around with. "I have a few things that would bring customers in," he hedged and then pulled out the diadem.

"Isn't that Rowena Ravenclaws tiara?" Lily gasped as she dropped the flannel that she was using to wipe Harry's face.

"Yeah," was the sheepish answer. He put the diadem on the table and everyone admired the beauty of the piece.

A raven's head topped the crown with jeweled and gold wing shaping downward; a large sapphire was in the middle and etched upon the diadem's surface was Ravenclaw's famous quote: "Wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure."

"I thought it was lost," Remus said in not quite a questioning tone. He reached out to touch the treasure and then pulled his hand back, thinking he was unworthy. So he looked on with awe and read the quote with a nod of his head at the wisdom.

"Tom used it for a horcrux," Hydrus explained as he picked it up and put it back in his space.

The group gasped at the blasphemy.

The time traveler scoffed, "You're surprised? After all he did use Helga's cup."

With that they all nodded and were glad that the time traveler could remove such taint without destroying the artifacts.

"How did he find it?" Lily asked, "It's been lost for centuries."

"He got the location from Helena, the daughter of Rowena, and corrupted it," he shrugged as if it were no big thing, but then again, he'd known about it for over seventy years.

"How did you know that?" she inquired as she removed the now clean tot from his chair. They all got up from the table and made their way to the living room.

Dobby would take care of the dishes. That little house elf was Merlin sent. Lily loved the little guy and he was devoted to her. According to him, she made all the lives of house elves better by ridding the world of He Who Must Not Be Named. Dobby was also taken with little Harry, much to everyone's relief.

"She told me when I was hunting them in my first timeline," the immortal said with another shrug.

"Oh, how did you meet her?" was Remus' question.

"She's the Grey Lady of Ravenclaw," Hydrus said as he settled into his chair.

"You mean to tell me that the daughter of Rowena Ravenclaw has been at Hogwarts this entire time and we did not know?" the werewolf asked, awestruck as he sat carefully in his regular place on the sofa.

Lily put Harry on the floor with his bunny and sat on the sofa to hear what Hydrus had to say. James and Sirius had already taken their seats, but weren't quite as interested in the woes of the famous ghost.

"Oh yeah. So is her murderer," Hydrus stated, causing everyone's head to snap in his direction.

"What?!" was the chorused response.

"Yeah, I can't believe you guys don't know all this. I thought you talked to the ghosts when you were students." He looked to the Marauders with a raise of his eyebrow.

"Well," Sirius said, rubbing his goatee, "we mostly talked to Peeves. The rest of the ghosts really couldn't do anything but be lookout, and they all stated they weren't going to help us break the rules. So, yeah, we didn't really talk to them much. Besides, it's a well-known fact that the Grey Lady doesn't talk to anyone. I'm surprised she talked to you," he finished with a questioning tone.

"Well, I kinda tricked her into it," Hydrus stated, rubbing the back of his head.

"Who is her murderer?" Lily asked eagerly, leaning forward to hear the answer to the question that always bugged her about that particular story.

"The Bloody Baron," Hydrus answered and then went on to tell of the tale of romance and betrayal of the two ghosts. "When Helena stole the diadem from her mum, she ran to the woods of Albania. Rowena fell ill and tasked the Bloody Baron, who loved Helena, to go and bring her back, so she could see her one last time. When Helena refused, he killed her and then stabbed himself with the same knife." He grimaced at the story of the two. He remember when the tale got out in the last timeline, some women found it romantic. He didn't see it as such and thought those women barmy.

"That sounds like something straight out of a romance novel," Lily stated with a thoughtful look in her eyes, making Hydrus cringe that the redhead would think it so.

"A murder/suicide is not romantic," Sirius said with a shake of his head.

"Oh, I don't mean that I think it is, just that there are some stories that would depict it as such," she assured the men, causing them to sigh with relief.

"Anyway, what else do you have squirreled away in that pocketspace of yours? I know you have the Hufflepuff cup and Slytherin's locket. Do you have anything from Gryffindor?" Sirius asked, almost bouncing in his chair at the thought.

"Sorry, no, but I know where we can get stuff from Merlin," Hydrus stated with a mischievous look in his eyes.

"What?!" came the chorus of four adult voices, making little Harry look at them with a tilt of his tiny head, then he went back to his bunny.

"Well, if I tell you I don't want to hear anything about morals," he cut a glare to Remus, who just shook his head that he would stay silent. "Okay, good. Besides, we'll make it right, but, in my last timeline Hogwarts showcased something from all the founders and Merlin. However a school really isn't a place for that kind of stuff. Too many people missed out on seeing them, since they could only go there when class wasn't in session," he explained. He never did write the Board and now he had some pretty neat plans on what to do with that treasure.

"What can we do? Where is this treasure?" Sirius asked, still jumping in his seat.

"Well, I was thinking we clear out the Room of Requirements and then make a hefty donation to Hogwarts to cover everything we take," the immortal said with a wicked smile playing on his lips. "I have plenty of gold for that and you guys can contribute."

Remus slightly deflated, knowing he really couldn't add to whatever his rich friends could. Maybe he could offer his services to help sort everything.

"We could set it up as a scholarship," Lily suggested, thinking of all the families they could help.

"That is a brilliant idea," Hydrus said with a bright smile.

"What's the Room of Requirements?" Sirius asked, confused.

"Yeah, I thought we knew every part of the castle and I don't remember a room by that name," James added.

"Judging from the map, you guys did really well at uncovering most of the hidden rooms and passages, but the Room of Requirements won't show on the map. Think of it as not being in this… reality… no… plane… well, it really exists alongside, yet within, the castle. It's a space next to a space or something like that. Like a pocketspace, but it's a room," Hydrus tried to explain.

"So, like your crystals?" Lily asked, her brow furrowed in thought.

"Kinda, but with much more magic," the immortal said. "You can only get there if you pace in front of a wall, on the seventh floor, across from the picture of the dancing trolls. When you pace you think of what you want and then a door will appear," he explained. "It can be anything you want or need. But it's mostly illusion, I mean, if you create something in the room, using what it provides for you, you can't take it out of the room. However, there is a sort of Lost and Found there. The house elves store everything not claimed. It's huge."

The other adults all looked at each other, shrugged and then back at Hydrus. They had no idea what he was talking about.

When he saw their confused faces he added, "I'll take you there next Hogsmeade weekend. We'll clear it out and then sort through it, but we're going to need the house elves' help," he suggested, rubbing his hands together in anticipation.

He already had everything in his pocketspace, but to have this timeline's stuff be showcased would be good. He'd have to empty his space and clear it out of duplicates. Maybe use one of the safety deposit boxes.

"Well, seeing how it is Friday, I need to get to work," Lily said as she gathered up Harry and turned to Hydrus. "Are you going to the Mall? I could use a ride." She started putting toys in her pocketspace.

"Yeah, I'll drop you off, but we really need to get you guys a car." He pointed to James and Remus. "Those CCTV cameras will be up sooner than you think, so Apparating will have to stop or at least be more discrete. James, when are you going to tell the Wizengamot about them and the satellites?" Hydrus asked as he stood and went to the door and put on his coat.

"Right, I forgot about them," James said thoughtfully. "When Smeller gets into office, which should be sometime next week, I'll talk to him about them. Do we have any proof they'll be putting them up?" he asked as he too got ready for his day.

"I'll get you some tonight," Hydrus offered, thinking he could hack the computers and print out the bill. He did wonder if he could get images off the military satellites to prove they could see everything. "Come on, Lily, I'll get you to work."

The next day James and Remus went to get cars. Remus finally paid back Hydrus and now had enough money to get a small car. They went to the Audi dealership and James bought an Audi 5000 and Remus got an Audi Metro. They were both quite happy with their purchases and thankful that Lily had taken the time to make them learn to drive and get licenses.

They drove them to the Potter home and everyone congratulated them on their selection, though Sirius asked, "Why didn't you shop around more?"

"Well, we got to the dealership and saw these two and they were within our price range, so we figured, why take more time away from the family when they were right there," James explained, knowing Sirius was wondering why he didn't get a sports car like his.

"This one is just what I need, room for four, if I have to drive my employees home, and economical," was Remus's answer.

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The next week flew by in a slew of parties and business. The reason they partied was Smeller getting into office and Hydrus advertising his credit union. The party for Smeller was large; all of the Wizengamot were there as well as many of the well-wishers. It went on well into the night and everyone went home tired, but happy about the outcome of the election. With Crouch out of the picture it was an easy victory, but a win nonetheless.

There was now a table in front of the 'bank' that had the pamphlets and applications. There was a warning not to empty vaults until you knew you had been accepted. There were guidelines of who could and who couldn't open an account, with reasons stated for the restrictions. Right now, the only people who could get an account were those that had jobs, so Sirius had to get a part-time job at Fun For All Pranks, which he didn't mind. James was hired on at Lily's Book Corner. Remus's store was his job.

Independently wealthy people, who were not employed, couldn't get an account. The Wizengamot wasn't considered a job, since they only worked when called and had no set hours. While that is a job per se, it isn't enough to be considered secure income. There was much complaining about that, but the rules of the Black Credit Union were clear. It was one of the things that set it apart from a bank, which took everyone.

The goblins sent representatives to Mr. Jasper demanding that the credit union be closed. He told them they were not breaking the word of the treaty and were within the law. They threatened to take him and his client to court and he politely smiled and said, "Go for it." They left in a huff, with threats being thrown as they made their way out the door.

More representatives were sent to the Wizengamot demanding the law be changed, but Smeller stated that they weren't going to change laws just because a loophole had been found in the treaty. He told them that if they rioted they would be met with deadly force. He had already upped the funds for the DMLE and told them to start training in case the goblins revolted.

Tensions were high and the customer service at Gringotts got worse. More and more magicals were thinking of taking their money out of the bank and either storing it in their home or going abroad. The few that were accepted into Black Credit Union pulled their money out quickly and never looked back. The goblins didn't realize they were the sole cause of their plight. If they hadn't reacted violently then more people would have kept their vaults.

Hydrus ignored it all and went about his business. He still had entertainment places to open in Diagon Alley and he wasn't going to let the goblins stem his creativity. The buildings were rezoned for both business and residential. So the business was on the ground floor while flats were open on top.

The apartments were filling up quickly since they were reasonably priced. Many couples or small families were happy to be back in the magical world.

He and Lily opened a bowling alley and an ice-skating rink.

There was one building that was one bedroom and studios, which Rita promptly rented one of.

The appliance and video stores were overrun with customers wanting to outfit the new flats with the modern day wares. TVs, VCRs, movies and other entertainment items quickly flew off the selves. The newer refrigerators also were snatched up. Microwaves and stoves were bought. The dishwashers were considered Merlin sent and also were hastily purchased.

Lily opened a low cost daycare in Diagon Alley. It was a medium sized building, with areas for book reading, naps, eating and playing. An educational area was simply a large table with a hole in the middle for crayons, where the children would learn their alphabet, numbers and how to spell their name.

There were pamphlets displayed to show the non-magical schools in the area. They showed how to get the paperwork, how to enroll your child and what was needed in terms of clothes and school supplies. There were even some pre-schools listed, though those weren't free. Many people took these booklets and were thinking of the benefits of not having to home school their children. Then maybe they could work outside the home, with so many businesses opening there was plenty of jobs for the mums. A few of the women already worked here at the daycare.

Hydrus had gotten the proof they needed to convince Smeller that non-magicals were very close to revealing the magical world. James and Sirius were taking it up with the Wizengamot. After much yelling and denial, they set up a committee to see what could be done. Sirius was part of that group and he would use Hydrus's… past… future—whatever, memories to help them.

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It was the first Hogsmeade weekend after the Christmas break and Hydrus, Sirius, Remus and James were sneaking into the castle. Dumbledore wasn't present; he was actually at the ICW to tell them about the CCTV cameras, so other countries didn't get caught flatfooted. And like last time he was also encouraging them to open orphanages and daycares. So the three men were free and clear to get to the ROR, they each had a map and an invisibility cloak to ensure that they weren't caught. They made their way to the blank wall and Hydrus paced and called up the Room of Hidden Things.

"Wow, how could we not know this was here?" Sirius asked when he saw the room full of junk and treasure. His hands itched and his mind whirled about what could be found in those heaps of junk.

"I don't know," James answered in a whisper. He too was going over the many things that were hidden in this marvelous room.

"To think of all of the missed opportunities," Remus stated, looking at all the gizmos scattered around the room. His arms jerked thinking about claiming all the books, though he knew they would not be his.

"You never asked the house elves," was Hydrus's smug reply. "Well, let's get this empty and we can get out of here. I don't want to be here if Dumbledore gets back." He started loading up things in his pocketspace.

The three younger men nodded in agreement and they made quick work of emptying it and hastened out of the castle. They popped back to Hydrus's home and were now standing in his back garden. Tippy, Dobby and Kreacher were there as well.

"This is going to take a while. Probably about a month if we only do it in a few hours at a time, but trust me it will be well worth it in the end," Hydrus said, as he emptied part of his pocketspace. "Tippy, Dobby, I need you guys to banish all the junk that can't be fixed. Kreacher, Remus, you get all the books that are in good shape together and put aside any diaries you find. We might try and find the families, if not they can go into the museum. Sirius, you gather all the Dark stuff and put it in this Mokeskin pouch. James, you and me are going to go through the rest and see what can be showcased," he rattled off orders, which the others jumped to.

They worked for hours and got only a small portion of the pile done, but they couldn't afford to stay longer as they all had places they had to be. So Hydrus told the house elves to work on it in their spare time, and since the Potters and he tended to clean up after themselves, the elves had plenty of free time, much to their disapproval.

Hydrus went to the mall and closed off another storefront near Fun For All Gizmos. People were looking at it and gossip started on what the elder Black was up to now. They were already excited over the credit union and there was talk of more opening. There was even mention of something called a Savings and Loan, which wasn't as restrictive as a Credit Union. More of the Diagon Alley storefronts were being bought to house these endeavors. Even though there were many that were worried if the goblins took up arms, more and more of them were ready to fight for their rights to keep their gold where they wanted.

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A few weeks later, the Potter/Black scholarship was funded with a very large sum. It was such a big scholarship that it could put all the Weasleys through school for all seven years and then some. It was set up for lower income magicals, be they born to wizards or not, the only requirement, besides gross income, was that grades must be maintained to an average or above level. The Weasleys were ecstatic, though they were doing well they still had to watch their money. With seven kids to feed and an old house to maintain, they pinched every Knut. Many applications were filled out the day it was announced.

Within those weeks, the Diagon Alley Museum was opened, since it really didn't need that much construction. It opened were Madam Malkin's used to be. The wards were the same intent wards that were on the orphanage, almost. If you meant harm to anyone, or anything, you would be in for a nasty shock. Hydrus made sure to post this in big bold letters on the top of the building, much like the warning on Gringotts, only without the rhyming. In big bold red letters the sign read:

WARNING: Wards are in place to protect this building and all in it. This establishment is not responsible for any damage to those who try and harm anything or anyone within. Thieves you have been warned.

The floor plan was simple; they just gutted the building, added a white marble floor with black outline and grey pathways, white walls, huge widows with the sunshine spell, glass cases and black marble pedestals. On the very back wall there was an enormous display of three of the Founders' items and Merlin's diary. There were placards explaining what each item was, where it originated and a fabricated story of how it was found.

The rest of the museum depicted lost articles of the Potters and the Blacks, diaries of former students of Hogwarts, some as old as the castle itself. The guide they hired was well versed in what each item was, what the diaries said, since they were written in old languages, and how everything was used in history.

They had returned a lot of the old diaries to families that were still around. Many people were overjoyed to get lost relics of their ancestors, now they could research their family history better and understand days gone by. History books started being sold to unravel the fairytales about those that were depicted as bad people in the past.

Applications were on display for if people wanted to showcase some of their artifacts. They had to be in good condition and a waiver had to be signed in case of theft. A history must accompany the item and it had to be verified.

The Black relicts were Dark and had bleak histories to them and many wondered why they were there. Hydrus, when asked in an interview, stated, "History isn't all sunshine and roses. People needed to know there are two sides to every story and they can't learn if they forget. So, we, James, Sirius and I, wanted to show both sides of history."

The headline of The Times read:

Lost History Found, Is What We Know Fact?

The article that followed was about the museum and what was there. They told of the diaries of the students that talked about Hogwarts so many years ago. It went on to expound on the lost relics and told the story of the missing Founders' items. The story of the Grey Lady and the Bloody Baron was also posted. There were hints in the article that maybe some of the old classes should be brought back. It was a good piece.

The Daily Prophet ran the headline:

Hydrus Black, Collector or Thief?

This article all but accused Hydrus of robbing Gringotts, where they stated all these 'lost items' were kept. They couldn't prove it and the goblins weren't talking. As much as they wanted to accuse that man of stealing from them, they didn't want that black mark on the already failing bank.

The Times rebutted, stating that the relicts were found on one of Mr. Black's properties and he could prove it. The two papers fought back and forth for days, until Sirius leaked the news about the CCTV cameras, now there was a bigger debate. Rita was having a field day. Since her report on Crouch Jr. she was top reporter.

The Minister came to the museum a week after it opened and asked Hydrus about where he found the lost items.

"I found them in a locked room," was his answer.

"A locked room? Where?" Smeller asked as he folded his hands across his belly. He was a stocky middle aged man, with a slight bulging tummy. Not quite fat, but he was getting there. His calm demeanor was a whole lot better than Fudge's and Crouch's. You could tell he was simply curious and not demeaning.

"Well, I was looking in one of the Death Eaters mansions that I purchased, the Lestranges'. I was going to change it into a bed and breakfast for muggles, but I had to clear out all the magical stuff and get it up to non-magical code. So, I was exploring and found this room, which I believe was a storage room for the Dark Lord, and there it all was. I have no idea where he found it all," he lied.

It was a story they had come up with, blame it all on Riddle, which in part was true. The man had found the Founders' items. Hydrus had actually purchased the Lestrange manor, when Sirius kicked them out of the family, so he had proof that it was now his.

"Why didn't you turn it over to the Ministry?" Smeller asked with a tilt of his head. It would have been a great boon for his campaign if he was in on the story.

"Why would I do that? It was my stuff; I bought it fair and square. It's not like I'm hoarding it. Everyone can now see what was there. If you want, I can share most the books and Dark stuff I found," Hydrus compromised, knowing that though Smeller was a good man, he was a politician.

"You'll hand all the Dark items to the Department of Mysteries?" was the inquiry.

"Sure, I don't have any use for them. Give me a day to get them all put together and I'll have my cousin, Sirius, drop them off." He shrugged; it wasn't any skin off his nose.

The next day, Sirius dropped two Mokeskin bags off at the Department of Mysteries with the comment for them to 'have fun.' They already sorted the books and all but the diaries were given to the Ministry. They had them all downloaded on their laptops anyway.

In all the time that passed, Mrs. Black wasn't heard from. They could only hope that she dropped dead from her injuries. Crouch had also disappeared and many wondered if he had left the country, though his wife was still seen at St. Mungo's for treatment. When asked, she told them that her husband was fine; he was just getting over his losses. Yaxley also disappeared and rumors were starting that Walburga was recruiting for a war.

"Hydrus," Lily said tentatively, not wanting to sound accusatory, "do you know what happened to Yaxley?"

"Nope," was his casual answer. And he didn't, he had nothing to do with that disappearance.

"Oh, I was kinda hoping you did. Now we have no idea what he's up to," she stated, tucking her red hair behind her ear. They were sitting at a table in Lily's café drinking tea and chatting.

"Well, I guess we're going to have to find out," Hydrus said, thinking of sending spirits on him. He was sure that man had killed, so there had to be some vengeful ghosts who would haunt him.

Vicky came to the table. "Hi, Hydrus," she greeted and then turned to Lily. "Mrs. Potter, the espresso machine just arrived."

"That's wonderful," Lily said with glee as she got up from the table to go and sign for the delivery. She would modify it to work in the café and soon everyone would be a coffee addict. At that thought, she clapped her hands together and rubbed them, all the while manically laughing, causing customers to look at her. She all but ran to the back of the shop to get it all set up.

Hydrus chuckled at her antics and invited Vicky to sit. "So, how are things going with you, Vicky?" he asked, with a friendly smile.

"Great," she answered as she took the seat Lily vacated. "Valentine's Day is coming soon and this place will be busy. Do you have plans for that day?"

"Nay, still single, but if you want, you, me, Sirius and Colette can go and catch a movie," he offered in a friendly voice. "As friends, mind you, just a bunch of mates hanging out," he cautioned.

"That sounds great. I was worried that I would be spending the night alone. Let me go and ask Colette and you ask Sirius," Vicky said, getting up from the table.

Hydrus chuckled and then got up to pay his bill. He went to Fun For All Pranks and asked Sirius if he wanted to go with them to the movies.

"Well, I was trying to decide who I wanted to go out with that night, but that sounds like fun. Maybe, I can get to know Colette better," Sirius said, rubbing his goatee. He had been debating on whether to ask her or Laura out on a date, but a casual night with friends sounded better.