"Without a hitch," Sirius said between chuckles and told him what they did, causing the other man to join in on their merriment.
"They'll grab all the dogs and put them in the shelter. Since they are purebreds they shouldn't have a hard time adopting them out. Then hopefully they'll investigate her puppy farm and lock her up," Hydrus added smugly. He was glad to see that that woman would get her comeuppance.
His thoughts wandered to the Dursleys who had disappeared from Britain. His detectives trailed them to America. They were still fearful of the magicals hunting them down and were unlisted. The only way they had been tracked was that Vernon didn't change companies, he simply asked for a transfer—idiot. The immortal was once again thankful that Dumbledore was under the impression that Harry was still with them here in Britain. Those monitoring charms were a godsend, they, along with the pictures Sirius showed and the Fidelius Charm, made the story believable. Still, he'd keep an eye on them, just in case.
A little while later all the men made their way to their beds. One down, two to go, Hydrus thought as he went to sleep.
The next morning there was a report in the local paper for Marge's area, which showed that over twenty dogs were taken by Animal Control, thankfully no one was bitten. Marge Dursley was arrested for having an illegal puppy farm and animal cruelty.
The week passed and soon it was Harry's birthday. Since the house was hidden they couldn't have the party there, so they went to the London Zoo, with some of the children from daycare and their parents. So it was a group of seven tots and eleven adults that traipsed the zoo that day. They kept it small, because chasing a bunch of toddlers was tiring and seven was the limit they felt they could handle.
"Uncle Padfoot, look pony," Harry said pointing at the elephant.
"That's an elephant, Harry," Sirius gently corrected, picking the boy up and placing him on his hip.
"Elfant," Harry tried the word.
"El a fant," Hydrus said, sounding it out.
"Elapant," was the next try.
"Close enough," Remus said mussing the toddler's hair.
And so it went with every exhibit, Harry and his little friends learned a lot of animal names that day and a large party was held in the family restaurant. The children enjoyed the lunch of burgers, chips and fizzy drinks, much to the concern of the adults. Then a large chocolate cake was brought out and Happy Birthday was sung by the parents and the staff, with the help of the off-key older children. Presents were nice, mostly toys to help with learning, but Harry, being the inquisitive child he was, liked them all. It was a good thing they held the party last, because now they could send all the sugar high children home and only have to worry about Harry. Judging from the looks they were receiving there would be payback.
That night the adults stayed up and had a few drinks to celebrate Hydrus's birthday. They talked about their good times in Hogwarts and the past gifts received from friends, as well as birthday pranks the Marauders did to each other. The immortal was content with that. He figured he'd stop celebrating when he got a bit older, it'd get tiring trying to remember how old he was after 100.
One weekday, during the first week of August, Hydrus snuck in the Ministry under his Cloak. He made his way to the Improper Use of Magic Office and watched the toad like woman gleefully send out missives. From the look on her fat face they were probably sent to Muggle-borns.
He crept behind her desk and stunned her. Then using the Elder Wand, so it would last until he broke it, he quickly turned her into a chamber pot and put her in his pocketspace. He'd have to figure out what to do with her later, but for now she was out of the way. Clearing any sign of him he left the office.
He had no idea where her father was, he disappeared a week ago. His investigators said that Mr. Umbridge was paid off by Dolores, since he would hinder her chances of moving up in the Ministry. Hydrus brushed the man aside for now, but would keep an eye open for him. Anyone spouting Pure-blood supremacy needed to be watched.
Making his way quickly out of the building, he moved to get to his shop, where everyone thought he was going over paperwork in his office. He got to the office and pulled off his Cloak and seated himself behind the desk, just in time for his manager to enter.
"Ah, Mr. Black, I have been meaning to talk with you. It seems some of our customers wish to have a wider variety of movies. Some of the Muggle-raised would like— what did they call them? — oh, yes, science fiction," Mr. Parker said when he entered, taking a seat across from his employer.
"I don't see any issue with that, talk to the distributors and see what they have. It'll be interesting to see what magicals make of the Star Wars movies," he answered with a chuckle. Those American films had some good special effects for this time period. He should start carrying a wider selection of movies, now that the Disney ones had been so well received. Maybe he should open a store just for videos, something to think about. Or I could sell that idea to Frostwell, no, movies weren't gizmos, well, maybe, I'll think of something. "Keep only a few for now; we don't really have the space for more than fifty. So stick to best sellers," he said as an afterthought.
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