He called all the items forth and using the Elder Wand, he cleansed them of everything having to do with him; magic, fingerprints and so on. Conjuring a box and levitating the artifacts to it, he cleansed his magic once more, donned a non-magical disguise, cleared his departure with Tippy, went to Diagon Alley and posted the package.
When he returned to the house and after removing his disguise, the time traveler checked on Harry. The boy was up and eating his lunch of grilled cheese sandwich and crisps. So Hydrus made a roast beef sandwich and joined him.
"Harry, when you're done with your sandwich, we're going to go and clean your room," Hydrus said firmly.
"But, why?" the confused child asked. He liked his room the way it was. He knew where everything was and didn't see the need to clean. Uncle Padfoot never made him put stuff away.
"Because, if you keep your toys on the floor, especially the electronic ones, you could step on them and break them. If that happens then I'm not going to replace them," his eldest uncle warned, with a very stern look. "I work very hard at making those things for you and I don't want to have to take them away."
"Oh," Harry said nodding his understanding. He didn't want to lose his toys, they were too fun to play with and he was learning loads of interesting things. He knew how to spell all sorts of words now.
"If you keep up your room then maybe I'll let you help me in my lab," the immortal offered. There were little things the tyke could do to help. Even if it was holding something still while Hydrus worked on it. From what he had read, children this age loved to help.
"Really?" the green-eyed boy asked. It would mean he really was a big boy, to help in the lab. He wasn't even allowed to go in there. He tried, but his Uncle Hydrus made it so little boys couldn't open the door.
"Yes, really," Hydrus said, patting the child on the head and turning back to his sandwich.
So the two finished their lunch and went to clean the youngster's room. It was easy to tell Harry where to put things as Hydrus floated a few to the space they belong and the boy put the rest away. In short order the room was straightened and Harry promised to not let it get that messy again.
They then went to the lab and Hydrus let Harry hold his holly wand with a Lumos so that he could see inside the toy he was making. Harry was ecstatic and watched his uncle very carefully. He wanted to do this when he was all grownup. They worked in the lab for about an hour, doing little toys and one easy potion. They both left the room with great satisfaction. Hydrus warned Harry that he couldn't come to the lab alone and only if his room was clean.
Three days later, The Times headline read:
Lost Artifacts of the Founders Returned
The story told about how an unknown alumnus returned the artifacts to the Headmaster. Dumbledore did indeed set up a display in the Great Hall; he even included the Gryffindor sword. Parents and alumni herded to the castle, only to be told they must return on the weekend as to not disturb classes. It also was read that a great deal of security was around the artifacts at all times. There was a picture of the historical items on the front page. Each one had a placard under it with the story behind them. They were direct quotes from the ghosts. Side articles about the spirits' history were posted. Now everyone knew why the Bloody Baron was… bloody and who the Grey Lady was, plus the grim story of the death of those two.
"Wow, I didn't actually think he'd let it be known," Hydrus said in surprise as he placed the paper down. "I'm even more surprised that he got the stories from the House ghosts."
"Why? I would think that all the kids would write their parents anyway. Besides, Dumbledore has no pull with The Times," Remus said as he picked up the paper to read it for himself. "I am a bit surprised at the House ghosts' articles as well."
"Yeah, but in all the years I attended Hogwarts very few of my exploits ever made it to the paper, and it was usually the bad things, like me being a parselmouth. That's why rumor was so easily believed," the time traveler explained, leaning back on the sofa. He still didn't know if young Harry was a parselmouth or not, maybe they got the horcrux out soon enough that the language didn't stick. He'd have to test that soon.
"Like Remus said, the Headmaster doesn't have anything to do with The Times," Sirius said, waiting for Remus to finish the paper so he could read the sports section.
"I guess," Hydrus conceded, thinking once again that he should write the Board of Governors. If they didn't do anything this time, he'd write The Times and they could question why such a treasure trove of valuables was being ignored. From the stuff that was still in his pocketspace, Hydrus knew they would find little things of the Founders and Merlin in there.
"Hey, Moony, are you done with the sports section? I want to check on the Harpies," Sirius whined impatiently.
"Here you go, you big baby," the werewolf said, handing the section over to the dogman.
Hydrus smacked himself on the head, making the other two men look at him funny. "I can't believe I forgot. Hey, Sirius, you're still in good with the goblins, right?" he asked.
"Yeah, why?" came the wary inquiry. Anything to do with Gringotts was a touchy subject with the immortal.
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