Hydrus put Harry down and told him to go wash for dinner. "No, we're on a wait and see basis right now. Something else came up," Hydrus answered after Harry left and called up the jar.
The two men breathed a sigh of relief and looked at the button in the jar. Hydrus shook his head and mouthed 'later'. Harry came running back into the room with still wet hands. "Let's see if there are any leftovers from the picnic and have dinner. It's been a stressful day," he said, putting the jar back where it came from, then summoning a dry flannel he dried the five year olds hands.
"Yay, cake," Harry said, running full tilt to the kitchen. "Tippy, do we have any cake left?" he yelled on the way.
The three men chuckled and followed the excited boy. They ate a meal of barbecued ribs and potato salad, with cake for afters. After cleaning up, they trooped back into the living room and gave Harry the rest of his presents. One was a Latin Learner, for colors, numbers and the alphabet. Hydrus would update it when Harry was ready to start spelling. Sirius and Remus stuck to children's toys. They sent Harry off to work off his sugar high and were once more sitting in their favorite chairs. Hydrus called the jar and put it on the table; he then cast silencing charms around it.
"It's Rita," the time traveler said, waving at the jar.
"Oh," was the duo reply.
"How did she find you? Was she looking for you or Harry? Was there anyone else?" Sirius fired off questions.
"I don't know which is why I brought Harry home right away. I don't think there was anyone else," Hydrus slumped in his seat. He had let his suspicion get away with him. But all he could think about at the time was to get Harry home. Now he had that… woman in his house. He did wonder how he got both Umbridge and Skeeter in the house without telling them the secret, maybe it was because they were both inanimate objects in his pocketspace. He was glad he wiped Dolores's mind before he handed her over. He'd do the same for Rita.
"What do you plan on doing with her?" Remus asked cautiously.
"Well, I thought we might erase her memory of this day, but I'm worried she might have notes for just that purpose. If she does then she'll work harder to get her story. I can break into her flat, but I have no idea where she lives, so that might not help. I could always leave her like that for now, but people would notice she's gone and unlike Umbridge they'll worry. I could blackmail her, like my Hermione did, but that always backfires in the end. So, I'm at a loss for the minute," the immortal confessed, running a hand down his face. He hated that he didn't know what to do.
"Take her out, put her on a chair, stun her, revert her to human form and find her purse. There might be an address in it," Sirius suggested, leaning forward and poking the jar.
Hydrus smacked himself on the head. So simple, he thought. So he did as suggested and found the handbag. He then reversed the process and checked for recording charms. There was one, so he did the counter spell and left her on the table.
The handbag was ugly; it was made of cloth and had green and purple swirls all over it. Hydrus turned it over the coffee table, but nothing came out. So he did what he did when he wanted to clean out the pocketspace and said, "Empty purse." Nothing happened, so he called up his shock gun, blasted the wards and spells and again said, "Empty purse." Quills, parchments, recording devices, small notebooks, makeup and other womanly products spilled from the bag.
The three men sorted through it quickly and found the address book they were looking for. However, her address wasn't in it. So they looked at other things and found a receipt for the rent, it appeared she lived in London on the non-magical side. That explains why they couldn't find her, if she was unlisted then she was hiding in plain sight. Though how she got away with wearing those hideous clothes in a non-magical area was a mystery. Her neighbors must think she's mental or color-blind.
"Are you going to go tonight?" Remus asked, leaning forward in anticipation.
"Can I come with you?" Sirius bounced in his chair.
"Yes, Moony, and no, Padfoot," Hydrus answered. "I'm not pranking tonight; it's just going to be a quick look-see to see if she has any notes on Harry. You guys stay here."
Remus nodded and Sirius pouted. Putting everything back into the bag and placing it and the jar, with a button, back in the pocketspace, the immoral pulled out his book-reader, looked up the address and popped away to the nearest alley to see if he could enter her home.
The alley was cleanish, so he figured this was a good neighborhood. He walked out of the alley and stood on the street. Looking at the building numbers he found the apartment building. There was no security, which he was thankful for, so he made his way to her flat. Making sure no one was looking he cast to see if there were any wards. There were, so he took out his shock gun and blasted them away. Opening the door he went into the cluttered apartment.
It was small, only one bedroom, a living area, a kitchen/dining room and a small study nook. There was paper and photos everywhere, piled on the floor, posted to the walls and spilling off the desk.
Hydrus sighed. This is going to take longer than I thought. He started on the walls, there were secrets of many politicians lining those walls, so he took everything down and put it in his space. He looked through the papers on the floor and found the same thing and repeated his actions. The stuff on the desk was notes on all the up and coming witches and wizards, including himself, Sarah and Frostwell. Once again he banished them into the pocketspace.
....
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.