Harry Potter: Hydrus Black

Harry watched him go and started defining his plans. He still needed to find a way to get his money switched over. He ran all of his friends and acquaintances through his mind and came up short on who was in a position to help. Most of the Half-bloods and Muggle-borns were still struggling to find a foothold in the war-torn society. Maybe he could ask Kingsley, then again since the man was Minister now he might be a bit busy. McGonagall was working hard to get Hogwarts repaired and staffed so it could be ready for the new school year. As much as he loved Hagrid, he couldn't be trusted to keep his mouth shut on who he would be doing the errand for. Mundungus was a tempting thought, though that man would want a hefty fee. He'd have to think on that one, and if he couldn't find anyone else there were loads of things from the vaults that thief would want.

Kreacher popped back into the room, breaking Harry from his mussing. "Kreacher had Master's things," the old being said as he handed a bag to the young man.

"Thanks. Why don't you take the rest of the day off?" Harry suggested to the tired house elf. Kreacher had been working hard to get Grimmuald Place back to the beauty it once was, even taking that portrait of Mrs. Black off the wall. That took a bit of convincing, but Harry finally used the fact that he was master of the house and it was done. That and the old house elf had been helping him sort through the vault items. Now the poor creature looked drained.

"As Master orders," Kreacher said and popped away.

Harry went to the kitchen and summoned the vial, the book and his cauldron from his pocketspace. He then set about making the potion. It was as difficult as Sirius warned, but what his godfather didn't know is that Harry had studied potions on his own, knowing that that greasy git of a Potions Master would never teach or grade him fairly. The Half-blood Prince's book helped a lot. He had retrieved it after making his friends think it was hidden. There was no way he was going to let go of such a valuable resource.

After hours of chopping, stewing and stirring – grimacing the entire time knowing he was going to have to drink the vile concoction— the potion was done. Taking a deep breath he swallowed it in one go. He was right, it was awful and it took every bit of willpower to not throw up.

According to the instructions, Harry now needed to go to bed, so that the changes could take place in his sleep. So he cleaned up his mess and took himself up the stairs to Sirius' old room. He changed into pajamas and put aside his glasses. Laid down on the bed and went right to sleep.

During the night he dreamed a very vivid dream. He saw his parents and Sirius waving at him from across a raging river. They were making motions for him to join them. The teen wanted to comply, so he attempted to build a bridge, but the water swept it away. He tried to fly over on his broom, but the wind kept blowing him back. He attempted to Apparate, but landed in the middle of the river. The currents pulled him away from his family.

Harry woke with tears streaming down his face and his shoulders shaking with grief. He realized just what being the Master of Death meant. Oh, he understood before, but with this dream it was more of a reality. He would never join anyone in the afterlife. Because he would never die, all his friends would be taking from him in time. He now had a choice to make, either relish the time he had with them or seclude himself even further and save himself the pain. He wasn't about to make that decision after waking up from such a traumatic dream.

After taking many deep breaths, to calm himself and wake up more, Harry remembered what he did the night before and rushed to the mirror to see the changes. His hair was darker, before it had been black with red highlights, now it was a shade of black that reflected blue in the light. It was silkier, yet still had that just mussed look, just not as bad. His eyes were the same, and now he could see without his glasses. He face was leaner, the cheekbones were higher and the chin more pointed, making his jaw less square. His body was the same, he didn't gain any height. He looked a lot like Sirius, but with his dad's ears and his mother's eyes. He was thankful that there were still Potter traits.