Disclaimer :I do not own Harry Potter though I wish I owned Bellatrix Lestrange.

' ' – Thoughts

" " – Speaking in English

" " – Speaking in Parseltongue / Memory

S/N : This begins at the end of Harry Potter's 5th year.

Sirius Black's Gambit

1 : Shocking Revelations

The Hogwarts Express had just arrived at the King's Cross Station shaking him out of his thoughts. Even though his friends had tried to include him in their conversations, he had shied away. Whenever he is alone, he wants some company but when someone is there with him, he wants to be alone. He didn't understand himself anymore. He got up taking his trunk and went outside. He quickly walked through the barrier ignoring the calls or greetings from his friends. He didn't have the energy to fake a smile and act as if he is alright. He reached the other side to see many members of the Order of Phoenix standing there with Moody in the lead. He didn't understand why they were standing though he did wonder, in the back of his mind, what the muggles would think on seeing a man with wooden leg, gnarled head and rotating eyes wearing weird clothes.

"What are you doing here, Professor Moody?", Harry asked.

"I don't remember teaching you anything, Potter.", 'Mad Eye' Moody said gruffly.

Moody had never been a Professor even though he came close to being one once. He was supposed to be their Defense against Dark Arts teacher in their fourth year but Barty Crouch Jr. outwitted him and took his place using Polyjuice potion. He disliked being called a Professor since then but Harry was too used to calling him that to change.

Harry soon saw his relatives coming in and suddenly realized why they were there. They were here to talk with his relatives about how he was treated. He felt panic rising within him. His relatives already hate him and punish him for everything. They might make it worse. He could see that Vernon face had turned purple at the sight of so many 'freaks', Petunia looked ready to hide behind her husband's bulky frame at the first sign of attack while Dudley was looking as if he had rather be anywhere else.

Moody came forward and said, "You must be Mr. Dursley"

"Yes", Vernon said gritting his teeth.

"That is not necessary.", Harry tried to convince them.

Arthur Weasley put a hand on his shoulder and said, "Harry, let us take care of this."

He then turned to Vernon and said, "We are here to talk about Harry."

The expression on Vernon's face was priceless. He would have enjoyed it if he was not scared of the consequences.

"We will be in constant contact with him throughout his stay in your house. If we get any indication that you are not treating him well, we will visit."

"What right do you have to dictate what goes on in my house?", Vernon said rage seeping through his voice.

Moody just smirked at him and then turned to Harry.

"If they are not treating you well, just owl us. We will have a talk with them. If we don't get your owl every three days, we will visit to see how things are going."

Harry went off with his relatives not knowing what chaos this talk will cause when he gets home. He noticed that Vernon's hands were clutching the steering wheel tightly in an attempt to control his anger. As soon as they reached the house, Harry got out quickly and entered the house with his luggage. But, before he could leave, Vernon caught him.

"Go to your room and stay there, boy. I don't want to see you outside the room. Don't forget to reply to them every three days that you are alright. I don't want any freaks coming up to the house."

"Yes, Uncle Vernon", he replied halfheartedly.

He went to his room and sat down. He felt tired and worn out. He didn't know how much more he could take. He seems to be bad omen as everyone associated with him are dying one by one. First, his parents then Cedric and now Sirius, Hermione had almost died while Ron, Neville, Ginny and Luna were injured. He could blame Voldemort for the death of his parents but the others were his fault. If he didn't insist on being fair and just chose to be selfish for once in his life, Cedric would have lived. If he hadn't gone rushing blindly to the Ministry, Sirius would have lived and his friends wouldn't have gotten hurt. If only he had chosen to think things through like Hermione had told him, it could have been prevented. The worst thing was that he knew that more people will die for him and he can do nothing to stop it. He thought, with some grim satisfaction, that his attempt at saving Sirius turned out just like Voldemort's attempt at killing the Child of Prophecy.

It has been two days since he came home. He was sitting on his bed with remnants of tears still on his cheek. He had been crying for the last two days and there were no tears left in him. The Dursleys have more or less left him alone. He wished, now more than ever, that he had some chores to take his mind off things. He suddenly heard a knocking but he did not feel like getting up and opening. He then heard the door opening and closing. He looked to see the last person he imagined inside the room : Bellatrix Lestrange.

"YOU! What are you doing here How did you get into my house?"

Harry felt very angry. This woman who killed his godfather had just walked into his room as if nothing had happened. He tried to search for his wand discreetly.

"Are you looking for this?", she asked showing him his wand.

He was shocked. He berated himself for his carelessness. He never expected that a Death Eater would be able to come into his house and had no idea what to do.

"Potter, if I had wanted to harm you, I would have done so already. Sit down. We have a lot to discuss."

Harry sat down quietly as he knew that she was the one in power. He suddenly noticed that there was something different about her. She was calm and emotionless which was in direct contrast to the behavior she had exhibited the last time he saw her.

"I, Bellatrix Druella Lestrange, swear an oath on my magic that my true loyalty is towards the head of the Noble and the Most Ancient House of Black which is at present Harry James Potter."

A blue light swirled around her enveloping her and then vanished. She vanished Dudley's broken toys which were lying on the floor with a flick of her wand.

"See, I still have my magic with me."

He was shocked. He had heard about magical oaths but this was the first time he was seeing someone take one. A bunch of questions ran through his head and he asked what he felt was the most important one.

"Why did you kill Sirius? He was also the head of Black family."

"I was just following his orders. If you don't have any other questions, I will explain more."

She threw his wand towards him which confused him more. She took a stack of papers from a bag he had never noticed before and handed it to him. He looked through it but couldn't understand anything past the legal mumbo jumbo.

"It basically states that my first and foremost priority is the Black family. My true loyalty is towards the head of the Black family and I cannot disobey a direct order from him or her."

She then took out a pensive from her bag.

"A pensive?"

"You know?", Bellatrix asked.

"Both Dumbledore and Snape have a pensive in their offices but they were large."

"Mine is shrunken. I will enlarge it to its original size."

She kept the pensive on the floor and tapped it twice with her wand. The pensive enlarged to become as big as the ones he was familiar with. She touched her wand to her forehead and extracted a long silver tendril which she gently placed into the pensive. She extracted more memories and placed it into the pensive.

"Shall we?"

Bellatrix entered first followed by Harry.

He looked around and realized where he was. He was in No. 12 Grimmauld Place. But unlike the house he remembered, this house was clean and well maintained. He felt someone pulling his hand and looked to see Bellatrix showing that her younger self was on move. They followed her and reached a large room. It was easily the best room in the house with its extensive decorations and priceless artifacts being lined up for display.

"This is the lounge. This is where we receive the guests. As you can see, it is made to impress. Other than the office of the head of Black family, this is the only room connected to floo network. I guess you already knew that as you lived here last year.", Bellatrix commented.

Harry was about to ask how she knew that but then changed his mind. She could have learned it from Snape or Sirius. He turned his attention back to the memory. He saw that Bellatrix sat opposite a man who looked just like Sirius that his heart lurched. But this man had a confident pose and a calculating look that Sirius never possessed. He knew that Sirius would have had the same confidence if not for his stay in Azkaban.

"Orion Black. He is Sirius's father and my mentor. He was one of the best duelists of his time. He recognized my potential and started training me much before I joined Hogwarts."

"I believe you have already heard whispers in your school about a new dark lord rising."

"I did. Many in my year and below have already joined him."

"This happened in the summer before my seventh year. Lestrange brothers were his first followers at least in our generation. They were followed by Avery, Mulciber, Lucius, Carrow twins, me and my cousin Evan Rosier."

"Lestranges have put forward a proposal for a marriage between you and Rodolphus Lestrange."

Bellatrix looked shocked and a little scared.

"Did you notice that uncle Orion first asked about my knowledge of the dark lord before he mentioned the proposal?"

He nodded his head but then realized that she was not looking at him and said, "Yes"

He wondered what was so important about that.

"It was uncle Orion indirectly telling me that this marriage proposal was the dark lord's brain child. This proposal was the dark lord indirectly asking us whether we were his allies or enemies. He couldn't refuse as the dark lord had many of his followers sharing the common room with us. He had to think about our safety too. Narcissa was dating Lucius who you know was a Death Eater. Don't forget the fact that Death Eaters were not declared an illegal group yet as they were pretty much unknown. The Order of the Phoenix was not formed yet and even when it was formed, it was exclusively for the Light side leaving dark and neutral families to fend for themselves. Now, listen."

Bellatrix Black now had a look of determination on her face.

"We have no other choice than to agree. I am ready to do what is necessary to protect my family."

Orion Black looked proud for a moment but it faded away soon as the reality of the situation crashed on him. He pursed his lips indicating that what he was going to say was more unpleasant.

"Even if they only had a marriage proposal in mind, I am sure the dark lord would love to have a fighter of your caliber on his side. If we have a spy in their midst, it will be easier to destroy him."

Bellatrix did not show any emotion on her face now as she had already expected it.

"I will do it."

Orion then gave her a set of papers which she signed after going through it.

The surroundings changed quickly and he soon found himself in the dining room of Grimmauld Place. On the edge of the table sat a woman whom everyone who has been to their headquarters knew well. He had to admit that Walburga Black was better looking in reality than in portrait. This woman had a confident and intimidating aura similar to Mrs. Longbottom. This was not a woman you crossed if you wanted to remain in one piece. He noticed that a boy was sitting on her left who he assumed to be Regulus. On her right were Bellatrix and Narcissa. Bellatrix looked more mature now but still as beautiful as she used to be. Narcissa was the epitome of beauty and innocence. She did not have the pinched look that had been a blemish on her otherwise beautiful face.

"Aunt Walburga is the head of the Black family now as you might have already guessed from the seating arrangement. That boy is Regulus, Sirius' younger brother. He had just completed his fifth year. It had been two years since uncle Orion's death and Sirius running away."

"Bella, don't you think it is time for Regulus to follow in your footsteps?"

Harry wouldn't have noticed Bellatrix stiffening if he wasn't looking for a reaction from her.

"I believe that is for you to decide, Aunt Walburga though I would love to have him among us."

"If that is the case, I want you to introduce Regulus to the dark lord."

He saw Bellatrix looking at Regulus and knew that she was hoping for him to persuade his mother to change her mind. But the only expressions on his face were pride and anticipation.

"Regulus had always looked up to me and saw me as a role model since childhood. That eventually led to his death. His body wasn't found but family tapestry clearly showed that he was no more. This is one of my worst memories, Potter."

"I will not only introduce him but will also personally train him. You better not disappoint me, Regulus"

The surroundings changed again and he found himself in a well decorated room. He saw Sirius sitting on a chair apparently waiting for someone.

"Carefully note his position, Potter. He looks relaxed to an untrained eye but he is ready to attack or defend should the situation demand it. This is a conference room in Gringotts which can be rented by high priority customers which are mostly members of rich pureblood families."

Bellatrix then elbowed him and pointed to a corner. He saw her memory self emerging out of the shadows. He could see the damage Azkaban had done. She was only a shadow of her former self. She had unruly curls pooling around her head, her face had become gaunt due to years of malnutrition and her eyes had dulled due to the horrors it had seen.

"Hello Sirius"

If Sirius was surprised, he did not show it.

"Bellatrix, would you care to remind me what the last prank we played together was?", Sirius asked causing Bellatrix to roll her eyes.

"You and your Order mumbo jumbo! We replaced Narcissa's shampoo with an Invisibility potion. After bath, Narcissa checked her appearance in the mirror to see that she had no hair. It was funny to see her crying the rest of the day whining about how she will never get a boyfriend anymore."

Bellatrix had a smile on her face as she reminisced about the past. It took years from her face making her look like the young girl in the previous memories. Sirius got up from his chair and gave her a hug.

"It is good to see the Bella that I remember from my childhood. Take a seat. We have a lot to talk."

Both of them took a seat.

"How are things in your side?", Sirius asked.

"The usual. The prophecy is still the top priority. He is still attempting to lure your godson to Ministry to get it for him without any success. I believe that he is using the link you told me about to send him memories of the place. Voldemort believes that he won't be able to resist his curiosity for long and will come running.", Bellatrix replied.

Sirius got a calculating look on his face similar to what Harry had seen on Orion's face before.

"What will happen if I tell you a way to ensure Harry will go to the Ministry and you convey it to your lord?"

Bellatrix looked shocked by the question.

"Sirius, you are on the Dumbledore's side, the Light side. Did you forget that?"

"I am on Harry's side. This is the only way in which I can help him. You know that I am a prisoner in my own house with a prison guard aka Molly Weasley always observing my every movement. I had already asked the almighty Dumbledore many times permission for training Harry. I even told him I will train him myself but he felt that it will be bigger burden on Harry and he should be allowed to be child for some more time. As if Voldemort would care whether he enjoyed his childhood.", Sirius said looking more furious than he ever remembered.

Harry couldn't help but feel angry at Dumbledore. He knew that he was the Chosen One and would have to defeat Voldemort for years but still didn't let anyone teach him anything.

"What plan do you have in mind?", Bellatrix asked in a clear attempt to pacify him.

"You will tell your dark lord that Harry will come running anywhere if he believes that I am in danger. Then he will send a fake memory of him torturing me and Harry will come to the Ministry to save me. You, along with many other Death Eaters, will be there hidden in the Prophecy Hall. You all will show yourselves when he takes the prophecy. But it is your responsibility to ensure that Death Eaters neither get the prophecy nor corner the children until the Order of Phoenix arrives. When we came, the typical Order vs Death Eater fights will occur. I will fight you and you will kill me. Then you will run off from there and escape."

"Good joke, Sirius."

"It is not a joke, Bella. I am serious."

"And I am Bellatrix. Let us assume that you are not joking. Your plan has many holes in it. Tell me, Sirius, how am I going to know that your godson will come running if he believes that you are in danger? I just escaped from Azkaban and have been resting since. I am not even supposed to know that you are his godson."

Sirius suddenly looked sheepish and said, "I didn't think about that."

"I am surprised that you can actually think at all. I can't believe I am helping you with this ridiculous joke of a plan but how is the relation between you and Kreacher, according to the Order?"

"It is a common knowledge that we have no love lost between us."

"So, do you think it will be believable if Kreacher 'betrays' you and tells me this little information, in front of many others, of course?"

"That is a good idea. I can't believe that you are the one who said it."

"Look who is talking."

"Alright. Now tell me, Bella, what are the other 'holes' in my plan?"

"I don't want to kill you, Sirius."

Sirius gave a sigh and said, "Have you heard of a game style called gambit in chess?"

"Yes, it is where we sacrifice a crucial piece so that we are in a better position than our opponent and can eventually win the game. I assume that you consider yourself as the piece to be sacrificed."

"What Harry lacks now is a guide, someone who will help him through the tough journey that he has ahead of him, someone who he can rely on to catch him if he falls, someone who will teach him to survive the challenges of life and come out on top. Let's say that Dumbledore has failed in that department. I have already arranged everything such that Harry will become the head of Black family after my death and he will have your unwavering loyalty and support."

"So, I am the guide that you were talking about?", Bellatrix asked.

"Yes. Everyone else that I know of is either blindly loyal to Dumbledore or Voldemort. I can trust you to be loyal to Harry first and anyone else only after him."

"I assume that your trust in me has nothing to do with the fact that we are cousins.", Bellatrix said with a smirk on her face.

"Of course not", Sirius said though the twitch of his lips indicated otherwise.

"Well, I have a condition. I am not going to use any dark curse on you. You can't change my mind about that.", Bellatrix said sticking her nose in the air.

"Well, there is a room called the Veil room. You have to corner the children there. It contains the Veil of Death. I will stand in front of the Veil while fighting you and you just have to push me through it."

"Pity you wouldn't be dying due to exhaustion after prolonged sex with a busty blonde.", Bellatrix commented causing him to smirk.

"I can't believe you still remember that."

Bellatrix continued, "There is another thing you haven't thought about, Sirius. The effect that your death will have on Harry Potter. Seeing his godfather die right in front of him would be a big blow to him. The poor boy has been enduring everyone calling him a liar and an attention seeker for a whole year. He has his limits too."

"I know that he will be devastated by my death. That is the reason I want you to visit him after my death and be there for him."

"How do I do that? I don't even know where he lives. What about the wards surrounding the place? I know that Order of Phoenix is full of incompetent idiots but they are not that useless that I can walk into the house undetected."

"Harry lives at No. 4, Privet Drive. The wards surrounding the place are blood wards. As long as you have no intention of causing harm to anyone in the house, you can walk through the wards as if it doesn't exist. There is a guard who is so worthless that he wouldn't know if you walked right into the house during his shift. His name is Mundungus. Every time he is on duty, he will either get completely drunk or will have already left to clinch some deal on dark artifacts. He has duty from 6 to 10 pm on Monday, Wednesday and Friday while his duty on Saturday is from 6 to 11 pm. Let the thief be useful for once in his life. Do you have any other questions, Bella?"

Bellatrix kept her silence for a moment before she sighed.

"No. I guess it is decided then. I just hoped that there would be a way which didn't include your death."

"I know."

They both got up and hugged each other. Harry felt himself being pulled up and knew that memories were over.

Bellatrix looked at him to see that he was overwhelmed.

"I know that you might need some time to take it in. If you need some time alone, I will return-"

She was interrupted by Harry hugging her suddenly. She was startled. She had no idea what to do. She hesitantly put her arm and hugged him. He held on to her tightly as if she was his lifeline. She could feel him shaking and realized that he was crying. It looks like he was more broken than she had thought. She stood still letting him cry to his satisfaction.

"I am sorry. For everyone else, it was all about Dumbledore said this, Dumbledore said that. It is nice to see someone do something because they care about me rather than because Dumbledore told them to."

"You have nothing to be sorry for. It is those people who called you a liar who should be sorry. It is people like Dumbledore and Voldemort who screwed up with your life who should be sorry."

"What plan do you have now?"

She checked time and said, "We still have an hour and half left. I will tell you what I plan to teach you. Right now, my priorities are occlumency and dueling. You will have apparition classes in school this year but if you get a chance to learn it before hand, do it. It is a necessary survival skill. Mundungus' usual shift is 4 hours. I will wait for half an hour after he comes to give him time to get drunk and I will leave half an hour before his shift ends as a precaution. That leaves us with three hours. First hour will be about dueling. In that hour, I will be teaching you many new spells and stances. We will practice dueling. Next hour will be talk. I will tell you about the many experiences that I have had. We will then go through many of my memories of the duels I had fought or witnessed. We will also be going through many of your adventures to see exactly where you need to improve. Last hour will be solely about occlumency. We will be starting tomorrow when we will have 4 hours. As you must have already noticed, I added a new ward to the already existing ones that prevents the Ministry or anyone else from outside from detecting the magic done in the house. So, Under Age Magic laws do not apply to you anymore. Right now, I want you to stand still with your wand in your hand. I am going to remove your trace."

He did as she asked him to. She pointed her wand at him and made a complicated array of motions. A blue beam came from the wand and hit him. He felt bubbles forming on the surface of his skin which soon grew to envelope him. The bubble continued growing until it grew so big that it blasted. Harry saw a look of shock on her face.

"It was not supposed to do that. Bubble was supposed to stay on the surface. You really must have lot of tracking charms and many other charms on you for the spell to give such a reaction. It is a good thing I silenced the room. Do you have any idea who put all these charms?"

"My guess is Dumbledore and maybe some others in the Order."

"I am going to check for tracking charms in all your items."

She checked all items one by one until she reached his Invisibility Cloak.

"This does have a tracking charm on it which was placed long ago. I will cancel it."

He suddenly remembered that Dumbledore always knew where he went and what he did in spite of his Invisibility Cloak. He now knew how.

"Sirius once told me that your father had an Invisibility Cloak which was a Potter heirloom. Is this the same one?", Bellatrix asked.

"Dumbledore told me that it was my father's when he gave it to me. It could be a heirloom. Why?", Harry replied.

"Did it occur to you that this could be The Invisibility Cloak?"

"I don't understand."

Bellatrix looked at him in shock and then her features turned to an understanding one.

"I forgot that you are muggle raised and so wouldn't have heard of The Tale of Three Brothers. It is a children's story that every wizard raised child would know very well. The story is about three brothers. The eldest is Antioch Peverell, the middle one is Cadmus Peverell and the youngest one is Ignotus Peverell. Three brothers once crossed a raging river by building a bridge over it. Death did not like being outwitted and made a cunning plot to punish them. He appeared before them when they reached the other side. He congratulated them on their victory and promised them a prize to take home. The eldest one asked for the most powerful wand in the world. Death cut a branch from the elder tree which was near him and gave it to him. The middle one asked for a stone that can bring back the dead. Death took a stone from the ground and gave it to him. The third brother saw through Death's plan and asked him for something that would let him live a long, happy life without Death's interference. Death cut a piece from his cloak and gave it to him saying that Death wouldn't be able to find him if he hid beneath the cloak. The first brother challenged his rival as soon as he returned home and killed him. He then became arrogant and started boasting to everyone about having an unbeatable wand. Soon, someone slit his throat while he was asleep and took off with the wand. The second brother tried to bring back his dead lover. She couldn't survive in our world and disintegrated in his arms. He, overcome with hopelessness, committed suicide. Death thus claimed the two of them but couldn't find the youngest brother. Every time Death sees him, he hides under the Invisibility Cloak. Ignotus Peverell then married, had children and then grandchildren. He became very old and decided that it is time to move on. He gave his Cloak to his eldest son and embraced Death like a friend. If I am not wrong, you are the heir of Peverell line."

"How will you know whether my cloak is that Invisibility Cloak?"

"It is a possibility. The Invisibility Cloaks wizards have made do not last for more than a few years. They either lose their magic or they tear on the slightest pressure or both. Your cloak has been working perfectly for many generations. You did say that Dumbledore borrowed the cloak from your father. It must be to check that possibility."

Bellatrix then gave him a mirror and said, "It is a Black family heirloom. When you want to talk to me, look into the mirror and say my name. I have its twin mirror with me. If I am available, a connection will be formed and we will be able to see each other and talk. You can use it as an ordinary mirror otherwise. I am giving you a home work. Tonight, before you sleep, I want you to look at yourself in the mirror for at least an hour. I want to know your findings when I come tomorrow. It is an important step in learning Occlumency. It is time for me to go."

Harry saw her leaving and couldn't help but think that after a long time things are starting to look up for him.

This plot has been in my mind for some time. I felt that Sirius wouldn't have just accepted Dumbledore's insistence on him being a prisoner and would have made plans on his own if he had something to work on. Sirius was an impulsive person who became more irrational later on due to his stay in Azkaban. But he was a prankster in school and planning was not beyond him.

I also felt it could be possible that her reminding everyone of her 'most faithful' status and accusing others of not being loyal was a cover up of her own disloyalty. I have also heard the stories with lemons are being deleted. the story I had in my mind had sex scenes though I can work without it. I would like to know whether rating it M would be enough or would I have to write the story without it.

I am hoping to get many reviews and suggestions. I have already started on the second chapter and will publish it quickly if there are enough reviews.