Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. Or Sirius Black for that matter.

Note: This is Sirius remembering events while in Azkaban. Excuse his language, he must have forgotten his manners buried in his back yard. (Your cue to laugh.) This is my way of channeling my own inner Sirius-ness. (Okay, maybe that was bad.) And just so you know, Sirius' memories skip around a lot, so they aren't ordered by age.

Looking Back; the Life and Lies of Sirius Black

Prologue

Sure, all family lines are bound to trail off someday. Even the old ones, no matter how much some tight-asses hate it. Just like what had happened to the Black line so recently. I bet the tight-asses are weeping into their pillows about it right now.

The most Noble and Ancient Line of Black… dead. Deceased. Departed. Whether through natural or unnatural causes, that entire line has died out. Or married out. But the point is: nobody is alive to bear the name Black. Or, the same Black that sported one of the oldest families for many centuries. What a tragedy. How can the world carry on? I bet they're just weeping their pretty little heads off, the bloody bigheads.

Is it my fault that this 'crisis' occurred? Of course it isn't. Everyone dies at some point, some, younger than others. Do I care about it? No. I never gave a rat's ass about my family's "Holier than thou," shit. Just because our loopy, inbred, and Dark Arts loving family has been around since, practically, the Renaissance, that doesn't mean we're better than everyone else. And I hated how they thought they were. About everything. And what about me? I'm not dead… yet. But I might as well be, for all the good I'm doing.

God, I really screwed things up this time. Oh, Jesus Christ… now I sound light about it. How can I make myself sound light about this? Goddamn it! I can just practically hear all the gossip groups all across Europe and Britain whispering about me. Or… what I allegedly did.

"What of the youngest Black?" those have-to-know-it-all buggers ask, in their little 'Truth Circle'.

Another bloody idiot shakes his empty head sorrowfully. "Regulus Black was… er… bumped off by You-Know-Who a long time ago."

A shocked silence. "Well, what happened to the family heir, the older brother?"

Another pause. "Sirius Black? Went loopy, he did. Got himself locked up in Azkaban. Blew up twelve Muggles and his friend, he did. But that was after he betrayed his best mate and the guy's wife and son to You-Know-Who. Remember the Potters?"

A deep gasp. "He didn't!"

"Oh but he did. Fudge told me himself."

"But… they were tighter than brothers, Black and Potter were! I can't imagine dear Sirius ever doing that! But… his family was deeply involved with the Dark Arts… Do you think he cracked and turned to You-Know-Who?"

"That's exactly what I think. That he abandoned Potter and ran away to… him. And knowing Black's experience with everything Dark, he quickly made it to the top of You-Know-Who's ranks. And when You-Know-Who was taken out by the Potter boy—the only to survive the Killing Curse, I hear—Black was so mad, his powers just exploded out of him and he purposefully killed his other so called 'best friend' and a load of Muggles."

"Ahh… that makes sense. So Black's in Azkaban now?"

"Yep. That place gives me the heebie-jeebies. And don't even get me started on the guards…"

"I agree. But, at least, there he isn't a danger to society."

"Too true… So did you hear Celestia Warbeck's new song?"

And just like that, they condemn a man without even looking at the entire evidence. Just like Remus. Just like Fudge. Just like the rest of the goddamn world. But truly, they know nothing… about anything.

Especially the fact that, against all odds, I, Sirius Black, am innocent!

Author's Note: Did you like it? I had an epiphany yesterday in the shower, so I deleted the pitiful 'story' I had before and made it into this. And wow, there's lots of ideas and possibilities for this one… All I have to do is write them down. Look forward to C1, where we learn little-known facts about Azkaban, and Sirius remembers his first day of school. It should be coming out soon, the latest: Sunday.