Prologue
A/n: This story is an AU and as such many of the characters may behave differently then the way they did in cannon. I do not character bash, I firmly stand behind my interpretations of these characters. They may act differently, but that is because circumstances have changed. I truly believe that all of my characters behave in a way that is true to their personalities. Does this mean you are all going to agree with me 100% of the time? No, we all interpret things differently so feel free to disagree.
It was the middle of April and a tall man clad in a leather jacket sopping wet stood in front of an imposing house. This was the last place he ever expected to be, but desperate times cause for desperate measures. And he Sirius Black was indeed desperate. He took a deep breather and knocked on the door. The door swung open almost immediately and Sirius stared down the wretched house elf that had made Sirius' childhood miserable.
"Master Sirius, what brings you to the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black?" the elf asked in a very obviously forced formal tone.
"I'm here to see my mother."
"Right this way, Master Sirius. Mistress will be so delighted to see her good for nothing blood traitor son!"
"I could do without the running commentary, Kreacher"
Kreacher led Sirius down the hallway into the parlour. His mother was situated in her usual spot. A lavish high back chair decorated with ornate snakes. His mother claimed that it had once belonged to Medusa, herself.
"If it isn't my eldest back with his tail between his legs" his mother snapped viciously.
"I didn't come back to fight, mother. Regulus is dead! Surely, you've heard that your precious Lord had your favourite son murdered in cold blood!"
"Regulus … dead" she choked.
So, she hadn't know. Sirius knew he had to tread his next words carefully. He'd been very unceremoniously kicked out of the Order. Not officially, obviously but the venom in his former friends eyes had assured him he'd never set foot in the inner circle again.
"I'm fuzzy on the details. All I know is he got in to deep and panicked about what he was being asked to do. Voldemort doesn't take kindly to that sort of thing."
"It was supposed to be you!" she shrieked! Barely raising her wand before all matter of objects were flying towards Sirius at top speed. It was only due to quick reflexes and knowledge of his mother that he was able to stop the spell before anything hit him.
"I'm not the one who encouraged Regulus to join! As a matter of fact I remember telling him he didn't want to do it. But, no you and father had to push him!"
"We wouldn't have had to push him if you had taken your rightful place as heir! Regulus never had what it takes. You could have been his right hand man! You would have survived this! You were always stronger then him."
"Listen to yourself, Mother. The man had your son killed and yet your still loyal! What the hell is a matter with you!"
"The Dark Lord wants to restore the natural order…"
"The natural order! Tell me mother you have the family tree memorized. Where have you ever heard the name Voldemort come up before? Hmm. Use your brain mother. The man you and father bowed to is nothing more the half blood upstart!"
"What?"
"You learn things in the Order. Turns out his real name is Tom Riddle."
"But… he is the heir of Slytherine!"
"His mother was a Gaunt. They've always claimed some sort of connection. Guess they were right."
"Regulus, poor sweet Regulus" she muttered tears falling down her cheek.
Sirius was thrown for a moment. In all his life he had never seen his mother look so vulnerable. Maybe, she did have a heart after all.
"Why are you here?" she croaked.
"You were right. As soon as there was a hint of traitor in the air, everyone blamed the Black. Can't say I blame them. I've been paranoid as fuck too, but I don't know I didn't expect everyone to so quickly decide it was me."
"Potter?"
"No, no James wasn't there. I doubt they even told him. Figured, it was better to step away. I'll find another way to contribute to the war effort."
"That still does not explain why you are here, Sirius."
"I figured, I'd give you the chance to help bring the bastard down. He's destroying our family. How long till Bellatrix and Narcissa are brought to their knees because of him. Plus I figured you'd like having the one-up on the light."
"You mean, you'd take your proper place?"
"If you'd have me. I'm not going dark, Mother. If we do this, we do it my way. But, I can promise you I will bring this house back to it's former glory."
She slowly got out of her chair barely sparing him a glance.
"Where are you going?"
"To retrieve your father's ring."
A/n: For anyone wondering the obvious question. Why the family ring is not with Regulus? It will be explained more fully in a later chapter. But, I am of the uncommon opinion that the primary aggressor in the Black household was Orion not Walburga. This is not to say that she was a good mother, but I do think it is telling to note how much more venom Sirius holds for her then his father. The few mentions we get of Orion, Sirius seems mostly indifferent. I just can't see Sirius holding indifference towards a parent that didn't protect him. That is extremely deserving of hate. Abused kids tend to hold a lot of resentment towards parents who don't protect them. Being able to put themselves in the other parents shoes, usually happens after self-reflection and takes a kind of empathy that Sirius doesn't excel at in canon. But I can see him being indifferent to an abusive parent he cared nothing for. Maybe I'm way off base here, but this is where my thought process stems from.
