This chapter is named after a line from All Time Low's "Sick Little Games"

There was that familiar sound: Mrs. Black, shrieking from the first floor of Number 12 Grimmauld Place. No doubt she was upset about something ridiculous that Kreacher would tend to with faithful haste. As expected, small feet pattered past the door to the Family Tree room and bounded down the stairs, followed by Kreacher's mumbles of "I'm sorry, Mistress" and Mrs. Black's continued screams of rage.

Within the Family Tree room, gazing upon his many family members strewn about the walls and interconnected on various branches stood a tall, well-built, tan boy of about seventeen. Dark shaggy hair shrouded his face, which seemed to be devoid of laughter, but otherwise good-looking, with high cheekbones and a prominent chin. His dark brown eyes, almost black and flecked with gold, seemed to go on forever, housing his secrets and adding to his mystery. These features had not escaped the notice of almost every female at his school, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

The racket downstairs, which had reached a brief lull, once again assaulted Sirius Black's eardrums and he sighed deeply while running his fingers through his thick, dark hair. Everything about Sirius was dark, from his hair to his eyes, from his name to his family history. The Blacks were notorious Death Eaters, and every single one of them had been raised with firm loyalty to the Dark Lord and an intense hatred of anything Muggle-related.

Sirius was the black sheep of the Blacks however (no pun intended). He was very good at playing his part, at appearing to be agreeable to his family and their Death Eating ways. In reality, he was about as far from his portrayed character as possible. He despised everything his family stood for, everything they believed in, everything he had been taught. The Dark Lord disgusted him as did anything remotely related to the Dark Arts. It was Sirius's deepest desire to deny his family ties and run away. He'd been toying with the idea for many years now, but it wasn't until this summer that he'd begun to seriously plan. He already knew he would be welcomed with open arms at his best friend, James Potter's house. The only thing holding him back was the fact that denying his family would mean certain death at the hands of the Dark Lord. And on top of that, it would be disappointing his entire family: his mother would be devastated, his brother, Regulus, shamed, his cousins, Bella and Cissy, distraught. His mother's rage was wicked to behold, as the continued din below exemplified. Regulus, whose goal in life was nothing more than to join the ranks of the Death Eaters and serve alongside them faithfully, would surely not aid Sirius in his attempt to escape. Narcissa was younger, and Sirius had never really got on well with her, so she wouldn't be much of a loss, but a loss nonetheless. Bellatrix would perhaps be the most devastated; she would also be the worst loss to Sirius when family ties were cut. Oddly enough, Sirius had become close to Bella over the years. She was a year older than him, but they were the troublemakers of the family, and their relationship had grown from that common trait. But they had one major difference: Bella was already plotting ways to be accepted into the ranks of Death Eaters, excitedly awaiting the day she could carry out the Dark Lord's bidding. Because of this, she couldn't be trusted to confide his plans in. Even still, when Sirius was putting on his charade and fooling his family, he and Bella got along famously. He often found himself forgetting that she was a pre-Death Eater and that their friendship would soon come to an abrupt end. Just thinking of it now left him with an empty feeling in the pit of his stomach.

He traced her name fondly on the family tree and followed the branch further along until his finger collided with the name "Andromeda". He smiled, the pain in his stomach evaporating into the warmer feeling of friendship he always got when he thought about Andromeda. While not quite as fun to be around as Bella, her sister, Andromeda was just as close to Sirius, simply because they had much more in common. On a simplistic level, they were in the same grade, and they hung around with the same group of people (Andromeda, while in Slytherin, was dating Ted Tonks, a Gryffindor; this fact remained unbeknownst to Bella or Cissy). On a more mature level, they both despised their ancestry and wished to break free of their binds to the Death Eaters. Sirius hadn't yet confided his full plan of running away to her just yet, but he knew he would have her support. Smirking to himself, he realized she'd probably be jealous.

"Sirius!" He whirled around to see an exuberant smile and shining chestnut brown curls hurtling towards him.

"Bella!" He embraced her in a hug, his own smile tainted by the knowledge of what he was planning.

"I've been down at that ridiculously dull party for ages! Why didn't you come save me?!" She playfully pouted and pulled out her wand with a mischievous smile. "Well never mind that now I suppose. Let's go spice things up shall we?" Her eyes twinkled, kindled with the light of adventure. Sure, it was just a family party, which happened regularly for the Black clan, but for Bella, it was a chance to prove herself as a prankster.

As if on cue, another brilliant young witch stepped into the room to save Sirius the trouble of answering. "Hey Andromeda!" Gratefully, he gathered her into a hug and whispered inconspicuously into her slightly frizzy brown curls, "Ted sends his best." She nodded subtly to acknowledge this bit of information, but as they pulled away, he could see she was struggling to hide the smile that was hanging on her cheeks. "Hey Sirius, I've been looking everywhere for you. That Kreacher isn't very helpful, he just mumbled something about "disgrace to the Black name." Andromeda's brow wrinkled in her mock confusion. "Yep, he's been saying that for seven years! Damn that hat for choosing Gryffindor." Sirius winked back.

"I always said that absurd hat made a mistake." Bella had stowed her wand now, her icy demeanor chilling the room. "Ah, well, Sirius, I must be going, Rodolphus will be looking for me." And with a curt nod, she swept from the room.

"Evidently I'm intruding." Andromeda sighed and collapsed into the ancient dark green armchair in the corner.

"Quite all right, I didn't feel like making a ruckus at the moment anyways. Not much of a loss." Sirius sank into the chair next to her, causing puffs of dust to escape the cushions. Those lucky puffs of dust, so simply freed….

"What? You? Not make trouble?" Andromeda's eyes widened, her genuine shock aided by her love of sarcasm.

"Yea, I'm in a bit more serious mood at the moment. I'm planning something, Dromeda. And to tell you the truth, I'm terrified of it." With a wave of his wand, the door slammed shut. Andromeda sat up straight, intrigue coloring her cheeks and sparkling in her eyes.

"What is it Sirius?"

"I'm going to run away. James says I can stay there and I have everything planned, I can leave whenever I get up the nerve, I have everything packed, and I only have one year left at Hogwarts anyways, and then the Death Eaters will come recruiting and I've got to get away before then Dromeda, I've just got to, don't you see?" He gulped a breath of air, panting from the pent up emotion. Slowly, he began again. "Dromeda, I'm not meant to be this. I don't have to be like them. Neither do you. We see the light, we don't need to be swallowed by this darkness. You need to come too, Dromeda. You are not a Death Eater. We've always been different. It's time to be free of these binds."

Andromeda's fear was clear in her eyes. "Sirius….You know I can't do that. I'm not going to tell you not to go, that would be pointless, and really, I wish I could go with you, but my family…."

"You think I haven't considered that Dromeda? I've spent countless nights sitting up, thinking about how Bella, and Cissy and Regulus and dear old mum would react. There's no way around it. The choice stands: family or what is right. I choose what is right." Sirius's stare held no trace of joking and seemed to penetrate Andromeda's very soul. "Sirius, you go. And I support you completely and wish you good luck but…I can't." And with that, Andromeda left the room, the color rising in her cheeks, tears threatening to spill.

Sirius had thought confiding in Andromeda would make this issue simpler, but in fact, it had done just the opposite. Even she would choose family above all else. Was he being bold or reckless? His internal war raged:

Family. No, do what's right. But it's your family. But it's a matter of right and wrong. There's a fine line between the right and the real, Sirius.