The Devil whispered in my ear: You are not strong enough to withstand the storm.
I whispered in the Devil's ear: Darling, I am the storm.
Respect.
Control.
Power.
They had it all. And more.
Unlike what most muggles believe, the world isn't divided into good and bad.
There's good and bad and then there's BLACK.
The Wizarding World was a community. A large one with numerous subdivisions, but a community nonetheless. Like any other race, no matter what century, there was always discord and hostility amongst the different factions.
It is human nature after all.
One of the oldest known feuds was between Godric Gryffindor, Rowena Ravenclaw, Helga Hufflepuff versus Salazar Slytherin.
Light versus Dark.
But no matter what, all people, light and dark alike, strongly agreed on one topic.
Do not cross the Blacks.
That was the one rule that was staunchly followed by every person. No exceptions. No negotiations. Stay out of their path and you will survive.
If not...
The Black family was Absolute Power. Everybody knew that. They weren't just a family, they were an empire.
Cold grey eyes, cunning smirk, aristocratic carriage, a dominating personality and a razor sharp Slytherin mind. These were the basic traits of a member of the Black family.
They were the masters of manipulation, seduction and any form of deception. The Ministry of Magic was little more than a front, a facade.
Someone else wielded the real power. Their word was law. If they command, you obey. No matter what.
A person's identity or status didn't even come into the picture. You could be a simple salesman at Flourish and Blotts or a decorated member of the Department of Magic Law Enforcement.
No one questioned them or got in their way. No one so much as dared to look them in the eye. After all, no sane man or woman would want to incur the infamous wrath of the Black Family.
While the Dark Lord was indeed well versed in the dark arts, the Black family were the pioneers of Dark magic. There was not a spell that they hadn't mastered. More than three fourths of the Dark magic that exists today is a courtesy of the Blacks.
Each generation was more formidable than the last.
Take the current members for example:
Orion Black, the patriarch of the family. He was a merciless bastard. And that's putting it nicely. He spared no one, not even his own sons. He was a firm believer in the principle: strike first, strike hard.
A man so sinister that the Dark Lord himself was wary of him. While he was Voldemort's right hand man, there were few who believed that Voldemort considered him an equal. He was a Death Eater and proud of it. But, no Auror would dare to so much as lay a hand on him.
Walburga Black, his wife, was an equally terrifying entity, if not worse. Unlike her husband, she wasn't open about her deception. Her methods were far more... clandestine. A command whispered in the right ear and her job was done. These tactics were later deployed by her niece, Narcissa Black.
Cygnus and Druella Black could be considered the milder sort. But, one must not be fooled by the fact that they choose to operate outside the limelight. While his grandeur wasn't as great as his brother's, Cygnus and his wife operated behind the scenes.
Proud and prejudiced, they maintained extremely high standards for acquaintances. Probably the most prejudiced couple in the family. They trampled muggles and mudbloods the way a boot squashed an ant. In fact, Lady Druella went as far as disowning her own daughter, Andromeda! The reason? Andromeda Black fell in love with a muggleborn!
Utter sacrilege!
She couldn't have her daughter tarnish the reputation and principles of their family, could she? What's the solution? Blast your child of off the family tree. That's the obvious solution, isn't it?
Next up on our list is Bellatrix Lestrange, née Black, the oldest daughter of Cygnus and Druella. Like her parents, only far more extreme, she took great pleasure in torturing innocents. Sadistic, cruel, malicious, Bella was easily one of the most terrifying Blacks of all time. Particularly skilled in the Cruciatus curse, she used it quite frequently and indiscriminately.
She was Orion's favorite niece and his protégé. Why? Common interests of course! Now, she served the Dark Lord and had poured her heart and soul into it.
Andromeda Tonks, née Black, her younger sister, was very different from the rest of her family. While a Slytherin, she married a muggleborn and was disowned. Her response? She didn't give a fuck. She must have embraced the light side completely, right?
Wrong.
Few were aware about her prowess in the Dark Arts and her unrivalled skill as a Potioneer. Just because she didn't use it, doesn't mean that she was ignorant. Cross her and she will strike you down.
Narcissa Malfoy, née Black was different from both her sisters. She had of course, inherited her family's hatred for all things and persons remotely Muggle. Proud and calculating, she was just like her mother. While she didn't kill or torture, she was far from innocent.
One look into her stormy grey eyes and a man was ensnared. She was beautiful and she wasn't afraid to use it to her advantage. Her husband, Lucius Malfoy, was wrapped around her little finger, a slave to all her wishes.
Regulus Black, younger son of Orion and Walburga Black was the youngest Black. He lived his life on one rule and only one. His older brother had taught him this when they were very young: excellence isn't encouraged, it's expected.
That's the one major rule that you have to follow if you want to survive in the Black family. There was absolutely no room for mediocrity amongst the Blacks.
Regulus was proud and condescending, but he didn't follow the draconic laws of his family to that degree. If not liking, he was tolerant towards Muggles and Muggleborns. Academically, he was far superior than all his classmates and his seniors as well.
Which is why he had a hard time making friends. He had few friends but a good deal of lackeys. The people around him were intimidated by him. Whether it was because of his pride or his expertise inside and outside the classroom, it didn't matter.
But, despite his flaws, Regulus was against Voldemort. At least that's what he wanted. Orion and Walburga had different plans for their son. Question was, would he succumb to their wishes?
Saving the best for the last: Sirius Black
The older son of Orion and Walburga, Sirius was a class apart, a whole new level. What made him so different from the rest?
From a very young age, he had opposed his family's ideals and principles. He didn't believe in the family motto: Tonjours Pur.
He was the first Black (and that's over a millennium) to be sorted into Gryffindor. That alone resulted in him being labelled as the outcast of the Black family.
Unlike his family, he was kindhearted, brave, chivalrous, forgiving, even mischievous. He held nothing against muggles and openly struck friendships with them.
Grey eyes, tall and muscular and sexy as hell, he could easily pass for a Greek God. Unlike his brother, Sirius was immensely popular. Girls wanted to be with him and boys wanted to be him.
With his charming Gryffindor personality and the way he so naturally blended in with the rest of the lions, one could almost forget that Sirius was a Black.
And that's exactly what made him the most powerful and dangerous of them all.
Kind, intelligent... blah blah blah. Sure, he had a heart of gold. But that heart was coupled with a will of pure titanium.
A dangerous combination indeed.
He was a master of Leglimency, Occlumency, Spell casting, Elemental magic and even Wandless magic. His own family wasn't aware of these talents. They hated him and he loathed them, apart from his little brother and Andromeda.
Question is, how exactly did he come to possess these extraordinary powers at so young an age?
What was his story?
No one knew.
Several people had underestimated him and paid the price.
Heavily.
Some were still paying their dues.
People assumed that just because he was a Gryffindor at heart, he wanted nothing to do with the Dark Arts.
Nothing was further from the truth. Born and raised in the world's darkest family, Sirius had exposure to the vast resources of the Black Library.
His temper was something everybody—even his family— feared.
His knowledge of the Dark Magic could rival, even surpass that of Lord Voldemort's itself.
Everyone knew that he was a carefree Gryffindor who loved his friends, brother and his motorcycle. But at the same time, they knew better than to trifle with him. One should not make the blunder of mistaking Sirius' kindness for weakness.
He had a lot of friends but only a handful of them were truly close to him. Needless to say, he was fiercely and almost ruthlessly protective of his boys.
If you were foolish enough to hurt any of them, Merlin himself couldn't protect you from his catastrophic fury.
Why?
Because the darkness inside him was dormant, not dead.
For example, during Fourth year, four Sixth year Slytherin boys ambushed one James Potter after their house had lost a Quidditch game.
Two hours later, Sirius had found his best mate in the third floor bathroom, bleeding profusely with numerous cuts, blows and welts on his arms, face and legs and even a couple of broken bones.
The next day, said four boys were found unconscious in their respective beds with the exact same wounds on identical parts of their body. They had absolutely no memory of how they'd come to possess these injuries.
Another such example was the case of Ana Cassidy. For a Ravenclaw, she'd turned out to be pathetically stupid. Vile and rude, she had wasted no opportunity to pick on fellow Fifth year, Remus Lupin. She'd repeatedly and publicly humiliated him for the scars that covered his face and hands, going as far as to call him an ugly swine.
The bullying had gone too far and took its toll on said boy who already had self esteem issues.
One morning, little Miss Cassidy had woken up to find her beautiful, flawless face completely covered with large, painful boils. No amount of Madam Pomfrey's treatment and expertise could cure her. At least not for the next three months.
The last straw that finally cut all ties between him and his family was when he joined the Aurors. As an Auror, he was unstoppable. Armed with knowledge and the requisite skill, he completed his training in record time and established himself in the field.
Death Eaters cowered at the mere sound of his name. He tore them apart without a shred of mercy. It is rumoured that Voldemort himself was fearful of this man who had so effortlessly destroyed his followers.
Sirius was the brightest star but also the greatest darkness of the Blacks.
If there ever were Wizarding royalty, the Black family was it. Twisted, tormenting and downright terrifying. Brutal, lethal, unyielding, cruel, silver tongued and viciously merciless, they were willing to do whatever it took to stay on top of the food chain or—in Sirius' case—to protect their own.
In the end, you will submit.
One way or another.
I've done it! I have finally done it. I've always wanted to write about the Black family. It's one topic that Rowling didn't elaborate upon and for some reason, I find the family very alluring: power wrapped in a package of beauty and mystery.
More than the rest of the family, it is Sirius' dark side that I'd love to work on. Some fics portray him as this reckless drunk who has no purpose.
Fav, follow and review this fanfic if you all agree that Sirius Black deserves a whole lot better.