A/N Thank you for deciding to give this story a read. The prologue starts from a outsider perspective but it will largely follow the point of view of canonical characters from the Marauder's era, starting from their sixth year. I have already drafted a large portion of this story and will be posting weekly updates, so please hit the follow button if you like it!


Prologue

The Graveyard Shift


For the second time in as many weeks, Sampson had pulled the graveyard shift. In truth, it had been an accident this time, the unfortunate result of being too nice, too eager to please and too much of a Hufflepuff. It had been around lunchtime when his supervisor had asked whether anyone would be willing to swap shifts with him and like the naïve schoolboy he still was on the inside, Sampson had obediently raised his hand and sacrificed his Friday night.

He had soon come to regret the decision. The night shift was always long and tedious, consisting of little more than the occasional call out and recording any messages the owls delivered in a big red book. Tonight was no different- save that Sampson was alone in the office. The two colleagues unlucky enough to be working alongside him tonight had been called out to a disturbance in Nottingham near half an hour ago now, and as the newest, yet unqualified member of the squad, Sampson had been left behind to hold down the fort. Shifting wearily in his chair, Sampson wondered idly what the rest of the squad were up to. A good few were family men and would likely be in bed with their wives or rocking babies back to sleep, but there had been talk among the rest earlier of after work drinks at the Leaky Cauldron. Sighing, Sampson glanced at the clock, which now read half past two. There was only half an hour or so until closing time but he would have given anything to be with the rest of his colleagues having a few well deserved pints. After all, those occasions were getting rarer and rarer nowadays- the direct result of a body that had been found in Diagon Alley several months ago.

He was snapped out of his thoughts by the sudden arrival of a tawny owl on his desk. Cracking his knuckles out of habit, Sampson reached down to untie the message that it carried. Breaking the blue wax seal which told him the note had come from within Law Enforcement, he unrolled the parchment carefully and scanned its contents. He was pleased to note that it didn't contain anything out of the ordinary- merely a couple of reports from Intelligence and Information. The first made him smile. Apparently bewitched hot dogs were being sold to unsuspecting muggles in Birmingham. Stifling a yawn, he picked up a quill to scribble a note for Weasley in Misuse of Muggle Artefacts.

The second message gave him slightly more cause for concern. This one was a missing person report and Sampson scratched his head as he tried to remember the protocol he was supposed to follow. It wasn't often that they saw this sort of thing in the Magical Law Enforcement Squad. Of course, people were going missing left, right and centre nowadays but as they usually involved Death Eater activity, all of those were directed straight to the Auror Office- not to the nineteen year old trainee in the department next door.

Sampson read the report carefully. According to the little information that had been passed to him, a sixteen-year-old boy had disappeared from his family home late last night. It was only halfway through that there were any names and Sampson raised his eyebrow to see that it was somebody he knew- not well by any means- but someone whose name was at least familiar. The boy in question was several years below him at Hogwarts and had been a renowned trouble maker. Sampson recalled meeting him several times in passing when he'd been a prefect in sixth year. In fact, if he remembered correctly, he'd been the boy that he'd caught filching several bottles of dessert wine from Slughorn's private pantry.

Quite honestly, Sampson couldn't find it in him to be too worried. A boy like that was always getting into trouble and Sampson rather suspected that he'd merely moved on from dessert wine to girls and was spending a few nights at a girlfriends just to wind up his parents. All the same though, he traced the surname written on the parchment with a little relief. With a surname like that, it was unlikely to be anything unsavoury. In this day and age it was the muggle-borns that one had to watch out for.

Sampson was just filling out the details in the red book when he heard the door open behind him. Turning in his chair, he was pleased to see that his colleagues had evidently made it back from Nottingham in one piece. Ogden, one of the more senior members of the squad, was leading the way, looking just as tired as Sampson felt. He was followed by Barney Templeton, a boy who had joined the squad in the intake before Sampson. The both of them seemed a little on edge- something which surprised Sampson a little. Barney had been in Hufflepuff too and Sampson knew him well. He was not the sort to let anything get to him and usually could be relied on to produce some kind of crude comment even in the most inappropriate situations.

"Sampson," Ogden greeted with a tired nod. He was getting too old for this and it showed.

"Yes sir?"

"I need you to alert the aurors about that disturbance in Nottingham. It was initially reported as a break in but there was definite evidence of Death Eater activity. I've written it all out for you to take over to Scrimgeour. He's on duty tonight."

Sampson nodded and stood dutifully. His heart had fallen at the mention of Rufus Scrimgeour. The man was the deputy head of the Auror Office and he had a way of putting Sampson on edge. He knew better than to argue though. The Auror Office was the one department in the Ministry which could not be contacted with owls. The information they dealt with was far too sensitive.

Bob Ogden stopped him in the doorway. "Any other incidents whilst we have been gone?" he asked.

Sampson nodded again. "Yes sir, although both minor. Something about bewitched food being sold in the Midlands which I've forwarded to Weasley, and a missing person rep-"

"What, another one?" Barney interrupted, concern etched upon his face.

"Yes but I don't think it's anything to worry about. Just a teenage boy who's gone for a wander and hasn't come back yet."

"Muggleborn?" Ogden asked immediately. His question didn't need to be explained.

"No sir," Sampson answered. "Pureblood."

"Good," Ogden smiled, the tension going out of his shoulders as he visibly relaxed. "Well keep an eye on it anyway." He seemed about to let Sampson go and then he spoke again. "Just out of interest, which family is it? Might be worth sending someone round if it's someone who, well, donates regularly to the Ministry. Always important to keep these families sweet."

Sampson sighed inwardly. As a half-blood, the incestuous nepotism of the Ministry had been rather alien to him at first. It was something that he took for granted now though. Sampson knew that he'd never been exceptionally bright and yet it didn't take a smarter man than him to see that the Ministry was corrupt to its very core. Money- usually pureblood money- kept the Ministry turning. There was very little that couldn't be achieved by a well-placed envelope in the proper pocket.

It was only when he looked up to see Ogden's patient face that Sampson realised he still hadn't answered the question. "Black, sir," he said quickly. "A man called Orion sent an owl."

Ogden raised an eyebrow at this. "Definitely worth sending someone round then," he muttered. "He and his wife donate to all sorts of things- this department included. Crouch will have my hide if I piss them off."

Sampson stifled a yawn. Appeasing rich pureblood men was not what he'd signed up for. "Of course sir. I'll go myself. After I've delivered the report to Scrimgeour and I've got a few hours of sleep. Can't be waking such generous donors up in the middle of the night after all- even if their son is missing."


It was just past 9 o'clock when Sampson arrived at the address they had on file for Orion and Walburga Black. If he was honest with himself he was more than a bit nervous about this home visit. The Black family had a reputation for being one of the oldest, and richest, pureblood families in the wizarding world and one of the sacred twenty eight; a list of families deemed to be of the purest wizarding lineage. The list had been compiled in the 1930s, and since then many families had become extinct in the male line, or 'tainted' their lineage by intermarrying with half-bloods, muggle-borns, or god forbid even muggles themselves. There were some families on the list, such as the Weasleys and the Macmillans who Sampson knew and liked, but the majority of them would not associate with a half blood like him. A significant number of the families had a reputation for being sorted in Slytherin house, and he'd moved in very different circles at Hogwarts. Working in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, he was privy to some of the rumours that circulated the upper echelons of pureblood wizarding families, and knew that some, such as the Carrows and the Lestranges were known Death Eaters, and a much larger number were suspected of Death Eater involvement or of harbouring he-who-must-not-be-named sympathies. Indeed, there were many in the wizarding world, even at the Ministry, who thought that he-who-must-not-be-named had the right idea about things.

Turning his attention back to the handsome town house in front of him he thought back to what he knew of the Black family. He was sure the boy who was missing had been in Gryffindor, but even he as a humble Hufflepuff had remembered the scandal. The sorting hat had sat on the boy's head for what had felt like an eternity before eventually declaring him for Gryffindor. Apparently being the first in the Black family not to be sorted into Slytherin house was worth talking about, for a hushed whisper had rippled across the hall as he had taken his seat at the Gryffindor table. For a fleeting moment even Professor McGonnagal had looked stunned, and that was a rare occurrence indeed.

He momentarily held his breath as he knocked on the rather grand looking door of number 12. He'd been warned by Scrimgeour that this residence had every possible magical defence on it, and it showed. Scrimgeour had also snidely remarked that he better keep an eye out for dark objects, but he had ignored him. Ogden had assured him that Orion and Walburga Black were well respected in the wizarding community, and he hardly thought scouring their house for dubious magical items would be conducive to the task at hand. Scrimgeour would just be paranoid and overly suspicious as usual, as was common with many of the aurors especially ones that managed to live past the ripe old age of thirty.

Many minutes passed before the door finally opened to reveal a rather ugly looking house elf eyeing him suspiciously with small beady eyes.

"What do you want?" the House elf croaked.

"I'm here from the Department of Magical Law Enforcement Squad regarding a report of a missing person at approximately one twenty three am this morn-"

"About time too, Mistress is most distressed about the whole unfortunate situation." The house elf interrupted, opening the door wider as if to admit Sampson entry. "Not that he deserves it mind you" he continued softly under his breath "The young master has broken poor Mistress's heart, a disgrace to the noble house of Black."

Sampson stepped into the hall, and was immediately stuck by how grand the house was. The entrance hall was wide and spacious, and chandeliers glittered above him as he was ushered into through one of the many doors that adjoined the hall.

"May I present Mister…" The house elf turned to Sampson.

"Sampson" he finished. "From the Magical Law Enforcement Squad."

This didn't seem to impress any of the occupants of the room. The lady, who he presumed was Walburga Black, just looked at him disdainfully as if this was completely beneath her. Her face conveyed traces of beauty, but despite her striking grey eyes and sleek black hair her expression was cold and hard.

The man sitting next to her rose in greeting, however his expression was no more welcoming.

"Please, take a seat," He said gesturing to the chair opposite him and his wife.

"Thank you. Now onto the matter at hand, you son Sirius. When was the last time you saw him?" He asked, taking a blue notebook emblazoned with the Law Enforcement crest out of his bag.

"Last night around midnight," Orion replied stiffly.

A full five seconds passed before Sampson decided Orion wasn't going to elaborate.

"And when did you discover he was missing?" He pressed on.

"Around 1am after we heard him walking down the stairs and realised he had taken his belongings with him."

"I see," Sampson replied scribbling in his notebook "and was there any reason you know of that influenced his decision to leave home?"

Sampson regretted this question almost as soon as it had escaped his lips. Orion had shifted uncomfortably and Walburga was glaring at him as if he had said something grossly offensive.

An awkward silence descended on the room as Sampson stared avidly at his notebook, trying to avoid eye contact.

"He had an argument with mother last night." The voice had piped up from the corner, where a young boy sat. Sampson had not even noticed him when he had first entered the room. The boy couldn't have been older than fourteen, and had an odd expression on his face that was halfway between distain and boredom.

"Regulus," his father interjected "Please leave your mother and I to deal with this. I hardly think the conversation last night was relevant." Orion spoke quite pleasantly but Sampson was convinced of a rather menacing tone lurking beneath all the pleasantries.

The boy looked a bit startled and quickly averted his gaze back to the copy of Standard Book of Spells he had been reading. Sampson got the distinct impression that would be the last time he would speak out of turn. He instead turned his attention back to his parents, deciding to push on with the essentials.

"So, any idea of where he might have gone?" Sampson said diplomatically.

"We imagine he will have gone to one of his school friends. He is very friendly with a boy named Potter. I believe the family home is in the West Country somewhere" Orion said vaguely whilst his wife continued to shoot him dark looks. He wasn't sure what he had done to deserve this treatment, but it was overtly clear that she did not appreciate his presence in her home. He wondered fleetingly if there was any way they could feasibly know his blood status. Maybe she had just assumed, the surname he had inherited from his muggleborn father did not suggest a noble lineage.

"Thank you," Sampson replied, trying to hide his discomfort "That is a good starting point. We will be sure to ask the Potters to inform us if they see him. Did he have any money on him?"

"Not that I know of. We haven't been to Gringotts yet this summer and I know he had spent all of his money from last year on Hogsmeade visits buying junk and things full to the hilt with sugar," His father replied disdainfully.

"Right, so probably not got enough money to travel to the West Country. Well not legally at least. We'll check with the Night Bus to see if they've seen him and investigate whether he might have stowed away on muggle transport, but otherwise it seems logical that he might have stayed in London."

Orion nodded silently.

"Well we will do our best to find him, and will be in touch as soon as we have any information on his whereabouts. If you hear anything from him yourselves please do send an owl."

Sampson rose out of his chair and followed the house elf out of the door he had arrived through. The house elf closed the door behind him and Sampson was convinced he could hear raised voices. As he turned to exit the house, the door flew open and the young boy exited the room looking more than a little bit flustered.

Sampson did his best to ignore the boy, not wanting to get him in any more trouble than he evidently was in already. Trying also to ignore the now very heated discussion taking place in the room behind him he continued making his way towards the exit, sidestepping a particularly ugly umbrella stand.

"Wait." A voice behind him said.

Sampson turned round to see the boy standing by the stairs, shifting his weight awkwardly from one foot to another.

"I think you should know that Sirius won't come back. It's not worth trying to find him, and even if you did my parents are arguing as to whether they will even let him back in the house," Regulus said quietly, inclining his head towards the room they had just exited. His face was expressionless, but Sampson thought for a fleeting moment he could see sadness behind his grey eyes.

"Oh, well protocol states that we still have to attempt to find him. He's under-age you see," Sampson replied, trying to maintain his professionalism.

"Well it's your time you're wasting," Regulus shrugged, as he started to walk up the stairs.

Sampson sighed, taking this as his cue to leave. However just as he was stepping through the door, his curiosity got the better of him. He didn't mean to say it out loud, but before he knew it the words had escaped his lips.

"What did they argue about?"

Regulus stopped his ascent and turned round to look at Sampson. His dark grey eyes bored into Sampson and after a long moment's hesitation he finally spoke.

"Mother wanted him to get married."

Sampson started at this revelation before remembering that arranged marriage was actually a fairly common occurrence in the old pureblood families, especially where staggering amounts of money and property were at stake. But still, the missing boy had only been sixteen, hardly old enough for that.

"Who to?" Sampson asked. He was probably pushing his luck now, and the look on the boy's face said as much. The voices down the hall were getting louder and Sampson could have sworn he had heard something fragile shatter against the wall.

Regulus again took a while to answer, surveying Sampson intently with a rather curious look on his face. With a cursory glance down the hall he finally spoke.

"Mother had someone in mind for him…." he trailed off uncertainly, not quite meeting Sampson's eye. "It was a very eligible match for both parties."

"But he wasn't interested in this girl?" Sampson asked hesitantly.

The corners of Regulus' mouth twitched slightly. "No, I don't think he was that keen," he replied softly, as he disappeared up the stairs.


A/N. I hope you liked the start of this story- any feedback or comments would be greatly appreciated!