Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor do I own Shorts

Warning: the tone in the beginning of this story may switch rather uncomfortably between goofy and dark. Bear with me, for the goofy stuff ends pretty soon. It's only the result of using a sort of goofy children's movie and trying to merge it with JK Rowling's Black family, which, might I just say, is fairly dark. Also, I've had Danse Macabre stuck in my head nonstop so that's where a bit of the dark, whimsical tone of the story comes from.

Side Note: if anyone picks up any Secret Garden vibes, I applaud you.

Now, this story is one that I've had for a while. I began writing it maybe three years ago after re-watching the movie Shorts. Since then I've completely rewritten and revamped it. Because of that, I have now deemed it worthy to post. This is just the prologue, by the way, so the plot doesn't really start until the next chapter. I apologize if a lot of the earlier chapters are heavy on exposition...the thick of the plot doesn't really start for a good while.

So, without further ado, I give you House of Cards.

Prologue: Black is the Blood

If there was one prestigious family it in the Wizarding World, it was the Blacks. As the most Ancient and Noble House, they spent years specially crafting their power within the inner workings of the Ministry. Their dynasty grew, and as it did so, so did their reputation. But like all vast empires, one day theirs came tumbling down like a house of cards. It is there that we begin our story. Not with the Blacks, but with a house elf. The Blacks' house elf, one who was pallid and bent, whose name was Kreacher.

Kreacher thrived under the service of his mistress Walburga. She was wife of the Heir Black, one Orion Black. They had two boys—Sirius and Regulus. Kreacher loved these two boys as much as he loved his mistress. He loved caring for them when they were small, helping his mistress keep an eye on them as they began to toddle about the mildly dangerous townhouse. But then Master Sirius broke Mistress Walburga's heart by running away.

Sirius was burned off of the tapestry and Regulus began to be groomed to be the future Heir Black. Where Sirius was loud, Regulus was quiet. The boy knew when to speak and when not to speak. He knew how to please his parents and how to be the perfect heir. With only one child left in the family, Regulus was treated like a prince at home. At school, he was shunned by his brother. This saddened Regulus, who loved his brother.

But then the Dark Lord breezed in.

Regulus, being the Slytherin that he was, was constantly under pressure from his peers—such as his friend Barty and his older cousin Bellatrix—and his mother. At the age of sixteen, Regulus joined the ranks of the Death Eaters. When Sirius heard, the budding auror refused to speak to his brother again. Kreacher, however, could not be more proud—his mistress was proud after all, so he would be proud of master Regulus.

Then, a year later, Kreacher met the Dark Lord.

He was such a cold man, putting off an ominous aura. After meeting him, Kreacher was not so sure that the Dark Lord was as good as his Mistress made him out to be, but Master Regulus had said that the Dark Lord needed an elf.

Kreacher was taken to a cave beside the sea where the waves splashed against the rock and the air smelled of salt. They walked into the cave where the Dark Lord ordered Kreacher to cut open his hand. The elf complied and placed his hand on the wall in which he was told. Then, the wall melted away to reveal a large cavern. The Dark Lord conjured a light that hung in the air above them and they walked along the rocky shore of a great black lake.

There was a boat. The Dark Lord commanded the elf to get in and the two of them rode across the silky black water towards a small island. Kreacher leaned forward slightly and caught sight of a ghostly hand drifting in the water. The boat drifted up onto the edge of the island and there the Dark Lord made the elf drink from a basin. It was filled with a potion that made Kreacher relive his most horrible memories. His stomach burned. He cried out for his Mistress, for Master Regulus, but the Dark Lord just laughed. Kreacher didn't think he liked this Dark Lord any longer.

When the potion was all gone, a locket was dropped into the basin and it was filled once more with the deadly liquid. Then, the Dark Lord left Kreacher there on the island. The elf was so thirsty, alone in the dark. So he slowly crawled to the edge of the water and dunked his head in to take a drink. A pair of strong hands grabbed him by the ears and he was dragged under.

Down, down, down they went. The elf struggled and kicked but he could not get himself free. More and more skeletal arms grabbed him. His lungs seared and he didn't know which way was up or down. Then, Kreacher could hear Master Regulus calling him. So he left.

The elf reappeared dripping, choking, and gasping for breath. Instantly, Regulus moved to help him. He dried Kreacher and summoned the water from his lungs and stomach. Regulus grew very worried. After coaxing the story out of the elf, he told Kreacher to stay hidden and not to leave the house.

After that, Kreacher knew that something was wrong with his master. Regulus always seemed very worried. He spent long hours in the library, reading up on dark magic. He would go to his Death Eater meetings and then would return home shaking and wide eyed. One such time, Kreacher found himself being shaken awake. It was the middle of the night. Once again, Regulus was shivering violently as he grabbed his elf and shook him awake.

"You said the Dark Lord took you to a cave?" he asked.

Groggily, the elf rubbed his eyes and after a moment, realized what Regulus was asking him and responded with a nod.

"Take me there."

So Kreacher took his master to the cave. He cut his hand and opened the cave wall. He led Regulus down to the lake where he made the boat appear and the two of them rode across to the island. Kreacher offered to drink the potion, but Master Regulus insisted on doing it himself. He drank the potion and then handed the locket to Kreacher.

"Take this back," Regulus said. "No matter what happens, you have to make sure it is destroyed. But please—don't tell my family what I've been doing, especially my mother. She just wouldn't under—" he broke off, taking a steadying breath and gripping his arm—"understand." He moaned and sank to his knees, clutching his arm to his chest. "I need water."

"Kreacher will get water for Master Regulus," Kreacher offered.

"No," Regulus pushed the elf away. He crawled to the water's edge and tried to take a sip of water.

Kreacher watched with horror as his master was grabbed and dragged under. The elf remembered the horrible sensation of struggling, of his lungs burning and his mind churning at the lack of air. He remembered Master Regulus's words—destroy the locket, don't tell the family…don't tell the family…Kreacher couldn't just leave his master to drown! But where would he take him? Marius Black had been disowned—he wasn't family, but he could help.

Urgently, Kreacher dove into the water, grabbed his master, and left for Marius, thinking of the disowned Black and his orders to destroy the locket. They reappeared in the middle of a sitting room. An elderly man leapt to his feet and rushed over to the two of them.

"Master Marius," Kreacher croaked. "Master Regulus needs your help."

"Regulus?" Marius questioned, looking at the unconscious young man and his elf, both of which were soaked to the bone. "Pollux's grandson? What happened."

Quickly, Kreacher spilled the story. Marius seemed to make up his mind and had the elf take the three of them to the nearest Wizarding Hospital. They described the situation to the Healers, who began to work on the young man. The summoned any trace of water from his lungs and tried to wake him up. Unfortunately, no matter what spell they cast, the man wouldn't wake. Eventually, they settled on determining him comatose and getting him into some dry clothes. While doing so, they noticed that he had a sickly, grey pallor and his arm was swollen. There was a black tattoo on it, and the flesh around it was red and angry looking.

"I've seen this before," the Healer mused. "This isn't good. It's a product of a dark bondage curse. It seems that this young man has tried to break away from his bondage. The curse then encourages the defector to end their own life. This usually results in some grotesque suicides, but given the circumstances, Regulus would have been encouraged in reckless behavior that might get him killed, including not wanting Kreacher to take him out of the cave right away and instead touching the Inferi infested waters."

"But he didn't drown," Marius muttered. "Why won't he wake up?"

"That would be the curse," the Healer replied. "Once he is unconscious, the curse begins fighting to keep him from waking up. Although he doesn't want to die—no human being does—the curse keeps him from waking up."

"Can you remove it?" Marius asked.

"There is a cure," said the Healer, "but the chances of it working are very slim. It could take him anywhere from weeks to decades to wake up."

"Please," Marius begged. "Just help my nephew. I don't care how long it takes."

So the Healers worked to do just that. Regulus, still comatose, was relocated to Marius's home. Kreacher insisted on staying with them, so the disowned Black found himself gaining an elf. Not really needing one, Marius decided to give Kreacher a task. Along with taking care of Regulus, the elf was to keep an eye out for any descendants of Marius's that might have magic.

For those of you who are new to my page of sinister mechanisms, I have previously written two other Harry Potter stories and two for Avatar: the Last Airbender. Check them out, if you wish to do so. If not, I don't really mind. Anywho, because of this story, the Blacks have been my brain-children for years. I'm please to finally present them to you in my own rendition. For future reference, this story is going to have Harry in it, and it will sort of be like a take on the Harry Potter series from an OC's point of view. Most things will be the same in the beginning, however as the story progresses it will become more AU.

Hope you enjoyed!

~LittleMissMycroft