After falling through the Veil, Sirius finds himself lying on darkness, paralysed from Bellatrix's spell, staring up at a brutal-looking man. The man had stared at him for a long time, everything silent before he lifted him up, turning him to face a long curved corridor, which held hundreds of different beings – and Sirius says beings, because barely any he actually sees are humanoid.
The man – guard, he later corrects – places him within a cell, which he does not share. The guard, and two others, watch him closely, until the paralysis spell finally wears off and he is left on the ground, drained and tired. Barely any time later, his cell door is opened, and he is pushed out into a mess of people, who are clamouring to sit down at what looked to be lunch tables, full of different, alien-looking foods that Sirius, upon smelling, canine senses flaring, does not wish to go anywhere near. Luckily, a guard drags him from the rabble, over to a set of tables where only humanoids sit.
The first one to catch his eye is red-haired, and by Merlin, is she beautiful.
Unfortunately, that's when a blonde man in the same sort of clothing steps into his vision, glaring. There is no ring, but that's a muggle custom, only recently introduced to the Wizarding World. No, Sirius knows this man is married to this beautiful dame due to two things: the first, is that the man doesn't just glare at him for looking at the gorgeous red-head, and second – he is the only one who sits at her table, at her side, with dozens of people in similar clothing on the tables surrounding them. But Sirius, being the mad dog he was, only smirked.
Then he sat down in front of her, digging into a plate of food that appears through the table, pushed up from some hidden compartment. He winks at the red-head, before digging in, not saying a word as the blonde man growls. His next words are in a different language, so Sirius can't translate. It's annoying, angering even, because in his youth, he'd learnt his languages – he'd learnt Latin, French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian, German, Norwegian, Swedish, Danish, Flemish, Swiss, Arabic, Farsi, Bengali, Hindi, Mandarin and Japanese, as well as over fifteen variations of sign language including British and American. Sirius had worked hard to be fluent in each, despite it being forced upon him, because he enjoyed it. And with Occlumency at his back he wouldn't be forgetting them any time soon – and to know that all that work, when face to face with a foreigner, he couldn't jibe, or tease, or insult them back in their own language, it just- it made him want to punch something.
But Sirius was mature. He was an adult. He wouldn't punch something – but he refused to deprive someone of his sense of humour, either. So he flipped the man the bird. From his face, it translated in any language.
…which was how he got into what could probably be considered a prison fight, but whatever. The redhead had hidden a smirk when Sirius knocked her husband's lights out.
Five months into living in 'Fort Rozz', Sirius could say he was fluent in eight more languages than he was before, at least in terms of oral fluency. There wasn't any way for him to become literate due to lack of paper – and anyway, he learnt how to speak the alien languages by listening and comparing. Unfortunately, he hadn't yet learnt the language of the 'Kryptonians', as his newest cellmate was called. Fort Rozz switched things up a lot, mainly due to infighting and boredom. In the Phantom Zone, which was where Fort Rozz apparently sat in, time stood still. Which explained how he got there, in Sirius' mind.
Too bad that the others didn't make it.
About a week after arriving, he'd been watching out of the window, becoming horrified as someone appeared a few yards away and promptly died. And he was even more horrified to realise he recognised them – Walden Macnair. Immediately, he'd gone to the door of his cell, waiting – impatiently – for the next mealtime. When the cell door finally opened, he became Padfoot, to the surprise and fear of some, running through the halls, trying to identify any witches or wizards.
He didn't finish his round of the ship though, before a guard caught him and he changed back to human form, not wanting to be stuck in Padfoot, no matter how much of a relief it was – staying too long as Padfoot could permanently stunt him. He'd learnt that the first time, when he met with Remus after escaping and discovered he hadn't matured in the slightest, and reacted to things in a way that wasn't human. Only with Remus' help had he reversed that.
Sirius though, continued to search, every mealtime, until he dropped two days later, too weak to do anything other than change back into a human. The guard took him to Fort Rozz's medbay, and he stayed there for a few days before being chucked back in his cell, up to his eyeballs in alien drugs, meant to enhance his physiology. He had more than one seizure, but the guards didn't care – his cellmate was the one to keep him alive, using natural electrical powers to restart his heart whenever it stopped.
The changes afterwards were hard to deal with. He couldn't walk for a while, his entire body seemingly half as heavy, but ten times as strong – and that was saying something. Wizards were strong enough on their own. Suddenly it became very easy for him to cast magic, too, but changing from Sirius Black to Padfoot became difficult as fuck. He managed it though, refusing to lose Padfoot as easily as he'd lost James, and Remus, and Harry-
Harry was an ache that never went away, only tempered by the knowledge that he had Remus, and Hermione and Ron. Knowing his godson had support was something that helped him get through every day.
And surprisingly enough, provided him with an in, in regards to the red-headed beauty.
It was a normal dinner in Fort Rozz. Like the first day, he found their tables again and sat in front of her. The hubby looked about fit to burst, but the redhead calmed him. Sirius, however, didn't really care. He'd only sat with them because they looked vaguely human, and he needed that. Poking at his food, he boredly rearranged his vegetables – or what he thought passed as vegetables – into Harry's name, staring at it for a while.
The redhead then poked his arm, holding what looked to be some kind of pencil. Then she drew on the table, upside down, writing Harry's name, then a makeshift family tree – putting Sirius as his father, denoting him using his assigned prison-number.
Immediately Sirius shook his head, taking the pencil and crossing it out, writing James' name, then pausing, before writing out his and Remus' name's beside his, dotting them together before putting a wobbly line to Harry around James' line, and then Lily's as he added her.
He pointed to himself. "Sirius." He pointed to Remus and James. "Brothers." He pointed at Remus. "Remus. Brother." He pointed to James. "James. Brother." He pointed to Harry and James. "Father. Son. James. Harry." He tapped Lily then Harry. "Mother. Son. Lily. Harry." He tapped himself and Remus, then Harry. "Uncles. Uncle, uncle, nephew." He hesitated, glancing at the redhead, who seemed a little understanding now. Then he crossed out James and Lily. "Dead. Father. Mother. Harry alone." He tapped himself, then Harry. "Godfather. Harry not alone."
The redhead frowned, before pointing at his name, motioning a cross, then pointing to Remus. "Godfather?"
Sirius shook his head, smiling slightly before putting drawing large, simple houses over James and Lily's names, then a smaller one over his, and then one beside Remus, before crossing it out. "Remus. Not godfather. Sirius, godfather. Remus and Sirius, uncles."
The redhead hummed, before nodding and wiping it all off, writing out a new family tree – and instead of using English, used the symbols that were embroidered on their jumpsuits. Sirius watched her, taking it in. She wrote two unfamiliar symbols first, identical, pointing to herself, then used the same lines they'd used to connect James and Lily to connect one of the symbols to another with an S in it, and the other to the one on her chest, and on the blonde man's – which was when he got involved in the conversation, pointing to himself and then the symbol, then the redhead and the one connected to it. Sirius rolled his eyes.
"Yes, I know." He pointed to Astra. "Wife," he pointed to the man, "husband." He pointed to the symbols, repeating his words, only to pause upon seeing that the redhead had added a kid into the family tree, below the S and the one identical to her own. He motioned to it. "Girl or boy?" She frowned at him. Sirius tried to explain. He motioned to himself, pointing down. "Man." He raised his hand up, "Man," then down, "Boy." He pointed to her. "Woman." He lowered his hand. "Girl. Boy or girl?" He pointed to the symbol, causing the redhead to glance down, smiling slightly.
"Girl," she repeated softly, and Sirius stopped himself from swooning. Merlin dammit, her voice is beautiful. He was falling hard, dammit, for an alien! For a married alien, at that! "Nephew?" She asked in a questioning voice. Sirius shook his head though.
"Niece. Girl, niece. Boy, nephew." He pointed to himself. "Man, uncle." He pointed to her, "Woman, aunt." He tapped her niece's symbol. "Name?"
Her brow furrowed, "Name?"
Sirius struggled to find a way to explain, before he pointed to himself. "Sirius. My name is Sirius. My nephew's name is Harry. My brother's name is James. My brother's name is Remus."
The woman seemed to catch on. "Astra. My name is Astra. My niece's name is Kara. My…" she paused, looking to the blonde. She pointed to him.
"Husband," Sirius offered. Astra nodded. What a lovely name…he thought.
"My husband's name is Non."
"Non," Sirius tested the name out, looking at the blonde. "Hello Non." He waved. The blonde eyed him mistrustfully. Sirius chuckled, remembering how he used to teach Reg languages when he got stuck. He waved again. "Hello, how are you?" He motioned to Non, then pointed to himself. "I am good." He pointed to Non. "How are you?" When Non didn't reply, he looked to Astra. "How are you?"
"I am…good," Astra replied slowly, before Sirius smirked slightly.
"No, you are beautiful, is what you are, and thank god you can't understand me, because I think your husband would kill me." He laughed a little, before hearing a shout.
"Black! Sirius Black! I knew someone else was here! I knew I recognised that hair!"
He turned in his seat, eyes widening as he saw someone bounding towards him, grinning. Getting up, he came out into the clear space, the person hugging him tightly before leaning back, grinning. Then Sirius got a good look at them and paled.
"You're Hesper Gamp."
His great grandmother rolled her eyes, "Of course I'm Hesper Gamp – or rather, Hesper Black, but who cares here? They kicked us out! I knew you'd find me again!" She went to kiss him, but he swiftly got out of her reach, swivelling and turning into Padfoot, knowing that Sirius Black II had not had a grim as an animagus. Immediately Hesper stiffened.
"You're not my Sirius," she whispered. Sirius turned back.
"No, I'm not, but my name is Sirius Black," he stood straight, hands going behind his back as he forced himself to remember. Forced himself to become what he'd long since shed. "Sirius Orion Black the third, last living Black by name, if not by blood. I am your great grandson, by Arcturus and Melanie MacMillan, by Orion and Walburga." He winced, remembering that she would have been alive for Walburga's birth, if not Orion's.
Hesper had been thrown through the Veil, after all.
"Walburga? Merlin, our family got a bit twisted, didn't it, boy?" She grimaced. "So, how did you get here? Were you like me? Potions Mistress extraordinaire? Murderer? Terrorist?" She prodded. Sirius relaxed- "Stand straight, boy!" She snapped, and he stiffened again, before looking forward as she circled him like a lion stalking it's prey. "So, tell me, how does the last male heir of the Ancient and Most Noble House of Black, if only by name," she mocked, "get thrown through the Veil of Death?"
"There was a battle, Madam Black," he replied, hating himself as he replied to her, "The Dark Lord Voldemort was trying to obtain a prophecy from the Department of Mysteries-" she hissed, and he flinched, but continued, "-and he mislead my godson, the one prophesied to defeat him, into picking it up. He sent his followers to retrieve it from Harry, and I and the Order of the Phoenix-"
"The Order of the Phoenix?! You joined Dumbledore?!" Hesper screeched, slapping him, "What kind of a Black are you, joining the Light Side?!"
"A good person!" He hissed, before glaring proudly. "I am a Gryffindor and proud!" Hesper let out another shriek, going to slap him again, but he grabbed her hand. "You asked for an answer, you hag, and I'll give you one. Bellatrix Lestrange nee Black, my own cousin, a Black, hit me with a paralysis curse during our battle, and I fell through the arch." He was roiling with anger now, and could feel the magic inside him wanting to be used, wanting to kill her. "Now you will leave me alone, Hesper, or Merlin dammit I will kill you with my own bare hands."
"You wouldn't," she glared spitefully.
"I would, like a bloody muggle." He spat in her face, before throwing her down the corridor from where she came, just as the bell rang to get back in their cells. "Hope that we never meet again." He didn't look at the redhead as he left, hoping he hadn't just screwed everything up for just running into a member of his family. He hoped he never met another witch or wizard, at this rate.
He didn't think his blood pressure could handle it if he had to face another raving mad Blood Purist.