Reclaiming the House of Black

by Fairywm

Tired of the way he and his godson are treated, Sirius takes a stand and reclaims his house. No longer will he let others rule his life. I wouldn't call it bashing, just my point of view.

Reclaiming the House of Black

Thanks to my lovely beta, LadyLini, for all her help in making these easier to read for you my readers. She did the first draft; this rewrite is unbeta-ed. All mistakes are still my own.

As stated above, this is a rewrite of a story in 'Little of this, more of that'. If you want to take it further, have at it, just drop me a link.

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter that pleasure belongs to J.K. Rowling, and all the people who she gave permission to have it make her rich. I just play in her sandbox.

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Sirius was sitting in the semi-clean kitchen at 12 Grimmauld Place. He had grown up here until he ran away when he was sixteen and his mother had blasted his name off of the family tapestry. He was never supposed to step foot in there again. He hated this stupid, gloomy, dark house, but he hated that he had company more. It wasn't that he had people around; it was what they were doing.

However, he had little choice, since he was a wanted criminal, who the Minister used as a scapegoat for everything that went wrong in the Wizarding World. Some of the things he was accused of doing would have been fun to do. He always wanted to stop up the loos in the Ministry. However, he hadn't done anything other than hide since his godson and friend had rescued him two years ago. He shuddered as he remembered that he had been minutes away from being Kissed by Dementors. He still had nightmares about that and Azkaban.

When Harry had seen the Dark Lord reborn, Dumbledore had started up the group of freedom fights from the last time that megalomaniac had walked the earth. They were called the Order of the Phoenix, and now they had taken over his house. He had offered it for meetings, but they took that to mean a safe house. The Weasleys and Hermione had moved in once the Fidelius Charm was put in place, for their own protection.

Sirius had no idea how the adult Grangers were taking that. They were probably in just as much danger as their daughter, yet Hermione seemed to be the only one that cared about them. The Order just went and retrieved her from her home. They left the parents behind, helpless. He didn't think that was right, but since he was being held here, there was only letters to be written, and write them he tried.

Sirius wasn't really sure what the Order did. They didn't go out and proactively take down Death Eaters, like they had in the past. The only thing he'd seen them do so far was watching Harry and guarding the Prophecy Room in the Department of Mysteries. How that was supposed to stop Voldemort, he didn't know. But still, he wasn't doing of those things either, no; he was sitting around his childhood home—moping.

Harry was supposed to be here in a few weeks. According to Dumbledore, by then he would have spent enough time at Privet Drive to keep the blood wards stable for another year.

Sirius knew his godson hated it at that house. He wanted to write to him and tell him where he was, but Dumbledore, in all his infinite wisdom, said that Harry needed time to process what had happened to him. Alone and without support, even so, Sirius had tried to write to him multiple times, like he had the Grangers, but all his letters had been confiscated. He was beginning to get annoyed.

This, he could handle, sort of. What he couldn't handle was the way that red-haired harpy was taking over his house. He may not have liked the building, but it was still his and Mrs. Weasley had no right taking over the way she was. It was the only thing he owned, dammit.

In this old house, was a house elf named Kreacher. Sirius and Kreacher detested each other. Sirius hated that house elf almost as much as he hated Snivellus. Kreacher had spent many years here alone, and he had only gone crazier than before.

Sirius had tried to get him to clean, but Molly informed him that she would be taking over that duty, along with her children and Hermione. She told him that he was an unkind man to make that 'poor old elf' do the housework. He really hated that condescending voice of hers. He already had a mother he disliked, he didn't need another. She was only a few years older than he was, for Merlin's sake.

Sirius, on the other hand, knew that if house elves weren't given work, their mind would snap completely. That was why this house was such a mess. He needed to do something to gain back control over his house and house elf.

He stood up abruptly from the table and made his way to the library; it was the only room in the house that no one else had access to, much to Dumbledore's displeasure. He had just had an argument with Molly as to where Harry would be sleeping when he got here. She insisted that Harry should sleep with Ron because he needed to be around his friends.

Yeah, then he'll need his friends, the dogman thought bitterly. What about earlier this summer? He really could have used someone then. Stupid Headmaster, and his stupid games. I wonder just what that old barmy man is up to.

Sirius knew that Harry would be angry about the lack of communication and that he would probably want a room he could go to so he would have a place to unwind. He wouldn't be able to do that if he were bunking with Ron. Regulus's room was vacant and there were plenty of other rooms that no one was using. This house had three floors of bedrooms. To pair up the kids was ridiculous. These were teens, after all, and they would want their space. Well, maybe not the twins.

The angry man marched to the back of the library, to a room that was hidden there. This room was the reason no one but a Black could come into the library unless allowed. It was a ritual room that only the family could use. Many Dark rituals had taken place here, and if he could figure out another way to help his godson, he wouldn't step foot in here now, but needs must.

The room itself was circular. It had a large black marble pedestal in the middle and black walls. The few torches did nothing to lighten it. There was a diagram in the center of the floor that was etched into the stone. It was to call on demons for knowledge. On those walls was dried blood from former things done here, that Sirius didn't want to think about. He loathed the Dark Arts that his family loved.

He entered the room and went to the pedestal. He hadn't wanted to do this. He never wanted to be the Head of House, but it needed to be done. Slamming down his hand on the pedestal, he felt the prick that drew blood from the middle of it.

"I, Sirius Orion Black, hereby claim the Head of House for the house of Black. Let it be known from this day forth all Blacks will answer to me," he called to the air and felt the ties of all the Blacks.

"I hereby recall all who were cast out to be reinstated, and that they will know the power of the House of Black again. Any Black that kneels to one other than the Head of House is henceforth an Oath Breaker. All rights, privileges and monies will be claimed as forfeit. As is my right, I hereby claim the forfeit of all oath breakers. May their magic be stripped and distributed to each Black that stayed true to themselves by my own discretion. "

He felt the magic flow in to the pedestal and start to fill him. He could feel Andromeda, Tonks, and Harry through the magic, and they were getting stronger. He knew Andromeda and Tonks would know what that meant. Poor Harry would more than likely be scared.

He wondered how Bellatrix was doing—he could feel the magic leave her, making her a squib. Would she take her own life now? He didn't care. That crazy bitch needed to be put down like a dog. He did like the fact that all her vaults would now be his and no one could enter until he went to Gringotts and claimed them completely.

Narcissa was getting a small portion of the magic, as was Draco. He did wonder what would happen should they take the Dark Mark, and then brushed those thoughts aside. Some of the more distant cousins, including the Weasleys, not Molly, were getting minute increases as well. It was such a tiny bit; they probably wouldn't even feel it.

"I hereby claim this house to be mine. To serve me as it's Master. All wards will strengthen and listen only to me. All charms placed on this house are mine to command. Any with ill intent upon the House of Black will henceforth be denied access."

The wards flared, and he knew that Snivellus would no longer be allowed in the house. Neither would the thief, Mundungus. That was too bad; Sirius actually liked him. Maybe if he could get him to take a vow to keep his sticky fingers to himself…

The Fidelius was now his and he was the Secret Keeper. Dumbledore would not be happy, but he didn't care what that old man thought right now. Trying to keep Harry and him prisoners didn't make Sirius like him all that much. Oh, he respected him and would listen to him about somethings, but he didn't like him.

Sirius was tickled that the wards stung Molly, but didn't evict her. She had no ill intent; she was just being her overbearing self. She would find, however, that every time she so much as thought Sirius was wrong, she would get pricked again.

"All servants of the House of Black are called to me this very minute to retake their vows of obedience, that they may be strong and serve the House of Black to their fullest," he said in a demanding voice, his hand still on the pedestal.

Kreacher popped into the room, looking as if he had fought the magic the entire way. "Blood-traitor Master calls poor old Kreacher? Kreacher is not wanting to serve this Master, but Kreacher must be obeying the call of magic," the wretched creature spoke, his nose almost touching the floor as he bowed to the man he despised.

Sirius ignored him and finished the ritual, "Everything I have spoken will remain until the next Black is called. So mote it be." With great relief he took his injured hand off the pedestal. He watched as the wound heal, it was then he noted the House Ring on his right hand.

It was then that he then turned to the house elf groveling on the floor. "Kreacher, you have one choice. You will serve me and clean this damn house, or you will die. Your head will not go on the wall, and you will not be remembered as a devoted servant. You will die here in this room, and your body will be banished. What do you want to do?" he asked his tone full of power, demanding to be obeyed.

Kreacher was in a quandary—he lived to serve the House of Black, but he reviled this man in front of him with a burning passion. He needed to complete the task set to him by Master Regulus—he was ordered to, and Kreacher did not want to disobey the last order of his loving Master. Shaking his head back and forth with indecision, he felt his mind nearly snap. He had been too long by himself and, though he wasn't free, he had not served in years. Would he feel better doing what he was supposed to do and serve the House of Black like he had in times past? Was it possible to serve the blood-traitor?

Five minutes passed and neither of the occupants of the room moved from their spot. The house elf's only movement was the head shaking. Kreacher finally looked up and said, "Kreacher will serve the House of Black again. Kreacher lives to serve." He once more bowed and his voice was much more stable.

"Then I hereby claim the house elf Kreacher to be loyal to the House of Black until the day he dies. May he live on the magic of the house he serves," Sirius incanted, putting his hand on the dirty elf's head. There was a blue glow around both of them and then Sirius stood back.

Kreacher was renewed. Though he was still old and didn't change much on the outside, his magic got a boost from the wards, and he felt invigorated. He was no longer stooped and his wrinkles nearly vanished.

"Kreacher, you will start to clean this house," Sirius said, this time softly. "Start with the rooms that are used the most and clean a room for my godson. Regulus's room will be best. Take all of Regulus's things, and store them in the attic."

"Yes, Master," Kreacher said as he stood.

"Then start taking all the dark objects and put them in a chest, put it in my room," the master added as an afterthought. "And I mean all the dark objects. You will not hide anything. You are my elf now, and you will obey me to the fullest," Sirius ordered. He would send it all to the DoM and they could deal with them. He didn't think it was safe to just throw them away, who knew who could pick them out of the bins.

"Kreacher hears and obeys." With that, the transformed elf popped out of the room.

Sirius had once been a cruel man, but Azkaban had cured him of that. Years of torture and guilt did that to a man. He wondered if he could find another elf to help Kreacher. Still standing in the room of power, he started thinking on what he could do to help this war effort. Stripping Bellatrix of her magic and money was a good start, but what else could he do? He wanted Andromeda and her husband to come and stay here for protection, no matter who protested. He'd ask Tonks to give Andromeda a message with the secret so that she could come if she wanted. Narcissa could take care of herself.

As he stood in that room, deep in though, he recalled that free house elves frequently wanted a family. So he called to the air, "Magic hear my call. The House of Black seeks any free elf that wants a family to serve. Come to my voice, and let me inspect you."

A few minutes later, ten elves popped into the room. One was wearing tea cozies as a hat, a large knitted jumper and had socks on its feet. One female was in a very sloppy and stained dress. If he looked close enough he'd know it was butterbeer. The rest were dressed in ratty pillowcases and didn't look at all well. Well this was difficult he didn't need 10 elves. He pointed to the one in the tea cozy, "You, what did you do to be freed?"

"Dobby was freed from a cruel master by the Great Harry Potter. Dobby was hoping that if Harry Potter's dogfather took him in, then Dobby could serve around the Great Harry Potter. Dobby lives to serve Harry Potter," the now named Dobby said, bouncing on his spindly sock clad feet.

Sirius thought about that for a minute and then said, "Dobby, go to Harry and offer your services. Explain to him why you want to serve him. If he doesn't take you, come back to me, and I will bond with you and have you serve only him as a child of the House of Black." It would be nice birthday present.

Dobby popped away to 4 Privet Drive in the hope that his greatest wish would come true.

Sirius pointed to the elf in the dress, "You, what did you do to be freed?"

"Winky is not knowing, sir. Winky is following orders and then Master accuses Winky of using a wand, but Winky didn't. Winky was only following orders," she cried in earnest, putting her thin hand over her face.

"Winky? Do you want to serve the House of Black?" the new Head asked.

"Winky will serve the House of Black. Winky lives to serve," she said as she perked up a little.

"Stand over there, and let me interview the rest of these elves," Sirius said as he pointed to the wall on the far side of the room.

The elf did as she was told, though she was itching to clean the old blood stains off. Her nose wrinkled and she made sure to stand clear of them.

Sirius talked to the other elves and found two more that he felt would serve him well. They were a female named Tilly and a male name Dinky. He took oaths from the three elves after sending the rest away. He gave them the same orders he gave Kreacher once he had informed them that Kreacher was the head elf and that they were to take instructions from him.

The still invigorated man heaved a large sigh. He was still feeling the extra boost of magic, and it was making him antsy. He left, warded and locked the room so no one could come in. As he was leaving the library, he gave permission to the room to allow the kids access, but not the adults, except Moony. He felt that he would deny that privilege until the people in his house started respecting him.

He made his way down the stairs and could already see the efforts that the elves were making. The walls were brighter and there were no cobwebs. The pictures were cleaner and you could see who was in them. He came across his mother's painting and decided that it could now be removed since he had so much help.

"Kreacher," he called.

"Master has called Kreacher?" the old elf asked, once more bowing deeply.

"Yes, I want this painting removed. If you feel it would be too painful for you to do it, then have one of the other elves do it. Also, I want the elf heads moved to my mother's old room. They would be more honored there," Sirius ordered kindly. He knew it would be hard on Kreacher, and if he didn't want the elf to turn on him, he'd give him the option.

"Dinky," Kreacher called.

"Dinky is being needed?" the youngish elf asked as he popped in.

"Master is wanting this painting removed," Kreacher said in a strained voice. You hear how much it pained him. After all, that painting had been giving him orders for years.

"Dinky, when you've removed the painting, cover it and put it in the attic," Sirius ordered. He turned to Kreacher and knelt down to look in his eyes. "Kreacher, I know that was hard on you, and if you want, you may visit her once a month."

"Master is too kind to Kreacher." And, with the elf heads, he popped away.

Sirius continued his trek down the stairs, into the kitchen. He sat at the table and looked around. Elves were fast workers; he hadn't seen the kitchen so clean since he was a lad.

Molly was sitting at the table, fuming. She looked at Sirius and exploded, ignoring the stinging she was getting from the wards. "Sirius Black, just what is going on around here? Some strange elf came into the kitchen and informs me that I was no longer needed! She forced me to leave. How dare you bond these poor elves to you? What give you the right to do that?" she yelled at him from across the table.

Sirius sat calmly and let her yell. "The right? Every wizard has the right to bond to a house elf. It is what they are for. They go crazy without a family. Didn't you know?" he asked, cocking his head to the side and looked at her like she was an ignorant child.

"It's slavery. No one has the right to do that. You will release them at once. Do you hear me?" Molly screamed, and then flinched as the wards gave her an extra hard sting as a warning.

"Molly, I am not your child. This is not your house. You are here, only because the Headmaster needed you here, and at my invitation. You cannot order me around as if was your own. How would you feel if I came to your house and started demanding that you and your family to bond with elves and dirty up your house, because I didn't feel comfortable?" Sirius said calmly, yet firmly, to the mother of the Weasley family.

"Why would anyone do that? That doesn't make sense at all and is completely beside the point. You're keeping slaves in this house, and I won't have it. I had everything under control. We were getting a room done a day; there was no need for you to do this," Molly said, confused and angry. She didn't like it when people didn't listen to her. "You just wait until Dumbledore gets here. He will set you right," she threatened him and got stung again, only this time harder. She all but jumped out of her chair.

Now Sirius was getting annoyed. "You won't have it? You won't have it?" he spat, his voice rising. "How dare you threaten me in my own house?" he hissed as his fist balled up, holding back on the need to slam it.

She leaned away from the man she just angered. She thought he would just bow down like he always does.

"I can kick the lot of you out in minute, and you would have to fend for yourselves. I can remove you and keep your children and husband here, where they would be safe. It is a good thing for you I am not a vindictive man," he threatened, giving in and slamming his fist on the table.

Molly huffed; to her it was an empty threat. Dumbledore would never allow him to do that.

"You will keep your tongue or I will ban you to your room," Sirius continued as he leaned forward to make sure she understood what he was saying, "only to be let out for meals and the loo," he said, his face contorting to show she was pushing him to his limit.

She glared at him, how dare he treat her as a child? She opened her mouth to yell, but he cut her off.

"You will leave Harry alone and he will sleep where I say he will. I may not be able to do much for the Order, but I will be in command of this house," he said, again slamming his fist on the table, making the tea cups rattle. "You will sit there and shut the hell up. Do you feel the wards stinging you? They are teaching you manners. For all the harping you do on the children about manners, you seem to have very few. It will just keep getting worse the more you argue with me, then the house will evict you. Do you want that?"

Molly snorted as she cross her arms over her chest, but remained quiet. The last few times she spoke she had gotten stung enough to welt. Besides, Albus would put this… man straight.

The twins, Ron, Ginny, and Hermione came running into the room to see who was yelling.

"Sit down everyone," Sirius said, gesturing to the chairs around the table.

The kids saw Molly sitting at the table, still fuming, and looked around with various expressions on their faces.

"I want to let you know that you will no longer have to clean this house." He smiled, taking the bite out of what he still had to say.

The teens looked relieved; this was not an easy house to clean, and all of them had been hurt by the creatures that inhabited the house.

"Things are going to be different around here," the new Head said.

"How?" came the question from Hermione.

"Well, first off, there are now four house elves to clean the house. Stop," he said, holding his hand up at Hermione as she opened her mouth to tell him off. "If you start yelling at me, the house will sting you. If you continue, after so many warnings, you will be evicted. I don't want that to happen. You do not have any right to impose your beliefs on me. You should research in the library so you will understand the nature of house elves. I asked each and every one of them if they wanted to bond. I did not take any by force," he said firmly to her. "I sent the elf named Dobby to Harry to see if Harry wants to bond with him. It is Dobby's greatest desire to be bonded with Harry. If they do, you will respect that. If you cannot, then keep you opinions to yourself while you are in this house."

Hermione quieted. She didn't want to be attacked by the wards, and she certainly didn't want to be evicted; she had nowhere else to go. When the Order all but kidnapped her, her parents said they were still going out of the country. She sat, disgruntled. It was not often that she was told she couldn't voice her opinion. Her parents always told her to speak out on what was bothering her.

"Second off, Mother's portrait will be removed. Lastly, you can all access the library now, so you will have something to do. I will inform the house elves that you will be responsible for your own rooms, though," he said, trying to lighten the atmosphere.

Hermione bounced in her chair, but kept quiet. The Weasleys children were wary; they were expecting their mum to blow at any minute. They could see the redness of her face. She was very angry.

"Look," Sirius said, running his hand through his hair and over his face, "I don't want to come across as a hardass. I just want you to understand that this is my house, and you are my guests. I will do everything in my power to make sure you are as comfortable as I can. If you need something, let me know, and I will do what I can to help. However, I will not put up with being treated as a child that broke the rules. Every single one of you knows the hell I've been through these past twelve years."

There were guilty faces all around. For some reason, they kept forgetting what Sirius had been through. It was probably because he only showed the carefree side of himself and not the torn man he had become.

"It has taken its toll, I agree, but I am not a child that needs to be taken to task." He once more looked at the fuming Mrs. Weasley.

"You have always been an irresponsible man," she finally snapped, ignoring the stinging. "You have never taken anything seriously. You cause disorder in all the Order meetings, always fighting the Headmaster and Severus. Dumbledore is a great man, and you should do as he says and not argue with him," Molly argued. In her opinion, Dumbledore's word was law, except when it came to her family. Then her word was law. "Severus has made up for whatever sin you have probably falsely labeled him with. He is very important to the Order, yet, all you do is fight with him. You are nothing but an adult child sulking over a lost toy."

"Molly," he said, looking to her in ire, "you didn't know me until a couple of months ago. You only have the word of others that knew me before I was sent to Azkaban. How the hell could you make such an opinion of me? And freedom is not a toy. You should feel lucky that you have yours."

The current adult Weasleys were never in the Order the first time it was formed. Molly's twin brothers were, but they were starting a family and declined. Now that their children were older they were more than happy to take up the call.

The teens' heads swiveled back and forth between the two bickering adults, not daring to say a word and interrupt the only entertainment they've had since they got here.

"If you had taken Harry from that house and never gone after Peter Pettigrew, then you would not have been put in Azkaban. That shows just how irresponsible you are," she said in self-righteousness anger.

"That was thirteen years ago; I've been punished for that. Are you telling me that when you were twenty-three you did everything right and nothing you did caused harm to anyone? I find your reasoning stupid to a major degree," Sirius spat back at her, standing up from the table and glaring at her for her audacity.

"You still haven't changed. I see the jokes you make in the Order meetings, and I see how you argue with everyone. Now you're being all bossy and commanding at the Order Headquarters. These are not the signs of a responsible man. Those are the signs of the rebellious teen that everyone claims you are."

"Molly," he paused and gritted his teeth, looking at the teens watching them, and then continuing, "I am a prisoner here, and I can do nothing but offer my house as refuge. If I think something I say will help the war effort, then I am going to say it. Dumbledore is not God. He can be wrong, and if no one tells him so, he will continue not to seek our opinions and only demand servitude. Dumbledore is a great wizard, and I respect him, but, like you, he treats me and—hell—everyone else like children. We are adults and entitled to voice our differences, without being sent to our rooms like bad little tykes."

"If you didn't act like one, no one would treat you like a child," she snarled back and then jumped when the wards got her extra hard.

He flexed to relieve some of the stress in his shoulders, trying to calm down before the wards kicked everyone out. "I will remind Dumbledore, like I did you, that this is my house, and I will be treated with respect. You can think on that. Talk to your husband—maybe he can get it through that thick head of yours that you are not in charge." And with that, he left the room before he did something foolish.

Harry didn't have the issue with the Dementors, since Dobby was there to pop both boys away before he could do magic, so there was no trial. There was also no flight in the night sky, as Sirius felt that was just plain stupid. He sent Winky with a note telling Harry the secret and had the two elves packed for him and brought him to Grimmauld Place.

The house finally looked like it had when it was new. The house elves were plenty busy with all the people residing there. Molly never came around to his way of thinking, but after the house evicted her once, she promised to keep her mouth shut, so he brought her back in and warned her that next time he wouldn't.

Dumbledore was not happy that he couldn't get Sirius to let Snape in, nor was he happy that only the children and Moony were allowed in the library.

Sirius told him in no uncertain terms the new rules of the house and, since he had no other place for the Order, Albus complied. The Head of the House of Black also told him that he should continue to use Snape as a spy, just because the wards wouldn't let him in didn't mean he wasn't valuable. But the wards would not let anyone in that had ill intent; there really wasn't anything that could be done. If Snape had changed his ways he could attend the Order meetings with everyone else. He hadn't, so he had to do separate meetings with Dumbledore.

The Headmaster just wasn't happy about it, but had little choice in the matter.

Mundungus took a vow not to steal anything, so he was allowed in with a warning not to try anything. He got caught once and that was the last item he ever took from a Black.

Sirius put Harry in Regulus's room and taught him all the things he should have been taught long ago. Because Kreacher renewed his vows, he never went behind Sirius's back to the women of the Black family. He also let Harry know that Sirius was in the house when that frantic call came, so the fight at the Department of Mysteries never happened. In the end, Sirius used all of his resources to help the war effort.

When the hunt for the Horcruxes was on, he was a great asset. The DoM had told him about the necklace and he informed Harry, not that it mattered, Dumbledore was already dead from the poison in the cave. He went with the kids and came up with better plans than they had. That and he brought loads of books from the Black library.

Sirius name was finally cleared when Peter was captured during the battle of Hogwarts, and all because of that red-haired harpy woman trying to rule his house.

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It has always bothered me that in OoTP Molly completely takes over Grimmauld Place. If that was my house, I would have booted her out so fast that her head would have spun. Really, it was just plain rude. So, in this fic, we're going to borrow the clichéd Black Family Magic and slap Molly down.

A reviewer pointed out that Snape was kinda important, and I agree. So I added a few lines to point that out and hopefully didn't mess up the whole point of the plot.

I have a poll going on my profile, even when this story is old you should take a gander. I almost always have one going. They rarely have anything to do with my current stories.