Disclaimer: All Harry Potter characters, storylines, etc. belong to JK Rowling, Iown absoloutely nothing, all rights go to JK Rowling, or her publisheers or someone, not me, so please don't sue.

I'm thinking that this story takes place during the fifth book..well, i guess it has to, because Sirius is still alive. But from there, I don't know if it will exactly follow all the events the real books entail, so bear with me, i suppose...

Chapter One: Solitude

"Thank the Gods," Sirius Black whispered to himself. Finally, a chance to leave the dreary prison of Number 12 Grimauld Place, finally an assignment, finally, a chance to make a difference! A chance to do something!

To have been locked up and useless had hurt him beyond anyone's wildest dreams; to sit safely on the sidelines while others risked their lives for a higher cause…It was beyond irony that the place he had tried so hard to disassociate himself with for the majority of his life had become the one place that all those around him wished him to stay.

He looked in contempt at the portrait of his mother as he donned an invisibility cloak and slipped silently out the door…

He was a little bitter about the particular reason why he, and none of the others had been called to take care of this particular matter. A Death Eater had recently been killed during a confrontation by some of the members of the Order of the Phoenix. Snape, who to Sirius' dismay was the man who told him of his new mission, was rather vague on details.

In any case, the Death Eater had an ancient mansion in his name and no non-fugitive relatives alive. The Order had to be sure the house was safe, confiscate any Dark objects, remove any curses, etc. And, as Snape had so pointedly reminded him, Sirius had had such experience in matters concerning housekeeping that he should be delegated this task, leaving time for more important assignments to members of the Order who were actually useful.

Snape, of course, was referring to the extensive purge of his old house that Sirius had conducted with Molly Weasley and some of the kids, including his godson. They had thrown out, de-charmed, and destroyed most of the Dark contents of his hated house; and apparently this made him an expert in the field of de-cursing household Dark objects…or as Snape put it…housekeeping.

Sirius hitched a ride to his destination on the back of some sort of strange Muggle vehicle, a "pick-up truck" he'd heard someone call it once, though what exactly it picked up was a mystery to him. Snape had offered him the address via the Flo Network, but, as Sirius reminded him, it was never wise to Flo to a strange fireplace, alone, without back-up, in the middle of a most-likely haunted mansion formerly belonging to a deranged Death Eater. Besides, Sirius would always try his best not to take anything more from Snape than what was necessary.

Located far away from any prying Muggle eyes, Sirius had to walk on foot the last 12 miles (as a dog, of course). The outside of the mansion was just as dark and foreboding as one would expect it. The decrepit grey mansion itself stood on a hill, a silhouette against the horizon. The yard was over-grown with a variety of defensive spells protecting against entrance. Fortunately they didn't much affect Sirius as a dog, and he could easily disable them once he was inside. Scattered among the weeds and mud he found strange discarded objects, litter really.

He walked cautiously towards the main entrance to the house, not knowing exactly what to expect. He stood on the porch for a minute, before rolling his eyes at his own caution, I'm turning into Molly Weasley, he berated himself, before gingerly taking the doorknob in his hand and turning…

Nothing happened. Strange, I would have expected more, Sirius thought to himself, his wand at the ready, before continuing, who am I kidding? I wanted more. The inside of the house was huge. Three separate stairways lead up to the second floor landing, and additional corridors seemed to pop up behind every door. However, those halls never seemed to lead anywhere, he would always end up where he started, and disoriented. Meant to confuse intruders, he supposed.

Hours of exploring the God-forsaken house had gotten him nothing except a foul mood. He wondered whether this was truly an assignment, or something Snape had just made up. The house was freakin' EMPTY! Not once, in three hours, had Sirius found anything more interesting than an empty dresser and dirty plates. Whoever owned this place had considered the possibility of defeat, and had acted accordingly. All incriminating objects, all useful information, EVERYTHING, had already been either moved or destroyed, There was nothing.

Moodily, Sirius clunked back down the stairs to ground-level. He searched again and found nothing. The living room had an old fire place with what looked like jagged nails sticking up at its base. Glad I didn't come by Flo, Sirius smiled slightly. All he found in the kitchen were empty cupboards and a broken refrigerator. A broken Muggle refrigerator. Sirius walked closer. Any Muggle born would have seen it as common and insignificant as a chair or table, but to Sirius it stuck out like a sore thumb. No Death Eater would have such a device in their home, Muggle technology was nothing if not insulting and crude.

He approached cautiously, extending his hand to open the door. Inside was dark, but he could immediately tell that it led somewhere, a passageway or a basement, a dungeon of some kind. This was big. He could practically feel Dark Art swimming off the walls. He knew procedure. He should definitely call for back-up and wait. Definitely, he thought grinningly, before plunging into the darkness alone.

The dark tunnel he had entered reminded him desperately of the Catacombs he'd visited in Paris as a boy. Important to see and understand death, his parents had thought. He shuddered. The floor was earthen, the walls stone with barred rooms every once in awhile. Most cells were empty, but some had obviously not yet been emptied. Ancient books of Dark Art, lists of names, family crests, dead beasts and Dark potions were only some of what remained. It would take weeks for the Ministry to catalog all this, he thought, but suddenly froze. He thought he'd heard something, and looked around him, his heart racing. Yes, he was sure that all the dead beasts around him were actually dead, which left something entirely unknown, some creature whose lair he had possible just intruded on.

I'd seen the light. I saw it the moment the strange had grown curious enough about the Muggle device. He should have left it alone, I thought, sneering. But he hadn't. He came, and kept coming, all alone. At first I was sure it was Master, coming for the rest of his Dark objects, coming for me. But no, I hadn't seen him for days now. But this man, he gingerly looked around the death caves, not aware he was being watched. Not aware I was there, or how impossibly desperate I had grown. This man, I assured myself, was my one chance.