Chapter One

Sirius heard whispers coming from the down the hallway to his cell. He'd only been here a week but he heard his name come up in conversation more than a few times, it was the only thing he had to keep him sane, eavesdropping. "I can't believe the court ruled this way. Do they have any idea how dangerous Black is?" The voice belonged to an irritated woman. "They're just going to let him prance around freely?"

"Quiet, Clarissa! He may hear you. Do you want to be his next victim?" A man's deep voice scolded. "Guards, please go an escort Black to the court room."

Sirius rolled his eyes at their speech. He had been wrongly accused of murdering his best friend and his new wife. The guards, big burly men walked to the front of his cell. "Are you going to behave, Black? Or are we going to have to hurt you?"

Sirius merely nodded. Let the oafs take that as they wanted. They opened his cell and he allowed himself to be yanked forward. His hands were quickly chained behind his back and he was prodded forward by their wands.

They led him past the stiff looking woman and into the court room. The Azkaban courtroom was merely there to show the prisoners what they would never see again. It was never used because once into Azkaban, no one ever left. Today, though, the room was filled with people. Sirius was brought into the center of the room, wondering what torture they had planned for him today.

"Sirius Black, you were charged with the murder of Peter Pettigrew and aid to the murder of Lily and James Potter. We sentenced you to a life in Azkaban." The judge said seriously.

Sirius gave him a look that said what he knew he couldn't. 'Duh, stupid.'

"It has recently come to our attention that you are a godfather. The child's parents have recently suffered a tragic death and you are all the child has left."

About a million questions ran through Sirius's head as he narrowed his eyes in confusion. Were they just doing this to taunt him? There was no way they were letting him go free to care for Harry, whose parents he supposedly help murder. Why were they doing this to him? Was it some new sick form of torture?

The Judge seemed to be reading his thoughts. "We do not mean Harry." He said. He looked down at the one they referred to as Clarissa. This was the first time Sirius really looked at her. She was frail and panicked looking. It seemed less as a mood and more as a permanent part of her physical appearance. "Please go get the infant."

Sirius watched her leave the room and wondered who they were speaking of. If not Harry, then who?

A few minutes later, Clarissa returned, this time, a sleeping baby occupied her arms. She answered his question. "Her name is Brielle Elena Black." She said in her whispery voice.

"She's only a day over a week old. Since she has no one left and we refuse to put her in muggle foster care, we have two options for you. You can stay her and spend the rest of your life in a dark, dreary place, slowly going mad thinking of the murders you may or may not have committed along with sending an innocent baby to the streets." The judge stated the first option as if it were really appealing to Sirius. "Or you can raise this child as a 'community service' if you will as a free man."

"Let me get this straight, you are going to give an innocent baby to a cold blooded murder and not expect him to kill her?" Clarissa demanded, her voice turned to that of squeaky outrage.

"He pleaded not guilty to everything and there is minimal proof that he is guilty. If he isn't guilty, this is his way to prove it to us." The judge said. "No death eater could put up with a child."
All eyes turned to Sirius then and he felt like a bug under a microscope. "What's your decision Sirius?"

He looked at the baby again; she looked so much like Rowena. She sure was quiet. "Brielle, I choose Brielle." He answered with a nod as if assuring himself of the response.

The guards unchained his arms. Sirius reached towards Clarissa but she jerked back and shook her head. "This is a baby. You cannot touch a baby as filthy as you are." She snarled. "At the very least, cleanse him."

"Before that even, there are some things I need to cover." The judge stated. "We had anticipated your answer and cleaned the only house you own. That horrid screaming frame of your mother was removed. The house elf was a wretched thing and proved a threat to the baby. He has been sent away until you feel that Brielle is old enough to hold her own."

"We have brought all of Brielle's things from her parents' house. Along with anything Rowena and Ryan left you in their will." The judge lectured. "Every six months one of the court members will turn social worker and evaluate how well you are treating the child. Once we have deemed you safe, we will check once a year and after a few years, we will no longer check on you at all. If you prove to be a good father, that is."

Sirius nodded when he needed to. This was very overwhelming and being referred to as a father was making it worse. The judge nodded to the guards. "Get him cleaned up."

It felt so weird to be back in normal clothing, rather than the itchy striped jumpsuit that they issued him when he was forced into the prison. A soft t-shirt and jeans. What he happened to be wearing when he was arrested. He looked down at the little life in his arms. She was so beautiful until she opened her dark blue eyes. She looked around once and then began screaming.

Oh the joys of parenting, best paired with liquor.