It had been a week since the incident at the Ministry. The Magical Community was in an uproar. Serafina and her friends had been speaking out in Sirius' defense since the end of their third year, and he turned out to be exactly what the public thought he was. And he kidnapped The-Girl-Who-Lived. To make matters worse Voldemort had returned just as Serafina had claimed the year before. He had been sighted by the Aurors as he left the Department of Mysteries with a prophecy sphere.

She was allowed all over the house. The only place she could not go was outside. Several attempts to access Grimmauld Place were made, but none were successful. Only Hedwig had really made it through when Hermione thought to send a letter to see where she was. She had been excited when she saw the handwriting on the letter; it meant that Hermione was alive! But as she read the letter she could feel her face heat up in anger.

Serafina,

Oh Serafina! Where are you? Are you alright? That's a silly question. Of course you're not alright! Sirius turned out to be a Death Eater after all! Professor Lupin has been confined to a bed in the infirmary because he is cycling between shock and anger. He's basically catatonic now! If you had just listened to me none of this would have happened! I told you that it was a trap! And now people are hurt and the Magical Community is in turmoil! If you had just gone to one of the professors none of this would have happened! Ron was in a coma for a while, and will most likely need to see a Mind Healer! You know his family can't afford that! Neville will have to see a Mind Healer also because he is traumatized from seeing Bellatrix! And Ginny and Luna were lucky that Tonks got there when she did! Who knows what could have happened to them if-

She didn't bother to read the rest of the letter. She just sat there on her bed in silence. She hadn't asked them to come with her! She had intended to go alone! They could have stayed behind to tell a professor and get help! She looked down at the letter that was now crumpled in her hand. She could see that she was shaking because the paper was moving.

Her door opened and Sirius took one look at her before he strode over and took the letter. He scowled as he read the paper. She was still shaking when he tossed the paper aside and cast an incendio, burning it. Wrapping his arms around her he ran his fingers through her hair while he hummed in her ear. Why she expected Hermione to be more worried about her than the fact that she didn't listen, she had no clue. The other witch had shown time and again that even if you knew you did wrong, she would tell you. And she would tell you everything you did wrong; and in the most tactless way possible. And you would be lucky if you were alone when she did it.

"Shh. Don't worry about what that little know-it-all thinks. No one asked her to follow you. You thought I was in trouble and knew no one else would listen." He rocked her back and forth slightly. "I would have done the same for you Seraf." She didn't doubt that he would have. After all he had begged Voldemort for her life...and he had broken out of Azkaban for her. She just wondered how many people would have been hurt. At the moment however she didn't care. "So don't listen to her okay?" When she finally nodded he gave her a slight squeeze and let go. "Now, why don't you write her a response?" She went cold at the look in his eyes. She knew that if she didn't write it, he would. And whatever curse he planned to add to it would be worse if she let him write it. But she really didn't want to respond. She just felt like breaking things, or better yet using a blasting curse on this whole room. He kissed the top of her head and left her to write her response. Pulling out a blank sheet of parchment she stared at it for a few minutes. What should she write? Should she act as if nothing happened? Just write that she was fine and at Grimmauld Place? No... no this letter deserved a response.

Hermione,

I really doubt you'll get to read this before you get out of the infirmary or even St. Mungo's. Not if Sirius has any say about it. I have no clue what curse or jinx he's going to place on this, and as I write this, I find myself not caring. I was relieved to see the letter was from you. It meant that you survived. The last I saw you were on the floor looking for the world like you were dead. I'm sorry that you were hurt. I can't even begin to imagine how Ron and Neville feel. And I AM glad that Tonks got there when she did. But are you fucking kidding me? Is 'I told you so' the only fucking thing you want to say? I'm fine. He hasn't hurt me. I doubt he will. He's made it quite clear that he would rather die than hurt me or allow me to be killed. I'm fine. I'm safer than I have been in years. Hell I'm safer here than I ever was while living in Durzkaban or while at Hogwarts the supposed "safest place".

Serafina paused and debated on if she should add somewhere in the letter that he planned to capture the Dursleys. He would most likely read over the letter. And despite what she wrote she wasn't quite sure if he would hurt her or not. He claimed he wouldn't, but he was a Death Eater. When Hedwig came back she would try and get a letter out telling them what she knew. So she just signed her name and went looking for Sirius. In the week that they had been here, none of the other Death Eaters had made appearances. Neither had the Dark Lor- Voldemort. But with her out of the way he could focus on other things. Like getting rid of Dumbledore. He already basically had the Ministry. She had heard Tonks and Kingsley talk about the cuts to the DMLE. If the Dar- Voldemort got Dumbledore out of the way, things would be easier because there really was no one else to take over once Dumbledore was gone. Then there was the theory that she would somehow defeat the Dark Lord- Oh Merlin no! Voldemort! Tom! Voldemort! Moldyshorts! Not the Dark Lord! She had only been here a week and she was already calling him the Dark Lord! Pulling at her hair she shook her head. No! She wouldn't give in!

"Hey, hey, hey. Don't do that. What's wrong?" Once again she felt Sirius' arms wrap around her. Despite recent happenings, she still felt safe in his arms. Serafina knew she shouldn't feel this way. It was wrong. He was a Death Eater. A traitor. And he wanted to turn her.

"Why?" she choked out. "Why me? What do you want from me?" His answer was him leaning against the wall and sliding down to the floor, where he promptly pulled her into his lap and started running his fingers through her hair.

"What I want is you," her lungs suddenly forgot how to work at his declaration, "right here, with me." She couldn't breathe. She couldn't breathe!

"Shhh. It'll be alright Seraf. I promise. You'll see that in the end everything will turn out alright." She wanted to believe him. She wanted so badly to believe him, but there was still a small part of her that was digging its heels into the ground. After a few minutes he let her up and he stood. "Now, do you have the letter written?" She nodded and held out the parchment. He gave her a roguish smile as he took the paper. He stared at it for a while, and she got the feeling that he was reading it. His eyes lit up wickedly and he uttered a quick spell that she recognized as Latin."Ferveo tergum." She would need to look that one up. She knew she should have learned Latin! Not that the Dursleys ever would have let her learn something that would help her. Especially if it helped her further her magic. "Come on let's get this to Hedwig so she can deliver it. I've got a surprise waiting for you downstairs." As they returned to her room she debated on if she should ask what curse he cast. She really wanted to know, but as the same time she didn't. Ignorance is bliss and all. Screw it! She wanted to know!

"What does it do?"

"What does what do?" he asked back innocently.

"The curse you put on the letter. What does it do?" He stopped and stared at her for a few seconds before smiling at her. His smile made her want to take off running. Nothing good could come from that smile. On the other side of things… it could be the most fun she's ever had.

"Don't worry about it just yet. I'll teach it to you later." She wasn't sure if she should be excited about that or not. "In fact that will be part of your surprise downstairs." She watched as he carefully tied the letter to Hedwig's leg. Surprise? What surprise? Had she been so lost in her problems of calling Tommy boy the Dark Lord that she missed him saying she had a surprise?

"Take the letter to Hermione girl… and umm… don't wait for a reply." She was actually starting to second-guess sending a cursed letter. This wasn't her. She had never in her life purposefully hurt anyone or participated in hurting anyone. And it was her fault that they got hurt. She looked down at the floor and scuffed her shoe in contemplation. Should she stop Hedwig from taking the letter?

"Hey." She lifted her eyes to meet his. "It IS NOT your fault they were hurt. You DID NOT ask them to follow you." When she tried to look down again he grasped her chin in his hand and forced her to look up. "It is not your fault. And she needs to learn her place. Do you understand me?" she looked off to the side at Hedwig not wanting to answer. "Hey. Look at me." When she looked up he had a look on his face that reminded her of a parent scolding a child. "Do you understand?" When she finally nodded he smiled and kissed her forehead. "Besides Hedwig is already gone. Can't take it back now." Her eyes narrowed at him and he just smiled.

"You distracted me!"

"You were second guessing things." He shrugged flippantly.

"I might have changed my mind you know."

He laughed and patted her cheek. "Keep telling yourself that." She puffed her cheeks in indignation making him laugh harder. "Come on. Your surprise is waiting." He pulled her out of the room and down the hall. The few portraits in the hall were murmuring amongst each other. She gathered that they knew what the surprise was, but she couldn't get what it was from their words.

"Do you think she'll do it?"

"If she does I'll be surprised."

"I bet she does a runner."

"Nah. I think she'll freeze."

Oh God what did he expect her to do? What was the surprise? As they got closer she heard a muffled whimper followed by an eerily familiar laugh. Sirius pushed open the door and guided her in. She stopped short as she saw a familiar balding fat man crumbled on the floor. And to her shock someone she knew had been kissed by a Dementor. Barty Crouch Jr.

"You!"

"Well hello to you too Potter." He gave her an amused smile. "So nice to see you. Hope you like the gift." He gave a swift kick to the shivering form of Pettigrew. "This better be worth it Black. The Dark Lord is losing his outlet for his stress and anger. And you know what that means." Barty shivered. "I have no desire to be tortured or see Bella in an orgasmic state when she's tortured."

"Barty…" Sirius sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Yeeesss?" Barty grinned as he kicked Peter again.

"Go find Regulus, Barty. And tell him I need to speak with him. Mother's been asking after him too." Regulus was still alive? She thought that he had been killed by Voldemort!

Barty pouted. "I don't get to stay?"

"You're making Seraf nervous." They both looked at her noticing that she had backed up against the wall trying to get away.

"Oh am I?" He seemed thrilled by the thought.

"You tried to kill me!" she pointed at him. "It's because of you that I had to compete in that damn tournament!"

"I'm sorry?" He shrugged not really sounding sorry at all.

"No you're not!"

"Barty just go find Regulus. And remember the Dark Lord can always use Snivellus as his replacement for Wormtail." They both shared a laugh before the blond left. Finally Sirius shivered violently. "Merlin he just had to bring up how screwed up Bella is."

Serafina still didn't know how to take that Barty Crouch Jr. was alive. McGonagall has seen him get kissed! How was he still alive? It wasn't possible to retrieve a soul from a Dementor!

"It wasn't him." She jerked her head in Sirius' direction. "The man that was kissed wasn't him. It was his father. An old dark spell to make him look like Barty that wouldn't react badly with polyjuice, and the Imperious curse. After all the years Barty spent under the imperious curse he felt it fitting to use. Now come here." He waved her over. "Come here." He beckoned her softly.

She slowly made her way over glancing nervously at the whimpering and writhing Peter. When she got to him he turned her around to face his one time friend and positioned himself behind her. "Now, you wanted to know what that curse was?" At her nod he continued. "Well I'll teach it to you. Get out your wand." When she pulled out her wand Peter began to ramble.

"S-Seraf-fina… p-please I b-beg you h-have m-m-mercy!" Sirius' lip curled and he hissed at the quivering man.

"Don't listen to him Seraf. In fact pretend that he's not here. Just focus on learning the motions and the words. The wards have been adjusted just for today to block the animagus ability. So you don't have to worry about him getting away." Sirius whispered in her ear. "Now," he clasped his hand over hers and went through the wand movements with her. They went over it several times before he repeated the words. "Ferveo tergum."

"Fer…Ferveo tergum." She stumbled over it when Peter started to beg louder. "Ferveo tergum." She whispered to herself several times as Sirius murmured praising words in her ear and Peter's begging grew in volume. She gnashed her teeth as the rat attempted to grovel at her feet.

"Ferveo tergum!" she hissed and flicked her wand through the correct movements. When he started to scream and thrash about as his skin bubbled as if boiling, she dropped her wand and buried her face in Sirius' chest. Oh God what had she allowed him to put on Hermione's letter? Oh God what had she done? In an attempt to block out the screaming she covered her ears. It wasn't working! And that annoying voice was back too!

'He got what he deserved! He's responsible for mum and dad's deaths!'

No! No one deserved that!

'Did mum and dad deserve to die?'

No!

'Remember if he hadn't talked when he did we could have had a family*.'

A demented muggle killing family!

'But still a family. He deserves everything he's feeling now.' Why did the voice sound just like Sirius?

"He deserves everything Seraf. Just think of everything that was taken from you because of him." He whispered soothingly to her as he ran his fingers through her hair. She couldn't hear the screams anymore but she could still hear him thrashing about. Taking a shuttering breath she removed her hands from her ears to Sirius' shirt. Stepping away she turned to look at the writhing lump of what was once a man.

'He deserved it… he deserves it… he deserves it…'

"He deserves it…" she breathed out.

"There you go." He turned her around to face him and stroked her face. "Don't you feel better now?" Oddly enough she did. She hated to admit it but she did. He smiled down at her fondly. "Come on. Let's go somewhere else in the house." His hand slid down her face and he slid it down to the small of her back. As he maneuvered her out of the room he aimed his wand behind him.

"Avada Kadavra."


Sirius Black Exonerated!

Awarded Guardianship of The-Girl-Who-Lived!

That's right my dear readers! You read it here first! Sirius Black who was accused of betraying the Potter family to Voldemort was found innocent of the crime! A dead Peter Pettigrew was found in the atrium of the Ministry two days ago! What's more is Pettigrew had the dark mark! A source says that the body of Pettigrew was badly mangled as if he had been tortured before being killed. "He came after my god-daughter." The newly freed Head of the Black family growled. "What was I supposed to do? Because of him I spent twelve years in Azkaban and three more on the run. And Serafina was left with people who her parents specifically said she shouldn't go to."

And what about the claims that he kidnapped The-Girl-Who-Lived from the attack on the Ministry a week ago? And that he was working with his cousin Bellatrix Lestrange? "Preposterous! Does she look kidnapped?"said girl was happily snuggled into her godfather's side looking very content. "And working with Bellatrix? Everyone knows we never got along. The people who made these claims just don't want her to live with me. They want her malleable and willing for what they want. They want a martyr."

"I can't believe this!" Molly Weasley tossed the paper down on the table in the kitchen of the Burrow. "How can he get away with this? There's no telling what he's done to her to make her act happy!"

Remus sat quietly in a chair watching as everyone argued back and forth about what to do. Since Sirius' true allegiances came out they had used the Burrow for the Order of the Phoenix. "No he won't hurt her." He whispered hoarsely. Everyone stopped talking and looked at him. It was one of the first things he had said in a week. "He wouldn't hurt her."

"How do you know that?!" Molly screeched. "I don't care what her letter said! He's a Death Eater! He made her write those things! And that curse!"

"No." Remus shook his head. "You didn't see his face the night she was born. The look in his eyes every time he held her. The way his face would light up every time she called his name. He loves her. And she didn't place the curse on the letter. Sirius did. It's one of his favorites."

"Loves her?!" Molly screeched again. "He's a Death Eater!"

Remus just stared blandly at her. "And I'm a werewolf. Do you think it's impossible for me to love someone?" Everyone watched as she floundered for a few minutes. "He loves her. He wouldn't hurt her."

"Then what does he want with her?" Ginny asked.

"I believe you just answered your own question." Remus smiled sadly at her.

"Professor…" Remus turned to look at Hermione. "You're… you're not talking about a platonic type of love… are you?"

"No." He said simply. "He loves her. He's obsessed with her. He wants her." Everyone in the room came unglued.

"What do you mean?!"

"He's so much older than her!"

"He's her godfather!"

Remus laughed a bitter, humorless laugh. "Do you think he cares? No. He wants her. He has her. Hell he most likely wouldn't care if she took the mark or not. As long as she stays with him and never leaves him he'll be happy."

"So you don't think he'll make her take the mark?" Bill asked. In the past week since the incident things had become tense. It was common knowledge that both Bill and Charlie had left home because they didn't agree with their parents. He wondered how long it would be before they declaired neutrality. And the twins were only in there because they wanted to protect Seraf. With her gone...

"I never said that. He'll most likely do everything he can to convince her to take it. But if in the end she doesn't it won't matter. She's out of Voldemort's way. But with her being a powerful witch… he will do everything he can to turn her."

"Well it's a good thing she doesn't see him that way." Molly sniffed.

"Uhhh…" Everyone turned to look at Ginny who shuffled slightly under their scrutiny.

"You're about to tell us that she does… aren't you?" Remus sighed.

"She…" Ginny looked at the table and bit her lip. "She might have admitted that she might have had a crush on him…" Hermione gasped scandalized at the thought of her friend having a crush on her godfather.

"Oh no…" Remus sighed. "If he knows that… and trust me he does… he'll use that to his advantage."

"Waiph… aren dey relaphed?" Ron spoke through a mouth full of food.

"Ronald!" Hermione and Molly scolded him.

"What do you mean related?!" Hermione asked. "I didn't know they were related!"

"It's true. My mother was a disowned Black… and her cousin Dorea, who was Walburga's aunt, married Charlus Potter and they had James [1]." Arthur spoke up quietly.

"So that means their…" Hermione trailed off.

"Third cousins." Remus nodded.

"That's incest!" Hermione replied horrified.

"And the Black family is notorious for marrying within the family. Except for recent generations who have mostly married someone outside of the family. Aunt Narcissa married Lucius. Mum married dad who was muggle-born. Aunt Bellatrix married Rodolphus. And I believe that Regulus and Barty Crouch Jr. were lovers. Great-Aunt Walburga and Great-Uncle Orion were second cousins though." Tonks rolled her eyes. "It happens all the time. I don't think they go any closer than second cousins though."

"That is the least of our concerns." Dumbledore said as he walked into the room.

"Least of our concerns? How is that the least of our concerns?! You heard Remus he'll use it to his advantage! I've heard plenty of stories about his conquests in school." Despite the situation Remus snorted and smiled.

"It's true. Sirius is a certified player. Bounced between girls like it was going out of style. He'll do anything he can to keep her there. He'll ply her with gifts. Lavish her with affection. And the gifts. They will be things she wants… like Peter. I'm sure he practically gave Peter to her on a silver platter. And his words. He's a silver-tongued devil. He'll tell her what she wants to hear. What she needs to hear."

"And Serafina, the poor thing, will eat it up…" Molly sobbed.

Remus gnashed his teeth and glared at Dumbledore. "This is your fault." He spat. "You refused to tell her anything! If you had told her about the prophecy to begin with she never would have gone to the Ministry! She would have known that it was a trap!"

"Remus my boy-"

"No! I remember what you did in school! You were always telling James to be careful of Sirius! You were constantly telling him that he was a Black! That he would always be dark! It alienated Sirius! It's no wonder he took the mark! And now look! He has Seraf! By the time we see her again there's no telling how deep in she'll be! She won't be Serafina Potter anymore!"


Serafina was sitting in the library with books and parchments scattered around her. How had she not known this shite? Why was she not told how rich her family was?! What did Dumbledore think he was playing at by not telling her of the Potter Family Vault? She paused as she came across a scroll with a family tree on it. She knew she was related to the Black family. She actually normally pushed that thought out of her head. She didn't want to think about being related to Sirius. Not that it mattered in the Magical Community. It was actually a common thing for cousins to marry each other. Sirius' parents had been second cousins. The Potter family was an off-shoot of the Peverell family. And the Peverell family married into...SLYTHERIN?! Holy shite. That meant... she really WAS an Heir of Slytherin... did that also mean that... she was a natural Parselmouth?

She shook her head and picked up another book only to toss it away when she saw the type of spells in it. Dear Merlin! What was her family doing with a book of dark spells?! "I see you found out the Potter Family secret."

"My family was dark?"

"Merlin no! They were gray! A Darker shade of gray, but gray none the less. And normally held a neutral position. It was only within the last two generations that they started showing support for the light. In fact your grandmum was allowed to marry your grandad because it was hoped that their marraige would bring the Potter family back to the neutral position. It didn't work."

Serafina scrunched her nose in thought as she looked at all the scrolls and books. "Why has no one ever told me this before? I didn't even know about the family vault! I thought my trust vault was all I had!" Sirius blinked at her in surprise before he started cursing up a storm.

"I knew there were things that you didn't know… but I had thought that someone would have told you…damnit Dumbledore! Looks like I'll have to start from the beginning…family history…etiquette who knows how many people you've accidently pissed off!" Serafina winced at the thought of snubbing Draco in first year. Luckily Sirius didn't see it because he was too busy ranting on what he would have to teach her. The more she thought about the things she should have known but didn't the angrier she got.

"Why did he keep thisss from me?" Sirius whirled around and stared at her in shock.

"You're a Parselmouth?" Serafina winced and nodded*.

"Brilliant!" He leaned forward grinning. "The last Potter to be a Parselmouth was your great-great-great-grandad!" He rushed over to a pile of books and pulled out several of them. "There should be more of them in the vault. There are so many different things you can do with Parselmagic! Only thing is…you'll have to teach yourself this…but that's beside the point! This is brilliant!"