And I was in the darkness,

So the darkness I became.


"W-What?"

Sirius wasn't sure if he had heard correctly.

Nine months? Comatose?

That couldn't be right. Only last night, he had been at James' house. His mother, Dorea had truly surpassed herself for the previous night's dinner. There had been a small celebration at James' since he'd been appointed as Head Boy.

"No, that can't be right, Andi. This is a bloody joke, isn't it?"

"It's not a joke, dear cousin. You have been comatose for a while now," said Narcissa and Sirius was surprised to note the lack of distaste in her tone that was normally reserved for him.

He took a long, good look at both his cousins. There was no trace of humour, a smile or even a slight quirk of their mouths. Both of them appeared equally solemn.

Were they actually serious?

Had he really been sleeping for so long?

Someone had done this to him.

Where the fuck had he been for the past so many months? He had missed nine precious months of his life! What about his friends? James and Reggie? Remus and Peter? Lily? Frank and Alice? Marlene? Had something happened to them too?

"James and the others? Are they—"

"They're fine, Sirius. All of them are at Hogwarts." He ignored the slight quiver in Narcissa's voice.

Who could do this to him?

But, even as he asked himself this question, the answer came to him. There were only two people who wanted to put him down more than anyone else.

His parents.

"Fuck!" The anger in his voice was evident as he stood harshly, almost knocking the chair down.

They had locked him away. Tried to put him down and restrain him like an animal.

How dare they?

How long had they planned to keep him like that? Sedated and locked up, away from the rest of the world?

Why? All because he wouldn't succumb to their wishes and serve a deranged, power-hungry arsehole?

They didn't have the balls to get their own hands dirty and so they had obviously hired someone to do all the grunt work.

He wanted to break something, do anything to get his frustration out.

Those bloody—

"—rius! Sirius, Calm down."

A crashing sound ripped him out of his growing fury.

He looked up and around him. The windows were rattling, the chairs and tables were vibrating, creating an unpleasant grating sound, the cutlery had shattered and one chair was overturned and missing a leg.

He forced himself to calm down, to clear his mind before he destroyed anything. Rage was a very powerful emotional, capable of catastrophic chaos. This wasn't accidental magic. This was his magical core outraged by everything that had happened.

Wandless magic wasn't meant to be toyed with.

Slowly, the house returned to its silent state once again.

Andromeda and Narcissa were both staring at him with different expressions. Andi's was one of worry and concern while Narcissa appeared worried as well as taken aback.

Yeah well, she didn't know the half of it.

"Sit down and we'll explain the rest of it. You can't do anything if you're seething, love," Andromeda's voice was reasonable and levelheaded. She had a point.

"Where was I?"

"Langdale. It's this remote Muggle town, about a hundred miles from Hogsmeade. Small town, only one hospital. You were held in a ward that had been shut off from the public."

"It was impossible for the Aurors to find you. Not that they tried very hard." Andromeda mumbled the last sentence but Sirius heard her anyway. He wasn't even surprised. Why would the Aurors waste their time looking for him? The son of the infamous Orion and Walburga Black.

So that's where he'd been. Lying in some Muggle hospital while Merlin knew what happened in the Wizarding World.

"So how did you two find me?"

Was it his imagination or did Narcissa just wince?

"It wasn't... It wasn't um.. hard, since we—I, already knew where you were being held. So it was easy for me to destroy the wards around the place."

Sirius arched one perfect dark eyebrow at his blonde cousin. "So let me get this straight: you knew exactly where I was, all along and you conveniently let me rot in my predicament. You know what? That doesn't surprise me, not one bit."

"I didn't know exactly where you were, Sirius. I mean, I knew that Orion had you locked away somewhere. I did some digging last month and I found out."

"Why the sudden change in heart, Cissa? You hate me, always have. You were willing to leave me to my fate all these months, right?"

The two sisters exchanged glances. "Sirius, I don't hate you. And things are... different now. W—"

"When she found out, Cissa came and told me. The two of us broke into the facility last night. You know the rest."

"My father, did he do this because he wanted to or because Voldemort commanded him to?" The question was addressed to Narcissa.

Both of them flinched at the name. Andromeda was completely against Voldemort. Sirius didn't know about Narcissa. Like all Blacks, she was proficient in the Dark Arts but that was about it.

"I don't know, I swear."

"Speaking of Voldemort, how many?" They knew exactly what he was asking.

"One attack in Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade each, three in Knockturn Alley, two in Berkshire and a few houses."

"That's less than a dozen. He's laying low." And that meant only one thing.

A war is coming.

He still had many questions.

Why didn't his parents kill him? They had every chance.

Who else had been involved in this little scheme of theirs?

What was the rest of his family currently up to?

And lastly, why in Merlin's name did Narcissa look so bloody guilty?

Was it because she'd betrayed her family by helping him? Yes, that must be it.

"I need answers," Sirius stated. "There's this big blank in my head and I won't be satisfied until I have my answers." If he had been missing for such a long time, he clearly had a lot of work to do.

He needed to meet with the rest of the Marauders. Those idiots, he thought fondly.

"And you'll get them," Andromeda promised.

"We brought a guest over last night when we got you out of that hellhole, cousin. I'm sure he'll prove to be very useful. Andromeda said that he'd called a 'Doctor.' Apparently, they are the muggle equivalent of Healers."

"And you're telling me this now?" This doctor could tell him a great deal about his father's plans.

"He's unconscious right now. He'll come around by nightfall. We can talk to him then. Persuade him for information."

He was certainly going to enjoy that.

"What's your plan of action now?" Andromeda asked.

"I need to keep a low profile. If there is anyone out there who knows about my parents' scheme, they'll go blabbing and that is the last thing I want."

"What day is it?" He asked.

"Saturday?" The confusion in Andromeda's voice was evident.

"Brilliant. It's a Hogsmeade weekend. I can go and meet up with James and the others."

He said it so casually like it was just any other day. Both his cousins looked at him like he was bloody bonkers.

"Are you mad? We don't break into a third- grade muggle hospital, drug the staff and kidnap the bloke in charge just so you can go charging back into danger. I thought you said you weren't going to go out into the open."

Sirius rolled his eyes at Narcissa's outburst. He had a way of meeting the boys without anyone getting even the slightest hint. His cousins simply weren't aware. Narcissa might have helped so far, but he still didn't trust her enough with the secret.

"Relax, Cissy," he assured her. "I have no intention of disregarding your efforts. I have a plan, love. Don't worry."

"And I suppose you don't plan on telling us what exactly it is that you're up to?"

"You know me too well."


It was about four o'clock when Sirius left the Tonks' cottage.

"How are you alright with him simply wandering off like that? If any one of Orion's men or the Death Eaters spot him, all of this will have been for nothing."

"He wouldn't have listened to us anyway, Cissa. You know Sirius. He does what he wants and no one can convince him otherwise. I know that he's reckless but he's also powerful and this time, he'll be alert. He can handle himself."

"What makes you so confident, Andromeda?"

"Because I know our cousin. He'll be fine."

"I hope you're right, dear sister." Narcissa was silent for a minute or so before she spoke. "I was going to tell him the truth. Why did you interrupt me?"

Andromeda sighed and shook her head. "I admit I shouldn't have done that. I wasn't sure how he'd take the news."

"Yes you shouldn't have. Now if he hears it from those uncouth friends of his, he'll come back pissed because we didn't tell him. Besides, he still has to question the muggle healer."

"Yes. Almost makes me feel sorry for the poor bastard."


James ordered his usual at the Three Broomsticks and tuned out while Remus and Lily placed their orders. He wasn't really in the mood.

Normally, whenever it was a Hogsmeade weekend, he and Sirius would go down to Zonko's to restock their supplies. The owner, was a good friend since they had provided him with excellent business for the past few years.

James knew that the Aurors had given up their search for Sirius and just assumed that he had either joined Voldemort or was dead.

That upset him to no end.

How could those useless sods give up so easily? More importantly, how could they even think that Sirius would be in league with Voldemort?

Aurors.

Back in Fifth year, he and Sirius had decided to join the Auror Department so that they could put away Death Eaters.

"Prongs, you have been staring at Mrs. Ackerman for a while now. Continue any longer and she will come over and slap you."

He snapped back at Remus' voice. "Sorry. I was just thinking."

Their orders arrived and they dug in. He was used to Lily's concerned looks by now and they didn't affect him. He knew that his girlfriend was worried but he wouldn't be himself again until he received some news about Sirius.

"Peter said that he and Marlene would meet us at Honeydukes."

They ate and paid after which the three of them started towards Honeydukes where they had to meet up as planned.

On the way, James saw Ana Cassidy and her posse walking in their direction. He cracked up immediately, recalling what her face had looked like two years ago.

Unable to pass up on the opportunity to taunt her, he spoke: "Hey Cassidy, is that a boil on your forehead?"

She was so predictable. As expected, the girl shrieked and slapped a hand to her forehead, as of trying to hide the nonexistent blemish.

Works every time.

She glared at him when she realized that she'd walked right into it. "You're a bloody twat, Potter!"

She hurried away from there along with her clique with as much dignity she could muster.

"Honestly James, do you have to say that every time?" Lily tried and miserably failed to sound disapproving. She too hated Cassidy.

"Oh come on, Lils, she deserved it. Those boils were hilarious. Too bad they didn't las—Bloody hell! I swear, Moony, there are times where you can be even clumsier than me," James complained when Remus bumped into him from behind, shoving him forward.

Normally, this was the part where Remus would come up with a sarcastic remark but this time, he got nothing.

He turned around but Remus wasn't even looking at him. He seemed to be staring in the opposite direction, frozen in his spot.

James followed his line of vision and his heart nearly stopped.

A huge dog was standing only a short distance away. It was easily over a meter tall and black as midnight with piercing silvery eyes.

Padfoot.

The dog turned around and disappeared into a small lane.

Remus and James took one glance at each other and took off after him. James barely heard Lily call his name as she trailed after them.

He wasn't going to lose that dog, not again.

They rounded the curve into the lane and saw the dog enter an abandoned store. The owner had been killed there in a Death Eater attack so the Aurors had cordoned off the place.

Once inside the shop, the boys saw paw prints in the dust, leading up the stairs.

James was hoping so much right now that the dog was who he thought he was that it was almost painful.

They went upstairs and there he was.

Dressed in muggle clothes and leaning against a table with his arms crossed across his broad chest and that typical smirk on his face.

Sirius Black in the flesh.

"Miss me?"


Next chapter: Marauder reunion and hello dark!Sirius.

Wonder what's going to happen to that poor doctor *insert evil, maniacal laughter*

Don't be shy with your reviews, readers. The dogstar is watching you! Tell me what you think of this chapter and I'll start working on the next one.

Is anyone else looking forward to the confrontation between Sirius and that poor, stupid doctor?