A/N: This is so overdue, but I hope you still like it. It might seem rushed, but that's what happens when you have so many god-forsaken exams. Please help me.

My story GUITAR STRINGS & ROSES was deleted, but I think that's more my fault that this site's.

I'd like to thank MilyMB for pressuring the hell out of me, without her this wouldn't be out. Anyway, this AN is pointless, so just please enjoy the chapter. There's a little twist as the end. Remember to review! Thank you so much!

xoxo

10. Truth Will Out

Sirius was always dressed impeccably. And he was also always dressed similarly to his brother. This time, for the will reading, he wore a crisp new Armani suit. He'd rather die than wear D&G like his father.

Matchy-matchy his arse.

'Come on,' Sirius said to his brother, taking his hand as they waited for the chauffeur to come around and open the limousine door. His mother and father were travelling in a different car, they had "things" to talk about, whatever that meant.

Sirius held his brother's hand tightly in his own, as him and Regulus walked up the gravel of Irma and Pollux's home. Sirius didn't like his grandparents at all. But he bit his lip and squared his shoulders, as he hurried up the porch of the large rich home.

'Why is the will bein' readed here?' Regulus asked curiously, still holding on tighter to his brother.

'It's read, Regulus, like the colour. And I think it's because old Bollocks and Irma want to take charge of everything.'

Regulus giggled, and then smiled at his big brother. 'Bollocks! Oh, grandfather Pollux would be so annoyed if he heard that.'

Bending down to pick up him brother, Sirius cuddled Regulus and tucked some of the boy's black hair behind his ear. He kissed the side of his brother's face repeatedly, muttering 'I've missed you so much,' and knocked on the door afterwards.

The maid answered almost instantly and then smiled at the two boys. She took their suit jackets after Sirius set his brother on the floor. 'You okay?' He asked.

The little boy nodded and took his elder brother's hand. 'Let's go to our bedroom—' they shared a bedroom here at Pollux and Irma's home. It was a large and modern bedroom. And Sirius loved it, surprisingly.

'We can't. Mother and father'll be here soon...' and just as he spoke, they heard from the other end of the long corridor, the door bell ring.

The maid rushed past them and threw the door open. 'Good evening Mr and Mrs Black.' She said.

Walburga simply handed the other woman her coat, but Orion was gracious. He smiled and nodded and thanked her, like all good gracious men should.

'Why was you taking so long?' Regulus asked. Then he leaned in to listen to what Sirius was saying and amended his speech. 'Why did you take so long?'

Their mother almost smiled at her eldest son. Almost.

'We were just stuck in traffic.' Orion answered his younger son, patting the small boy's head. Then he turned to look at Sirius, appraising the wounds he had on his face; the healing lip, the swollen nose, the bruise on his cheekbone. The eldest Black shook his head. 'I'm sorry, son.'

And he really did sound sorry. Which was why Sirius didn't, for the life of him, believe a single word. Good acting ran in the family. 'I'm sorry too, father.'

Formalities, formalities, formalities. Such a formal, posh family. It drove Sirius insane. Together, they made their way to the main dining room. Pollux and Irma were sitting down at the head of the enormous nine and a half thousand pound table.

'Darling,' Irma called, beckoning her daughter over and kissing each of her cheeks. With hair a pitch (and probably dyed to cover up the greys) black and glistening silver eyes, Irma looked quite a lot like her daughter, and therefore, quite a lot like her grandson.

'Orion,' Pollux said, shaking hands with his son-in-law. Then he looked at his two grandchildren. 'Sirius,' he sighed softly, summoning his grandchild over and opening his arms in a welcoming gesture. His hair had also been dyed pure black, and his skin was smoother than it should have been for someone over sixty. He was quite tall, only just an inch or so taller than Sirius.

Bracing himself, the silver eyed boy shook his grandfather's hand and smiled. 'Grandfather B-Pollux,' he corrected himself, almost laughing and ignoring the small giggle that he heard his brother utter.

The handshake tightened considerably. 'We've missed you.' Pollux said in a steely voice.

'I've missed you all too.' It was hard, Sirius decided, to lie through the skin of his teeth. But he managed. That didn't mean they believed him though, but they, like him, pretended to believe him.

'Sirius!' Irma cried, and she gave him a tight, long and slightly uncomfortable hug. Bitch, he thought. There was a knock on the dining room door, and in came James and his parents. A while later, more relatives came.

Bellatrix actually laughed when she saw Sirius. Then she asked him how the loopy shack was and Sirius was sure if not for Narcissa, he would have hit her. There was a reason he hadn't spoken to her and avoided her yesterday, only now there were less people and walls to separate them. After all she had done to him...

Tea was distributed, and glasses of scotch were handed out as well as caviar on small cut crackers and tiny little expensive cakes. It was all ridiculously upper class and what not.

James knocked his drink back and asked very politely for another one. When that was gone, he grunted and licked his lips, before he reached up to loosen the tie knotted around his neck.

'... just waiting for Mr Anders to come. He must be stuck in traffic or something,' Irma squealed, giggling and unnecessarily wiping her mouth with the silk handkerchief her husband passed to her.

'Oh no,' a deep and rumbling voice interrupted from the doorway. 'I'm here.' He was a medium sized man, with a crisp dark suit and a brown leather briefcase. He smiled. 'Hello Mrs Black, I'm, as you already know, Christopher Anders, your son's lawyer.' He reached over to shake Irma's hand and then he shook Pollux's. 'I'm very sorry I'm late. There was a bit of trouble with the will, lots of confusion, what with many of you being involved.'

Everyone looked up. After all, everyone wanted a piece of the will. For different reasons of course.

But it was all the same sentiment or whatever...

'Never mind though, everything's been sorted out.' There was a special chair reserved for him, on Irma's right and Pollux's left. It seemed, for today, Mr Christopher Anders would be the head of the family. Just for today. And maybe he would enjoy it.

'Okay, let's start.'

The room was silent; a pin drop could have been heard. Mr Anders set his heavy and costly suitcase on the oak table and flicked the hatches open. He took out a folder before packing his suitcase away. Anders put his glasses on with a deliberate slowness and swallowed nosily.

'I, Alphard Pollux Black declare this to be my last will and testament, last modified on the nineteenth of April—'

'Where's Andromeda?' Sirius asked suddenly. As soon as he said her name, almost everyone frowned. Andromeda had become, only a short while back, just a little haywire. And though she wasn't disowned, she was shunned by the family. She had, unfortunately, dropped out of University and gotten married to a man called Ted who worked in a garage.

To say that Druella and Cygnus were annoyed was an understatement. They had been livid. Especially since they'd arranged Andromeda to marry a guy with the called Malfoy.

Andromeda's life was going good though; she had an internship with Vogue magazine for writing; and though she probably got in because of who her aunt was, it didn't make her appreciate it any less.

'Sirius, shut up, just for once.' Narcissa said unkindly, tossing her beautiful golden hair behind her.

'Actually, as I mentioned in the letter, Andromeda Black-Tonks is mentioned in the will. And I find it pertinent that she be here whilst it's read.' Anders interrupted.

'Can't you just mail her whatever she's received?' Bellatrix asked, evidently bored.

'Of course not,' Anders cried, 'I can't risk it getting lost or stolen. No, I'll just have to arrange a separate meeting with her for another time. Now, where was I ... yes ... the last will and testament—'

'Can't you just hurry that part along please?' Walburga asked, extremely eager.

Mr Anders looked up, glared at her, but shrugged. 'I probably should actually ... okay.' And then he took on his snootiest, posh voice and cleared his throat. 'To my dear and darling Bellatrix, I leave my jewels, the ones I collected and the ones I kept in hopes that if I ever had my own daughters, as beautiful as you, they would one day wear them. But I'm sure you'll look just as divine as they ever would have looked.'

She smiled to herself and took a legal document that was handed to her, looking at it. 'When can I receive my...' she drifted off when Mr Anders, the lawyer, produced an exquisite box from inside his very large crate Sirius only just noticed. It wasn't enormous, Alphard's leather box, but when opened, the inside shone; like the night's sky. There were jewels of all colours, necklaces and earrings; rings and watches. It was beautiful.

'Oh God,' Bellatrix whispered.

'Andromeda isn't here right now...' Mr Anders muttered to himself, but Pollux cut him off.

'No, don't be scared. Finish what you were saying.' He sounded angry.

Cygnus nodded and fixed Mr Anders with a chilling look. Clearing his throat, the lawyer started talking again. 'To Andromeda, the sweetest of the family, the cherry of the tree, you my dear, are entitled to a sum of two millions pounds—'

'Oh fuck!' Sirius breathed, biting him lip and looking up. He assessed the family's reactions. They were livid; cold; fucking furious. And never had Sirius seen them so angry!

How could Alphard? To Andy? Preposterous!

'Told you he loved the whore.' Bella whispered to Narcissa, grinning at the younger sister when she laughed.

'Please!' Mr Anders cried. And then he carried on. 'To Narcissa, the only one in the family who gave a damn about my problems, and called me Uncle Alpha, I bequest my holiday homes in Portugal and Spain. I know she'll put good use to it.'

The will reading sped on. Alphard left a million pounds to his parents each, a crown worth hundreds of thousands of pounds to his brother and Aunty Druella, and a gold plated golf set to Orion. Walburga was the one everyone waited for.

Alphard's favourite family member, to some it would seem. And the relative Alphard hated most, it would seem to others. 'Wally, my gorgeous elder sister. The one who would guide me, the one who would bully me, hurt me and love me. Maybe without you I'd be a better person, maybe without you I'd be lonely. Either way, I got you. And I thank god for blessing me with your presence, the presence that taught me something during my childhood.'

Mr Anders paused, and he pulled out a leather bound book from his box. He handed it to Walburga and she opened it slowly. 'The photo album we thought was lost. Of just me and you and Cygnus. The photo album that changed everything, in all the good and bad ways.'

She was in awe; maybe the good kind, maybe the bad kind. And when she opened it, a solid gold locket came out, with the largest diamond. It was breath taking. She gasped.

'There might be a little present in there for you Wally.' Mr Anders read, whilst everyone watched with affection. Maybe it wasn't about money...

'Love you, forever.' Mr Anders said clearly, before turning over the sheet of paper and clearing his throat once again. 'Regulus, beautiful little Regulus.' The boy in question giggled and shifted on his brother's lap. Sirius bent down to kiss his hair and looked up. 'I've always loved you. I haven't been as close with you as I have with your handsome older brother, but I know that you mean the world to me. I leave with you five million pounds—'

Everyone gasped. Regulus just giggled and held out his hand. 'Where is it?'

'Holy fucking crow,' James muttered, 'he really does love you.'

'Where is it Siri?' Regulus asked again. 'Where's my five million pounds?'

'This guy's just keeping it safe for you,' the elder brother said softly. Then he looked up. He couldn't deal with the suspense. 'Could you hurry up?' he flicked hair out of his silver eyes. 'Please.'

James's parents received money each, and Dorea also got a watch, expensive and one she had always admired. Then of course, it was Prongs' turn. James looked up, mouth dry and body trembling.

'Hit me.' He said, the corner of his mouth quirking up in an odd sort of smirk.

Mr Anders cleared his throat. 'James Potter ... you might as well have been called James Black. I think of you as my nephew, my son. Not my nephew's best friend. I love you James, truly, I do. You've been there to take care of Sirius; you've been there to take care of me even. And I'm forever in your debt for it. Which is why I leave you ten million pounds and my holiday home in Egypt. You love Egypt. You also love Tokyo, have my flat there too.'

Everyone stared at James; most envious, Sirius proud, and Regulus amazed. 'You're not even blood,' Bellatrix spat, glaring at James.

He ran a hand through his hair and turned to glare at her. 'Please, please, please go fuck yourself.'

'You little fucking prick—' she hissed, half rising. But the restraining hand on her shoulder kept her down. She barked but looked away, staring expectantly at Walburga.

Walburga was still in trepidation at the fact that James fucking Potter had gotten ten million galleons!

'He's not blood. He can't simply go away with ten million pounds—'

'I assure you,' Mr Anders said slowly, 'he can. Now, do we want to argue about the will? Or do we want to listen to the last request?'

'Just continue.' Walburga snapped. 'We don't have all day.' Her voice was cold, angry and very intense.

Like she meant something else behind the words. It frightened Sirius, and he shivered.

'To Sirius Orion Black.' Mr Anders smiled at the words. 'My heart. My son. Oh, how I wish you were my son! You said your first word to me, you know. And you told me you loved me first. I think, in many ways, you did love me most. Great things are destined for you. I know you and James probably think I'm lying about this, but I mean it when I say that great things are out there, waiting for you to overcome, to create, to unravel.

'Maybe I would have come home to London less if it wasn't for you. But I know the only thing that had me returning time and time again, was you. Just you. I leave you a letter...'

Mr Anders pulled the last item out of the crate and handed the thick expensive paper to Sirius, with Alphard's elegant loopy calligraphy on the front, saying "To My Nephew, Sirius".

There was muttering, whilst everyone waited for Sirius to open the letter and check to see whether anything was inside. He shook his head and put it down; making sure no one could read it. He had a feeling the words were very private, and only for him. Maybe not even James.

'Just a letter?' Sirius breathed, almost smiling.

Mr Anders smiled and shook his head. 'Twenty five and a half million pounds—'

'No,' he whispered. Other "NO"s rung through the room, and he sort of agreed. Twenty five and a half? TWENTY FIVE AND A FUCKING HALF?

No. No. No.

Impossible.

Sirius felt his eyes water. He was rich enough as it was. All the modelling jobs, all the wealth his father had from his aristocratic position, from his mother and her job...

He was already a millionaire. Maybe now he was a billionaire?

Maybe.

'Thank you Alphard...' he whispered.

'That's not all.' Anders called out, shushing and trying to restore quiet. When the room (after about five minutes) was quiet and everyone had stopped hissing death threats at Sirius, Anders continued. 'I have a home,' he continued. 'The whereabouts is unknown, but the secret is written in that letter you hold in your hands. It's yours. The directions are yours. And whenever you want to ... escape ... it's yours to go to. Out in the wild, where no one can find you. It's yours. I love you Sirius. It's yours.'

Anders was quiet for a long moment, letting everyone register what had just happened. He swallowed and then the room broke out into chatter. No one even noticed the man place in front of each of them a copy of the will, and some documents, and some cards.

'Sign it please,' he said. 'Please sign it...'

It was too late though. The arguments had already started. And really, no one could blame Sirius for lashing out and slapping Bellatrix across the face. The bitch was just asking for it.

xo

'I'm rich,' Sirius whispered. 'Filthy rich.' And he laughed. 'I can't believe it.'

James took a drag of his fag and exhaled after a moment. They were on the balcony, still in their designer suits, and with cigarettes in one hand and whiskey in the other.

'I can't believe it.' He breathed again. Then, before he knew it, he was frowning. His eyes watered and he could hardly breathe properly. 'I don't know how to thank him.'

'You can't...' James said quietly, patting Sirius on the back. 'I want to thank him too. Ten million. I'm sorted for the rest of my life.'

'We're both sorted.' He amended.

'Gonna open that letter,' James said, pointing at the letter sticking out of Sirius's breast pocket. He looked at it and jolted before taking it out slowly.

It took too long; painstakingly long. James waited edgily, tutting and chewing his lip, when finally, Sirius looked up, tears brimming in his eyes.

'What?' James asked quietly, grabbing his surrogate brother by the forearms. 'Padfoot?' he questioned.

Sirius silently handed him the letter, polishing off both their whiskeys in less than a second. James started to read. Slowly. Savouring Uncle Alphard's last words.

Dear Sirius,

Before you ask or wander how on earth I know/knew (I'm not sure which tense is really applicable) about death coming for me, first let me just tell you that I love you.

I've never been proud of much in my life. But of you and James, definitely. You've both been shaped into brilliant, perfect, kind boys, and if I have to admit my worries in life, it would be that your families will finally corrupt you. Don't let them!

Now, to the topic of this letter, I know my time is coming to a close.

Sirius, you won't believe me, but try to. I swear it. I swear on my life and yours that someone is following me! Someone is trying to kill me! And I'm scared. But if God thinks it's my time to go, if that cruel bastard thinks it's my time to go, why should I stop them? Why not embrace it? Embrace it like I've embraced all my failed relationships. Embrace it like I've embraced the fact that your mother is not the woman I grew up with.

I'm in America right now, and it feels like my time is coming to a close. I think a few weeks at most. I'll try and see you, but if I can't, then I can't.

Just remember, I love you. More than anything. Even if you find out some things about me, some hurtful things, remember the good times, cherish the memories...

Stay safe, you and James.

I love you both, so so much.

Yours forever, Uncle Al

P.S. On the back of this letter is the address to your home in Australia. Far enough from your mother, I hope.

xo

Sirius and James were dropped off the next day to Azkaban Asylum. It was in the papers, about how much money both boys were given. They were richer, if possible, than before. But that didn't matter to them. Because Alphard had been murdered. And no one was doing anything about it. Alphard had been murdered. And they were locked up. In Azkaban.

The truth was out. The question was were they going to do anything about it?

A/N: I hope this chapter is alright, and not too rubbish. Reviews with constructive criticism are always welcome.

Thank you so much. Enjoy the rest of your day. :)