A/N: Sorry for the slow update! Work has been my own personal Azkaban recently... I also want to do some serious editing of this story, so keep watching this space!

Family Favours

The two friends sat at the kitchen table a while longer. Sirius resting his chin on his knuckles as he watched the light fade outside the window. The alcohol had done something to dull the sharp stab of the past, but he still couldn't quite shake a sense of dull melancholy as he sat watching the clock ticking by on the wall.

He was so far away with his thoughts that he didn't register the sound of the doorbell at first. But it rang again, clearly through the house, startling him from his drowsy stupor.

He glanced up at Remus at the sound. "Who d'you reckon that could be?" He asked, with genuine concern. Despite his assertions to Dumbledore to the contrary, he knew full well he was no match for Voldemort's death eaters and didn't much fancy his chances tonight.

Remus frowned and got to his feet, drawing out his wand. The two men made their way into the entrance hall and approached the oak front door tentatively.

Sirius snapped back to himself first. Striding forwards suddenly, he grabbed the handle and yanked the huge door inwards.

A very elegant witch stood in the frame. She was impeccably dressed in robes of deep blue velvet. Her sleek brown hair shone amber in the soft glow of the sunset and her attractive features broke into a wide smile as she look at Sirius.

"Drommie!" He yelped, his jaw dropping and his hands falling like dead weights to his side.

"Hallo, Sirius," she said, stepping gracefully into the entrance hall and closing the door behind her.

Sirius stared at her dumbfounded. The last time the cousins had seen each other had been at their uncle Alphard's funeral. The pair of them sitting covertly at the back of the service, out of the sight of the rest of the family.

"Blimey Drommie, it's good to see you," he said hoarsely. "How are you?"

"I'm well," she said striding past him back into the kitchen. "Drink?" She rummaged in the wine rack for a new bottle and held it up to him.

"Definitely," Sirius asserted and moved to take three goblets from the cupboard.

He took the bottle from his cousin and pulled out a chair for her to sit.

"Drommie, this is Remus Lupin, my friend since Hogwarts," he said, indicating Remus as Andromeda sat down.

"I remember," Andromeda said with another mischievous smile. "Last time we met the pair of you were begging me to keep quiet the fact that you were drunk as sailors." She raised the glass Sirius had just poured for her in a mock toast.

Sirius grinned. Since his parents rarely allowed him out of the house, James' parents tactically insisted the boys be allowed to visit Sirius at home. There was little to do in the grand out house, so the four of them would often take to pinching firewhisky from Sirius' grandfather's glass decanter. They had once hidden, laughing fit to burst, in the morning room where Andromeda was occupied with her needlework, attempting to avoid detection from the rest of the house's occupants.

"It's good of you to come," Remus said, returning her greeting.

"I couldn't very well not come," Andromeda said, swirling the liquid in her glass before taking a sip. "Sirius here's my favourite cousin. Delighted to hear he's not a mad mass murderer," she said with a wink.

"I'm your only cousin now," Sirius corrected her. "Did you hear about Reg?"

"I did…" Andromeda said with a frown. "All very odd if you ask me."

"What do you mean?" Remus asked curiously.

"Well, they never found his body did they? And dear Bella would never have allowed him to be killed on you know who's orders."

"That's true enough," Sirius said with a derisive snort. Regulus had always been Bellatrix's favourite cousin and little pet. A fact she made absolutely no secret of. In turn, the boy had hero-worshipped her, and went running to join the death eaters the moment he found out she had. No, there was no chance anything was about to happen to Regulus on Bellatrix's watch.

"He always was her little pet, wasn't he?" Andromeda said, echoing Sirius' thought process. She looked at her cousin sadly, remembering perhaps the contrasting interactions between her sister and her eldest cousin…

"Let's not talk about her tonight." Sirius said quickly. He favoured his cousin with another broad grin. "I'm so glad to see you."

"It's wonderful to see you too," she said warmly, placing her hand affectionately on his own. "But I'm afraid we must talk about Bellatrix. It's becoming more than I can bear. You see, she's back."

She made the statement objectively enough, but her brown eyes flashed with fear as she spoke of her sister.

"What do you mean she's back?" Sirius growled, sitting forwards suddenly in his chair, all his haze from the alcohol gone.

"Exactly what I said. She's back. Her and dear Rodolphus. And the rest of the lackeys no doubt," she said, casting her eyes to the ceiling. "There have been signs…. Threats… intimidations…"

Sirius was frowning concernedly at his cousin. If Bellatrix Lestrange's behaviour prior to Azkaban was anything to go by, signs of her return were surely nothing to take lightly...

"I mean, I can't prove it was her," Andromeda went on. "But who else would cast the dark mark over our house and set fiendfyre ablaze in it?"

"She did what?!" Sirius exclaimed. Fiendfyre was a dangerous spell that burnt up everything in its wake, irreversibly.

"I know," Andromeda said, looking down at her nails. "Poor Nymphadora, she's in auror training at the ministry. It's terribly disruptive for her."

"What other signs have there been?" Sirius pressed on.

"Well, after the fiendfyre Ted and I set the strongest magical protection we know how around our property. But something's there… I can hear whispers whenever I go out. It's like we're being watched." She looked up at Sirius and for the first time he could remember, she looked genuinely afraid.

"I don't know what to do. The ministry is of course doing all they can to protect us, but I don't know how much longer they can keep throwing Bella off the scent. I'm terrified to leave the house. I'm sick with worry for Ted and Nymphadora. I… I wonder if this is her revenge? After all these years?"

Sirius grimaced. "I don't think so," he said. No, that wasn't Bellatrix's style. "I expect she's doing it for them. To prove her blood purity loud and clear. Prune her family tree…"

Andromeda looked more nervous than ever. She began to pick at the sides of her fingernails.

"Don't worry," Remus said softly, reaching over to rest a gentle hand on her arm. "Mad Eye Moody and Dumbledore are the best either side have got. She doesn't stand a chance against them."

"I hope you're right," she said, smiling gratefully at him. "I just don't know how much longer I can go on like this… You don't know what Bellatrix is like. What she's capable of. I sometimes wonder if we will get out of this all alive..."

Sirius watched in consternation as Andromeda dropped her hooded eyes to the table again. He had never seen her lose face like this before. She had always seemed so strong, invincible even. He never imagined she would fall to pieces like this, and more importantly, allow her younger cousin to see her in such a state...

"We'll help you," he said suddenly, making up his mind on the spot. "We'll get the little blood purist. See how she likes the receiving end of being stalked like a bloodhound."

Andromeda looked up. Her face full of hope. "Would you?" She whispered. "Would you really?"

"Absolutely." Sirius said automatically. "She's gone on long enough. It's time to act."

It was. He was sick of the twisted remains of Black family still wielding so much power over him. If Bellatrix was pruning her family tree, he'd beat her to it…

Andromeda smiled enormously at him. "I knew you'd do it," she said gratefully. "You've always been the bravest of us."

Sirius rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "All in a day's work…" he muttered, getting to his feet so he could clear the table.

"I suppose you've given Mad Eye a full report?" He asked as he carried Remus' empty mug to the sink.

"Nymphadora's filled him in. He's her boss. He will be delighted to have you on board."

Sirius stopped walking and turned to face her, grinning incredulously. "Bloody Mad Eye," he exclaimed, remembering suddenly his earlier conversation with the man. "How does that bloke always manage to get exactly what he wants?"

It was late by the time Andromeda got to her feet and announced she ought to be getting home.

"Would you like us to accompany you?" Remus offered, getting to his feet as she stood up.

"That's very kind, but Ted is home. I'll take the floo I think."

Sirius gestured to the pot of floo powder by the fire. "We'll stay in touch," he promised. "Don't worry."

The cousins embraced and Andromeda stepped forwards into the fireplace.

Sirius sighed and turned to Remus after she'd gone. "Well, that's that," he said, taking Remus' empty goblet from him. "So much for keeping my head down and nose clean."

Remus smiled. "2 days isn't bad going, Padfoot," he assured him. "It might even be a record."

Sirius laughed. "True. And besides, this is war. Whoever won one of them with their head down?"

"Logic even Dumbledore couldn't fault," Remus said wryly.

"Good. Well that's it then. You, me, Mad Eye and young Drommie junior are off dark wizard catching."

His mind was still on Andromeda as he cleared the rest of the kitchen and began to discuss tactics with Remus.

He'd never had much time to consider Andromeda's situation growing up. He wondered if she'd always felt the same way he did about their family, or if it was only after she became involved with Ted Tonks that she realised?

He wondered if she ever really believed her parents might be understanding of her choice to marry a muggle-born man… Or whether she announced her engagement in full knowledge that this would be the end of all her family relationships.

Either way, Andromeda, like himself, had been disowned for her betrayal.

Sirius remembered the day he'd been told… He had been thirteen. His brother just about to start at Hogwarts. His grandfather had taken them both aside as they had sat playing chess in the drawing room.

"Your cousin Andromeda is a nasty, sneaky, ungrateful little worm," the man had told them, his harsh face twisting spastically as he spoke. "I shall see to it that no other grandchild of mine besmirches the name of Black in such a despicable way." And he had proceeded to make the boys copy out long passages from 'Nature's Nobility: A Wizarding Genealogy' until their hands were cramping and sore.

Sirius' mother Walburga had come into the room a while later. Her face white and lips tight. She said nothing as she moved over to the Black family tapestry that hung across one of the enormous walls. Sirius could remember the acrid smell of burning as she had singed Andromeda's name off the tapestry.

But Andromeda had gone on to lead a happy, loving life. She had married the man of her dreams, had a beautiful daughter and the three of them had lived a quiet but peaceful life by the seaside.

And if Bellatrix Le-Bloody-Strange thought she was about to ruin that for her, she had another think coming...

"Moony…" he said suddenly. "You do think I'm doing the right thing, don't you?"

He turned to face his friend. It was rare that he asked Remus Lupin for advice. Advice had often been given, but as he had a tendency to avoid listening to anything that didn't align directly with his wishes, it was no longer quite as forthcoming.

Remus frowned as he looked back at Sirius. Sirius could tell he was doing some careful calculating.

Remus knew as well as anyone how reckless and risky Sirius' behaviour could be. It had been what made him such an entertaining friend at school, and brilliant recruit for the Order. Sirius would stop at nothing to protect those he cared about. And he was in fact liable to get himself into more trouble by not acting.

Yet he also knew how precarious Sirius' current situation was. As a man whose name had not yet been cleared, any reckless behaviour was bound to be frowned upon by the ministry and Dumbledore. And would Dumbledore allow Harry to live with him if Sirius was engaged by Mad Eye in dangerous missions?

"You must do what you feel is right," he said at last. "I'm sure Mad Eye will be glad of the back up."

Sirius waited for him to say more.

Remus grinned. "And personally…" he shot Sirius a very marauder-ly look, "I could do with getting back out there again."

Sirius grinned back. "I'll tell Mad Eye on Friday," he said. "I need to go back to the Ministry anyway for an interview."

Ha, how good that would be… Playing nicely with the minister while at the same time going underground with his maverick head auror.

His head was swimming with memories of past battles as he made his way upstairs to bed. Lying low in the countryside and abroad, on the lookout for any dark activity… Countless duels, sometimes avoiding death by the skin of his teeth when a death eater's curse flew too close… Yes, it certainly would be good to get back out in the game, he thought as he climbed into his four poster. To fight back after all these years, to avenge himself and Andromeda both for so many years of injustice. And as made to turn out the light and lie back onto the soft pillows, he found he was able to drift quickly into a deep sleep.