Chapter 28

"Sirius," Lucius said forcefully. His cousin bluntly ignored him, continuing to pour through numerous battle plans. Lucius frowned and ripped the papers out from under the younger man's quill.

"Lucius," Sirius growled nastily, his eyes flashing.

Lucius did not back down. "You are being reckless," he said. "I can well understand your anger at that mudblood girl. I can understand wanting to kill her. But you must act more rationally."

"I am being rational," Sirius snapped. "She contaminated my son, and I will make her pay for that. I'll do it by any means, just as soon as I can find her. That damned old blood traitor has hidden her away somewhere."

"Snape doesn't know where they put her," Lucius asked.

Sirius shook his head. "Dumbledore saw to hiding her personally. Snape's hardly worth his place in the Order. He hasn't provided us with the Potters, he hasn't killed Dumbledore."

"He's the one who heard the Prophesy," Lucius said.

Sirius frowned. "The Prophesy is now irrelevant," he said. "It is as though it never happened. Harry will not betray his master." Lucius nodded in agreement as Sirius resumed pouring over his documents, running a hand through his hair and causing it to sick up wildly. "There has to be some way to force that little bitch out of hiding," he muttered.

"Sirius," Lucius said sternly, "there are more important matters to attend to in this war. You are the Dark Lord's second in command. You don't have time to pour all your energy into a little revenge scheme."

"The Dark Lord has placed it upon his servants to purify this world and rid it of the mudbloods," Sirius said in a slightly maniacal tone that worried Lucius. "And this one's rather clever. It would be most beneficial for us to have her dead."

Lucius frowned. "Listen to what I'm saying, cousin," he said. "She is not important to the war. By all means, kill her, but do it when she crosses your path next. Don't waste time seeking her out." Sirius only snorted in reply.

After a few minutes, he stood from his desk, wand gripped in his hand. "What are you doing," Lucius asked. He was becoming seriously concerned for his cousin. Sirius had hardly slept a wink in weeks. All of his time was spent doing either the Dark Lord's work or searching intently for the little mudblood who had corrupted his son. Sometimes, Lucius thought, insanity seemed to run in the Black family. It seemed to finally be catching up to Sirius.

Sirius exited his office, hair still standing up, a mad gleam in his eyes, and a wicked grin across his face. "I haven't blown anything up in a near week. I'm going to call for a raid."

Lucius followed Sirius to the parlor. "Are you sure that's wise," he asked. "You are not fully yourself right now."

"I am perfectly fine," Sirius snapped. "I've survived just as long in this war as you have. I don't need you telling me how to conduct myself during a raid." Before Lucius could protest further, Sirius disappeared into the bright green flames of the fireplace.

Sirius was immediately granted permission from the Dark Lord to conduct a raid. Sirius presented his left arm to his master, that he might call his other servants to him. Sirius did not finch at the searing pain that shot up his arm when the Dark Lord pressed the tip of his wand to the Dark Mark. The other Death Eaters were quick to appear before their master. Sirius stood at attention beside the Dark Lord as they assumed their positions, Nagini slithering around his feet.

The raid was quite general, the purpose only to cause destruction. Everyone knew the drill, Apparate into a given area, kill and destroy anything and everything they saw until the retreat signal sent up. They were sent to Hogsmeade, the second most attacked location in Britain. As usual, the destruction quickly pilled up. It was hardly five minutes before the town began to look like a wasteland.

Sirius threw spells relentlessly. The muscles in his back were tense as he unleashed hell upon the village. Adrenaline pumped through his veins, pushing him past usual stamina. From the corner of his eye, he caught a flash of red. Turning, he was met with the form of Lily Potter. He caught her eye and sneered nastily. She was a mudblood, not the one he currently wanted, but she would do for now.

Sirius threw a powerful blast of magic at her, but the woman was quick to sidestep it. Sirius zeroed in on Lily, paying no mind to the other Order members or Aurors as he shot unyielding spell after spell at her.

Lily had no time to produce so much as a Shield Spell in her own defense. She was only able o dodge Sirius's onslaught of spells. Lily ran twists and turns through the streets, diving behind any object that could absorb or block her from the brutal force of Sirius's attacks. Hardly a thought could run through her head. Lily vaguely noted that she was running on pure adrenaline and primal survival instinct.

Sirius was hitting both Auror and Death Eater in his attempts to get at Lily. She had dodged almost everything so far, but Sirius knew that she could only outrun him for so long. And he would not leave Hogsmeade until he saw her body dead on the streets.

Finally, Sirius managed to knock her off her feet, slamming her into the wall of a shop. He stood over her, both panting heavily. "This time, Lily Potter, it's over," he said, raising his wand. Lily swallowed thickly as she watched the tip glow green.

Lily cried out in surprise when Sirius suddenly slumped unconscious to the ground. Lily stared at his limp form before glancing up to see James, his wand still in the air. He wasted only a second before dropping to the ground beside them. "Shrieking Shack," he said grabbing hold of Sirius's robes. Lily nodded, and they Apparated inside the old house. Quickly, the Potters ran through the tunnel. They emerged on the grounds from under the Whomping Willow, not wasting a second before sprinting for the castle.

Back on the battlefield, Lucius cursed. The Potters had just Apparated away, Sirius unconscious with them. Quickly, Lucius sent up the retreat signal. The Death Eaters Disapparated back to Riddle Manor. Lord Voldemort raised a skeptic brow at Lucius, who had immediately thrown off his mask and was breathing heavily. "Back so soon, Lucius," he asked coldly.

Lucius drew in a deep breath. He desperately hoped the Dark Lord would not take this piece of news out on him. "We have a bit of a problem, my lord," he said.

"Oh," Voldemort asked lightly.

"The Potters captured Sirius," Lucius said. There was no use sugar coating it.

"What," Harry cried from behind his kinsman.

Lord Voldemort looked nearly as concerned. "You are sure," he asked, and Lucius nodded. Voldemort turned furious red eyes to his hordes of Death Eaters. "Who was supposed to be guarding him," he asked dangerously.

Knowing it was useless to hide from him, Mulciber and Jugson stepped forward, bowing low. "We were, my lord," Jugson said shakily.

"And why did you not shield him from the Potters' attack," Voldemort hissed, murder radiating in his voice.

"He-he got away from us, m-my lord," Mulciber stammered. "He was ch-chasing Lily Potter. He had her cornered, but James Potter attacked from b-behind. W-we tried to reach him, my lord."

Voldemort growled and dispatched both men with the Killing Curse. "We must recover Sirius Black," he said in a tone that left no room for failures. He had spent too many years honing Sirius into the perfect weapon against the Potters and Dumbledore. Sirius had captured Harry from them when even he had failed. Sirius had become a vital asset to Voldemort's cause. He needed his general back. The risk was far too great to not put immense efforts into his recovery.

After he had dismissed his Death Eaters, Voldemort was surprised to see Harry Black had remained behind. The young man bowed low as he inched closer to the Dark Lord. "My lord," he asked.

"There is something you wish to discuss with me, young Black," Voldemort asked.

"My lord, will we be able to recover my father," Harry asked. Voldemort mused that the young man, although nearly twenty years old, sounded like a frightened child. He supposed it made sense. He knew how attached the boy had become to his adoptive father.

"It will be a great priority, Harry," he said. "Your father is important to this war effort, more than you know."

"If there is anything I can do, my lord, I will do it. Any mission, anywhere. I'll kill the Potters with my own hands if I can," Harry vowed.

Voldemort laughed aloud at the sheer irony. He had always intended either himself or Sirius to kill Lily and James Potter. He hadn't ever entertained the idea that their own son would do them in. As he thought about it, it was rather silly that he hadn't considered it before now. The misery they would feel as they died would be immeasurable. "I think, Harry," he said, "that if they have harmed your father, I will give you that honor."

Harry bowed lowly, his eyes dark. "Thank you, my lord."

Voldemort stroked Nagini's head as she slithered up the arm of his throne. "Yes, and now, young Master Black, you are in charge of your family until your father's return. You have business to attend to," he dismissed the boy. Harry bowed again and swept from the room. A smile of pure delight stretched over Voldemort's thin face. Perhaps, this situation would yield extremely positive results.

When Harry emerged from the fireplace into the parlor, he found most of his family members waiting for him. Atria immediately ran into his arms and cried, "Harry, what's happened to Father?"

Harry wrapped his arms around his sister in a comforting embrace. As Lucius had decided before, it would do no good to sugar coat the matter. "Dumbledore's got him," he said.

Bellatrix, who had not been on the raid, demanded, "What happened to him?"

"The Potters stunned him and Disapparated somewhere," Lucius said. "His guards failed to do their jobs while he was chasing down the Potter woman. The Dark Lord has taken care of them."

Narcissa looked livid. "You were there, Lucius. You saw. Could you not do something to protect my cousin?"

"I was more than several yards away, with several Aurors between," Lucius said stiffly.

"But they have Father again, Uncle Lucius," Atria said, sounding betrayed. "Who knows what horrible things they'll do to him this time! You should have done something."

"I understand that you are upset, Atria," Regulus said to his niece. "But understand that things like this happen in battle. Don't place such heavy blame on Lucius. The Dark Lord has already declared that great efforts will be made to bring him back. Ow, not so tight," he snapped at the House Elf who was wrapping a large gash on his arm.

"Zen see to it zat zese efforts are successful," Adrienne said.

"Shut up, Adrienne," Harry said bluntly.

"Pardon," Adrienne asked aghast.

Harry frowned at his stepmother. He was not in the mood to deal with her. "While Father is away, I am in charge of this family, and while I am in charge of this family, I am not required to tolerate you. So stop parading false concern for my father. You care only for the continued home, money and power being the Lady of Black Manor gives. Were divorce practiced among the Old Families, I'm sure Father would have gotten rid of you ages ago."

Adrienne's cheeks flushed red, and her eyes blazed. She opened her mouth to retort, but Narcissa interrupted, "The head of this family has spoken. You would do well to hold your tongue." Adrienne turned furious eyes to Narcissa, but the blonde women returned the glare with more force than Adrienne was able to handle. Narcissa looked positively dangerous as she stared down Adrienne, as did the other older members of the family. She had decided years ago that she greatly disliked her cousin's wife. It was nice to finally be allowed to say something.

Adrienne turned on her heel and stormed from the room. Bellatrix sent a scowl after her. She had long since felt that Adrienne did not conduct herself in a manner as was proper for a Black, something Bella could not forgive. Atria tugged on Harry's hand. He turned his grey eyes down to her. "Harry, what will we do about Father?"

"We're going to get him back," Harry said. "I don't care what I have to do, but we will help Father to escape from the Order."

Narcissa was quick to bring Harry and Atria down into the kitchens for tea. Lucius turned to Bellatrix as soon as thier kinsmen were out of earshot. "This does not bode well, Bella," he said. "We worked too hard to secure his place."

"It's been almost twenty years," Bellatrix said. "I don't think even that old fool Dumbledore would be able to do any sort of reversal."

Lucius frowned and shook his head. "We must take into account that although it was the master who preformed the spell, it was still only a Memory Charm. People have been known to regain their memories under the care of hospital staff. Who is to say Dumbledore could not do this to Sirius?"

"The master's spell is plenty strong enough to hold against Dumbledore," Bellatrix said confidently. "There are also the false memories we planted in his mind." Lucius still looked very skeptical. "All we can do is keep faith and hope they don't lock him away somewhere where we can't get to him."

"If we have lost Sirius, things are not going to go well," Lucius warned.


Sirius awoke groggily. He blinked bright light from his eyes and attempted to sit up. Surprisingly, he found himself secured firmly in place. Looking around, he was unable to recognize the room he was in. He was confused for a couple of seconds before recalling the raid in Hogsmeade. He had cornered Lily Potter and was less than a second away from killing her. But then, everything had gone black. He cursed aloud. He had been Stunned. The sound of his voice caught the attention of an older woman. She poked her head into the room, casting nervous eyes upon him. She quickly left after Sirius sent a nasty glare at her.

Some minutes later, Dumbledore entered the room accompanied by the Potters. Sirius was unable to hold in the animalistic growl at the sight of three of his most hated enemies. He struggled to remove himself from the bed on which he was lying.

"That will do you no good, Sirius," Dumbledore said. Sirius paid him no mind. "You will tire yourself out eventually," Dumbledore continued casually. This only angered Sirius more.

"I demand that you release me at once," Sirius yelled.

"You know as well as I that I will do no such thing," Dumbledore said.

Sirius frowned. "I will tell you no information. I will not turn against my master. I will kill each of you slowly and painfully as soon as I can get up," he promised. The other three didn't move, so Sirius opted for a different approach. He smirked. "So what will you do, erase all my memories again?"

"We've never erased a single memory of yours, Sirius," James said. "We've told you that."

"Yes, by capturing and holding me prisoner you've really proven your trustworthiness," Sirius said dully.

Dumbledore asked, in an almost jolly manner that caused Sirius to growl, "How are you feeling, Sirius? Any side affects of being Stunned? Any injuries?"

"Because you show such concern for prisoners," Sirius snapped.

"Certainly," Dumbledore said. "I would not deny medical treatment to anyone, not even an enemy." Sirius glared at him. "I shall take by your defiant silence that even if you were injured you would refuse my help. For now, I suggest a bit of rest. You look tired." He motioned for the Potters to follow him from the room, stopping at the door to mutter something to the nurse.

"Well, Professor," James asked immediately, "what do you think?"

"It was sheer luck that you were able to Stun him, James," Dumbledore said.

"But we have him now," James said excitedly. "We can do something about what Voldemort did to him!"

Dumbledore frowned under his long white beard. "If it can be done, it will take extremely great efforts. I can't predict the outcome," he said slowly.

"Professor, we have to try," Lily said.

Dumbledore smiled. "Yes, my dear," he said. "We certainly will."

A bell rang through the halls, and numerous students poured out from their classrooms. "Mum! Dad!" James and Lily turned around to see Olivia pushing her way through her classmates. She hugged her parents and adjusted her book bag, a relieved expression playing on her face. "Are you all right? We could hear explosions from the village."

James smiled down at his daughter. "Everything's fine. The Death Eaters pulled out. Do you have class," he asked.

"No, lunch and then a study hall," Olivia said.

James looked over to Dumbledore, and the old man nodded. "All right," James said. "Come with us." Olivia trailed after her parents and surrogate grandfather up to the headmaster's office.

After the door clicked behind them, Olivia asked, "Okay, what's going on?"

"We got him," James cheered.

Olivia raised a brow and looked to her mother. Lily smiled and elaborated, "We finally got Sirius back, dear."

"Sirius Black," Olivia asked. "You captured the General?"

James nodded excitedly. "We're holding him down in one of the private Hospital Wing rooms. We're going to reverse all that mess that Voldemort did on his mind."

Olivia looked to the headmaster. "Can you really do that," she asked. "I mean, that's almost twenty years of brainwashing he did on him."

"It will not be easy," Dumbledore said. "Nor will it be a short ordeal. I have much to research before I can even begin to attempt any efforts on his mind. This will be a very delicate issue."

"Wow," Olivia said blowing a strand of hair from her face. "So if we turn the General, can we turn Harry?"

James ran a hand over his beard. "Harry's very dedicated to Sirius. If we can get our Sirius back, there might be a chance that he can talk Harry into it," he said.

"Unless he's more dedicated to Voldemort," Olivia said darkly. "You know, he wasn't exactly the nicest bloke while he was here."

Lily and James exchanged concerned looks. They had perhaps entertained the idea before, but as Harry's parents, they certainly dreaded that he would show unconditional loyalty to Voldemort.


It was a couple of weeks before Dumbledore had felt he had done enough research to begin his attempts to uncover Sirius's lost memories. It was going to take far more than Occlumency and Legilimency, even for someone as learned in those skills as Dumbledore, to even begin to reverse the effects of Voldemort's spell. Sirius had been moved from the Hospital Wing into one of Hogwarts castle's numerous guest rooms. He was constantly guarded and nearly always physically restrained.

Sirius glared hotly at Dumbledore. The older man sat in a chair across from him, a pleasant smile formed underneath his beard. Sirius would have loved nothing more than to wipe that smug smile of his face. "What do you want," he asked nastily.

"Sirius," Dumbledore began, "I know that you do not believe us, although we have attempted to inform you several times over the years, you were once fighting on our side of the war. You ran away from your family when you were sixteen and went to live with the Potters. Voldemort had your memories erased and retrained you to fit his purpose of destroying those you once held dearest."

"A Black has no use living and fighting with mudbloods and boodtraitors," Sirius snapped.

"That is the shortsighted and prejudice views they have programmed into your mind," Dumbledore said.

"To each his own, then," Sirius said with a smirk.

Dumbledore shook his head. "You were once a good friend and courageous hero," he said. "And for the memory of the man you once were, I will try with the fullest of my ability to bring you back."

Sirius had been well trained in Occlumency both growing up and in his retraining for the Dark Lord. He knew before Dumbledore even began that the old man would be attempting to delve into his mind. Sirius concentrated all his physical and mental strength and ability into setting up mental wards and walls to push him out. Although Sirius was strong, he knew better than to think he could possibly outmatch Dumbledore. The aged wizard had over a hundred years of experience on Sirius.

Sirius felt the old man prodding into his mind. Sirius fought to push him out. Dumbledore redoubled his efforts. Sirius struggled to hold him at bay. Every secret of the Dark Lord's that Sirius knew was at Dumbledore's disposal if he successfully invaded his mind. Sirius would not allow himself to betray his master.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, Sirius was vaguely aware of sweat pouring down his face and the pressure of his clenched jaw. He didn't know how long he was able to fight off the old man before Dumbledore forced himself into Sirius's mind. He didn't know how long Dumbledore probed around his thoughts and memories. He only knew when he formulated his next conscious thought that it was dark outside. Sirius attempted to shift against the bonds that constantly held him down but found he could hardly budge a muscle. His entire body felt like lead, and his clothes were soaked in sweat. His vision was fuzzy, but he was able to make out Dumbledore standing over him. Sirius barely had the energy to give him a proper glare.

"Just a small potion, Poppy," he was saying, "I don't want to overdo it for his body." The words were even hard for Sirius to make out. He wasn't able to protest when the Hogwarts nurse poured a liquid into his mouth, massaging his throat to force him to swallow. It was another few seconds before Sirius was lost in darkness again.