Disclaimer; I don't own anything but the OCs, some spells and some potions.

A/N: Firstly, I'd just like to say that the potion from the last chapter, the Archetypus potion only restores how you physically looked before, not your mental wellbeing - so Sirius is still a bit loopy, as you'll see later in this chapter. Second, I'd like to say thank you so much for the reviews I got on the last chapter. Here is Sirius's reaction to seeing his son for the first time. I hope it meets up to your expectations, and if not, tell me why it hasn't.

Please leave a review, I'd appreciate it so much, honestly.

Enjoy this update and have a great day!

P.S. I recommend reading 'Summer of Sorrow' by Rebel Way. It's awesome and it's all about the summer Sirius ran away and his friendship with James, so do read it!

xoxo

34. His Reaction

All he could see was a baby. It was like the rest of humanity and existence faded away into white as the baby in Lily's arms neared. It was her baby, Rose's baby. Was it Sirius's baby? It had to be his baby. The eyes, the hair, the eyes!

Sirius remembered the time he fell from his broom, over a hundred feet above the ground. He would have died had it not been for Madam Hooch and her brilliant witchcraft. She saved his life and he would forever be grateful. But he would never forget the tears afterwards and he would never forget the screams he had shrieked whilst he fell.

The law of physics said all things that go up must come down. And Sirius had been coming down; he had been coming down hard. He had never forgiven his brother for sitting there on his broom a few feet away, allowing the Slytherins to curse Sirius off his broom, just as he had swung his bat to knock a bludger hurtling towards James away.

But the incident had taught him something and in a weird sort of way, he was thankful for experiencing such a trauma. It taught him to be careful of the people close to him, that even those most important to him had to be regarded with a sense of weariness. The Marauders had been an exception, but then Peter's betrayal back near Halloween made Sirius regard even his closest friends with a little cautiousness.

And just when his trust had been mending, he saw a baby. His baby. Here he sat, draped on the sofa with a cloth keeping him warm and his son nearing him. James's hand clenched his tightly, and his friend pressed frantic kisses to his hand and whispering words. Meaningless words that offered little comfort. That offered little help.

'Oh Padfoot,' James whispered but Sirius could barely hear and comprehend. Here he was, once again seeing and feeling the consequences of trusting. Trusting her, trusting Rose. The laws of physics said all things that go up must come down – and his tears were coming down, coming down hard.

Sirius stared at the baby in Lily's arms. Maybe two or three months old. With hair as black as night and eyes as silver as stars, his skin was white like snow and his lips were scarlet like blood.

Beauty was such a weak word to describe the radiance of the boy less than a metre away from him. Was this how stunning Sirius had been when he was a baby? He didn't think so. This boy was the epitome of beauty and radiance.

He didn't realise he had been speaking out loud, especially when Remus put an arm around his shoulders and Rose started to press hard kisses against his jaw and temple and cheek and lips. Oh how she kissed his lips! She whispered her apology on his skin in an urgent and desperate manner.

'I'm sorry,' she choked again and again, kissing all over his face.

But Sirius didn't hear anything. All was white and black and grey in his eyes. He couldn't see anything but the boy, the baby. He couldn't hear anything but the fussed noise his son (his son?) was making. He didn't know why or how his harsh breathing turned into sobs but they did. Loud sobs, sobs so loud and so hard he could barely breathe. It hurt to breathe.

He didn't need confirmation, this boy was his; a clone of Sirius Black from twenty two years ago.

When Sirius opened his eyes – they had closed on their own accord – the baby was smiling at Lily, whose emerald eyes were fastened onto Sirius passionately, mouthing words he couldn't hear. His arms opened subconsciously, automatically; almost as though they knew immediately how to hold the young baby. And after what seemed like hours, she tucked the baby into his Father's arms, a little hesitantly if not a bit reluctantly.

Sirius looked down at his son, and his son looked up at him. There was a moment where the twins just looked at each other, drinking up the image of one another but for different reasons. Sirius was trying to come up with a plausible reason as to why there was a boy, a few months old, in his arms that looked so much like him. And the baby was wondering who this man holding him was, who this unfamiliar stranger could be.

But then the baby, after he watched his Father for a long time, took one deep breath and wailed at the top of his lungs; a shrieking and piercing cry that echoed through the silent and still house like an explosion. After a befuddled moment, Sirius copied, crying out hard and deep.

He cried till his voice was cracking and breaking, until Rose grew so frightened for her son that she wrenched the baby out of his Father's arms and covered his body with her own. The Marauders cocooned around Sirius, wrapping their arms around him and muttering meaningless condolences.

'I-It's okay,' breathed Remus into his hair, 'we're here. We're always going to be here for you.'

'I'M SORRY!' exploded Rose, a demented expression flickering and remaining on her face. 'I'm so sorry Sirius! Please baby ... p-please!'

It didn't work. Remus's words of comfort and Rose's cries of apology didn't help one bit. Pushing away his friends and getting up stiffly from the sofa, he moaned gently at the tenderness of his muscles and the ache in his legs. But he persevered. He barged Remus and pushed James and shoved Peter. And faster than any of the others thought he was capable of moving, Sirius was off the sofa and making his way to Rose.

She forced the baby into Lily's arms and started backing away, the red glint in his piercing grey eyes frightening her as he advanced closer and closer until she was pressed into the wall. Her eyes followed his movements, catching a glance of the red Dark Mark squirming on his forearm as he reached over to snatch James's wand.

Sirius pointed it at her, his eyes almost completely red now, and the mark flashing between white and scarlet. His arm was steady and he looked possessed; delirious.

Rose froze. She took one look at his face, his wand and his mark before she screamed as loud as she could. But the low and deep voice, very unlike his own, could still be heard by all the others.

'Avada Ked-'

Sirius couldn't finish the spell, as the wand flew out of his hand and he dropped to the floor, stunned, thanks to Remus. James dropped to his knees, checking if his friend was okay. His hand was shaking as he checked for a pulse and then as quick as he could, he moved away from Sirius, gasping for breath.

Had Sirius ... had Sirius really almost killed Rose?

Her screams distracted them all, taking on a whole new tone and pitch. She was hysterical, and even Remus's comforting arms around her (arms that were very adept at calming anyone down) didn't quieten Rose.

In the end, it was Lily's sharp Stunning Charm that silenced her. And she, like her "boyfriend" fell to the floor, silent until woken, or until she revived herself.

The room was silent. None of them knew what to say. Lily, with the baby in one hand and her wand in another stared down at the star-crossed lovers, so close together, with matching bitter, heartbroken expressions. James checked to see if Rose was alright too.

'Wha—' Peter whispered but he stopped himself. His thoughts were taking a turn for the worst, and he couldn't bear to think of what had just happened. Sirius had almost killed her. He hadn't been "about" to kill her or "thinking" of killing her. If not for Remus's quick disarming spell, Rose Emily Taten would be dead on the floor, the ghost of a disbelieving scream marring her face forever and eternity.

xo

Sirius woke up with his whole body trembling, and not because of the cold. On the contrary, it was hot and he was sweating like a pig. Lily was pressing a damp towel to his bare torso and his face.

He looked around, bewildered, as he tried to get his bearings. Then his eyes met her pitying ones. Lily bent down when his silver irises glimmered with tears, and she pecked the corner of his mouth ever so gently.

'Oh Paddy, it's okay baby, I'm here...' she whispered.

Sirius wiped his face roughly and shook his head. He opened and closed his mouth half a dozen times but no words left his mouth. He couldn't find any words adequate enough to say. He had a son! A baby, his own baby. Fifty percent him, fifty percent Rose. Hadn't Sirius wanted more than anything a legacy to leave behind if he died? Because when he was held captive by Lord Voldemort and the Death Eaters he thought that he would never live a life as full as James's. He would never have a family and a wife. And yet here he was, with a son.

Sirius felt a rippling sensation flutter through his body, and he couldn't quite decide whether it was nice or not but it was probably the former. But then pain surged through his body, beating the weird and oddly pleasant ripples in his body away.

It wasn't a physical pain, he was healed after all thanks to the Archetypus potion. It was an emotional pain. A pain in his heart.

Pain as he realised what Rose had done to him...

She had lied and betrayed him. She ran away with his unborn son, taking away the only hopes of Sirius ever staying home. And he had missed the birth of his son! His son's first cry! His first feed! His first smile! He missed the very things that James and him had experienced with Harry, the things that grounded them and matured them from wild, crazy and impulsive twenty year olds to slightly wild, slightly crazy and still-fucking-impulsive twenty year olds. Sirius didn't know if he would ever be able to leave again without the heartbreaking thought of her running off with his son, he couldn't even bear the thought.

Rose, oh Rosie Rose.

All those kisses she had given him, the times she had told him she loved him and trusted him, the moments when she begged him to trust her. The day she told him she wanted him and only him. The day she got the tattoo. The day she declared James was no longer apart of her heart.

All those memories with Rose, they were lies. All of them! Rose ... Rose was a lie.

Sirius knew he couldn't stop loving her in the space of a few hours, especially when she was his heart, but right now he had never hated anyone so much. Not Voldemort, not Malfoy or Snape, not even his Father. Sirius still loved Rose, he knew he always would forever and eternity, like they always said to one another. But now he hated her; he hated her so bad.

Sirius turned his head to see that Harry was asleep on the bed with him, a few inches away. On the cabinet were a collection of potions: Dreamless Sleep, Pain Relief, Blood Replenishing and Energy Boosters. Sirius appraised the Dreamless Sleep potion distastefully.

'Oh darling, that's not for you. It's ... it's for Rose.' Lily whispered, kissing his forehead and wiping his tears with her thumb. 'You tried to kill her.' She breathed after a long moment of staring at his face. She watched the expressions of confusion flicker across his face.

'Did I?' he asked. And then he remembered, with a pained whimper. He remembered the sharp flash of inside Lord Voldemort's mind; the man had been angry, furious over something. Something had come over Sirius, he didn't know if he had been possessed or not, but it had felt like he had. He remembered advancing toward her, with James's wand in his hand and the Killing Curse on his tongue.

Sirius wasn't sure if he'd rather Lily know he had been possessed by Voldemort, or have her thinking he was capable of murdering his life-long love. Probably the latter.

'You think she doesn't deserve it?' he whispered, clutching the redhead's hand tighter in his own.

Lily shook her head softly. 'No, no she doesn't.'

There was a pregnant silence, and then Sirius exhaled. 'A boy...' he breathed in awe, looking up at the ceiling to try and blink away the tears that fell anyway. Then he laughed sharply; harshly. 'And I don't even know his name! What's his name?'

Lily smoothed his soft, silky hair. She smiled hesitantly. 'He's called ... Rose named him Sirius James.'

Sirius frowned, but continued looking up at the ceiling as more tears avalanched down. 'I ... I would never have called him that. When was he born?'

Lily bit her lip. 'He was born about twenty minutes after you were captured I think. Twenty fourth of November. She named him after you because she thought she would never see you again. She knew she'd lose you; she thought she already had lost you—'

'And has she?' Someone asked from the doorway. It was James. He had a cigarette in his mouth, and looked so far gone that he didn't care if Lily saw him smoking. His eyes were red, evidence that he hadn't slept and had probably been crying.

James closed the door behind him and took in the scene. His hazel eyes bored into Sirius's own grey ones that still sparkled with the tears he barely managed to hold back.

'H-Has she lost you Pads? Have we lost ... Have I lost you? My best friend—my brother!'

Sirius's eyes roamed James's body, noticing the small differences in his appearance. He seemed a little bigger. His skin was stark white, like snow, and his hair was longer, giving it a wilder look. And where was that ever-fixed smile?

Sirius felt something tickle the back of his neck, and then he felt a sharp pain. He cried out in horror. Turning to see what it was, he instead saw a tail flicker into view.

'Stop!' he hissed angrily. Weren't they supposed to be gone? Weren't they supposed to have left him and joined forces with Lord Voldemort?

'Seems like,' whispered the kitten, scrunching up her nose adorably, 'we'll be staying for a while.'

Sirius groaned a long groan, throwing back his head and crying freely. He didn't care anymore. He had a son, he'd lost his mind, and his heart was breaking. When he looked back up after a long time of crying, Lily's eyes were wide as saucers and James's face, if possible, was whiter.

His friend stared at him hard for a second and then said quietly, 'We're leaving now Lils. Get Sirius ready and be downstairs in half an hour. Remus is practising his long-lasting Disillusionment Charms.' Then he closed the door quietly behind him.

xo

To say there were a few Death Eaters was a lie. Half the force must have flooded to Godric's Hollow on Voldemort's command. They were everywhere; near the church, guarding the pub, outside the post office – they were quite literally everywhere. And even the slightest sound had them turn sharply, their wands swishing out from under their long cloak.

James was holding his sleeping son in one hand, and kept his Invisibility Cloak around them with the other. He was walking at a slow pace, just behind Remus who had a brilliant Disillusionment Charm cast on himself and the others. Even his breathing was restricted and quiet. The children had Silencing Charms put on them; namely because SJ was screaming his head off – he didn't like being held by Sirius, who eventually handed the baby over to Lily.

A boy, a boy! He had a boy! Sirius still didn't know how to take in the news. He had a son! Why wasn't he jumping for joy or dancing or crying of happiness?

Because he'd missed the first few months of his son's life. Because he wasn't mentally stable and wouldn't be able to care for his son. Because Rose had broken his heart. Sirius determinedly looked away from her every time her eyes met his. She cried silently as they walked at a slow and careful pace from Godric's Hollow.

He didn't care though. He wanted to strangle her. A few hours ago he had tried, but James had thrown him back. 'Why are you trying to kill her Padfoot?' James had asked.

'Because she's killed part of me.' Sirius had replied patiently. Then he turned away to go find solace in watching his sleeping son and drinking in the sight of a boy that he barely knew, a boy that barely recognised him and cried every time he saw Sirius.

It took a few hours to get out of Godric's Hollow. Their feet were aching and they couldn't distinguish one another. Several times Sirius had walked into someone, one of those people being Rose. She had jumped away before he could do much damage though.

Finally, just on the outskirts of the town, in the middle of an icy stretch of land, did Remus call loud enough for all of them to hear, that they should stop.

Sirius sighed in relief when the Disillusionment Charm was stripped off of him and he fell to the floor, pulling off his shoes and massaging his feet. Falling to the ground besides him tiredly was Lily, who rested her head against his shoulder. 'They'll just be setting up the tents now. You'll be bunking with me and James.'

'So you can keep an eye on me.' Sirius whispered quietly. 'To make sure I don't kill Rose.'

Lily looked up, biting her lip and then nodding. 'To make sure you don't do anything you'll later regret.'

'I don't think,' he breathed, 'I'd ever regret killing her.'

'You say that now...'

xo

The Marauders (save Sirius who didn't have a wand) and Lily and Rose had put up charms to protect the tents – Muffliato, Invisibility Charms, Scent-Snuffing Spells and the likes. They wouldn't be found, not till the morning which by then they'd be gone and it would be too late.

Sirius had begged for the first round of guarding and watching. It had taken an hour to persuade them, James giving in last, that he needed fresh air and time to think and hurt and feel what she'd made him feel; the feeling of betrayal and pain. Such pain.

Sirius also wanted to spend some quality time with his son, whom he held in his arms. He looked down at the boy, so similar to him apart from the scarlet full lips. Rose's lips. He leant down and pressed a kiss to the soft skin of SJ's forehead.

'I didn't even know about you yesterday.' He breathed into his son's ear, who continued to look up questioningly, an intelligent frown on his face. 'Do you recognise me? I'm your Father.'

'Fifty percent of who you are comes from this great dog besides me.' A voice said mockingly, and sliding into the space between Sirius and the fire cackling away was James. 'I can't sleep with you up. I'm scared something'll happen to you.'

'More like scared of something I'll do.'

'That too.' James replied patiently. He moved closer so that his elbow was brushing Sirius's and he looked down at his nephew. 'He looks so much like you. It'd be more believable that Emanuelle Danté's the Mother instead of Rose.'

Sirius flinched at the use of Rose's name. He had never despised someone so much in his life. He still couldn't quiet get his head around the fact that not only had she betrayed him but she had lied to him. James noticed this and dropped his head to his friend's shoulder. 'I'm so sorry,' he whispered. 'I'm so sorry Paddy, if there was anything I could do—'

'But there isn't. There isn't anything you can do.' Sirius replied just as quietly. He touched his son's nose gently, who made a funny face and whimpered softly. Sirius withdrew his finger and sighed. 'Unless of course you can tell me this is a joke. This is all a joke. I haven't got a son and Rose never betrayed me and ran away with my baby. If you could do that, then I'm begging you James, do it.'

There was just silence, and Sirius was answered with the fact that nothing was going to change and what was happening right now was reality for the rest of his life. Only the noise of the cackling golden fire besides them and their breathing could be heard. There was the snap of a twig but upon closer inspection, the Marauders saw that it was just a fox.

'I could tell you about him. I have taken care of him for most of his short life.'

Sirius looked up with glassy eyes, the yet-to-fall tears seeping back into their tear ducts. 'Yes please.' He breathed.

James smiled and put an arm around his friend's shoulder as they stared down at the baby who looked back just as haughtily and just as patiently. 'He has an arse like yours.'

Sirius gave a watery chuckle. 'Trust you to say something as gay as that.'

'Oi! Don't interrupt me. Where was I? Oh yeah. He's just like you. He's been crying quite a bit lately but when he first came he barely cried, even when he was hungry or needed to be changed or held. And he's intelligent. Fuck! You wouldn't believe how intelligent he is at only a few months old. I showed him a picture of R – his Mother and he stopped crying. And when I call her? Well he shuts up right away because he knows she's on her way.'

Sirius was now so intrigued in the conversation that he hadn't noticed his son slip away into blissful sleep.

'He's a morning person like you. He's also a midnight person, and an early-hours-in-the-fucking-morning person. He loves when Lily plays her records, he shuts right up too. And sometimes – the pervy little kid – he doesn't like drinking milk from his mummy's tits, he prefers to just play with them.'

Sirius laughed quietly and stared at his friend's face with both an expression of fondness and yearning. Sirius felt a bitter stab of jealousy and anger. This was his son! Yet James knew more about SJ than he did. He quickly wiped his eyes and then looked up eagerly, ready for James to tell him some more.

His friend's arm stayed around him as he told stories about the baby; stories about what he liked to do and how he was put to sleep. He remembered his eyes closing more often than before, and he remembered yawning. But soon, he fell asleep. To the sound of his son's breathing and his best friend's stories.

xo

It took two days of travel on foot to get to the place James and Peter had discovered; the herd of Thestrals. Only Rose couldn't see them. And the children of course. But all the others could see. At first, they frightened Sirius. He had only ever seen a Thestral once before, in his sixth year.

They were terrifying creatures, with skeletal bodies and ominous eyes. And these weren't Hagrid's tame ones, but instead the wild ones that weren't as well trained.

But they had to take a risk. Sirius was the first to jump onto the back of a Thestral and it made a noise between a roar and a whimper. He hit it hard and it quietened down.

'Prongs! Set Silencing Charms on the Thestrals.' He shouted before taking off into the sky, Remus flicking his wand and recasting the Disillusionment Charm. The Thestral wasn't patient, and Sirius tried as hard as he could to tame it and stop it from shooting into the sky. Finally, after ten minutes of trying to get Rose onto a Thestral, did they shoot off into the skies.

Sirius led the way. He didn't know where the hell they were but when they saw a high street and found out they were in the south of Birmingham, he knew how to get them to London. And from London he could get them to his old home.

It was painful riding the Thestral; they were bony creatures who liked to take their own routes. And with a jolt Sirius realised that the Thestrals already knew how to get to Grimmauld Place.

He didn't know who was flying besides him but he could see the Thestral. Then he heard a muffled moan and he knew it was Lily with Harry. They were flying fast and hard and it was exhilarating. Sirius was gasping for air as the Thestral surged forward whilst the night crept closer.

It was breathtaking, flying over the moors and the hills as the Thestrals navigated themselves. James's laughter could be heard echoing over their heads as the speed grew, and Sirius grit his teeth when he heard Rose beg for Remus to hold her tighter.

He'd never wanted to rip someone's throat out so much. She made him sick with hatred and pain. He'd never been in such pain. How could she do this to him? Did she not care for him? Two words! It would have taken only two words to make him stay – 'I'm pregnant.'

But instead, as usual, she took the difficult and painful route. He was so hurt and betrayed by her. She wasn't his anymore, all those days he'd spent with Voldemort, all those days he spent thinking of her. Before he knew it he was crying again – he'd never cried so much in his entire life! He could hear the others flying besides him but he couldn't see them, only the Thestrals. It lulled him into a false sense of security and he let all those emotions bottled up out.

Before long, Lily complained that Harry was hungry and she needed to pee. They stopped at a Muggle bar, splitting into two groups. Lily, Sirius and the children went to one side whilst the others went to the next table.

Lily put her hand on his own and touched his cheek affectionately. 'Are you okay?'

He shook his head and wiped his runny nose with the jumper he was wearing – James's jumper. 'I-I c-can't get ... o-o-over – it ...' he breathed shakily as he buried his face in his hands. Lily put an arm around him, ignoring Harry who was now crying loudly – they had taken the Silencing Charms off the babies.

'We're all here for you Padfoot. I und — you know what, I don't understand. Not at all. I'm not going to pretend I do Paddy! But he's here, your son is here, and sitting wallowing at the pain she's caused you isn't going to bring back the months you've lost. Look down at him. Look at him!'

He looked down to stare into those eyes identical to his. Lily seized his face and turned it so he faced her. 'He's here Paddy, your baby is here, and we're here.'

She brushed his tears away and kissed his forehead long and hard. 'We might not live another day, another hour, another minute but right now, take your moment.'

'H-He doesn't re-recognise me,' stuttered Sirius, breathing in sharply.

'Well make him recognise you. It's only been a few days.' Her voice was so soothing and soft, Sirius felt like sleeping all of a sudden.

'I-I don't know h-how to d-do any of this!' he cried angrily. 'She's had almost a y-year to co-come to terms with this! I've h-had a few days Lily! I don't know w-what ... what t-to do with my s-son,' the word hurt to say.

'Lies!' Lily screamed, ignoring the fact that all of the others were now watching them, including her, including Rose. 'You're lying Sirius! You're looking for an excuse so that when you fuck up you'll have something to fall back on! I've seen you with Harry, me and James didn't make you a godfather for no reason. You'll fail sometimes, everyone does. You'll mess up and you'll lose yourself sometimes but it's part of maturing and becoming a parent. So don't give me any of that shit! If you don't try Padfoot, you'll never know.'

Sirius tried to come to terms with the fact that not only had Lily sworn twice, but she had also turned very red and very angry. He opened and closed his mouth several times. He dropped his head when he realised that he didn't know what to say back to her.

Lily's expression softened. 'Oh, come here Paddy,' and she wrapped her arms around him as he nestled his face into her neck. Her soothing strokes on his back calmed him down and soon, after they ate and sorted out the children, they took back off to London.

It was very early in the morning when they finally were in the block, right besides Grimmauld Park. It was everything Sirius remembered it to be; his worst nightmare.

The houses were all the same, old and large. There were a few smaller ones clustered together, with cute small front gardens and gnomes still as stone. This was just a small price to pay for coming to a Muggle neighbourhood. Sirius remembered all the times his Mother would complain about the Muggles and he'd reply that this was their own fault for coming to Grimmauld Place, London's Muggle central.

As soon as they jumped off the Thestrals, the wild animals took off into the sky and vanished into the darkness. Sirius sighed painfully, gasping as he turned to take in the view. The others followed him even though they all knew how to get to his old home, save the women.

And in between Number Eleven and Number Thirteen, merging into view before their eyes, was Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place, also known as Sirius Black's old childhood home. The houses were neglected, a bit like the others. But Sirius's old home was very handsome. It was also very large, larger than the others beside it. As well as being tall, the front door had a snake for a knocker.

A moving snake. Sirius shivered, and as he made to open the gate, it hissed at him.

'Sirius Black,' the gate hissed, forming to shape a mouth. 'You're disowned.'

'Open.' His voice was tired and extremely impatient. He looked ready to snap.

'You ran away at the age of sixteen. The amount of times I remember you sneaking out and begging me to stay quiet. I feel guilty now for betraying your Mother and Father. The Great Walburga and Orion Black.'

Sirius's face snapped back. He bared his teeth and threw off the restraining hand of James's that went on his shoulder. 'You better move now.'

'I shan't be disobeying your Mother simply for a stupid young boy who has come home now he's realised how tough the real world is.'

Sirius threw his head back and laughed bitterly. 'You're talking about disobeying? All those women you'd let into the house for my Father. All those lies you would tell my Mother, saying you never let any woman through the gate, how disobeying and untruthful were you?'

The face the gate had formed slacked. As it opened, they could all hear its hissing. 'Filthy blood traitor,' it whispered. Sirius kicked the gate shut behind them with a growl, and only James could calm him, putting his hands on Sirius's shoulders and telling his friend to breathe in and out.

'I've never hated a place so much,' he whispered, turning to face his old home. It had gotten a little gritty compared to how it looked the last time he had come here, when his Father had still been alive and Alphard's funeral ceremony had commenced.

But the front garden was neat, the door was shiny like copper and the stone steps was clean. Sirius told them to stay back, his eyes meeting Rose's for a brief second.

He closed his eyes and pictured, when this whole mess was over, some dark haired beauty making him breakfast. Besides him would be his son, only two or three years old and adamantly begging to feed himself. Sirius would laugh and hand his son the spoon, reaping the consequences of split milk and a shattered bowl. But in this vision, this dream, the dark haired woman turned and her hair grew long, so long it touched her buttocks. And it turned gold, a shimmering gold like a galleon. Because for Sirius, only Rose could be his girl. Even after everything she had done, forever she would be his.

He lifted his hand, sighed, and knocked hard. There was a silence, a long silence. Then the door was thrown open.

But it wasn't Walburga Black who answered the door, quite the opposite. It was Snape. Severus Snape. And at that precise moment, the moment Sirius's eyes met Snape's, he fell to his knees and called out quietly in pain.

xo

Lord Voldemort had never been so angry. Sure, he had felt fury before. But the one day, the one day he let his confidence get to him, confidence that the Death Eaters could take care of Sirius for a whole night, the man had disappeared; the man had been rescued.

How could Voldemort have missed it! There had been a rescue mission only the full moon before! But the people who had allowed Sirius Black to be taken were now dead. Oh yes, Lord Voldemort had killed the Death Eaters that had survived the massacre – which had only been four. They were weaklings, new recruits.

But now, now, he felt a sparkle of some of that lost happiness! In his hands was the diadem, Ravenclaw's diadem. After much persuasion the ghost of Ravenclaw had finally told him the story. With some magical aid, he appeared as handsome as he once had been. She was putty in his hands. She told him the whole tale of the Bloody Baron and the incident that left her dead.

After Lord Voldemort had the whole story, he sent a group of Death Eaters to go to the forest in Albania she had been talking about and bring him back the diadem. The punishment they would receive if they returned empty handed had been enough to have the wizards and witches scour the forest on hands and knees.

And now, kneeled before Lord Voldemort were the Death Eaters presenting the diadem. It was old and ancient and not particularly nice to look at. But it symbolised power, intelligence and greatness. And soon it would symbolise part of Lord Voldemort's soul.

He threw back his head triumphantly and laughed. Sirius Black could run and he could hide but not for long. With immortality, power and disposable wizards and witches on his side, Lord Voldemort only had one thing left to conquer – Sirius Orion Betelgeuse Black.

xo

Sirius gasped for breath, holding James's hand tightly and sobbing into the hand. He didn't care if Snape was there before him; he had more important things on his mind.

'A horcrux,' Sirius gasped. 'He's making another!'