Innocuous plans – They appeared in the front room of Grimmauld Place and all three immediately sank to their knees, the extra weight and magic used to get passed the walls causing the wielder to lose balance. Sirius recovered first, he was no stranger to life threatening situations having been the best auror Moody ever trained (though that information did not stop him from being sent to Azkaban) and then the death eaters he had faced with revolution he was enacting now. He took of his coat, letting out a shaky smile and running a hand through his hair which was now quickly returning to coal black as he let the spell diminish. He needn't have bothered anyway; his display of power using such a disguise had only prompted the goblins into malevolent action rather than divert attention away from his being, trying to pass off as an average citizen.

"Well that was a load of excitement I did not need," he mentioned in a deceptively light tone as he drew the cup back out of his coat before he hung it behind the door and examined it. It sure was a pretty little thing if it was a little smaller than expected, it hardly seemed worth it. It was a great shame it was marred by such dark magic, dark magic which had demanded the slaughter of an innocent no less and therefore it had to be destroyed. He watched as the polyjuice on Harry wore off and he turned back into the black haired, green eyed child he knew. Seeing his father recovered already encouraged the child to regain his bearings himself and that just left Narcissa who was still seated on the ground staring into space.

Seeing her in such a state of shock first amused Sirius and when she walked beside him in Gringotts finally quiet and subdued he felt a good scare was exactly what the arrogant and vain cow needed. However, now that she remained unresponsive to him calling her name – it worried him. Her face was pale to an almost ashen quality, but that was to be expected and she looked close to tears, she was in state of shock, but she could not move. Her husband was the death eater, she was unmarked and had never really known true danger. As a daughter of a pureblood family, she had spent her whole life being assured that males were going to look after her, first her father and then her husband. Noble pureblood houses were old fashioned to the extreme; females had very little say in their lives, from their schooling to their husbands.

He knelt down beside her to encourage her to get to her feet so he could shepherd her to more comfortable dwellings than the floor like an armchair, but she seemed unable to comprehend what he was trying to do by grabbing her arm. Perhaps she had been hurt, he had been careful in protecting her and Harry but maybe there was something he was missing. He had looked after her too, not because she was weak or because she was a woman, or even because he was her cousin, but because he was the Lord of Black, the descendent of Merlin and because it did not matter how obnoxious she was, she did not deserve to die. "Kreacher, get me some hot chocolate and biscuits, sugar is the best cure for these situations, nothing cured shock better."

"Narcissa, are you ok?" He was getting no response, she was still in shock, "Cissy, talk to me, answer me, are you hurt?" He barely noticed when he slipped into using her nickname that the family had dubbed her and even he started using when he was a kid and before he defied his family. In contrast, she noticed right away and looked up, finally meeting his worried eyes with her own astounded ones. She opened and closed her mouth a few times but no sound was coming out. Sirius braced himself for the onslaught he was sure was to come and decided this time the best thing to do would be to bear it. He saw Harry ran off to the corner of the room to retrieve his stag and he ran his fingers through his cousin's hair in a soothing manner in a rare show of genuine concern.

"Siri," she responded, using his own nickname in response, and it was the first time he could recall that she had called him by the nickname since they became adults out of choice and without mocking in her tone. She accepted his hand up and once she was on her feet she threw her arms around him and clung onto him for dear life. Surprised by this sudden act of affection he stiffened and tentatively patted her back with his hand, whispering soft nothings to her like one might calm a child after a nightmare. "Oh Siri I was so scared, I thought I was going to die, and you… you saved my life… I owe you my life… thank you, thank you so much." She had hated him such a short while ago; it was strange how drastically some things can change in such a short time.

He saw Kreacher appear by his side with the beverage he ordered in his skinny hands. He pressed the mug into the shaking hands of his cousin with the order to drink. His tone left no room for argument and he watched the calming drug he had ordered Kreacher to lace it with via a look when he gave the order take its effect and her muscles relaxed enough that he could pull her to her feet. "Well everything is ok now, you're safe, I kept you safe didn't I? You don't need to worry; I am your Lord, which means your wellbeing is my responsibility."

"Yes, yes it is," she muttered, "and you upheld that, you saved me. Thank you, Siri," she pulled away from him and then she did something he never thought she would ever, ever do. She stretched to her tiptoes and pressed her lips to his. It did not last very long but it was hard, like how one might kiss a lover and while he did not respond, he did feel ashamed. She on the other hand did not look in the least bit embarrassed by her actions, in fact by the way she stared at him hinted that she might very much like to do it again. He pressed his lips tight shut to prevent himself from saying something idiotic like: you kissed me. It was not something to make an accusation of, he knew he was attractive and she knew just as well as he did what happened.

It had not been his first kiss by any stretch of the imagination but he stiffened up like he had when he did receive his first one. An icon for taking everything in his stride, Sirius simply nodded and put his hand on her shoulder. He was not sure whether it was in reassurance or to keep her back, but either way she did not try it again, much to his thanks. He was not sure how to interrupt such a moment, a change in subject was needed, but doing so would be so obvious. "Narcissa, please, do not ever do that again," not only did he not like her, but she was married.

"Why not? People marry cousins all the time, it is not incestuous."

"Yes it is. People do not marry cousins all the time, only pure bloods because of the ridiculous notion of only marrying into certain families, we are all related already, all of us. No, we cannot do anything, you are a married woman." She was trying to find her place in the world, now that it was no longer the wife of one of the most prominent men in Britain she was trying to weasel her way back in, that was part of the reason why she agreed to be his ally so quickly. If there was one thing he could commend his cousin on it was that she had never said or done anything without knowing and meaning exactly what it was, what she wanted and how it bettered her. She was after all, a Black at heart, and Blacks were Slytherins, the lot of them.

"But my husband is in jail." She also took a long time to give up on anything once she had set her sights on it, that was not part of being a Black, that was part of being a spoilt little girl.

"He has to be gone seven yeas first right? Besides, do please remember who put him there."

"I forgive you for that, he deserved jail, right?"

"Yes, he did, I am glad you finally accept that."

"I just want to express my gratitude."

"You word is enough," he assured, "more than enough." Yet he had to wonder why he was so adamant against such a show of affection, it could not hurt that much as long as he was guarded. Perhaps this was just the only way she knew how to express her gratitude, which meant he should accept it, right? No, it was wrong, it was most definitely wrong, she was his cousin, what was he thinking? He let out a sigh and stared into her glistening eyes, they did not affect him, "thank you for looking after Harry, now, you should go home."

"I would like to stay, just for a little while."

It would be extremely rude of him to deny her that, and it was such a simple request. He let out a sigh again and nodded. He summoned two mugs from the kitchen and poured out two mugs of tea at a snap of his fingers. "Here," he passed her one of the mugs, she obviously needed more calming, "it will soothe your frazzled nerves," he pressed it into her hands to encourage her to drink it.

"Why Siri?"

Oh, they were back to that, "I'm not interested in a wife."

"Oh. Oh I'm sorry, I had no idea. I mean I had my suspicions but-"

That's not what he meant at all. "That's not it Cissy, I just, let's just drop it."

Regulus chose that moment to enter the room, he was rubbing his hair with a towel, "oh you're back, I was wondering where you were, did everything go ok?"

"Yes, all was fine."

"Oh good, where did you go?"

"The bank."

"Oh right, how's Salvatore?" He looked behind his brother, "oh, hello Cissy, nice to see you again."

"Everything went ok?" She ignored her younger cousin and looked at Sirius with an incredulous glare, "I will tell you Regulus," she started, without looking away from Sirius, "that everything did not go 'ok,'" she gave the word finger quotations. "Those no good goblins tried to kill me by trapping us in that godforsaken tomb of a vault with a multiplication charm on everything!"

"Oh don't be so self-centered Narcissa," Sirius admonished, "they tried to kill all of us."

Regulus was busy trying to process what he had been told and work out what was the most important thing to bring up first. "Someone tried to kill you? You went to get the cup without me but decided to bring your son along; I thought you said you forgave me for the cock up with Dumbledore? Are all of you alright? Goblins intelligence really is not what it used to be is it?" He somehow managed to get it all out in one breath and at the same time.

Sirius sighed. "Respectively: Yes. You were in the shower. We're fine. I guess so. How did you know it was the cup?"

"You have Narcissa with you, I assume you went to the vault of Bellatrix, you should have told me, at the least I could have warned you about the charm." "Dear cousin, do please tell me what I almost died in aiding you to retrieve."

"Don't be so melodramatic, I would not have let you die, I saved you didn't I?" He drew the cup out of his cloak, "Narcissa, Regulus, I present to you the cup of Helga Hufflepuff."

"Huh," Narcissa gave an unimpressed snort, "I would not have thought she was the rightful possessor of such an artifact." Yes, Bella was as Black and Slytherin as they came. Like a deadly viper, beautiful in a hypnotizing way as all snakes are, hiding under a layer of childish pouts and giggling, camouflaging into the background as a trophy wife and deadly when she chose to strike. She was, however, criminally insane, and that put a damper on what would be a prized daughter to the house of Black and the makings of a wonderful warrior.

"The heirlooms of the four founders are not as well-known as they might be," Sirius stated. "In fact I doubt many self-proclaimed experts even know what they all are. Unfortunately with the war and other more pressing matters, there is no input in the area of finding these heirlooms and finding the rightful owners. For those self-proclaimed fanatics, if you want to gain possession of these objects you must do everything yourself. They were all in Hogwarts almost fifty years ago but in that time it was all a game of finders keepers. The diadem of Rowena Ravenclaw is in the mirror of Erised at Hogwarts and cannot be retrieved unless one owns the cup." And they needed to be destroyed once he found of a way to destroy them.

"You mean all we went through was so you could get some trinket!"

"Let me finish Narcissa dear. All of the artifacts with the exception of the sword of Griffindor was found and kept by Tom Marvalo Riddle when he was at school, better known as the former Lord Voldemort. I very much doubt he could even touch the sword of Godric Griffindor, it probably burned him like a crucifix would a vampire. Along with the three heirlooms he turned his snake, a ring and the diary into horcruxes, I need them to destroy them."

"I see, Bellatrix was safekeeping it for him. I remember he used to do things in sevens."

"It is time for you to go home," his voice hardened.

Her eyes narrowed, "what are you hiding from me?"

"That is classified, between me and my brother and not you."

"I am your ally now."

"You are my ally and my cousin, not my friend and not someone I like or trust."

"That hurts Sirius." She crept up to him and with no warning stretched up and kissed him again.

Sirius wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and glared at her, "I thought I told you not to do that, I just told you I don't like you."

Regulus coughed none too discreetly, pretty sure his presence had been forgotten, "baby brother cutting in here to remind you that incest is still illegal."

"It's not illegal between cousins Regulus," Narcissa cut in.

Sirius took matters into his own hands. He grabbed a handful of floo and threw it and the woman into the fireplace with a cry of "Malfoy Manor!" He turned back to his brother, "she is so annoying, I don't think I ever want to get married."

"At least not to somebody related to you."

"Blacks, they are all the bloody same, obnoxious and loud and annoying and have to get their own way or they start to cry like infants."

"I know," Regulus said dryly, "absolutely insufferable."

"Worse. Sorry for leaving you out, but I needed her and I thought it would only take a few minutes, and it did, just without the peril, will you go to Hogwarts for me?"

"Sure, I guess, I can do that."

"Thanks."

"So what are you going to do about, you know, the goblins?"

"What do you mean by do about it?"

"Well they did try to kill you."

"Well yeah, but that's not their fault, well it is but they are just put on edge by the power I have. They were scared of me, you know, like, everyone else. I am not going to start any sort of war over it, and I am not going to get Salvatore sacked, although it was entirely unprofessional for him to do that. I got out fine, demonstrating to them that what they did, all they did, was hold me up for about five minutes and nothing else. When they see that they will note the error of their ways and do nothing more, taking my lack of retaliation as a sign of mercy, though I at the present time have no way of knowing how well they will take to that."

"If they take to it badly?"

"If they do, then, of course, I will be required to take action. I hate to draw attention when it is not needed unlike someone I could mention. Kreacher!" The elf popped up beside him, "I need to you to go to Malfoy manor again and tell Narcissa not to tell anyone about what the goblins did today, make up a threat that is believable from me."

"I still don't think you should be so lax about it Siri."

"I can't be bothered to kick up a fuss, too much to do with feuds, no point." Regulus didn't want to let it go, even though he was clearly being ordered to, but Sirius had a glint in his eye which told him that the incident was catalogued away for further use later, so with hesitance he decided to trust him and bowed his head in agreement to let it go for now. "I have a new project in mind anyway," Sirius said after but a moment of pause, "something I meant to do a while ago, but things got in the way and I've finally worked out where they are and the others too."

"Who are where, what are you talking about?"

"Something Teddy told me ages ago and I promised to help, I'll tell you later. Pop quiz for you Regulus, what do you need when you are about to fight a war."

"An army."

"Precisely."

"And where are you expecting to find this army."

He grinned, "Azkaban."

"SILVERTOE!" Salvatore grabbed a newspaper, rolled it up and hit him over the head several times with it. "What on Earth were you thinking? Threatening Lord Black, Narcissa Malfoy and Harry Potter! Do you have any idea of the magnitude of your transgression? Lord Black is the most prominent figure in the magical community, the most powerful warlock in Europe, and you, you, tried to kill him." Salvatore stopped in his attack and pinched the bridge of his nose between his forefinger and thumb. "Do not think for a moment that Lord Black will not seek retribution Silvertoe and he is well within his rights to seek it. You saw what he has done to all those death eaters, and he escaped your ploy easily, he made you look like a fool! He is going to make mincemeat out of you, and this bank will not stand behind you when he comes."

Silvertoe looked up in astonishment, if there was one thing the Goblin nation could pride itself on apart from pride itself and its intelligence, especially when it came to anything including the gold they so crave, it was standing together. The goblins nation would never turn against their own, they were not so fond of the wizarding world due to the fact it was not them who sparked the war hundreds of years ago. Descendants of the generals still harbour a grudge; Silvertoe was the multiple great grandson of the senior centurion. "Do not look so shocked," Salvatore admonished with a sneer he usually only reserved for the most arrogant of purebloods he was forced to serve, "the man you offended has the power to drag the whole nations of goblins through the mud, and I will not let your folly bring every goblins down to the level of dragon dung!"

"I understand you do not share my views that another war will arise one day but he is still a danger, I acted in the good of the clan."

"You acted for yourself!" Salvatore spat, "because you are scared and because you are curious. I know you do not underestimate people Silvertoe, I know you just did what you did to see what he would do, to see how long it would take and judge how powerful he is to see which wards he could overcome with his passengers."

"With all due respect sir, he is just one wizard, and he does not have much of an army standing behind him."

"He is a hero! Do you not know much the wizarding world loves a hero? They are forever clamouring for someone else to look up to – and then pass the blame of all evil in the world on if anyone messes up about anything. That will not happen to him though because he is a vigilante on top of that, there is not a wizard or witch out there that does not secretly at least like the idea of a vigilante, you could probably get posters of him, there are books being written about him, Rita Skeeter is his own personal reporter! What if she reports this! Not to mention he has charisma and money backing him. Oh and what else, yes, you attempted the life of the boy who lived! He would have the whole of the wizarding world down on the goblin nation in an instant if he chooses to take action!"

Salvatore was out of breath by the time he finished he rant, furious beyond belief at the danger he had put them all in. This was going to require a grovelling letter, or maybe he would behead Silvertoe and send it to the Lord as a gift. After all, he was not just manager of the bank, he was responsible for all the goblins living inside Gringotts and he had to act in the favour of the vast majority, regardless of his previous friendship with the one before him. "Silvertoe, there is a choice left for you, you can either run or you can send a grovelling letter to Lord Black for forgiveness, either way I am forced to take action, and that is to fire you. Silvertoe, you are no longer welcome inside the wall of Gringotts, you have 24 hours to gather your things and get out."

Silvertoe could not move for a couple of moments, just stood there staring at him, mouth dropping open at the statement. No goblin had been fired from the bank in over 40 years, they were damn good at their job and only a goblin could fire another goblin. In the end he just bowed stiffly and hurried out the office. Salvatore patiently waited for him, pretending to absorb himself in his completed paperwork to let Silvertoe know he was dismissed while he watched him out of the corner of his eye. He waited until he heard the click of the door that signalled he was gone before he sank his head into his hands; he was getting too old for this job, who thought being the director of the bank could be so emotionally draining?

He grabbed a quill and some parchment and started his letter. "To Lord Sirius Black of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black, it has come to my attention…" dear Lord, this was going to be a long letter, and to make it worse, he, the director of goblins, he, was going to end up grovelling. There was no other way around it, even though it was not he who committed the transgression, the goblin was in his employment, so it could all fall on his head. "Sorry old friend," he murmured into his fingers, even though the goblin the words were meant for could not hear him now, "but I have women children to think about, I have everyone to take into account, and I am not going to make them take your fall, I can't let them."

He knew Silvertoe would choose to run as long as the option was open to him, Salvatore knew his old friend, he was a goblin after all, he was far too proud to do the right thing. Salvatore was only writing now because of his responsibilities to the clan, as he said, he was too old to do this sort of thing, but his age was a blessing too, he had learnt a little humility, a young upstart would sooner die than right what he was writing now. Silvertoe would be gone soon, he would have him replaced, and life would go on, it was all they could do.