AN: So, just re-read my previous chapter and I was sick a little... :/ Honestly I cannot abide writing soppy fluff...but it was only a little and I'm glad you seemed to like it even if I didn't, lol. So, the Guardianship over young Sirius Black approaches... :O More suitable angst and we get to see deeper into my favourite Marauders psyche, is he all that Harry seems to think he is?

"Kites rise highest against the wind—not with it." - Winston Churchill

The Courtroom was circular, the walls grey stone and rough with torches sputtering and making the shadows dance. Sirius stood in the benches with Dumbledore at his side, Harry had wanted to come but he had been refused, to have him at such a high profile court case would draw attention to him and would endanger him and so Sirius' only consolation was Dumbledore. The Wizengamot were hard looking men and women, old and young and of varying blood-status. Sirius chewed his bottom lip nervously and felt a hand on his arm, he looked at Dumbledore who nodded reassuringly, yet Sirius couldn't share his feelings...they never had been able to delay the proceedings and he knew he would end up in the clutches of Dark Wizards and probably used in abominable ways, he closed his eyes briefly and crossed his fingers beneath his school robes.

The Minister stood and silence fell in the room. "Welcome all of you, you are here today to witness the claims of Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy and Andromeda Tonks on the Guardianship of Sirius Orion Black the third. The Wizengamot will begin by hearing the statements of each claimant...begin." He sat back down as Lucius stood forward looking as smooth and cool as ever in black and silver robes, his white blond hair smoothed back from his icy grey eyes.

Before he began he looked up to where Sirius sat, Sirius refused to allow any emotion onto his face but he felt a cold shiver down his spine. "Thank you Minister..." Lucius said with a low, sycophantic bow. "I believe that the Malfoy family is best suited for dear Sirius' guardianship because we are very closely related, for generations our two great and noble families have joined in marriage and have continued both great lines through our children. My wife is indeed his cousin as well, and she was very close to his dearly departed mother." Sirius bit his tongue almost hard enough to draw blood to prevent himself from screaming at him, he had hated his mother, he still hated her, alive or dead she was a bane on his existence. "We believe that under our devoted care he would prosper and be taught proper Wizarding pride, we would prepare him for the world and give him everything that is within our power to give. I remind you that my very own son attends Hogwarts with Sirius and would provide a great comfort for him in this most trying time."

In the brief silence that followed Sirius realised he wasn't breathing, he took a sharp breath and lowered his head so he didn't have to look into Lucius'. He closed his own and waited.

"Very well, next claimant is Mrs Andromeda Tonks, formally Black...step forward."

Andromeda resembled her sister Bellatrix, her eyes were heavily lidded and dark, her hair piled atop her head as she strode forward with easy grace. She held her head high even though Sirius was sure she could feel Narcissa's hatred as much as he. "I do not have much to say except that if you allow my cousin to be placed into the hands of known Death Eaters with the Dark Lord himself on the loose you would make yourselves no better than murderers and child slavers. Sirius and I have always been close, when he was a child I would offer as much meagre protection as I could from his insane mother, I would be there for him after she had flayed his back and it would be I who would heal his wounds and sing him to sleep. If you wish to see him return to such torture and imprisonment then I hope you can live with your guilt! Yes, I betrayed my family's pureblood pride, and I did so gladly knowing what insanity comes from inbreeding. Ted is my husband, we have raised one daughter already who has gone on to join your ministry as an Auror, she was tutored by Alastor Moody himself and she has shown great promise. If that is not a good enough reason to place the boy in my care then I do not know what else I can say that will change your hearts and minds. All I will add is; do you not think he has suffered enough at the hands of madness?"

Sirius gazed at her with wide eyes, when she met his gaze her smile was sad and he returned it. He hadn't seen her in such a long time that he had difficulty fighting back the horrible memories that flooded his head, the screams of his mother, the pain, the constant feeling of uselessness and despair...he shook his head as Andromeda returned to her seat. Sirius bent his head and buried his fingers in his hair as he rested his elbows on his knees, he thought of Harry.

"The Wizengamot will adjourn to discuss what we have heard." The minister raised a gavel and slammed it down on the desk, everyone began standing and chattering.

Sirius followed Dumbledore out into the corridor where the claimants were seated, immediately he was accosted by Andromeda. She swept over to him, ignoring her sister as she embraced him tightly, stroking hair from his eyes as she inspected him with narrowed eyes. "Sirius, are you alright?"

"Yeah...yeah I'm fine 'Dromeda."

"Thank Merlin for small mercies." Pity entered her gaze and she sighed. "It's been so long...when I heard you had returned and so much younger...I was surprised...your face brings back so many memories..." She smiled gently at him. "Don't worry, Sirius, we'll help you...I will do everything in my power to help..."

"Thank you..." Sirius' eyes moved to the Malfoy's standing by the door and he looked quickly away.

"Tonks told me everything that had happened, it must be strange for you to see her all grown up when last you saw of her she was a baby."

Sirius smiled. "Yeah, tell me about it! She was little and fat with constantly changing hair...and she pulled mine so hard she ripped a chunk out..." He wrinkled his nose at the memory. "Now she's older than me! Hard thing getting used to that..."

Andromeda's smile made him feel calmer and safer, he had always relied on her for protection against the wrath of his parents, until she had married and moved away.

When it was time to return to the courtroom Sirius stood but felt his arm grabbed in a vice-like grip, he was yanked away from the doors and slammed roughly into a wall. Lucius gazed down at him with a triumphant smirk. "You think that the Wizengamot will decide to give you to Andromeda the bloodtraitor? You are sorely mistaken, Black. I will have you because it is the Dark Lord's will and what he wants he gets...He has many pets within the Ministry boy, so do not get so cocky."

Sirius was released and pushed roughly into the courtroom, when he looked up again at the Wizengamot and saw the Ministers grim expression his heart sank and he hung his head. He walked up to his seat and sat down, staring at his feet blankly. He barely even heard the rest of the hearing, they pulled up witnesses to help them finalise their decisions, people who would confirm that the Malfoy's had a stable home or Andromeda had suitable parenting skills...on and on it went, little more than white noise until the Minister banged his tiny gavel.

"The Wizengamot has reached its verdict." He boomed, his voice echoing right up into the ceiling. "We have voted and the majority decision lies with the Malfoy's. Sirius Orion Black, you are hereby given over to the Malfoy family until such time as you turn Seventeen and can decide your own future and come into your inheritance, if by some mischance you die before you come of age all your inheritance will go to your named next of kin. This hearing is at its end, dismissed." He banged the gavel again and Sirius tasted bile in the back of his throat, he couldn't move. He was frozen to the chair even as Dumbledore began trying to gain his attention by shaking his shoulder gently, it wasn't until Malfoy reached his side that he looked up.

"Come." He commanded. "I will have the Weasley's send your things to the Manor, you will not be returning." Sirius slowly got to his feet and stumbled on the hem of his school robes before catching himself. "Hurry, boy. I will not be delayed."

"Y-yes..." Sirius forced his feet to move, he pushed away all emotion, all his shock so that he could inspect it later in the privacy of a dark room. He straightened his back and let his eyes hide everything behind a mask.

Dumbledore watched Sirius follow the Malfoy's out of the room, he walked stiffly and his hands were fists at his sides yet he held his head high and walked to his doom with as much pride as a sixteen year old could muster. "Harry will be distraught..." He said softly to himself before sighing and following the rest of the court.

Harry was sat in the kitchen when Dumbledore arrived, Ron and Hermione sat on either side of him and even Remus was there. All looked up as the Headmaster entered with such a solemn expression Harry knew instantly what had happened. "No!" He cried as he stood so quickly the chair flew out behind him and crashed to the floor. "No...They can't have!"

"Harry...sit down." Hermione tugged gently on his sleeve but he shrugged her off.

"I am afraid that the Wizengamot has decided to place Sirius in the dubious care of the Malfoys...I have also been ordered by the Governors of the school to place Sirius into Slytherin house...as he has not been sorted in this time...I am unable to refuse lest the school be wrested from my control, and that must not happen under any circumstance. Now more than ever I must remain to protect the students, I am sorry."

Harry fell back into his seat after Hermione had straightened it for him, he had no idea what to do or say...he felt empty and bereft. "They'll kill him." He muttered as he stared at his hands which shook slightly as they rested upon the table.

"No...They need him." Remus whispered softly, his eyes were full of grief but his face showed none of it. "They will keep him alive to prevent the Order from moving against them..."

Dumbledore sighed while Molly began busying herself by making tea. "I am afraid that we cannot allow this to stop us from moving forward with our plans, Remus."

Remus tensed, his fingers clenched into fists. "But Albus...H-he's a child..."

"He is. A child who has no right being in this time, the paths have changed and things are not as they should be. I am behind in my plans and that is detrimental to the whole Wizarding world...remember why we are fighting Remus, remember that there are bigger things than a single life."

Remus swallowed and stood, he was not looking at Dumbledore. "I need some air." He said in a tight voice as he turned and strode from the kitchen, Harry moved to follow but Hermione touched his hand and shook her head so he sat back down again.

The silence in the kitchen was terrible even after Dumbledore had left, he had said little as he had finished his tea and Harry hadn't even said goodbye to him. He sat there, staring at a knot of wood in the table with a dark, brooding frown as Sirius' life once again hung over his head. Finally he stood again. "I'm going outside..." He muttered distractedly and no one stopped him. He found Remus stood at the bottom of the garden and gazing up at the nearly full moon, when Harry approached he acknowledged him with a sharp nod.

"The moon always used to hold fear for me." He muttered, his voice soft but dead sounding. "That was until Sirius and James became Animagi...it was the happiest moment of my life and it's all thanks to them and Dumbledore...without them I would not have even been able to attend school. I am torn...half of me wants to go free Sirius, the other, colder part sees the sense in what Dumbledore is saying...I can only hope he has some kind of plan that he is not telling us, because if not I do not think I will be able to follow him so blindly or trust his judgment."

Harry swallowed the tight feeling in his throat. "Sirius is strong..." He croaked, trying to convince himself as much as Remus.

"Oh, do not believe that mask he wears Harry..." Remus said softly as he leaned on the fence. "He is strong outside but inside he's always been as fragile as a child. His self assurance and cocky arrogance is always dependent upon his state of mind, he will always be that scared little boy who hid from his Mothers fury in the bathroom. He puts up a shield, a shield only you, James and myself have been able to break through. His mental stability has always depended upon those he surrounds himself with and he has always had a darker side to his nature, even more so than I."

"What...what do you mean?" Harry looked at Remus, he looked so much older, the lines in his face more pronounced than ever as he gazed up at the moon as if entranced.

"You entered Severus' memory last year?" Harry nodded. "Then you would have seen him bullying him, did you ever look in his eyes? If you had done you would have seen the Death Eater his parents had always wanted him to be, he has always had this...this strange streak of madness in him that was all at once terrifying and attractive, I think that is what gained your father's attention. James had always been fascinated by people's darker sides, even if he himself never really explored his own. There were some things we did as children..." Remus trailed off and shook his head. "I should not be speaking of this, Harry I think it's time you went to bed..."

"No." Harry gazed at Remus resolutely. "I want to hear this."

Remus sighed. "I suppose you have that right." He cleared his throat and frowned. "I told you that your father despised the Dark Arts..."

"Yes, I remember."

"And he did." Remus smiled to reassure Harry of this fact. "He hated them with a passion, as did I...but Sirius...Sirius was raised in an environment where they taught their children the Dark Arts from the cradle, he was raised knowing spells that are forbidden by the Ministry as are most Dark families. These are traditions passed down from one generation to the next, I am sure Lucius taught his son these spells and rituals. I only know this because Sirius confessed it to me one day before James' death. Of course he would be stupid to spread the knowledge that he knows these things, but I am almost certain he confided it in James, they were closer than brothers. I don't know why James forgave him for it when he never forgave Severus or any other who used them, but I do know that Sirius was prone to use excessive force, even more so than James, he likes to cause harm to those who have harmed him or one of his loved ones, he is extreme and dangerous...I think that James must have had an influence over this because during school he was restrained."

"Why are you telling me this?" Harry asked softly.

Remus chuckled bitterly. "Because I think you are under a delusion that you know Sirius Black...Don't let him fool you Harry, he is as dangerous as any of his cousins, the only thing that held him back was James and when he was gone it drove him over the edge. You saw him when he had escaped Azkaban, the Dementors ravaged him and pushed him even further towards the precipice, and now I think that the only thing holding his madness at bay is you."

"And now...now I'm not with him..." Harry replied as realisation dawned on him. "You really think he'll go over?"

Remus shrugged. "I doubt it, not unless they can make some threat on someone he loves and he feels the need to protect them. But you're safe, you will be returning to Hogwarts soon and you will see each other. I think that will ease his mind, to be able to know for certain that you are safe. You seem to have become his substitute for James..."

"I'm not a substitute." Harry said firmly. "He knows I'm not my father."

Remus said nothing but his eyes were full of pity, Harry turned his head to look out across the hills as a chill wind blew his hair back from his face to reveal his scar.

XXXHPSBXXXHPSBXXX

"Now boy, I do not need to show you around the Manor, as you have visited before...however I will have a house-elf show you to the room you will be staying in. But first follow me." Lucius strode through his house after his cloak had been placed upon the rack at the door, they were surrounded by bowing and curtsying house-elves which Sirius ignored. He gazed despondently around at the familiar walls, the smooth wooden floors and beautiful sweeping staircase. The portraits gazed down at him with eyes full of contempt so he lowered his head and avoided looking at them. He followed Lucius into a large dining room, a huge table ran the length of the room and he could see some people sat around it, but he was much too intent on studying his trainers and avoiding meeting anyone's eyes to take note of who was there. "Now boy, sit."

Sirius did as he was told meekly, too deep in shock to disobey or find any fight in him. He closed his eyes and let Lucius speak.

"I will be laying down a few ground rules but first someone wishes to speak with you..." The tightness of Malfoy senior's voice made Sirius look up and gaze about the table. There were several hooded figures and a few people he didn't recognise but at the head of the table sat one woman he knew instantly, her smile was smug as she looked him up and down and her eyes glittered coldly in the candle light, he felt his chest tighten as Bellatrix Lestrange wiggled her fingers at him in mock greeting. At her side sat a tall figure, his face was white and he was as bald as a baby with no nose and eyes as red as blood. Sirius, although having never met him knew who he was instantly.

"So, this is young Regulus' wayward brother?" Lord Voldemort spoke with high cold voice much at odds with his height. He stood and swept over to Sirius who regained his feet and backed away on instinct. "He fears me...not to worry, dear boy, I will not hurt you..." The Dark Lord smiled coldly. "Yet."

Sirius somehow found his voice. "What do you want from me?" He muttered.

"What do I want? Why, is it not obvious? I want what all men want, Sirius Black, I want immortality and power...it is every man's dream, is it not?"

"But My Lord, you are not every man." Bella said in soft, simpering tones that made Sirius' stomach clench. He lifted his chin and straightened his back, pushing away his fear and facing the Dark Lord properly.

"True indeed, Bella." Voldemort returned his eyes to Sirius. "So, you have found your courage, good, I like courage almost as much as I like strength." He began circling Sirius slowly, like a wolf circling its prey and preparing to strike. "You are indeed younger...When Narcissa told me what she had seen in Diagon Alley I was reluctant to believe...but now I see...How did you do it? How did you return in such a form?"

Sirius continued to hold himself upright, his back stiff and his hands clenched at his sides as Voldemort devoured him with hungry eyes. "It wasn't me." He said in a hard voice.

"Then who?"

"It was James, James Potter. He cast a spell on me when we were at Hogwarts and ended up sending me to the future..."

Voldemort paused and the silence was oppressive as he frowned at Sirius. "Then you have not found a way to make yourself immortal?"

"No."

"Answer him nicely Siri." Bellatrix said with a smirk.

Sirius glared at her furiously. "No, My Lord." He hissed.

"Better...but we cannot have this arrogant tone in future..."

"Not to worry, My Lord, we will be sure to beat it out of him." Lucius said with a bow.

"Very well, I am satisfied. I have things to be doing, Dumbledore will not simply drop dead of his own accord now..." He left the room and was followed by his retinue of dark clad figures, all except Bellatrix, Narcissa and Draco Malfoy who had been hidden in the shadows until the room had cleared.

Sirius sat down. "So, that was Lo-"

"Do not speak his name!" Bella muttered, her voice dripping venom as she glared at her cousin.

Sirius ran fingers through his hair to disguise their shaking, he managed to smirk. "Of course, cousin, my mistake. I'm simply surprised that he would give me the honour of such a warm welcome..."

"And think yourself lucky, Siri, not everyone is treated this well." Bella's smile returned and she stood, her long black robes hissing across the wooden floor as she moved towards Sirius. "And it is lovely to see you dear, I did miss playing with you so." She giggled and looked down at him. "I can still see your poor face as you fell through that curtain in the department of mysteries. It seems only yesterday...you looked so surprised that I could defeat you, especially after you had been acting the big brave man and taunting me heedlessly." She reached down and ran her fingers through his hair, slowly she dragged his head back so he was looking up at her. "But now I can have even more fun! It will be just like old times, cousin."

Sirius smiled as coldly as he could. "I look forward to it Bella, I really do."

Her laughter echoed in his head long after he had been escorted to bed and sealed in a room with silver and green hangings. He lay in bed gazing up at the canopy of the large four poster bed trying to will sleep to obliterate everything, but he wasn't allowed even that mercy.