A/N: Yay, yay! ByeByeBirdie's back and she's updating faster and faster!! I've got a long weekend for the next two weeks, so I'll be able to update faster! Yay! But I'm only updating if you all review! IN FACT, IF YOU REVIEW ON THIS CHAPTER, I'LL PUT YOUR NAMES IN THE NEXT CHAPTER AND THANK YOU ALL ONE-BYE-ONE!! So, pleez review!! Anyhow, this chapter we find out a whole lot more about Sirius' family background so keep reading!!
Disclaimer: See previous chapters.
MEMORIES
CHAPTER 27: Family Feud
Written by ByeByeBirdie
James gasped as everyone else stared at Sirius in confusion.
"What are you doing here?" Sirius sneered at his long-lost father.
"I came to talk to you."
"After sixteen years of ignoring me?" Sirius asked angrily.
"I'm sorry, but I-"
"I don't want your apologies, and I sure as hell don't want your excuses. In fact, I don't want anything from you. So if you could kindly leave this house now, it would be greatly appreciated."
"Sirius, I-"
"You have no right speaking my name, Dad. You have no right coming into my life after I was finally letting go of the fact that you abandoned Mom and me…and especially after…you know what. You have no right even coming to see me after what you did!!"
"I talked to Shannon," Sirius' father said quietly.
Sirius stopped talking.
"I told her about your mother's inheritance money and the share I put in."
Sirius still didn't say anything.
"You know about the money, right?"
Sirius still didn't say anything.
"It will be yours soon."
"I don't want it," Sirius spat.
"I figured you'd say it, but it's still yours to split with Shannon."
"I don't want it," Sirius repeated with more hostility.
"Half of eighteen million galleons is a lot to give up."
"I don't care. I don't want anything you ever give me."
"By your thirtieth birthday, half of it is yours forever Sirius. Just think about it."
"I already said I didn't want it. Not when my mother was forced to give it up by you."
"She wasn't forced to give anything up."
"She was forced to die. Whose fault was that?" Sirius cried venomously.
"That wasn't my fault."
"Yes it was and we both know it."
"No, You-Know-Who did what he did and I-"
"You were the death-eater by his side the whole time," Sirius cried in disgust as he narrowed his eye, and he could hear the gasps of his friends from behind him. "You were there cheering that damn man on. Just waiting for the moment until the woman who you thought ruined your life would die. Watching her last seconds on earth until death due her part. And you didn't do a damn thing about it. You loved every second of it, didn't you? You loved watching her being tortured!"
"Sirius, you can't blame that on me," his father yelled back.
"How could I not blame that on you!?!? MY MOTHER DIED BECAUSE OF YOU!!"
"SIRIUS DEVON BLACK! You listen to me now and-"
"No, why should I? I'm standing in the same room as a man who had a chance to save a woman's life…let alone his wife's life and instead, he did the exact opposite of what he should have known was right and let it all happen before his very own eyes. You're as good a killer as You-Know-Who was."
"I still loved your mother and-"
"You certainly had a good way of showing it."
"I turned back to the good side because of her. I'm not a death-eater. Nor will I ever become one...again."
"Yeah dad—again is the key word. You already were a death-eater and it ruined my life. You can't take that back. And because of that…my mother's dead. I don't want your money and I don't want your explanations. All I want is for you to get out of my house and out of my life," Sirius said crossly.
Silas Black stared at Sirius for a few seconds. "Fine, I'll do as you wish. But the money's still yours and you can do whatever you want with it, even if it's burning it all in a pit of fire. Your twin sister forgave me, Sirius, just remember that."
"Yeah, but Shannon never had a heart. It's obvious where she gets it from," Sirius said maliciously.
Silas looked over at his son with a pained expression on his face and decided not to say anything else about the subject.
"Good-bye Sirius," he said turning around.
Sirius didn't say anything back, and instead pulled out his seat angrily, almost letting it fall to the floor, and fell into it roughly with a cross look on his face.
"Sirius…" Savannah said slowly.
"I don't want to talk about it."
"But-" James started.
"No. Just forget it."
"Sirius-" Lily started.
"Just stop, guys," he said painfully. "I know you want to help but you can't. No one can, so it doesn't matter anymore."
"You're just saying that," James said comfortingly.
"No, I know what I'm talking about. And none of you do. So just forget it. It has nothing to do with you."
"But when our friend is hurt, it does have something to do with us," Lily said gently.
"What do you want from me!?" Sirius yelled. "Yes, my father is still alive. Yes he was the one who helped kill my mother. Yes I have loads of money that I always knew about that I don't want. And YES I have a twin sister. But that's all the information I'm giving you guys right now because I don't want to talk about it!!"
"You don't have to talk about it, Si-Si, but we're still here for you," Savannah said quietly.
"I don't need anything from you guys," Sirius said gently with a hint of aching. "Please…just let it go."
Savannah looked over at him and wish there was some way of making him feel better, but she knew that it was better left alone, and she sighed looking at his miserable face.
~~*~~*~~*~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~
"Masssssster," a voice hissed in the night.
"No, not now."
"Then when?"
"There will be three of them by summer."
"What happenssss then?"
"They'll all die."
"They're alone now. Why can't it be done now, Massssster?"
"Because, you stupid boy!! Because, then I can watch the look on the Potters' faces as their child slowly dies in front of them…only weeks after it has been born!"
"Sssso what happenssss now?"
"We wait, Wormtail…we wait," Voldemort said, sneaking away from the house quietly.
~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~
The next night, only Savannah was home just after finishing putting Elizabeth to bed, when a knock came at the door around nine o'clock p.m. She walked downstairs towards the front door.
When she opened the door it revealed an unfamiliar woman who had long, wavy black hair and dark hazel eyes. She looked about thirty, maybe, and had a very sinister and eager look on her face.
"May I help you?" Savannah asked slowly and cautiously.
"Does a Sirius Black live here?" the woman said, acting as if she'd rather be anywhere but there.
"He seems to be the popular one this holiday," Savannah muttered with a slight smile.
The woman didn't even bat an eye.
"Okay, um…no, he's not here at the moment but he should be home quite soon if you want to come in and-"
"No, no. I'll just come back another time. I'm a very busy woman and I don't have time to chat with strangers," she said crossly.
"Stranger??" Savannah recoiled. "I'm his wife, thank you."
The woman looked at Savannah curiously. "He's married." She didn't phrase it as a question; she simply stated it as if him being married was so unusual for him.
"Yes. Is that a problem?" Savannah responded with an attitude.
The woman narrowed her eyes at Savannah. "No. And I don't need your attitude, Miss Know-It-All."
"I don't even know who the hell you are so I think my attitude is my decision."
"Look, missy, I don't know how old you are, but I sure as hell don't need some young ditz telling me off."
"Young ditz!?" Savannah shrieked. "I'll have you know that I'm twenty-eight, happily married with a little daughter that I love dearly and another child on the way! So don't tell me I'm some young ditz."
The woman gasped. "Twenty-eight!"
"It's good to know you're listening."
"And two children?"
"Yes," Savannah said impatiently.
"So…I'm an aunt?"
"What!?" Savannah cried in shock.
They both heard footsteps behind them and turned to see Sirius walking up the pathway. When he saw the woman at the door he started to slow down as he narrowed his eyes at the woman.
"Sirius," she nodded.
He took a deep breath in and out. "…Shannon," he said with no expression. They didn't say anything more for a while as Savannah slipped into the sitting room quietly, to take a seat on to the couch, folding laundry, pretending not to listen.
"I hear you're married with a daughter and you have another kid on the way," Shannon said, finally breaking the silence.
Sirius was taken aback at her approach. "Yeah…so?"
She shrugged. "Interesting."
"What's interesting? The fact that I've moved on with my life or the fact that I'm so much better off than you are?"
She narrowed her eyes at him. "Dad came to see me over a week ago."
"I know and I don't want any of the money."
"Money?"
"The inheritance and Dad's share."
"Oh."
"I don't want it. In fact, you take it."
"You and I both know I can't have it even as much as I wish I could take it."
"Yes you can…if Dad dies or I die."
"Oh, so you think I'm going to go kill off Dad?" she cried incredulously.
"Kinda like he killed off Mom," Sirius muttered. "Besides, if Dad died it'd mean that everything our parents ever owned becomes ours, which is a heck of a lot more than nine million galleons."
"And I'm guessing you'd let me have that, too."
"All of it, down to the crystal duck in the middle of our old damn hallway."
"What if I didn't want the crystal duck?"
"Then you could have the crystal cat."
"That's not what I meant."
"I know. But I don't care. It's not mine to worry about."
"I didn't come here to argue about crystal ducks and cats, Sirius."
"Okay, then why did you come here? I haven't seen you for sixteen years, I haven't heard from you in sixteen years, I haven't talked to you in sixteen years, and here you are standing on my doorstep acting like everything is normal when we both know it's not."
"Why isn't everything normal, bro? I mean, my life seems fine at the moment. It just seems like you have some unresolved issues in life," she smirked.
"Do you not care about your mother at all, Shannon?? And what your Dad did to her!?" Sirius cried.
"I care about her plenty, but when Dad took me away when we were seven, I learned to appreciate him more than our mother."
"So you've learned to appreciate a fucked-up murderer?"
"Sirius…"
"Do you appreciate what he did to her?"
"I didn't even know her, Sirius. Besides, Dad turned back to the good side! I forgave him for what he did. He realized his life wasn't worth Voldemort's orders. What more do you want from him??"
"What do you mean, 'what more?' I never got anything from him. And I'd like to keep it that way."
"You're too stubborn, bro."
"He's too pathetic, sis."
"You know, losing nine million galleons isn't worth your dignity."
"No, losing nine million galleons is worth a lot more than that. That money represents everything I'm against. That money represents everything I turned on when I was twelve. That money represents our father…and our mother."
"So you're just going to give it up?"
"I'm not giving it up. I'm just not taking it."
"I don't understand you."
"You don't have to."
"But I want to."
"Why? You've never wanted to before."
"So it doesn't mean I can't start…"
"What's the point? You're just like the rest of them."
"The rest of who?"
"Every single damn person who believes that maybe…maybe our father isn't so bad after all."
"That's crazy."
"Is it?"
"Yes."
"Well, you're wrong."
"Why are you trying to get me to hate you?"
"I'm not trying to get you to do anything. All I know is that my father is a no-good, low-life bastard who can't stand realizing that he was wrong about everything."
"What about me?"
Sirius stared at her for a long time. "To me, you're just a nobody."
"What about to everyone else?"
Sirius paused. "To dad…you're everything."
"Why do you think so?"
"Because you're exactly like him."
"You don't know what you're talking about."
"Yes I do. And so do you. You're just too afraid to admit that I'm right."
"About what!?"
"About everything, Shannon!! Why Mom died! Why Dad let her die! Why he left Mom and me! Why he took you! How he changed you! How he changed the world! How he changed my heart! Why he changed my heart! And of course…why he never cared."
"If you're so damn smart, why did he never care?"
"Because you were the perfect one who looked up to him through every step of the way and you realized he wasn't who he said he was a little too late…and I was the one who realized in the beginning that he was nothing. I was the one who knew he'd end up hurting the family. I was the one who knew he'd never be forgiven. I was the one who knew that in the end, he'd be a nobody…and have nobody."
"So you think you've got it all figured it out, aye?"
"No, I've only begun to figure it out."
"Then why don't you stop controlling his destiny and start worrying about yours."
"Shannon, I haven't seen you in sixteen years. Don't come into my house and tell me what to worry about."
"Fine…as long as you don't object to this only because you know I'm right."
"You don't know anything."
"I know you're giving up a heck of a lot of money just because you're trying to save yourself."
"I'm not trying to save anyone."
"Oh, so you're saying that this nine million galleons that you're giving up isn't going to help you or your family in any way?"
"Oh, no. It would be a great help. But I'm not going to live in a house plagued by money that's mine because of a father who turned to Voldemort. I'm not going to redecorate my child's room plagued by money that eventually turns out to be connected to Voldemort. I'm not going to buy any gifts for my wife or my kids that comes from Voldemort's money."
"Fine, whatever. I don't care. It's your problem, not mine."
"No, it's the exact opposite. Because I don't care and I don't want it."
"You said that."
"And I'll say it as many times as you need it, to understand that I don't want anything to do with my father. I want nothing to do with the money. I want nothing to do with my family. I want nothing to do with you. I want nothing to do with any of it. I'm not a part of that anymore, and I'd like to keep it that way. I've moved on. I'm a changed man. I'm not who I used to be. Because I…don't…care."
"Then maybe I should go, to be courteous to your wants and needs," Shannon said sarcastically.
"It would've been even more courteous if you never showed up here in the first place."
"And leave my bro high and dry?"
"Exactly."
"You're making a mistake."
"No, I'm not. You just want to think I am."
"I'm not like Dad."
"Yes you are. You just don't want to think you are."
"No, Dad killed our mother. I'd never kill anybody."
"Except yourself."
"What?"
"Nothing, Shannon. Nevermind."
"No, tell me what you meant by that."
"It means that ever since you started looking up to Dad, you've been ruining yourself deep down inside. You were once a good person. But now…you're everything but."
"It hurts knowing that my twin brother, my own flesh and blood, believes that I'm evil."
"Hey, it's not my fault. I didn't bring this upon you. You-"
"Let me guess. You're going to say that I brought this upon myself, right?"
Sirius nodded. "At least you have some brains to figure it out yourself," he replied.
"I don't know what you're talking about, Sirius, but I don't think I want to know."
"Then this is good-bye."
"Yeah."
"Bye, Shannon."
"Have a nice life."
"I wish I could say the same for you," Sirius said, slamming the door in her face and turning back to the couch where Savannah was sitting with Elizabeth, acting as if she didn't hear a thing. But the look on her face prompted Sirius to perceive she heard every single word of their conversation. And the look on Sirius' face made Savannah comprehend that he knew she had heard everything.
A/N: Well……………seems like a lot of family tension, don't you agree? lol. Anyway, review this please!!!!!!!!
Upcoming: uh-oh, what happens when Sirius and Savannah get into a fight? And what about everyone else? What's going on in there lives? Hmm….keep reading!! It gets VERY exciting in the next few chapters and I'm not just saying that to say it. I honestly mean it!!!!!!!!!!!!!
