A/N: Somehow, I manged to forget to not upload this chapter. Weird. So, you get two chapters today )
Disclaimer: As always, I'm nt JK Rowling, so none of these characters belong to me. Place names (except for one y'all don't recognize) also belong to her. The general idea is hers. The only thing that's mine here? The wording. Yeah.
A young, pre Azkaban Sirius was chasing a dark-haired, strong jawed, heavy eye-lidded female through the streets. He barely noticed leaving Grimmauld Place and rushing on to Dominion Atlantic Ave, as both pursuer and pursued hand wands drawn and were snarling in rage at the never of each other.
Finally, Sirius surged forwards and grabbed the woman, pushing her to the ground.
"Get off me, Sirius!" She screamed, as Sirius attempted to hold her down and hide her wand at the same time, as there were many on lookers now stopping to watch the struggle that was ensuing in the middle of the road.
"Bellatrix, stop it and put your wand away. We're going to have this discussion, whether you want to or not I'll not stand by and watch another Black defile our family name. Now get up and come back to the house," and then, in an undertone he added, "Godforsaken place that is it."
The woman stopped struggling and pushed Sirius off her. She swiftly tucked away her wand and snarled at him, "Me? You think I'm the one making our family name filth? You're wrong, Sirius, you're the sort who does that, the same that Andromeda and those Tonks' do."
Sirius stopped and shook his head, the masses of black hair waving from side-to-side. Like Bellatrix, he tucked his wand away, but he didn't answer her, not right away, instead he merely turned to those who were watching and told them to mind their own business and keep out of that of his family.
He then rounded on Bellatrix who was watching with obvious amusement. "What?" He spat at her.
"The way you treat those Muggles. You're more like the rest of us then you're willing to let on, cousin." She seethed at him through sick smile.
"I'm nothing like you or the rest of our family," and, with obvious spike he finished, "cousin."
"But of course you're not. You're a Blood Traitor. You always have been, you always will be. Being Pureblood won't save you from the Dark Lord if you go about bragging that you're a Blood Traitor."
"But it will save me from being forced to join him. Even if I wanted to, even if I begged him, he wouldn't have me because of that fact, which is why I'm glad I turned out different from the rest of our family!"
"But it will get you killed, Sirius."
Sirius narrowed his eyes towards his cousin, Bellatrix. His voice cold he uttered, "Don't you dare pretend that you care about my fate, you filthy coward, you only care for yourself."
The two walked in silence for several minutes, both using obvious effort to control their anger towards the other. The moments passed with no change, only the twitching of Sirius' upper lip, and the flexing of Bellatrix's right hand.
Finally, they reached Number 12, Grimmauld Place and went inside. As soon as she entered Bellatrix made to pull her wand on Sirius, only to find that Sirius had used a non-verbal spell and she was then dangling upside down in the middle of the dank, dreary front hall.
"Accio wand," Sirius said, and Bellatrix's wand went flying towards him. He easily caught it and looked at his cousin. "I told you we were going to discuss it, Bellatrix, and I meant it." He let his eyes wander around the hall as Bellatrix tried curse after curse to no avail, as she didn't have her wand.
"No good, you know," Sirius bemused, enjoying himself immensely.
Suddenly, from the top of the stairs a young man appeared with a loud pop.
"Oh, it's just you, Sirius… I thought I heard Bella shouting…" He trailed off as his eyes found Bellatrix hanging in the air as if held there by invisible hands around her ankle.
"Sirius!" He shrieked, "Let her down! What are you doing? You could kill her!"
"Oh, do shut up, Regulus. I know she's your favorite family member, even more so than our dear, old mother, may the Dementors get her soul, but Bella and I have business.
"And must you Apparate everywhere? Good on you for being able to do it, mate, but the rest of the world can do so as well, and yet they don't do it all 'round the house! Now, go away, Regulus, or else I'll curse you, too."
Regulus yelped and ran off in terror, leaving Sirius and Bellatrix alone once again.
Bellatrix, who had now given in to the face that she was stuck until Sirius decided otherwise, merely smiled as Regulus scampered off. "You remember that Peter Pettigrew you always hung around with? Regulus reminds me remarkably of him, don't you think?"
Sirius scrunched up his face in thought. "I still do chum around with Peter, thank you very much. And if you mean the cowardliness, than, yes, I do see the similarities. There's nothing else past that. Now, if you could discontinue changing the subject, kindly."
"Will you let me down?" She asked hopefully.
Sirius laughed, "No such luck, Bellatrix. You're going to stay up there while we talk.
"Sirius, we are talking." She stated bluntly.
"Well, that we are, but not about what we should be talking of."
"Biscuits?" Bellatrix chimed in eagerly, as she really loved biscuits.
Sirius shook his head, "No, stupid, why would I want to talk about biscuits?" He looked at his cousin in a form of weird regard and then spoke quite calmly. "I won't deny that I like you, you've always been my favorite cousin from, well, the bad part of the family.
"Members of the Order believe that Voldemort is going to try and rally as many of the Pure Bloods as he can. Your choice is to stand united with him, or, most likely, die trying to defend against him Bellatrix; he's already got to the Malfoys and the Lestranges. Now, I know you've always looked out for Narcissa, but as she's not a Malfoy, it would be wise to stay away from her.
"And yes, by the Lestranges, I did mean that childish oaf Rodolphuswhom you fancy. Again, I advise you to stay away from that sort of people.
"Before he can get to our family, the Blacks, I think we should go into hiding, because I refuse to lose my family." Then, seeing Bellatrix look at him with laughter in her eyes, and realizing that he'd made himself sound like a coward, he added, "It's Dumbledore's idea. He thinks, that as a member of the Order who's from a Pure Blood family, I'm at the most risk, and he highly advises that I take any of the Blacks who would go with me, and go into hiding."
"You can't hide from the Dark Lord, Sirius, you should know that. Although, Lily and James are doing an amazing job of it…"
Sirius shook his head; "You keep James and Lily out of this, Bellatrix. What we do doesn't involve them. Now, will you come with me or not?
She absentmindedly began to rub her upper left arm as she answered, "Sirius, some of us refuse to hide, but are willing to accept our fate with open arms."
Suddenly, she dropped from the air and landed with a crash on the floor. Finding herself free, she stood up and began to run, but before she'd gone two steps her arms locked at her sides and her legs went pin straight beneath her as she crashed to the ground again.
"Ah, Sirius, you always were so good with those non-verbal curses. Now, I say we're done our little chat, so unbind me and give me back my wand." It wasn't spoken, but cast from her thoughts into his, it was one of the few things that she was good at.
Sirius strode towards her, and she was certain he was going to fulfill her wishes. However, he did no such thing. He stopped at her side and pulled up the sleeve on her left arm.
There staring back at him, like a hideous blemish on her skin, was a revolting tattoo of a skull with a snake spurting from its mouth as a tongue.
Sirius reared in anger and screwed his face in loathing. "The Dark Mark, Bellatrix? How long as it been since your joined him?"
Bellatrix, with equal loathing and spite, answered, again in thoughts, "Almost a year, Sirius."
Sirius shook his head once again and stood up. "Who else have you convince to join the Dark Side with you?" And when Bellatrix offered no answer, whether from anger or shame Sirius cared not, he strode away towards the kitchen.
"From this moment on, I don't care what you do with your life. I want nothing to do with you ever again, Bellatrix. But let me warn you of this; stay away from Regulus. If I ever hear even a whispered rumor that you've so much as been seen in the same town as him, I will stop at nothing to see you dead. Bellatrix, if he joins the Bad Fight, I will forever blame you," he positively growled.
Bellatrix scoffed at her cousin with her thoughts, "He didn't need me to make a decision like that, but it's good to know that at least one of the Noble Black sons turned out right, like the rest of us.
Sirius rounded on Bellatrix, wand drawn, "Sometimes, cousin, we'll meet again, and we'll have it out then. But for now, get out of my house and never return."
"Are you going to send dearest Regulus along with me? I don't very well think that he'd want to be left here with a Blood Traitor such as yourself."
"I'll deal with Regulus. Now, get out."
Bellatrix, finding herself able to stand and talk again, stood and reached for her wand, which Sirius thrust at her hastily.
"Careful, you might take someone's eye out that way, you know," she laughed.
"Well, I was aiming for yours, but those disgusting things you call eye-lids got in the way. Now, get the fuck out of my house and never come back.
She turned, and spat on the ground. "I wouldn't want to come back to your house ever again, you disgusting, filthy, ungrateful Muggle lover. When the time comes, you will wish you had joined the Dark Lord; there will be none who will escape his power. You will beg for death before the end, cousin.
"And don't worry, Regulus will be in better hands as a Death Eater than he ever could be with the Order. He's coming with me, and just you try to stop us."
As she finished speaking, Regulus, who had evidentially been listening from the top of the stairs, suddenly appeared by her side with a pop. He looked at Sirius apologetically and cringed when Bellatrix reached out and grabbed his arm.
Sirius looked at his brother, and noticed that he was, for the first time in many months that he could remember, not wearing a shirt. Sirius could see the same ugly brand on his arm as was on Bellatrix's. He sighed, knowing he could not turn Regulus from the path he was now on.
"Let's go to our Master, Regulus. This is where the fun begins." She laughed, pulling Regulus towards the door as she walked off.
Sirius, seeing the look of terror on Regulus' face, plainly said, "I may be a Blood Traitor, Bellatrix, but Regulus and I share the same the blood, and I can tell when he's frightened that he made the wrong choice. You may find that in the company of your master-" (this term was used mockingly) "-or the Death Eaters, Regulus will flee in terror and come back to the Good Side."
Bellatrix scoffed, "He may be a coward, Sirius, but even he would choose the Dark Lord over death!" And with that, she pulled Regulus through the door, out into the bursting sunlight.
In his new cell, Sirius looked across at his cousin, Bellatrix Black.
"Fancy seeing a Blood Traitor such as yourself in here, Sirius." She said. "I guess you finally joined the Good Fight after all, and by killing your own best friend…. I knew the Black in you was going to surface someday, cousin."