A/N: here's the part where i beg for forgiveness! this week i started my part time (20 hrs. / week) job working for my attorneys again! i just love them more than anything in the entire world - maybe as much as snape even! gasp! yes - so - anyway, then there's the softball team i'm coaching which started mandatory practices for cut week this past week, and then there's my job as a youth counselor at the church which needed work done so that the kids could go lazer tagging in a couple weeks... THEN there is sunday school. not to mention it was midterm week school! SO WOW! ha ha - i didn't sleep like... all week. it was absolutley insane! SO THAT is why i haven't posted. but i do have some, (what i'd like to think of as) interesting chapters coming up! anyway - i hope this chater clears up some stuff for everyone... and that it isn't rushed. i was so anxious to get this posted that i hope it isn't missing the depth they usually have... or at least, once again, i'd like to THINk they have. SO - without further ado - heres the chapter. PLEASE REVIEW! this is spring break week - give me some motivation to write while i'm off!


Chapter 31

"What's done in the dark… will always come to life."

Alexandra Bane… yes. Strange circumstances indeed… How long has it been? Twenty some years ago?" the priest asked the nun.

"Twenty three… I believe." The nun replied certainly.

"And you say there were two men here inquiring about her over the course of the last few months?" he asked.

"Yes. That's right. Not to mention the one from right after she was placed into foster care."

"I'll need to know exactly what happened. Each… and every… detail." He said, folding his hands on his desk.

The nun settled herself down in her chair and began to tell the tale.

"Well… it was a gloomy day in November. Snow was blowing around outside and it was bitter cold. A man and a woman came in out of the cold with a baby wrapped up tightly in a blanket….

Cue flashback

The woman, clutching the baby close to her chest, crossed herself as they entered the sanctuary, then man… did not. A nun, with a kindly face and smiling, pale blue eyes approached them.

"Hello. I'm sister Stoner. Welcome to St. Paul's… how can I help you today?" she asked, looking between the man and woman.

"Hello Sister." The woman said, cradling the baby in one arm and extending the other to shake the nun's hand.

The man looked irritated when he shook her hand brusquely and gave a curt nod. He had long, draping curtains of black hair, falling down over his shoulders. His cheekbones were protruding from his face making him look as though he hadn't done much eating or sleeping lately. He kept looking over his shoulder nervously. His blue eyes positively popped out of his pale face. Even though they were half shut and tired looking, they remained alert and wary of his surroundings.

The woman didn't look much better. She also looked unnaturally thin. Her eyes were bloodshot, her cheeks tear streaked and ghastly pale. Her dark brown eyes and hair (the nun remembered thinking that she was probably Italian in descent) were the only color about her. Even her lips were white looking.

The woman looked at the man, but he was obviously avoiding eye contact with her, as though he wanted nothing to do with this whole situation. She looked back to the nun, "We need your help." She said, her voice strained and sounding like she was choking back tears.

"What can I do for you?" the nun asked, becoming concerned.

"We need you to take our daughter." The woman told her.

"Whatever for?"

"We can't take care of her." The woman began. "We're…." she looked at the man once again. He still wasn't looking at her. She took this as a cue to continue with their story. "In danger. We have to disappear for a while… and we don't want to put her life in danger as well."

"What are you running from?" the nun asked, her thin, light eyebrows arched into her hairline with concern.

"We can't say." The man snapped.

Both women looked at him.

"Well, we can't, can we?" he said to the woman with the baby. "She wouldn't understand." He said angrily.

"Please… I'll try to understand. Perhaps I can help you? We'd be happy to offer you sanctuary here until -" the nun was cut off.

"You don't get it! No one can help us! Our only hope is to go into hiding. And we can't be taking… that with us." He gestured at the child, hair swinging into his face.

The nun was shocked and it showed in her face.

"Regulus!" the woman gasped, embarrassed at his behavior. "I'm sorry… don't mind him. He's just upset. What he means is that she needs to be somewhere safe, not moving all around with us. She needs a stable home… and we can't give her that right now. Sister, can you help us? Can you find a home for our little girl?"

The nun nodded, still dumbstruck. "Of course… of course. We'll find a good home for her. Don't worry. And whenever you're ready to take her back… you can come to me… I'll keep track of her." she offered reaching out to take the baby.

The woman nodded. But the nun could see in her eyes that she wasn't planning on having the opportunity to come back for her. She looked wistfully at her only child, tears spilling from her already watery eyes before, with some difficulty, handing the little girl to the nun.

The baby was fussy, almost as though she knew something was going on.

The nun held the baby gently and let the mother look down on her. "I'm so sorry… I wish there was another way." She whispered. "You'll be better off… I promise. We're just trying to do what's best for you…" she said, even though the baby couldn't possibly understand what she was saying. "Mommy and Daddy love you very much." She cried, kissing the baby on the cheek with trembling lips.

She stood up, weeping freely now.

"Muriel… we have to go." The man urged, checking his pocket watch.

She nodded. "All of her information is on a piece of paper, wrapped up in her blanket." She said to the nun.

"Very well." The nun replied.

The woman took one last look at the child, "Thank you sister." She said, letting the man take her by the arm and pull her out of the church.

And with that, they were gone. Just as quickly as they came. The nun took the baby back to the nursery and rocked her to ease her crying.

Nearly thirty minutes later, she quieted. It was then that Sister Stoner had the chance to unwrap the baby and get a proper look at her. She looked as pale and thin as her parents did. It was clear that they had been living meagerly; usually a sign of people who are running from something or someone. She'd seen it before in families involved with the mafia, those who fell victim to some sort of domestic violence and even some who'd been in the witness protection program.

The baby was beautiful, dark eyes and hair like her mother. The nun looked down at her for a moment or two, wondering what would become of this child and whether or not she'd return some day wishing to know who her parents were and why they had abandoned her. This particular nun had been present when people who had been dropped off at this church had returned, bitter in their adulthood, wanting the names and locations of their birth parents so that they could go and give them a piece of their mind… and the bill for years of therapy. She hoped this didn't happen to…

"Alexandra…." She said out loud. The note also said that they wished for the church to change her last name, for her safety. Her birthday was May 3rd. The note also said that she had one living relative. An uncle. Her fathers older brother, who's name was Sirius Black. The woman had written that it would, presently, be too dangerous for him to take her to live with him. Although, if, years down the road he came looking for her, she was to give him the information needed to contact her daughter.

And so the nun obeyed the woman's wishes and found a home for their daughter. A woman from their congregation, who was unable to have children of her own came to the nun and expressed interest in adopting the orphan girl. The necessary paperwork was filed and all was well. The woman who adopted Alexandra was a Catholic woman, with good morals, values and maternal instinct. Things looked like they would work out perfectly.

The woman, who's name was Elizabeth Bane, got a job offer in the United States. Lexie was only ten years old. So they prepared to move overseas. Not an easy task for a vivacious ten-year-old.

It was just after the move that a strange man turned up at the monastery. He introduced himself as Sirius Black and insisted to see his niece immediately. He was nearly hysterical as he looked around wildly as though expecting his niece to appear out of thin air. He was far more disheveled than his brother had been ten years ago. His black hair was sopping wet, curly and straggly. His cheekbones were sunken in and he looked strangely like a skeleton.

The nun informed him that she'd just moved to the United States with her foster mother. She offered him the information his brother and the woman had left for him. He snatched it away from her hastily and read. They had left a letter addressed to him. His eyes scanned it quickly and he looked frustrated but folded the letter back up calmly.

"Were you hoping to adopt her?" the nun asked, rather impressed with the prospect of this unusual looking man wanting to adopt a ten-year-old girl.

He shook his head. "I just wanted to see her. Just one time. I've been meaning to for years… and now it looks like I won't have the chance." He said, more to himself than the nun.

"Oh, but I'm sure she'll want to see you. You're her only living relative! That is… other than her parents." The nun added, as an afterthought.

"No… you were right the first time." Sirius corrected her. "I am her only living relative. Her parents are dead." He said through gritted teeth.

"Oh… when?" the nun asked, her heart going out to the little girl.

"Ten years ago."

"What happened?"

"They were murdered." Sirius told her.

The nun gasped and covered her mouth. "Oh no!"

"Oh yes." He replied, sounding as though he'd seen it coming a mile away. "And now I'm afraid I'm about to find myself in some trouble as well. Tell me… is she with a good family?" he asked.

"Yes… a very nice Christian woman adopted her shortly after her parents dropped her off. She's living in America now. The last correspondence I received from her foster mother said she was doing quite well." She offered.

He nodded, vaguely. "Good… good." He said sounding flat and rather disappointed. "I must go. There's something I have to do." He said suddenly. "Please… if she ever comes back to you, asking about me… tell her I'm a good man. No matter what happens to me." He said putting his hand on the nun's shoulder.

The nun nodded, wondering what it was that he was 'about to do' and if he could actually be a good man once he did it. So often people came to a church to confess their sins before they'd actually done anything; hoping to head off the sins before they were committed. It was as though they hoped that the clergy would be able to tell them, "Hey, it's OK that you're going to murder 10 people… as long as you acknowledge that what you are about to do is wrong and you regret having to do it… well, it'll be OK!"

And with that, he was gone into the night.

End Flashback

The priest thought for a few minutes. "And… did you ever find out exactly what became of this man, claiming to be her uncle?" he asked.

"Yes." The nun responded. "It appears that he went to prison. A prison with no name." she said significantly. "It was on the news, not long ago… all over the papers." She reached down to the folder at her feet and pulled out some news clippings, the headings read 'Escaped Convict' and 'Armed and Dangerous' and things of that nature.

"What were the charges?" the priest asked.

The nun paused, this was something that she'd been grappling with for some time. "It's such an odd thing Father." She said, shaking her head.

"What is?" he asked frowining.

"Well… it says here, that he murdered thirteen people!" she gasped every time she read that. "But it doesn't say where he was being incarcerated…" she said, scanning the paper for the millionth time.

"Was?" the priest asked, inquiring about the tense of 'was'.

"Yes… he escaped over the summer." The nun told him.

The priest rubbed his hands over his face. "And now?..."

"He's on the run. It says that 'law enforcement officials' have been tracking him for some time… but he's supposed to be very dangerous."

"Do you think he intends to do Alexandra any harm?" the priest asked.

"I'm not sure father… he seemed like a good man when he was here…"

"But his deeds seem to tell another story."

The priest sighed. "OK… so tell me about the second man." He said.

"Well… he came just a month after she'd been adopted by Elizabeth Bane." the nun began. "He was a very well dressed, handsome man… you could tell he was wealthy by looking at him. He claimed to be an 'old friend of her father'. He wanted me to tell him what had become of her following her parents death. He seemed to know much more about her than her uncle did…." She said timidly.

"And did you tell this man anything about her whereabouts?"

"No… I just told him that she'd been adopted a month back. Then I asked him why he was so interested." She said.

"And what did he say?"

"He said his name was… Malloy… or Malfoy… I'm not sure. He said that he was a good friend of the girls father before he passed. And now that he was gone… this man wished to adopt her. He told me that he and his wife wished to have a family… but that his wife could not bear children. He said that his friend would've wanted them to raise his daughter. But… I explained to him that what was done, was done. Alexandra had been adopted and that was all there was to it."

"How did he take that news?"

"Not well. He was quite angry. But he didn't say much else. He stormed out and that was the last I've seen of him."

The priest thought for a few minutes. He shook his head. "OK… and the third?" he asked, meaning Snape, the most recent inquirer.

"Well… I didn't give him any information either father. He contacted me by post. His letter said that he was looking for information on a girl named Alexandra Bane. He said that he was her teacher and that she was one of his most promising students who had started to express her interest in finding her birth parents. He also said that he knew that she'd been dropped off at a monastery in London… but her adopted mother was hesitant to give her any further information for fear that she wouldn't like what she heard about her parents." She told him.

"So I told him that it was not our policy to divulge information about children dropped off with us to complete strangers via post. So I offered to meet with him. I gave him a time and date… and, surprisingly, he turned up. He said his name was Snape, I think. Maybe Snake or something like that. He was tall, long, dark greasy hair… black eyes. Have you ever seen anyone with black eyes? He was just eerie. He said he wanted to know the date she was dropped off, under what circumstances she was dropped off and that he would need all of the paperwork that we had on her and her adopted mother."

"And then?" the priest cued her to continue.

"Well… I said, it was certainly good of him to turn up… and its nice to know that so many people are taking an interest in her since she's lost her parents. However, I told him I'd feel better giving the information directly to Alexandra. I told him that he if he could bring her with him sometime, that I'd be happy to give the information directly to her. He wasn't friendly, but he was courteous. And he agreed."

The priest sighed again. "Well… it looks as though its out of our hands for now. The only one who seems to pose any real threat to her is her uncle. He's the alleged criminal."

"Yes… its so strange. He seemed like a really nice person the day he was here."

"So… you don't think he'd hurt her?" the priest said.

"Well… before I knew he was a murderer I would've said he wouldn't hurt her. But now… who knows?"

"And the teacher… do you think he has ulterior motives?" he asked.

"Hm…" the nun gave a half laugh, half sigh. "That remains to be seen I guess…"