To Be Loyal

Chapter Thirteen

Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Not even James and Sirius's invention of Wizarding FaceTime.

A/N: Hopefully any lingering confusion about Mel is cleared up by this chapter. I hope you like it. Please review and have a nice day!

""We've all got both light and dark inside us. What matters is the part we choose to act on. That's who we really are." Sirius Black, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

"Please, Sirius, stop this. I don't want to lose another sibling. I don't want to be alone." —Regulus Black to Sirius Black, summer 1976

December 22, 1976

Sirius was halfway back to the Common Room when he heard Lily Evans call his name from behind. He turned around warily as she ran up to him. "Evans?"

"Bloody hell, Sirius, you can't scare us like that," Lily chastised him as she pulled him into an unexpected hug. "We thought you'd been ambushed."

"I-but-" Sirius couldn't get his words out fast enough. "I ran into the others a couple hours ago. They weren't looking for me then."

"Yes, but as it got late and you didn't come back, James gathered people to go look for you," Lily explained as they began to walk back to the portrait hole. "We split into two teams. Alice, Remus, and I led a group that started in the dungeons and worked our way up to the top floor, while James, Frank, and Peters' team did the opposite. The others in my group are probably back in the Common Room by now… I was lagging behind, thinking. How did you get between me and them?" she asked Sirius, who paused, trying to think of a good way to gloss over his encounter with Cynthia.

"Oh, no!" Lily exclaimed suddenly, and to Sirius's astonishment she reached into her pocket and drew out one of the communication mirrors he and James had enchanted. "James Potter," Lily enunciated, and James's face came into focus on the screen. James's brow was furrowed with stress, and he was running while he held the mirror up to his face.

"Don't get Professor McGonagall, James," Lily said. "I've got him."

"Thank Merlin," James breathed. He turned around and began walking in the opposite direction. "Is he okay?"

"Fine," Lily answered. "Nice work. I'll see you in the Common Room." She severed the connection just as they reached the portrait hole, but Sirius held up a hand to stop her from giving the password to the Fat Lady.

"He showed you the mirrors?" Sirius asked in bemusement.

Lily nodded. "He grabbed yours today for me so we could coordinate, but he showed them to me about two weeks ago. We talked through all of the charms that you two put on them, which was an interesting conversation. James was very receptive to a few suggestions I made, and it was… kind of fascinating to see him talk through it all."

"He's like that sometimes," Sirius agreed. "Whether it's for a prank or magical object or something to help a friend, he's unstoppable once he gets an idea in his head."

"I've noticed that, too," Lily said, shooting him a quick grin. She twisted her hands together absentmindedly and smiled into space.

Sirius couldn't help it; he chuckled.

"What?" Lily asked, suddenly suspicious.

"Oh, nothing," Sirius replied airily, leaning his back against the wall. "Just never thought I'd see the day." Before she could reply, he changed the subject. "I thought you were mad at me."

"Oh, I still am," Lily affirmed, and then Sirius could see the anger that had been suppressed by her worry in her bright eyes. "But… Remus tracked me down and explained some things he'd pieced together, and I realized that I'd made another quick judgement about you without getting the whole story." Her eyes narrowed. "I assume we will be hearing that story soon?"

Sirius took a deep breath and let it out. "Yeah," he confirmed, nodding. "Yes. Only you and the Marauders, though."

"Good," Lily said, then gave the password to the Fat Lady. They stepped inside and grinned when they heard the Gryffindors who had been waiting up in the Common Room let out a loud cheer at the sight of Sirius.


December 22, 1976

Sirius and Lily chatted with the Gryffindors in the Common Room until the others arrived. After a round of reprimands and explanations, Lily, Sirius, and the other Marauders retreated to the sixth-year boys dormitory.

"It's kind of odd that the Founders only enchanted the girls' dormitory to keep the opposite sex out," Lily muttered as she sat down next to James on his bed. Remus and Peter sat down on the floor near them, while Sirius stayed standing. He felt as though he was on stage, about to give a performance.

"Right," Sirius agreed, fidgeting nervously with his hands. "Strange." He glanced at the many drawings of motorcycle parts he had made and hung up around his bed over the past months. Throughout September and October, he had spent a lot of time drawing in the Tower due to James's insistence that at least four guards accompany him wherever he went.

"Sirius," James said softly, and Sirius nodded and breathed out.

I can do this. I can do this, Sirius chanted in his head. "Okay," he said aloud, rocking back and forth on his heels nervously as he stared down at the expectant faces in front of him. "Melania Black was born on December 27th, 1965, to Orion and Walburga Black. My little sister."

Shock spread across the faces of Peter, James, and Lily, but Remus simply nodded in grim acceptance. He must have figured it out already.

"Our parents were happy at first," Sirius recalled, his tone souring. "I think my mother wanted a girl since she already had two sons. But then Mel turned three, and everything changed. Have you ever heard of the Core-Examining Spell?" he asked the others. James and Lily nodded, but the others shook their heads.

"It's a spell that, well, creates a visual representation of the subject's magical core," Sirius explained. "It's mostly used by Healers, but some parents use it on their children to check their magic. In the Black family, it's a tradition to cast it on a kid when they turn three."

Sirius could see comprehension dawning on James and Lily's faces. "My parents cast it on Mel, and nothing happened. They tried again, and again, and scanned her over and over for a spell that might have interfered with the reading, but there was nothing. They tore up the Black library looking for a way to force some magic into her. Eventually, they came to the inescapable conclusion that Mel didn't have magic. She was a Squib.

"And suddenly, Mel wasn't their daughter anymore, she was a liability, an embarrassment. The Most Ancient and Noble House of Black wasn't meant to have Squibs," Sirius stated flatly, "so they decided that she couldn't be treated like a true Black child. They weren't quite callous enough to kill her, but they couldn't let a child that was no better than a Muggle grow up as a Black. What would people say, if word got out?"

"So they shut her away," Sirius continued, dashing the tears from his eyes with a quick swipe of one hand. "They told everyone that she had died of a blood malediction-a curse that can resurface in the victim's descendents after many generations," he explained for Lily's benefit. "In reality, they shut sweet, three year-old Mel up in the old, empty attic, had Kreacher feed her and take care of her when necessary, and forbade Regulus and I to visit her or tell anyone about her."

Lily covered her mouth with her hand, and the other Marauders had sickened expressions on their faces. "I was nine at the time, but I was already starting to question my parent's prejudices. Unbeknownst to them, I had gotten to know several of the Muggle families in our neighborhood well," he confided. "What Orion and Walburga had told me didn't line up with what I saw." He pressed his lips together tightly as he remembered how he had begged his parents to let Mel go back to her old bedroom. "Making my sister live in a dusty attic because she was a Squib was more than enough to solidify my opposition to their ideology. Sometimes, it seemed like they had some regret-my mother, in particular-but it wasn't enough. They didn't care enough about her."

The others stayed silent as Sirius collected his thoughts. His hands were clasped tightly together in front of his stomach. "I didn't listen to them. I picked the lock on the attic door the Muggle way and snuck in to play and talk with her. I smuggled her toys from Muggle garage sales and extra food from the pantry when she wanted a snack. Regulus visited her sometimes, but all too often, he was too bloody accepting of Orion and Walburga's wishes and prejudices. I raised her," Sirius said stubbornly, locking eyes with James, who gave an unsteady nod. "I taught her to read and write-thank goodness she was a quick learner," Sirius said, feeling a surge of pride. "I played with her and taught her things and told her about the world outside the attic."

"When I went to Hogwarts, I worried about her," Sirius said, now pacing back and forth in front of James's bed. "Regulus visited more often, but Mel was dreadfully lonely. And every time I went home for the summer or winter, my parents seemed more worried that someone would find out about her.

"And then they took her from me," Sirius whispered shakily as he curled his fingers into tight fists. "I came home for winter break during fifth year, and she was gone. They wouldn't tell me where. I-I couldn't take it. She was the only one at home I could…" He left the sentence unfinished.

Sirius turned to face them and forced himself to stand tall. "I'm sorry I snapped and went after Slytherins for no reason throughout fifth year. I'm very sorry I almost got Snape killed. And I'm sorry that I choked Snape with that dark spell my father made me learn. It was wrong. All wrong. But please, please tell me that you understand why I hated them so badly." He met James's eyes again, imploring him to accept his request.

James stood up wordlessly and gathered Sirius in a hug, and Sirius finally let himself cry as he finished the tale they'd wanted to hear. "Please understand, because I didn't know where she was. I was scared. And then that bastard told me that she was a, a servant at Malfoy Manor, and since then, I keep having to stop myself from thinking about what they might be doing to her there…" Sirius felt Lily's hand begin rubbing circles on his back, while Remus and Peter each put a hand on one of his shoulders.

When James finally pulled away, his eyes were wet. In his expression, Sirius could see fear and horror at Sirius's tale, but also a determination to help that was driving James forward.

"We forgive you, and one day, we're going to help you get her back," James affirmed. "That's a promise."