AN: I do not own Harry Potter or the Marvel Universe. They belong to their respective authors and writers.
I would like to apologize for any mistakes in advance. Please do not copy this story.
"Sirius?" she rasped; eyes wide as she stared open-mouthed.
His eyes tightened behind the glasses as he walked towards her. At least 15 men followed him, while everyone around them froze, but she paid them no heed. Not when Sirius was standing right in front of her. And then, she rushed towards him, closing the small distance between them, ignoring the sharp pain in her leg. But she should've known something was wrong because she was stopped before she could reach him. Her eyes stayed on him as she was manhandled, trying to shrug off the man's grip who was holding her tight with his hand on her throat. She should've realized that her Sirius wouldn't allow anyone to hurt her, but she was blinded by her emotions. Logically, Dorea knew Sirius was dead and it had been more than 12 years now, but the logical part wasn't working right now. She reached inside her, trying to summon the energy she felt that wanted to burst out, but another wave of shock jostled her body and she almost fell on her knees.
He stopped right in front of her, looking thoroughly amused and said, "Your power… the magic, it's the sole reason behind your fame and success, isn't it?"
Dorea frowned, blinking through the pain and struggled against the hand that was holding her, feeling out of sorts and lost like she hadn't in years.
"How does it feel to be powerless… vulnerable? To be at the mercy of others?" He asked with a shark-like grin.
"Sirius?" she whispered tentatively, already berating herself for being foolish. Now that she noticed, the man standing in front of her looked younger somehow. Sure, he had grey hair, but what threw her off the most were his eyes. Sirius's eyes had been grey, but this man had blue eyes which held madness which she couldn't remember seeing before. His hair was straight and shorter, not curly like Sirius's had been, and like this, he looked exactly like a muggle.
"You're not Sirius." She realized with growing dread. "…but, how?"
Suddenly, he crackled like a mad man, distinctively reminding her of Bellatrix and she flinched.
"You're so eager to know me, aren't you?" He asked excitedly, eyes shining with mirth. "My name is Phineas and I used to be a Black."
Her mouth fell open and she just gaped, unable to speak.
"Eldest son of Orion and Walburga Black. The true heir to the house Black." He told her with a mix of pride and disgust, two emotions she had no idea could be portrayed together.
Sudden anger bubbled inside her and she snapped, "Sirius was the eldest son of Orion and Walburga Black! You're just an imposter!"
His smile fell, eyes filled with something akin to rage, while the hand on her throat tightened, almost choking her. She coughed, gasping when the 'imposter' waved a hand at the man holding her and the grip on her throat loosened.
Green eyes met blue and for once he seemed sombre as he spoke disdainfully, "I was born to Orion and Walburga Black in 1954. 6 years before Sirius. They found out that I was a squib when I was 9 and threw me out, erased me from the family history and made Sirius the heir."
Dorea's mind whirled at the implication of his words. Even if what he said was the truth, why did he kidnap her now? Where had he been all this time? She had nothing to do with him, neither did Malfoy. Now that all the Blacks were gone, why couldn't he go back to claim what was his? He certainly looked like Sirius would've if he hadn't been locked in Azkaban for years.
She eyed him through narrow eyes and asked carefully, "Why are we here?"
Instead of answering her, he said, "As you've already met the genius here, Tony Stark, the mind behind all this…" then motioned towards the stacks of guns and bombs covered by tarps and tents, and at the men milling around. "I want you to help him."
"Help him?" she asked, puzzled.
He nodded to the leader, who apparently, wasn't the leader and said something in… Arabic? Somewhere in the back of her mind, she realized that she had heard the name 'Stark' before, right now though, for the love of Merlin, she couldn't remember where.
"He wants to know what you think," Yinsen spoke to Stark, gesturing around.
Stark, who had been looking between her and Phineas until now, turned towards the 'not-leader' and replied, "I think you got a lot of my weapons."
Yinsen translated, "He says they have everything you need here to make the Jericho missile. They want you to make a list of materials and start working immediately."
Dorea shook her head, still confused. If they wanted Stark to make a missile which he had made before, why was she here? She looked straight at Phineas, ignoring others and asked impatiently, "Why are we here?"
Phineas understood she was talking about her and Malfoy and replied simply, "I want to end the pureblood supremacy. They think they have all the power and that power gives them the right to rule others. They think we're inferiors because we're born without magic. I want to show them that the foundation which is set in stone can crumble and crash."
Alarm bells rang in her head, but still, she questioned, "And how do you plan on doing that?"
"That doesn't concern you, at least not yet." He waved her off before adding, "For now, I want you to help him in building this."
She looked at him warily before reaching for the paper. She opened it and read the instruction manual. By the time she was done, she was utterly horrified and asked, "This… where did you get this form?"
"Well, the Department of Mysteries… it isn't as forbidden as they make it seem." He shrugged.
"You want to end it all." She concluded, staring at him incredulously. "You want to overpower them all. Completely dominate the wizarding world."
"Oh, don't be melodramatic, Dorea." Then he said gasped and asked innocently, "Can I call you Dorea? Of course, I can. I just want to prove that the ones without magic aren't useless as they seem. They can be just as powerful… dangerous if they want."
Dorea gaped, unable to reply, so he added for her benefit, "And when you are done, we'll set you free."
She would've punched him if she could've, so she glared at him and stated firmly, "I won't help you in your plan to take revenge. It's ridiculous!"
His smile fell, his eyes turned cold and before she knew it, he slapped her so hard that she nearly saw stars and would've fallen if the man behind her hadn't been holding her. Then he fisted her hair and pulled her head back, making her look at him as she gasped in pain, while the man holding her released his hold on her. His other hand went to her lower back and he pulled her closer, ignoring her futile attempt to push him away. He lowered his head, lips ghosting over her ear and he whispered, "You know, my men hadn't had fun for some time now. As a head Auror, you might have some inkling on how these things work, don't you or do you want to find out the hard way?"
The words were spoken softly, like a lover's caress and she recoiled. And then he said something which turned her blood to ice. "You don't want something to happen to heir Malfoy, do you? Poor fella can't even defend himself."
With that, he pulled back and smiled as if he hadn't threatened her seconds ago. She clenched her hands into fists, so she wouldn't get her or Draco killed, closed her eyes and murmured, "Even if I do it, how do you suppose I help in building something which contains so much energy? I cannot… not without removing the bracelet."
He looked at her like she was a particularly dense child and said, "I know what you can do with your magic, even without your wand. You can say it's just… extra protection. You've been an Auror for what… 10 years now? You'll think of something."
She glared at him through gritted teeth, but kept her mouth shut, ignoring everyone around.
"Trust me. Once this is all over, I will set you free. We are related, after all." He grinned like a Cheshire cat before pointing towards Stark and added, "Meanwhile, you can also help him in staying alive."
At this, both Dorea and Tony stared at him, knowing he was lying right through his teeth. There was a shrewdness in his eyes, the same madness that reminded her of the screeching portrait of Walburga; a maniacal edge in his tone that reminded her of Bellatrix and she shuddered.
Back in the cave, she slumped on her bed, watching as the man stumbled over to his cot and sat down with a painful grunt. He dropped his head in his hands and started taking deep lungful of breaths, probably trying to calm himself down.
Dorea wasn't sure why she wasn't panicking. The man… Sirius's brother was planning world domination and she and Draco were here not only to 'help' but as their guinea pigs. If he was truly a Black, then his madness was self-explanatory, even if he was a squib. She checked on Draco before moving mechanically towards the canned food that was stacked on the floor. She opened a can of beans, turned the burner on and poured the beans into the old pot. There was some bread, though not as fresh any longer, but it would have to do. There was no sound other than the crackling of the fire as she cooked the beans and rice. Once done, she poured half the amount in an old battered clay pot with some bread and put it on a small wooden table in front of Stark's cot.
He must be deep in thought because her movement startled him as he looked ready to jump out of his skin. He looked at her before staring down at the food but didn't acknowledge her. With a huff, she poured the other half for herself and curled up in her bed. They ate in silence and she was fine until a couple of hours later when she saw that his bowl of food was still untouched and he was staring at nothing. His eyes were glassy, hollow and he looked ready to crumble any moment.
"I'm sure they're looking for you." She tried to comfort, not knowing what else to do. Because surely a man this famous wouldn't be left unnoticed, especially since he was an expert in building weapons.
He didn't react for a long time and she was almost asleep when he spoke monotonously, "But they aren't going to find me here."
Dorea didn't know what to say to that because he wasn't wrong. They were in the middle of nowhere. This place was the base of these terrorists and she wasn't sure if anyone even knew about it. So, she stayed quiet. After all, she had been here for longer and even Hermione or Ron had failed to track her down until now.
He looked at her before whispering again, "They won't let us leave, will they?"
Dorea gave him a humourless smile which didn't reach her eyes. They both knew they were trapped here… doomed and she wasn't gonna lie. Not now. So, she nodded her head in agreement, "No, they won't."
EN: Was done with the edit, so I posted this early. Sorry to disappoint people who were expecting Sirius. (Just to clarify, Sirius did not have an older brother. I created Phineas Black, son of Orion and Walburga Black for this story alone.)
Next update - August 12th
Positive Criticism is always appreciated unless it is rude or insulting. Have a nice day everyone.
August 6th, 2020