Leo Black is back at Hogwarts for another year, a bit different than who he had been when he started his first year. But more prepared than ever to face the onslaught of challenges that would soon come his way. As he navigates through dangers more deadly than he has ever faced before, Leo must come to terms with everything he did at the end of his first year, a feat that may prove impossible, even for him.

Sequel to 'Lionheart'.

Alt title: Chronicles of the Stars: The Spider, The Fraud, and The Chamber

Chapter 1: Panic

Things are so much worse now. Siri got in a lot of trouble for getting sorted into Gryffindor and for not attending the Christmas Ball. I told the truth. It was my fault that he hadn't come. I'd forced him not to. I told the hat to put him in Gryffindor. I got a taste of what that Muggle woman experienced. I would never wish it on anyone.

The sun rose steadily over the streets of London, falling over the shabby, run-down houses of Grimmauld Place. It fell over the large, empty lot between numbers eleven and thirteen, flooding the windows of the invisible house that stood there. In one of the rooms on the upper floors stood a boy in front of a covered mirror. The boy took a breath, reaching a hand out to pull the cover off before retracting it abruptly and turning away, readjusting the sleeves on his robes.

This was Leo Castor Black, and he was a wizard. He was blonde, with striking blue-grey eyes and broad shoulders. At the moment, he wore a black, crisp, three-piece suit with a fancy-dress robe to match. He had found the outfit in the bottom his Uncle Sirius's closet, and had been pleasantly surprised to find that they had similar builds, the robes fitting him perfectly. On the middle finger of his left hand rested an ornate silver ring embossed with his family's crest.

On his right forearm, hidden beneath his robes, was a wand holster that he had bought the previous day, thinking it would be a sound investment. He gave an experimental flick of his wrist, and a dark red wand slid into his hand. He gave it a small twirl before flattening his hand, allowing the wand to retract back into its holster.

He readjusted his tie before exiting his father's old room and walking down the stairs to the foyer. There stood a small, wrinkly old creature dressed in naught but a loincloth. This was Kreacher, Leo's house-elf. Or, well, he belonged to his family which by extension meant he belonged to him.

Kreacher held out the crook of his arm and Leo took it. At once, the room spun and felt as though they were being sucked through a small pipe. A moment later, they arrived in an empty storage room, where Leo released his arm and Kreacher vanished with a small 'crack'. Leo exited the room, stepping into the Leaky Cauldron – a tavern that guarded the entrance to Diagon Alley, the wizarding shopping district.

Leo looked around before spotting who he was looking for and walking over, his face impassive.

"Good morning, Mr. Black," Dumbledore greeted him with a small incline of his head. "I trust you are doing well?"

"Better than Harry, I imagine," Leo replied in a bitter tone.

Leo's cousin, Harry, had been stuck at the Dursleys for the past two weeks, much to Leo's ever-growing irritation. He had visited him a few times and was pleased to find that, at the very least, Harry had his very own room that was not a cupboard. Granted, it was still quite small, but it was better than nothing.

"This is the deal you made, Mr. Black," Dumbledore reminded him before holding out his arm. "There's no time for second thoughts."

"I know," Leo replied, grabbing his arm.

They spun on the spot, twisting through the 'magical pipeline', as Leo liked to call it and arriving on the shoreline of a very large body of water. A single boat was there, barely large enough for two people. Leo immediately released his arm and walked over to it, facing forward on the boat. Dumbledore followed him, sitting directly across from him and taking out his wand. Leo tensed. Dumbledore tapped the side of the boat with the wand tip. It began moving forward.

"You did quite well for your first time Side-Along Apparating, Mr. Black," Dumbledore commented, peering at him over his half-moon spectacles. "That was your first time Apparating, was it not?"

"I've experienced worse than being sucked through a pipe...sir," Leo replied in a short tone.

"Have you discussed what happened under the trap door with anyone?"

"No, and I'm starting to regret telling you about it," Leo responded. "I'd prefer if we didn't talk for the remainder of the trip, sir."

Dumbledore acquiesced to his request and remained silent, observing him all the while. Eventually, they reached the rocky shore of a small island, where only a very tall, very large building stood, cloaked black figures swirling around it. As they reached the rocky shore, a man stood there, waiting for them. He had rumpled grey hair and an anxious expression, and was wearing a strange mixture of clothes: a pinstriped suit, a scarlet tie, a long black cloak, and pointed purple boots. Under his arm, he carried a lime-green bowler hat.

If anyone needs fashion advice, it's him. Leo thought dryly.

"Cornelius, this is Mr. Leo Black," Dumbledore informed the man as the duo stepped out of the boat. "Mr. Black, this is Cornelius Fudge, Minister of Magic."

Leo stuck out his hand.

"Pleasure to meet you," he said in a polite tone.

"Yes, quite," Fudge replied, shaking Leo's hand. "I hope you understand that this is most irregular, Mr. Black. If word of this were to reach the public -"

"It won't," Leo interrupted him, much to the Minister's surprise. "I'd be crucified just as badly as you would."

"Yes, well, very good then," Fudge stammered.

He led the way toward the large building, Leo following close behind with Dumbledore in the rear. They walked through the front door and Leo instantly felt a chill surround him as the cloaked figures he had seen in the sky floated through the halls of the building. Their heads followed Leo as he walked, but Leo ignored them and the distant screams he heard and pressed on. Fudge led them to a door and opened it, allowing Leo to walk in.

The room was empty and bare, with only two chairs in it. One of them was covered in chains. Leo sat in the other chair, crossing his left leg over his knee and taking a deep, calming breath. He then waved a hand and Fudge nodded, waving his hand outside the door. Two men walked through it, dragging a third between them.

A mass of filthy, matted hair hung to his elbows. If eyes hadn't been shining out of the deep, dark sockets, he might have been a corpse. The waxy skin was stretched so tightly over the bones of his face, it looked like a skull. It was Sirius Black.

Sirius' eyes glimmered in surprise as he spotted Leo sitting in the room.

"Leo?" he croaked.

"Uncle Sirius," Leo inclined his head. "I'd hug you, but -"

"I'm a criminal," Sirius grimaced.

"I was going to say 'you smell funny', but that works too."

Sirius let out a bark-like laugh at this. The corners of Leo's mouth twitched upward as he felt mild amusement for the first time in weeks. Leo made a gesture with his hand and the two guards deposited Sirius in the other chair. Chains shot up, wrapping themselves firmly around him and preventing him from moving. Leo made another gesture with his hand and everyone left, leaving them alone.

"What are you doing here?" Sirius questioned.

"I'd have thought that would be obvious," Leo rolled his eyes. "I'm here to visit you, ya knobhead."

"Yes, but – how?"

"I took a boat."

"You know what I mean."

Leo was silent for a moment before saying, "I made a deal with Dumbledore. I don't kidnap Harry before our birthday in exchange for an unmonitored talk with you."

"And Dumbledore agreed to that?" Sirius asked incredulously.

"I didn't give him much choice in the matter," Leo shrugged.

"So, where've you been living, if not with Harry?" Sirius questioned. Leo merely lifted his left hand, showing off his ring as he moved his bangs out of his face. "I see... for how long?"

"Since last summer. Week from today, actually," Leo replied, scratching his chin in thought.

Sirius gave another bark-like laugh.

"Running away from home at the tender age of ten? The hat certainly put you in the right house!" Sirius grinned broadly at him.

Leo looked down at his hands, fidgeting with them nervously.

"Yeah... bang-up job..."

Sirius frowned at this.

"Leo, look at me."

Leo lifted his head, and Sirius scrutinized him, really looking at him for the first time. Shadows hung under his eyes from many nights of no sleep. A tense, wary expression was etched into his normally jovial face. His eyes were no longer warm and welcoming, but haunted and very, very tired.

"What happened?" he whispered.

Leo looked away, not wanting to talk about it.

"You saw someone die, didn't you?"

Leo's head jerked up and he stared at Sirius incredulously.

"How -?"

"I recognize the look," Sirius replied, trying to lean back in his chair but unable to. "Cas wore it when he came back to Hogwarts after Christmas Holiday in our first year. He saw a Muggle woman get tortured and killed, and it haunted him for years to come. The sporadic Cruciatus Curses he got at home didn't help matters."

Leo's hands clenched. His mind was pulled back to that night beneath the trap door. The chessboard. The flaming door. The mirror room. The pain, the unbearable agony that had consumed him. It was too much. The pain wouldn't stop. It would never stop. He could never escape -

"Leo! Leo! Look at me!" Sirius commanded.

Leo looked at him, hands trembling as he struggled to breathe.

"I need you to inhale for me – that's it, take a nice, deep breath," Sirius instructed in a surprisingly calm tone. "Now, hold it for a moment and then slowly release it – there you go. Again. In. Hold. And out."

Sirius repeated this mantra over and over again until Leo felt he could breathe on his own. He looked down at his hands. They had stopped most of their trembling. He looked back at Sirius, relief and gratefulness showing in eyes in equal measure.

"How did you know how to do that?" he finally asked.

"Cas had panic attacks all the time up until our third year. They became less frequent after a nasty run-in with a few dementors in Hogsmeade," Sirius shrugged. He was silent for a moment, pursing his lips in thought. "I won't ask you what happened or what you saw – you're clearly not ready to talk about it. But, when you are, I want you to know you can always talk to me, kiddo."

"Thanks, Uncle Siri," Leo replied, giving him a watery smile.

As Leo entered his room later that night, Apollo – his barn owl – gave a greeting 'hoot' before flying down to perch on his shoulder. Leo rubbed the side of his head tiredly before watching as he took off out the open window above his bed. He walked over to his bed, picking up the three letters that rested there. One was an invitation from the Weasleys to stay over for the month of August. The second was an invite to a party at the Malfoy's manor in Wiltshire next weekend. The last was a letter from Sirius. Leo had read it many times and now had it memorized:

Leo,

Relax. Take a breath, kiddo. You chased off a very powerful wizard – and that's no small feat! Facing Voldemort is scary, I know. Knowing that he's after you is even more terrifying. It's alright to be afraid, I get scared all the time. Your letter terrified me more than I can even describe.

You're a brave kid, Leo. Being afraid doesn't change that.

I'm always here if you need me.

Love,

Uncle Siri

A/N: Apologies for not posting this past Friday. I've been really stressed with work and I've had a migraine all weekend.