Lucius Malfoy had been having a wonderful summer so far. He'd fretted over Black's warning but when nothing had happened, he'd forgotten about it. He had been so daft to think that the blood traitor would actually do anything. That warning had been nothing more than an idle threat. That's all Black was: full of idle threats. The other day, when he had thought he was doomed, all Black had done was publish a newspaper article about him. It had been humiliating, yes, but eventually, people had forgotten about it. He should've known better than to think that Black would do anything to him. He was too weak.

There was a knock on his door and he looked up to see his son. "What do you want, Draco?" He snapped, annoyed that the boy had disturbed him. Draco flinched at the harshness of his father's words. "Mother wanted to know if you would be out late tonight as well." He said, schooling his features.

"Yes I will. Now stop barging in every few minutes. I don't wish to be bothered. I don't want to see you or anyone else for a while. I'm a busy man who had work to do. The last thing I need is disturbance. Get out and stay out." He said, quite brusquely. "Yes, sir."

Draco closed the door and stepped outside, trying to shut down the emotional side of his mind. He couldn't remember the last time his father had been civil to him. He knew about the kinds of things his parents discussed whenever they thought he wasn't around. He also knew that his father was less than honest with his mother regarding his... affairs. He was twelve but he wasn't stupid. His mother tried to keep him out of it but there were times when he was invariably involved. He was aware that his family had dark connections but truth be told; he wanted nothing to do with the dark arts.

When people looked at him, all they saw was a spoilt, snobbish boy who had everything he could ever ask for. People either hated him or worshiped him. There was no in between. But, no one saw the boy who was desperately trying to prove to his father that he wasn't an utter waste. That's all his life was. And maybe, that's all his life would ever be.

Part of him wished his father would realise his worth, while there was a small part of him that wanted to stop trying. The state of their Manor reflected the state of mind of its residents: dark, gloomy and unhappy.

Sirius reappeared just inside the gates of the manor along with the others. There were two floo entrances to get to the house. One led directly into the living room: that was meant for the immediate family and close friends. The other one was outside. It was used by guests and visitors.

Sirius, Regulus and two other Aurors went to the door while the rest of them stood outside in case they were required. Sirius rapped twice on the door and waited. He silently cast an anti-apparition charm on the house and a spell barrier, in case Malfoy tried anything funny.

He heard the scurrying of footsteps and an old, miserable looking house elf opened the door. Sirius recognised the elf but couldn't remember its name. "Who is it, Nipsy?" A female voice called out. The source of the voice was Narcissa Malfoy. Sirius hadn't seen her in years but, she was still the same: the haughty expression, pale appearance and her condescending tone.

"Cousin, how wonderful to see you." Said Regulus, sarcastically. Her eyes widened when she saw him. "R-Regulus? How?" Pure shock was displayed on her face. The man in question tsked disapprovingly and smirked at her. "You see me after so many years and that's all you can say? No warm greetings at all. I should've expected nothing more from someone as cold as you."

The woman was still too shocked to say anything. "H-How?" She asked once again. "How? When? Blah blah blah. I could answer your questions but I really don't want to. We don't have all the time in the world, cousin. Now, be a dear and go call your husband." Said Regulus. She finally snapped out of her shock and glared at him. "Lucius? What do you want him for? Why are you here, Sirius?" She said his name with a certain degree of loathing.

Sirius rolled his eyes at her. "You'll find out shortly. You're wasting our time, Cissy. We need to get going and Lucy needs to come with us." He turned to one of the other Aurors. "Search the place. Every room, every nook and corner of this house. Get the others as well." Sirius ordered crisply.

"Yes, sir." The auror hastened to carry out his orders. "Search the place? You have absolutely no right. You barge into my house and start ordering people around? Get out!" Narcissa snapped, glaring at the Black brothers.

"I'm afraid you're mistaken. This is something that was supposed to be done years ago but wasn't. Here, take a look." He took out an envelope from his pocket and handed it to the woman. She opened it rather harshly and read through the contents. A little colour left her face, giving her an even paler, sickly appearance. "A search warrant?"

"Yes. I see that your rudimentary reading skills are just fine. Now, Draco, your mother won't do it. So, please go and get your father." Said Sirius, beginning to lose patience. Draco stood still for a minute and stared at the man, contemplating whether or not to obey. Ultimately he decided to face his father's wrath instead of Black's and rushed up the stairs.

His father was in his study, oblivious to his impending doom. Bracing himself for a volley of insults, he knocked on the door. As expected, he heard angry footsteps and the door was thrown open. "What did I tell you? Do. Not. Bother. Me!" Lucius barked, looking at his son angrily. "Father, Lord Black is here." He chose a respectful form of address because he remembered what had happened the last time. He'd called that Granger girl a mudblood and landed himself in detention. That day, he found out that Black had very sharp ears.

"B-Black?" Lucius' blanched at the mention of his name. He should've known better than to relax so quickly. "Yes, father. He wants you to come downstairs." Draco elaborated. Malfoy's eyes widened with terror. He recalled the warning he had received earlier: I suggest you enjoy yourself. It won't last, I assure you. He should not have ignored that warning. He had to escape, do something in order to save himself. He tried to apparate but was unable to do so. There was clearly no escape now.

He couldn't even bribe his way out. That might've worked with people like Fudge and other petty aurors but it most certainly wouldn't work with Black. His heart was beating erratically as he made his way down the spiral stairway, followed by his son.

Malfoy reached the living room and his eyes all but popped out of his head at what he saw. Regulus Black was standing in his house, looking completely at ease. How was he even alive? He had betrayed the Dark Lord, hadn't he? He was supposed to have died long ago. Next to Regulus was the man responsible for all this: Sirius Black.

"Ah, Malfoy! There you are. We've been waiting for you." Said Sirius, like he was greeting an old friend. Malfoy didn't know what to do. He was completely and utterly trapped. He glanced at his wife who looked equal amounts of angry and confused. "What do you want?" He asked, trying and failing to keep the fear out of his voice.

"I'm here to deliver your surprise. All in due time, remember? Although, this is rather overdue. But, enough fun and games." The amusement melted off Sirius' face, replaced by a rather formidable expression. At that time, Malfoy was strongly reminded of the resemblance he bore to Orion Black. Though father and son had been completely different, they still looked very much alike. And, Sirius had inherited that fearsome temper from him in the first place.

"Your house is being turned upside down. I'm sure we are bound to find several... interesting devices in here. Once the search has been completed, you will come with us. You can either come willingly or we could try out other ways as well. But, I assure you, they will be far more unpleasant." Said Sirius.

"Come with you? For what?" He demanded, trying to sound bold. Sirius sent him a deadly glare. "For what? Are you a total fool? We're obviously not going to discuss political affairs and fashion trends. We're taking you in for questioning." His blood ran cold when he heard that.

"You're going to arrest me?" He asked, barely believing the words. It was Regulus who answered. "Honestly Malfoy, you are slower than I imagined. Yes. You are under arrest. Have we not been clear enough? Now, we really should be going. Come on." Malfoy looked at the younger Black disbelievingly. This couldn't be happening, not to him. He was Lucius Malfoy, one of the most influential people in the Wizarding world!

"Sir, why is my father being taken in?" All heads turned to look at Draco. His expression was one of confusion. Sirius' expression softened slightly when he looked at Draco. It wasn't the boy's fault that his father was a death eater. "We need some answers and certain consequences will have to be borne. I'm afraid that your father has a lot to answer for." The boy didn't say anything after that.

"Consequences? We've done nothing wrong!" Narcissa asserted. Sirius chuckled wryly at that. "Cissy, you should be thankful we're not taking you in as well. I suggest you keep it that way." Sirius replied. "Malfoy, give me your wand." Sirius held out his hand. "M-My wand?" He stuttered. "Yes, Malfoy. We need to examine it." He didn't move a muscle but after two minutes or so, with trembling fingers, he handed it over. Sirius ran his fingers over the silver snake handle and then along the length of it. "Wood?" He asked. "E-Elm."

"And what about the core?" There came the next question. "D-Dragon heart string." He whispered. Sirius merely hummed in response. "Sir, it's done." One of the aurors informed him. "Did you find anything?" Sirius asked, although he already knew the answer. "Yes, sir. A lot."

"Very well. Collect it all and we will take a look at it once we get back." said Sirius before going back to Malfoy. "Turn around." He ordered sharply. Not wanting to make matters worse, Malfoy complied. There was a click and his wrists had been secured behind him. "Don't worry, Cissy. We won't be coming back any time soon." Said Regulus with a smirk.

As they headed out, Sirius took one last look at the occupants of the house. Narcissa looked angry as well as afraid lest she should meet the same fate. Draco on the other hand appeared...relieved?

Deciding to think more about that later, Sirius watched as two aurors escorted Malfoy to the floo. Well, part of the job was done. Lot more to cover.

At exactly six thirty, Sirius flooed over to the Weasleys. He was pretty sure that his son must've had a complete blast the entire day. "Hi Dad!" Harry yelled, the moment he stepped out of the floo. It was evident that the boy had enjoyed himself.

"I take that you're ready to leave?" He asked, ruffling Harry's hair. "Yeah. You won't believe how much fun I had today..." He then proceeded to tell Sirius about all that he had done. The man observed the over enthusiastic way in which his son was speaking and shook his head with a smile. Too much sugar. "Come on pup, time to go home." After a quick bye to all the Weasleys, he promptly led Harry over to the floo.

Once they were home, Sirius sent Harry upstairs for a bath since the boy had done nothing but lounge around outside and play Quidditch all day. He found Regulus sitting in his armchair, going through a file. Next to him, was another file that had been marked as classified. "What's that?" He asked. "It contains... darker information."

"So what are you looking at?" Sirius asked, gesturing towards the file Reg was currently reading. "Just some details regarding Malfoy's case. It's nothing we aren't aware of. Education, finances, credentials. That's about it." Regulus explained. "When you were going through those files, I took a look at the 'artifacts' we found at Malfoy's. We found some pretty dark stuff in there." Said Sirius. "We couldn't examine most of it since we require certain equipment. I told the others that we'll work on it tomorrow." He continued.

"I take that we have this... equipment in our dear father's room?" Regulus inquired with a raised eyebrow. "Yes. I'll see to that later. I've kept that room locked ever since I moved back in. I didn't want Harry anywhere near it. The place practically exudes darkness." Sirius remarked. The other man chuckled bitterly at that. "It does. He never really was sunshine and daises."

Just then, Harry came barreling down the stairs. "Hey mate. You're right on time. We were just about to start dinner." Said Reg, grinning at Harry. "Great. I'm absolutely starving." Harry complained, dragging Sirius to the table.

After dinner, Harry engaged himself with 'Quidditch through the Ages' although it was clear that the boy was fighting to stay awake. It was barely nine thirty but he was already yawning all over the place. "Pup, why don't you go on upstairs? I'll be there in a minute." Sirius suggested. "I'm not tired." Harry protested. His father smiled in response. "I know you aren't. But, I'm a mean person. I need to tell Regulus about all those embarrassing things you did as a baby after which we're going to talk about you some more. So, I suggest you get into bed." Sirius quipped.

Rolling his eyes, Harry said goodnight to Regulus and headed upstairs. He was just putting his book away when his dad came inside. He smiled at the man, suppressing yet another yawn. "And you said you weren't sleepy," said Sirius, shaking his head. "Maybe a little sleepy," Harry admitted sheepishly. "So, how was your first day at work? What did you do?" He asked, climbing into bed. "I wish I could tell you but it's classified." Sirius whispered conspiratorially. Then, he playfully swatted the boy's backside and brought the covers up to Harry's chin.

Giggling, Harry snuggled underneath the covers and closed his eyes. "Goodnight Dad," he mumbled, the exhaustion catching up with him. His dad ran a hand through his hair after which he kissed his forehead and left the room.

Malfoy looked at his appearance in the glass and almost physically drew back. One night in a holding cell had done quite a bit of damage. His blond hair that was normally slicked back was dishevelled, there were bags under his eyes and his back was aching. The hard mattress that had been provided was no help at all. He wasn't used to sleeping on anything other than the soft, feather like beds in his house. And so, his sleep had been uncomfortable and disturbed.

Although he wanted nothing more than to escape, he hadn't dared to try and bribe the aurors who were guarding him. They all worked under Black and he was aware that none of them was foolish enough to incur the wrath of Sirius Black.

Early in the morning, he had been rudely awakened and brought into the interrogation room. He jolted himself into alertness when he heard the door being opened. Regulus walked in and sat down on the other side of the desk. Where was the other one? "I know, you were expecting Sirius to come in. Don't worry; he'll be joining us shortly."

Malfoy glared at the other man, wondering what went wrong. Regulus had once been the Dark Lord's servant as well. What had happened? Regulus hadn't been a part of the inner circle but he had been a death eater. Why did he change?

"So are you going to say anything or just sit there?" Regulus asked, crossing his arms. "Piss off." His fear turned to anger because of the whole situation. How in the world had he landed himself here?

Regulus shook his head mockingly. "I'd be careful if I were you, Malfoy. Unlike me, my older brother is not quite as forgiving when it comes to rudeness and disrespect. You really don't want to mess things up any further. You've already made it to the top of his blacklist." As if on cue, Sirius walked in, carrying a thick file.

He didn't bother to sit down and slammed the file down with a loud thud, causing Malfoy to flinch. "Public misconduct, malfeasance, verbal assault, violation of justice, misuse of resources— I could keep going. Every time, every single time, the charges were dropped. Honestly Malfoy, how, how did you pull it off?"

Malfoy remained silent. "I'm assuming you bribed quite a few individuals to do this. I want their names along with the department in which they work. I expect it on my desk by tomorrow." Sirius continued, taking a seat. "You'll get nothing from me, Black." He snarled. Sirius rolled his eyes at that stupid statement. "I thought you'd say something like that. So, I acquired this." He placed a roll of parchment on the table. "That's a permission slip. To extract information by any means necessary."

At the last sentence, a shiver ran down Malfoy's spine. That was when he realised the gravity of the situation and its hopelessness. He was stuck. There was no other way to save himself. "You'll have the names." He mumbled. "Now that's more like it. Next, talk me through your journey with Voldemort." Although the sentence was casually put forth, the steel in those stormy eyes threatened him. He couldn't do that. He couldn't betray the Dark Lord. The other death eaters who were in hiding would come for him.

"I c-cannot do that." His tone bordered on desperation but Sirius wasn't moved. "Here's the deal. Names in exchange for a reduced sentence. You're already in for forty years. The more valuable the information, the lesser your sentence. Can we work with that, Malfoy?" It was hardly a question. But, Malfoy decided to do it. The moment he heard the word 'sentence,' he changed his mind. May the others be damned. He had to save himself first.

The Dark Lord wasn't active anymore. So, if he gave away Secrets, the only problem he had to face were his loyal followers. But, if those followers were rotting in Azkaban, no one would be able to touch him. He couldn't afford to spend forty years in prison. It just wasn't possible. The only feasible solution was cooperation.

"What do you want to know?"

"Everything."

And so he obeyed. He told both the brothers all that he knew. He was thankful that the Dark Lord wasn't around at that time or he would have surely died a most horrible and excruciating death. He spoke about the different attacks, the reasons behind them, as well as the Death Eaters responsible for them. He himself had carried out a number of such attacks.

After an hour or so, he had told them everything he knew. "That's all." He said, once he was done. "We still need to verify everything you've told us. Once we are satisfied, you'll receive a trial." Said Regulus. "How long will I be in prison?" He dreaded the answer to that particular question. There was no getting out of it. He could only pray that the DMLE would be merciful in their judgement.

"Depends on the usefulness of your information. For now, you will be moved back to your cell. After the trial, it's time for Azkaban. For your sake, I hope whatever you have told us is true. Until next time, Malfoy." Sirius replied. And with that, the interrogation came to an end. The two aurors who had taken him to his cell were ordered to take him back.

As he left the room, there was only one feeling inside of him: regret. There were a lot of things he regretted. Most of all, he regretted crossing Sirius Black. If he had just heeded the warning he had received, he wouldn't have been here today.

And so, that was how Lucius Malfoy, a once influential socialite was reduced to nothing more than a man who was about to pay for all his sins.

And there's your update! Let me know what you think. For those of you who think that Sirius was a little too harsh in this chapter, he wasn't. Malfoy is a death eater. He belonged to the dark side. Sirius detested every single aspect that was even remotely related to the Dark arts. That obviously includes death eaters.

For those of you who are also reading Padfoot and his Pup, I haven't abandoned it. Just give me your requests and I'll have it uploaded. Read and review!