A/N

This will be a full length fic. I can't promise regular updates, because I have other commitments as well, but I will never abandon it for too long!

Chapter one – Gathering evidence

"Sirius," Remus warned, "we can't just barge in, not without enough evidence, and you know what Severus is like!"

"The letter isn't enough, is it?"

"It helps, but no, it isn't."

Sirius sighed, "well," he said, resignedly, "I think it's time to talk to mother."

\ /

\/

"Blood traitor! Filthy Werewolf! Be ye gone from this place!"

"Hello to you to, mother," Sirius sighed, long-sufferingly. "I need to ask you something."

"I would never answer a traitor Gryffindor like you, you murdering scum!"

"Yes, mother, and that's rich, coming from someone who used to cut house-elf's heads off and mount them on the wall. You even made Regulus and Casanova watch!"

"It was their duty to learn an elves place, your duty! To remember that life isn't all sunshine and daisies, to realize how powerful our kind is, and to get them ready to crush the filthy Gryffindor Mudbloods, Muggles and squib scum."

Sirius looked scared, and started to back away, before pulling himself together and remembering who this was for.

"What did you do to my brother? He was five mother, five!"

"As the youngest it was always his duty to be whatever his relatives wanted, my eyes, and your whipping-boy, among other things. He was a mistake, Sirius, why do you think I gave him those filthy names? Casanova Romeo, lovers tragic, Muggle names! He had to remember that compared to us, he is dirt, the youngest, the lowest. I never told him off, true, because he was never worth my notice! He was born to be a girl, a daughter, not a son. He doesn't deserve to even breathe the same air as us. He was a mistake, and I used him as a mistake, my eyes. As you weren't a Slytherin, I swore by all that is sacred, he would be, whatever the cost!"

In the doorway stood Tonks, her face paler than Sirius had ever seen it.

"You bitch, you… you monster! How could you do that to your child, how could you?" she yelled, sobbing wildly. "My mother never forgave herself for his death; she always thought it was all her fault, as did my aunts. You owe them the truth, and you owe my cousin his life, his life, aunt, not yours.

"I will not answer accusations coming from a mud-caked half-blood. What I did is my own business. He belongs to me and will until the Imperius charm is removed, which is the one thing I will never do! He may be my son, but he is nothing. My nieces shouldn't waste their time on something as unimportant as him. He is even less than you Gryffindor as you are. Why? Because he is too intelligent; that should have been Regulus' gift or yours, not the mistake. Never him."

"Mother, why? If he was a mistake, then why did you even conceive? The only way someone as powerful as my brother could exist is through true love. How can you call him a mistake, when you were pregnant with him, you were more careful by far than you were with Regulus or I. When he was born, you were a doting mother, as you never were with us. You can't pretend you never loved him. It can't be done."

"He was a mistake Sirius. I tried to love him, I tried so hard, but all I could see was my poor, dead daughters. The ones that I carried before you, Regulus' sister, still-born, after him; Casanova was one of twins. I… had to give her away. I don't know if she's alive. I never loved him, but I tried. I really did."

Sirius was shaking, his face deathly pale.

"Is he who I think he is, mother, is he who I think?"

"Knowing you, yes; only you could see your brother, instead of… well, him."

"Proof; that was all I wanted, thank you, you harridan, thank you.

\ /

\/

Snape screamed, throat raw, struggling against the ropes that bound him, desperately trying to avoid the blade that gleamed as silver as the hand of the man who held it.

"Snape, you traitor, answer the questions and the end will be quick, do not and, well, Finite Incantatem!"

Snape's body glowed an eerie white, as Pettigrew's eyes froze to his, fear radiating from every pore. The dark orbs flashed once, and suddenly a pair of very familiar eyes stared at him, a dark hatred burning deep within. Pettigrew started to scurry backwards, his eyes never leaving Snape's face. Finally, throat dry, he squeaked one word, scarcely audible.

"Sirius?"

A/N Well that's it, second chapter up. I've finished my GCSE's now, though, so will update often!

Thank you to those who have reviewed thus far.

Monketprobs, thanks for the encouragement.

GodofInsanity, I'm glad (and a little scared) that you think so highly of this fic!

Kyer, I hope so

DreamRiderAU, he is currently feeling VERY guilty, as you'll see in a few chapters time.

Finally, to all those who read this fic, I ask only one thing.

Review, I've even got my own arrow.

\ /

\/

Hit the button, go on, I know you want to!