Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or anything what you can recognize from the books. I do however own the plot of this story but I don't have profits because of it unless you count improving my English as a profit.
Prewiev: Orion has his own dictionary and this time he explains the word truth. Sirius gets pissed off and almost does something which he might regret for the rest of his life. Mirzam gets perspective. Walburga gets protective. After burying a war hatchet for a while the family talks about Horcruxes (finally!) and Sirius and Mirzam have their first quarel as married couple. Next Orion does something stupid and Mirzam discovers the meaning of the word 'truth' in Orion's dictionary.
Read, enjoy and review (because I want to know how evil am I).
Is someone willing to beta read this fic?
Thanks to all who reviewed last chapter.
AN: Before you start hating me for what I've done in this chapter please finish reading it. Remember that everything happens for a reason. Also this is the last chapter filled with revalations - I solemnly swear.
Chapter ten: The Truth in Orion Black's Dictionary.
"No, I'm not," Sirius's father said calmly.
"Liar!" Sirius's mother shrieked.
"Mum!" Mirzam said warningly. "He is under the influence of twelve drops of Veritaserum, the strongest dosage I can apply. The strongest dosage which anyone can apply without poisoning someone," Mirzam added calmly. "Even Voldemort wouldn't resist this dosage."
"If someone was brave enough to feed it to him," Snape said impassively. "Though she has the point. Any higher dosage will only poison the person questioned."
"He lies," Sirius's mother snorted.
"Mr Black," Mirzam turned back to Sirius's father. "Who you are to Severus Snape?"
Sirius's father was silent for a moment before he replied, "Godfather."
"He lies," Sirius's mother muttered angrily. "He is his father!."
"No he isn't," Lupin supplied calmly. "He couldn't be Severus's godfather if he was his father."
"Do explain Mr Lupin," Mirzam asked politely.
"Godparent Rite and Godparent Law," Lupin replied quickly. "Father is a father, godfather is a godfather. A man whose blood runs in child's veins can't be its godfather. Look at Familious Potion cases Ms…?" Lupin looked at Mirzam expectantly.
"Mrs Black," Mirzam said quickly. "I'm Sirius's wife."
"Good taste Sirius," Lupin snickered and then added seriously. "Familious Potion, also known as Adoption Potion, used by adoptive parents makes the adopted child their biological descent. For example, had James Potter and his wife died, and you and your husband would decide to adopt their son, Harry," he paused to take a breath. "In the moment when you would apply Familious Potion to young Harry, the child would become yours son and the Godparent Rite will have to be performed again. This time with different godparent because your husband, as new father of the kid would be unable to be Harry's godfather."
As Lupin finished Sirius felt someone jabbing his left shoulder. He glanced at his left, over Snape's shoulders and saw Regulus leaning against the back of the couch with an expression of pure curiosity on his face. Behind Regulus was sitting Remus, who was looking at Sirius expectantly. Sirius flashed them a nervous smile and turned around to face the trio on the couch.
"That's what Dumbledore fears," Snape muttered next to Sirius's left ear. "He could have pressed for questioning you under Veritaserum but he chose against."
"He is going to pay for everything he had done, anyway," Sirius muttered back.
"As I said before, Orion as godfather is unable to be Severus father so either Walburga will change her mind or you should lock her up in a closed ward," Lupin said patiently.
"Lock yourself!" his mother snorted angrily and after a deep breath she muttered, "It still doesn't changes the fact that he was cheating on me with Eileen!"
"I wasn't," Sirius's father replied calmly.
"No he wasn't," Lupin confirmed. "He was her friend for Merlin's sake!" he huffed.
"That's all?" Sirius's mother whispered in shock.
"Yeah that's all," Sirius's father snorted. "I was her friend, only one left after her family and friends turned their backs on her when she married Tobias."
"But you wrote …" Sirius's mother started.
"The fact that I remained her friend after she married Tobias didn't meant that I liked that abusive, constantly drunk, gambling womanizer," Sirius's father retorted with a huff. "Pardon me for feeling concerned about Eileen when the git was around."
"If you were my godfather why I was never aware of this fact?" asked Snape suddenly. "I never saw you around."
"The Princes weren't exactly fond of me and with this two," he motioned with his head at Sirius and Regulus, "natural disasters I was unable to be around you for a very long time."
"Charlus told you to use a leash," Lupin snorted.
"Like a leash would prevent Regulus from catching Dragon Pox and Chinese Brain Fever at the age of eighteen months while nearly four years old Sirius was suffering from Malaria and St. Petersburg's Erythrodermia. Hermes be serious," Sirius's father muttered.
"But a leash would prevent two and half years old Sirius from falling into the pond," Lupin pointed out.
"Like you being home would prevent your son from getting bitten by a werewolf," Sirius's father mumbled grimly. "We can be what ifing all our lives but nothing will change what had happened."
"Git," Lupin huffed.
"Hello pot, I'm a kettle and my name is Black," Sirius's father snorted. "Do you plan to waste all Veirtaserum just to hear us bickering?" he asked seriously.
"Remember that Paralysis Curse last twenty-four hours and that I can cast it again," Sirius snorted angrily.
"You won't cast it again," Sirius father said calmly. "You restrain yourself from using Dark Arts when you can, so do I. The apple doesn't falls too far away from apple tree, Sirius."
"Thanks," Sirius muttered angrily. "I was thinking that I could be a good father but now I see that for sake of my sons I better jump from Big Ben if I'm going to end like you."
"If you do it, trust me I will find a way to resurrect you and then I will kill you," Mirzam huffed and she send him a glare. "You aren't leaving me on my own with two little Metamorphomagi toddlers, one of which happens also to be a werewolf, mad old codger who thinks that I fucked up the most important case an Auror could get when I didn't, Voldemort and ..."
"Your deranged family?" Regulus supplied with small snicker.
"I meant to say troublesome but if you insist on deranged then you have a good proof for it," Mirzam snorted and she sat down on a free armchair.
"You are just as deranged as we are Mirzam," Regulus laughed. "The fact that you can stand us around speaks for itself."
"I had a really fucked up childhood and nothing your family can come up with can scare me," she replied with a snort. "Dark Arts, Dark Magic, cursed necklaces, Horcruxes, Order of the Phoenix, Death Eaters, Voldemort …"
"Shall I book you a place in a psychotherapy now?" Sirius snickered and he felt relieved that Mirzam managed to distract him from working up his anger against his father.
"I have better idea, let's transform this house into mental asylum," Snape snorted. "But wait till I'm outside the door."
"You are just as insane as we are," Sirius chuckled.
"If you are referring to the fact that I flew here on that infernal machine of yours let me remind you that I was doing it for my godson," Snape replied.
"Diagnose is too little exposure to our madness," Regulus snickered. "Wait till you are around us for as long as Mirzam. By the way Sirius, you are filthy git!"
"Moi?" Sirius asked. "Why?"
"You know why," Regulus huffed.
"You mean that?" Sirius snickered knowing full well that Regulus was referring to Snape being Homam's godfather.
"Yes, that," Regulus mumbled. "I'm your brother and still you pick Remmy as your best man, Sevie as godfather and all I get is…"
"Last time I checked Godparents Rite allowed a child to have two godfathers instead of one godfather and one godmother," Sirius snorted. "Since I have two sons you are going to be a double…"
"Godmother," Regulus snorted. "The Godparents Rite requires godmother and godfather to be married to each other. However, if godfather isn't married the Rite allows the closest relative to the parents to be a godmother. Since Mirzam don't have a sister and neither have you and our your chosen godfathers aren't married to anyone, I, as the closest relative to you, have a right to step into godmother's place. I don't know what is more embarrassing, being a bridesmaid or a godmother."
"You don't have to feel obliged Reggie," Sirius sighed.
"Are you kidding me?" Regulus muttered. "Of course that I want to be included in your kids life!"
"You are already included," Sirius pointed out. "You are their uncle."
"But I want to be more," Regulus huffed. "You know that with my current status I don't have even a slim chance to be a father. Therefore I will swallow that honour to be a godmotherfather but if you are going to have another kid…"
"You are a godfather, no godmothers attached," Sirius chuckled. "Seriously."
"Thanks," Regulus mumbled in embarrassment. "That was very childish of me to…"
"Not really," Sirius smiled at him. "You did so much for us and I still ditch you."
"You have your own reasons do it and I respect it," Regulus sighed. "It's that…"
"You are my brother," Sirius said.
"I hate to interrupt but if you want to put the rest of Veritaserum into good use you better start asking questions now," Snape said suddenly. "Actually I have one. Why my mother's family wasn't fond of you, Mr Black?"
Sirius turned to look at his father.
"Because I insulted them," his father replied impassively.
"How?" Snape asked curiously.
"Your grandparents were aware of my friendship with your mother," sighed his father. "They just misinterpreted our friendship for something more and I was asked to marry Eileen."
"Why you didn't?" Sirius's mother asked curiously.
"Because it would feel like I was marrying my sister," his father replied calmly.
Sirius couldn't resist a snort. What a hypocrite his father was. He didn't married a woman who wasn't related to him saying that it would be like marrying his sister but he still married his second cousin.
"Hypocrite," Regulus snorted. "How come you married mum?"
"I never wanted to get married in the first place," his father answered quietly. "Not after I realised that bringing children into the world with a new Dark Lord rising is dangerous but your grandfather stepped in and said that if I don't marry someone in a matter of a year he will disown me and I…"
"Was a slut?" Sirius supplied angrily. "Not wanting to be married I can understand but marrying your second cousin just because you didn't wanted to be disowned is the lowest of low!"
"I…" his father started but Sirius cut him off.
He felt that something inside him had snapped. Being cold-shouldered after he got himself sorted into Gryffindor he could stand. Having to ran away from home at the age of sixteen because his mother's nasty comments about his friends and his believes, his father's obvious impassiveness and Regulus's fall into Voldemort's mania he could stand. Nearly dying from hunger because he was too proud to go to James straightforwardly after running away from home he could stand. But what he couldn't stand was the fact that the man, who just confessed to being just a pure-blood slut was playing a caring and noble father.
"Get out!" he screamed. "Get out and never come back! I don't want to see your sorry ass ever again in this house!," he waved his wand at the man and undid Paralysis Curse then he waved his wand at his mother and undid Paralysis Curse on her too. "You are no father of mine!"
"Sirius," his father shot up into standing position.
"I said, get out!" Sirius bellowed and he waved his wand at the door which burst open and hit the wall. "OUT!"
His father didn't moved even for an inch.
"If you don't leave this house in five seconds I'm going to kick you out myself," Sirius growled.
"No," his father said sternly.
"Don't make me lose control," Sirius growled. "Because if I lose control you would wish that Voldemort got your first," Sirius snarled and he pointed his wand at his father.
"No," his father repeated.
"You know that you are supposedly dead," Sirius growled. "I can easily fix you so it would be truth."
"You don't have it in you, Sirius," his father said quietly.
"Cru…" he started but suddenly he found himself face down on the floor, someone's knee was pressing him down and his wand was taken away from him. "Let go of me so I can kill him properly!" he bellowed angrily.
"No!" Snape snarled. "I won't let you destroy your life like I destroyed mine! I won't let you make the lives of the ones you love miserable!"
"I don't care!" Sirius bellowed and he tried to shake Snape off his back.
"Regulus, Lupin throw them out!" Snape snarled and when nothing had happened he bellowed, "Do as I say unless you want him to end in Azkaban again!"
With his face pressed down to the floor he couldn't see what was happening but the rustle of footsteps and then slam of front door indicated that Regulus and Remus did what Snape told them to.
"Leave," Snape hissed. "Yes, even you Mirzam. Go!" he bellowed last word.
Sirius heard more rustle of footsteps and the slam of the door before he felt that Snape's knee stopped pressing him to the floor. He sat up on the floor and glared at Snape.
Arcturus was listening half-heartedly to the conversation which was taking place in the kitchen after Wally told the family to stay in the kitchen while she and the boys were supposed to take care of Orion and Lupin. He, of course, tried to overhear the conversation which was going in the library once Sirius and Mirzam came back but when he found out that the door had Imperturbable Charm on it he came back to the kitchen. He just couldn't help but feel worried about it.
Suddenly the door upstairs slammed against the wall and Sirius scream, "OUT!" For a moment he only heard something akin to whisper, too low for him to understand and then Sirius bellowed again, "Let go of me so I can kill him properly!". Suddenly there was footsteps on the corridor and slam of the front door and another scream, this time not Sirius's, "Go!"
The screams made the family stop chatting and all of them jumped out from their places and rushed to the kitchen stairs, pushing and elbowing each other. By the time they managed to reach the door to the library the door closed and in front of them were standing shocked Walburga and Mirzam, who looked like her world just crumbled into ashes. Walburga had her arm draped around girl's shoulders, which would have looked comically on any other occasion because Mirzam was head higher than Walburga. Mirzam's shoulders were shaking slightly and Arcturus couldn't see her face because it was hidden in Walburga's hair.
Ten feet away from the girls were standing Regulus and Remus with unreadable expression on their faces.
"What happened?" asked Melania quickly, her voice was full of concern. "Where are Orion and Sirius?"
Walburga said nothing and she hugged Mirzam, whose shoulders started shaking even harder, tightly.
"Someone bring Cognac," Regulus said quietly, his voice was calm and controlled but Arcturus saw that his eyes had widened in fear.
"What happened?" Cassiopeia repeated Melania's question.
Walburga, Remus and Regulus didn't said a word. Mirzam started sobbing.
Orion dusted himself as he stood up from the pavement, on which he and Hermes were thrown by their sons, feeling like someone hit him hard across the head. Sirius tried to cast Cruciatus Curse on him. Sirius, who despised Dark Arts and Dark Magic in any shape or form tried to cast Cruciatus Curse on him. His beloved son tried to cast Cruciatus Curse on him … and if it wasn't for Severus, who by sending Sirius to the ground changed the trajectory of the curse, Orion would get hit by it. What made this whole situation more surreal was that Orion would let him. He would let Sirius curse him because … because it was what he deserved for everything he had done to his older son.
"Orion?" Hermes's concerned voice snapped him out of his thoughts. "How are you feeling?"
"Like the worst piece of shit which graced this world," Orion whispered. "I made him hate me. I made my son hate me."
"Sirius nearly cast an Unforgivable on you. I know that he is an Auror but…" Hermes started but Orion didn't let him to continue.
"I won't report him!" he yelled at Hermes. "And neither will you! You heard me!?"
"Orion!" Hermes said warningly. "He nearly cast an Unforgivable on you. There is a life penalty in Azkaban on it for a reason and even if you are an Auror you really have to…"
"I don't care!" Orion yelled. "I don't care if there is a life penalty in Azkaban Hermes! He is my son! Sirius is my son and I will never report him! Especially when I deserved it!"
"Orion…" Hermes whispered and he tried to reach Orion's shoulder.
He took a step away from Hermes. He didn't wanted to feel his friend's comforting touch. He was a monster. He was a monster, who destroyed his sons' life. He needed to get away from everything, from Hermes whose sense of justice would make him put even his own son in Azkaban if he had done something against the law. Orion really couldn't blame him, after all Hermes was an Auror, to the boot but unlike Hermes Orion knew that some actions were justified, like Sirius's Cruciatus Curse.
"Don't follow me, Hermes," Orion whispered and disapparated.
He apparated to Selsey, the place when he and the boys used to spent summer vacations when he was still their father, not a Horcruxes Slayer. The cottage was empty, after he died Walburga probably got rid of the rest of furniture, but the cottage was empty years before he died. They didn't spent summer vacations there ever since … since Sirius got sorted into Gryffindor. Even the last holidays before Sirius went to Hogwarts were bad.
They were in Selsey at Walburga's birthday the same year and then Sirius was his normal self, loud and obnoxious at time but still studious and was looking at Orion with admiration. Six weeks later Sirius hardly looked at him, he avoided Orion's eyes at all cost. He spent most of the time locked in his bedroom upstairs and even if he happened to leave it he avoided the rest of the family and spent long hours at wandering around the village on his own. It was like something had changed in Sirius during this six weeks and then Sirius went to Hogwarts, ended in Gryffindor, which itself wasn't bad since to Orion's relief Charlie's, Hermes's and Patrick's sons ended there too.
At the thought of Patrick he flinched. It was the territory he really didn't wanted to wander now, not in his present state of mind. Patrick didn't deserved his attention now. If Hermes only knew…
That was it. If Hermes only knew Orion would be in a place where there is no hope of getting out. It didn't mattered that his actions were justified, what he had done was against the paragraph 713.
It was almost ironic that he chose to go to Selsey from all places in Great Britain.
'If you could turn back time Ori, would you have done it again?' asked tiny voice from the back of his mind which sounded like Charlie Potter.
"Yes, I would," Orion whispered to himself. "I would Charlie, over and over again."
The thought about Charlie brought him back to that fateful Halloween in 1977 when he wanted to visit his old friend and find something more about Sirius, who wrote to Charlie and Dorea regularly. It was the only way he could get some information about his older son after Sirius had ran away. Instead of a house with merrily crackling fire and two happy faces of his old friends he found house in ruins with Dark Mark hovering above it and two dead bodies lying on the floor of living-room.
Poor James, orphaned at the age of seventeen, there was no wonder he joined the Order of the Phoenix to take revenge on his parents' murderer after his graduation. Little did he knew that the revenge had already been taken.
"Tit for tat," Orion snorted grimly.
He could have prevented the Potters death if only he kept his attention to the sings after Alphard had died, brutally murdered at Knockturn Alley by an unknown man. The case had been opened, lead by Hermes himself, and then after a year of fruitless research it had been closed. After Charlie and Dorea had died it was painfully clear who killed Alphard and who sold the Potters to Voldemort. It was the only logical choice and the man paid his life for the murder he committed and the betrayal. The Aurors never found his body, they just assumed that he ran away with a new woman, leaving his wife and only son on their own. They were lucky that the man was a womanizer.
Orion remembered how often he and his friends used to tease Ignatius asking the same question and waiting for his answer.
"Is law the justice or is justice the law?" he repeated the question for uncountable time.
It was the highest time to get this answer and Orion appareted to the library at Grimmauld Place.
If there was a thing Sirius hated the most in the world beside being betrayed it was being controlled and Snape hovering over him while he was sitting on the floor in the library made him feel controlled.
"Why did you stopped me?" Sirius asked angrily.
"Because you were about to fuck up the rest of your life," Snape replied shortly and he sat down on the couch and with Sirius still sitting on the floor he was still hovering over him.
"I was about to make a point, Snape," Sirius muttered.
"What point?" Snape huffed. "That you can cast an Unforgivable? You wouldn't be an Auror if you couldn't."
"Why did you stopped me?" Sirius asked grimly.
"Because, as I said before, I won't let you destroy the lives of your family. I won't you became me, one Severus Snape in the world is certainly enough," Snape snorted.
"Your point," Sirius grimaced.
"My point is, that yes, you could hurt him, yes, you could torture him, even kill him but would it made you feel better?" Snape asked curiously. "Would you be able to live with yourself knowing that you tortured, killed your own father, regardless any crimes he committed, against you or your family?"
"I would," Sirius muttered.
"Would you really?" Snape voice was barely above the level of whisper. "Could you stand looking into the mirror and seeing a man who murdered his own father? Could you stand looking at your wife seeing fear in her eyes, knowing very well that it is you she fears? Could stand looking at your children and be a good father to them knowing that you murdered your own father? Could you?"
Could he? Could he done it? Oh, Merlin did Mirzam … Oh, Merlin she had an every right to divorce him now. What a woman would want a monster like him…
"Let me in!" came a scream from outside the door. "I want to see him!"
The door banged open and closed shut quickly as Mirzam ran into the room. Her hair were wild and her eyes were red from crying. Upon seeing Sirius sitting on the floor she ran to him, fell on her knees and hugged him tightly.
"Don't you ever do it again until you really have to," she sobbed into his shoulder. "I don't want our children growing up knowing that their father became a murderer."
"I won't. I promise," he whispered into her hair. "I will never do it again. I swear. Mirzam I promise," he babbled as he felt tears running down his cheeks. "I don't know what overcome me. Like something had snapped inside me."
"You have every right to be angry," she whispered. "I will never deny you that, but I know that it's not the best way to deal with it Sirius."
"How can you stand touching me after what I've nearly done?" he whispered back.
"Because I know what it feels like," she whispered as she pulled away from him just a bit. "But letting your anger control you is not the best way. I know that you may hate him now but no matter what he is still your father and if you want to punish him for something he done there are other ways."
"How can you stand being close to me?" he whispered. "How can you even look at the monster am I?"
"You are not a monster!" she cried out.
"I'm a monster," he whispered.
"Am I a monster too, Sirius?" she whispered. "Do you think that I'm a monster?"
"You are not a monster," he denied quickly. "You are an angel."
"I'm a monster," she whispered and looked straight into his eyes. "Day before we freed you from Azkaban I was with your mother on a walk and we ran into my grandmother. Do you think that after everything she had done to me I wouldn't want to hurt her? That I wouldn't want her to feel the same pain she inflicted on me? I wanted to hurt her and I know how to cast Cruciatus Curse but I also knew that me casting Cruciatus wouldn't solve anything. It would make feel better for a second, maybe ten at the most, but would my action, if I decided to do it, would my action be justified? Would it? Would these stupid ten seconds be worth a life in Azkaban?"
"They wouldn't," Sirius whispered. "What stopped you from casting Cruciatus?"
"You did," she whispered and she bend to kiss his forehead. "Because if I went to Azkaban I would have failed you. I would have failed Homam. I would have failed my parents. Who cares that my grandmother is a bitch? If the God she believes exist, he will punish her for everything she had done to me and if he doesn't, then one day she is going to realise what she had done and then she is going to live for the rest of her life with that knowledge. And this knowledge is enough of punishment, at least for me. Let's hope that they won't report you because I really don't want to spend the rest of my life knowing that this time I can't get you out."
He held on her tightly and hoped, like she hoped, that no one will report him, that he will have a chance to see the boys growing up, that he will have a chance to grow old with her. He really wanted to see his sons getting married, having kids. He wanted to see Mirzam with grey hair sitting in an armchair by the fire knitting long-clothes for their grandchildren.
Fuck, why he lost control?! Why he couldn't keep his anger in cheek? Why he had to fuck up his life so short after it just began again?! Why he couldn't stop himself?!
He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't heard anyone entering the room until he heard quiet, "Severus, leave us alone and cast Imperturbable Charm on the door."
He looked up above Mirzam's right shoulder and saw his father standing behind the couch Snape was sitting on. His face seemed drained from all emotions except sadness.
"Father," Sirius whispered.
"I won't report you," he whispered. "Never."
Snape stood up and left the room without a word. The door closed shut and Mirzam slid off from Sirius's knees to sit next to him on the floor.
"I came here to report, myself," his father whispered as he came around the couch and sat down on it. "I want you to be my judges, jury and executioners."
"Which paragraph?" Sirius asked quietly.
"Paragraph 713," his father whispered.
"A murder," Mirzam exhaled shakily.
"Yes, a murder. In cold blood," his father confirmed quietly.
"Who is … was the victim? When it had happened?" Sirius asked quietly and he embraced Mirzam protectively with his left arm even if his right hand didn't twitched in the direction of his wand.
"It happened on 1st November," his father paused. "Year 1977. Few hours after Dorea and Charlus Potter had been murdered by Death Eaters in their own house in Trelech. As for the name of the victim," he paused again. "Patrick Pontius Pettigrew, aged forty-eight at the day of his death."
Sirius felt blood draining from his face. Peter's father. They always assumed that he ran away when Peter was seventeen but now…
"You murdered him," Sirius whispered. "Why?"
"You know oldest law of all?" he asked quietly and he scratched his chin with his left hand.
"Eye for an eye," Mirzam whispered.
"A tit for tat," he nodded slowly. "Eye for an eye. Teeth for a teeth. Hand for a hand. And death for death," he looked at his shoes. "I'm not proud of what I've done but even now I would do it all over again."
"Why?" Sirius asked and he hated himself that his voice sounded like he was pleading. "What he has done to make you kill him?"
Sirius's father raised his head and looked at Sirius sadly before he answered, "He murdered innocent man in cold blood and later he sold his friends to Voldemort. If I paid attention to the signs I would have seen it earlier and maybe then I would prevent at least the former part. Maybe if I realised that he was the traitor … Charlus and Dorea would have a chance to see their grandson."
Sirius only could stare at him in shock.
"He murdered Alphard too," his father whispered as he leaned his elbows on his knees and propped his head on his hands. "Why he had done it? I have no idea. But he did it and everybody was too blind to see the signs. When Dorea and Charlus had died, missing pieces of a puzzle fell into their right places. Patrick was the last one who saw the three of them alive. He even had an audacity to talk to me and express his worry that Death Eaters might go after the Potters on the day of the attack … and six hours later Dorea and Charlus were dead."
"Why you didn't reported him to the Aurors if you suspected that he sold them to Voldemort?" Sirius asked quietly.
"Would you have done it Sirius?" his father asked quietly. "Patrick was too smart and he hid the evidence very well. The only thing he could get from the Aurors would be a slap on his wrist and he would never fully trust me again. The only thing I had was my gut feelings and few small leads, too small to be meaningful in front of Wizengamont. Like the one I mentioned earlier or the comment about pure-blood faggots who went against their own philosophy or small hints, like that the Potters house wasn't protected enough and it would be easy to get attacked or that Alphard wasn't careful enough when he went to the brothel on Knockturn Alley. Everybody could say that and for most it wouldn't mean anything."
"You killed a man because you had a gut feeling that he sold his friends to Voldemort?" Sirius asked in shock.
"No," his father shook his head. "I murdered a man who confessed that he had done what he done. It's amazing what a man subjected to Ball's Ripping Curse can confess to," he paused and then continued. "Alphard and the Potters were just a tip of proverbial iceberg. Patrick either sold to Voldemort or killed himself various member of the Order of the Phoenix. They died in most painful way imaginable," he paused. "I killed him because I knew that if I didn't the next person he would either sell to Voldemort or kill would be either me, or my family, or remaining friends."
"How he died?" Sirius asked even if he really didn't wanted to know.
"Ball's Ripping Curse. Three Blood Boiling Curse. One Cruciatus. One Sectumsempra. One Bones Breaking Curse. One Eyeballs' Severer," he sighed. "I was quite creative that night. I let him bleed to near death before I healed him and started it once again. I've done it five times more before I finally killed him by Killing Curse," he muttered grimly. "Then I transfigured him into a stone and threw it from the cliff into the sea."
"You know that for what you just confessed to is a life penalty in Azkaban?" Mirzam asked, her voice sounded surprisingly calm.
"I'm aware of it, Mirzam is it?" he nodded slowly. "And trust me I would to Azkaban to serve life long sentence with a lighter heart now that someone finally knows what I've done but I assure you my girl that I will never feel any remorse because of it. Pettigrew got what he deserved and he himself would never be punished by the law, he was just too smart to get himself landed in Azkaban."
"But if you told the Aurors…" Mirzam started.
"That I tortured him to get him to tell the truth about what he had done?" his father snorted. "Sure, he will went to Azkaban then," he paused and then he added. "And so will I, for using Dark Arts and Dark Magic, no matter how justified it was, and trust me, the man who would bring me to Azkaban would be no one else but my best friend."
"Still," Mirzam said firmly.
"What you have done if you were in my place?" asked his father calmly.
"I would use Veritaserum," Mirzam muttered angrily.
"And if the person whom you suspect to be a notorious murderer and traitor happened to be immune to Veritaserum or any kind of truth serum at all?" his father asked, his voice still calm.
"Then I would use Legilimency. In cases like that it's justified," Mirzam said.
"What if the person in questions was an Occlumens?" his father asked again.
"Then it's a good thing that I'm a Legilimens," Mirzam said sternly.
"Legilimens and Occlumens generally don't mix," his father snorted. "Especially if Occlumens really want to hide something from Legilimens. Very strong and forced Legilimency would only wreck the mind of Occlumens beyond repair and boom a life penalty in Azkaban for making someone lose their mind. As you see I had no other way to ensure that innocent lives had been avenged."
"You didn't had to torture him before he died," Mirzam muttered. "A simple Killing Curse would work."
"It would," his father agreed. "But what about people he betrayed or killed?"
"Did Pettigrew's torture brought them back?" Mirzam snorted angrily. "Did it?"
"No it didn't," he shook his head. "But it made their deaths less pointless, less painful."
"But it didn't brought them back," Sirius repeated Mirzam's words.
"What you would have done in my place, Sirius?" his father asked quietly.
"Probably the same," Sirius mused. "Good thing that I didn't. Then bad thing that I at least didn't stunned him because it would save me from few months of Azkaban."
"Azkaban?" his father whispered in shock. "What you were doing in Azkaban?"
"I was serving a life penalty for betraying my friends to Voldemort, killing Peter Pettigrew and twelve innocent Muggles in broad daylight. I also didn't got a trial to prove. either my innocence, or my guilt. If it hadn't been for my wife here," he squeezed Mirzam's shoulder tightly, "I would still be there. It's a good thing that Mirzam, Regulus, Remus and Snape managed to catch Peter and hand him over to Wizengamont thus granting me my freedom," Sirius said sourly. "You won't like Azkaban and unlike me, you will be there for a very good reason."
"I don't doubt it," his father grimaced.
"Actually the irony is almost funny," Sirius muttered. "You killed Pettigrew but you didn't went to Azkaban and I didn't killed Pettigrew but I went to Azkaban. If I had a better day I would laugh about the irony in this situation."
"Do you want to go to Azkaban now or do you want to have last meal before it?" Mirzam muttered angrily.
"I can go to Azkaban whenever you want but I would appreciate if I could go to Azkaban after I will make sure that Voldemort doesn't exist anymore or at least till all of his Horcruxes are destroyed?" his father said quietly. "It would really made me feel better that I wouldn't have to worry about Voldemort killing my family."
"I don't feel that you deserve to feel better, sir," Mirzam huffed. "But sadly, I agree with you on Voldemort so I guess that Azkaban will have to wait."
"Are you serious Mirzam?" Sirius asked nervously.
"Sadly, yes," Mirzam sighed heavily. "As far as Voldemort is concerned we need all help we can get. Besides if we can still be around Regulus and Severus, who had done worse than your father then we can also survive being in his presence."
"Why you didn't reported them?" his father asked curiously.
"Because Severus, unlike you, showed remorse and Regulus killed only one person in the act of mercy, and paid for it dearly," Mirzam replied sternly as she stood up and pulled Sirius up with her. "You show no remorse, nor what you have done was the act of mercy and I would appreciate it if you stayed away from my sons because then I can get really nasty and you really don't want to know what a pissed off Mud-blood is capable of, both with and without a wand."
She pulled Sirius by the hand out of library into the gathering in front of library door.
Walburga watched curiously as Mirzam and Sirius seated themselves between Regulus and Snape at the other end of the table. The rest of the family around them so Walburga was sitting on the opposite side of the table and the seat next to her was filled by Orion. He seemed a bit tired but otherwise unaffected by what had occurred earlier in the library when Sirius tried to cast a Cruciatus on him. The fact that Sirius tried to look anywhere but at him and that Mirzam was glaring daggers at him didn't seem to bother him.
After initial scare in the ball-room the family grudgingly accepted Orion's and Lupin's presence at Grimmauld and carried away with their earlier conversation.
"What had happened in the library?" Walburga hissed at her husband. "After you came back."
"We had a little chit-chat Wally," Orion replied quietly. "Is Sirius's wife a Muggle-born?"
"If you have something against Mirzam you can better stick it deep inside your butt because I will sooner kick you out than her," Walburga growled at him silently. "If it wasn't for her I would never see Sirius or Regulus again and she is a mother of our grandsons"
"No need to get so worked up Wally," Orion chuckled. "I was only asking a simple question. But I find it surprising that you from all people jumped to defend her and that Sirius chose to come back here."
"Sirius is here because Mirzam is here. Mirzam is here because this house is safer than Hogwarts and a pissed off witch as grandmother makes better protection for the kids than a Muggle nanny," Walburga replied, using their old story for the family.
Orion shouldn't be informed about kids true identities, yet and the whole family agreed to keep their mouth shut about Neville Longbottom alias Remmy Black who was sitting on his mother's knees and was eating his pudding happily.
"Does she works?" Orion asked curiously. "Still an Auror?"
"Still, and if you want to see next day you better don't piss her off. She may look so angelic and as dangerous as lady's powder puff but if she is pissed off she can get really nasty. Same with Sirius, as far as she and the boys are concerned. Mirzam told me that he broke Dumbledore's nose because old codger insulted her," Walburga replied.
"Ever wondered who wears trousers in their relationship?" Orion chuckled.
"They have a leg, each," Walburga snorted.
Orion snickered silently before he said, "Does she really has violet eyes or is she a Metamorphomagus by any chance?"
"She really has violet eyes and she is a Metamorphomagus," Walburga replied then quickly added, "If you start hitting on her then Sirius will beat you into a bloody pulp not to mention that I will use on you every single spell from 'How to make your enemy's life miserable?'"
"I'm not hitting on her, Wally," Orion chuckled. "Just wondering from where that fire in her comes from and why in the name of Merlin's genitalia she tries to use Legilimency on me."
"Perhaps you gave her a good reason to not trust you," Walburga muttered and then glared at her husband as she asked, "Did you?"
"Maybe," Orion mumbled.
"Will you share it with me?" Walburga elbowed him accidentally on purpose.
"Maybe," Orion said and he elbowed her back. "But maybe not today."
"Maybe I shall drive a knife into your gut," Walburga muttered.
"If I promise that I won't hurt anyone in this house will you stop making death threats Wally?" Orion looked at her, one eyebrow raised daringly.
"Will you swore Unbreakable Vow on that?" she asked as she crooked her eyebrow.
"Can it wait till I eat?" Orion asked calmly as he turned around and resumed eating. "I haven't eaten better stew in years."
"Mirzam cooked it," Walburga said sweetly.
Orion chocked on his stew.
After dinner, while Snape was chaperoning Orion and Hermes around the house, Mirzam pulled Walburga and the rest of the family, save the two in question and Sirius, who went upstairs to change boys' nappies, and Remus aside and told them that under no circumstances Orion and Hermes are allowed to come within twenty feet close to Homam and Remmy. The look on Mirzam's face when she said it made Walburga wonder what Orion had done to piss her off so much but she knew the girl well enough to know that Mirzam didn't said it just because she was paranoid.
She retired to her bed as the last person in the house wracking her mind what could piss off Mirzam so much.
Walburga's birthday party was small, family affair with no guests from outside the family. But what surprised Orion the most was that Wally's brother Cygnus and his daughter Narcissa didn't showed up.
Orion being Orion, and a Black to the boot, tried his best get to his grandsons but it seemed that whenever he was closer to the kids than twenty feet away the current member of the family who was taking care of them was taking them away. He almost felt like he had some kind of a disease.
Next morning after Walburga's birthday party Hermes, Orion, Walburga, their fathers, Regulus, Remus, Severus, Sirius and his wife, affectionately named by Orion in his private conversation with Hermes – Mrs Fury, gathered in the library. Orion's mother was at Grimmauld too but she was upstairs with the boys.
Orion seated himself behind the desk and watched as Sirius conjured a blackboard on the opposite side of the wall. After the blackboard had appeared Sirius came back to sit next to his wife leaving blackboard to Regulus who draw on it several pictures.
There was a locket, a cup, something which looked like a diadem, something ring-like, something which looked like a book and a snake. After Regulus finished drawing he wrote under each item in order: Slytherin's locket, Hufflepuff's Cup, Ravenclaw's Diadem, Sltherin's Ring, Dark Wanker's Diary and Niagini.
"These are Voldemort's Horcruxes," Regulus announced as he leaned against the bookshelf next to the blackboard. "The ones I'm aware of, anyway and these which I considered as probable."
"Six pieces of Voldemort plus one which still exists somewhere," Orion muttered.
Regulus nodded and he bolded Slytherin's locket as he said, "We have this one. The others are still hidden."
"We?" asked Hermes sceptically.
"Actually, I have this one, but since we are supposed to work as a team I decided to say we," Regulus muttered as he pulled from his pocket gold locket with an S engraved on it and held it in his right hand by the chain.
"How did you got it?" asked Orion curiously.
"I got it," Regulus shrugged. "How and when is irrelevant."
"So we have one Horcrux but we are still missing five," Sirius stated.
"And we have very vague idea where they could be hidden," Regulus muttered as he took the chalk with his left hand and signed under each name of the Horcrux in the order.
The cave. Bellatrix?. A question mark. Second question mark. Lucius. Another question mark.
"Since we have the locket," Regulus said firmly, "we don't need to worry about it. Niagini should be the last Horcrux we should worry about so for now we can cross her out too."
"What makes you think that Bellatrix and Lucius have a Horcrux?" asked Fury, err Mirzam sceptically.
"I'm not sure about Bellatrix, not one hundred percent sure anyway, but as Wanker's bitch she could have an access to the cup. Lucius has the diary, this one I'm one hundred percent sure, but I don't know where it could be hidden," Regulus replied.
"So we only have the locket and your assumption that Lucius has the diary," Severus muttered. "Four question marks and one, locked up in Azkaban, Death Eater."
"Are you done with stating the obvious?" Regulus asked him patiently.
"I'm just hoping that the Wanker won't come back anytime soon because at this rate we are doomed," Severus snorted grimly.
"Is Voldemort a Slytherin Heir?" asked Mirzam pensively.
"He is Parseltongue," Regulus answered and he scratched his chin with his left hand thus he smeared the chalk on his face. "Plus he really boosted about it."
"Are there living descents of Slytherin beside him?" the girl asked.
"There was the Gaunt family," Orion answered pensively as he tried to recall as many things as he remembered about the Gaunts. "However they are dead, all of them."
"What about Merope?" asked Walburga suddenly. "The scandal was quite loud after she ran away with that muggle, what was his name … Riddle. And there was a Tom Marvolo Riddle two years below me at Hogwarts."
"She died shortly after you were born Wally," Pollux muttered. "No one knew when or where but she died for sure."
Orion who was watching them as they were speaking returned his gaze to the black board and saw Regulus, who was scribbling something furiously on it. He was crossing something and then writing something else. After five minutes after he stepped away from the blackboard they saw what he wrote. It read:
TOM MARVOLO RIDDLE.
VOLD. MORT. MAORIDLE.
VOLDEMORT. MAORIDL.
VOLDEMORT. LORD. MAI.
I AM LORD VOLDEMORT.
"Here is our Dark Lord," Regulus muttered grimly.
"We attended Hogwarts with Voldemort?" Walburga asked weakly, she was pale.
"You seem surprised," Regulus snorted. "Did you thought that he just popped out of nowhere?"
"You said that his mother had died," Mirzam stated. "What had happened to him after she died?"
"Slughorn had told me once that Riddle grew up in an orphanage," Orion muttered.
"Where?" Mirzam asked.
"In London," Orion answered pensively and then added, "Stockwell Orphanage on Clapham Road I believe."
At that Mirzam paled drastically and whispered, "The one lead by Charles Spurgeon in mid-1800?"
"I believe this one," Orion nodded.
"I grew up there," Mirzam whispered. "Till they closed it up in 1975 and I was sent to Fauxhall's Orphanage in Hackney."
"What had happened to this building?" Orion asked sharply, sharper than he intended.
"It was demolished and they build a tower block of offices in its place in 1977, last time I knew something about it," Mirzam replied quietly. "Is it possible that he could hide the Horcrux in the fundaments?" she asked timidly.
"I rather doubt it Mirzam," Regulus shook his head. "Wanker is a show-off, Orphanage would represent things he hated and it's very unlikely that he hid a Horcrux there and even if he did he had to change the place of hiding after he found out that the building had been demolished."
The girl said nothing for a longer while and then she asked pensively, "How did he looked alike when you saw him for the last time?"
"Jet-black greying hair, dark eyes, tall, lanky, very skinny, always deathly pale," Regulus muttered. "That's what I remember anyway."
"With abominable long fingers?" Mirzam whispered, her voice was barely audible.
"How do you know it?" Regulus asked sharply.
"Bring the pensieve," Sirius hissed and then he turned to her as he whispered, "You saw him, didn't you?"
She didn't answered and when Regulus set up the pensieve in front of her on the coffee table she stood up, made few wobbly footsteps to it and touched hers temple with the tip of her wand. She put the silvery misty streak in the basin and before she even indicated for them to approach her she was surrounded by the rest of the family.
Sirius had his right arm wrapped protectively around her shoulders, he looked distressed while she looked oddly calm. Together they touched the mist and the library had disappeared.
The room was small and almost bare, save an old wardrobe, iron bedstead, single chair, an old desk and a trunk. Through the barren window, the only source of outside light they saw that there was a night outside. The bed was made and the room would seem empty if it wasn't for a faint light coming from under the bed.
"I was doing my summer essays," Mirzam said calmly.
Suddenly they saw a light coming through the crack under the door. At the same time the light coming from under the bed was turned off. The door to the room creaked open and a tall lanky figure entered the room.
From Regulus's description Orion realised that it was Voldemort, no one else. He glanced curiously around the room, when he saw the trunk his expression had change from curiosity into disgust. He went to the corner on the right side of the window and crouched there. He moved a lose floorboard aside and pulled up something which looked like a leather covered book.
"The diary," Regulus whispered as Voldemort put the floorboard back in its place and hid the diary in his robes.
Voldemort stood up and approached the bed. For a moment Orion thought that he was going to crouch next to the bed and pull out the girl from under it but Voldemort only sat down on the bed looking completely bored. He was sitting on the bed for a longer while before he finally stood up and left the room.
The memory had ended and they were back in the library.
"I've never been so scared in all my life like that night," Mirzam admitted nervously, she looked dizzy. "I never really liked this room, it reeked with misery, suffocating darkness and whenever I could I was outside it for hours. Now I know why."
"So we know where the Horcrux was hidden in 1975," Regulus stated calmly and then he turned to Mirzam and he said, "You were lucky that he didn't looked under the bed."
"I was lucky," Mirzam admitted in a whisper.
"That's why you mastered Occlumency so quickly," Sirius whispered shakily. "You have so many scary memories…"
"That it's better for me to not remember them at all," she finished for him. "What about other Horcruxes?" she asked as she snapped out from her dizzy state.
"The Ravenclaw's Diadem had been missing for ages," Regulus said pensively. "It's just my assumption."
"Would it be possible for Vol… him," she started, "to hide one of them at Hogwarts."
"Very possible," Orion admitted. "He was very attached to Hogwarts, Mirzam, but then again I don't think he could hide something at Hogwarts without teachers knowing about it."
"There is no hidden room at Hogwarts," Sirius muttered. "Take it from someone who knows the castle as the back of his hand."
"What about the Room of Requirement?" she asked pensively.
"What room?" Sirius asked sceptically. "There is no such a room."
"There is a room on the seventh floor, opposite to the tapestry showing Barnabas the Barmy trying to teach trolls to dance the ballet," Mirzam shook her head.
"There is no such a room, Mirzam," Sirius shook his head.
"There is," Mirzam said quickly.
"Is not," Sirius said.
"Is."
"Not."
"Is."
"Not."
"Is."
"Not."
"Is."
"Not."
"Not."
"Not," Sirius said sternly and quickly added, "I'm not falling for that."
"There is a room there Sirius," Mirzam muttered angrily. "I had been inside it several times."
"Is not," Sirius replied.
"Can you two just shut up?" asked Severus impassively. "I can't believe that you quarrel over a stupid room. Let's assume that Mirzam is right and there is a room there. What's inside?" he turned to Mirzam.
"Depends," Mirzam shrugged. "I've been there five times and every single time the room looked different."
"I will examine it when I'm back to Hogwarts," Severus said. "For now let's talk about the rest of Horcurxes."
They spent next two hours in the room discussing various places where other Horcruxes might be hidden and they finally admitted that with their present knowledge they couldn't find anything and they made plans for next day.
Pollux and Arcturus decided that they will go through the Ministry archives tomorrow looking for more information about the Gaunts and the Riddles. Walburga stated that she was going to pay a small visit to Cygnus and Narcissa. Severus together with Mirzam was supposed to go to Hogwarts and look for the Room of Requirement. Sirius was supposed to go to work and cover for Mirzam's absence there while Remus and Hermes were supposed to go to the library and find something more about Ravenclaw's Diadem. This arrangement left Orion and Regulus as the only people who were supposed to be at home next day.
Regulus loved his nephews to the bits but being entrusted as their shadow, till someone other than Hermes had come back from doing their assigned tasks, wasn't something he liked very much. But he knew better than to argue with Mirzam, Sirius and his mother. If they said that their father wasn't supposed to come within twenty feet near to the boys then it was something Regulus would make sure that it won't happen.
He was sitting on the floor in their bedroom and was playing with them absentmindedly. For last hour he was yawning so hard that he was afraid that he might dislocate his jaw. Finally after another half of hour of yawning he decided that what Mirzam and Sirius won't know won't hurt them and a small, half of hour worth, nap was in order.
He curled up on the floor and fell asleep within seconds.
Orion felt bad about having to drug Regulus with delayed Sleeping Potion but if there was any other way to have a chance to meet his grandchildren he would have use it. Sadly this was the only one. He admitted their efforts to keep the kids away from them were heart-warming.
After he made sure that Regulus was sleeping like a log on the floor in boys' bedroom he took both boys outside for a walk.
Homam and Remus were admirable kids and Orion had a great time at their walk around the city for about a hour. Sadly he couldn't afford spending more time with them until others would come back.
He returned them to their room where Regulus was still sleeping like a log. When he closed the door after he stepped out into the corridor he felt like he was hit with something very hard on the chest.
Suddenly he felt that there was someone else on the corridor with him. But he hadn't a chance to locate that person because he was slapped across the his face hard. He barely managed to pull out his wand and cast 'Finite Incantem' before the wand had been snapped out from his hands by someone and he was kicked into his groin by a heavy booted foot.
He fell to the floor and glanced up through teary eyes at his attacker. Hovering over him was Mirzam who looked like a pissed off tiger.
"I think I've told you to stay away from Homam and Remus," she snarled angrily.
"Back so soon?" he mumbled.
"I should have never leave this house," she spat as she pointed hers wand at him.
"I just wanted to see my grandsons," Orion admitted as he tried to sit up.
"I've told you that I won't allow you," she snarled. "If I have to keep you locked up in the library all the time then I would. You won't come near them as long as I have something to say about it."
Had it been anyone else in his place Orion would find her fury admirable. She reminded him younger Walburga, and with Sirius being so much like him it was almost funny that he went after the girl who had the same temper as his mother.
He knew that she had her reasons to not trust him but they were his grandchildren and he would be damned if he let anyone kept them away from him. If he had to scare the girl, then so be it.
He shifted to his Animagi form and leapt in the direction of the girl, mutt closed. He meant to scare her, not bite her. He expected to knock her to the floor but he didn't expected sharp teeth sinking into his ear. It shocked him so much that he let the wolf take over and snapped his jaw into animal's neck.
Huge paw knocked him away from the animal and he finally had a chance to see the animal which attacked him. It was a dog, a golden-furred Labrador. It looked royally pissed off.
He barely had a chance to collect himself from the ground before the dog leapt at him and sharp teeth sunk into his neck. He tried to shake the dog of but it held on his flesh for dear life.
'Pissed off bitch,' he thought frantically as he tried to shake the dog off again.
This time he succeed and deciding that it was better to stay away from the dog he leapt for the stairs. He barely managed to reach the top of the staircase when he felt that something had jumped on him and together, he and his attacker, tumbled down the stair to the landing.
He felt that he hit his head against the floor hard and before he could do anything the world around him went black.
Mirzam transformed back into her human form as soon as she managed to stand up. She was dizzy and her neck hurt like hell. She swaggered over to the unconscious wolf.
Its breathing was normal, a bit lowered but normal, the blood was oozing from the bite she gave him but otherwise he seemed unharmed. For safety measure she cast Examining Charm on him and breathed in relief that the only damage she had done was minor brain concussion and a bite at the neck, not very deep one on that. Sure she was pissed off but she didn't wanted to kill him.
She leaned against the rail breathing heavily as she massaged her neck with her left hand.
"Git," she huffed at unconscious wolf.
She didn't expected the attack and it pissed her off even more. She should have predict it but of course the man was guarding himself very well against her Legilimency attempts since he arrived.
She swayed and her left foot slipped down the stair. If she wasn't holding the rail she would have ended down on the landing of second floor.
'He is sleeping on second floor,' she realised. 'And he is unconscious…'
It was just too good opportunity to let it pass. Slowly she made her way down the stairs to the second floor. Then she made her way to Mr Black's bedroom step after step, from time to time leaning on the wall for support.
She turned the knob gently and the door opened a bit. Mirzam stepped inside and after she closed the door she leaned against it. She scanned the room thoroughly, it looked like any other room in the house. Four posted bed, a wardrobe, a bookshelf and a desk with a chair in front of it. On the top of the desk was sitting a stone basin, the pensieve.
Mirzam made her way to the desk slowly and carefully, still feeling slight dizziness. When she finally reached the chair at the desk she slumped into it and took a deep breath. She let it out and looked into the pensieve, it seemed that it had a memory inside it.
She touched the memory with her left hand and let the memory pull her inside. She landed on her bum on the floor in small living room. In front of the fire was standing a tall, lanky man with jet-black hair with his back turned to her.
Suddenly he turned around and he leaned against the wall next to the fireplace. For a second she thought that she saw Sirius but Sirius didn't had lines on his face whereas the man had. But the resemblance to Sirius was uncanny: the man had same high-cheekbones, same eyebrows, same lips, same almond-shaped grey eyes. His jaw was clenched in the same way Sirius clenched his jaw when he was furious but didn't wanted to show it and he was glaring at the door.
Mirzam slowly collected herself from the ground and looked in the direction of the door. Nothing had happened for a longer moment and just as she was about to turn around to look at Mr Black the door somewhere had opened. Ten seconds had passed before in the doorframe appeared a man who bore uncanny resemblance to young Peter Pettigrew.
"Why you wanted to see me on this unholy hour Orion," the man asked and he yawned ceremoniously.
"I wanted to tell you that your plan had succeed, Patrick," muttered Mr Black, the name of the man was spat with disgust.
"What you mean?" asked the man, though the playfulness was evident in his voice.
"You know very well what I mean Pettigrew," Mr Black said lividly. "You sold the Potters to Voldemort," he snarled.
"Oh you mean that," Pettigrew said in a bored voice. "I was thinking about setting up the Bones but apparently I was wrong."
"You filthy…" Mr Black started.
"Crucio!" Pettigrew snarled and Mirzam whirled around to see that Mr Black barely ducked out from the curse. "You were smart man Orion Black."
"Torustitum!" Mr Black yelled.
The spell missed Pettigrew by an inch.
"Too scared to stick to Dark Magic?" laughed Pettigrew. "Alphard at least tried before I killed him."
"So you killed him too?" Mr Black snarled. "Falarel!"
The spell again missed Pettigrew's head by an inch.
"Expeliarmus!" Pettigrew snarled and to Mirzam's utmost horror he succeed in casting it. "Who is smart now Orion? Avada Kedavra!"
Mirzam whirled around to see that Mr Black jumped out of the way of the Killing Curse and slid on the floor to the other room.
"This is going to be interesting," Pettigrew said in childish voice. "You are wandless and there is an Anti-Apparation-Charm around the house Orion."
Pettigrew rushed after Mr Black calling insults after him. Pettigrew's voice seemed to drift upstairs. Mirzam was about to rush out of the room after him when she saw that Mr Black entered the room through the same door Pettigrew entered.
He looked like he was royally pissed off. He scanned the room quickly and when he saw something which was lying behind Mirzam's back he quickly, but silently, passed her by.
She turned around to see that he picked up a poker which was sticking out from the fire.
"Little Ori wants to play!" called Pettigrew from above.
"Sure," Mr Black muttered quietly. "Come and get me."
"The doors are locked and you can disapparate Ori," called Pettigrew, this time from much closer distance. "Playing hide and seek will only extend your miserable life for about five minutes!"
Mr Black snorted silently, "Always thinking too highly about yourself Patrick."
With hot poker in his hand he approached the door through which he left earlier and leaned against the wall.
"If you come out now I may see a fit to save your good-for-nothing son's life. Had he been mine I would beat the living daylight out of him!" Pettigrew called out, he was getting closer.
Mr Black raised the poker high into the air, his jaw was clenched so tightly that Mirzam thought that he might dislocate it any second now.
"Then again what's that old proverb Ori?" called Pettigrew, Mirzam saw that he was only five steps from the door by which was standing Mr Black. "Like father, like son?!" Pettigrew added as he made another footstep. "Scared Ori?" three steps. "Would you die for him Ori?" two steps. "Would you save his miserable life?" one step. "No. You know that I will kill him anyway," Pettigrew said and he stepped into the room.
The poker swung in a graceful arc and slammed into Pettigrew's scull in slow motion for her.
Pettigrew fell down to the floor but still somehow managed to call out the curse, "Imperio!"
The poker which as Pettigrew fell to the ground had risen into the air to its former position froze there.
"A poker," Pettigrew stated. "Charming idea, really but so very unlike you Orion. Now let go of the poker before I will decide to lure your son here and kill him."
Mr Black's arms remained frozen in the air.
"I said let go!" Pettigrew snarled.
"Your wish is my command, Master," hissed Mr Black as he swung the poker down with full force.
Pettigrew's scream died as the poker had felt and Mr Black collapsed on the floor next to dead body.
"I thought that being an Auror provided you with enough horrors," Mirzam heard male voice from behind her. Mirzam whirled around to see Mr Black, blood was falling down his left collarbone, he gave her a sheepish smile as he added, "But apparently I was wrong."
"You lied," she whispered.
"Yes I did," he confirmed.
She opened her mouth to say something but suddenly the dizziness from her earlier fall came back and the world around her swayed dangerously. She fell on the floor unconscious.
Awaiting criticism - hidden safely behind the couch.
First off: I'm truly, deeply sorry for this chapter, seriously. But after everything he had been through Sirius has it in him but thankfully for him Snape posses a one braincell more than he does. As for Mirzam - since her issue is shorter than Orion's - her memory has no deeper meaning, it's just a sign - Horcrux isn't here (however the family may try to use it again to get a better look at the diary).
Orion - separate issue because I feel like it. If you read till the end of the chapter then you know how the death of Patrick Pettigrew looked like. As for why Orion lies ... for Orion killing Pettigrew is justified, after all he was a traitor and a murderer, that's clear. But why he changed the murder in self-defence into murder in cold blood is a question you are going to have to wait before you get the answer (you can try to come with something on your own too). Also the irony of Orion/Sirius parrarel is a real bitch.
Should I upgrade the rating?
Next chapter: Mirzam whacks proverbial dictionary accross Orion's head. Sirius sees the change in relationship between his wife and his father and starts to wonder what had happened. Horcruxes Slayers Club has another briliant idea which ends badly for a certain, too curious for its own good, cat.