Disclaimer: I don't own HP or this verse, which is the property of ForeverTheValentine, who kindly allowed me to play in her sandbox.

I'm glad everyone agrees with me that Snape deserves to suffer, don't worry he will! But he's too pathetic a character for me to waste a whole chapter on him, so not quite yet. This chapter will also explain what I truly believe was the most likely way the Prank went down, based on Sirius' loyalty to his friends and Snape's knowledge of potions. Read, enjoy and review!

Chapter Five

Lord Black

"I want to take part in Snape's interrogation," Sirius said adamantly. It wasn't even about their long schoolyard war against one another in school. It was about the prophecy. It was about the fact that Snape had overheard it and had brought it to Voldemort. He was the reason James and Lily were dead, the reason Alice was going to spend the rest of her life in a closed ward being cared for by healers because she couldn't eat by herself anymore. The reason that Aimee would never ride on Prongs' back again, or hear Lily sing to her. The reason that Neville would never follow his mother around her greenhouse, watching her speak to the plants because "it's makes them grow better if they feel loved". Sirius owed it to his family, to his friends, to be a part of the interrogation. Snape was as culpable in their losses as You-Know-Who, Bellatrix and Pettigrew were.

If he was here, Frank would probably have insisted on taking part too, but he was still on leave. He wasn't doing too well. He was reluctant to so much as put Neville down for a nap in his crib, instead letting him sleep in his arms, and acting more paranoid than Alastor Moody about his remaining family's safety. Hopefully his paranoia and depressed mood were just a temporary side-effect of losing Alice and the broken bond, but you never knew what the mental consequences of a violently broken marriage bond would be. At least Augusta was there to look after her son and grandson.

Bones eyed him warily. "You have to keep control of yourself," she warned. "He has valuable information. All the spies we've found have all agreed that Snape has become one of You-Know-Who's most trusted Death Eaters in the last two years. We need to know what he knows, and that won't happen if you kill him."

Sirius had to admit that he was impressed with Bones' efficiency. It was only the fifth, barely three days since she'd become Director, and already she'd cleaned up the entirety of the Auror corps and Hit-Wix, though not the whole of the department itself, and she'd managed it without word of what was going on leaking to the rest of the Ministry or the outside. She'd also caught a dozen Death Eaters of different ranks, the terrorists having been thrown into disarray by their master's death. Even now, every interrogation room was full of Death Eaters, members of the rest of the DMLE and the Minister's office, the two most important sections of the Ministry at the moment, being interrogated by Aurors. The holding rooms had even more, waiting to be questioned.

Sirius had been shocked (but pleased, even if he wouldn't admit it to anyone) to learn that Nimtree was under arrest. Oh, she wasn't a Death Eater, she fervently despised them all, but she had been helping Crouch put innocent people with 'bad blood', a.k.a anyone Crouch disliked, into Azkaban without a trial. Well, now she would get a taste of her own karma. Bones was planning on giving her thirteen years, a year for every person she'd taken to Azkaban illegally. Sirius felt horrible for those poor people, of course, especially as he'd nearly become one of them, but the spiteful part of him danced in glee at the fact that he would finally be free of Nimtree's scorn and verbal abuse. Three years of suffering through her cruel words, her undermining of him, her threats, and it ended with her going to prison instead of him, despite her many threats against him. There was a delicious irony in that.

"I'm a Black, Director Bones," Sirius replied crisply, raising his chin. "I know how to keep a cool head." He'd had a lot of practice at keeping his temper after growing up under Walburga Black's wand, even if he'd often gone out of his way to provoke her to draw her attention away from Regulus.

"Alright," Bones agreed, though really she didn't have much choice in the matter. As Regent, Sirius had the right to sit in on any interrogation he desired.

After this, though, he planned to go home to the cottage. He wanted to cuddle his goddaughter, to let her bright smiles and bell-like laughter brighten his dark day and prepare him to have dinner with his grandparents for the first time since before he ran away. Arcturus was an ally, Sirius knew that, but he was a trial to deal with. Everything was a test, and Arcturus was always several miles ahead of the rest of the world.

At least Melania would be there. His grandmother was kind and caring, though the epitome of a pureblood lady. She was similar to Mum-Dorea really, but more traditional. She would help raise Aimee into a lady her parents would be proud of. Helen, while she was clearly throwing herself into Aimee's care, didn't know how to raise the Heiress to a Most Ancient and Noble House, let alone the heiress to the Duchy of Albion. She'd admitted that to Sirius' face while they were discussing rules and strategies for raising Aimee last night (on her suggestion. For example, she wanted a rule that Aimee would clean up her own room and playroom, when she had one, so she didn't rely overly-much on House-Elves. Sirius suspected that Helen too disapproved of House-Elves, like Lily and Mary MacDonald and basically every other muggleborn he'd spoken too about the subject. It was a bit odd, given Helen had an Elf herself, but then Pepper was a strange Elf, content to wear clothes and telling her mistress what to do without any qualms. Sirius in turn wanted to send Aimee to muggle primary school, which Lily had wanted so as to keep her daughter in touch with her muggle heritage and so that she could blend in, unlike most wix. Helen had agreed instantly). But seeing as Helen couldn't help with teaching Aimee how to be a lady, Melania and Andromeda would be needed to teach Aimee the things ever noble witch needed to know.

"Right then," Bones sighed. "Yuzhen, do you have the dicta-quill and some parchment?"

"Right here, Director," Taffle confirmed, showing off a roll of parchment and her self-inking dicta-quill. Her hair had already been in a Bun of Doom by the time Sirius arrived. Given how deep the circles under her eyes were, and the way Bones was guzzling Pepper-Up like it was pumpkin juice, he wondered if they'd even bothered to leave since he and Flitwick left on the night of the first. He'd have thought Bones would at least go home to see her niece, whom she was now the guardian of, but it didn't look like it.

That reminded him, he ought to set up a playdate between Aimee and the young Bones Heiress. Susan, he thought her name was. As the niece of the Director of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and future Lady of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Bones, she would be a valuable ally for Aimee to have, and it would be good for Aimee to spend time with a girl her own age. She had Neville as a playmate already, of course, but Sirius didn't want to encourage his daughter to spend time with boys. Not until she was much older. Like when she was in her nineties and too old for any funny business.

It was unrealistic to hope for that, but a father could dream, couldn't he?

It was getting uncomfortably easy to refer her to as his daughter. Even though it was what James and Lily had wanted, Sirius still felt a bit like he was stealing their daughter. It made his heart clench in guilt.

"Okay, let's get started then," Bones ordered, breaking Sirius from his thoughts right before he began to spiral, before leading the way into the interrogation room. Sirius clenched his hands into fists at the sight of Snape, looking as arrogant and smug as ever. He took petty satisfaction in the outrage that flashed across his ugly face at the sight of Sirius.

"What is that scum doing here?" Snape snarled. "Where's Dumbledore? I demand to speak with him!"

"You're under arrest, Snape," Sirius sneered at his old enemy. "You don't have the right to demand anything. And why would seeing Dumbledore help you? As you have already been informed, we are currently under the Emergency Clause of the Duchy of Albion Act of 1692. The Regent is in control. Even Minister Bagnold has no power right now beyond what the Regent grants her, let alone the Chief Warlock."

The Chief Warlock was largely a ceremonial position, who could break a tie in the unlikely event one occurred. But mostly it was simply for directing the agenda of the Wizengamot session and maintaining order in the chamber. It just so happened to come with a lot of influence, which was very different from power. Just so long as your opponent understood and knew how to manipulate the difference. Luckily, Sirius had learned from Arcturus Black himself, and would soon have 'the Snake' helping him.

Dumbledore would rue the day he crossed Sirius Black.

"Dumbledore is the Regent," Snape retorted, confidently, and Sirius couldn't stop the gleeful smile that spread across his face, nor did he try.

"Oh, is that what you think?" He smirked. "Well, I hate to disappoint you, Snivellous, but I'm afraid you're incorrect. I'm the Regent. And I know what you did."

He took bitter satisfaction in watching the colour drain Snape's face. Snape was the reason James and Lily were dead, the reason Alice was locked into her own mind. They wouldn't have been targeted the way they were if not for him scurrying off to tell his Master about that damned prophecy. He deserved to pay for what he'd done, and Sirius would be the one to ensure that justice was served.

"Ahem," Bones cleared her throat and gave Sirius a pointed glare. He took a seat to her left, as she sat in the middle and Taffle to her right, setting up the dicta-quill to record the interrogation. Snape stayed silent, an angry scowl on his face.

"Now, you are legally required to state your name and date of birth for the record," Bones informed the angry prisoner, who sneered at her as he spat out his answer.

"Severus Tobias Snape, born January 9th, 1960."

Bones nodded, and went right for the kill. "Are you, or have you at any time been, a Death Eater?"

Snape clenched his jaw and didn't respond.

"Be advised, as we are under the Emergency Clause, and you are a suspected party to treason and sedition, refusal to answer will be taken as a confession of guilt, as per the above Clause," Taffle warned him briskly.

"Also, you have a Dark Mark, which is now considered to be evidence of conspiracy to commit treason and sedition against the state, so we don't really need you to answer that question anyway," Sirius added casually, twirling his wand between his index fingers. "Bearing the Mark is an automatic sentence of forty-nine years in Azkaban."

"Since when?" Snape demanded in outrage.

"Since I became Regent and dictated that it would be so," Sirius smirked back. Snape snarled and Sirius' grin widened. "Now, are you going to answer or not?"

Snape snarled and finally gave in and answered, sounding and looking like he wanted to murder the lot of them. Shame for him that his hands were so bound then. "I was, but I changed sides and became a spy about a year and a half ago," he admitted grudgingly.

Bones cocked an eyebrow as Sirius scoffed. He didn't believe for a second that Snape had stopped believing in the Death Eaters' cause. He'd been espousing it since before they met. He might have changed sides, but not out of the goodness of his heart, that was for sure. Probably he hoped that by having a foot in both camps, he get away scot free regardless of which side won the war.

"Why did you become a spy?" Bones asked.

Snape seemed to choke as he tried to reply. Sirius smirked.

"No point in trying to lie or give a half-truth, Snivellous," he sing-songed cheerfully. "The rooms are too good. Now," he grew serious and glared at his old nemesis. "Answer the question. Truthfully and fully."

Snape growled, and it sounded like his answer was being pulled out of him. "I wanted to save Lily," he admitted.

Sirius froze, any amusement disappearing, though he now recalled Pettigrew saying something similar during his interrogation in Mistress Eigyr's workshop. "Excuse me?" He spat. "You wanted to save her? You're the whole reason You-Know-Who was after them in the first place, you bastard! And what about James, to whom you owed a life debt?! What about the infant child who Lily died for?! Did you want to save them too?!"

"I loved Lily!" Snape cried. "And of course, I didn't try to save that bastard, he stole her from me! He deserved to die for that! And like I'd bother with his spawn! If not for that brat, Lily wouldn't have been in danger in the first place! I wish I could go back in time and trade Lily's life for the brat's! Then Lily would finally be mine, and we would have our own family!"

"And what about Felicity, huh?" Sirius demanded angrily, though in truth he was deliberately provoking Snape. Oh, he was enraged by what the Death Eater was saying, no doubt about that. Wanted him dead for it, in fact. Actually, no. Death was too good for the bastard. The Dementor's Kiss might work, if not for the fact that you required a soul for it to work, and Sirius had his doubts that Snape did. "What about the baby Lily was pregnant with? What, would you have made her give her up?"

"I would have made Lily see the light, she would realize that the world is better off without the Potters in it," Snape snapped back. "I'd have convinced her to get rid of the damn thing."

Even Bones, stoic as she was, recoiled in disgust at that. Aborting an unborn child was one of the worst sins a wix could do, in a world that struggled with fertility issues the way the magical one did. Molly and Arthur Weasley were unique in not having any failed pregnancies. Sirius, for example, knew that Walburga and Orion had suffered five failed pregnancies other than he and Regulus, and James was the only successful pregnancy Mum-Dorea had out of twelve attempts over twenty years. That Snape would want to force Lily into aborting Felicity was a low even Sirius hadn't expected from the scum, though he thought that he should have. Expecting any human decency from the man was clearly a fool's errand.

"Sit down please, Regent Potter," Bones said, her voice tight.

Sirius could see her disgust, carefully hidden behind a blank façade, as she looked at Snape as he reluctantly sat back down. Snape sneered at him and Sirius glared right back, reminding himself that, spy or no spy, Snape was going down for his crimes. He'd pay for what happened, even if Sirius had to drag him to the Veil himself.

"Do you still believe in the Death Eaters' cause?" Bones asked, voice carefully neutral.

Snape, apparently either too arrogant to understand he was dooming himself even further, perhaps believing that Dumbledore would save him which Sirius would ensure didn't happen, or else, like Pettigrew, he decided to boast before going down, raised his chin defiantly. "Of course, I do," he scoffed. "Mudbloods and muggles are nothing but filth. They're worth less than a House-Elf. The Dark Lord was right to try and wipe them out. I only regret that he failed in his quest and that he killed Lily. He deserved to die for that, I'll admit that."

Taffle pursed her lips and Sirius bit back a growl. Snape had always been obsessed with Lily, and even before she'd broken ties with the Slytherin he had been making her uncomfortable. No way would she willingly have run into his arms after all the deaths he caused (and there were many, seeing as he'd invented and taught Sectumsempra to many other Death Eaters, and the sadists had revelled in the painful deaths it caused. If there was a way to stop the bleeding, they had never figured it out, and so the Order and the Aurors were forced to watch the unfortunate wix hit by the damn curse slowly bleed to death), but Sirius doubted that Lily's willingness or lack thereof would make any difference to Snape.

At least Lily had been spared that fate. A small and bittersweet silver lining.

"And yet you claim to have been in love with a muggleborn witch," Bones noted icily.

Snape's expression softened. "Lily was different to the rest of that scum," he said affectionately. "She was clever and beautiful and powerful. Too powerful to be a real mudblood. I've always suspected that she was an orphaned pureblood found and adopted by muggles. It's the only logical explanation."

Sirius scoffed. "You're delusional, Snape," he stated flatly. "There are pictures of Mrs. Evans pregnant with Lily and them in the hospital just after she was born. No matter how you want to hoodwink yourself, Lily was most definitely the muggleborn daughter of William and Amaryllis Evans."

"Moving on," Bones said before Snape could retort. "You say that you turned spy. Did any of the information you passed along actually help in any way, or did you pass on bad information to aid your master's cause?"

Snape shrugged, smirking slightly "I passed on good information. If I couldn't get it to Dumbledore in time to make a difference, that's not my fault is it?"

Sirius wanted to kill him. Bones' lips were white with anger and Taffle was gripping her wand, looking like she was avoiding hexing Snape by the skin of her teeth.

"What did this prophecy I've heard about from Pettigrew say?" Bones demanded after what looked like a pause to perform a momentary Occlumency exercise to control herself.

Snape sneered. "The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches, born to those who have thrice defied him," he said grudgingly. The three interrogators exchanged quick looks, Sirius reading the shock in the women's eyes and suspecting that they saw his own concern. "There's more, but that's all I heard. It's all nonsense of course, but I informed the Dark Lord anyway. Lily was meant to be my reward for my loyalty, but because of Potter's spawn, I lost her."

Bones eyed him. "Are you a threat to Heiress Potter?" She asked sharply.

Snape scowled. "I couldn't harm her if I wanted to," he said sulkily, like a child denied a treat. "Dumbledore tricked me into making an oath not to harm her."

"And if you were released from that oath?" Sirius pressed angrily. "Would you hurt her? Lily's child?"

"Of course I would!" Snape cried "She's Potter's spawn, the symbol of everything he stole from me! If I weren't under this damned oath, I'd hunt her down and torture her to death for being the reason Lily is dead!"

They all looked at him in disgust at what he threatened to do to an innocent child, the only surviving piece of his so-called 'love' who said 'love' had died to save. Sirius rose to his feet, hands shaking with rage. He couldn't stand to so much as breathe the same air as Snape anymore, and he desperately needed to see Aimee and remind himself that she alright. Lily and James had saved her. You-Know-Who hadn't gotten her, and Snape wouldn't either.

"Excuse me, Director, Ms. Taffle," he said tightly. "But if I hear another word out of his mouth, I'm going to kill him right here and now, and he still has useful information. I'm going to go and cuddle my child. Please update me later."

Helen was sitting on the floor, playing pat-a-cake with Aimee, when the Floo flared to life and Sirius stalked out. His cheeks were red with anger and he was gripping his wand in tight knuckles, his silver eyes blazing with rage. Helen winced at the sense of his magic, roiling through the air. His magic would probably have felt amazing if he were in a good mood, but it was so angry right now she worried he would hurt someone.

"Pa'pad!" Aimee babbled, oblivious to her adoptive father's anger. She reached up towards him, smiling innocently at him. Sirius let out a heavy sigh, closing his eyes briefly to get his magic under control before he scooped her up and cradled her to his chest.

"Is everything okay?" Helen asked cautiously as she rose from her kneeling position, dusting off her pastel pink jeans. She much preferred muggle clothes to wixen robes. She liked having the option of a skirt or jeans, of a pair of overalls or a dress. Not to mention how much easier to move it was. She wore robes whenever she was in a wixen area to blend in, but the rest of the time, including at home with Eigyr, she preferred her muggle clothes.

"We were interrogating Snape," Sirius explained stiffly. Helen winced. Given how intense the Marauders and Snape's enmity had been, along with Pettigrew's revelation about Snape being the one to point You-Know-Who at the Potters, she couldn't imagine that going well. Aimee was tugging on Sirius' long hair, giggling as he bent his head to the side so she didn't have to pull as hard. "That bas-the stuff that he was saying! I wanted to kill him. I had to get out of there before I really did murder him. He has a lot of important information that we couldn't risk losing, otherwise I'd have gone through with it. At least he's guaranteed the Kiss and being tossed through the Veil after pointing He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named at James and Lily."

"Can I ask, what was the deal with you four and Snape?" Helen wondered carefully. She'd always been kind of curious, especially now.

Sirius scowled, but Aimee pressed her hands against the sides of his mouth and pushed the skin up. "No sa', Pa'-pad!" She insisted. He forced a smile she was too young to see through and kissed her forehead, rubbing her back gently. Aimee smiled happily back, leaning in to rest her little head against his chest.

"James, Lily, Snape and I all met in the compartment on the Express, on the way to Hogwarts for the first time," Sirius explained. "We had an argument when discussing what Houses we wanted to be in. You've got to understand, I don't have a problem with Slytherin or its' ideals. My cousin Andromeda was a Slytherin, and we've always been close. I was close to her sister Narcissa at the time too. I have a problem with blood supremists and their ideals. And James was the same. Mum-Dorea was a Slytherin, so how could he have a problem with them? But we said that we wanted to be Gryffindors, and Snape made fun of us, basically saying that Gryffindors were idiots. Long story short, we argued and Snape and Lily left to find another compartment. And if that was just it, we probably would've just ignored him. But it wasn't. I don't know if you remember the Howler Walburga sent the day after the Sorting?"

Helen grimaced in remembrance. She hadn't thought of that Howler in years, but she recalled it now that he had brought it up. It had been vicious and cruel, the things Lady Black had said. No child should have such venom directed at them, especially when all they did was get Sorted into the 'wrong' House. "Yes, I remember," she confirmed for him.

He sighed and went on. "Well Snape kept provoking us, mentioning the Howler, making fun of me. Making fun of Remus and Pettigrew and how they were poor and Remus was a half-blood, never mind that he was a poor half-blood too. He just, he never let up. And whenever Lily wasn't around, he'd go on and on and on about how pathetic and unworthy muggleborns were, how they were stealing magic, the usual pureblood supremacy bullshit, you know. And it didn't take long for him to start bullying other students, using the Dark Arts by the end of Second Year."

"Oh, I know," Helen sighed. "I tended to keep my head down, but I was still a muggleborn. I was made fully aware of what Snape and his cohorts did."

Sirius' scowl was as black as his name at that. "Well, it just kept escalating," he explained. "He attacked muggleborns and we defended them or retaliated. Then in Fifth Year, he figured out that-" Sirius faltered and looked uncomfortable.

"That Lupin is a werewolf?" Helen suggested, earning herself a wide-eyed look.

"How do you-?"

Helen shrugged. "Snape wasn't subtle about his suspicions," she replied frankly. "I believe that Lupin's a good man, though, despite his, ah, problem. I'm a little uncomfortable with it, but that's more because of the stereotype than anything he's done. I'm getting more comfortable though."

Sirius nodded slowly, his expression easing from the fury that came over it at the mention of Snape. Aimee squirmed in his arms. "Pa'foo, pay!" She demanded with a pout. Sirius smiled at her distractedly and waved his wand to conjure some coloured smoke in different shapes, allowing Sirius to continue while Aimee entertained herself by trying to grab it.

"So, Snape figured out that Lupin is a werewolf and did something," Helen prompted him. He nodded, scowling darkly.

"Yes. He ambushed me while I was coming back from the kitchens one night, and gave me some veritaserum. I hadn't had any before, so I wasn't immune at the time. He asked me how to get to Remus during the full moon, and I couldn't stop myself telling him. He wanted to get Moony executed. If James hadn't found me tied up and learned what happened, letting him go and save the bastard, Moony would've been killed," Sirius explained, before adding spitefully. "And Snape would probably have died too, but I can't say I'd have mourned him. That's when things escalated. He crossed a line that night."

Helen exhaled slowly. There's was only one thing she could think to say. "What a bastard."

Sirius gave a grim smile and nodded at her. "No kidding," he agreed.

Helen hesitated before she changed the subject to one he would probably enjoy even less. But it had to be discussed. "What do you want to do about Aimee tomorrow?" She asked gently. The Potters' funeral would be tomorrow, at sunset, according to the customs of her (and she still kept forgetting that she was a Potter now, despite the feeling of the Family Magic rippling beneath her skin and the shards of memories of deceased Potters that she kept recalling while she slept) adopted family.

Sirius frowned. "What do you mean?" He asked stiffly.

"Should she go, or should I stay here with her?" Helen elaborated, though she had no doubt he had already known what she was saying. He just didn't want to acknowledge the subject, which she couldn't blame him for.

Sirius sighed. "You should both come," he said. "Aimee may be a baby, but she was still their daughter. And you're a daughter of House Potter, not to mention Holder of the Family Magic. It would be very disrespectful for you not to attend the funeral of your House's Lord and Lady. And the Family Magic might want to speak."

"People may figure out that Aimee is with me then," Helen pointed out worriedly, glancing at the baby who was giggling away as her father conjured puffs of different coloured and shaped smoke. Aimee kept reaching out to grab and roaring with delighted laughter when she opened her fists to find them empty. It had quickly become clear over the past couple of days that this was her favourite game and it never failed to make Helen smile to watch her. "We were trying to keep it quiet."

"We couldn't keep it secret forever," Sirius mused. "And anyway, the cottage is Unplottable and under a dozen kobelyn and wix wards. They won't get to her here. Besides, the funeral will be private. Only trusted allies."

"If you're sure," Helen agreed hesitantly. She was still worried, but she understood his points, and she felt the Family Magic urging her to go. She was just worried about Aimee, but as Taana had bluntly told her yesterday, she had best get used to that, because being worried was a part of being a parent.

Sirius glanced at his watch and made a face, leaning over to kiss Aimee's hair before grudgingly rising to his feet. "I'd best go and get ready for dinner with my grandparents," he sighed, clearly reluctant to leave their child again. It was obvious that he didn't want to be away from her, but circumstances had meant that he was spending most of his out doing whatever being the Regent involved instead of at the cottage looking after Aimee, and Helen doubted that would change anytime soon.

"Do you want to bring her with you?" Helen suggested, seeing the way he paused on standing, to look at Aimee. He hesitated, considering the suggestion, then slowly shook his head.

"My grandparents are allies and Black Castle is heavily warded, but it wouldn't be appropriate to bring a child Aimee's age to a dinner like this," he decided with an unhappy cast to his mouth. Helen nodded in understanding. She had expected that to be the answer, but he seemed so miserable at the prospect of leaving Aimee again that she had to make the suggestion anyway.

Squaring his shoulders, Sirius turned and left the room. Aimee's face began to crumple as he left, but Helen swiftly sent magic down their bond to soothe her and began conjuring more smoke to distract her from Sirius leaving. She smiled distractedly at the baby as Aimee calmed down and began to giggle, but the knowledge that Sirius was going to see his own relatives had reminded her. It had been the best part of a week since she'd adopted Aimee, and she still hadn't gone to see her family to assure them she was alright and, more importantly, to break the news that she was now a mother, and a Potter to boot.

"Welcome to Castle Black, Master Seeryus," said an elf that Sirius thought was named Timmy, though it had been years since he stepped foot in his grandparents' home, and at the time he'd hardly given a damn about the Elves. It had been Mum-Dorea and Dad who taught him to care about them. He still hated Kreacher though. That bastard elf had laughed when Walburga cursed him, and even taken part in his torture. Even Lily, who was a fierce proponent of Elf rights, had understood why he hated Kreacher and hadn't blamed him for it.

"Can Timmy be taking Master Seeryus' cloak?" Timmy asked. Sirius undid the strings keeping his cloak closed and passed it to the servant, who sent it away with a finger snap.

"Thank you, Timmy," he told the small being politely. "You're a good elf." Timmy gave him a wide-eyed look and bowed so low his nose brushed the floor.

"Timmy thanks Master Seeryus for being so kind to him," he said. "Timmy will take Master Seeryus to see Master and Mistress now, if that is being alright with Master Seeryus?"

Sirius inwardly winced at how depressingly little you had to do to be declared a 'kind master', even as he nodded in agreement. He braced himself to deal with his grandparents, in particular his grandfather, as they made their way to the dining room.

Lord and Lady Black, Marquess and Marchioness of Rivermore were already there, Lord Black seated at the top of the table with his wife to his left. Sirius was guided to his right, across from his grandmother, who gave him a welcoming smile.

"Sirius, my dear," Melania greeted him as she and Arcturus rose to their feet. "Look how you've grown. Thank you for coming, especially whilst you are in mourning. I am so sorry about the Duke and Duchess. They were fine people, blessed by Lady Magic. Their loss is a travesty. At least you can take solace in the survival of the young Heiress Potter."

"As Lord Black, I formally extend the condolences of our House to House Potter for the deaths of the Lord and Lady of Albion," his grandfather added gravely. "I have declared full mourning for the whole family and our vassals, to show our respect. Regardless of our differences in policy, they were kin, and the Duke and Duchess of Albion. Their deaths are a tragedy, and a loss to our world."

"Thank you for your sentiments, Grandfather, Grandmother," Sirius replied, struggling to hide his grief. Allies and relatives they may be, but he didn't trust that Lord Black wouldn't use his emotions against him. "My goddaughter's life is a gift that I thank Lady Magic for every day, and always will I suspect."

They nodded, Melania looking sympathetic and Arcturus' expression calm and impenetrable.

"Let us sit," Arcturus urged. They took their seats and were quiet while the food was brought out and served. Sirius cast a discreet spell to check his food was free of any contaminants before tasting anything. Arcturus Black was a sly man, and Sirius wouldn't put it past him to try slipping him a compulsion potion or the like. Thankfully, it seemed that Sirius was being overly cautious this time, because there was nothing, and it was an auror grade spell he'd learned from Moody, who'd come up with it and kept it to a select pool of people to keep a counter to it from being developed.

"So," Sirius said after a few moments. "What can I do for you, Grandfather? I'm sure this dinner is about more than just extending your condolences for James and Lily."

"You're right about that," Arcturus admitted, to Sirius' surprise. Amusement briefly flickered across his eyes at the surprise Sirius couldn't keep hidden. "You expected me to deny it? I know that won't work with you, and I need your cooperation. Regent Potter."

Sirius exhaled slowly, taking a sip of his elf-made wine to give him a chance to think. The knowledge that he was Regent shouldn't have made its way out of the Ministry yet, but Arcturus was clever and had a thousand spies around the place. It was no surprise that he knew who Sirius was. But what did he need the help of the Regent for?

"What do you want, Grandfather?" He asked after a moment.

"I have seen two wars tear apart this country in my lifetime, Sirius," Arcturus replied gravely, a haunted look drifting across his gaze. Sirius knew it was genuine, but he also had no doubt that Arcturus was deliberately letting him see it as a manipulation tactic, the same with the way he grasped Melania's hand for comfort, or how she rubbed her thumb over the back of his hand in comfort. "Our family was once the largest in the wixen world, and one of the oldest. Now our heirs are reduced to you and Narcissa and your children. Narcissa has one son, who is the Malfoy heir and therefore unable to take up the mantle of Lord Black, and she is unlikely to bare a second child. You have a halfblood adopted daughter, and there is no sign of you marrying and having another child."

Sirius felt his jaw tighten when his grandfather said that. Of course the man knew his and the Potters most closely guarded secret. He must have learned about it from a Gringotts notice, despite James and Sirius' attempts to prevent the notice being sent to Lord Black. It was frustrating, but unsurprising.

Arcturus went on, a troubled cast to both he and Melania's faces. "Andromeda was disowned for breaking her marriage contract and shaming us, and I will be preforming the disownment ritual for Bellatrix on the full moon, meaning there's no hope of any heirs to the family from her. Even if she did, they would probably be as mad as her. Either way, there is no point to speculation. She has gone too far by attacking the Longbottoms, her own kin twice over through my cousin Callidora and through Melania, and she will be Judged by our Family Magic.

This latest war has destroyed our family. You and Andromeda left the Family, Regulus is dead, Bellatrix and Narcissa have shamed themselves by bowing to anyone other than the rulers of Wixen Britain. That doesn't touch upon the older generation."

Sirius was silent. Blacks do not bow. That was what Arcturus had always beaten into his head. The Blacks only bowed their head at most, and only to their rulers. Everyone else was below them, and unworthy of their allegiance, according to his family's beliefs. The belief that he didn't bow to anyone was one of the few beliefs that had sunk in for him, more because Mum-Dorea had supported it then anything else. Of course, that belief had gone out the window when You-Know-Who rose to power for most of the Family, much to his prideful grandparents' disgust.

"And then, it turns out that not only is this so-called 'champion of pureblood rights' a fraud, claiming to be defending our ways whilst wiping out entire bloodlines solely for disagreeing with him, but it turns out that he's a halfblood too!" Arcturus spat the words in disgust, sneering contemptuously. Arcturus did not believe that muggleborns or muggles should die, but he did feel that they were beneath him, but that was more because they weren't noble than because of their blood status. On the few occasions that he'd met Lily, he'd had nothing but respect for the late Duchess of Albion.

"And a bastard born of a hedgewitch and a love potion at that!" Arcturus continued to rant. "The hypocrisy of it all! And all the while Dumbledore is using this war, this war that is tearing apart our world, to claim more and more power for himself, under the guise of being the only one He-Who-Must-Not-Named fears!

The blasted laws pushed through by Regent Brutus Wilkes and the Wizengamot during the minority of Duke Ricardus Potter has left the hands of the Ducal line tied ever since the early 1800s." Arcturus released Melania's hand and leaned forward, eyes glinting fervently in the candlelight. "But now, for the first time in almost two hundred years, the Emergency Clause is in power. You can undo all those chains on the duchy and return power to where it belongs, to Duchess Amaryllis. Then, Lady Magic will act through you and your daughter to clean up the ruins that Grindelwald, You-Know-Who, the Ministry and Dumbledore have made of our country."

Sirius was wary. Granted, this was pretty much the plan he'd made himself. James and Dad had always lamented how hogtied they and their more recent predecessors had been by the Regency of Brutus Wilkes. The man had usurped the Regency and proceeded to put law after law in place restricting the powers of the ducal line, preventing them from stopping the laws restricting muggleborn and creature rights from passing. The laws were enforced by magic, so the succeeding Dukes and Duchesses were unable to undo the bindings on their power, despite having been chosen by Magic to rule the Wixen world. It had caused the Potters more than a little despair, but they all continued to fight as hard as they could for the right thing.

But the Emergency Clause overrode those bindings. Since the moment he became Regent Sirius had been plotting to take the power from the Wizengamot and restore it to the ducal line. The Potters had, after all, been chosen by Lady Magic Herself, along with the muggle monarchy, to be rulers of Magical Britain. Sirius had faith in Aimee and her moral compass. If she was anything like her parents and grandparents, she'd be a force to be reckoned with, with an incorruptible spirit.

But that didn't explain what Arcturus got out of this. After all, by restoring power to the ducal line, they'd be restricting the power of the Wizengamot.

"What do you get out of all this?" Sirius pressed, eyeing his grandfather warily.

"Two things," Arcturus stated, meeting his gaze. "First of all, you agree to marry a girl, of your choice, with any blood status, within the next three years and provide an heir for House Black. I will not allow our line to die with us, and your adoptive daughter is already Heiress Potter. As I said, I don't care what blood status the woman is, but if she is not noble, then your grandmother will teach her how to be Lady Black."

Melania smiled. "I have several possibilities for you to consider," she offered with an uncharacteristically impish grin.

Sirius was silent, unwilling to agree until he'd heard the second condition.

"Secondly, your grandmother will teach Amaryllis to be a Lady," Arcturus smirked. "And she will spend three afternoons a week with us, learning the lessons required of an Heiress."

It clicked in Sirius' mind. "And if she were to begin looking upon the two of you as another set of grandparents, and consider you as trusted and favoured advisors, that's just a benefit, isn't it?" He said dryly. It made sense, and, combined with Sirius being Regent, meant that the Blacks would essentially rule Magical Britain for the best part of the next two decades.

Arcturus gave a triumphant smirk.

He already knew Sirius' decision. It had been made before he even stepped foot in the Castle, after all.