Disclaimer: We all know how these work, I acknowledge that J.K. Rowlings, Warner Bros. and Scholastic own Harry Potter and all other characters and settings from cannon, and I get to write whatever I please and even add in characters of my own as long as I don't get any money. The no money sucks but there you go, at least I don't get lawyers knocking on my door.

A/N: I play fast and loose with the dates of Regulus and Orion Black's deaths.

Sirius' Savior

Chapter 4 Getting better all the time.

October 31, 1985

Sirius looked at his surroundings, things just kept getting better all the time. Just over four years ago he would have put in a call to the mind healers if someone had told him he would be living as a muggle and liking it. But the last two years had led to him developing an amazed respect for muggles and really liking their lifestyle. He half wanted to write to Remus and apologize. When they been at school he'd try to put off studying as much as possible but Remus would work to persuade him to study. Since coming to Indonesia he'd learned the value of studying. He'd learned both Indonesian and Balinese. Indra Budiono had given him a job as an auror. It turned out the meeting where he'd saved the Presidents. had been about establishing a greater cooperation between aurors and muggle police. Sirius made a point to learn as much about muggle police procedures and methods as he could. As he did so he developed an absolute fascination with the knowledge muggles had, and the technology they were constantly developing. After a year and a half on the job, Indra had asked him to serve as liaison auror for his quadrant of Indonesia, as such, he was on good terms with the local police force and he enjoyed the respect he was given. One day after having lunch with one of the police captains he over heard one lieutenant telling another "Yes, Bapak Black is a good officer. He has helped with several investigations and helped many times when there's been trouble. He doesn't have to you know, he is very wealthy and he employs a cousin of mine."The unsought but overheard compliment felt as good to him as when he had first changed into Padfoot. In addition to the police work he did, he taught two classes monthly for the aurors on police procedures. He also taught a monthly seminar on battle tactics and advanced magic.

All in all he was surprisingly happy with his life. Harry was thriving, he had done his first accidental magic in four years a month ago. Healer Sri Lie had practically done handsprings. Sirius grinned when he thought of how a furious Harry had made Liana's hair turn blue. Liana laughed and told Harry the answer to his request was still no, because he didn't need another ice and he had been impolite and demanded rather than asked properly.

Sirius had always been careful to employ squibs because he had hoped Harry would get better and he didn't want problems if Harry did magic. Harry had friends amongst Liana's grandchildren but unlike his friends he also spent time at lessons. Sirius had started him in lessons after his third birthday Harry had ceased to deteriorate by then and Sirius knew that to keep his promise to James they needed to begin. He signed Harry and himself up for silat and judo lessons, and started teaching him the manners that would be expected of him as the scion of the house of Potter. He also taught him English and French. Harry had learned Balinese and Indonesian from his friends and the servants. Sirius was glad that Harry seemed to have recovered from most of the trauma from the attack that killed his parents.

The next day Sirius got a letter from Gringott's. It had been forwarded from Gringott's in London. He opened it and started reading.

Gringott's Bank

London, Great Britain

Dear Lord Black,

We regret to inform you of the death of your mother Wallburga per her instructions according to the instructions in your father's will, we have not informed you until her death that you have inherited the title of Lord Black and all attendant duties and responsibilities. We have enclosed a in a packet to Gringott's Jakarta a portfolio of your properties, funds and investments. Shortly before your father's death, and a month after you left England your brother Regulus Archibald Black was declared dead by the goblins, his vault had apparently gone through the sixty day waiting period before merging back with the family vault.. He had been dead for a while. It is my belief I was probably the last to see him alive, when he left that letter for you a month before you left England. My condolences on the deaths of your family.

Grimjaw Trollslayer

Manager of Black Accounts

Sirius couldn't believe it his entire immediate family was dead. His father and brother for years, his mother, that bitch, how dare she keep it from him. What letter was Grimjaw talking about though? Sirius thought back to the last time he was at Gringott's in London. He remembered the oath with Ironclaw, the negotiating, it took him several tries before he finally remembered the letter that had been brought with the meal.

Sirius went to the storage room in the gatehouse. When he had first gotten the house, he had gone through the trunks from the cottage. He had first removed the items that had no magic like the sampler from Alice to put them in Harry's room. Oddly that small touch had seemed to cheer the forlorn toddler. So he had used freezing charm and a muggle camera to reproduce many of the photos of James, Lily, the three Potters all together and a couple of photos of the Marauders without Wormtail in them. Harry's response still made Sirius tear up... Finally, he had taken a couple of the toys that wouldn't be affected and canceled the spells on them then let Harry play with them, Harry had been ecstatic.

Sirius thought carefully where might he have placed the letter, and after three hours of searching he finally found it. He carefully broke his brother's seal and unfolded the parchment. His brother's handwriting was sloppy as if he'd written this in a hurry.

Sirius,

You can say it. You were right, the Dark Lord isn't who or what he claims to be. I thought, well I guess it doesn't qualify as thought does it? I followed charming handsome Lucius Malfoy with his connections and power, and believed him when he said the Dark Lord would lead us into a new purer era. He sweet talked me almost the same as he sweet talked Cissa, and I listened. That's the part that bugs me the most. Slytherins are supposed to be cunning, but I followed Lucius like a dammed sheep. You have to believe me when I say I didn't know. I didn't know that I was supposed to bring Him access to money. the Black family fortune to be exact. I didn't know until the night when he called myself and others to a dark revel and I saw... I was forced to... I raped a eight year old muggleborn, I wasn't the only one. I think I was third to do it. I'm not even sure she was still alive. Remember Stephan Doge he had been marked the same night I was and it was his first revel too. Lucius cast imperio on her, her two younger siblings who she tried to protect, she killed them by gutting them. He told Stephan to rape her first, he refused. Said he didn't make war on children. The Dark Lord crucioed him for five minutes straight. When Stephan still refused he AK'd him. Stephan was brave, I'm not. I'm a Deatheater that only goes to a revel when forced. I'm sorry I'm not like you. I've been to a couple of revels since then. Not that I wanted to, but the pain in my arm is so bad. I can't live like this any longer every time I close my eye I see that girl. I have a plan though, I found out that He has divided and created vessels for his soul in hopes of living forever. He asked me for an elf. This was before the revel so I thought nothing of it. I gave Kreacher instructions to go with him and do what he was told. But that he should return to me when the Dark Lord was done. That should have been my warning. Kreacher came back, but he was tortured and sick from the potion the Dark Lord made him drink. After the revel I asked Kreacher what the Dark Lord did. It took a few weeks before he told me the Dark Lord was hiding a Horcrux. I looked in the family library and found a book about them. I found it in the section that Dad always said don't go to because the magic there is so black it drives you mad. The definition of a horcrux is a fragment of a soul is broken off by committing murder and is stored in a vessel usually non- living. It protects the creator from death by anchoring the soul to the living world. I think He has many of these. He used Kreacher to hide a locket in a cave. I saw him give Lucius an old diary and Bellatrix a chalice. I can live like this anymore I intend to have Kreacher take me to the cave where He hid it. I will destroy it or die trying. If I can't do it, I will order Kreacher to either destroy it or hang on to it until someone asks him for it. I'm sorry Sirius, sorry for everything, for believing the crap Mum and Dad said for letting other people tell me what and how I should think. I'm proud that I had a brother that was brave enough to think his own thoughts. I love you please forgive me.

Regulus

Sirius' eyes teared up as he remembered his baby brother. He had hauled Reg with him everywhere. He and Reg had been very close right up until he got sorted into Gryffindor. The thing he'd missed most when he'd arrived at Hogwarts had been his brother. Thank Merlin James had been in the same dorm or he'd have done something crazy. His heart had felt broken when he came home at Christmas first year and Reg had avoided even looking at Sirius. He looked at the information his brother gave him about Voldemort. Apparently he and the rest of the wizarding world were wrong when they thought Voldemort was dead, gone when the killing curse he fired at Harry backfired. If Reg's letter was correct he wasn't dead and he would be back. Merlin how was he supposed to protect Harry. He sought the closest bathroom, and promptly threw up. As he sat trying to regain control of his stomach he scanned the part about what a horcrux was again. He threw up again because he suspected somehow Voldemort put a horcrux into Harry.

A little later he staggered back to the main house. Liana saw him and promptly dragged him into his bedroom and put him to bed. Grateful for the waiting oblivion of sleep, Sirius crashed.