November 1984. Black Manor.

Sirius fretted anxiously across the floor of the living room, waiting for his guest to arrive. It had been three years since he had come to live at the Black Manor with young Ares. While adjusting to the role of being a father had been tough, he had risen to the challenge, and with the help of Kreacher, he had managed rather well. He only hoped that when he joined his friends in the afterlife, Lily wouldn't hex him for any mistakes he did or would do. She was rather scary with a wand.

While living alone in a manor with only Ares was stifling at first, he had grown used to the isolation. He had avoided all company and his friends to ensure nobody could him. Despite the supposed defeat of Voldemort, his supporters were still out there. When he heard of the attack on Frank and Alice, he had felt a blinding rage and nearly apparated to Britain to kill the Lestranges in their cells. Only his promise to James and the thought of Ares being left alone had stayed his hand. He had sent a letter to Augusta Longbottom, Frank's mother, through an anonymous owl, passing on his condolences and a promise to send help if she ever asked for it.

The other reason to remain isolated was James's warnings of Albus Dumbledore. While Sirius had been sceptical of the words, he held true to his promise. But, over the years, Dumbledore's relentless search for him and Ares and his attempt to initiate an arrest warrant soured his opinion of the old man. His initial investigations into the actions of Dumbledore had painted the Chief Warlock in a new light and news obtained in Europe had slowly opened his eyes to the fact that Dumbledore was not the grandfather figure and leader he portrayed himself to be.

But, a month ago, Sirius had finally received a reply from Moony. A part of him missed the fourth Marauder of his group and had immediately sent back his reply which resulted in today's meeting.

Remus Lupin was arriving at Black manor.

During the attacks on Potter Cottage and the Longbottoms, Remus had been travelling through Europe on Dumbledore's orders, trying to convince the werewolf communities to not join Voldemort. Somehow, Sirius thought with a scowl, the idiot had landed himself in a physical fight with Fenrir Greyback of all people, and nearly got himself killed. Lupin had been hospitalised and it took him over three months to recover. After his recovery, Lupin had disappeared for a long time and Sirius could not find him until the reply that arrived a month ago. Sirius had sent him an owl with a blood-based portkey that would transport him to Black Manor.

Casting a Tempus charm, Sirius moved to the Foyer, knowing the portkey would be activating in a few seconds. He had used a rather powerful piece of enchantment on it to prevent the transport of more than one being and ensuring that it was one-way to prevent any mishaps.

At the appointed time, a bright blue flash appeared in the Foyer while Sirius drew his wand in an instant. While the portkey was blood based and had some heavy security measures, Sirius could not discount the possibility that they could be broken. Hence, he had chosen the Foyer as the drop point, knowing the wards would stun or kill intruders immediately.

Once the flash had disappeared, Sirius recognised it was Lupin standing there, still wearing second-hand faded rags and looking far more haggard compared to the last time they met. Still, the sight of his old friend standing in his home brought a smile to his face.

"Moony! I am so glad you came." Holstering his wand, Sirius strode forward and embraced Moony in a bear hug. "Missed you like hell Moony!"

Remus did not return the embrace. Instead, he gave a simple nod of acknowledgement.

Sirius broke his embrace and found his friend staring at him with cold green eyes. Frowning at the almost hostile look, he asked "What's wrong? Moony?"

"Why did you take Harry away, Sirius?" Remus asked, frigid anger and accusation lacing his voice and words.

"What do you mean, why?" Sirius countered, his eyes narrowing at the question and attitude he was receiving from his oldest friend. "For Harry's safety, of course."

"Harry's safety?" Remus said, acid in his tone. "Is that why you sealed the Potter Vaults so that only you could access them?"

What? Sirius' face scrunched in confusion. Who would need to access them? As far as Sirius knew, Ares was the last living member and Heir to the House of Potter.

"What the hell are you talking, Remus? Why would I take Harry's money? I have more than enough to live my life as I wish." He countered, a little anger seeping into his voice at the accusation.

"I thought you were cast off from your family. You told me that." Remus countered.

Sirius sighed. This was going to be difficult. While he wanted to invite his friend to sit down in the living room and discuss things, he knew Remus would not move until he got the answers he wanted.

"Remus, it was my mother that cast me out of the family. However, on Halloween of the same year, I found out that she could not cast me out of the family; Only my grandfather, the previous Lord Black, had the right to do so. I am Lord Black now." Sirius ended, knowing that it would only cause more queries.

"Really?" Something about Remus' tone set Sirius on alert. "So Sirius Black, the wayward Gryffindor son who hated everything about his heritage, not only went back to his family but also became the Lord of Black. Seems like he was right!"

"Who was right?" Sirius asked, gritting his teeth in exasperation and anger. Seeing an answer wasn't forthcoming, he barked "Remus!?"

"Doesn't matter." Remus did not flinch at his friend's tone. "What matters is that you have changed. You forgot me, forgot Dumbledore, forgot Magical Britain and your old friends. You escaped from Britain to come and hide amidst the confines of your family manor? Why Sirius? Afraid people will know about your true allegiance?"

My true allegiance? "What rubbish are you talking about?" Sirius's was now beyond anger. This was not what he had anticipated from his friend. While he had expected accusations, he did not think his friend would think of him as an enemy.

"Your brother, remember your brother - Regulus Black?" Remus asked, although there was no query in his voice. "He was captured a few years ago. The Wizengamot tried him in an open trial. He confessed about how you were also among You-Know-Who's secret minions."

I do not believe this! "And do you believe that, Remus? Do you believe that I would secretly join the Dark Lord? The one who killed my best friend and family? You know that Charlus was more of a father to me than my own father was!"

"That only makes your treachery far more disgusting!" came the swift reply.

"Why are you hell-bent on believing that I am the bad guy?" Sirius exclaimed. "I fought alongside Prongs and Lily! You know very well that I would give my life for him. You know how I would do anything to protect Harry."

"And yet you removed him before Dumbledore could arrange some safe place for him to stay? I know they made you godfather. How wrong they were!" Remus sneered.

"JAMES WARNED ME ABOUT TRUSTING DUMBLEDORE!" Sirius yelled out in exasperation and rage. He wanted to show his friend the truth, but Remus was hell bent on accusing him as a traitor. "HE FUCKING TOLD ME TO TAKE HARRY AWAY! AWAY FROM BRITAIN!"

"How many lies? How many more will you speak, Sirius? James tell you not to trust Dumbledore. What am I, an idiot?" Remus countered, anger and betrayal lacing his tone.

"Well you are almost begging to be considered as one." Sirius muttered irritably.

"I am not a fool, Sirius." Remus said. He wanted to take his friend apart for the betrayal. "James worshipped Dumbledore. He was the one who immediately took up Dumbledore's suggestion of moving into the cottage under a Fidelius charm. He bloody chose Peter as secret-keeper when Dumbledore suggested the idea. And you want me to believe that James, in his dying moments, told you that Albus Dumbledore was not to be trusted. I am not an idiot, Padfoot."

Hearing his Marauders name filled with betrayal sent a stab of pain through Sirius's heart. "No, but you always had a worshipful mindset regarding Dumbledore." He replied softly, not willing to believe that his friend was accusing him of being a traitor.

"Dumbledore let me, a werewolf, get an education at Hogwarts. He bent several rules just to see that I was educated properly. He defeated Grindelwald and brought peace to magical Europe. He was our last stand against Voldemort. He was the leader of the Light, and you want me to believe that James told you that Dumbledore was not to be trusted?" Remus's voice was filled with disbelief.

"Would you believe a pensieve memory?" Sirius tried, hoping his friend would let him prove that the accusations were a lie and the truth about Dumbledore.

"No." Remus refused the offer without hesitation. "You are a Black. Moreover, you were always skilled in the mind arts. It would be child's play for you to fake a memory. Your brother confessed about your true allegiance, but we lacked the proof to initiate an official investigation. Now I know the truth, Black. You took Harry away and confined him here. You want him to grow up with the very ideals that James and Lily fought against. Dumbledore was right."

So... Dumbledore poisoned his mind. Running through their conversation made Sirius reach a conclusion that made his blood boil with rage.

"Dumbledore sent you. Dumbledore told you to contact me. That's right, Remus? Isn't it?" He almost laughed out, half in amusement and half in pain and betrayal. "You did not come here as my friend and Marauder. You came here as Dumbledore's crony. You wanted to find out my location. So," His eyes narrowed. "are Dumbledore and the others coming here any moment?"

Remus stayed silent, eyes blazing with a hidden fury.

"Unfortunately for them, Lupin," Sirius's tone turned feral. "This manor is under the Blood Fidelius. Only those welcomed by me can even find their way in. And after today, you won't able to either."

"Why Black? Going to kill me?" Remus sneered coldly.

Sirius' eyes widened, but then he controlled himself. His fists clenched. "I am devastated that you did not believe me, Remus. You chose Dumbledore over your friends. I will remember that. And no, Remus, I will not kill you. I will simply remove the knowledge from your mind."

Remus sneered. "Try your worst!" His wand whipped out into his palm.

What followed the next fifteen minutes could be considered as one of the fiercest duels ever fought. It was not a war between mages of immense magical prowess. It was not a duel between titans like Dumbledore, Grindelwald or Voldemort. It was a fight of pure skill, a duel between two deadly fighters, both similar in magical prowess, fighting each other with one single thought running through their minds.

Vengeance.

Spells collided with each other, walls were torn and the furniture was obliterated with the pieces transfigured into powerful attacks against each other. Snakes, birds, javelins, spears, arrows, lightning, fire, water and charms were thrown with precision. Two powerful spell repertoires clashed with immense skill. Light, Dark and Grey spells were liberally thrown around. All the knowledge of magic employed in pranking, the skill they developed together was now being used against each other as the two remaining marauders engaged each other in a deadly dance.

A deadly dance that seemed to only end with the death of one of them.

As the fight continued to chip away at their stamina and magical reserves, two objectives dominated the mind of Remus. His primary emotion was vengeance, his inner wolf baying for the blood of the traitor. The secondary objective was to give Dumbledore as much time as possible. The old mage had divined a ritual based on the forbidden arts of blood magic to counter the Blood Fidelius around Sirius's location. It was magically taxing, and required Remus to remain on location for forty minutes.

Despite all the stigma surrounding the arts in the modern day, Blood-based magic was still considered to be one of the strongest arcane arts available to mages. It allowed the achievement of effects that were considered impossible within the normal arts. While the headmaster had to perform heavy research in a field with which he had little experience, Dumbledore had divined the ritual successfully. However, the success came with quite a few conditions. Carrying a specific artefact on his person filled with the blood of the caster and himself, Remus would have to reveal his true intentions and stay at the location for forty minutes.

It was opposed to the principle the Fidelius charm was based on. TRUST. The person knowing the secret needed to betray the host with full knowledge of the consequences and yet hold his ground to stay in said location, even if the betrayer would have to fight for his life. It was quite difficult, but it was the only chance.

After all, it was all being done for Harry.

On the other hand, Sirius was fighting with a single thought in mind. His son. Ares James Black. There was no way he would let the old fool come in and take little Harry from him. No fucking way. If this meant standing against the world, he would do it.

He moved beyond his usual skills and was now relying on the deadly magic that he had learnt from his grandfather. Magicks dark and powerful enough that Sirius was still wary of using the full extent of them. He was still trying to defeat his old friend using normal offensive magic, but it seemed that he needed to up his ante.

What neither of the two duelists had noticed was that the spells had set fire to a curtain, causing a lot of smoke to slowly invade the manor. Neither of them knew that the smoke had attracted the attention of the baby who was playing in a room a few doors away.

Three-year-old Ares James Black was busy playing with his toy broomstick. Sirius had bought it for him and applied wide scale cushioning charms all over the play room so that he might not fall and hurt himself. Besides, the toy broomstick had inbuilt child-safety charms. The little lad was almost a natural; with the way he madly flying all across the room with little instruction.

Suddenly he heard noises and bangs coming out of the hallway. He heard his Pa' foo shouting and yelling in anger. Feeling apprehensive, he slowly came down to the ground and, leaving his broomstick on the floor, darted out of the room by pushing open the door. He knew that his Pa' foo roaring in anger and shouting at the top of his voice. That felt strange. His Pa' foo never shouted. Not at him.

The little boy darted down the corridor into the hallway, hearing.

Reaching the hallway, he was completely shocked and surprised at the event taking place. The entire place was in ruins, with smoke and fire blazing out. The curtain was now completely torn and burning with bright flames and the emerald rug - his playground in the hallway - was completely obliterated. In the living room, there was another big man standing opposite his Pa' foo and was firing spells and shouting. His Pa' foo was trying to stop him, firing jets of light back at him.

Then the big man fired out a jet of dark crimson.

The events triggered memories buried deep within the mind of the small child.

A loud bang! The door to his playroom opened and his mother darted over to him, her hair swishing around her face. He always liked to play with her red hairs. It was so curly and long. He liked to twirl his little finger around his mother's hairs. His mother would always sing him a lullaby to sleep. Moreover, his Dada would always take him to fly. He loved the feeling when he flew on his broomstick. He—

There was another loud bang, and there was fire. He started crying.

His mummy embraced him and started whispering to him anxiously.

"Don't worry Harry! Everything will be all right! Mummy loves you! Mummy will take care of you! Daddy loves you! Mummy loves you!" she was nearly chanting the words.

Then, the door to his playroom broke into hundreds of splinters, hitting his mummy who cried out in pain. One of the splinters created a small gash on his head, causing him pain. A tall man in a dark cloak stood on the doorway, his wand in his hand. Harry did not like him at all. He was a big bad man.

"Step aside! And I will spare your life!"

"NO!" his mummy screamed. "Not Harry! Kill me instead! Kill me! Please let him stay alive!"

Harry felt something stir inside of him. It was just like how he felt when he was very hungry.

"Move aside girl!" The bad man admonished her.

"Please don't kill Harry! Let him be alive! Kill me instead!"

"Last chance girl! Move aside!"

His mummy was steadfast as ever. She stood gallantly in front of him, protecting Harry from the bad man.

"Mummy!" Harry cried.

"Be safe Harry!" his mummy told him one last time.

The bad man let out a loud laugh. Harry did not like him at all.

He raised his wand and uttered a spell- a spell that was forever embedded in Harry's mind.

"AVADA KEDAVRA!"

His mummy let out a shriek of pain, as she embraced the entire jet of green light that was coming to Harry's path and absorbed it; falling down on the floor.

That odd feeling in Harry's abdomen was now almost a burning sensation.

"MUMMMY!"

The bad man let out another laugh.

"AVADA KEDAVRA!"

The jet of green flew out at him, and Harry erupted out in rage. His mummy was silent. The bad man had done something to her.

"MUMMY!"

Something moved within him. A bright pulse energy tore through his body and radiated out of him. The pulse of energy met the killing curse midway and threw it back hitting the bad man, who was shocked at the occurrence. Harry was too angry to care.

"MUMMY! MUMMY!" He cried in desperation. The pain inside him was burning. He wanted it to stop. There was a scream and something like a black tendril suddenly entered into his forehead through the gash, causing a burning sensation. Harry cried out in agony, crying for his mummy, for his daddy, for it to stop.

However, the pain would just not stop. The tendril had completely entered his head by now and then, his forehead was searing with pain. As if someone was cutting his skin.

Then, it was suddenly over. No more pain. No more burning.

Harry lost himself to oblivion.

Now that memory brought back those feelings inside him. Another big bad man was hurting his Pa' foo. The magic roared inside him, and Ares acted on instinct.

"PA' FOO!"

Sirius looked sharply at Ares to see his son standing in the hallway. The shock of finding his son here, amidst the battle, stupefied him, and that proved to be his undoing. The pause in his action allowed Remus to take advantage, a powerful bone-breaker shattering his left shoulder and causing him to cry out in pain. That brought a smile in Remus' face, a smile that vanished almost instantly, upon hearing the sound of rage that came from the young child.

Harry!

A huge shaft of energy shot out of Ares's outstretched hand towards Remus. He hastily put up his strongest shield but it was obliterated in a second, as the shaft struck Remus, flinging the man towards a wall at high speed. Remus hit one of the wall with a sickening thud and fell unceremoniously to the ground. Blood trickled out from his head, as he lost unconsciousness.

Feeling his strength sapped in a moment, Ares slid to the floor as he fell unconscious.

Blinking to take the events that had occurred in front of him, Sirius stood shakily, holding his wand to his left shoulder as he cast a minor healing spell. His shoulder was shattered, but the spell would hold him together until he could get to a healer. Seeing Ares on the floor, he darted towards him. Kneeling on the floor, he checked his breath and pulse. Ares was still breathing and his pulse was strong. Realising he was knocked out due to magical exhaustion, Sirius levitated Ares and placed him on a conjured mattress. Calling Kreacher and instructing him to clear the room, Sirius looked at Ares again, to reassure himself. Ares was perfectly alright. He just needed a Pepper-up potion. Or Two.

Taking one last glance at his son, Sirius limped his way across the hallway. His knee was bleeding, courtesy of one of Rem-Lupin's severing curses that might have hit him. Blood was oozing out, but he would deal with it later. For now, he needed to obliviate the bastard, and throw him outside the manor's wards. He had felt the Fidelius shifting out. Dumbledore must have employed some kind of obscure magic to counteract the Fidelius and somehow tied them to Lupin. He berated himself for deactivating the wards for Lupin's visit. He saw the unconscious man, and waved his wand in front of him, yelling...

"OBLIVIATE!"

Checking to ensure his memories were completely erased and removing his access to the Fidelius, he levitated the wolf, walked out of the manor through the front door and summoned his broom. Mounting the broom, and throwing Lupin's unconscious form in front of him, he flew to the edge of the wards. He could feel the Fidelius disintegrating and he was worried that he would be found.

Ares would not be safe anymore.

Reaching the edge of the warded property, he let out a yell and threw the bloodied man beyond the ward. A day earlier, he would have given his life for the man he had called friend, but now, he was nothing but a traitor. Ironic, considering Lupin accused him of being one. Sirius focused his occlumency, suppressing his emotions threatening to overwhelm him and slowly grasped control over his mind. He felt the Fidelius stabilising as soon as Remus was outside the wards. After an anxious twenty seconds, the Fidelius was strong was usual.

Sirius turned the broom around and flew back to the manor's now destroyed foyer. Limping into the living room – Kreacher had cleaned out the debris and was now replacing the curtains - he took Ares in his arms, and threw some Floo powder into the fireplace, shouting "Gringotts, Bulgaria!"

The fire within turned bright green as Sirius, holding onto his son tightly, walked into the flames.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:(Dated20-12-2017) We have one actor for this chapter.

REMUS LUPIN – PAUL BETTANY

Don't you guys think that Paul would have done a much better job at this role….? I wish I could Imperius him… Not that I would.

Skadarken: Don't believe him, people. He's obsessed with that spell.

My fellow author has yet to the subtle art of subtlety.

Skadarken: Says the guy with the grammar of a five-year old. Either way, you will continue to see more Magical theory from this point onwards. And quite a bit of exposition.

Oh, Don't worry. Harry and Daphne will get their screen space. We have… brewed plans for such eventualities.

Skadarken: DON'T BELIEVE HIM, PEOPLE. HE'S NOT BREWING PLANS. HE'S BREWING AMO-

*THUD*

As I was saying before my fellow rudely interrupted me, I shall endeavour to abandon age old practices and usher in new era of romance never seen before.

Random Fan – Good job on the Dolores impersonation, Arcturus.

*Brain cells begin popping*…Enjoythestoryseeyoulater