A/N) Thank you for the reviews for this story. This story is all planned and I hope to be able to update weekly.

Marked

Chapter One

August 30th 1976

"Do you reckon you'll get Lily to date you this year?" asked Sirius, leaning back against the headboard, his hands behind his head, a wide teasing grin stretching across his face.

James scowled, brushing a hand through his already messy black hair. "It would be nice if she stopped hating me…" What was he doing wrong? All he was trying to do was impress her. He wanted to prove himself worthy of dating her. Why couldn't she give him a chance?

Sirius scoffed. "I don't think that is going to happen. She thinks you're a bit conceited."

"But… she likes Moony! And she does talk to you…" replied James, sounding like a little kid with the whine in his voice.

Sirius shrugged. "I think Evans feels sorry for me. We have had similar issues with…" he trailed off, but James knew what he was referring to. Evan's sister didn't like her very much, and though Sirius' family detested him, at least Evans still had her parents. Sirius had no one. "And well, Moony doesn't go around hexing her friends."

"Former friends," said James, "she didn't talk to Snivellus for the rest of the year. I know how stubborn she can be. I doubt she'll forgive him for calling her a you-know-what…"

Sirius sat back. "Just be yourself."

"I am!" replied James.

"Prongs, I don't mean that," explained Sirius quietly. "She hasn't seen the real James Potter. I have. Show her that and maybe… just maybe she'll realise that she does like you."

"The real James Potter…?" James shook his head. He didn't understand what Sirius meant.

"You'll understand someday, Prongs," said Sirius, gently.

August 31st 1976

On the last day of the holiday, one thing happened that Sirius had not expected, and that was the arrival of his uncle Alphard Black, escorted by Charlus and Dorea Potter. Though it was common knowledge the Potter's lived in Godric's Hollow, it wasn't known exactly where in the village they lived as the house was under many protections and only those that had been to the house knew where it was.

Alphard, having never been to the house before had required to be brought by his aunt Dorea. Alphard was the younger brother of Sirius' mother and completely unlike her. He was kind and gentle and had some sympathy for Muggles and Muggle-borns, however he also displayed the worst of the Slytherin traits, ensuring he had not done what Sirius had when going to Hogwarts. Sirius, remained, the only Black to have ever avoided Slytherin house. It was a feat he was proud of.

Alphard's black hair was combed straight back, and his chiselled jaw had the scrapings of stubble. He wore a dark suit and his grey eyes bore into Sirius' own. "If it is alright with you, Sirius, I would like to talk to you."

Sirius nodded. "Fine." Unlike the rest of his family, Uncle Alphard didn't hate him. He always supported the right to choose one's own beliefs.

Mr Potter walked forward and clasped his brother's hand, leading Charlus and Dorea out of the living room. "James! Come on!"

Sirius glanced at his friend, realising that James wanted to stay. "Its fine, Prongs. I can trust him."

James had a hard time trusting any member of the Black family after what had been done to Sirius nine months before. Sirius pushed him away, and reluctantly he walked away, though that wouldn't stop him listening at the door if he could help it.

"Uncle," began Sirius, "if this is about…"

Alphard Black shook his head. "It's not about you running away. I've come here to give you a warning. My sister wants Regulus to inherit everything. She hasn't been able to disinherit you...yet. You are the direct heir to this line. If you have an untimely accident then Regulus will stand to inherit everything that is going to you."

Sirius' lips were wet. "So… my dear old mother," he spat the word out, "wants me dead?" It didn't surprise him, not after last Christmas. If he hadn't of escaped then Sirius doubted he'd be alive now. He shuddered, remembering that day. He didn't particularly want to remember but it was difficult to forget the pain… No! Shut it out! he thought furiously.

"That is what she intends. You father too. Killing you will ensure Regulus inherits everything," confirmed Alphard. There was weariness in his voice as if he regretted what he had to say next. "Sirius… your brother turns sixteen soon. He is already marked to be given to the Dark Lord, just like you were… Unlike you, he will take the Mark."

Sirius swallowed. He had a feeling he knew where this was going.

"Unlike you, he will survive. It is my understanding that 'Bella has been instructed by both your mother and the Dark Lord that you are to be killed and made an example of… unless you agree to join the ranks of the Dark Lord and stay away from blood traitors like the Potters." A small grin tugged at Alphard's lips. Though he disagreed partially with blood purity, he still thought there was merit to the ideas being pursued by certain individuals however Sirius suspected it was a cover so he could stay within the family circle but maintain a more neutral position than Sirius.

Sirius rolled his eyes. "That is never gonna happen." He folded his arms across his chest. So, he had dear old cousin Trixie coming after him, did he? She was mentally unbalanced, completely insane and totally needed to be behind bars.

Alphard reached forward and placed his hands on Sirius' shoulders. "Listen to me, this family needs you. Do not take any foolish risks. You may be returning to Hogwarts but 'Bella is crafty and slippery. She will find a way to get to you. I do not wish for the heir of this house to lose his life before he has a chance to restore it to its noble origins. Fortunately you will remain heir until you die – the magic involved securing your inheritance, binding it to you, can only be broken by your death: that is why your parents want you dead. Regulus will only inherit –"

"Once I'm dead," Sirius finished for him. The thought of his parent's sending his crazy cousin after him should have scared him but it didn't. He was a Gryffindor. He could handle her. "Look, Uncle, I appreciate you telling me this, I really do, but I'll be fine. They can't get at me here nor can they at Hogwarts. I'm not stupid enough to go looking for her either."

"Sirius, you stand a chance of making this family great again… And I do not mean by following the pure-blood lines of your parents either. But you cannot do it dead," Alphard said, "I do not wish to see you die."

"I won't. I have a few tricks up my sleeve," answered Sirius. It was true, he did. "How is Regulus anyway?" His younger brother was only fourteen months younger than him and a year below him at Hogwarts. Since running away, Sirius had, had little to no contact with his younger sibling.

"Regulus is well. Your parents plan to unveil him as the heir when he turns sixteen in January even if you have not been dealt with by then. Within a year our world will be in open warfare with the Dark Lord," explained Alphard patiently. "I am sure at Christmas this year he will be marked."

Sirius frowned. His parents had tried to brand him with the Dark Mark after his sixteenth birthday. As far as he knew, the Dark Lord did not accept anyone under age. "Reg won't be sixteen then. He'll still be fifteen."

"It appears Lucius Malfoy has provided a strong case for Regulus to be included earlier than usual. Your brother will be marked three weeks before he turns sixteen. If he's not marked at that point, he will have to wait until the Easter holidays and Regulus has already stated his intention to remain at school for his OWLs, leaving his own marking until the summer holiday. Regulus and your parents do not wish to wait that long," explained Alphard. "The Dark Lord values the Black family and has agreed to take Regulus on at that time… providing of course…"

"I've been dealt with," Sirius clarified. "So, as long as I am alive, Regulus can't be marked."

"Those are the terms your family have been given by the Dark Lord," answered Alphard.

Sirius grinned defiantly. "I'd better not die then!"

Alphard Black hadn't stayed after he had parted Sirius with the warning he had come to deliver. Whilst James' parents entertained Charlus and Dorea Potter, the two boys settled into James' Quidditch obsessed room. The walls were covered with posters of James' favourite Quidditch team – Puddlemere United – and his school books were piled high on a book shelf whilst his desk was filled with various roles of parchment that he had yet to pack for the school year.

"Gonna tell me what that was about Padfoot?" asked James, referring to the private meeting between Sirius and his uncle Alphard.

Sirius was silent for a few minutes, mulling over whether to inform his friend or not, but he knew James Potter well enough that he was very good at finding information on his own. Undoubtedly James Potter would find out Sirius' parents had marked him for death.

"My parents want me dead," he stated evenly. "And they've sent dear cousin Trixie to be the one to do me in."

James stared. "They've done what?"

Sirius repeated it and shrugged. "I'm not that bothered. It's not like she can really get at me can she? One, no one knows where the Potter family's house is – even Alphard doesn't know and he's been here. Two, Hogwarts is protected by Dumbledore and is completely safe. I'm pretty certain 'Bella never found any of the secret passages either. It isn't her style. Three, if my parents want me dead, the only way they can realistically achieve this is if I went back to Grimmauld Place but that is not gonna happen. I'm sixteen now, they can't force me to."

James frowned, scrapping his right hand underneath his chin. "You're still underage. You can't use magic outside school yet. Technically, until you are seventeen they could force the magical courts to order you to come home."

"But they won't," stated Sirius smugly, "because they know I would just let the Ministry have my memories of what they did to me. They can't risk the exposure of what they tried to do. And they know I would do it – I'm not a coward. Trying to force me to return to Grimmauld Place won't happen."

"Look, mate, you have to be serious-"

"I'm always Sirius."

James slapped him on the arm. "This isn't time for jokes about your name!" he shouted grumpily.

Sirius grinned.

"Look, you don't understand what it was like for us when you arrived here last year," began James, intent on letting Sirius know it was not alright for him to not worry about his crazy cousin. "You were half-dead – and…" He found the words difficult to get out. "I don't want to lose you and nor do my parents. They love you like a second son."

Sirius sighed, a sombre expression appearing on his face. James knew Sirius understood. Sirius ran a hand through his dark hair, the long strands fell past his eyes and curled around his chin. The look he had always made him look dashing and Sirius knew it. "Look, James, this was inevitable. After last Christmas I was expecting to be targeted. What I didn't think they would do is set my crazy cousin on me…but it does make sense. If she succeeds my parents are not complicit in my murder, are they? They can pretend to be sad at losing their heir but in reality they would be pleased Bella has succeeded. My parents will be able to deny any involvement as they are not explicably linked to Voldemort and his Death Eaters. Plus, their contacts in the Ministry would be given an incentive to not complicit them in any investigation involving my murder. That's the problems with being a Black. They could get away with anything as long as there isn't enough proof against them – and the Pureblood families always have ways of getting around a prosecution."

"You'll have to be careful, Padfoot," said James. "Don't take any risks at school."

"They won't be able to get me at school. It's too well protected. Bella may try but she won't succeed. And they don't even know where you live either and they know I live with you."

James frowned. He didn't like Sirius taking the threat in a complacent manner. "They'll find a way to get you, especially when you least expect it."

Sirius leaned forward on James' bed and looked his best friend in the eyes. James could see the eyes swimming with confidence and pure nerve. "I'm not going to let them scare me. If they want me, they'll have to come to me. Not the other way around."

James nodded slowly. He just couldn't shake the bad feeling building that was pooling in the bottom of his stomach.

Later, as James lay in bed trying to get to sleep, he couldn't help but recall the dreadful Christmas day last year when Sirius had arrived at his home, battered and bruised and nearly dead.

To save Sirius' life, Mrs Potter had called for healers to come to their home. Sirius' injuries were far too severe to risk apparating or flooing him to St Mungo's. He might not have survived the journey. Looking outside from his window, James had seen a pool of dark blood covering the snow where Sirius had lain – a lot of blood – before his father had vanished the blood after taking Sirius inside.

The three healers had worked on Sirius throughout the night – a sleepless one for all three Potter's. James had refused a dreamless sleep potion, choosing to sit outside the room Sirius had been put in, wrapped in a blanket whilst the healers battled to save his life.

Eventually his father had pulled him aside.

"Sirius' condition is worse than we thought when we brought him in to the house," began Mr Potter quietly. "He's not out of danger yet but the healers are confident he will recover."

"What's wrong with him?" asked James.

Mr Potter sighed, running a hand through his grey hair. It had once been messy like James', now his father preferred a shorter haircut. "He has numerous broken bones which have been set, internal bleeding in his stomach which the healers are currently trying to drain, a fractured skull and his spine has been twisted, both of those injuries have been set but will require potions to keep them stabilised for a month. His entire body is covered in whip marks and one particular gash on his arm makes me believe they tried to carve something in to his arm… and…"

James felt sick and he knew it showed on his face. He nodded to his father to continue. He needed to know so he could help Sirius. His friend would need him.

"I hesitate to tell you this as I cannot believe they would attempt such a thing on a child…" Mr Potter swallowed. He was silent for a few moments as if he was readying himself to speak a horrid truth that he hoped was just a nightmare. "Sirius bears unmistakable signs of the Cruciatus Curse being performed on him."

James' lips were dry. "The torture curse?" he croaked.

Mr Potter nodded solemnly. "Unfortunately it seems that way. Based on the injuries that were sustained, whoever did this to Sirius was aiming to kill him. I knew the Blacks were a dark family but to turn on their own heir…"

"They've never liked him, dad. He's not like them," James pointed out. Solemnly, he asked: "When can I see him?"

"Tomorrow," answered his father.

James remembered for the rest of the night and day until he could see Sirius, he had kept dozing off, only to wake up feeling sick at the thought of the injuries that had been inflicted upon his friend.

He lay there, on the eve of returning to Hogwarts, his mind whirling over what he could do to protect Sirius. He wasn't going to let anyone touch his best friend, not if he could help it.

If they want to kill Sirius, they'll have to go through me first.

And that was a vow James Potter did not intend to break.

To be continued...

Please let me know what you think!

Just a few points:

So, I have a bit of creative freedom with Sirius' reason for running away from home since JKR has yet to reveal the exact circumstances that led to him doing that. I think I'm doing something different.

I think it is also interesting that despite Sirius leaving his family they couldn't take his inheritance away. I believe it could be to do with bloodlines and that it only passes on when rightful heir dies - obviously that doesn't really explain how Harry inherited Grimmauld Place after Sirius died instead of Bellatrix but I think Sirius was crafty enough to find a new way to ensure his chosen heir inherited instead of his murderer. Obviously the Black's wanted Regulus to inherit and I think whilst Sirius lived Regulus couldn't which is why I'm going the route of his parents enlisting Bellatrix's help.

And, just because Sirius is returning to Hogwarts, it doesn't mean he is safe from Bellatrix either... *evil grin*

The next chapter will hopefully be posted next week!

Until then,

the-writer1988