"So what will you do when you go to Number 4, Privet Drive?" asked Rowena.
"I will not attempt to make direct contact with Harry Potter until I have established myself as a new neighbor to his legal guardians," replied Sirius.
"How will you achieve this position?"
"I will buy a nearby house and create an illusion of a wealthy middle-aged man who has a single son- me."
"Excellent. Now, what did I tell you about Harry Potter?"
"I must not tell him he is a wizard until he receives the information from Hagrid."
"Fantastic." Rowena beamed. Her methods of education had never failed her yet, and they never would.
Sirius did his best not to wince as he massaged his throbbing ass.
Rowena cleared her throat, and said, "We'd best perform the de-aging ritual immediately. The sooner you use that Time-Turner, the sooner we'll be able to gather information through you.
To say that Sirius was having a shitty day was an understatement.
Sirius was having a REALLY shitty day.
First, he had been stunned- no, killed, by his cousin Bellatrix. Then he had to go to the Underworld and meet Death and his gaggle of geeky geezers. And after he finally managed to get free from them, he was then informed that the ritual for de-aging him would take a couple hours- so he had to wait in the Underworld.
The dead souls that grappled at his robes weren't the most pleasant companions. He compared them to dementors, only without the soul sucking. Well, maybe.
Were dementors the dead souls of people? Really?
"No, they are not." said Rowena, who emerged from the brewery.
"Are you going to keep surprising me like that? That'll get annoying. Fast."
"Shut it. Anyway, the ritual requires a few ingredients that we currently do not possess. Salazar and Godric are up in the mortal realm to fetch them. I suspect Herpo is also with them, may the gods bless the man."
"Wasn't Herpo an evil wizard? I mean, he IS called Herpo the Foul, isn't he?"
Rowena sighed. "That is a very good question. But there is no simple answer for it. Instead, I'd like to ask you a question of my own- what defines a wizard as evil?"
"The practicing of dark magic. The intent to use magic for evil." replied Sirius.
Rowena smiled at the answer. "Aha. The latter one of your answers is where we draw the line. Indeed, we can call those who intend for their magic to cause more harm than good to be evil. However, the first one of your definitions is absolutely wrong. Dark magic in itself cannot be called evil."
"How is that so? All practitioners of it are evil- well, most of them that I know of."
"Merlin was an avid user of Dark magic. I was a user of Dark Magic."
Rowena leaned into Sirius and looked into his eyes, her smile all but gone.
"Lily Potter was a user of Dark magic. That is how she allowed Harry to survive the Killing Curse from Voldemort all those years ago."
Sirius's face darkened. "You lie."
"Ask her yourself." Rowena said, as she vanished.
And then, from the foggy forest surrounding the castle, a trio of people approached. One of them a man with untamable jet black hair with glasses and fine stubble- recently shaved. Another was a woman with red hair and bright green eyes and a bright smile. The last of the trio was a pale man with elegant black hair. Sirius recognized him, but only barely. It had been many years since he had seen his little brother face to face.
"What's up?" said the ghost of James Potter, as the three of them arrived.
Sirius was at a loss for words. He stumbled towards his best friend-
And promptly punched him in his pretty Potter face.
"That hurt."
"THAT, was for dying on me all those years ago. THAT, was for ever being stupid enough to trust Wormtail-"
"-in my defense, we both trusted that git."
"Shut up. I'm not done being angry with you yet."
"I missed you too." and the two Marauders embraced.
Lily and Regulus tried to stifle their laughter. The latter failed, which turned Sirius's attention towards him.
"Brother. It's been a long time."
"Yes, it has. How are you?"
"Bit of a strange question, considering we're dead."
"Well, you won't be dead for long. I want you to tell us all about it. Life after our deaths."
And so Sirius told them. He told them everything he knew from stories he had heard from Harry, or from the Daily Prophet. There were tears. (Lily.) There were crude jokes. (James- and Regulus, occasionally.) All three of them were surprised to hear of Sirius's long and terrible imprisonment in Azkaban, James was especially furious.
"That slimy little shit! If I could have 5 minutes with him…"
"So you could snog him? I could get you two a broom closet…"
Sirius's joke worked. They all shared a laugh.
"Hey, I was wondering. How did Regulus find you two? I mean, obviously, you weren't acquainted while you were still alive."
"About that… About a month after we died, I sort of ran into him. Seriously thought he was you, at first."
"Of course you seriously thought he was Sirius. I am Sirius. Very serious about being Sirius."
"You're not being serious about this at all, are you?"
"Of course I'm being Sirius. I'm always Sirius."
"Shut up. Anyways, we had a long talk. He's my new death buddy. Unofficially a Dead-Marauder."
"What the fuck is a Dead-Marauder."
Just then, Lily shoved James to the side. "This isn't the point of us being here. How much did Rowena tell you? About me and the use of… you know what I mean."
"Well, she told me that you were a practitioner of Dark magic. That it was Dark magic that allowed for Harry to reflect the Killing Curse at that young age." Sirius replied.
"She's right. The spell, well spells, I used were made by combining the spells to create a Horcrux and to rebound and repel any spell seeking to harm Harry. This includes the use of blood magic, wards, and anything else I could muster up." Lily gave a sigh. "It also meant that Harry had to be sent to my sister for the blood magic part of the ritual to activate."
"A Horcrux?" Sirius paled. "Lily, that is the darkest kind of magic. It involves MURDER. There is a reason why it's even rare to find in the Black library! Who had to die to save Harry? WHO?" But Sirius already knew the answer.
Lily gave a bitter smile. "Me, you dolt. Voldemort may have cast the Killing Curse, but it was my life that I willingly gave to complete the ritual. Harry is now officially one of Voldemort's and my own Horcruxes. A bit of a sick bond, don't you think?"
Just then, Rowena appeared to inform them of the rituals' near completion. "Wrap it up, guys. Sirius here isn't going to be here for a while so be sure to make your farewells matter."
"We don't have nearly enough time, Sirius." James clasped his friend's hand. "As much as I'd like to exchange pleasantries and drink tea all day, you have a job to do." A single tear escape Prongs. "You have to pr- you have to protect my son. My Harry. Tell him I love him. Tell him I'm sorry."
Lily was up next. She put a gentle hand on her husband's shoulder and grasped Sirius's with the other. "You have to be strong, Padfoot. Harry is going to need all the help he can get if he wants to both expel the Horcrux inside of him and also defeat Voldemort. Be his anchor when he is lost. Be his shield when he is in danger. Be the parent that neither James nor I ever got to be." And Lily Potter wept, right alongside her husband.
James spoke up once more. "The Potter Vault. We never got around to establishing his inheritance at Gringotts. I know that you're already filthy rich enough, but we want Harry to know that his parents left him something more than just money. Inside the vault, there are heirlooms, photographs, keys to forgotten houses and maps to concealed ones. My family may not have been the wealthiest family in Britain but we sure did have a lot of stuff in that vault. Make sure that Harry gets it. That ONLY Harry gets it."
"Speaking of inheritance. We need to talk, Sirius." Regulus said, gently pulling James away.
"Don't. I don't want to hear about the Black family anymore. It's given me nothing but grief and loss."
"We're not going to. I want you to do something else, something that you'll also need from me." Regulus produced a ring from his pocket. More specifically, the signet ring of the Black family. "When I died. I fully expected the Black family to have been eradicated. All of our cousins, we have either killed off, disowned, or married away to other families." Regulus made a sad face. "Yes, I even thought that you wouldn't make it. That is why I brought it with me when Kreacher and I made the trip." Regulus then grabbed his brother and made him face him. "Listen to me. We both know what a Horcrux is. Voldemort has 7 of them, including Harry. Though I only acquired this information after attempting to steal one, it is vital to understanding what we're up against."
"7 Horcruxes? Are you mad, or has the world gone insane? Do you mean that he split his own soul 7 times?"
"To achieve immortality, that man has destroyed himself. Before you can safely remove Harry's Horcrux, you need to have a better understanding of Horcruxes themselves. I want you to go to Gringotts and speak to a goblin named Ragbolk. He'll tell you everything you need, as long as you present him with one of Voldemort's Horcruxes."
"How the bloody hell am I to know where to find one at all?"
"You'll find that I haven't really died in vain. Go to our ancestral home. Kreacher will have the locket, one of Voldemort's Horcruxes. Take it, take it to Gringotts. Ragbolk will help you. And also…" Regulus's expression softened. "Kreacher has nobody but you. Please take care of him, he's had a very troubled life. Don't abuse him. For me, brother. You'll find him much more agreeable if you tell him you're my son."
"You're WHAT?"
"We might not have mentioned that part of the ritual yet," Rowena explained. "We're adopting you as Orion Regulus Black, son of Regulus Arcturus Black and nephew of Sirius Orion Black."
"Did you seriously just mix our two names?"
"Pretty much. The reuse of names is common in your family, no?"
"Point made. Carry on please."
"You'll be acting as if you were the son of your little brother. Ok, that sounds completely wrong, but bear with me. If you bring your signet ring to Gringotts and explain that your father was Regulus Black. They'll run some tests, but we'll tamper with your magical signature so you'll be okay."
"Is that even possible?"
"Mate, I founded Hogwarts. I built the bloody place. You really think that it's the safest place in Britain for nothing? Just relax, and let the magic flow."
"Ok. When do we start?"
"When Godric finishes mixing pixie dust with a solution of maggots."
"Do I want to know the rest of the ritual?"
"Oh, gods no."
"Figured."
A/N: Hello, my beautiful readers. This is chapter 2 of Carpe Noctem. There has been almost no incredible advancement in the plot as of yet, though I'll be sure to get out at least 2 chapters in February that mean something important to the plot. I'm planning for each chapter to be around 2000~3000 words long, though that may change depending on the importance and/or the content of the chapter. Stay tuned, there'll be another update relatively soon.
Review and I'll be the happiest man alive 3