A/N: All that you've seen of Orion (Formerly Sirius) is not all that there is to him. 'Sirius' isn't dead.
-Flashback-
"Do you understand what we are about to do to you?"
"I do."
"Do you understand that the ritual is irreversible? You will remain in this form until the day you die."
"I understand."
"While we will be successful in cutting all ties between you and Sirius Black, ensuring that no peril shall occur from you encountering him, this will ensue some changes, both physical and mental, for you."
"Mental? Explain, please."
"Each of us, the Founders, will be imbuing some shards of our souls within you."
"You want to use me as a vessel, to create a Horcrux of your own?"
"A Horcrux is created when the act of murder has occurred. No, we are simply transferring slivers of our power to you. Your magical ability will not see much change, and neither will your memories. However, Gryffindor's sliver will increase your boldness and battle reflexes. Helga's shard will boost your stamina. She also asks me to tell you not to be too harsh to Kreacher. Salazar has passed upon some of his ambition through his sliver. Whenever you have an objective, his ambition within you will try to find a way to achieve it. And finally, I will give you my wisdom."
"Are you saying that I'll become wiser?"
"I can't do that. Wisdom is earned, not given. My shard will act more as an adviser that will silently push you towards a more reasonable way of thinking. I must say, your rash acts of craziness that you so much enjoyed in your previous life are a thing of the past now."
"I doubt you can change me that much. Anything else I should know?"
"The magic that we are going to use on you will make you somewhat immune to some common poisons. As I said earlier, the ritual is irreversible, which means that the Polyjuice Potion will have a diluted effect on you if one at all. Thank the gods you are not a Metamorphmagus like your cousin, or the ritual would go horribly wrong."
"Thanks for telling me before you strapped me here."
"Oh shut up. Your form as a black dog will be largely unaffected, though I'd advise you not to try and shift anytime soon. Sirius Black is still very much imprisoned, so any connection that you show with him only increases mistrust towards you."
"Speaking of Sirius Black like I'm not is very confusing. By the way, not many people know of my Animagus form. There are few witnesses to my changing that are still alive."
"Shut up, Orion. The absence of evidence is not the evidence of absence."
"That aphorism makes you sound old and boring."
"I am old, and you can call me boring. The ritual will be starting soon. So make as many jokes as you still can."
"Lady, you can turn me into a kid and make me lose my beautiful facial hair, but you'll never rid me of my humor."
"I like to think otherwise. GODRIC!"
Gryffindor, holding a barrel of what looked to be a weird slimy green substance, carefully walked into the room. Holding a pair of tongs, he gently removed a bluish sphere from the barrel. The sphere glowed with an aura of power, one that only came from-
"Dragons, yes. This is the Cintamani. Only found within a Chinese Fireball that has lived for well over a thousand years. We only have a few of these, so think that it's an honor to be receiving one." Rowena said.
"Aren't they supposed to be able to grant wishes? Why not just wish me to be over with the ritual?"
"That's a myth. Cintamani are just really rare potion ingredients. They are crucial for rituals or brews that require the user to undergo permanent and irreversible change."
"Ok. Now you're officially creeping me out."
At this, Godric laughed. "Don't worry. I've taken my fair share of Cintamani before, and the results are wondrous! I mean, that one time I really needed to get it on with the Nine Muses…"
"GODRIC! He's only a child, behave."
"Ma'am, I'll have you know that I am a fully grown man-"
With a wave of her hand, Sirius fell asleep and Godric's pants caught fire. Godric just laughed.
When Sirius woke up, Rowena was mixing together what appeared to be lima beans and brains the size of baseballs. He shuddered to imagine what the taste would be like.
Godric was casually mashing together a spoonful of wrackspurt paste and the root of an Asphodel Animus. Together with the lima beans and the monkey brains, they would be creating a stabilizer for all the potions soon to be flowing inside of Sirius.
The said subject was currently making a facial impression that would match the likes of Minerva McGonagall and Severus Snape combined.
October 19th, 1980
It was a dark room, with only a few scented candles for light.
A woman, dying of an incurable magical disease, lay on the worn mattress in the corner of the small and quite shabby room. Around her, a young man named Peter Pettigrew and the man he had declared as his master, were in deep and troubling conversation… … …
"You understand what it will take to save your mother, do you not, Wormtail?"
"Ye- Yes milord. I understand well enough, milord. I will give you the address of the Potters as soon as they transfer the position of Secret Keeper to me."
"Good." Voldemort brushed a finger against the forehead of the pale, shivering woman. "Such a shame. To have such rich and powerful friends, but not being able to afford the money to save your own mother… It must be quite… disturbing, for you."
"I- I mean, they are no longer my friends. I live only to serve you, milord." Peter said.
"Of course." Voldemort removed his hand, wiping it on a dishcloth. The small house that Peter had managed to scrape together with the little money he had from doing odd jobs around Knockturn Alley had only 2 rooms and a single mattress to host his ill mother.
It was in one of those shops that Peter had met the Dark Lord.
"Well, Wormtail, I must be going. Do remember that I will not accept any trickery on your part. As soon as I have dealt with the Potter boy, I will be here to heal your mother and not a moment sooner. Do you understand?"
"Yes, milord. Thank you, milord!"
"Good." And with the final word, Voldemort disappeared into the shadows.
All that remained, was the sad sob that escaped the lips of Peter Pettigrew.
"Orion- or Sirius, if I may, can I ask you a question?" asked Newt Scamander.
"Sure."
"You mentioned that in your previous life, you were in hiding from the Ministry of Magic after you escaped Azkaban. Why didn't you go to your house of Grimmauld Place and properly prepare your capture of Peter Pettigrew instead of immediately setting off for Hogwarts?"
Orion smiled tightly. "Well, let me tell you a bit about Azkaban prisoners. Generally, whenever is imprisoned there, they are planted with a tracker that traces the use of magical teleportation- Apparation, I mean. Generally, it's removed if the convict is proven innocent or serves his full sentence, unless their crime is extremely severe. If I wanted to stop by home, I'd had to go all the way to London before making my way to Scotland."
"You could've taken a broom?"
"Well, back to the earlier point, I couldn't go home. I wasn't completely sure of who resided in the house, so carelessly entering would have been a bad idea. All my brooms are in Grimmauld Place as well."
"The Floo?"
"Even more closely watched by the Ministry. Trying to secretly get from one place to another through that is nigh impossible."
"How would you know all this? Are you sure you're not an actual criminal?"
"I was an Auror. I know this stuff."
"How the bloody hell were you an Auror, with a track record like yours?"
"I pulled the right strings. Plus, I had James helping me out with some of it.
Orion and Newt each were sipping on their own mugs of steaming hot coffee. With Newt being partial to the drink due to his wife's love for it, and Orion enjoying the rather Muggle beverage, they naturally when to a café for their weekly meeting.
"Anyways, anything interesting to tell me? I mean, I still don't know a lot about your own exploits." Orion asked.
Newt took a bite from his bagel and swiftly wiped his mouth. "Well, have you ever seen a Cerberus?"
"Well, no. Is that what they're called, Cerberus?"
"Actually, there's a Greek name for it that I really can't bother pronouncing for you. Anyway, I was in Greece last year, searching for some strange cousin of the centaurs that has supposedly lived for thousands of years, named a Chiron, I believe, when I found a Cerberus being attacked by vultures. After I repelled them, I took in the three-headed dog and raised it for about a month."
"Well, where is it now?"
"I left it with the gamekeeper of Hogwarts, a half-giant named Rubeus Hagrid. I know that he's very good at taking care of magical creatures. Huh, perhaps he'll even take the post of professor at Hogwarts for that position someday."
"Hah. Would you, by any chance, be handling dragon eggs as well?"
"Why yes. I have an egg that's going to be ready for hatching in a few months, why?"
"Oh, no reason."
'Except for the fact that Hagrid is going to get quite the prize very soon.'
"Hey, Orion."
"Hmm?"
"When we get to Hogwarts… I want you to have a close eye on a nephew of mine. More like a grand-nephew really. His name is Anthony; he's a really bright boy."
"You can keep an eye on his yourself, can't you? You're coming with me to Hogwarts, after all."
"I'm not on… the best of circumstances with him. His family, the Goldsteins, despise me for leaving Tina those years ago. I daresay he'll forgo Care of Magical Creatures altogether once I begin teaching it."
"Well… I'll try. Keeping an eye on him, I mean."
"Thank you… That's all I ask."
Little Whinging House, the next day
"Remus."
"Hmm?"
"How do professors get to Hogwarts? I mean, they don't take the Express, do they?"
"No, they usually Floo into the headmaster's office. Of course, this must be prearranged and requires a lot of planning before it happens for the first time. That's why it's so tiring to recruit new professors for the positions, all the preparation that must be done."
"Oh. Why don't I know all of this?"
"Have you ever read Hogwarts, a History?"
"No."
"Exactly."
Orion quickly shot a Stinging Hex that promptly shattered one of the empty glasses that surrounded Lupin.
Ever since the two had officially decided on Orion's guardianship, Lupin had been brought to live with Orion in Little Whinging, Surrey.
"So, out of all the rather interesting locations to set up our little abode, why did you choose a Muggle neighborhood?"
"I heard that there is a wizard boy around my age who lives nearby. I thought it'd be nice to perhaps make a friend before packing off for Hogwarts."
That much was true. As to who the boy was, Remus had not a clue.
"I see. Well, since you're paying for his ridiculously overpriced house, I might as well enjoy it." Remus said. While he had been reluctant to allow for Orion to pay for everything, he had soon grown used to it, even deigning it necessary to indulge in some fine wine every other day 'for his health'.
"Very funny. While I'd hate to ruin your good time, but I must have you remember that we have a guest later."
"I'd never forget. Newt Scamander is hardly a forgettable appointment, right?"
"Alright. I'll be back for lunch." Orion quickly walked out of the house, while Remus was still unpacking.
Initially, Remus hadn't been quite comfortable with the liberties that Orion was indulging in, but he had slowly become accustomed to it, thinking of it as no more than a pureblood trait.
Well, at least Orion WAS a pureblood, as much as he disliked it.
Orion quickly Apparated to the house that he had despised as a child. The source of his own blood purity propaganda. Grimmauld Place was looking as grim and dirty as he remembered, if not more so by the fact that he had actually put an effort into cleaning it before dying in his past life.
Creaking open the door, he peered inside the dimly lit corridor. Dust filled the air, highlighting the fact that the house itself was not very well cared for.
Orion thought it rather ironic that the House Elf that had adored the family so much would be so negligent in actually taking care of the house.
"Kreacher, show yourself." Orion said.
With a faint pop, the droopy and ugly looking elf appeared in front of him.
"Who is this that demands of this elf? Another blood traitor brat looking to upset my poor mistress?"
As Orion was about to reply with a furious and bitter remark, a presence suddenly enveloped him. Orion could hear the voice of Helga Hufflepuff giggling in his hear, as strange as it felt.
Silently, Orion got on his knees, and smiled at Kreacher. "I am the son of Regulus Arcturus Black, son of Orion and Walburga of the Ancient and Most Noble House of Black." While his lips moved, and his eyes were fixed on the House Elf, Orion himself was mortified. Not only would he ever openly speak of his parents in this way, he would NEVER associate himself with the aristocratic title of Ancient and Most Noble. Orion had half a mind to cast out the control of Helga when…
Kreacher suddenly fell to his knees. "Young Master is son of Master Regulus! Young Master must not kneel to Kreacher! Kreacher did not know that Young Master had such noble blood!" The elf screamed. Immediately, Kreacher helped Orion up onto his feet, ushering him towards the dining room table.
Before Orion could even understand what was going on, the table was cleaned, and filled with food, the floor was swept and a few candles were lit.
Even more surprisingly, a faint glow could be seen from the Family Tree. It seemed that announcing himself as the son of Regulus, and the enchantments placed upon his own body were enough to brand himself as the trueborn spawn of the Black family.
It also helped that Orion was already pretty familiar with being a Black himself.
He supposed that the recent changes to his own character were due to the shards of power and change inserted into him by the Four Founders. The amount of forethought required for the confrontation with the House Elf he had despised so much could not possibly have been his, as a point.
Orion sighed, leaning into his chair. It would be another very exciting day, with family traditions and political bullshit to go through.
A/N: This chapter is a bit of mess, because I had to write it on Lunar New Year holidays, and the fact that I wrote a small portion each day. Do please tell me if continuity is ever an issue. As always, reviews inspire me to write more. Peace.