Chapitre III

Altair

Thanks to everybody who review, favor and follow this story ! I hope you will also like this chapter !

Thanks and kisses to SkylerKnight and Shunshu, I am really happy to have enthusiastics comments ! And to Rebellious One, I will answer you with a yes, mermaid blood cleanses everything, even dark magic and for the rest stay tuned and follow you will be happy I think !

Good read !

Harry couldn't believe what was happening to him. In less than an hour his life had shifted more than it had in all his life. He asked himself several times if this was the reality and if he wasn't the happy prisonner of one of his dreams. But the sensations he had were too clear to be compared to the dulled ones his imagination brought him.

Maybe he had finally gone crazy and was having theses hallucinations that he once red about. After all, this lady, this woman who sat beside him, who willingly touched him and who talked to him with this enchanting voice, couldn't be real. She was too beautiful, she smelt too good, her skin was too soft...Such things, such persons were to perfect to enter into Harry's reality. His reality was made of dirt and darkness, of a dark sky without any stars to bring light to it.

And her, this woman, she was like the moon coming to illuminate and chase the shadows that surronded his life.

"Child, what is a precious thing like you doing in this tiny and dirty room ?" She asked softly, her ocean eyes never straying from his.

"This is where I usually stay after my chores, Ma'am" he answered as politely as he could.

"But why ? Do they hide you, tresor, so that no one can steal you ?" She said, narrowing her eyes.

Harry almost wanted laugh, but, not knowing how she would take it, he settled for a sheepish smile "I'm no tresor, Ma'am, no one would want to steal me."

"But you are." she insisted.

She passed her hand through his messy and dirty black hair and murmured with a thoughtful gaze "If they don't want you...I could always steal you from them. You could come with me if you wanted to."

"Go with you ?" asked Harry almost dazed with the possibility of following this woman, this living dream.

"I don't think that it will be necessary Lumena. I already talked to Sirius, the boy is coming with us and he knows what to do" intervened the older man.

"Uncle, this is mad" opposed Sirius with a pained look. "You are asking me to kill the last part of James and Lily, to extinguish an entire family..."

"I am asking you to save our family of extinction, to resurrect our glory and to give this poor boy a life that he wouldn't even have in his wildest dreams !" replied the man, furrowing his eyebrows as his powerful voice covered Sirius's. "I am asking you to kill the weakness that was put inside you. I am asking you to extinguish the boy you played being and to become the Sirius Black you were born to be. And you, what do you say ?"

The lady looked very interested by the conversation and had her eyes fixed on Sirius's form. The silver eyed man looked conflicted for a moment, his eyes going from Harry to his uncle before he closed them in what looked like resignation. Immediately he crossed the room to go to the cupboard and without a word took the child into his arms and carried him outside of the house as the woman followed them with a smile on her face.

The older black haired man looked very satisfied by his decision and as they passed by him to go out, he pressed a hand on the shoulder of his nephew. "You understand that what I must do, don't you, Sirius ? I am doing all this for the family" continued Alphard.

Sirius looked at him from the corner of his eyes, his expression blank as he looked at the house before a dry smile appeared on his face. "Don't worry for me, uncle. I have come to understand that guilt and regret were burden that a Black couldn't permit himself to carry."

Everything was happening so fast then that Harry couldn't say how he got out of the house, how he finished in the arms of the man called Sirius...From this moment he couldn't remember anything but the soft look in the eyes of this man dressed in all black, and of this voice as he said in his low and rugged voice "Close your eyes, Harry."

And he closed them.

§§§

When Harry opened his eyes, he had the impression to wake up inside the most beautiful dream.

Around him, everything was shining with a strange and dark beauty, from the old tapestry on the wall, the crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling, the soft and embroided carpet under his feets or even the dignified portraits looking at him intensely from the walls, as if they were really looking at him...

Harry gasped when a man furrowed his brows while looking intently in his eyes. "Alphard, what are you going to do with this half-blood boy ?"

He spoke, the portrait actually spoke. Harry retreated quickly until his back came in contact with the warm and hard body of Alphard Black. The hands of the man fell heavily on his shoulders as he said in a very calm tone "Noble Phineas, I am going to make him a Black."

The man in the portrait furrowed his brows again and looked like he was going to protest before his eyes fell on Sirius who was helping the mermaid sit on one of the couch. Immediately his eyes glowed strangely and his lips stretched in a wicked way as he spoke in a sugary tone. "A lot of the members of family underestimate you, Alphard. But I always knew that that your ambitions would bring back the glory of the House."

Alphard smiled back to the portrait and was going to respond to his ancestor before Lumena intervened, opening her arms "Give me back the child, son of man."

Harry felt his eyes widen when he understood that this dream like woman wanted to have him back in her arms. He felt his lips stretch in the biggest smile he ever made and moved to go to her but the hands of the man kept him in place. "Not so soon, little one. First, we have to make some things clear. Right, Sirius ?"

The man nodded solemnly and left the side of the woman, crossing the room before crouching in front of the little boy "We weren't presented yet, Harry, were we ?" he said, a strange and sad light illuminating his silver eyes. "I am Sirius Black, your godfather."

The boy looked at the man with incredulous eyes, his mouth open as he tried to process what he just heard. This man, this gorgeous man with a too thin body and a regal but tired face, this man who could have belonged to the legend of these old and forgotten books was actually part of his life. This man had a part in his past, and if he brought him here, then it had to be that he wanted to have a part in his future. That he had a future that wasn't a dirty cupboard.

It was like he became the light and hope of Harry's dusty reality. "Does it mean...did you know my parents ?"

The man let his eyes close slowly as he answered "Yes, I knew them, I knew them very well. We went to school together, worked together and always shared a meal on the sundays." he said with a smile. "They were two of the best wizards I ever knew"

"Wizards ?" Harry asked with with wide eyes "My parents weren't wizards, they were impulsive drunkards, and they died into a car accident because they were good for nothings" he recited.

Sirius looked at him with a furious expression, grasping his face between his two hands. "What are you saying ?! Who told you that ?!"

The young boy looked at him surprised "My uncle and my aunt told me their stories, they always made sure, I didn't forget it."

"No..." Sirius shaked his head "No...this isn't true, this isn't who they were, and this isn't who you are, you-..."

"Who he is doesn't have any special importance, Sirius, remember that" intervened Alphard impatiently. "What is important is what the world try to make him be and what he could be."

Harry turned to look at the handsome face of the older male "What do you mean ?" he said as the man looked straight into his green eyes. Alphard had a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes and sitted on a couch bringing the child to sit on his knees. "You see, little one, you parents were some kind of...well, soldiers in our world. But the ennemy they fought was much stronger than them, and one night he killed them." Harry gasped, trembling into the arms of the man. "The truth is that they were used by a very influent man into a war that wasn't theirs"

The boy opened and closed his mouth for a time before furrowing his eyebrows "But how...how do you know all that ?"

"Because he used me too." cutted Sirius standing again before the child. "Harry the only reason I didn't came to take you from your aunt and uncle before was because the same man had me put in jail. He accused me of the murder of your parents, but the truth was that he only wanted to dispose of me, of my name. Do you understand what I am trying to tell you ?"

Harry furrowed his brows as his stunned mind tried to process everything the men were saying. His parents weren't drunkards, they were some kind of magical soldiers, and his magnificient godfather never abandonned him but was put in prison by a mad man who wanted to use him too. Was this really his life ? At this moment he had the impression of being the hero of one of the adventure novel he loved so much to read in secret. Everything was so confusing, his mind didn't seem to be able to focus on even one detail, for example "But...aren't wizards the evil ones in the stories ?"

Sirius had a smile at that passed a hand through Harry's hair. "Magic isn't evil, this is something wonderful, and the people that have it in them are gifted, not strange. You must have done some strange things before, maybe made some objects fly or turned one of your teachers hair blue, right ? Well this is magic, in this room, we are all able to use magic and well..." he looked at Lumena from the corner of his eyes. "Her case is a bit particular but...what I mean is that you are part of a world so marvelous, so amazing that even in your wildest dreams you couldn't imagine all the wonder it could offer".

Harry was completely charmed by the words of this man and his bright eyes. This man was not only offering him hope, but a life, a life in a magnificient world where what he could do wouldn't be freaky but a gift. He could actually be his own hero, the hero of his life and not be condemned to be the victim of it. "And what do I have to do to be part of this world ?"

Immediately Alphard turned the boy around to face him and said to him in a excited voice. "Now, this is the kind of things that I like to hear, my boy ! You see, our world is amazing but also a very dangerous place to live in for you, some really bad men are after you and would not stop at anything to put their hands on you. It actually wouldn't be safe for Harry Potter to go into the wizarding world right now..." finished Alphard turning in face away in the perfect act of sadness.

And it worked. Panicked the little boy put his tiny hands on the shoulders of the man, gripping the black clothes as strongly as he could as he said quickly "But then what can I do ! I have no where else I can nor want to be and...and I cannot be anybody else but Harry Potter..."

The older man hided a smile and let his hand pat the head of the boy "But you can, my boy, right Sirius ?"

Sirius straightened and clenched his jaw, before nodding tightly.

Lumena who listened patiently to the exchange between the men narrowed her eyes as she understood what they were insinuating. "So this is what you want to do from the beginning..."

Alphard and Sirius turned to face her, no hint of guilt present in any of their faces. "You want to use this kid for your own gain...The rotten nature of the heart of men really knows no boundaries" she continued with a smile.

Alphard straightened up and gave a gentle push in the back of Harry making him stumble in the direction of the mermaid. She immediately rose from her sit to steady him, taking the boy in her arms her face softening before his large and innocent eyes.

The older Black let a satisfied smile appear on his lips as he opened his arms in a diplomatic gesture "But I had no intentions to trick you, my dear. I had in mind to make a proposition that would prove to be very advantageous for us three. This boy is the key to prove to our family that Sirius is worthy of trust and that he can bring back glory to our name but you wouldn't be left out of the picture. You would become the wife of my nephew and the child would belonged to you, as would most of the tresors, gems and gold that goes with the name of Black. Plus, you would be welcomed in a place where your nature is a sign of prestige and would be like a queen in the mortal world."

Lumena turned her cold and enchanting eyes on the figure of Alphard and said in a dry tone "And I would have to share the child and become one of the tresors that goes with the name of Black. Why would I accept a cage like the golden one you are creating for me when I could just kill you both and take the child with me ?"

Alphard didn't look frightened or panicked in the slightest and his polite smile was ever present on his handsome face "First because you don't have much choice, my dear. The boy cannot live under water and where would you go on earth with the murder of a proeminent pureblood like me under your name ? Wizards aren't a weak race and you know that, soon enough they would capture you and put you down like an animal under the pretext that you are a dangerous and dark non-human. And then little Harry would go back under the claws of whoever wants to use him for their benefit. Second, because I don't feel like you want to go back in the oceans, you look quite charmed by our world and the name of Black would give you on a platter the occasion to live the worldly life in it's finest. Third, because we would take care of the future of the boy and give him the best life he could ever wish. And finally, because the boy would be yours, completely yours by the most powerful claim that ever exist : blood. You could take the child away and keep him, but he would never be your child...no matter what your race is, you need to be two to make a child."

None of her emotions transpired on her face, so much that we could ask ourselves if she had some if it wasn't for her hands which had the Harry's shoulders in a tight grip. The man seemed to have thought of everything really well, no flaws were present in his plan.

She let her eyes fall on the boy again. She could always choose to ignore him and carry on her stealing plan, but what then ? She didn't know how to take care of a little child, she never had one before, she didn't even knew what they looked like before meeting this one. But she wanted one. She was always fascinated by the legends that surrounded the race of men when they weren't fully developped, the innocence and trust that surrounded them and the abundant love they felt for the one who gave birth to them.

From the corner of her eyes she looked at Sirius. Well, she supposed he wasn't the worst specimen to share blood with...And like that, wouldn't he and his eyes be all hers also ? She was told that two people that were married under one name belonged to each other. So his eyes would belonged to her ? His rage and his passion too, she supposed. The more she thought about it, the more interesting the proposition became. She had wanted to steal Sirius in the beginning, but he wouldn't have survived far from his world and know she had the possibility to have one man and one child with a life of comfort far from the cold waters she knew.

And if things didn't go well, she could always slaughter them all.

A charming smile took place on her face as she said in a sweet tone "I accept your proposition."

Alphard still had a polite expression but a glint of suspicion was shining in his eyes, and this glint was mirrored in his nephew's silver ones. They were wary of her and of her quick acceptance, she thought, amused.

She hugged the boy more tightly against her cold body. Well, they should.

§§§

Lumena laid on the bed of the room that was officialy gifted to her, her eyes fixed on the ceiling and it's beautiful paintings. The boy surprised her, when they told him what they were going to do, he wasn't scared but positively elated. He wasn't afraid of magic, nor of pain and was just immensely grateful of this new life that was given to him.

He made her think of her own eagerness to finally live. She wasn't afraid to take risk either, nor of pain or of trials if it meaned that she could feel as strongly as Sirius did, even for just a minute.

"Are you okay ?"

She turned her head around and saw the Black heir, pale and weak against the door of the room. He didn't stand on his feet long, letting himself fall on the couch in front of the bed.

An average man had between 5 and 6 liters of blood, an average woman between 4 and 5, and a child approximatevely 3, but the boy was so malnourished and his body was in such a bad condition that he only had 2,5. Alphard drained completely Harry of his blood, and replaced it directly by 1,5 liters of Sirius's blood and 1 of her's.

"Alphard said that we shouldn't move around for several hours" she said indifferently.

"Do I look like I care ?" drawled Sirius, raising a trembling hand to pass in his dark hair. "I asked a question, didn't I ?"

The mermaid had a smile before she said "Why would you care ? You had what you wanted all along, didn't you ? I saw how you looked at the boy, the longing in your eyes, you wanted to steal him and to make him your son for a long time..."

The black heir's silver eyes fixed themselves in hers as he said in a calm and confident voice. "Yes, I did."

As soon as he pronounced the words, Lumena felt the air change in the room. All of her instincts were in alert, as if in the presence of a great danger. That wasn't logical, there was nothing in the room and in front of her Sirius was greatly disminished and couldn't possibly attack her, nor did he have any reason to.

But her instincts never failed her and there were something strange in his eyes like his...mask dropped. There was a glint of madness in his eyes and a smile stretched his lips, illuminating his handsome face. He looked like a mad king. Like a Black.

"What did you do ?" she asked warily.

He laughed, his head falling back before breaking in the biggest smile she had ever seen him wear. "Don't you understand ?" he started in a joyous tone. "This is exactly as you said, I have what I wanted for a long time ! Did you really think that I could spend six years in this hell hole and still not know who I am ? Not know myself and still think that I was some sheep waiting for its herd ? No my dear...No...When you are in front of black walls and that the only thing rometely human that you see everyday is your own face in a dirty puddle of water on the ground, you finish by accepting yourself. I always tried to hide from myself, and from my desires. I knew how wrong it was for me to be envious of James and of the fact that he had a wife and a son as I felt so...alone. But not anymore. Why would I try to shield theses persons who have abandonned and betrayed me from my desires, from my wrath, my...revenge."

So this was the true face of Sirius Black, she thought as she looked cautiously at the man. She should have know that the curse of the Black House was never far, madness ran in their blood as smoothly as beauty adorned their traits and gold fell from their hands. "And where do I stand in this...plan ?"

"Well" he started in a joyous tone. "You were destined to be my partner, after all, you founded me at my darkest and followed me since then. That will continue...forever."

"But I could still go. I could leave you if I wanted to." she said through gritted teeth.

"Ho but that's the beautiful part of it !" laughed Sirius "You can't."

She furrowed her brows. "What do you mean ?"

"We were legally married today. My uncle introduced you as my wife and he was the witness for your acceptance and mine. You voluntary accepted the position and our marriage was made valid the same day with the conception of our child, Harry...Our blood was even shared through it. And as you know, divorce is something only muggles are capable of as magic bounds cannot be broken. Plus, the bound that I formed with you was thus completed and cannot be broken anymore, can it ? Lumena Black. Isn't it beautiful, we are now bounded for all eternity ?"

Lumena felt herself shaking with anger and disbelief as she looked the confident and handsome face illuminated by an amused smile. "You planned it from the beginning..."

"Of course, I did." he assured calmly. "I wanted you to be mine from the moment I saw you but I knew that I had to be careful with how I did it. So I simply played the role that I played all my life : the good and lost heir of the Black family. The only one who escaped the madness curse and was different. You fell into it and as a consequence would never consider me capable of...how did you said it ? Ho yes, tricking you like that. Not a Black enough to do that, right ?"

"Why ?" she breathed.

"Because we are more alike than you think. I don't know of the darkness and cold of the oceans, but I know darkness and I know cold. I know solitude, I know madness and I know this longing for the light. And because in this hell hole, you were the light that brought me peace."

"Stop trying to charm me, son of Black" she gritted. "You are crazy and your heart is an avid, dark and deep deep thing."

"Then wouldn't it be like your beloved oceans ? Seeming like a dream when graced by the sun but only you know what the depths really look like..."

Lumena let a smile grace her lips as she turned to got out of the bed. She walked unsteadily until she arrived in front of Sirius and there she let herself fall on him, gripping the back of his hair to raise his head so that she could fully look into his eyes.

"I think that you forgot who you chased, Black." she started her tone as cold as the depths. "The ocean isn't my beloved. I am the ocean. I may have entered the cell you prepared for me, but you will share it with me and I do not think your understand very well with what you imprisonned yourself. You are as much my prisonner as I am yours and know that my heart is even deeper, even more avid and pityless than yours !"she almost raged.

Arking one of his perfect black brow, his smile ever present on his face, the man only said "Never have I met a cellmate so charming."

§§§

Everything was dark around him and his eyelids felt as heavy as stone, but that didn't bother him, he knew darkness and he knew of the heaviness of a tired body.

But when he opened his eyes dirt, spiders and faded wall paint weren't what greeted him. His weary lips stretched in a smile when he saw the tapestries and the impressed look the portraits. A mad laugh made him turn his head as the face of Alphard Black appeared above him.

The handsome man had a wicked smile and dark bags decored his eyes. Still with his unkept hair and ruffled clothes from the day before, he looked every bit of the young lord he was.

"It worked !" screamed the man, gazing at him with crazed eyes. "He is perfect ! Perfect !"

Alphard looked at the boy, touching his face, his hair, not believing what was in front of him. The child was the exact portrait of Sirius when he was young. He had the same inky hair, the same insolent beauty, the characteristic seraphic face and long limbs but the eyes...His eyes weren't of the intense silver color of Sirius, of the Black, but of the particular enearthly blue of the woman, the creature that laid on the floor above.

A blue so magnificient and enchanting that it seemed to hold all the color of all the oceans, river and seas, so marvelous that it didn't look like it belonged to this world and vibrating with so much power that it could bring wizards on their knees...

Heavens...With this boy, what power, what prestige, what glory would find the name of Black ! Alphard calmed his frantic touches as a calm and satisfied smile rested on his lips. He passed a hand on the dark and silky hair of his new great nephew and simply said "I welcome your birth in the world...Altair Sirius Black."

To be continued...

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