(9) Found Family

Charlus Potter moved away from Orion as he saw Walburga finally show up with Sirius. He took James home. Once they were inside, he asked, "Alright, mind telling me what happened?"

"What happened?" James echoed.

"With you & Siri?"

"You know what happened," James said.

"No, I know what happened with Remus," Charlus corrected. "Sirius went & exposed the pup's condition to someone at school. But why are you so mad at him?"

It wasn't just that. Sirius had broken Remus's heart & James was left scrambling to pick up the pieces. James pulled off his glasses & rubbed his eyes. "Dad, I really don't think I should say."

"Suit yourself," Charlus shrugged. "But sooner or later, it's going to come out & later means you might not have control of it." He started walking away.

James shook his head. "They're in love with each other." Charlus stopped walking. "They were ... talking about becoming mates & then Sirius pulls that stunt. Remus is, well, you know."

"I see," Charlus said. "Make sure Messr Black never finds out. Remus is impure on top of everything else. He doesn't need to know he's a werewolf pup. He can still take Remus out. As I understand it, he is planning something for Sirius to settle with a pureblood lady."

"That guy's full of himself," James laughed out loud. "That will never happen! Sirius would rather die."

"He just might," Charlus said.

"Why on Earth would he want that for Sirius?"

"He wants to use Sirius to continue the Ancient Noble line he claims to have, like he knows anything about Ancients." He glanced around but Dorea had gone on ahead into the kitchen to start preparing something to eat. "No one's as old as us Peverells."

"No body knows about us Peverells, except us Peverells," James said. His eyes also strayed ahead to the kitchen. "Do you think we can ever tell her?"

"I hope to, someday," Charlus said. "She used to know me as Peverell."

"What?" James gasped.

"Then Grindelwald showed up," Charlus went on. "I had to hide. I buried everything. Removed Peverell from memory. I nearly lost her. I had to start all over with courting her, but as a Potter, instead. I hope some day I can get all her memories of me back, but not until this mess with Voldemort is cleared up." He turned & led James into the kitchen. "The sooner you talk to Sirius, the better. He would be much safer here."

"Well, take it up with Remus," James said. "I'm not going to take Sirius's side & get Remus hurt again."

"Remus's life isn't in danger from his parents," Charlus pointed out. "He's still a possible liability with Orion Black but that will always be true, regardless. Now," he sent a stern look at James. "Take a few days to cool off & then I suggest you get Sirius here to keep him safe."

James glared. "I hate being stuck in the middle. I've already picked my side."

"I appreciate your predicament," Charlus said. "But this is kind of urgent."

"Fine, I'll think about it," James muttered.

"Mhm," Charlus grunted, taking a cup of tea from Dorea before heading out into the living room.

"Here you are, Jim," Dorea said as she set a plate of steaming rice & chicken in front of him. She ran a hand through his hair & then, did that again. "It's amazing how soft your hair has become these past couple of years."

"Mum," James whined as she continued to pet him.

"It's beautiful," Dorea said. "Almost like ... like velvet."

Velvet! James ducked out from under her groping. Velvet. The Stag! It was the soft fuzz from the antlers of Prongs that was affecting his hair but his mother didn't know what James was doing. "Quit it! I'm bloody sixteen!"

"Doesn't mean anything to me," Dorea patted his arm before going after Charlus & leaving James alone with his food.

"Mum," James rolled his eyes. His gaze landed on the spice rack hanging on the wall. It was another Valknut his father had given his mother but a shelf instead of something carved into the lintel posts at the door. He glared at it, deciding that he was getting too old for this pampering. Oh & also, he couldn't really stomach chicken or any meat at all these past couple of years, yet somehow, his mother didn't seem to notice that. Compliments of Prongs who was vegetarian. James rarely was able to get any meat down now & often resorted to dropping it outside for either the neighbourhood cats in the daytime or the wildlife at night to make it look like he had eaten it. He put the chicken aside & focused on the rice.

James went upstairs about an hour later to unpack. He found Stryker, Peter's owl, waiting for him by the window. He let the bird in & pulled off the note.

Hiya Prongs. We'll be in London in a couple days. Can I stop by while my parents do boring adult things?

~Wormtail

James laughed & wrote back a simple 'sure thing, mate' on the back of the note before giving it back to the Great Horned owl. He didn't bother asking his parents if he could have visitors. He never had to ask for anything, spoiled brat that he was.

He returned to his dismal unpacking skills of taking everything out of his bags & dumping them on the bed & then from the bed, he painstakingly sorted through & put everything away where they belonged. He found the two-way mirror & glared at it before putting it in the bottom dresser drawer. He had no plans to use it for at least a couple of weeks. He wasn't going to bother to tell Sirius that Peter was coming over. Peter wanted to see Sirius about as much as James did at the moment.

When Peter arrived the next day, Charlus sent both of them to the stables on the edge of Godric's Hollow. James was already well into horse riding & Sirius usually joined him, but this time, Peter would go instead.

The boys spent the day out riding & were beyond sore by the time they returned to Potter Manor. After having short showers, both stumbled into their beds, asleep before they hit the pillows. James was so out of it that he slept right through the soft dinging sound of the two-way mirror signalling its use.

The next day, James & Peter spent their time slowly walking off their saddle sores.

"First time in a long time always hurts," James complained. "We only ride in summer & have to get used to it every year."

"We can't ride at school," said Peter. "They only have unicorns, not normal horses."

"Except for Remus & his stupid unicorn mare that's attached herself to him," James snarled, making Peter laugh.

"Well, get bit next full moon," Peter said. "Then maybe you can catch a unicorn."

"No, thank you," James said, stretching out a leg by hooking a heel onto the middle railing of a wooden fence. He blinked sharply. "Um, help..."

Peter took one look before laughing. "Jim, are you stuck?"

"Shut up & help me!" James hissed through gritted teeth.

Peter laughed harder as he put both hands under James's leg & slowly lifted. James laid one arm across the back of Peter's shoulders as he leaned on him while Peter pulled.

"Ow! Ow! OW!" James went cross-eyed as he finally straightened out his leg, gingerly resting his foot on the ground. His eyes watered as the cramp sorted itself out. He let out a breath. "Alright! Anyway, are you going to France?"

"Yeah, I can make it," Peter was still snickering. "What about you?"

"I think so," said James as he started walking again.

"What about Sirius?" Peter asked.

"I don't care," James said. "Remus certainly said no for the first full moon this summer. Maybe the second one, in August perhaps."

"I guess so," Peter said as they headed back to the Potter Manor.

It was late in the evening by the time they got back & Peter's parents had already arrived to collect him. They would meet again in France with Remus, barely in time for the full moon. After Peter left, James went into the main bathroom & filled the large bath with hot water. He slipped into it & fell asleep there.

Charlus put a large beach towel over James & levitated him to his bed. James rolled into bed still asleep as Charlus pulled the covers on. He cast a drying charm over the area before putting a hand on James's head for a moment. He instantly recoiled. There were some hard sharp things in James's hair. He tried to take a closer look, but the dim nightlight didn't help much & James was into R.E.M. sleep which he didn't want to wake him up from.

Giving up for now, Charlus went back downstairs into the sitting room where Dorea already had a tray of tea ready. He picked up his mug & stared into the empty fireplace.

"Thinking about Siri?" Dorea asked.

"Something's going to happen," Charlus said. "I can feel it."

"It's weird not having him here," Dorea mused. She watched her husband trace tiny angled patterns with a fingertip on the silver tray. Him & his triangles. She knew what the Valknut was & that Charlus claimed to be descended of some powerful wizard Viking, but that was where her knowledge ended.

"I'll talk to Jim, tomorrow," Charlus said. He got up, swirling his tea in one hand. The mantle over the fireplace was lined with tiny triangles as well, the Hallows symbol to be exact, but she didn't know that. To her, it was just triangles with lines & orbs. Charlus stared at the middle one directly over the center.

"I'm sure Sirius will be alright," Dorea said as she got up. She took the empty mugs. "It's getting late. I'm heading to bed."

Charlus nodded at her as she left the living room. He made his way upstairs to the large washroom & pulled back the sleeve on his left arm of his nightshirt. Looking at his reflection in the mirror, he could see the small tattoo in black ink of the deathly hallows on his shoulder. He watched it, as if expecting it to do something. But it remained unchanged. He eventually let the material fall back into place & went to bed.

He didn't fall asleep until the wee hours of the morning. He had barely started to dream when a burning sensation in his arm awoke him & he sat straight up with a yelp.

"What is it?" Dorea asked, casting Incendio into the lamps. She turned in bed to see Charlus sitting beside her, clutching his left shoulder.

"I think Orion's killing Sirius!" Charlus finally managed to move. He got out of bed & started dressing. "We gotta go now!"

"How do you know?" Dorea asked as she started getting changed as well.

"I put a spell on my pendant that I gave to Sirius," Charlus said, snatching his cloak. "It would alert me if Sirius got into any trouble. My tattoo is burning." After a blank stare from his wife, he added, "I linked them with that spell." He grabbed her hand & pulled her into the vortex of apparation.

Sirius flipped over a few times, landing hard on his side on the pavement. Tri went crashing out of sight into the ditch as Sirius groaned in pain. He tried to get to his knees, only to yell in pain as another Crucio spell hit him squarely in the chest. It shoved him onto his back & he lay on the edge of the highway, seeing stars in more ways than one.

"You think I wouldn't notice, Sirius?" Orion bellowed, lowering his wand for a moment. "What is the matter with you, lately? First, you'd rather do some homework on some muggle gang that doesn't even exist, anymore. Then you go & use OUR money to buy this muggle contraption & now you're sneaking off in the middle of the night. Going to Potter's, are you? Can you at least have the decency to say goodbye to your family before trying to run away?"

Sirius gasped for breath before rolling to his side to spit out some blood. He was in a ray of light from the street lamp & he could see his clothes were torn all along his right side. Worse, he could see the living tattoo of a Grim dog running up his arm, past some scrapes. He kept that arm behind him so that Orion wouldn't see the Animagical spirit running around.

"Oh but that isn't all, is it, Sirius?" Orion advanced on him. "You had plans to marry a mudblood man?"

Sirius gasped. No way Orion could know that unless ... "Reggie!" Sirius screamed, shooting a glare at Regulus who was just behind his father. "What did you do?"

"I think the question is 'what did YOU do' Sirius?" Regulus returned in a bored voice. "I saw you sneaking out tonight & pushing that thing," he pointed towards the ditch where most of Tri lay. Bits of white metal scraps littered the road. "I knew you were trying to get to the Potter Manor right after saying you weren't going to go there any time soon. I know what you & James are actually fighting about. It's what you did to that werewolf monster."

"REGULUS!" Sirius gasped.

"So there's a little werewolf puppy at Hogwarts," Orion said. "How long have you been keeping that kind of information from me?"

"Not long enough!" Sirius snapped & was suddenly screaming from torture again. He tried to wriggle away from it but it only incensed his father more. The pain intensified. Orion wasn't letting go any time soon.

"You think I wouldn't find out?" Orion bellowed over Sirius's cries. "I'm a werewolf hunter. I've had people investigating that Lupin family for a while. Sooner or later, I would have known."

"... Moony ..." Sirius whispered to himself, feeling himself starting to pass out. This was it. This was how he was going to die. It took him a moment to realize that the pain he was feeling was the aftereffects now, not the actual curse. He closed his eyes, hoping Orion wouldn't strike again.

"Stop that at once!" Charlus ordered as he & Dorea found themselves by Sirius's side somewhere on a paved highway. Charlus shot a jet of magic just an inch above Sirius to cut off Orion's curse before directing his magic onto Orion himself. He advanced forward, stepping over Sirius as he blocked a curse sent his way before quickly expelling Orion's wand. He blocked another curse & spotted Regulus who he knocked out with a stupefying spell.

"Get out of my way, Potter!" Orion snarled. "This doesn't concern you."

"You always concern me!" Charlus shot back. While it was clear both men hated each other like nothing else, it was not clear which of them hated the other more. "You always were the worst sort of person ever to disgrace the Earth!"

Orion snatched up Regulus's wand & shot the death curse at Charlus but the older man held up his Death Cloak which turned a bright green for a moment as it absorbed it. "What magic trick is this, now?" Orion snapped, frustrated.

"Never you mind!" Charlus hissed through gritted teeth. "What the hell are you doing to Sirius? He told me you'd Crucio him & even Regulus. I never wanted to believe it until I just saw it now!"

"How I discipline my children is of no business of yours!" Orion shot back.

"If your child doesn't recover in fifteen seconds, you're doing it wrong!" Charlus replied.

"So you never discipline James," Orion rolled his eyes. "That explains why he's such a spoiled brat."

"I've smacked Jim upside the head more times than I can count," Charlus muttered. "He gets the message. He doesn't nearly die from it & he's fine instantly. Sirius here? I'm going to have to take him to St. Mungo's! I've NEVER had to do that for James!"

"You're not taking my son anywhere!" Orion declared.

Charlus raised his face a little in defiance. "Before this night is over, Messr Black, he will be no son of yours!"

"I don't take kindly to threats, Mr. Potter," Orion warned as he made to step around Charlus to get at Sirius.

Dorea raised her wand, shoving Orion Black back. "Stay away!" she sobbed, tears sparkling in the ray from the street light.

"My dear Lady Black," Orion looked down at her. "Remember which family bred you. Now get off him!"

"Why do you think I married someone well away from my family?" Dorea said as she pulled a limp Sirius under her even more. "How can you do this to him? He's but a child!" She held Sirius close, rocking him, hoping he would wake up. "Just a child!" She continued to sob softly into Sirius's hair. She started whispering healing spells over him, hoping to close some of the more worse cuts Sirius had on his body.

Charlus knelt down beside her & put a hand on her shoulder. He spread the Death Cloak over his knees & her arms holding Sirius before looking up at Orion. "I suggest you learn how to behave or ..." his eyes drifted to Regulus still sleeping in the roadway where Charlus had put him down. " ... I'll come for the other one as well."

A look of pure insanity crossed Orion's face & he made as if to tear the Potter pair to shreds but Charlus had already yanked himself, his wife & Sirius into the vortex.

Sirius moaned as his eyes flickered open. He immediately snapped them shut again as the brightness hurt his eyes.

"Well, wake up, already."

"Tri," Sirius muttered, keeping his eyes closed.

"What was that?"

Sirius groaned, wishing his distant cousin's voice would leave him alone. Wait. What was James doing talking to him? He half-opened one eye to see James sitting on the edge of the bed beside him. He put a hand up to rub his eyes. Where the hell was he? "Where?"

"St. Mungo's, you daft dog," James teased. "Dad brought you in last night."

Sirius blinked a few times as he woke up completely. He was lying in a bed near the window & the sun was pouring in. "Where's Tri?"

"Mate, I have no idea what that means," James shrugged.

"Why didn't you answer me?" Sirius demanded.

"I just did!" James laughed.

Sirius glared at him. "Yesterday. When I used our mirror. You didn't answer me!"

"Sorry, I never got the message," James held up his hands for a moment. "I went horse-riding with Peter. He was here for a bit. But I fell asleep in the bath & next thing I know, it's morning & Dad's telling me you're in St. Mungo's."

"You fell asleep."

"That I did."

"In the bath?"

"Yup!" James laughed again.

"You're an idiot," Sirius said, making James laugh harder. Sirius looked towards the small bedside table & slowly tried to reach out for the glass of water. He was still unbelievably sore & winced as every muscle & bone in his body flared up in protest.

"Hold on, hold on," James pushed Sirius back into bed. He let go as Sirius yelped. "Sorry. Here." He passed the glass of water over. "Messr Black sure did a number on you, this time."

"Remus!" Sirius dropped the glass, spilling the last of the water onto the blanket. "He knows Remus is a werewolf."

"Relax, Dad knows," James shushed him. "He'll take care of it."

"It was Regulus!" Sirius exclaimed. "He betrayed everything."

"Probably not the best time to say this but hey, now you know how it feels to be betrayed."

"James!" Sirius glared at him, his eyes stinging.

"Well," James spread his hands. "I mean ... I'm not wrong, am I?"

"I hate you," Sirius complained.

"You know I'm right."

"Rub it in, why don't you?" Sirius snapped.

James just shrugged. "So who or what is Tri?"

Sirius shot James another dark look before explaining. "So, my first bike & I trashed it on the first ride," he finished. "It went off into the ditch when Dad apparated right in front of me & cursed me off Tri's seat. I heard all the scrapping & crashing. I know she's in pieces."

"Dad can just cast a repairing charm on it," said James. "I'll go find & him & see if he can get the bike back."

"Good luck," Sirius sighed. "If my father finds it, he most likely destroyed it."

"Let's just see what Dad says," James said as he slipped off the bed & went to find his father.

"I will snap his ribs through his back," Charlus said as he paced back & forth. "I will pull his lungs out through the wounds & then—"

"Charlus," Dorea interrupted his tirade. "You & Orion have always fought with each other."

"Yes, but—"

"No buts," Dorea cut him off again. "Just take a few minutes. Sirius is safe now. He's fine. You're fine."

"Yes, dear," Charlus gave up, though he continued pacing. Using the tip of his wand, he absentmindedly scratched the back of his neck with it.

"What do you plan to do?"

"Do?" Charlus finally stopped walking & looked at his wife. "There's a blood spell in seiðr magic that I can do easily since you're a Black & I will transfer Sirius to us."

"You think your old Viking magic will save Sirius from his father?" Dorea asked.

"Of course, it will," Charlus said.

"I wasn't even talking about Sirius right now," Dorea said. "I was asking what will you do about Orion? He tried to murder you tonight."

"'Eyah," Charlus let out a breath, using his nickname for her. "We are at the start of a war. It's clear Orion has picked a side as have we. There's nothing I can do about it. We're officially two soldiers & it's merely a matter of who takes out who, first."

"I suppose you're right," Dorea said. "I've half a mind to kill Orion, myself, for what he did to that poor boy! When I saw Sirius lying in the street, I thought for sure he was dead."

Charlus sent her a sharp look. "Believe me when I say that Orion will never hurt Sirius again."

"What do you plan to do about that?" Dorea asked but Charlus just stared at her, flicking up a brow. "Let me guess," Dorea went on. "Another Old Norse spell of some sort?"

"Of some sort," Charlus echoed. "First things first. I'm going to take care of the parental claim Orion has on Sirius." He went to the desk at the front of the lobby & picked up a vial. Returning to Dorea's side, he held it out to her. "May I have a drop of your blood, please?"

"Fine," Dorea said, flicking her wand into a knife-blade spell. She poked the tip of her finger & held it over the mouth of the vial. A large red drop slipped down the side of the glass.

Charlus capped it off & pocketed it. "I'll be back soon. Keep an eye on Sirius."

"Char?" Dorea put a hand on his arm for a moment. "Bring James here." Charlus nodded before disappearing in front of her eyes.

It was dawn by the time he came back. James was with him & hurried straight for Sirius's side. Charlus sent Dorea s short smile. "I knew Jim would get over himself quickly. Can't keep those two separate for long."

"If it weren't for him prattling on about that Evans girl all the time, I would think he was dating Sirius, instead," Dorea agreed before asking, "So, is it done?"

Charlus nodded. "Orion can't make any legal claim on Sirius any more & since he still has a blood bond with you for being a Black, Sirius retains most of his claim on his inheritance."

"Well, I don't have to warn you about Orion's retaliation," Dorea said.

"Don't worry," Charlus smiled, conspiringly. "Orion's in Azkaban."

"What? How?"

"I was able to prove to the Ministry of the abuse Orion Black has done to both his sons," Charlus said. "Now, he'll be staying in Azkaban for as long as Sirius stays in the hospital."

"Oh, Charlus!" Dorea gasped. "It's no less than what he deserves. So let's just wait for Sirius to get better."

"No offence to Sirius, but hopefully he takes a long time," Charlus grinned wickedly. Dorea gave him a small shove just as James walked in.

"Dad, are you able to get something called Tri?" James asked, explaining the motorbike Sirius apparently bought.

"I'll check it out," said Charlus. "By the way, have you told Remus about any of this?"

"About Sirius?" James shrugged. "I might when I see him. I mean, I don't think any of us wanted Sirius to be tortured like that. We did have a moment were we kind of wanted to kill him, but I think that's past, for now."

"I mean about Messr Black knowing what Remus is?"

"Oh, no," James said. "Not yet."

"Not ever," Charlus ordered. "His father already knows about it. Let him decide on what he wants Remus to know."

"Sure," said James, having every intention of talking with Remus & Peter, regardless. "Am I still able to go?"

"So far, so good," said Charlus. "There are strict regulations at all the borders & we can only go through at certain times, but it's not impossible. When are you thinking of going?"

Close to the full moon, but James didn't want to direct too much attention to that. "Sometime next week. Sirius should be out of the hospital by then but he can't come yet. I'll ask Remus when I see him."

"Sounds good," Charlus agreed before heading out to find Tri.