The week before term started came quicker than Sirius and Regulus would have liked. While they loved Hogwarts, they liked their summers away from the school as well. Since Arcturus and Melania had to go back to the school early, Sirius and Regulus were going back early as well. They would have gone to stay with the Prewetts like they had the summer before, but they wanted to see what it was like staying in the castle with no other students around.
"Sirius, are you ready?" Regulus asked, standing at the door to Sirius' room. "We've been waiting for you for an eternity!"
Sirius rolled his eyes. "Just give me two more hours, then MAYBE I'll be ready," he joked. He threw the last item into his trunk and closed it.
Regulus snorted. "I don't think Grandmother and Grandfather want to wait two more hours," Regulus stated. "Should I tell them you're going to make them wait even longer?"
"Sure, why not?" Sirius answered as he headed out of his room with his trunk and owl cage.
"You are so annoying sometimes," Regulus muttered, following Sirius down the stairs.
"Is that a compliment?" Sirius teased.
"No, not at all," Regulus replied with a slight smile. "It's just a fact."
"If you two are done arguing, we will Floo over to Hogwarts now," Melania cut into their conversation.
"But Grandmother, neither of us have won the argument yet!" Sirius complained.
"Good try, Sirius, but no sibling ever wins the argument," Arcturus stated. "The argument will just keep going on and on until an adult interrupts or something else distracts them."
Sirius and Regulus huffed.
"Fine," Sirius said with a sigh. "We'll stop, I suppose. Let's go!"
The four of them flooed over to the Hogwarts headmaster's office. When they arrived, Sirius and Regulus got their belongings put away in their grandparents' quarters. They wouldn't have access to Gryffindor Tower until the first day of term, so they would be staying in the quarters until then.
"We have to go to the first staff meeting of the year, so you two will be staying here until we get back, understood?" Arcturus asked. "No wandering around and getting in trouble."
"No problem! We'll be fine here," Sirius said.
Arcturus and Melania gave them a disbelieving look. As they walked out into the corridors, Arcturus called out, "Dinky!"
"Yes, Master Headmaster Black?" Dinky asked, popping into existence.
"Please keep an eye on Sirius and Regulus," Arcturus ordered. "We have to go to the staff meeting, and I don't trust those two to keep out of trouble for two hours by themselves."
"Dinky will do watch over them, Master Headmaster Black," Dinky agreed before popping away.
Dinky watched them, but also stayed hidden, so they wouldn't suspect anything.
"So, what should we do, Siri?" Regulus asked, already knowing that Sirius had an idea.
"Well, we could go to the Room of Requirement and see what kind of fun we can have with that," Sirius suggested.
"Ooh, yes!" Regulus exclaimed. "Didn't you say Harry and his friends used that room for their defense group?"
"Yes," Sirius muttered. "Dumbledore's Army. I swear to Merlin, Harry won't be a follower of Dumbledore this time around."
Regulus grinned. "Well, let's go see what this room has!"
Dinky followed them, prepared to go tell the headmaster if they started causing trouble.
Sirius and Regulus entered the Room of Requirement, and it was a Quidditch pitch. "Yes!" Sirius exclaimed. "Let's fly, Reg!" They grabbed two brooms that looked very new.
"Er, what are these brooms?" Regulus asked curiously.
Sirius widened his eyes. "Bloody hell! It's the Firebolt! How did this room know about brooms that don't even exist yet?!"
"These were the newest brooms in the future?" Regulus asked, eyes wide.
"Yes," Sirius confirmed. "I got one for Harry for Christmas."
Dinky, who had been listening this whole time, was confused. Was Young Master Sirius from the future? Dinky knew better than to ask about it, however. House-elves were very good at staying out of business that was not theirs.
Sirius and Regulus flew around on the brooms for a while. Regulus thought that the Firebolt was a great broom, nothing compared to the brooms they had now. Finally, they decided that they wanted to just explore the room. The room turned into a room with a bunch of stuff in it, stuff that looked like it's been there for decades, maybe even centuries.
As they started exploring, Dinky popped out of the room, immediately appearing in the staffroom.
"Dinky, what is it?" Melania asked, concerned with the look on Dinky's face.
"Young Masters Sirius and Regulus are in the Come and Go Room!" Dinky exclaimed. "They flew around on brooms for a while, and now they're exploring the room, but Dinky feels dark magic! Very, very dark magic!"
Arcturus and Melania stood immediately. "Minerva, continue the meeting," Arcturus said. "Dinky, take us to this room. Now."
Sirius and Regulus found so many things in this room. Regulus even found some old books that were not even heard of anymore. All of a sudden, there was a pop, startling the two brothers.
They turned to find Dinky in the room, with Arcturus and Melania. "Sirius, Regulus, what do you think you're doing in here?" Melania asked sternly.
"Er… just exploring! We're not causing any trouble," Regulus tried explaining.
"We told you to stay in our quarters," Melania stated, giving them an unamused look. "You did not listen to us."
"Also, Dinky has informed us that there is dark magic in here," Arcturus continued.
"What?!" Sirius and Regulus exclaimed in horror.
"Dinky, where is the dark magic coming from?" Arcturus asked the elf.
Dinky pointed to a corner of the room. "There, Master Headmaster Black," Dinky said shakily.
"Thank you Dinky. You can go now. We'll take it from here," Arcturus said. Dinky nodded before disappearing. "Zippy!" Arcturus called out. Zippy popped into the room. "Get Lucretia, immediately."
Moments later, a phoenix flashed into the room, quickly turning into Lucretia.
"Mother, Father, Sirius, Regulus," Lucretia greeted "What's going on?"
"Dinky has just informed us that there's dark magic in here, and I thought that it would be beneficial for you to be here, just in case," Arcturus explained.
Lucretia nodded. "Where's the dark magic coming from?" she asked.
"Over there," Melania pointed to the corner Dinky had indicated. Lucretia walked over to that corner.
"Aha!" she exclaimed. "I feel it! It's black magic!"
The other four Blacks gasped. They rushed over to where Lucretia was.
"Which item is the black magic coming from?" Melania asked urgently.
Lucretia pointed to an item that looked harmless and as if it had been sitting there for decades. She took a deep breath. "Ravenclaw's Diadem."
Author's note: That's right, it's a cliffhanger! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and next week, you will find out how the others react, and how this all plays out!