(Arcturus Black - PoV) (Past, ~ 4 1/2 Years)
"Sirius," I speak his name, to draw his attention.
The bundle of rags, huddled in the corner, stirs.
Slowly it lifts up, revealing a gaunt figure. The tangled, shaggy mess of black locks is swept aside with a dirty, bony hand revealing a barely recognizable visage. Barely recognizable other than the eyes.
Eyes that maintain surprising coherency for one trapped in this hell for so many years.
Eyes that narrow on seeing me.
"You," he says venomously. "What are you doing here?"
"Come now, is that any way to greet your Grandfather? To greet family?"
He snorts. "Please, I was cast out of the family years ago, we both know that."
"You were not, in fact. I never formalized it."
He blinks but doesn't answer, instead eyeing me suspiciously after a moment of consideration.
A snap of my fingers and a chair is brought up behind me. The guard stepping back out of the bubble of silence afterward.
I sit on the uncomfortable thing but do not allow the sigh to escape. Do not show the weakness I feel.
I really have let myself go these last years, even this short walk taking entirely too much from me. I will need to start taking care of myself again, take steps to ensure I last long enough for the twins to grow up. They will need guidance to grow into their own, to give the Black family a future once more. Clearly Sirius will not be up to the task.
"Please Sirius, you know me better than that. Do you really think I would let Walburga dictate who is and is not a Black to me?"
He still does not answer, but I can see him concede the point.
"As for yourself, well, while most of the family may have leaned in...certain directions, you served quite well as a foot in the other camp, so to speak. Or so I thought."
He stares at me. Snorts. Then throws his head back and laughs. And laughs. And laughs.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Perhaps not quite as undamaged as I had hoped. Then again, it is Sirius...this may be normal for him...
The downside of our family, it can be so very hard to tell. I don't think Azkaban would had have any effect whatsoever on Walburga for instance. If anything I suspect the dementors may have taken to avoiding her. Everyone else certainly did.
I wait several minutes for the laughter to subside.
"All of those years...all of those years I thought that I had escaped. That I had thrown off my chains, but you just gave me a longer leash, didn't you? You were just hedging your bets...I can't believe I never saw it..."
I shrug.
"Indeed. You were a bit of a disappointment as an heir I admit, though less of one than Orion."
Really, I knew something had gone dreadfully wrong when the man married Walburga. He was a write-off from that moment onward. There is a bit of madness, and there is absolute insanity.
His face shifts repeatedly between a frown and a smile as he takes that in.
"Hopefully your son will be better."
That little comment stops him in his tracks, as expected.
"My...my what?"
Ignoring his question, I reply.
"As I mentioned, I thought you were going to serve as a foot in Dumbledore's camp, so I am very curious as to how you ended up in here. Tell me about it."
"What? No, no!" He lunges forward, dirty hands grasping at the bars, pressing his face against them, eyes staring at me intently. I have his full, undivided attention now. "What son? WHAT SON?!"
I smile at him. "Please Sirius, you liked to play the ladies' man. One of your youthful indiscretions got the better of you. And not only a son. Twins, in fact. Now, tell me, how did you end up here? Everyone who knows you doubts the official story, and I admit, I do as well. Your trial was questionable, but with the situation at the time..."
I shrug. There was nothing to be done. Our power base was in complete disarray, and Crouch was ascendant. And at the time, I did not believe Sirius was worth the effort.
He stares at me through the bars. I can see it in his eyes. If he could reach me, he would wrap his hands around my throat and demand answers.
But he cannot. He will answer my questions first if he wants me to answer his.
He tries pulling the bars apart anyway.
...
"Damn you..." he whispers, before retreating to his dirty cot.
"Fine. Fine..." he relents.
"I...wait...trial? What trial? I was on the street after the bastard blew it up, then I woke up in here? There wasn't a trial."
Someone else cast the spell then? "There was, but you were not present for it. Crouch declared you too great of a risk to be present, and unnecessary. With the number of witnesses and the circumstances of the time, it went through."
"...That fucking cunt! After the number of times I pulled his ass out of the fire!" Sirius leaps from his cot, pacing around his cell and ranting about old battles.
Eventually, he calms down.
"Alright...alright, so, he stabbed me in the back, didn't even attempt to get the truth...what about Dumbledore? The rest of the Order?"
"I do believe that you are supposed to be answering my questions right now, but I will allow it for the moment. Dumbledore appears to believe you to have been a traitor as well and allowed the trial to proceed. The Order seems to have followed his lead at the time. As far as I know it fell apart after the attack on the Longbottoms."
He pauses.
"What...what happened to the Longbottoms? Voldemort is gone, right? Frank and his wife are no slouches."
"Hmm. I will answer, but I expect you to tell me your story, your full story, afterward."
"...Fine, fine."
"You do remember your dear cousin Bellatrix?"
His eyes widen.
"...Oh...oh no..."
"She believed the Dark Lord to be alive, and that for some reason Frank and Alice would know his location...somehow. She, the Lestrange brothers, and Crouch's son paid them a visit after they came out of hiding. The child was unharmed, but Frank and Alice Longbottom are in the permanent care ward in St Mungos. They are not expected to ever leave it."
"I...fuck. I knew they were brought in, I didn't know what for..."
"If it helps, Crouch's star fell fast after his son was caught."
He snorts. "Not particularly, no..."
"Now. Details, Sirius."
...
"Fine. But I want to know about my supposed kids after, you old bastard."
He adjusts himself on the bed and begins to speak. It is...most illuminating.
It is also a mix of impressive and infuriating. Animagi in their Fifth Year at Hogwarts? Sirius, you had such potential. Why did you insist on throwing it all away.
Still, in the end, his story makes far, far more sense than the official events. Unfortunately, the only evidence at the moment is his own word. The word of what is quite possibly still the most hated man in Britain.
I don't think that will suffice to remove him from this accursed place.
"I see. I believe you. Unfortunately, I don't think it will be enough to get you released, even with my influence," I admit.
He shrugs.
"I don't even care about that at the moment. Tell me. Tell me."
I can see the mania in his eyes.
"Very well." I begin to explain. About his brief dalliance with Liara Moon. How she found herself with twins but kept them hidden for fear of the war. How I just found out about them myself recently.
"Heh...Hah...I...I never...thought..." he mutters to himself.
"Indeed."
"So...what happens now?" he asks.
I do release a sigh this time.
"Now, unfortunately, I leave...and you continue to suffer in this hellhole. I will look into getting you out, but unless we find Pettigrew, it is unlikely."
"The twins? They are not staying with you," he demands, eyes hard.
I laugh.
"No, no they are with their mother. And after she passes, Andromeda will raise them. They will visit, for certain, but I have no intention of attempting to raise them, I am far too old for that."
"I...I see. That is...good then. Andromeda is good. And Liara, she is good. I think. Probably."
He slumps.
"They...are probably better off...without me...aren't they?"
"Given your history of bad choices, it is very likely," I agree
He looks up at me glaring.
"You are the one who said it first, and you did admit to seeking vengeance before taking responsibility for your godchild."
His glare fades and he droops.
"Just...go away. I need to think..."
"Very well. Though when I leave, so do the Patroni, so you may find that difficult."
A dirty hand waves me away as he lays down.
I slowly stand up from my chair and dismiss the privacy spell.
This was enlightening, but will not change anything for the moment.
I suppose I could tell Dumbledore about his man's change of heart, but will it change anything? Working together we might be able to free him...
...I hate to lose such a powerful negotiating piece...and while I would like to have another Black free...I did mean it. He will be a bad influence on the twins.
I sigh.
No, perhaps it is for best that Sirius should remain here for a while longer, until they grow up a bit more. Cruel of me, I know, but Sirius made his choices, now he has to live with them. I won't let him ruin the next generation as well. Here at least he can't cause any more damage.
Once they get their wands, I may revisit the matter.
(Arcturus Black - PoV) (Current)
My cane taps along the dark stone as the guards escort me through the dreary prison complex once again.
Really, I shouldn't be coming here, not right now. The twins have their wands now and have proven themselves quite capable. I should have my meeting with Dumbledore, and lay Sirius's innocence on the pile as another blow against the old coot. Save this meeting for when I come to free him.
Alas, I am a Black. I may not have the emotional volatility of Andromeda or Sirius himself, but I very much have their spiteful natures. My Grandson's failures have offended me once more, and I feel the need to make sure he is punished for them before I see him rewarded.
Once more I stop outside of his cell. The guard puts up a privacy ward and steps away, as is proper.
No chair is needed this time, the years have been good to me.
There is also no need to get his attention, the emaciated man slowly rises from his cot on his own, stepping towards the bars.
"Old man. You're looking better. Find a new ritual spell? How many babies does this one take?"
I grace him with a smile. "Having a worthy heir really does wonders for one's health."
His eyes narrow, but his facial expression keeps changing.
He can't decide if he wants to keep attempting to insult me or ask about the twins.
Placing both hands on the cane, I elect to wait him out, continuing to smile pleasantly.
He growls, his eyes narrowing.
It always was so easy to get under his skin.
"How are they?" he eventually manages to ask.
"Doing well. More than well actually, Coeus has proven himself beyond all my expectations."
His hand grips a bar tightly as he draws closer.
"And what does that mean? Is he actually doing good, or did you warp him into some kind of monster?"
I chuckle. "Don't forget Sirius, he was raised by your actual dear cousin Andromeda, and her muggleborn husband Edward. He is an excellent Slytherin, but he is rather far from your mother's ideals."
He relaxes slightly at that.
"They found their wands this week," I tell him. His eyes light up at the news, and he appreciates the details, chuckling at the idea of black dragons for Black wands.
"Of course, Ollivanders is where they made their biggest success as well. Where they met their new friend and the newest member of their family. You may even remember her, you did hold her for all of a couple of seconds, before you decided to toss away that responsibility, like every other in your life. Iris Potter."
As with my last bombshell, he goes still.
"Ironic, isn't it? Out of all the children they could possibly run into, it is the girl that should have been their sister. And now, she will be again. Tell me, Sirius, do you want to know why?"
He doesn't answer.
"Do you know why she is currently living with Andromeda instead of the family Dumbledore placed her with after you abandoned her?"
He flinches, but remains silent, watching me warily.
He doesn't know the answer, but he can read me easily enough. He knows I am going to hurt him. That whatever I am going to say, it will be painful. But he can't do anything about it, he has to know.
I do so love moments like this, watching my target dangle, helpless.
A pity it is my own blood, it rather sours the experience. He had best learn his lesson and takes his responsibilities seriously in the future.
"Well, to start with, the family Dumbledore chose were muggles. Lily's sister, Petunia, and her husband. Did you perhaps know them, by chance?"
His eyes widen.
"What? But she hated magic! Wanted nothing to do with any of us!"
"Indeed. She refused to have anything to do with the child, but Dumbledore insisted. Pushed until she felt threatened enough to take her in."
I can see the gears turning in his head. He can see where the story is going.
"No..."
However much he doesn't want to.
"Oh yes. But you are not quite there. Whatever you are thinking? I am afraid it is not quite sufficient. I will say this Sirius, I just recently received the records from the healer we had examine her. You know me. You know what I have seen and done, what our family has seen and done. It disgusted me."
He is shaking now.
I pull out a copy that I made, just for this occasion, and offer it to him.
"I doubt you will understand all of it, but enough should get through. This is the price of your failure. Of your lack of responsibility. This is what happened to your goddaughter, the little girl that ended the war, and what could have happened to your children if not for Andromeda."
A dirty, wasted hand reaches out, and shakily takes hold of the stack of parchment.
He pulls it close but doesn't look at it.
Clutching it to his chest, he cannot bring himself to read it.
"I will leave you with the most damning fact, the one I intend to break Dumbledore with."
He stands, still and silent. Waiting for the blow, like a man waiting for the hangman to drop the rope, or swing the ax.
"She is strong, and her magic is the only reason she survived. Between the damage her body regularly endured and the starvation, she had to quite literally break the rules of magic to endure."
He sways, barely standing.
"Now, look at me Sirius."
He doesn't move.
"Look. At. Me."
Slowly, the barely recognizable face rises, the now almost hallow gaze meeting my own between long black strands.
"She did survive, Sirius. They did their best to break her, but she endured. And now she will have a chance to recover. You have failed, utterly, at everything you have ever done. But the next generation lives. I will be speaking to Dumbledore about his role in what has befallen her, and about getting you out of here."
I lean forward slightly.
"You will have your chance to make up for your mistakes, and I damned well expect you to do so, you bloody fool. Wallow in your misery for now, and then put yourself together, and do better."
With my piece said, I spin around and march away, leaving my Grandson standing alone in the dirty cell, clutching the parchment to his chest.
If all goes well this will either fix him, turning him into someone worthy of the name of Black, or it will break him utterly. I am tired of wasting my time on such an unstable element. He will shape up, or be discarded.