"What in Merlin's name is going on in here?"

The very sound of Orion Black's stern voice at the door was enough to spur Sirius to break through Narcissa's freezing charm. He fell back into a defensive crouch, growling low in his throat, eyes fixed on his father. Even filtered through the perceptions of a dog, Orion's presence was intimidating. He was a big, broad-shouldered man whose had could easily wrap around Sirius' throat whether in dog or human shape. He looked and smelled entirely too clean with his sleek black hair and manicured nails, but he was not foppish like a Malfoy. There was a terrible discord between the pleasant scent of expensive soaps and cologne and the faint, lingering smell of death and decay that permeated the house and belongings of this man. He was like a poisoned apple, superficially inviting but rotten to the core.

Orion looked between him and Bella with raised eyebrows. "Did Bellatrix acquire a new pet? It's not very well trained. Are you alright, Narcissa?" He took out his wand.

Narcissa still had her wand pointed at Sirius. "Change back. Now."

He couldn't take them both on as a dog even if he wanted to. It was an effort, but he managed to reach for his magic and regain his human form. Merlin, the taste of blood was disgusting to his human tongue. He gagged and spat out what he could. He remained on all fours a moment, before slowly dragging himself into a seated position, carefully supporting his broken leg with his free hand. He clutched his wand with white knuckles

"Salazar..." Orion breathed. Understanding instantly the gist of what had happened, he snapped his wand towards Bellatrix, summoned her wand, and conjured silver chains to bind her. Funny to think he would tacitly choose Sirius' side so automatically when Bella was the one who was unconscious.

"Since when have you been an animagus?" Narcissa asked. Her wand was pointed right between his eyes.

"Since I was fifteen," he groaned. He saw no point in lying.

"That long... Was Bella right then, if you're keeping a secret like that? Did you betray the Dark Lord?" Her voice gave no inflection, no indication of what she thought about the whole fiasco. Orion stilled, watching him intensely, his expression just as unreadable as Narcissa's. Sirius didn't answer, so she continued. "I think you did. I think you've been betraying him since the day the Order of the Phoenix burned down my house. Maybe even before."

Well. The kneazle was out of the bag. He was either dead now or he wasn't. "Betrayal implies a change of loyalty," Sirius said softly.

Unaccountably, Narcissa at least smiled. "Longer then."

"Since the beginning."

"You fooled me for a long time."

"I fooled Bella and the Dark Lord even longer."

Orion smiled too. He looked oddly... proud? That couldn't be right. "Of course you did. They're both psychotic, only too happy to believe what they want to be, is," his father said coldly.

Narcissa nodded agreement. "Doesn't matter if he's the greatest Legilimens of our time if he never used his talent to ask the right questions. Funny, how he could have saved himself, if rather than a demonstration of ruthlessness, he merely asked straightforward yes or no questions under combined Legilimency and Veritaserum to confirm his initiates' loyalty. An Occlumens can fool one but not both together." She was right. Such a simple measure would have tested his Occlumency far harder than the deep but ultimately directionless dives the Dark Lord had taken into his consciousness several times. The only possible way to conceal the fact he was hiding something if Voldemort had poured Veritaserum down his throat and asked him point-blank "are you a spy, yes or no?" would have been to construct a secondary personality within himself that believed whatever he had to say, which probably would have sent him to the mind healers at St. Mungo's in the attempt. But no, despite how he treated his followers, Voldemort believed he could inspire loyalty through fear and awe alone. Or at least, he wanted to believe that.

"I'm lucky he didn't make you a logistics officer until recently, cousin," he grunted.

"You're lucky he stopped listening to Abraxas years before you entered his orbit," Orion corrected. Now he sounded amused, and it was weirding Sirius out. Orion Black was never amused. He had less of a sense of humor than Voldemort.

"Guess I am. So, now what?"

Narcissa studied him. "You're pinned down and magically exhausted. Even if you 'bested Bella' this time, I can 'win' this duel against the traitor."

"Yes, I suppose you could. Do you want to?" He glanced at Orion; all signs of amusement had vanished.

"It would be convenient."

"True. But do you want to?" His eyes glinted as he looked back at his cousin. "I always preferred not to hurt you, Cissy. I only discorporated the Dark Lord at the end because he was about to pull Regulus into this mess too. I think you can understand that." He could practically feel Orion's displeasure at the mention of Regulus' name. Sirius felt a flutter of hope.

"I don't think we'd be having this conversation otherwise. You're one of Dumbledore's. You never wanted to kill anyone, did you?"

Sirius shrugged, as much as he could with one shoulder sliced open and watched Orion again. "Muggles and muggleborns? No. Rabastan? Abraxas? Karkaroff? Greengrass? Voldemort? Yes." His father's strange, proud expression returned, his smile widening with each name.

"My father?"

Sirius hesitated. "I didn't mean for him to die that night. I didn't mean for Bella to kill Rodolphus just now either."

"Why did Bellatrix kill Rodolphus exactly?" Orion asked idly.

"Because I put him under the Imperius curse and had him kill the Dark Lord. It worked. Bella didn't figure out that he must have been cursed in time. She lashed out too fast for me to stop her."

"Would you have stopped her?" Narcissa asked pointedly.

"I... maybe." He looked at Bellatrix and sighed. "I wanted him arrested and sent to prison, not murdered by his own wife. She'll be devastated when she calms down enough to think about what happened." He looked up at Orion again. "So, what do we do? I could probably call my handler. He can be the one to have defeated Bella and 'rescued me from my horrible captors' once again."

Narcissa actually laughed. "A foolish Gryffindor notion, that."

"Then what would you suggest?"

"I've suspected you long before now, as I alluded earlier. And I did nothing, because exposing you would risk myself, and to be honest, I did not object to your purpose. Except where Lucius was concerned."

"The Inner Circle are falling like flies, between you and the aurors," Orion said agreeably. He banished a few stray books out of his way and took a comfortable seat in an armchair. "With what you have done, and with our help, you can take control of those like Narcissa who care little for the cause in the Dark Lord's wake. You can finish what you started, destroying the Death Eaters from the inside out."

Sirius gaped at his father. "And you're going to help me... why?"

Orion smiled deviously. "Because I and all the other Blacks are doomed, should you fail. Surely, you realized that?" Had he? He'd certainly worried about Narcissa being collateral damage after destroying the first horcrux at Malfoy Manor, and worried about Regulus and Narcissa if the Hogwarts horcrux was destroyed on Reggie's watch, but he hadn't extended that to a blood feud against his entire House if he was the one outed as the traitor. Probably because he was estranged from so many of them.

"And not just us," Narcissa said. "Your friend, Heir Avery. He will be targeted as well. Any others you have worked closely with, any of their close associates. Your old Hogwarts friends..."

His blood ran cold. She was right. Of course she was. She was a born politician. "Honestly, Cissy, no, I hadn't quite thought of that. You're right. I'm a foolish Gryffindor. It's fucking miraculous I've made it this far without getting caught."

"Well, they do say Fortune favors the bold. Since you don't appear to have planned for this day, allow me to think for you." She leaned forwards to tap his shoulder as she spoke, stopping the bleeding at last. "First, we'll call your mother and Uncle Alphard back from the family crypt. Reveal to them what you are. Then, call Richard. Once the Blacks and Averys are aligned, well, the rest of the noble houses you have already decimated and should be able to frighten into line, especially with Elaine and I there to be the carrots to your, and my lord uncle's, sticks. You will have to send the aurors after Antonin as quickly as possible before he figures out what happened and manages to rally the remainder of the Inner Circle against you. We can inform Lord Torquil Travers about Sullivan and Megaera if and when they give us trouble..."

"And your victory shall be the glory of House Black," Orion finished with relish. Ah, so that's why Orion wasn't livid with rage at the things Sirius had done.

Sirius shook his head. "We've got a bigger problem to deal with first. The Dark Lord isn't entirely dead."

Her eyes widened. "But... you said..."

"I said Rodolphus killed him. He did, with the Avada Kedavra. But the Dark Lord had a contingency plan to ensure he didn't pass on and that either Bella, Dolohov, or I would be able to resurrect him."

"He made a horcrux," Orion said, realizing what he meant instantly. His rare smile vanished again.

Sirius laughed bitterly. "He made five. One of them was in Abraxas' keeping, in that secret room under the upstairs drawing room, and is the reason I burned down Malfoy Manor." Narcissa's eyes widened. "One of them Albus Dumbledore destroyed about two weeks ago. I've been trying to track down the other three, but I only know about one so far, the one he wanted Regulus to help move."

Narcissa shook her head at his folly. "It was a bit premature of you to target him, don't you think?"

Sirius nodded. "Yeah, well, I pretty much panicked when Reggie was on the line."

"You've doomed us."

"Maybe. Depends on how quickly I can destroy the other three."

"How long do we have?"

"Assuming Dolohov doesn't know about the horcruxes, well, all the time in the world. Assuming he does know, though, we have until he finds himself all the right potions ingredients to help him put the Dark Lord's soul into Lord Nott's body, which was still in a coma last I heard."

"Are you sure there's three left?"

"If you believe in Divinations, yes. Apparently, some seer went into a trance while at a job interview with Dumbledore and spilled the tea. Happened back in January."

"Interesting. I suppose your discovery and destruction of one horcrux must have influenced the future probabilities to such an extent as to create a surplus of temporal energy that manifested in that seer's trance as soon as she encountered a likely recipient."

"Oh. Um. Okay."

"I always got O's in Divinations theory. It was the practical that brought my N.E.W.T. down to Exceeds Expectations."

"Right. And I never took it at all."

"Of course you didn't," she said dismissively. "You're lucky the seer ran into Dumbledore instead of a Death Eater to out you. Anyway, where's the one you know about?"

"Hogwarts. Dumbledore's looking for it."

"Then it's safe enough for now. Any leads on the others?"

"Nope. One of them was at Nott's manor, but it's been moved, I don't know where." He gestured at Bella's still form between them. "She might know, but I don't really want to risk waking her up and asking her."

"You should have come home sooner, Sirius," Orion interjected. His tone was not harsh or resentful but rather matter-of-fact. Sirius reluctantly looked at him again and saw a cruel smirk. Sirius shuddered and hunched over a little, averting his eyes from that hated, feared face. That expression Sirius had seen many, many times before. Usually while his mother was thrashing him while his father looked on without intervening. Orion continued blandly, "We, of course, have The Complete Works of Ekrizdis in our library in Grimmauld Place. If you had read it, you and your... allies... might have been able to destroy all these horcruxes months ago, before we lost quite so many valuable lives last week, including your uncle's."

Sirius sighed. "The Ritual of the Feast of Innocents?" Orion nodded. "How bad is it?"

"Bad?"

"How complicated is the ritual, what does it actually do, and is it worth considering now before Dolohov manages to get everything he needs for the horcrux resurrection ritual?"

"Mm... it may be. The ritual is in theory quite simple. It can be performed at any time of day, any time of month or year, and requires no unusual equipment. The family even has a dementor in custody. The only difficulty is finding a wizard or witch with the ability and willingness to perform it. Your mother and I cannot, and most people would never be desperate enough to consider it. But, if you are and can find a willing person to try it, then yes, it would be a foolproof way to find and destroy the three remaining horcruxes."

Well, compared to everything else Sirius had done... "Whatever it is, I'll consider it. What is the sacrifice, and how do we determine who can perform it?"

"Can you cast a corporeal patronus, Sirius?"

"Yes," he answered cautiously.

The smirk twisted back into a sad and cruel smile, but a little wistful this time. "I did not know that. You could do it, then. All you need to sacrifice is the right kind of memory."

Sirius swallowed. Well. Compared to everything else he had done... "Let me see the ritual. I'll consider it. Also, could one of you fix my broken ankle?"

On Commanding the Soul-Eater

The Soul-Eater is born of Malis and Despeir and lacks mind and direccioun of its own. It may be herded lik a dumb animal with the use of the Patronus charm, and lik an animal may be confined by walls and water and ready supplie of foode. Thus did I beclose my creation within my island fortress, repleting the Eaters with the minds and souls of sailors and prisoners. However, to grant the Soul-Eater purpus requires greater majick. Thus, I devised the Ritual contained herein. Beware, the only purpus a Soul-Eater will tak is to devour. The Ritual shall determin only whether the Eater shall devour all Prey, or insted with great prejudis the Enemys of its Master.

Construct a Circle inscribed with a Pentagram. The points are marked with Ansaz for kenning, Raidho for travail and decision, Nauthiz for conflict and willpower, Hagalaz for wrath, and Gebo for exchange. The Eater shall be placed in the center of the Circle. The Wizard shall cast a corporeal Patronus and bid it not to attack but to offer itself, entering the Circle through the vertex of Gebo. While the Patronus lies prostrat, the Wizard shall pass through the other vertices in sequentia: at the vertex of Hagalaz, the Wizard shall offer memorys supporting the wrath and loathing he holds for his Enemy. At the vertex of Nauthiz, the Wizard shall offer memorys demonstrating his unassailable desire for dominion over his Foe. At the vertex of Raidho shall the Wizard offer direccioun: where and how to find the Enemys to be devoured. Be cautious, for the Eater empowered by this Ritual shall pass straight as a knife from one target to the next and shall not be impeeded. Any who try to resist it in its travel shall likwise be devoured, be they Friends or Foes of the Master. And finally at the vertex of Ansaz, the Wizard shall open his mind to the Eater and offer unresisting a Memory of exceeding power and purity.

The Memory shall be one and the same as what is used to summon the corporeal Patronus, thus confirming its Power. It shall originat from the Wizard's life befor the age of maturite, and shall be connected to no Resentment or Bitterness or other negativ or Dark thoughts other than truthful Grief, as any other associations would lessen its Purity. Should the memory be aksepted, the corporeal Patronus shall no longer conform to the will of the Conjuror but rather shall merge with and act as mind and mover of the Eater until the appointed task is compleet. The sacrificial Memory shall vanish from the Wizard's mind as if it had never been. The Eater shall issue forth from its prison and hunt its Prey. Sustained by the Patronus charm, no spell nor natural barrier shall stop it save the death of the Master or a Patronus more powerful still. When the mission is compleet, the Eater shall absorb the Patronus entire, and return to its natural state.

While the conneccioun betwene Eater and Master persists, the Wizard will likwise gain some powr of the Eater. A coldness and a tendencie to bring rust and rot. Be wary, for these signs may draw the Foe to vanquish the Wizard before the Eater's task is compleet. The wary practitioner will conceel himself until the deed is doon...

Sirius raised his eyebrows and looked up at his father, who was waiting expectantly. "Honestly, I was expecting it to be much, much worse. We're doing this."

Orion cocked his head to one side and set down the teacup Kreacher had brought for him (none for Sirius). "I did not expect you to go for it."

"Why not? It's efficient, and I highly doubt Dolohov or any of his allies are able to cast a corporeal Patronus at the best of times, let alone a "stronger" one than I can. A lot of Death Eaters can't even get the silver mist." Bella had told him that, when he had asked after Voldemort had brought up the possibility of bringing dementors to London before deciding on Infer.

"Yes, but the son I know had no interest in duty of any kind and would not have forsaken his own happiness so easily," Orion drawled.

Sirius glared at him. "And that's why I hate you. Failing to buy into and stand up for your sick priorities is a world away from fighting for what I believe in. I have done nothing but sacrifice my own happiness for the past year. Father."

"I suppose that is true. I am proud of the man you have become, Sirius."

"You what?"

Orion grinned again, showing all his perfect teeth. "My son has become so great as to defeat Lord Voldemort himself and strike fear into the hearts of his followers, so great even I see advantage in following his lead, contrary as it may be. What father would not be proud?"

Sirius rolled his eyes. "You are twisted and depraved, and I would very much like to never see you again when all of this is over."

Orion's eyes shone. "Oh, no, Sirius. Now that you have stepped into your power, you will never bow out again. This will never be over, not for you. What you have done this last year will redefine our world, and it will certainly define you. You may remold our family now, but you are never leaving us again, not until the day you die."

Sirius shivered. "Whatever. Where's the dementor?"

Orion snorted. "Foolish child. You'll learn. And I'll be here for you when you do."

"The dementor?"

"Come. I'll take you to it."

Author's note: Orion Black's abusive nature is way subtler than Walburga's. He doesn't need to scream and strike. He just controls everything about his family's life. Every childhood friendship up to the age of Hogwarts is sanctioned by Orion. Every punishment Walburga delivers is sanctioned by Orion. He can kick Bella down the family totem pole on a whim. He probably does exactly the same thing to Walburga without Sirius being entirely aware of it, controlling her friendships and movements to suit his political ends, locking her away, spousal rape, or otherwise hurting her when she displeases him. (She's so brainwashed by her upbringing, she wouldn't consciously consider it to be abuse, though, even if it subconsciously feeds her own rage and abusive behavior.) Orion Black discovers what Sirius has been up to and sees it as a reflection on his own power and potency and wants to use his son's success to enhance his own prestige. Anyway, the race for the horcruxes is on. Thank you for the reviews, I do appreciate them (except for the extremely foul spam one that I deleted for the second time. Please never post that kind of thing again). I am out of town next weekend, but with the rate I'm writing this at the moment, you might get an update in the middle of the week again anyway.