The Deleted Scenes

This is not a structured Epilogue. It in no way furthers the plot, and it goes both forward and back in time. In my imagination, this Sirius does mostly recover, but he's not like the Sirius in the books. He's friends with James in the future, but not as close as they once were. They have something like a sibling relationship, but not a close one. Richard has equal claim on best friend status, while Lucius is actually his most frequent companion since he's so easy to be around once Siri gets over the guilt a bit. Meanwhile Narcissa runs his life, including if and when he eventually gets married, since his marriage will be much happier if his wife is not actually interested in politics. Lyra is the light of his and Narcissa's life. Draco is never born because Narcissa almost died with the first pregnancy and has no need of a male heir. Remus does figure out the cure for Walburga's blindness as his Defense Mastery project.

No one ever figures out a better way to deal with the Black dementor though, so they have a debate when the feeding time comes due in ten years and end up creating a permanent post for a member of the Black family in the Ministry as executioner. Because entropy sucks. I liken the dementors to the demons in the Legend of Eli Monpress. Horrible things that can eat and can reproduce and can starve but never die.

And now for the actual scenes.

#1 Callbacks

Despite the enormous gala orchestrated by Narcissa with about seven hundred guests that Sirius was obligated to greet and smile at, his twentieth birthday was infinitely better than his nineteenth one spent in a St. Mungo's hospital bed. Sirius was still relieved when the formal event was over and most of the guests departed, leaving only his brother, his cousins, and some close friends continuing the party. Ted Tonks-Black and Dobby were minding the children and Lucius so Narcissa and Andromeda could both live a little and get uncharacteristically drunk on sparkling gigglewater. Snape was also here somewhere, not as an invited guest but as a gate-crasher who had somehow circumvented security to waylay Lily about an hour ago. The two hadn't been seen since.

The after-party was going rather well. Audrey's gift for Sirius was The Clash's latest album. It was hilarious watching the halfblood witch teaching Reggie, Cissy, Barty Crouch Jr., and Anita Selwyn how to dance to the strange music muggle-style (not that she phrased it quite that way). The Marauders, Andy and Richard needed no such instruction, heads and hair thrashing appropriately. Peter and Remus decided to levitate Anita's insane brother Narses so he could join in; the man was mute and unable to walk ever since his fateful encounter with Bella. He seemed to enjoy it, grinning madly and uttering excited grunts at irregular intervals, though he surely would have been enraged if he'd been able to comprehend what he was listening to.

It was their second run through the record, and the title track "Playing with Fire" was just starting. The song was Audrey's favorite, unmistakably inspired by the band's experience at the concert Sirius and the others had burned down. Sirius had mixed feelings about that, but he had to admit the song was a banger.

"What in the name of Roger Daltrey is going on in here?" a snide voice called, barely audible over the music.

James turned abruptly and overbalanced, knocking into Sirius. He managed not to fall on the record player but still bumped it hard enough for the needle to lift up.

Lily laughed into the new silence. "Really, Sev? Roger Daltrey?"

"I'm watching the heirs to the ever-so-Ancient and Noble Houses of Black, Avery, and Selwyn bobbing their heads to punk rock, Lily. I assure you, neither Merlin nor any other famous warlock has anything to do with this."

"Who's Roger Daltrey?" Richard asked lazily, his words a little slurred. Sirius was wondering the same thing.

Audrey gasped. "Oh, my god. I mean, obviously I knew you knew nothing, but you've never heard of The Who?"

"Who?"

"What about the Beatles?" Audrey asked rather than answering.

"I know about them," Richard said defensively.

"Really? How?" Snape asked skeptically.

Richard flushed and glanced at Sirius. "Er, it came up when we were doing reconnaissance for a job once."

Sirius grinned and elbowed him, remembering how awkward Richard had been talking to those two gay muggles. "I'm impressed you remembered, Dick."

"You can teach them about the Beatles and any other worthwhile muggle artists later, Bertram. For now, someone put the record back on," Andy ordered imperiously, causing Anita and Crouch to giggle.

"Wait! This is way more important!" Lily said.

"What is?" James asked, perking up.

Lily beamed and gestured at Snape. "Severus Snape here, my best friend, is as of today the youngest Potions Master ever!"

"Oh, wow, congratulations!" Richard said.

Crouch's expression also lit up. "But it takes years to complete a Mastery! You must have gotten accelerated approval? How? The new Blind Review of Academics and Innovations anti-Nepotism Statute should make it basically impossible!"

"Merit," Snape answered smugly.

"What was the subject of your thesis, Mr. Snape?" Anita asked.

"He's created a universal method for potion combination!" Lily announced. Snape merely smiled, apparently content to let Lily sing his praises for him. Sirius had never seen the man looking so genuinely happy.

"Really?" James asked in surprise. "I thought you were just devising a bunch of individual work-arounds..."

"It started that way, but then once he had made enough of those he was able to fully deduce the variables and laws governing the interactions in a way that's never been done before. It's revolutionary! They'll have to rewrite all the textbooks to include the Snape Method!"

"Calm down, Lily," Snape said.

"You're getting an Order of Merlin for this, Sev, no question."

"Perhaps," he conceded.

The party officially on hold while the Slytherins and Ravenclaws in the room flitted around Snape, and even the Marauders ventured forth to congratulate him, Sirius hung back. He didn't think Snape would much appreciate his input, cordial as the two of them had become. He made himself useful floating Narses back over to the couch and summoning a biscuit from the buffet to keep him distracted.

Author's note: Sirius, Richard, and Audrey are obligate The Clash fans forever. Narses ended up rather like the Longbottoms did in canon with the Imperius-Cruciatus combo. The only reason he's not in St. Mungo's is because it's not in Anita's interest for him to be in an institution where he may eventually benefit from experimental healing procedures. Because proper Slytherin Sacred Twenty-Eight can still be pretty awful people even when they manage to end up on the right side of history. A liberated Snape goes on to become an academic potions superstar. Maybe he'll cure his demented neighbor next, just for the hell of it.

BRAINS is Lily's and Remus' idea, with a goal of decreasing monetary influence on individual achievement and so make it easier for star students with poor backgrounds, like Snape, Remus and Lily, to land the jobs and accolades they deserved. Narcissa didn't like it because the Blacks and Malfoys both had a long tradition of patronage she was loath to give up, so this is one of the only bills Sirius overruled her on. He can turn to Richard and Anita to wrangle up the necessary votes without Narcissa's help if necessary, but I figure Narcissa ends up voting for it just to avoid publicly breaking with Sirius so the rest of their allies would still be uncertain who exactly was leading who. (Totally Narcissa most of the time).

#2 Not Friends

"Godfather, eh? I thought you hated me," Sirius commented as soon as James exited the room.

"What gave you that idea?"

"Mostly the fact that I never see you outside of Cissy's policy meetings where she designated you the official muggleborn representative. Even when James invites me over, you always happen to make plans with Snape or Marlene or your sister for that day."

Lily grinned mischievously. "I'm allowed to tolerate your presence for the sake of my marriage and for the political influence you have, but I promised Sev ages ago I'd never be 'friends' with you, and he does hold a grudge. Don't tell Sev I told you."

Sirius quirked an eyebrow and held out a hand. "Not friends?"

She took his hand and shook it, winking. "Not friends."

Note: Although I don't think Sirius would actually be named Harry's godfather in this AU. Not only would Lily have some legitimate objections, but James would have to be nuts to think it's a good idea since the Potters, unlike Narcissa, would be pretty upset if their child grew up with this Sirius' morals...

#3 Expecto Patronum

He looked down at the wand, loosely held in his lap. Twelve and seven-eighths inches, dragon heartstring, cherry wood. Quite flexible. Good for transfigurations... Wands of cherry wood are very moldable to the witch or wizard even after years of use. Appropriate to one hoping to redefine himself but not yet certain as to how.

He took some steadying breaths before raising the wand and drawing the outward spiral, reliving the visit he'd just had with James, Lily, and their new baby. "Expecto Patronum!"

Finally, for the first time in years, he was rewarded with a rush of faintest silver. He grinned in triumph. It wasn't perfect by any means, but it was a start. A real start.

Excitedly, he thought of James again. I love you, and I want to be there for you.

He was genuinely touched when James said that, but he had still been suspicious at the time, because he couldn't believe anyone would offer him an unconditional fraternal love. Especially not James, who he had deeply wronged and who at the time was acting as his keeper more than friend. He knew now he had been wrong. Distance had brought clarity. Sirius may have moved out, but James never let him go, never would. The care was real. As Uncle Alphard put it, loving despite, not because. "Expecto Patronum!"

More silver mist, still faint, but a sweet, sweet success. He'd tried that memory before and failed to conjure anything at all.

He thought of Richard, prim and proper, remembering everyone's birthdays. You let me keep my sanity. You are already forgiven. Prat. "Expecto Patronum!" Silver mist again!

He thought of Reggie, Hogwarts graduate and top of his class, splashing delightedly in the warm waves of a tropical beach, surrounded by curious nifflers. Happy. Safe. Carefree for the first time in his life. "Expecto Patronum!" It was still silver mist, but brighter, larger, and lasted longer.

He thought of his goddaughter. He thought of the first time he saw her in the hospital, the first time he held her at Grimmauld Place. The first time she smiled at him. The first time she said his name. The times she would crawl to him instead of her mother or aunt or Regulus or anyone else. She's alive because of you. There is no one in this world I would rather have as Lyra's protector than you, if I can get you back to what you can be."Expecto Patronum!" Sirius dropped the charm quickly, heart thudding in his chest. It was still just silver mist, but there was a hint of a form, and it was not a dog.

Pensively, Sirius tucked his wand away, stood up, and turned back towards the house. What he could be. Apparently, not a dog anymore. This deserved more thought.

One thing was certain: he would figure out how to be the best godfather to little Lyra and Harry in the whole fucking world.

Note: Sirius' new patronus will eventually be a falcon, because it's all angsty apparently. Per Pottermore: "you may have been a troubled soul who decided to cast away their old, evil habits to fly down the hard, right path. Your nature pulls you to the dark, but you've chosen to live for the light."

#4 Imposter?

Sirius jumped when Moody's gruff voice greeted him from behind.

"Constant vigilance, lad. I wasn't even trying to sneak up and startle you. Anyway, how urgent is the intel you mentioned in your message?"

"Not."

"Good. It can wait for a cuppa then." So saying, he marched straight through the parlor where Sirius was sitting and over towards the kitchen. Sirius cocked an eyebrow at his back. It was uncharacteristic for Moody to delay a business-related conversation. He got up and followed the man to find him simultaneously boiling water, floating a teapot and cups off the shelf, and sorting through Euphemia's tea collection.

"Where are the Potters?"

"At Lily's sister's wedding, or I suspect the reception by now."

"Ah, that's right. The muggle lass. Well, that'll be eye-opening for Euphemia. She's tolerant of course, but I don't think she's ever spent more than half an hour in the muggle world in her entire life. Milk or lemon?"

"Are you alright?" Sirius asked rather than answering.

Moody's magical eye spun up to look at him. "'Course. Why?"

"You're being social."

"I'm allowed."

"The state of your house would imply otherwise." If he hadn't already known Alastor Moody lived alone and had done for many years, it would have been an easy guess after seeing the place. Ms. Arabella Figg was still badgering the auror about the pile of dirty dishes in his sink, the various overgarments and papers strewn about the sitting room, and lack of any kind of refreshments when Sirius and Richard had arrived. Moody had defended himself, saying the gathering "wasn't a bloody tea party" and that he had spent all morning modifying his wards for his visitors to even be able to enter his property. Ms. Figg's complaints were quickly addressed when Albus Dumbledore arrived to display his mastery of household cleaning charms, which only capped off the surreality.

Moody scoffed.

"What curse did Alastor Moody teach me before I joined the Death Eaters?" Sirius asked suddenly, gripping his wand in his pocket.

Now Moody chuckled. "Natrium Morticai. Not a bad security question, but you really should ask those first thing."

"Just checking, since you're being weird."

"I'm not being weird, I'm being friendly. There's a difference." He looked up with both eyes. "I'd like to think we are friends, not just spy and handler at this point."

Sirius blinked. "Er, sure. I suppose." He did like the older wizard.

Moody waved his wand to send two cups of tea over to the breakfast table and took a seat, gesturing for Sirius to sit opposite. "Good. Now, what did you want to talk about?"

Note: Moody is not good at non-business relationships, but he's trying lol. I picture his house as a complete disaster of mismatched furniture and clutter. Alastor had been living alone for twenty years and had a sufficient number of plates to just do them all once a week. He couldn't remember the last time he'd invited someone over to his abode, other than the times he'd hosted the meetings with Albus and Arabella. Arabella had scoffed at his cheap black teabags then too.

And naturally, Dumbledore being the best at literally everything would give even Molly Weasley a run for her money when it comes to household charms.

#5 Supervision

Any of Sirius' private time evaporated now that James was back and determined to make up for missing time. It wasn't just James following him around, either. Euphemia, Lily, Remus, and Peter all pitched in when he was at home, and Moody always had aurors minding him at the Ministry. Mostly, Sirius didn't mind. The company wasn't intrusive. Lily and Peter usually offered to help with whatever he was working on, assuming Narcissa wasn't there to talk down at Lily. Euphemia mostly puttered about her own projects and occasionally dragged him out into the garden for a break. James and Remus liked to talk about feelings, though, and it was increasingly annoying. Both of them had done it together the day after the excursion to Grimmauld Place. Sirius could understand that. James was clearly still trying to wrap his head around what had happened. Remus was there for moral support, as was Peter, though he didn't say as much as the others. So Sirius nodded in all the right places when they mentioned things like not wanting him to be in the position where he had to make "those kinds of decisions" anymore.

Sirius only realized there was something odd about the arrangement, that the companionship had been scheduled, when Snape showed up in the Potter library on Sunday, nodding a dismissal to Peter, who quickly fled. There was no potion offered, which meant Snape was here... to talk?

"What are you doing here?" he asked blankly.

Snape smiled slightly. It was weird to see. "Earning my raise."

"Er, what?"

"Potter thought you might talk to me. As I was not particularly interested in talking to you, he offered to compensate me for my trouble."

Sirius sat back in his chair, confused. "Why the hell would James think I want to talk to you?"

Snape's hard grin widened. "Is my presence still so offensive, Black? Good to know I managed to make a lasting impression on the Savior of the Wizarding World."

Sirius snorted despite himself. "I mean, you're a prick, but mostly I'm just confused. Did James accidentally inhale a Confusing Concoction at work or something?"

"That would explain some things," Snape agreed, sliding into a chair. "But no. He came up with the idea after your little outing to the Black family residence last week. It's part of your rehabilitation plan, 'facing a victim' as it were."

Sirius stared at him. "My what now?"

Snape returned the stare for a few seconds, then rolled his eyes. "Let me guess. Potter and Lupin cocked it up, said a bunch of emotional waffle rather than spelling out the plan in concrete terms and took your bemused silence for agreement?"

"What are you on about?"

"That's a 'yes.' Look, Black, Potter is convinced you're going to seriously hurt or possibly kill someone who doesn't deserve it if the rest of us don't do something. Hence, why you now have 24/7 chaperones."

Sirius looked at him. That did explain things in retrospect, but he was still surprised. "Huh."

Snape leaned forwards slightly. "Is Potter making a panic about nothing or no?"

"I don't know. What did he actually say to you?"

"He called a meeting while you were at the Ministry on Wednesday. I believe his exact words were that when you get worked up about something, 'it doesn't take very long for you to act on a war time solution.'"

Sirius considered that a moment and shrugged. "Yeah, I can see how he would take it that way."

"Mm. He and Lupin were supposed to tell you that killing and torturing and so on are supposed to be last resort options, and that if you feel the urge to go after someone, you are first to check in with whoever is with you to see if there is a more peaceful solution available. Even if you think your intended victim deserves it."

Sirius snorted. "Got it."

"Lupin was also supposed to talk to you about coping with self-loathing and guilt."

"Well, he's certainly been talking at me a lot," Sirius allowed.

Note: you're welcome for not dragging out the post-Voldie stuff even more. This was just a funny conversation with Snape, even though I couldn't get the scenes to work no matter how I redid it with different, more appropriate characters.

#6 Lord Black

"Alright, here's how things are going to go from now on," Sirius said. He levitated a piece of parchment over to where Orion sat propped up in bed; his father's arms were still too weak after the de-transfiguration to hold anything. Seemed the healer from St. Mungo's wasn't quite as proficient at splicing nervous tissue back together as Lord Voldemort had been. Orion would still heal. It would just take longer. Orion would be returning to the Ministry Committee tomorrow, but he'd be accompanied by Kreacher at all times, avoiding reporters, and using disillusioned splints on both wrists. "Here's the list of names I've vetted, whom you will argue clemency when they are brought before the court." A second parchment followed the first. "And here's the list of people we're sending to Azkaban."

Orion read through both lists, then looked up at him. "I won't bother telling you this is unwise, since you won't care, but some of these names... it's just impossible. All you'll accomplish is making enemies! Be reasonable!"

Sirius shook his head. "No, these are the ones I know I have enough evidence on. It won't just be my word against theirs. I've got half a dozen witnesses lined up for each of these. I've got another list of people I'd like to send to prison but need a bit more dirt on first."

"You have five Lords and Heirs on the list."

"Yes, I know."

"Everyone of the Sacred Twenty-Eight who has been imprisoned so far was caught red-handed at the scene of the crime, and only after Crouch instituted his more draconian policies. Now that the fighting is over, any opportunity there might have been to move against such powerful persons to this degree is lost. Surely you realize that. You still have leverage to negotiate with them, but you can't think you'll actually be successful in sending Lord Selwyn and the others to prison."

"I really think I will. I mean, Crouch will love it. You'll vote for it, now. Narcissa will vote for it. There's my majority."

"Narcissa is no fool, and she has the resources of House Malfoy to protect herself from you if you try to coerce her into doing something not in her interests."

"Oh, believe me, she's very interested. She's the one who got the best evidence against Selwyn, actually."

Orion scowled as he realized it was the younger generation conspiring against him, not just Sirius. "Which is?"

"Anita Selwyn's testimony. I've signed my statement already. That's what Moody used for the arraignment, but Anita has a lot more to say about her father than I do."

Orion's eyes widened at the implications. Sirius watched him silently, correctly, conclude that Sirius might have the votes for this even if he took it to the full Wizengamot, not just the five-person tribunal. He licked his lips... "You will tear the Sacred Families apart from the inside out."

"The Sacred Families really need to have their boils lanced," Sirius said. "I've got the willing support or favors owed from at least one member of every single family, the ones that survived anyway. It's really the Sacred Twenty-Five, now, isn't it? I might have to settle for threatening some of them into submission that I can't send to Azkaban, but I don't imagine that will be too hard once Lord Selwyn and Lord Carrow are locked up. Anyway, House Black will still be preeminent, never fear, but we're going to use our position to take the lead in modernizing."

"What did you have in mind?" Orion asked dully.

"First off, blood purity is a bullshit political ideal." Sirius cast a quick silencing charm when Orion immediately opened his mouth to object. "Even if we could prove that pure lines produce more powerful witches and wizards and fewer squibs - which we can't, just look at the Dark Lord and the Gaunts, a damned prodigy born of a muggle and a near-squib from what Dumbledore found out - it's been a hugely damaging policy. Blood supremacists with nothing else to recommend them are too easily led by demagogues like the Dark Lord. Inbreeding causes too many genetic problems, to the point the pureblood families are shrinking rather than growing as time goes on. Not to mention how many of us died in this particular war. So. We're going to let Andromeda back into the family." Still silenced, Orion pinched his eyebrows expressively, fury evident. Sirius grinned. "Now, now, we can turn this to our advantage if we make Ted - Andromeda's husband, if you forgot his name - take the Black name."

If anything, Orion looked even more livid, so Sirius just kept talking. "I've got it all worked out. Narcissa already agreed to it. What we will advocate is to let lower class wizards to take their wife's name rather than the other way around. Right now, that's not even an option, and it should be, legally. It would protect our women's status. Now, some of the Sacred Houses will probably want to bar children of such a union from marrying back into the main line for three generations and bar from the House succession for seven generations, to ensure no squib taint or whatever. I can live with that. But you see, this way House numbers and power can more safely increase and avoid the inbreeding problems that happened to the Gaunts." He took in Orion's mildly confused expression and explained, "I'm told there was some muggle last century who figured out how inheritance actually works. It's called genetics, where 'genes' are the element in the bloodline that carry the instructions for various traits. Say muggle blood does increase the risk of squibs, you can calculate the odds of that gene or genes persisting over the generations. I had that halfblood Audrey write out the equations, and someone else check the arithmancy. I can show you later if you don't believe me. She's also interested in seeing if she can run the muggle-style experiments to isolate the genes that produce magic in the first place, but that's going to take a long time from what she was saying about it."

There being no questions, since Orion was still silenced, Sirius moved on to his next topic, this one proposed by Lily. "I'd also like to add educational reform to our agenda, with a proposal to update the Muggle Studies course at Hogwarts to focus on wizard-muggle relations and societal differences, mandatory first through fifth year. It really is useful to know how to navigate the muggle world a little bit, but this way the muggleborns will learn how to better integrate into our society..."

Sirius gleefully continued to regale his silenced, bedbound father with all the ways he and Narcissa and the others hoped to improve things while Sirius' ability to flatten any opposition lasted, from werewolf sanctuaries, to stronger laws against domestic and child abuse, to judicial and bureaucratic reform. The best part was knowing that Orion really couldn't stand in his way any more. Even if he disagreed with Sirius' agenda in public, the Black gold and Black contracts were no longer his. The only thing Orion could trade on for himself, was himself. And they both knew his worth was nothing compared to Sirius' right now.

#7 Tell not Show

"I don't understand why it's so important for the head of the DMLE to meet with you, Sirius," Lily said when Narcissa finally paused for breath in detailing her exhausting-sounding proposed agenda.

Narcissa rolled her eyes. "Your blood is showing," she muttered. Richard elbowed her.

Lily glared right back. "I'm not stupid, Miss Prissy Pureblood. I get that it's a big deal for Sirius, one of your fancy elite to come out as a spy against Voldemort, especially with his family backing him up for a change. I get that there's a lot of symbolic significance there. But I've also been led to believe that Auror Moody and therefore Mr. Crouch already have the vast majority of the dirt that Sirius got on various Death Eaters and upper-class sympathizers, because Sirius was sharing it with Moody the whole time. So why is it all such a legal hullabaloo?"

"Because almost everything I told Moody was relayed through a portrait. A portrait can't legally testify. And the portrait was destroyed, anyway. Even once they reactivate it, it won't remember anything. Plus I'm an Occlumens."

"Which means that the court can't rely on a Veritaserum interrogation either," Richard explained before anyone asked. "They just have to take Sirius' testimony at face-value. If he contradicts now what he told the portrait before, that doesn't matter. The court has to go with what he tells them on the official record. Most of the Inner Circle were Occlumensi."

"Huh. Whatever would they have done if you'd actually gotten killed?" Lily asked.

Sirius shrugged. "They still could have used the Order's information as probable cause to issue the arrest warrants and bring Death Eaters to trial, but it's likely a lot of people would have gotten off for lack of evidence, assuming no one else came forward to testify and no physical evidence was discovered. At least once the DMLE's wartime powers expire."

"Which will happen within the next two weeks, according to the Wizengamot resolution," Narcissa finished impatiently. "And which is why you absolutely shouldn't sign anything tomorrow besides your own Receipt of Charges."

Lily's eyes widened indignantly. "You... Because as soon as he signs a prepared statement about the Order's intelligence, it becomes admissible. Is that it? And- and you two are here trying to make sure your bloody psycho friends and cousins go free!"

Narcissa sniffed in distaste. "You really shouldn't speak of what you don't understand, mu-"

"Cissy," Sirius cut her off tiredly before she finished the slur.

"Might you actually withhold evidence, Sirius?" Remus asked quietly.

Sirius sighed and rubbed his forehead. "It's complicated. I mean... take Barty for example. Crouch's son."

"The one at Hogwarts?"

"Yeah. Half the Death Eater meetings in the last month included discussions on how to recruit him, Imperius him, or just plain kidnap and torture him as a means of getting leverage over his dad. Say that was successful, and wide-eyed, unsuspecting Barty winds up with a brand on his arm a month after he graduates Hogwarts and no option but to kill or be tortured, kill or be killed. Would he really deserve life in Azkaban for caving in to that kind of pressure? Or say he was kidnapped and his dad caved to blackmail. Would he deserve to have his career ruined? Barty's an only child, you know."

"Well, no," Lily admitted after a moment. "Surely you can just testify everything you know and let the committee sort it out, though?"

"No, he can't. That would be suicide. Politically and probably literally," Richard said firmly. "He's got to take a side, either with his dad or make his own stand, choose his own alliances, and force Orion to align with him."

"Why? Why not go with Dumbledore and Crouch and cut Orion back out? They're far more trustworthy, I'd think."

"Trust has nothing to do with it. It's because House Black convinced so many purebloods to turn against the cause on that last day with promises that they had the power to decide the fates of their enemies and allies once it was over. If Sirius just abdicates his influence to the Ministry, all those promises are worthless, and Orion will cut Sirius off to salvage what he can. Assassins, blood curses, everything short of disowning." Funny how disownment was a fate worse than death, Sirius thought wryly.

"And... that won't happen if Sirius decides to launch a power struggle against his own dad, instead?" Peter asked, sounding both frightened and confused.

"Not if my cousin chooses his own alliances appropriately and in a timely manner," Narcissa said. "Sirius, speak to me. What do you want to do? Do you want to go along with Uncle Orion? Or do you want me to sound out our own alliances on your behalf?"

"And who would you choose for him?" Lily asked snidely.

"Depends. A great fewer dirty old men, I imagine." Sirius smiled, slightly, briefly. Narcissa noticed and reached across to squeeze his hand. "I can't decide for you, Siri," she said gently. "If you want to give up and follow your father because it's easier, you can. He'll compose a statement, and you can sign it. If you want to throw your life away and sign off on what you've already told Moody, you can do that, too. I won't be able to see you again if you do since I'll have no choice but to keep lockstep with your father for my own and Lyra's sake, but you can do that, if it's what you want."

"Narcissa..." Richard said nervously.

"Hush. This is a family matter. Sirius, if you want to make a different path, I can help you every step of the way." She watched him silently for a moment, then said, "And I will absolutely judge you if you make the wrong decision."

Sirius finally laughed even as everyone else stiffened. "You're really pushy, you know that?"

"Only because you need to be pushed. It would be downright criminal for you to give up the opportunity you've made for yourself. So, who do you want to damn? Your father's enemies? Everyone? In which case I'll go pack my bags and leave the country rather than endure another civil war. Or..."

"Only those who deserve it," Sirius answered finally. He knew Narcissa was right. He'd mostly understood the politics since the day his father had dragged him out of bed to say hello to that reporter, he just hadn't had the stomach to own up to it.

"Brilliant. And your definition of that would be...?"

He sighed. "I don't know, Cissy. But anyone who got themselves branded with the Dark Mark had best have a hell of a good explanation as to how exactly they were coerced and what they might do to make up for it."

"I assume gold doesn't 'make up for it.'"

"Paid to me? No."

"Well, that's something," Narcissa said after a moment. "Do you have a list in mind of who you want to send to Azkaban and who you'd rather save?" Sirius shook his head. Besides Richard and his own family, he'd already gotten most of the Death Eaters he was close enough with to know their motives killed or arrested, directly or indirectly. "Then I have my work cut out for me. Richard, can we count on you?"

"Yes. And I can bring around Mum and my uncles."

"Count on him for what?" Peter asked.

"Joining Sirius' alliance, obviously. Anyone else we should bring in right away?"

"Audrey Bertram," Richard said immediately, with a glance at Sirius. Sirius nodded.

"Who?"

"The halfblood who was assigned to our team back in September."

"Oh, good. She can help widen our circle outside the Twenty-Eight, might even get more intelligence for Sirius to deliver if we play our cards right. You can help her, Pettigrew. Your family name is known but fairly neutral and will open doors for her without being obvious about it."

"You'll like Audrey," Sirius told him quietly. "She's sharp, but nice." Peter glanced at Sirius, before nodding warily.

"Remus?" Sirius murmured.

The werewolf jumped slightly, caught the unspoken question in Sirius' gaze, and nodded. "I'll reach out to my contacts. You could be their best chance."

Narcissa raised an eyebrow at him but decided not to question that right away. "Alright. Sirius, I'll compose a manifesto or three, and you can pick the version you like the most and use that for the reporters tomorrow. I'll come by in the morning early to go over it with you. We'll reconvene tomorrow evening after I get back from the Ministry." With that, she abruptly got up, bade Sirius good night, and left without a backwards glance.

Lily frowned after her and then rounded on Sirius. "Am I invited? Or are muggleborns not allowed in your little court?"

While Sirius could only stare tiredly at her, Richard laughed. "Give it some time, Evans. If it's up to Sirius, I'm sure blood supremacy will be on the chopping block sooner or later, but he has to bully half our cousins into submission first and keep people like you out of sight until then. He can walk the walk and talk the talk with the best of them. They'll forget he fooled the Dark Lord and assume he couldn't possibly fool them too. Believe me, half the Sacred Families won't realize what they're signing up for until it's too late, thinking they can manipulate Sirius just like they do Ministry officials." He got up and nodded to them all. "Good night, Sirius. I've got to report back to your father, and convince my mum to throw in with you before tomorrow."

"Good night."

"Well. Congratulations?" Remus said after Richard finally left.

Sirius burst out laughing. "Remus, if you thought leading a political faction was ever on my agenda, you are sorely mistaken."

#8 The Rat and the Nerd

The problem of getting Sirius out of Grimmauld Place suddenly became markedly more urgent. Poor Peter had watched, horrified but afraid to intervene, as Walburga Black crept into Sirius' room, unbuttoned her son's night shirt, stunned him when he started to stir in his drugged sleep, and proceeded to scratch a series of runes into the skin of his chest with a stone knife. Once finished, she had pricked her own finger to rub her blood into the scratches, at which point Sirius had awoken again yelling in pain and anger and thrown her off. The magic didn't take, luckily.

Orion was furious with Walburga when he dragged her back down to their room. It was the Black matron's subsequent screams that woke Narcissa, who cautiously came to check on Sirius and walked in on a spooked Peter Pettigrew attempting to clean the wound. Narcissa took Peter's unexpected presence remarkably well, all things considered.

"Expelliarmus. Stupefy. Petrificus Totallus. Incarcerus," Narcissa incanted rapidly.

"No, Cissy, don't," Sirius grunted, reaching an arm protectively around Peter's frozen form.

"Who in Merlin's name is this?" Narcissa hissed.

"Friend. He's helping..." Sirius said vaguely. The damned Dreamless Sleep potion was tugging on his eyelids and bogging down his thoughts.

"A friend, eh?" she repeated skeptically. "A friend I've never seen before sneaking into your bedroom to, I don't know, put a flesh-eating curse on your chest?"

"Nah, tha' was Mum, an' it's not a curse. Well, not that kind. Pete's from school, been here for days..."

Her eyes sharpened. "A Gryffindor friend, then?" Sirius nodded. "How the hell did he get in?"

Sirius scrunched up his face, trying to remember. "Richard's pocket? I think tha's it. Dunno how he got in there..."

She snorted. "Right. Richard's pocket. That's exactly how that works. I guess it serves me right for asking when you're only half lucid." She prodded his chest experimentally with her wand and grimaced. "You've really done it now, Auntie... She was trying to enact a blood compulsion on you, Sirius. At least, I think that's what it was. Lucky for you, it didn't take. Wonder why it didn't?"

"Tat."

"Regardless, it's going to be painful for awhile, but I think it will heal over just fine. Your father or Uncle Alphard can look at it later. Ferula." Bandages unfurled from her wand tip and wound around him. She turned her wand back on Peter. "Rennervate. Explain yourself."

Narcissa listened patiently as Peter stumbled his way through an explanation, including his relationship to Sirius and exactly how he he had gotten into the house and managed to remain hidden. She was at first extremely opposed to his ultimate goal of smuggling Sirius out of the house, until Peter, babbling in panic, revealed they had identified the object of Sirius' sacrificial memory as Fleamont Potter. Narcissa immediately decided based on that information that getting Sirius to the Potters was probably the best thing to do after all, in order to shore up whatever memory strands were left connecting to Fleamont's wife and son and so smooth over the ragged edges of Sirius' psychic wound. She agreed to help, on the condition Narcissa retained unlimited access to Sirius after. Sirius nodded his agreement without really thinking about it and fell asleep again while the others were talking to James in the communication mirror.

When Sirius awoke in the late morning, it was to Narcissa and Uncle Alphard studying his latest injury. The wound was significantly larger than the original scratches had been, blistered and weirdly pustulent for being fresh.

Uncle Alphard smiled at him as he spooned an orange salve onto Sirius' chest. "I wouldn't think the Ritual of the Feast of Innocents would have made you immune to blood-based curses. The Inferi rituals wouldn't do it either."

"Good morning to you, too," Sirius mumbled.

"So what did?"

"Runic tattoo."

Alphard raised an eyebrow and pointed his wand to replace the bandages. "Where? We've already inspected all your...body art, and found nothing of the sort."

Sirius yawned and gingerly pushed himself upright. He really had to pee. "Right arm, under the other text. Got it done the last time I ran away from this place."

"Hmm. How prescient."

"Alright, mystery solved," Narcissa cut in. "Uncle, you were telling me about Sirius' potions regimen, since Auntie is indisposed and can't monitor his response."

"Yeah? Where's Mum?" Sirius asked.

"Locked in the cellar until your father forgives her. I did warn her," Alphard said drily. "There's really not much to know about the potions, Narcissa dear. It's the same combination Livius used to survive the Ritual, though he of course had the good sense to start taking it before the sacrifice. The Pepperup is for the poikilothermia and fatigue. The Dreamless Sleep is self explanatory. The Nepenthea Pharmakon and Confectio Alchermes are for the despair, confusion, and grief that always result from the Ritual."

Narcissa pointed at the phials on the desk. "That is not what a typical Confectio Alchermes looks like."

"No, I'm using Dai Ryusaki's modified version. It's more effective. He developed it and the Crown of Mneme to treat refugees of a massive lethifold attack in the Philippines, you know."

"No, I didn't know that."

"Oh, yes. The potion worked very well for blunting the trauma, but not all the refugees had blood relatives available, of course, which led him to his development of the Crown. And that led to his wrongful execution in 1691. Fascinating historical figure. I made a special trip to his home when I was in Japan. There was an oblique reference in some of his trial notes my contacts at Mahoutokoro and I thought might lead to a previously undiscovered stash of his research journals. A dead end, but certainly worth the trip. Oh, and the Pharmakon is a modified version as well. I had to tinker with that one a bit, using Golpalot's method and a Flamel transformation to substitute the death caps for the angel's trumpet, since we can't have young Sirius forgetting anything more than he already has."

"Good to know I've been drinking death caps twice a day," Sirius commented testily.

"Oh, I test every batch to make sure it isn't poisonous," Alphard assured him.

Note: Alphard is the nerdiest of all nerds

#9 Family

Sirius raised an eyebrow. "You don't think she deserves it? You know what she is. You've known longer than almost anyone."

"I know she's my sister, and that the degree of Black madness she carries is not her fault. You're right, I was made aware of her nature as soon as I was old enough to understand it. My parents made sure of that, just as they taught me to love and care for my family despite its flaws."

"She doesn't get a pass for murdering more people than I care to count just because she's blood."

"And you do? Be grateful for my principles, Sirius. You have sinned against me far more directly than Bella has, and you claim to understand the meaning of your actions."

Sirius flinched and yielded the point. He cracked a conciliatory grin. "Have it your way. I can just put a Petrification curse on her then, if you'll unstick my hands." She did not even blink before releasing him and handing his wand back. It was, after all, the perfect way to keep her quiescent, impossible to interrogate for the short term, and yet still alive. He gently levitated Bella up onto the settee, vanished most of the blood, and finally cast the curse.

"Good enough. So. We now have two objectives: to destroy all of the horcruxes before Antonin can complete the ritual, or else the resurrected Dark Lord will kill you, and to kill or I suppose capture as many of the fanatics as possible, or else they will kill you." Her eyes went distant for a moment. "This will be a schism along the natural fracture lines, with House Black taking rightful leadership of the pureblood partisans in the power void the Dark Lord has left. You should not be known as the instigator outside the heart of the alliance. Not yet, not until after the horcruxes and Dolohov are dealt with. Too many families will want vengeance to willingly ally with you until your power is plain for all to see. To everyone but House Black, Malfoy, and Avery, you are a rebel against your family head, and you should stay that way until the opportune moment."

"If you say so." He cared less about the politics of the situation and more about dealing with the horcruxes.

"Kreacher!"

The old, hunchbacked house elf appeared the instant she called him. He took in the wreckage of the room and frowned deeply, muttering under his breath as he started to pick up torn and burned books. It took him a moment to notice Sirius and scowl at him. "The shameful son returns. Oh, how my poor mistress rues the day he was born."

"Great to see you, too, Kreacher," Sirius grumbled.

"Kreacher, go fetch Lord and Lady Black here. Now. Tell them the Heir Black requires urgent conference with them to safeguard against a grave threat to our House."

Kreacher straightened up slightly, set the few books he'd picked up next to a shelf, bowed to Narcissa while disdaining Sirius, and apparated away. Sirius, meanwhile, crawled over to the nearest bookcase and started reading titles. "Cissy, do you know if there's a copy of The Complete Works of Ekrizdis here? I've been looking for one for months."

She scoffed at him. "You're the one who grew up here. But I should think it would be in the library not the drawing room, you complete and utter imbecile."

"Find me there, then." He probed his ankle with his wand, conjured a rigid splint, got up, and limped out of the room.

#10 Traitor

Richard's wide eyes flicked from Bella's sleeping form to Narcissa's dispassionate expression, finally to Sirius. The blood drained from his face. "Oh... fucking Morgana with a broomstick it's you!"

Sirius burst out into inappropriate laughter. "Richard, language!"

"Merlin. Oh, Merlin. You!" His hysterical shriek sank to a shocked whisper. "You... you killed the Dark Lord!"

Sirius grinned. The jig was up. He might as well enjoy it. "I contrived his discorporation, yes. Unfortunately for the world, he's a hard bugger to kill indefinitely."

#11 When Sirius first discovered Fleamont hired Snape, before he had moved beyond his own obsession with Snape/was hamming it up for Bella's sake:

"That son of a hag."

"Snape?"

"No, Fleamont. Well, yes, Snape too, but that's obvious."

#12 26th March, 1979, 6 o'clock pm. Ministry of Magic, London, Level 2:

"Is this an Order thing?"

"I'm sure I don't know what you mean."

"Don't lie to me, Moody. You're not nearly as upset with how slowly this operation is proceeding as I would have expected you to be. Which means you're taking it slow deliberately. Which means you think the massacre at the Prewitts' wasn't Voldemort's only goal and that you might still have a chance to pull one over on him."

"I may be using information obtained from the Order to guide my decisions in the field, sir," Alastor admitted.

Barty regarded him silently for a moment. "I can read the writing on the wall just as well as you can. Do you think they're after me again, or Minchum this time?"

"You, probably."

"And you want me to go home tonight to bait the trap for you?"

"No, actually. I want you to make all the right noises today that make it look like you're going home tonight, but you'll actually stay here under a Disillusionment charm. I'm told the Order has someone willing to Polyjuice as you for as long as necessary."

"When exactly were you planning on telling me this?"

"After the fact. I was planning just to stun you and hide you here against your will this evening, but I'll be happier if you're willing to cooperate and awake to defend yourself if someone comes to check you've really left."

"I'm not at all sure I'm willing to cooperate, Alastor. My wife is at home, too, you know."

"And she has to stay there, at least until the trap springs," Alastor said firmly. "If she leaves the wards, You-Know-Who might realize we're onto him."

"If you're guessing his plan correctly."

"We'll be watching Minchum, too," Alastor reassured him. It wasn't a lie. The Minister had a bodyguard of two hit wizards at all times when he left the Ministry, same as Barty and several other department heads did. And the Order always had someone watching both men. That wasn't going to change, even tonight.

Barty sighed and ran his fingers through his short, grey hair, leaving it mussed. That itself was unusual for him, and a clearer sign of stress than Alastor had ever seen his superior display before. "I would like to disallow this. I would like to forbid you to use my home and my wife like this, or at least refuse to stay here and trust you to protect her on my behalf. But... if you are right, and Voldemort is determined to come for me, tonight or tomorrow or the day after... If I or someone wearing my face do not go home, you expect him to strike somewhere else, don't you?"

"Most likely. It would be a waste of Inferi if he didn't. Might try to get to you here. Might go after the Minister. Might just return to the Thames and exterminate all the muggles we haven't Obliviated yet. Might try Hogwarts, even with them locked down, since we've called Dumbledore and their Charms Master away to help protect the muggles from the Inferi." Both Dumbledore and Flitwick were carrying emergency portkeys to take them back to the school in a heartbeat if needed, but still.

Barty visibly shuddered. "My actual presence tonight would make things worse, wouldn't it? Forced to choose between preserving my life and that of my wife, I know who you will pick. Promise me, in exchange for my cooperation, you will do your utmost to ensure she survives unharmed."

"I will."

Note: he's human!?