Ok, the next chapter was supposed to be the first full moon, but I felt like we needed to deep dive a bit into the different players in the Black family outside of Bellatrix. Time to hear what Regulus really thought when he killed Dennis Forrestor and we also see that escaping a generational curse is harder than it seems.

Book II: Age of the Pheonix

Chapter V: The Reckless House of Black

Music Choice: Vienna - Billy Joel

(TW: Abuse)

The House of Black - Summer 1976...

Orion Black had already injected too much wine at dinner to withstand the nagging of his brother-in-law, Cygnus, but when Sirius stood up at the table and embarrassed his family, defending his cousin for marrying a muggle-born, it was unavoidable. Pressured by Cygnus, Orion intended to teach his son a lesson.

Orion hurled his eldest son into the bedroom and Sirius crashed against his vanity as he was thrown, the items scattering on the floor. He glanced up at the mirror atop it and watched his father shut the door behind him.

"You think you can stand at my table and spew discord amongst your family and it will not be checked?"

"You always said to be the strongest man in the room. Don't blame me when I'm stronger than the rest of you lot because I manage to speak the truth and not skirt around it like a child."

Orion lunged forward and grabbed the boy, spinning him around and holding him by the collar of his shirt, his drunk and angry mouth spitting onto the boys face as he spoke. "You embarrassed your mother. You embarrassed me! You mocked your family!"

"I defended my family!" The boy struggled against his father's grasp, "Just because they don't want to accept Dromeda as family anymore doesn't mean I'll reject her also."

"That girl defied her father and ran off with that Mudblood."

"You will not call him that name. Not to me!" Sirius shouted but it was met with a backhanded slap that sent him sailing onto the floor."

"I will not be dictated to by a child in my own house!" He towered over his son. "This is not the son I raised!"

"You raised?" Sirius said sitting up on the floor and holding his eye where Orion's signant ring had struck him. "Funny. Does raising a child mean ignoring them most of the time? Because if so then you did a bang-up job of - Argh!" Sirius cried out when his black hair was grabbed in his father's fists.

"This is that Potter boy's doing. You didn't have this attitude problem until you went to school and started seeing him. Well I'll end that. I'll send a note to Dumbledore and tell him you're forbidden to see him."

Sirius groaned in pain through gritted teeth and said, "If you forbid me to see James, then I'll leave here and never come back."

"A compelling offer after this evening's display!" Orion yelled directly into his son's ear. He pulled the boy up and pushed him across the room. "Stand against the wall." Sirius just stared at him defiantly. "Do as I say!" Sirius refused and Orion sighed. He pinched the brim of his nose as the headache from the wine came on. "Where did I fail you, Sirius?" He looked to the door in thought, Sirius not moving, then he began to walk towards it.

"Where are you going?" Sirius asked, confused as he thought maybe the punishment had ended.

"If this is what's to become of my sons, then I want to ensure I snuff it out of your brother early enough. Rebellious spirits are contageous and I'll not have him sitting down there thinking I'll be spoken to in my home the way you just spoke to me."

"Father, no!" Sirius shouted as Orion reached for the door. When the man looked up, his son was removing his dinner jacket and shirt. "Regulus hasn't done anything. Just... leave him alone."

Orion sighed, "And you'll take your punishment? Like a strong man of the house of Black should?"

"Yes, father."

"Good,"

Orion approached Sirius who was harshly turned around, his hands shaking a bit as he rest them on the wall. He closed his eyes when he heard the clink of his father's belt being removed, then jolted in shock as the belt cracked against his back. He held his breath for the first few lashings but after a moment, the pain sunk in and he cried out with each one. When Orion was done, he turned Sirius around and held the boys face in his hand harshly, forcing him to meet his eye line, "Now you listen to me, son. We will not have an outburst of tonight's display again will we?"

"No..."

"No what?"

No, sir."

"And you will treat me with the respect I'm owed." Sirius didn't answer as the tears fell down his cheeks. "Answer me, Sirius!"

"Yes, sir."

"Good." He released the boy's face. "Now put your clothes back on and come back to dinner."

Orion began to leave, but something inside Sirius' stubborn soul grew and before he knew it he blurted out, "Not that there's much a man there to respect-"

Orion spun around furiously and drew his wand, aiming at his son. "Crucio!"

Sirius flew backwards and landed on the floor, his body convulsing from the curse. Orion's reaction startled even himself and he lifted the spell as soon as he realized, stepping backward in shock. He quickly compsed himself however, despite Sirius still in tears on the floor.

"Have it your way, Sirius. You'll stay up here until you learn to respect this family." With that he hurried out and slammed the door behind him.

"Then I guess I'm stuck up here forever," Sirius sighed to himself and stayed curled up on the floor for the rest of the night.

The Hogshead Pub - January 1, 1980...

It was nearly midnight as the first day of the new year faded away. The members of the Order had left, the reunited McKinnons returning home with their brother, but the Marauders waited for Peter patiently in hopes he would still arrive at the meeting. After a long wait, James suggested Remus return home with the girls, taking the two-way mirror to communicate in case Peter had returned to the house.

Sirius remained upstairs with Andromeda, sharing some scotch with his cousin and catching up on the last four years.

He pulled back the curtain on the tiny window and peered down into the alley where he saw Lily and James kissing one another goodnight as Lily left via portkey with Remus and Tabitha. James' face lit up the entire alley before he covered himself with his cloak to stand guard and wait for Peter.

"Siri, are you listening to me?" Andromeda called.

Sirius smirked, "Haven't heard that nickname in a while."

"Still hate it?"

"Yes. Makes me sound like a dame."

"Good. It's my talent, these days. Giving people names they detest. Your should see my daughter's face when I use her full name. Dora has become quite the little chatter-box these days. She's so mischievous lately."

"Good girl," Sirius grinned softly.

"So? What do you think? Will you come meet your niece and stay with Ted and I? He want's to meet you so badly."

"Andromeda. I can't."

She sat silently for a moment then nodded.

"I want to. More than anything. Hearing everything about your home. It sounds so warm and inviting. But... my friends need me. They're my family now."

"I understand. Just know the offer always stands."

"And all this work you and Marvin have been doing! I'm so bloody proud of you."

"It was Ted's idea. He knew with the war rising, that Muggle borns wouldn't be safe. We knew if we could find alternative housing for them, then they could remain safe as possible from Voldemort. Never expected Marvin to show up on our doorstep."

"Why did he, exactly? He said you'd understand the reason for him avioding the fight."

Finally the subject she'd been avoiding surfaced - her sisters. "It's Narcissa."

"Oh..." He nodded as he recalled their Hogwarts days, "I guess I didn't realize they were that close."

"You know Cissy. She liked to find ways to rebel in private. Not everyone is as blustery and public in their rebellions as the two of us."

"No," he chuckled, "I daresay they aren't."

"Well her and Marvin were very close from their third-year on. Bellatrix forbid it though." She took a sip of her scotch before asking, "Have you seen either of them lately?"

"Oh yes. Bellatrix and her whacky husband used the imperious curse on me in an attempt to murder the only girl I've ever really cared for. Then I called my best friend's wife a slur, attacked my friends, killed my mother by breaking her heart, am I missing anything... I think that's the size of it. Oh, and Narcissa's husband kidnapped and tortured my old classmate, that was a clever turn of events."

"Blimey, I just asked if you'd seen them. Didn't need a play-by-play." She smirked

He glanced up, raising an eyebrow then looked back to his drink. "Nah. I know that look."

"What look?"

"The 'it doesn't bother me, so I'll act as though I find it amusing' face. I wear it a lot."

"Of course it bothers me, Sirius. They're my sisters. Why do you think I stayed away?"

"You mean like how I avoided the war because I didn't want to fight my brother? Oh wait, that wasn't what happened. I did stay. I stayed and fought and I keep fighting."

"So you think I was wrong? Can you honestly say you'd kill Regulus if it came to it?"

"Depends on what 'it' is."

"Exactly." She sighed and Sirius looked at her. "If it was between me or Bella. I couldn't do it. I'd let her kill me, before I would take her. If it was between Bellatrix or Ted though..." she shook her head. "Knowing the hatred Bellatrix has for him is what made me want to hide. When my name was put in The Prophet as an Undesirable, I knew we'd be easily caught by the Ministry and she'd know right where to find us. She'd force me to make a choice. Bella always liked playing mind-games like that. And if it came down to that, there would be no second guessing. I'd kill her to save my husband. That reality scared me."

"And Narcissa?"

"It wouldn't come to that with her."

"Don't be so sure. She doesn't care about any of us either. I feel more like a cousin to the Prewitts than I do to her these days."

"You are a cousin to the Prewitts," she chuckled.

"You know what I mean," He sipped his whiskey and the clocked chimed. "It's getting late. Where the bloody devil is Pete?"

"Do you think he's been captured?"

"I doubt it. Out of all of us, Wormtail is the only one who could mouse his way out of someone's grasp. But still, he should be here by now."

"The Longbottom girl acted as though she knew were he was."

"Yea... she was at the house this morning too and talked with him a bit too." He was pulled from thought as he heard a pebble peck against the window. Sirius leapt across the room and looked outside where he was James' hand waving at him through the cloak. "James has found something." He glanced back to his cousin and said, "Ted will be wondering where you are."

"Yea. I should go."

"And maybe next time you'll make the meeting on time," Sirius smirked as he finished his drink and grabbed his coat.

"Then how will I keep my streak at always being fashionably late."

Sirius laughed at his cousin, so similar to one another. He kissed the top of her head as he passed and started to bundle up. "Can I walk you out? I'd love to show you my bike."

"I think I'll actually sit here a moment longer and enjoy the silence. Life with a little girl, you hardly find a moment to yourself."

"Ok then. I'm... so happy to see you, Dromeda."

"You too, Siri." Sirius went to grab the door handle but Andromeda spoke up once more. "You're wrong, you know.." Andromeda just looked into her rocks glass at the melting ice as Sirius stopped and faced her, waiting for more of an explanation. "About Cissy. She's still got some good in her."

"Dromeda, I want to believe that too-"

"Do you?" She shook her head. "You've gotten so bitter, Sirius. I can tell the way you told me about your life these past months. You seem so jaded. If you're not careful, that stone-cold demeanor and dark perspective is going to cost you one day."

"Dromeda, if you had seen your sister fighting you'd see she's changed. She hurt my friends."

"Ah, I forgot you've never hurt anyone a day in your life, right? All those years of Sirius the pretentious little prick who would heckle and tease the first years."

"I'm not that immature kid anymore."

"Aren't you?"

"Save your scolding for your toddler, Andromeda." He snapped defensively. "I've grown up and changed. Narcissa has always been the same though. She sits silently and watches people suffer and then reaps the benefits of it."

"Sirius. Do you know how I discovered what you did for me all those years ago? The year I told my family about Dora after hiding her for so long, you defended me to my family and to yours. Right before you ran away?"

"I remember," he said, not seeing her point. "I've got a tattoo covering the scar from my punishment. So yea, I remember."

"And how do you think I found out about your punishment?"

"Because Uncle Cygnus boasted about it, most likely."

"Wow. You don't really know our family, do you?" She chuckled, "Imagine... a Black bragging to his traitor daughter about how a teen-ager insulted his family."

"Well if he didn't then-"

"It was Narcissa, Sirius," She said finally looking him in the eye. "She'd sat at that dinner table and heard your screams upstairs. She wrote to me and explained everything in detail, which I'm sure you can imagine was a great risk. If Bellatrix or Father found out she was writing me she could have endured the same punishment you did. But she was worried about you. She thought I could help you since she was powerless in father's house. I was supposed to hold onto our Uncle's money until you were 18, and would have if she hadn't written me and explained your desperate situation. You think Uncle's money was your good fortune? You think I was your saving grace? She participated in your liberation too, Sirius. Because believe it or not, there are some people in our family who still see family as more than just a last name."

Sirius stood stunned, but couldn't push past the visual of Narcissa grabbing Lily by the hair and attempting to jinx her in their first confrontation with Death Eaters. He thought of his brother's Dark Mark. He thought of Bellatrix's wicked laugh as she and her husband used him against his friends.

"My only family is the one that was in this room tonight. They're all that matters, Andromeda. The Order is all we need. Everyone else... can get bent." He pulled the door shut behind him and Andromeda sat in silence until the fire died down.

Malfoy Manor...

Narcissa could not sleep. She thought of Lord Voldemort's diary locked in the desk downstairs and pondered over the dark magic it held. Where had it come from? Why did they have to hide it? Would the magic put her unborn child at risk. She sat up in bed and looked beside her to Lucious who was sleeping soundly. Narcissa slunk out of bed, wrapped a blanket around her, and crept away, walking up the empty and dark halls of Malfoy Manor and hearing whispers downstairs. She instantly regretted leaving her wand behind, but pressed on down the grand staircase. When she reached the bottom she recognized one of the voices as Regulus. Surely enough, he was sitting in the study, exchanging words with his house elf.

"What the hell are you doing up, still?" Narcissa whispered harshly.

Regulus jumped out of his chair and turned to face her as Kreecher bowed to the lady. "I'm not tired. Damn, why do you have to startle someone like that?"

She moved into the study and closed the door behind her. "You've been upset since you returned from the meeting today. What happened?"

"I don't know," he grunted. "That's just the thing. They kicked me out."

"Regulus. If they've done that it means you could be in danger. This was just before you joined our community, but Crabbe was excluded from meetings prior to his expulsion. You must fix this immediately."

"How the hell do I do that? Forrestor says maybe if I find The Guardian, but I know he will just take the credit for that."

"Well I'll make sure he doesn't."

"No!" Regulus said it somewhat frantically. "Cissy, please. Don't get in his way. Just let him take the credit."

"Why? What does he have on you, Regulus?" He didn't reply but locked eyes with his cousin and his look said it all. "You did do it then? You killed Dennis Forrestor." Regulus nodded and she motioned for him to sit back down on the armchair and she sat across from him on the ottoman. "Good Godric, Regulus. Who else knows?"

"Only Snape. He helped me get rid of the body. But Max knows too, he just doesn't have proof."

"I wish I had been in that Bloody meeting today to know what they have planned for you."

"Well, surely Bellatrix would protect me?"

Narcissa just let out a sympathetic laugh.

"Well then I'm fucked," he sighed and fell back in the chair.

"Perhaps now Master Regulus will return to the House of Black?" Kreecher suggested.

"Perhaps you should," Narcissa said. "Go see your father. We will say you're assisting him in his grief and that will make your absense from the meetings your choice and yours alone. It will keep people from talking. In the meantime, I will work with Severus to find a solution to our little Forrestor problem."

"No!" Regulus barked. "I'm not a child, Cissy. I can handle myself." He leaned forward to whisper, "I killed Dennis on purpose. I did it because he treated me like a kid. I don't want to be treated that way by anyone else."

"Is that really the only reason?"

"..."

"Regulus, tell me. Did yo do it to get back at Dennis or to help Dumbledore's Order?"

"Neither."

"It can't be neither."

"Then both!" He snapped. "I did it to save them, ok?" He jumped up from the seat once more and began to pace. "Delaney was the only person who treated me like an individual. We were in Slug Club together. She talked to me. She'd ask me about my day. I don't know why. Maybe I reminded her of a family member or something. But the girl gave me the time of day while everyone else ignored me. And McKinnon? She knows what it's like to be the youngest of a prominent family. She's the only one I ever witness become her own person in a world where a Pureblood can only be their house name. She was Marlene, not just a McKinnon. I'd never seen that before, not from the Prewitts or the Bones or anyone else and I respected the bitch for it! Maybe we don't agree on the same things. Maybe we are fighting on opposite sides, but there has to be more to this War than just murdering the very people we took our OWLS beside."

When he was finish, the only sounds were from the winter storm blasting against the house. Narcissa wrapped her blanket around her shoulders more and contemplated his words.

"Rudolphus thinks my performance at the ministry, when I was warning Sirius about Voldemort, was too good. He thought it was genuine. At the time I thought he was crazy but now..." He looked at his cousin. "I'm not so sure. I know Sirius hates me, Narcissa. I know he's resented my very existence since he was sorted into the damned Gryffindor house, but..." He listened carefully to make sure they weren't heard. "But I don't want my only brother to die. And the very thought that me saying that aloud to the wrong person could make me a traitor doesn't sit right with me. Family is supposed to come first. Even if Sirius doesn't believe that it doesn't mean I reject it."

"Have you told anyone else any of this?" Narcissa asked as she stood and approached her cousin.

"No."

"Good." She rest her hands gently on his shoulder but then squeezed them tightly. "Then consider this a vent session. Never speak those words again, do you understand me?"

"But I-"

She spun him around and looked him in the eye. "Do you understand me?"

"Y-yes."

"Good," She exhaled. "Your family extends beyond, Sirius. What you do will affect Bellatrix, Rudolphus, my husband and our child. I'll not allow anything to happen to our family, Regulus."

"Narcissa. I didn't mean-" tears welled up in his eyes but she just wrapped him in an embrace.

"I know. It's alright. I won't tell a soul. The elf however.." Kreecher stirred anxiously and moved away from them. "He's heard too much."

"No," Regulus said and pulled away from her. "He can keep a secret. Especially if it's for me. Can't you, Kreecher?"

"Kreecher lives to serve the noble house of Black."

"He better," she glared at him the brushed the tears from Regulus eyes. "Better leave him with me for the time being. I may be able to use him to help you. Go home, Regulus. Go see your father. Lucious and I will find a way for you to get into Voldemort's good graces while avoiding the puppeteering of Forrestor. You won't have to worry about him anymore. Just do as I say and everything will be alright."

"Will it?" He asked solemly. "These days I wonder what if what it means to be 'alright'. I suppose it depends on who you ask."

Sirius bike crashed to the ground outside the Safe House and sped up the gravel pathway along the rainy highlands. "And you're sure Remus said he was here?"

"Of course I'm sure," James replied from the sidecar, hanging on for dear life. "He said the minute he and the girls arrived they found him sleeping in the sitting room on the sofa. Slow down will you! You're driving like a drunkard!"

"Damn it, Wormtail," Sirius grunted to himself as he pulled the bike up. Remus was standing on the porch with his arms crossed, waiting on the two of them.

"Took you long enough."

"Where is he?" Sirius asked angrily.

"Still asleep. I would have woken him, but with the Moon this close I didn't trust my temper," Remus said.

"Then he can endure mine," Sirius said as he shoved the door open.

"Padfoot wait," James warned but it was too late as Sirius marched into the sitting room where Peter was curled up on the chase, his coat over him like a blanket.

Sirius grabbed Peter by the arm and yanked him from the sofa, sending him soaring against the room and crashing against the antique desk. Peter turned and faced them Petrified. "R-Remus? S-Sirius? J-james? I-"

"Where the fuck have you been?" Sirius said.

"I-I went on an errand for-"

"Don't start that shit," Sirius snapped. "Dumbledore said he didn't give you any tasks. So where did you go?"

"OK! Ok! It wasn't an errand for Dumbledore. But it was for the Order, I can assure you."

"And you didn't consider running this past me?" James asked.

"W-well, not really," Peter shrugged.

"What does this have to do with Longbottom?"

Peter paled, "Longbottom?"

"Yes, Alice," Sirius grabbed Peter by the shirt collar. "She talked to you privately today and acted as though she knew something about your little errand."

"You mean she didn't t-tell you?"

"She left the meeting with Dumbledore. So whatever the hell it was, she probably told him." Sirius now was holding Peter by the shirt with both hands as the glasses of Scotch began to set in. "Now do you want us to take this up with the Headmaster like bloody school children, or do you want to tell us where you were."

"P-padfoot you're hurting me."

"Sirius back off!" Remus insisted.

"You lied to us, Peter. You better tell us why and it better be a damn good reason."

"Sirius!" James and Remus grabbed him and pried Peter away from his grasp. Remus held Sirius back as James turned to Peter and said, "Wherever you were tonight, Peter. Were you in danger?"

"I-I don't think so."

"And you'll go to Dumbledore tomorrow with us and clear the whole thing up?"

"Y-yes," He said knowing he had no choice if Alice had already told the truth which he was certain she had. "Yes, first thing."

"Then get your ass upstairs, get in bed, and stay there. If so much as one whisker leaves this house tonight without me knowing I'll hunt you down and kick your ass. Understood."

"Y-yes..." Peter nodded.

"Yes, what?!" Sirius barked as he shoved Remus off of him.

"Yes, James!" Peter squealed. "I'm... I'm sorry." He then scurried from the room and up the steps.

"Remus. Go to bed," James insisted.

"Oi, You're not my father, Prongs,"

"But I'm in charged of this faction, aren't I? Do as I say... please."

Remus looked at them but reluctantly exited the room.

When the door was shut James looked at Sirius. "I know we've had an emotional day, Sirius. But Moony is the one who is supposed to be bipolar this time of the month, not you."

"He lied to us, James. We are his damn family and he lied to us and the entire room found out at the same time we did. It was humiliating."

"So that gives you the right to fling him about like a rag doll?"

"He needed to be taught a lesson."

"And he will be. We'll go to Dumbledore with him tomorrow and straighten it out before going to the shack."

"He turned his back on his family tonight and you want to trust him with our Moony?"

"We've all been caught in lies, Sirius. I lied to Lily tonight too, don't forget. Does that mean I need to be taught a lesson? Maybe. But she forgave me."

"You lied to protect her."

"And for all we know, Wormtail did the same."

"Well I know how we can find out. And we can find out now," Sirius said and started for the door but James grabbed him and the two struggled. "Let me go, James!"

"No! You're too drunk."

"I'm not too drunk to know how to kick someone's ass when they deserve it! I thought he was in trouble! I thought something had happened to him and turns out he was having beauty sleep here the whole time. He's going to pay for that."

"Come here!" James pulled Sirius back towards the large mirror that hung over the fire place. He yanked the coat off his friend's back and ripped open the font of his shirt. He then grabbed his arm and forced him forward. "Look!" He forced Sirius to look up at the tattoos across his chest, specifically the one over his heart that covered the scar from his father's jinx all those years ago. "Look at the marks you carry with you because some drunk asshole let his temper get to him. Look at your face, Sirius. Look at that scowl. That isn't you! That's him! Don't let him continue into another generation. There's a difference between punishment and abuse!"

Just then the door flung open. Lily, having heard the commotion, had run down the stairs and caught the two struggling. "Oi! Get off! Now!" She broke them apart and stood between them. "Since when do you two fight like this?"

Sirius didn't acknowledge her but kept his eyes locked on James. He walked over and leaned into James' face so closely that his breath fogged up his glasses. "Don't you ever compare me to Orion Black again." He then stumbled out of the room and up the stairs to bed.

"James?" Lily asked concerned.

"He's fine. He's just drunk."

"I've never seen him that way. He was fine earlier. What happened at your house?"

"No, it wasn't just the house," James said as he took off his scarf and coat and tossed them on the couch. "It was Andromeda. I'm sure of it. Seeing her. Talking to her. It probably brought a lot of memories back. Also seeing Marlene for the first time in a while and then finding out a friend he considers family lied to him. This outburst was a long time overdue. The scotch just amplified it. He'll be ok, I'm sure of it. Tomorrow he'll wake up with a hangover but a little more humble."

"And Peter?"

"I don't know. But I'm not willing to doubt him yet. Wherever he was tonight... I'm sure he had good reason."

"For his sake and for Sirius', let's hope so."

Kinda an angsty chapter I know, but I need to slowly start taking Sirius from the punk schoolboy to someone who manages to have zero advocates by the time we reach October 31, 1981. It's going to be a long painful journey to get him there and it's going to hurt...

Also I know Regulus story has extended into 1980 which isn't Canon, but I wanted us to have more time to get to know him because his character is so complex as is Narcissa's. That's why I felt we needed a chapter dedicated just to those three characters.

Next chapters continue The Guardian saga and we start to Remus fear the wolf he's becoming (in more ways than one).