Harry Potter fanfic: "Black Doings In Azkaban"
Title: Black Doings in Azkaban
Fandom: Harry Potter
Summary: Locked away in Azkaban prison, Sirius takes the advantage of the arrival of his cousin Bellatrix to help his godson.
Author's Note: This is an AU jumping-off point. I don't know that I'll ever continue with this story, and I don't know that I won't.
"Hello, Bella."
"Oooh. Umph. So, they put me close enough for conversation with ickle Sirikins, did they? And why should I speak with a blood traitor like you, hmm?"
"I was just pondering the future of the House. Think we'll see dear Lucius in here?"
Bellatrix scoffed. "Maybe, but he's got the money and the cowardice to slither free, if he denounces my Lord, I've no doubt," she said darkly, then added in a concerned tone, "Little Draco needs his father."
"Little Draco is rather the crux of it, actually. You realise our whole generation of the family is nearly all lost? Cissy's the last one standing. For now. Unless one of the Black women who married out manage to claim the House for their children, the name will be lost."
"What?! No, that can't be right!"
"Think about it, Bella. You and I are in here, where I sincerely doubt we'll be tossing off sprogs, Andy was disowned, and Regulus died in the service of your bloody Lord. Our fathers died that same year, so they can't sire anymore Blacks. Uncle Alphie died without issue."
"Sodomite," she commented automatically, too busy thinking to invest much vitriol in it.
"He was bent, yeah. Moreover, he's dead. Unless our mutual Grandfather Pollux or my Grandfather Arcturus decide to take a young wife to make babies, Cissy is it."
"True. So? Why should you care? You left! Turned your back on your own blood, and disgraced the name of Black!"
"My mother drove me out!" he roared back. "That woman is insane! Who uses the Cruciatus Curse on her own heir, huh? The bitch that bore me, that's who!" He panted for a moment, trying to get his rage under control lest the Dementors come by early for a nibble. "Maybe it escaped your attention, but I chose Great-Aunt Dorea over her. I chose Cousin James, and Uncle Alphard, and yes, your sister Andromeda, whether you'll acknowledge her now or not." He paused, then continued in a voice that trembled, "Regulus wasn't supposed to die."
"Reggie was a good boy," she said, so softly he had trouble hearing it down the hall.
There followed a pause, during which they both thought their own thoughts, until Sirius collected his enough to speak.
"Bella. From what I've pieced together from Cousin Barty's wailing, it was his father who threw you in here, yeah?"
"It was. Curse his eyes."
"He mentioned the Longbottoms. Did you kill them?"
"No," she snarled. "No, we wanted information, but they wouldn't /talk/, and now they won't be able to."
Sirius swore. There went his hopes that Harry would be raised by his godmother. "What about their baby? Was he cursed as well?"
"What? No, I don't think so. I hit what I aim for, Siri, as you might remember."
"Vividly. So, Cousin Frank is unlikely to produce any more heirs."
"...He was a blood traitor."
"If you mean he opposed your Lord, you're right. But you realise that given the women who married into the Prewitt and Weasley lines were disowned, that means unless our grandfathers sire more children, the choice for the next Head of the House is between Crouch Senior and little Draco?"
"Morgana's tits!" Bellatrix swore in a tone of unpleasant revelation.
"Given he threw his own son into this hellhole -- and let's not forget me, one of his own Aurors, who didn't even get a trial! -- I wouldn't think it past him to do his damnedest to get Lucius and Cissy out of the way, and then Merlin knows what would be in store for Draco. Raised by the elders of the House, if he's lucky."
Bellatrix indulged in a spate of violent, raging cursing, which Sirius interrupted when he heard something cogent.
"Did you just say Draco is your godson?"
"What? Yes, of course he is."
"Good. You used the family ritual, I presume."
"It's far superior to the Malfoy version, yes."
"Also good. Bellatrix LeStrange, I propose a trade."
She laughed. "What could you possibly offer me, Sirius? If you haven't noticed, we're in prison."
"When you prepared for the godparent ritual, did you look at the other rituals that are only possible if it's completed? For example, the Ritual of Protection Beyond Reach?"
"...How could you possible know about that?" she asked in a dangerous tone.
"I, too, have a godson."
"Impossible! You can't have used the Black ritual for the Potter brat, you were disowned years before his birth!"
"I wasn't, actually. Mother blasted me off the tapestry, yes, and I ran away from home, but either Father or Grandfather Arcturus must have blocked the actual disownment, because I can still call on the family magic."
"Unbelievable."
"Granted, that could change at any time. I'm stuck in here where I can do him no good or harm, whereas my mother is free and able to make Arcturus' life hell until she gets what she wants, if she feels compelled. So I feel I have a limited window."
"I'm amazed you haven't done it already, then."
"I've tried. One wizard is not strong enough to get past the wards of Azkaban -- nor one witch, not even you. But together..."
"You want me to help you protect the brat who supposedly defeated my Lord?! Hah!"
"If you want me to help you protect a boy who will doubtless be raised with Death Eater ideals, then yes. I'm no happier with the trade-off than you, but for the sake of my godson I'm willing."
Bellatrix sniffed. "It doesn't matter if you are; I've already done it."
Sirius actually chuckled. "Oh, I doubt that. I very much doubt that. I don't think Lucius would stand for it -- the ritual protects the child even from their own blood relatives, as Elladora Black proved."
"What's to stop me from doing it on my own, drawing on Rodolphus through our marriage bond?"
"Do you remember the words?" Sirius asked politely.
A mutinous silence was the only answer. After a while, he called out to her, "Just think about it, Bella. Think about the family. But don't think too long..."
He weathered the Dementors' next visit as Padfoot, which he had noticed made it a bit less terrible. There was no one to see him do it; the cells were set up so that the inmates couldn't see one another, as an isolation tactic. No sympathetic faces here, only echoing screams.
He couldn't use the same tactic when next an Auror came with Dementor guards, to deliver the thin grey gruel that was all the nourishment provided here. He cowered, sobbing, and focused on how he had failed James and Lily, failed Harry, if only he had used this particular ritual... When the food trolley moved on, he still remembered the words to say. It was a while before he stopped shaking enough to eat, though, grimacing at the slimy cold texture. Still, he would need what strength he could muster.
Later that day Bellatrix spoke to him again.
"Sirius?"
"Yeah."
"I'll do it. Tell me how."
"Thank Morgana! Okay, listen carefully --"
They did end up using some power from her husband, Rodolphus, and even a trickle from his brother, Rabastan. Hell, Sirius would have invited Barty to help, since he was their cousin, but the boy seemed to have cracked already. Chanting in unison, they did it, flesh bloodied in the shape of runes with their nails; blocking out the screams and shrieks and cries around them in the cold prison, they pooled their power and spiked the spell through the wards. Down from the island in the North Sea it flew, seeking out and finding two baby boys hundreds of kilometers away. Sirius and Bellatrix felt it when the magic protection took hold, and the exhilaration and relief of their triumph brought nearly every Dementor in Azkaban to their cells.
In Wiltshire, Narcissa Malfoy's eyes went wide as her son was wreathed in the ritual's energy, especially as it felt... familiar. A quick spell told her what it was; that her son was now the center of a magical protection that would be boon to those helped him, and bane to those who harmed him. She was warmed, that her big sister was looking out for her son even in these trying times.
Just two counties over, in Surrey, the same effect was also observed around young Harry Potter, to a much different reaction.
The Warden of Azkaban revived the prisoners he had identified as the source of whatever the hell just happened with the wards, though it took a team of Aurors to get the Dementors off them to do so. He demanded to know what they had done, and how they did it, and was more than a little unnerved when they both began laughing.
Bellatrix's, "That was Black magic!" was the only answer he got. He growled and went to Floo for permission to get some Veritaserum sent out, not that he thought it would do a lot of good. In his opinion, those two were mad before they became his responisibility.
Two days later, the Dursleys were dead.
Fandom: Harry Potter
Summary: Locked away in Azkaban prison, Sirius takes the advantage of the arrival of his cousin Bellatrix to help his godson.
Author's Note: This is an AU jumping-off point. I don't know that I'll ever continue with this story, and I don't know that I won't.
"Hello, Bella."
"Oooh. Umph. So, they put me close enough for conversation with ickle Sirikins, did they? And why should I speak with a blood traitor like you, hmm?"
"I was just pondering the future of the House. Think we'll see dear Lucius in here?"
Bellatrix scoffed. "Maybe, but he's got the money and the cowardice to slither free, if he denounces my Lord, I've no doubt," she said darkly, then added in a concerned tone, "Little Draco needs his father."
"Little Draco is rather the crux of it, actually. You realise our whole generation of the family is nearly all lost? Cissy's the last one standing. For now. Unless one of the Black women who married out manage to claim the House for their children, the name will be lost."
"What?! No, that can't be right!"
"Think about it, Bella. You and I are in here, where I sincerely doubt we'll be tossing off sprogs, Andy was disowned, and Regulus died in the service of your bloody Lord. Our fathers died that same year, so they can't sire anymore Blacks. Uncle Alphie died without issue."
"Sodomite," she commented automatically, too busy thinking to invest much vitriol in it.
"He was bent, yeah. Moreover, he's dead. Unless our mutual Grandfather Pollux or my Grandfather Arcturus decide to take a young wife to make babies, Cissy is it."
"True. So? Why should you care? You left! Turned your back on your own blood, and disgraced the name of Black!"
"My mother drove me out!" he roared back. "That woman is insane! Who uses the Cruciatus Curse on her own heir, huh? The bitch that bore me, that's who!" He panted for a moment, trying to get his rage under control lest the Dementors come by early for a nibble. "Maybe it escaped your attention, but I chose Great-Aunt Dorea over her. I chose Cousin James, and Uncle Alphard, and yes, your sister Andromeda, whether you'll acknowledge her now or not." He paused, then continued in a voice that trembled, "Regulus wasn't supposed to die."
"Reggie was a good boy," she said, so softly he had trouble hearing it down the hall.
There followed a pause, during which they both thought their own thoughts, until Sirius collected his enough to speak.
"Bella. From what I've pieced together from Cousin Barty's wailing, it was his father who threw you in here, yeah?"
"It was. Curse his eyes."
"He mentioned the Longbottoms. Did you kill them?"
"No," she snarled. "No, we wanted information, but they wouldn't /talk/, and now they won't be able to."
Sirius swore. There went his hopes that Harry would be raised by his godmother. "What about their baby? Was he cursed as well?"
"What? No, I don't think so. I hit what I aim for, Siri, as you might remember."
"Vividly. So, Cousin Frank is unlikely to produce any more heirs."
"...He was a blood traitor."
"If you mean he opposed your Lord, you're right. But you realise that given the women who married into the Prewitt and Weasley lines were disowned, that means unless our grandfathers sire more children, the choice for the next Head of the House is between Crouch Senior and little Draco?"
"Morgana's tits!" Bellatrix swore in a tone of unpleasant revelation.
"Given he threw his own son into this hellhole -- and let's not forget me, one of his own Aurors, who didn't even get a trial! -- I wouldn't think it past him to do his damnedest to get Lucius and Cissy out of the way, and then Merlin knows what would be in store for Draco. Raised by the elders of the House, if he's lucky."
Bellatrix indulged in a spate of violent, raging cursing, which Sirius interrupted when he heard something cogent.
"Did you just say Draco is your godson?"
"What? Yes, of course he is."
"Good. You used the family ritual, I presume."
"It's far superior to the Malfoy version, yes."
"Also good. Bellatrix LeStrange, I propose a trade."
She laughed. "What could you possibly offer me, Sirius? If you haven't noticed, we're in prison."
"When you prepared for the godparent ritual, did you look at the other rituals that are only possible if it's completed? For example, the Ritual of Protection Beyond Reach?"
"...How could you possible know about that?" she asked in a dangerous tone.
"I, too, have a godson."
"Impossible! You can't have used the Black ritual for the Potter brat, you were disowned years before his birth!"
"I wasn't, actually. Mother blasted me off the tapestry, yes, and I ran away from home, but either Father or Grandfather Arcturus must have blocked the actual disownment, because I can still call on the family magic."
"Unbelievable."
"Granted, that could change at any time. I'm stuck in here where I can do him no good or harm, whereas my mother is free and able to make Arcturus' life hell until she gets what she wants, if she feels compelled. So I feel I have a limited window."
"I'm amazed you haven't done it already, then."
"I've tried. One wizard is not strong enough to get past the wards of Azkaban -- nor one witch, not even you. But together..."
"You want me to help you protect the brat who supposedly defeated my Lord?! Hah!"
"If you want me to help you protect a boy who will doubtless be raised with Death Eater ideals, then yes. I'm no happier with the trade-off than you, but for the sake of my godson I'm willing."
Bellatrix sniffed. "It doesn't matter if you are; I've already done it."
Sirius actually chuckled. "Oh, I doubt that. I very much doubt that. I don't think Lucius would stand for it -- the ritual protects the child even from their own blood relatives, as Elladora Black proved."
"What's to stop me from doing it on my own, drawing on Rodolphus through our marriage bond?"
"Do you remember the words?" Sirius asked politely.
A mutinous silence was the only answer. After a while, he called out to her, "Just think about it, Bella. Think about the family. But don't think too long..."
He weathered the Dementors' next visit as Padfoot, which he had noticed made it a bit less terrible. There was no one to see him do it; the cells were set up so that the inmates couldn't see one another, as an isolation tactic. No sympathetic faces here, only echoing screams.
He couldn't use the same tactic when next an Auror came with Dementor guards, to deliver the thin grey gruel that was all the nourishment provided here. He cowered, sobbing, and focused on how he had failed James and Lily, failed Harry, if only he had used this particular ritual... When the food trolley moved on, he still remembered the words to say. It was a while before he stopped shaking enough to eat, though, grimacing at the slimy cold texture. Still, he would need what strength he could muster.
Later that day Bellatrix spoke to him again.
"Sirius?"
"Yeah."
"I'll do it. Tell me how."
"Thank Morgana! Okay, listen carefully --"
They did end up using some power from her husband, Rodolphus, and even a trickle from his brother, Rabastan. Hell, Sirius would have invited Barty to help, since he was their cousin, but the boy seemed to have cracked already. Chanting in unison, they did it, flesh bloodied in the shape of runes with their nails; blocking out the screams and shrieks and cries around them in the cold prison, they pooled their power and spiked the spell through the wards. Down from the island in the North Sea it flew, seeking out and finding two baby boys hundreds of kilometers away. Sirius and Bellatrix felt it when the magic protection took hold, and the exhilaration and relief of their triumph brought nearly every Dementor in Azkaban to their cells.
In Wiltshire, Narcissa Malfoy's eyes went wide as her son was wreathed in the ritual's energy, especially as it felt... familiar. A quick spell told her what it was; that her son was now the center of a magical protection that would be boon to those helped him, and bane to those who harmed him. She was warmed, that her big sister was looking out for her son even in these trying times.
Just two counties over, in Surrey, the same effect was also observed around young Harry Potter, to a much different reaction.
The Warden of Azkaban revived the prisoners he had identified as the source of whatever the hell just happened with the wards, though it took a team of Aurors to get the Dementors off them to do so. He demanded to know what they had done, and how they did it, and was more than a little unnerved when they both began laughing.
Bellatrix's, "That was Black magic!" was the only answer he got. He growled and went to Floo for permission to get some Veritaserum sent out, not that he thought it would do a lot of good. In his opinion, those two were mad before they became his responisibility.
Two days later, the Dursleys were dead.