Antares is born on the 6th of October, 1958.

Sirius is born in Autumn, 1959

Regulus is Born in 1961

Chapter 1

Orion Black slowly climbed the stairs of Number 12 Grimmauld Place, each step more reluctant than the last. He had recently finished a lengthy conversation with Jasper Greengrass, and it was now time to inform his eldest son of the outcome. As his feet carried him ever closer to his son's room, he became increasingly nervous. A feat that didn't occur very often.

He wasn't nervous about what his son would do per se, knowing full well that he had every right to organize the future of his heir, but he did worry about whether or not his son's opinion of him would diminish or not. He and Walburga had taught their son's everything it meant to be a pureblood of their status, so his news wouldn't be totally unexpected.

The summer was almost over, and soon his sons would leave the manor and return to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, once again leaving the halls of his father's silence once more. Without the sound of his sons or the many friends they bought a home, life would once again be bleak and boring, leaving him with only his wife in the hallowed halls of Grimmauld Place.

His palms sheened with sweat as he finally reached the top floor, his mind going over how and what he was going to say to his eldest son. His son would no doubt try and hide his feelings, as he had been taught to do so by his various relatives, but Orion knew that feelings such as anger or rage would only hurt their relationship in the long run.

Schooling his own expression into a mask of indifference, he took a step forward and rapped loudly on the wooden door that played host to a sign reading A.O.B.

"Enter" came the muffled reply.

Turning the doorknob Orion opened the door and took a step forward, his grey eyes scanning the meticulously clean room before landing on that of his son, who happened to be lying on his bed, ankles crossed over one another as his eyes skimmed the pages of a thick dusty tome.

Seeing as his son was immersed in his book, Orion's eyes wandered around the room, noting how very different it was to that of his other two sons. Unlike Sirius's, and to a lesser degree Regulus', whose rooms were untidy at the best of times, his eldest son's was neat and spotless. The room was one of the bigger ones; was furnished with a large king-sized bed (which was covered by a green and black duvet), a wooden desk with various scrolls of parchment, various wooden wardrobes (filled with the finest robes money could buy), posters of scantily clad witches (which he shot a glare at when it winked provocatively at him), a baby-grand piano, and a large overstuffed bookshelf that covered the entire left side of the room.

Hearing the clearing of a throat, Orion turned his attention from the lurid pictures to that of the questioning gaze of his eldest son, who had put down his book and was now sitting on the edge of his bed. Turning his attention to his son, he couldn't help but let a small grin grace his features as he thought about how lucky both he and his wife were to have such handsome sons.

His eldest son was well built, stood at around 5 ft. 9 and had the natural good looks of a member of the Black family. He had an aristocratic face (high cheekbones and a strong jawline), slightly curly short black hair, with a straight nose and piercing gray eyes. In other words, he was nearly an exact duplicate of himself. Mentally shaking his head, he turned his attention back towards his son, who by now was quiet, curious of his father's sudden appearance in his bedroom.

"There are some matters that I must discuss with you Antares," said Orion, his voice lacking its usual severity.

"Is something wrong, Father?" asked Antares, his eyes taking on a concerned look.

Knowing that the best way to tell his son the news was to just get to the point and to not beat around the bush and so Orion did just that.

"You're Mother and I have just concluded negotiations with Lord Greengrass. You are to marry his eldest daughter Helena before your 20th birthday."

If Antares was expecting something, this definitely wasn't it. His expression quickly lost its concerned expression, instead of his features morphed into a mask of indifference, but Orion new his son better than perhaps anyone else, and he knew that underneath that handsome face that was so similar to his own, dark and angry thoughts where brewing.

Antares turned away from his father and walked towards his desk, his mask slipping from his face as he did so. It was best not to show his father the hurt and anger that was etched upon his features, such weakness wasn't tolerated in the House of Black.

Antares knew that a marriage contract was very common among pureblood families such as his, and he knew that it was only a matter of time before he himself was entered into one, yet he would have at least thought that his parents would consult him on the matter first. Apparently, he had been mistaken.

He knew that as the Heir to his family, it was his duty to do as his father commanded and continue on the family name, but knowing that he would never be able to be with the person he wanted, made him resent half-bloods and Muggle-borns alike, for at least they were able to choose who they were to marry.

It didn't matter to his father or to anyone else that he had feelings for a certain someone back at Hogwarts, even if he knew that their relationship was as unlikely as Snape failing at potions. He himself questioned his own feelings for her at times, wondering where his feelings had come from given his upbringing. At least his new fiancée was positively gorgeous, Merlin forbid he be contracted to marry a Carrow, or worse a Bulstrode. Antares shuddered at the thought.

Knowing there was no use in voicing his displeasure, his father wouldn't hold for such nonsense anyway, he buried his feelings deep within his memory, using Occlumency to put them out of his mind until he could deal with them when he didn't have company.

"The Terms?" asked Antares after several minutes, his back still facing his father.

Orion sighed in relief. His son it seemed, had chosen to act in a manner befitting the Scion of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black, a good thing considering an angry Antares was something he didn't want to cross. His son was scary powerful at the best of times.

"As I said previously, you are to marry your betrothed before your 20th Birthday. You are to provide her with at least one son before your 35th birthday. You are to share nobodies bed but hers, the same applies to her, and finally to be divorced from one another is to forfeit your magic, and by extension your life." answered Orion in a grave yet powerful voice.

Antares nodded slightly in resignation. The terms where the standard affair for a Marriage Contract. At least he didn't have to have a child until he was 35; he was never very fond of children. There was still something he wanted to know, and that was how much the bride price and dowry was.

"All acceptable" replied Antares, "and the exchange? Just how much is my happiness worth?"

Orion's shoulders tensed, although his son hadn't said anything against the contract outright, he could still hear slight resentment in his tone. No matter what anyone told you about Orion Black, whether it be that he was a cruel and prejudice man or that he was dark wizard, there was no deny the fact that he cared for the happiness and wellbeing of his sons, and to see one of his sons so obviously angry with him, was truly heartbreaking. Nevertheless, he answered his son's question.

"Seeing as they are getting the better end of the deal, being married into the Black Family that is, the dowry from House Greengrass to House Black is 320 square miles of land in the North York Moors (valued at million galleons) and a lump sum of galleons. The bride price from House Black to House Greengrass is significantly less, with only a lump sum of galleons and a villa in Spain." declared Orion.

Antares eyes grew calculating as he went over what his father had just told him. Whilst the Blacks had given them more galleons, House Greengrass had given a very large, very valuable piece of property in the Moors. Such a piece of land had unending possibilities.

"I know that this is a lot to take in Antares. I too was once in the same position that you are in now, and I know that I myself didn't handle it half as well as you appear to be. I just wanted you to know that I and your mother did what we believe to be the best for your future, and the future of our House. I hope in time you are able to forgive us." Said Orion as he turned to leave.

But as he was nearing the door, Antares spoke, and for a second Orion thought all had been forgiven.

"Seeing as I am the one getting married, I believe it only fair that the dowry from House Greengrass is deposited into my vault, wouldn't you agree Father?"

Orion only smirked as he pulled a small gold key from out of his breast pocket, placing it gently on the desk beside him. Having known something of this was likely to occur (he knew the kind of person his son was), he had already flooe'd Gringotts and transferred the items into his son's name. It wasn't like the Black Family Vault needed the Galleons anyway.

"It's already been taken care of"

Knowing his eldest son had a lot on his mind; he turned and left his son to his thoughts, closing the door quietly behind him, he made his way to the sitting room to inform his wife of the outcome, a small smile on his lips and a spring in his step. The meeting had gone much better than he thought possible, now if only Sirius and Regulus could act as mature as Antares than his life would be so much easier.