Disclaimer: While there are some aspects of the Harry Potter story and universe I will be attempting to maintain, this is an AU-story and as such I will be taking liberties with them both.

"Speaking aloud."

"Speaking aloud while emphasizing a word."

"Thinking silently."

§Parseltongue§

Regulus Black III

Chapter 1

1981

A feeling of dread began to creep along his spine, growing sick to his stomach as he scoured every inch of the townhouse for his friend. He shouted throughout the vacant home, crying out for the resident and was only met with silence. The furniture was left alone, parchment on a tabletop undisturbed, there was no sign nor hair of a struggle evident. That feeling in his gut got worse as he broke out in a cold sweat. As he sprinted out the door towards his motorbike he began to silently pray that he was wrong about his suspicions, that he was worrying over nothing and his fears were unfounded. After slamming on the kick start the motorbike roared to life and Sirius Black raced through the cloud-filled sky towards Godric's Hollow.

The cold sweat had chilled his skin after having sped across England, arriving at the Potter's cottage in record time. His heart clenched in a panic at the sight of the ruined home, he leapt off his motorbike with wand in hand and raced past the open door without a second thought. His voice got caught in his throat and feet rooted to the spot at the sight of his best friend lying motionless on the floor, looking at him with lifeless eyes. The pain felt like a tidal wave that he couldn't outrun, he didn't want to feel it yet he was powerless to stop it. Tears began to well up in his eyes as he began to give in to the grief before the wail of a crying baby ripped him from his trance as he abruptly gazed at the ceiling, the sound was coming from the second floor. He quickly stepped over the body of his fallen friend and rushed upstairs. As he sidestepped burning debris and parts of the caved in roof, he entered the nursery and was bombarded with a combination of sadness and relief all at once. Another pair of lifeless eyes stared at him once more before he averted from the gaze and looked towards the crib where a baby remained seated, tears streaking down the child's reddened face as he cried for his deceased parents. Stepping over yet another fallen friend he gently picked up the crying child and held the boy close to his chest, hugging him softly to try and relieve both of their grief. As he stepped backwards away from the crib he felt something beneath his foot; looking down at the floor he saw a white-colored wand. He suddenly remembered just who had killed his dear friends and fearing for the boy's wellbeing his eyes searched around the room for the murderer as he silently cast a Homenum Revelio charm to find no one else nearby. He looked back down at the boy to see a fresh scar adorned on his forehead. He didn't know what happened, nor did he try to understand, he only knew that he and the boy were the only living things in the Potter's cottage. He quickly flicked his wand towards the ground with a sneer and the white-colored wand was incinerated before they both exited the home.

Sirius didn't know how long they both sat on the curb outside of the Potter cottage, both crying and mourning over the tragedy that had occurred. He was lost to the world in their shared grief, intrusive thoughts of the family he no longer had, how unfair fate had been to remove two of his closest friends from the world, and then the thoughts would start all over again like a revolving door. A small hand touching his chest stopped the revolving door as his gaze looked down at tear-filled eyes looking back at him. Despite the overwhelming grief and sadness he felt, it was a small comfort to know that the boy had lived. That small comfort however, gave way for one positive thought in an ocean of negativity: he wasn't alone, and neither was the boy. A loud and booming voice grabbed his attention as he looked up to see a giant of a man approaching the destroyed home, the grief on his bearded face likely matching his own.

"No…no, no, no…" Rubeus Hagrid whispered in despair with tear-filled beady eyes before looking down at the pair of them.

"Sirius, are they…" the giant asked.

Sirius could only nod his head in affirmation, as though saying it aloud would only make their deaths more resolute. Sirius stood up from the curb, baby in arms, before walking towards his motorbike. "Peter was the secret-keeper, he betrayed them" he said, the last part filled with anger as he carefully placed the boy securely in the sidecar of his motorbike. He sat atop the bike, foot resting on the kick start. "Tell Dumbledore to meet me at my flat" he said before the loud roaring engine echoed throughout the street.

After just closing his bedroom door where his godson now lay sleeping, there was a soft knocking at the front door to his flat. Sirius quickly strode across the wooden floor and opened the door where an elderly man in eccentric robes, with a long white beard, and wearing half-moon spectacles stood with a crestfallen expression on his face.

"Dumbledore, please come in" he said with a sad tone.

The elderly man nodded in appreciation before stepping inside, "Thank you for seeing me, Sirius."

They both walked towards a pair of chairs facing a window and sat down, a tired sigh escaping both of their lips as neither said a word for several minutes, both of them preoccupied with the events that occurred this evening.

Dumbledore broke the silence, "Sirius, could you tell me what happened?"

Sirius sighed tiredly once again before he spoke, "I suggested we use Peter as the secret-keeper, given how obvious of a choice I would be and how unlikely anyone would think to consider Peter. I paid him a visit where he was hiding and couldn't find him at all, it appeared as though he just left. I knew in my gut something was wrong and went to their home as quickly as I could" he trailed off, memories lost in what he found, tears trying to streak down his cheeks not for the first time this evening.

Dumbledore remained quiet and unmoving as he listened to Sirius' tale, his hand gently stroking his beard as he digested the new information. "And what of Voldemort and young Harry? Hagrid tells me that the boy survived…" he said with hope in his voice.

Sirius simply nodded, wiping his eyes as he tried to find his voice once again, "Harry was in his crib, with only tears on his face and a lightning bolt-shaped scar on his forehead. Voldemort was gone, nothing but his wand remained and I destroyed it on my way out" he replied.

Dumbledore nodded his head, absorbing and analyzing the new information once more as he seemed to be piecing together a puzzle. The elderly man humming to himself as he was seemingly lost in thought was all that could be heard throughout the flat for several minutes before Dumbledore looked back up, "What do you wish to do with young Harry? I believe he has an aunt and uncle on Lily's side…" Dumbledore suggested as he moved on from the subject of the Dark Lord and the deaths of Lily and James.

A fire seemed to light Sirius' eyes as his heartbreak was seemingly forgotten as he bolted up from his chair, "What do I wish to do with Harry? He's staying with me of course!" he nearly shouted.

Dumbledore seemed unbothered by the outcry, only holding up a hand to quell the young man's anger, "Forgive me, I did not mean to be presumptuous. However, I only wish for what's best for Harry. Have you thought about the responsibility that is required to raise a child, Sirius? And when word gets out of what has happened this evening, I'm afraid of what such celebrity could do to young Harry if not raised properly" he said with concern.

Sirius didn't take to yelling again, but he remained standing with narrowed eyes, glaring at Dumbledore with the very same fire he would have amidst a fight or duel, "Godfather isn't just some fancy title, they…" he paused in his tirade, not quite wanting to talk about his deceased friends so soon, "they entrusted me with Harry's wellbeing, and I'll be damned if I don't make sure that Harry has all the love and support he would've gotten had this night never happened!" he said with finality, almost daring Dumbledore to argue against him on the matter.

The aged wizard slowly stood from the chair, a smile mixed with both pride and sadness on his face as he rested his hands on Sirius' shoulders, "I'm sure their trust in you was not misplaced" he said before making his way for the door.

Sirius was soon left alone in silence, sadness and grief still evident in his eyes, but now a growing and burning determination could be seen as he stared out the window into the night's sky.

Meanwhile, at a different place, someone with a different reason to grieve, and a different set of eyes, stood at a doorstep in the Borough of Islington in London. She felt so tired, so weary, and so very weak. All she had to do was knock on the door and she could at least fulfill her last wish. She raised her thin and sickly arm up to the door and rapped her knuckles against the solid wood so softly she hoped it was loud enough for one of the residents to hear. All she could hear was the wind and the sound of her breathing as she looked down at the baby in her arms. She wasn't sure how long she waited and considered knocking once more but the thought was quickly abandoned as the door abruptly swung open, a very old and nasty looking house elf under the doorway with a sneer on its face. "What does young girl want, you be waking my masters" the creature growled out.

Struggling to breath and hold herself upright, all she could muster was a string of several words, "Regulus…sent me here…our child" she rasped out weakly, steadying one of her hands against the wall for support.

She was far too sick and tired to notice the look of complete shock on the elf's face before the creature shut the door without so much as a word. If she had the energy she would have screamed in protest and pounded on the door, but in her fragile state she could only manage a whimper in despair as hopelessness began to seep into her thoughts. Then as quickly as the house elf had shut the door in her face, the door was wrenched open once more, except this time she was met by a woman in a black satin nightgown with disheveled sandy blonde hair and cold grey eyes, her high cheekbones and sharp features painted her in a very attractive light if not for the murderous expression on her face. The woman's eyes trailed down to the child before back up to her face and stepped aside to allow her inside the home but not before saying, "Should you be lying, you won't live to regret it. What is your name?"

"Corycia…Parkinson" she replied weakly. The older woman looked slightly less threatening but still seemed wary.

"Walburga Black" the older woman introduced before letting Corycia into the house.

As Corycia walked through the front door, she took note of her surroundings. A long hallway, with a large chandelier hanging down from the ceiling and lamps along the length of the wall, both alight. An umbrella stand made of a troll leg sat next to the door, which she carefully avoided, not wanting to risk the safety of her baby by falling down. She saw on one side of the hallway there was a dining room, with a large black wooden dresser bearing a crest and holding expensive looking dishware. As they both reached the end of the hallway they began walking up the stairs, her hand tightly gripping the wooden railing for support. A row of shrunken house-elf heads decorated the wall of the upper floors, plaques beneath each head with a name. They reached the first landing and entered the room with the only open door; a drawing room that had long windows facing the street in front of the house, a tapestry of a family tree covering one side of the room, and a large fireplace being stoked by a tall, well-built, darkly handsome man with fair skin, long and lustrous black hair, and eyes a cold grey much like the woman who had been escorting her to this room.

"Corycia Parkinson, my dear" Walburga introduced before looking back at Corycia, "This is my husband, Orion Black."

Without so much as turning around the man spoke, "Bring the child here."

Corycia wasted no time and walked towards him, taking note of a needle and parchment on a tabletop. Orion picked up the needled and with no hesitation pricked the baby's finger, eliciting a cry from the child but he paid no mind as he pressed the child's finger against the parchment. After a drop of blood made contact with the parchment, Walburga whom was previously standing behind her and Orion moved forward and gazed down as the blood began to spread across the parchment like branches of a tree. They both gasped when they saw their child's name on the parchment and were relieved. They repeated the process with Corycia which confirmed her identity and lineage. With an abrupt turn and a sharp tone Walburga called out, "Kreacher," and almost instantly the house elf from before appeared out of thin air.

"Yes mistress," it said with a low bow.

"Prepare the guest room at once," Walburga commanded.

"Yes mistress, Kreacher lives to serve," it said with another bow before disappearing.

Orion was talking at the fireplace, another man's face could be seen distinctly among the dancing flames, "Yes I want them both looked at, floo over immediately," Orion demanded before turning away from the fireplace.

Walburga ushered her to a nearby chair and with a great sigh of relief she sunk down into the comfortable cushions beneath her and was basking in the wonderful feeling of rest. Orion and Walburga stood near the fireplace whispering softly to one another as they both stared at her and the child, a questioning and concerned look on the man's face while the woman seemed torn between hope and worry. After the fireplace flashed green a rather elderly man walked out; he had a finely trimmed mustache and combed hair, circular glasses, and black cotton pajamas. He said nothing as he began to swish and wave his wand around in varying directions, running diagnostic spells on both her and her child, muttering to himself at random until he seemingly finished several minutes later.

"The child, although underfed, is surprisingly healthy. The woman however has been cursed, it's too late for me to do anything for her except make her comfortable," the man said impassively.

Corycia looked down at her baby with a sad smile as she nodded in understanding, the healer casting spells to ease her pain and fatigue while she rocked her child back and forth, cooing softly as much for her own sake as it was for the baby.

The healer left not long after and Kreacher announced that the guest room was prepared. Orion and Walburga both sat down in front of her with questions on both their minds and Walburga finally spoke, "What happened to our son?"

Corycia looked up at them and without saying anything Walburga and Orion knew the answer. They had always known what happened, but a small part of them both never truly wanted to give up on the small chance that their son was alive, but after two years of no news it was a forgone conclusion. This didn't make it any easier on them to finally have confirmation though. Orion had schooled his features and didn't show any visible reaction other than a clenched jaw, Walburga though brought a hand to her lips as she fought back the tears.

"Regulus realized that the Dark Lord was doing more harm than good for purebloods, he was too desperate to achieve his goals. And after what was done to Kreacher, Regulus broke all ties with the Death Eaters and tried to stop the Dark Lord…" Corycia explained, trailing off in thought as she recalled the conviction she had seen in her husband's face so long ago. Both Orion and Walburga shared looks with one another when Kreacher's name was brought up but opted to address it at another time as Corycia continued, "The Dark Lord…he has done truly evil things to himself…that's what Regulus was trying to accomplish, to make the Dark Lord vulnerable….he didn't tell me where he was going last I saw him, only that he was going to destroy the Dark Lord's horcrux."

Orion sucked in a breath sharply at the mention of a horcrux, vaguely familiar with such magic. Walburga looked at her husband in confusion before she looked back at Corycia.

"When he never returned, I packed up and left and I've been on the run ever since. After so long I thought I could rest easy, maybe they had given up looking for me. I let my guard down, it was foolish of me, and I barely escaped, but not before one of them cursed me. Regulus said that should I ever be free of their pursuit that I should come here, but I knew the moment I was cursed that my time was running out, and I didn't want to leave my precious boy at some orphanage…" Corycia said with pained voice.

"I knew he would have a home here…if you'd have him" she said with tears running down her face.

Walburga looked at Orion with what might have been hopefulness, while Orion appeared to be struggling with maintaining his composure, and after what seemed like hours he nodded slowly, "Of course."

Walburga allowed herself a small smile at the glimmer of joy that came from the tragic evening they had all endured.

"Welcome to your new home, Regulus Black III."