Hey you, you're finally awake-

Ominis Gaunt, or Lord Gaunt, rather, had been burdened with the title of lordship after the death of his older brother, Marvolo. Marvolo's son had gone and died in some discrete way while his daughter had fallen hopelessly in love with a muggle and had disappeared, gone into hiding to evade her father's wrath. That mean that meant that Ominis was the only one who could carry the Gaunt name forward. During his school years, after the particularly exhausting fifth year, Ominis' best friend, Sebastian, had been sent to Azkaban. Over the course of the next two years, Ominis had fallen in love with Elana Fig, the hero of Hogwarts. After courting her for a few more years after their last year at Hogwarts, Ominis married her. His family hadn't objected because one, Elana was technically a pureblood. A Fig on her father's side and a Rosier on her mother's side. Two was because of the undoubted fame and standing she held in the wizarding world as the head of the aurors.

He spent a lot of time with Anne when Elana was out at work. He had truly meant it when he told Sebastian that Anne had been like a sister to him too. Poppy and Natsai were frequent visitors in his house as well and so was Gareth Weasley. It was thanks to them that he hadn't succumbed to his boredom and become a boring old man even before he hit the age thirty. He had been pretty heart broken when Anne finally succumbed to the curse and died at the age of twenty five. Had she survived two years more, she would have probably been able to see her brother released from Azkaban. Sebastian had come out of Azkaban, hoping for a new start, away from Dark Magic, but learning about his sister's death broke him. He lived for barely two years with Ominis and Elana's help before he committed suicide, leaving everything that belonged to the Sallow family to Ominis.

Soon enough, however, boredom was no longer a problem for Ominis when he had to run behind his energetic son. The boy was named Eleazar Sabastian Gaunt, Eleazar after Elana's late Uncle and Sebastian after Ominis' old friend. Ominis loved his son and was so proud of him. The boy got sorted into Slytherin and seemed to have inherited his mother's love for adventuring and made good friends with a certain Hufflepuff boy, Newton Scamander. The two boys became fast friends over their shared love for magical creatures, in fact, the Scamander boy spent more time in the Gaunt house than he did in his own. Elana loved pampering the two children and always took them out to the little magical sanctuaries she had built for magical creatures. It was no surprise that Ominis' little boy and the Scamander boy became magizoologists.

Of course, his little boy grew into a man soon and fell in love with a Prewett girl. Odette Prewett was a sweet woman that Ominis had the honor of calling his daughter-in-law. Tragedy struck, however, when his son died during the second war, leaving behind his wife and an unborn child. According to old customs, one of the few good customs of the Gaunt family, the wife of a deceased Gaunt family member would still keep the name and position in the family, which meant that the poor girl Odette had a place in their family. She died during child birth, giving birth to a beautiful child, who Ominis named as Noctua Anne Gaunt. The two women apart from his own wife, that had made his life not living hell. Elana, who was now retired, raised the child with Ominis, who was getting a bit too old now.

Noctua too, was sorted into Slytherin. Unlike Eleazar, Noctua was a very talkative child. In the first year, all she spoke about was the castle and the spells that she had learnt. Second year was all about her friends. Third year was about her electives. Ominis thought her fourth and fifth year would be something related to the school as well, but somehow, he didn't see his granddaughter falling for the Black heir. The fourth year, all she spoke of was the 'Gryffindor boys' and their pranks. Fifth had been all about Sirius Black this and Sirius Black that. Ominis had found it quiet annoying that Noctua had been so smitten by a boy, but then he remembered that he himself had been secretly in love with Elana his entire fifth year. Elana had only laughed at him when he brought up his concerns about Noctua. What if the boy didn't reciprocate her feelings. What if he did reciprocate it? Worst yet, what if he only pretended to reciprocate her feelings before breaking her heart? How he missed those talks.

Elana died during Noctua's sixth year. A war was brewing and Elana had made her stand quiet clear. She would not be aiding any dark lord, any day. Ominis' wife died while protecting a group of muggle-born children at Diagon Alley. Ominis still rememebred the feeling of holding his wife in her arms as he felt her magic slowly die out with her life. He remembered comforting Noctua, promising the girl that everything would be alright when he himself wasn't so sure about it. But, life continued, and Ominis had already lived through the death of all his friends. He was the last person alive in his friend group. First was Anne, and then Sebastian. Poppy had gone missing during one of her expeditions in her late fifties, never to be found again. Gareth had died during the second war, as a hero. Natsai had passed peacefully in her sleep three years ago. Now his wife. But Ominis was strong. He continued to live his day for as long as the fates would have him live it.

Not long after Noctua had graduated from Hogwarts, she came storming into the house, anger quiet evident from her magic. An angry Gaunt was not a nice Gaunt, especially if the angry Gaunt shared his wife's blood. So Ominis sat her down and spoke with her. All of her friends had sided with Voldemort and she had been livid that they dared to attack one of her muggleborn friends. She then told Ominis about a certain order that was working in secret to fight against the dark forces.

"Sirius invited me to join." She said. "And I intend to do so."

Gone was the sweet girl he once knew, the girl who fawned over Sirius Black and loved adventures. Ominis was proud of the woman that Noctua had turned into and encouraged her to join, asking if there was anything he could do to help. In the end, one of the more well known houses of the Gaunt family was set up as an emergency medical center for people in the order. Ominis often met up with Albus for tea now, both old men discussing war and strategies. Albus Dumbledore had once been his junior at Hogwarts and Ominis remembers the inseparable duo that Gellert Grindelwald and Albus Dumbledore had become. Their inter-house friendship had been as gossiped among by students as his own friend group's had been. He knew that there had been something more between the two boys back then, because it sure had destroyed Albus when he had to kill Grindelwald. But none of that mattered now. Now they were just two old people, one leading the war on the front lines and the other acting as a back bone with funding, politics and medical aid.

Ominis had already been through a war once. He knew how bad it could get. What he didn't know was, how to face a dark lord head on. Somehow, the other side had found out about the medical retreat and Voldemort himself had decided to attack the place. As Ominis stood in front of the Dark Lord and the few unarmed patients, he could only remember his wife and son. They had given their lives for good deeds. He would not be the only coward of the family.

"I may be blind, but I'm not weak. Especially in my own house. It's best if you leave." That was a bluff, Ominis could never take on anyone in a fight. His magic had only ever assisted people in fights, never fought head on. What he currently was doing was trying to stall for time. He had already called the order for help.

"You're weaker than you think, if you are ashamed of your own name." Ominis continued. "Hiding behind your moniker- you have no true honor."

That apparently set the dark child off. He went on a rant about who his mother was and how he had been treated as a child. Ominis felt bad for Tom, he truly did. No child ever had to grow up feeling unloved. Ominis tried to explain. Merope had run away from the house fearing Marvolo, but after Ominis became house head, he had tried looking for her. Merope was a master in stealth, if nothing else, which meant that neither Ominis nor Elana had a way of tracking her down. Ominis had also known that Merope was a strong witch and an independent woman and hadn't worried much about her, but he also knew the troubles of raising a child. If he knew about Tom's existence, he would have done everything to keep the child in the family. As Ominis tried to explain this, Tom only seemed to get angrier and angrier. Just before he could lash out. Two people came to the rescue, successfully chasing out the dark menace. While it was true that Tom had no blame in how he was raised, he certainly had all the blame for the actions he took after he came of age. Ominis was not about to cry sad tears for a dark wizard who had blood of innocents on his hands.

"Are you alright, Lord Gaunt?" A soft voice brought him out of his thoughts.

"Yes child." He smiled as he let the unknown woman lead him to a chair.

"I'm Lily Evans." She introduced herself. "I'm here with James Potter, we're both... colleagues of Noctua." She said as he sat down. "Are you sure you have no injuries, Lord Gaunt?"

"I'm fine, child." He said just as another presence made itself known.

"Lils! New orders. We're to shift all emergency patients to Grimmauld. The rest should be sent to their homes or safe houses."

"Are we getting any back up?"

"No. We're short on people as is."

Lily excused herself and continued with the mission. James Potter arrived moments later and the trio of youngsters finished their mission quickly and efficiently. The new man walked over to Ominis after everything was done. "Lord Gaunt, I'm Sirius Black." He introduced himself. "If you don't mind, I'll take you back to my safe house, seeing how the Dark Git might be targeting you in the future."

Ominis allowed the young man to take him to a muggle apartment where he was residing in currently. Strangely, he found traces of his granddaughter's magic all around the place. That night, as he sat on the chair in his room, by the fire, he heard Noctua enter the house.

"Hey there." The Black heir greeted his granddaughter. "How was your mission?"

"Ugh, don't ask. I was partnered with Pettigrew and had to save him from dying thrice! It almost-" There was a pause before- "Is my grandfather here?"

"Uh- yeah. About that-"

"Sirius!" His name was whispered harshly. "I haven't told him yet!" Oh. Told him about what?

"I know, love." Sirius Black was reassuring his granddaughter. "I haven't said a word about it yet, either." He told her. "He was attacked earlier this day and I thought he'd be safer here, in a muggle place, than in a wizarding house."

"He was attacked?" Noctua sounded horrified.

Ominis chose that moment to reveal himself. "I was." He said as he stepped forward. "Now, what is this about something that you haven't told me?"

"Grandfather- I- That-" Noctua seemed to be at a loss of words but Sirius Black stepped forward and took Ominis' hand, leading him to the couch.

"Lord Gaunt, I'm sorry that I didn't ask for your permission before I married your granddaughter." The man said.

Ominis was surprised. He waited for Sirius to finish explaining on how they loved each other and how they married, thinking that if they kept waiting, they were afraid one of them would die during the war. After hearing the Black's side of the story, he sent the man out, asking to speak to his Granddaughter alone. Honestly, he should have seen this coming. Noctua was after all, Eleazar's daughter, Elana's granddaughter. This was to be expected. Noctua sat by his side, explained how Sirius was- 'really telling the truth, Grandfather'- and how she truly loved him. Ominis knew Sirius was a good man.

"How long have you been married for?" He asked them after everything was settled. After learning that they had only been married for three months, Ominis demanded that they hold a small marriage ritual and a small celebration with close friends to really solidify their marriage. Plus, Gaunts only married once. Ominis wanted his granddaughter's marriage to be a memorable one. And thus, Sirius Black married Noctua Anne Gaunt, now Noctua Black. Since most of her friends were now on the other side of the fight, her cousins, Fabian, Gideon and Molly stood by Noctua's side instead of bridesmaids while Ominis, the oldest in the room, wed the two. A year and a half later, Sirius had come to escort him to meet his great-grandson.

Alphard Regulus Black. Noctua had let Sirius name their son after the two people he held dear in his family. Late in the night, Ominis sat by his granddaughter's bed, his great-grandson in his arms. He had been softly tracing the boy's facial features while Noctua tried her best to explain it to him.

"He looks exactly like Sirius." She said. "High cheek bones. His hair is a dark brown. His eyes are like the sky just before it gets completely dark, a beautiful blue. Oh, but he has a few moles. In the exact same spots that you have-" She continued to describe her son to him well into the night. She was still kept away from missions as it had been only a week since she gave birth. Ominis stayed with his granddaughter while her husband was out on missions. During that time, he had a chance to talk with a few of her friends. Most were barely able to attend the wedding and Ominis hadn't spoken with a lot of them due to his responsibilities as the elder. Remus Lupin was the first person he met, a werewolf, but a kind person nonetheless. He had been made Alphard's godfather while Lily Evans, the brilliant muggle born witch was made his godmother.

Of course, good things didn't last. In the next few months the war took a sharper turn. In one night, Gideon, Fabian and Noctua died, fighting like heroes. Ominis mourned with Sirius, who was starting to show the signs of the famed Black madness. Ominis suspected that the only thing keeping him sane were his friends and Alphard. Sirius spent all his free hours with Alphard, showering his son with love and care. Alphard, the infant happily took in all the love, only missing his mother when his father was gone. Sirius was a good father, there was no doubt of that in Ominis' mind. He had been a good husband to his granddaughter and was now going to be a great father, even if he had to bear the burden of everything alone.

A year later, the same man that Alphard had been named after had stumbled into the heavily protected Gaunt mansion, wounded and bleeding all over his floors. The only way the man could have gotten his address was from Sirius, so Ominis let the man in and healed him. Later, the man introduced himself as Regulus Black, Sirius' brother. He handed over a locket to Ominis, who could immediately feel the dark power in it. He promised the young man to find a way to destroy the locket. The man then met Alphard and decided to leave, begging Ominis to not tell Sirius about their interaction. Ominis however felt bad for Regulus. He was barely an adult and it didn't feel right to let the boy wander on his own. So he offered Regulus the Sallow house in Feldcroft, a place to lay low and recover, as long as he promised to keep in touch with Alphard and be a good uncle to the toddler. Regulus gladly accepted, not having expected any sort of help.

A year after that, just two months after Alphard had turned four, the war was over. Everything was going to be okay. Or he thought it was going to be okay. Sirius had been framed, Ominis knew that Sirius had been framed, but Crouch seemed unwilling to give Sirius a trial, no matter how much Ominis demanded it. As Ominis had been sitting back from politics for a long time, his word didn't have the pull it used to before and when he had been present with the evidence, he had to admit, it was looking a lot like Sirius had betrayed the Potters.

And yet, Ominis couldn't bring himself to accept the fact. He knew the man better than most people in the ministry, perhaps even better than Remus Lupin, his last living friend. His grandson-in-law was not the type of person to side with the dark forces. And yet, no matter how much he fought, no matter what he did, no one was willing to listen to him. Years went by and as Malfoy gained more power, his requests for a trial were starting to get immediately shut down. When he finally gave up on asking for a trial and asked to just meet Sirius once, he had been denied that as well.

That was how Ominis was left to raise another child of his family yet again. He made sure that Alphard never lacked anything. He loved the boy dearly and made sure that he grew up knowing the truth about his father, he knew about his mother and everyone else who had fallen, like his uncles Gideon and Fabian, the Potters, stories from even before the war, about his grandfather Eleazar, about his great-grandmother Elana, everything.

When it was finally time for Alphard to step out of the house and into Hogwarts, the boy already was showing signs of being more like Elana and Sirius combined- adventurous with a dash of mischievousness. He also had Elana's gift for ancient magic. Ominis grinned as he thought about the chaos the boy was going to create in the castle during his time. Maybe he would have great adventures and keep it all under the covers so that no one would know.

After all, no matter what people would say, the boy's cunningness was inherited from him.