Chapter 1
***James Fleamont Potter ***
Barty Crouch Jr and Evan Rosier were gods of their world. They were untouchable gods of dirty gold and dirtier dealings, you couldn’t swing a cutlass without knocking into one of their associates or business partners. They knew of every sailor, pirate or privateer that dared to grace the tides. If they thought somebody needed to be dealt with, the person simply disappeared. But even gods bowed down to someone and these gods bowed down to the very devil himself. Regulus Arcturus Black. The pirate family had been well known for generations but Regulus added a certain flair to the fame, that was until he went off grid. His older brother Sirius had supposedly died when he was 15, leaving a 14 year old Regulus as the Black family heir. A year later his parents had disappeared and not much later so had he. Despite his disappearance, his name still held an omen of death and his close associates still wielded their ties with him like a shield. Even as a ghost Regulus controlled the seven seas. But his whereabouts was a mystery, an elusive puzzle that James Potter, the merchant’s son, was eager to crack. James Potter had grown up on land, away from his parents’ life as merchants, they had let him train and work as a merchant from home but he’d always itched to be on the high seas in the sun’s raw gaze. Fleamont, his father, had taught him to sail as soon as James asked and the young boy had spent every spare moment he could down by the docks. Whether he was polishing boats, weaving rope, feeding ducks or sailing, the boy with the flyaway hair and gold rimmed glasses would always be found by the sea’s edge. The dark water enticed him with its roiling secrets and whispers, on lighter evenings the young boy would climb into the caves in the cove, letting the rising tide block his exit. He’d listen with wide eyes to the murmurs the sea muttered into the caves where nobody dared to enter. But James Potter dared because something he loved so much could never hurt him, even when the sea threatened to drown his small red boat, James was not scared. He wished so deeply to find each and every secret of the sea. So much so that he purchased his own ship, one to match the size of a pirate's own. So much so that he visited every coast he could to find those that matched his curiosity, he found them with ease. Lily Evans, their muscle, a fighter through and through. Mary McDonald, their healer, a doctor in training who learnt many years above her level. Marlene Mckinnon, their spy, an acrobat and thief runaway who could find a way into any space. Peter Pettigrew, the boy in the chair, who found and sorted through any and all information they might need. Frank Longbottom, their cartographer, another merchant’s son who James had grown up with. And last but not least, Sirius Orion Black,their mystery, James’ closest friend and confidant. They rarely left each other's side and Sirius’ job was usually an extension of James’. But that morning, Sirius was not glued to James’ side, he’d been sent into the local village to grab some food whilst they were docked. James had taken the opportunity to sort through his notes on his favourite secret of the sea, Regulus Arcturus Black, R.A.B.
“You’re not plotting again are you?” Lily demanded from the doorway, 6 foot and packing muscle, Lily Evans was a sight to behold. Hair like fire tightly pulled into loose plaits that coiled around her head like a crown, with little curls that graced the shoulders of her burgundy dress coat. Almond shaped green eyes locked onto the pile of pages James was trying to hide.
“Nope.” He lied blatantly.
“Sirius would kill you if he knew.”
“A ghost can’t kill me.” He waved the newspaper clipping at the tall girl, it read ‘sirius black murdered by his brother’ it was only a gossip oriented theory but James kept anything that told him about Regulus.
“Oh Padfoot would love that.” She cackled loudly.
“What would I love?” As if summoned, Sirius Orion Black swung around the door frame, next to Lily he looked shorter than he really was which was already pretty short. Using a long, thin knife, Sirius had twisted the top half of his dark ringlet into a top knot, leaving the rest to brush his shoulder blades. Instead of replying, James cleared his throat and shoved the papers into the small drawer his desk provided but Sirius was too quick, he swooped in and grabbed the news clipping. Thankfully, Sirius only read the backside of the page which talked about Sirius’ disappearance and had a sketch of him on it.
“You were right, Lils.” Giggling, Sirius bolted from the room and James and Lily followed him out onto the deck.
“Marls get a look at this.” He called, holding up the picture next to him, “it’s another drawing James found.”
“Surely you have quite the collection now, Pads.” Marlene wasn’t wrong, Sirius did indeed have a pile of missing posters of himself, he thought it was funny to have them. Intrigued, Marlene untangled herself from the two long strips of fabric she had tied to the poles that ran through the mast, she would hang from them often.
“They still just can’t get my nose right.” Sirius whined as he inspected the drawing before tucking it into his pocket. James was slightly annoyed at losing the evidence but it was all based in rumours anyway, Sirius was right here wasn’t he? Anything else in there had to be wrong too.
***Regulus Arcturus Black***
Regulus hated the sun, it was always too bright at the wrong times, when he needed to be quiet, it shone and lit up all his ugly secrets and when he needed it, it left him. He needed it as he pressed his back against the slimy stone wall, he needed the sun so he could see the next day. He needed the warmth on his skin to know he was still alive, still human. He needed to know that he hadn’t melted into a decaying corpse whilst he lost track of time.
“You can’t hide in there forever Black. You’ll give up soon enough.” The cruel voice came again, it was almost a routine, every hour one of them would taunt him. But Regulus ignored it, instead he etched another small notch into the wall, running his finger over them felt nice. He could measure each and all of the bumps to have some sort of stability of how long he’d been locked in the dark.
He really hated the sun.