Chapter 2
For the first time since their first year learning this type of magic, Sirius’ stomach churned after apparating. As his feet touched the floor, he had to grip onto the nearest person to prevent himself from collapsing, just being thankful that it was Lily and not Peter. He wasn’t being petty. Pettigrew deserved what Sirius was giving him, he just probably could do it in a better way than this. But that didn’t matter right now, they were on a mission. This felt extremely familiar to what they experienced while part of the Order of the Phoenix, he just hoped it wouldn’t end like it did back then. Lily helped make sure he was alright before releasing his arm, that sense of vertigo slamming into Sirius like a truck the more he attempted to get some normalcy to him. Why was this affecting him so badly?
“Oh god…” James muttered just as Sirius raised his head. Oh… now he understood. This was 12 Grimmauld Place, this was his home, the spawn of his nightmares made to look even more nightmarish. His posture immediately tensed-- as if it wasn’t tense enough already-- and Remus placed a soft hand on his shoulder.
“When was the last time you were here?” The werewolf asked, watching to make sure he wasn’t going too far with anything he was asking. He didn’t want to piss off his friend further, for he would rather not have any sort of confrontation while near a dangerous and unstable crack in time-space. It might end up making things worse.
“I don’t know… perhaps the First Wizarding War? I don’t really like coming back here,” Sirius admitted, appearing too small for how big he made himself seem just moments ago during the duel. It was like staring directly into pools of glass, reflections of things their brains cannot comprehend in full view as headaches pounded in their skulls if they looked for too long. The entire front entryway was riddled with things like that, making navigating their way through the house a little more difficult-- things seemed to not follow the original plan of the house anyways just from seeing the foyer of the Black family home. His mother’s portrait-- that being the only one that remained intact-- remained absent from it’s normal place at the front of the foyer, however the mural that depicted the family tree appeared to be complete and on full display. He approached it alongside James.
“Why is your picture glowing?” Prongs asked, motioning to his part of the tree. This was not how Sirius remembered things. This face had always been blacked out, scorched by an incendio from his mother when he refused to be like them, storming out of the house and leaving Regulus behind. His one true regret, leaving his brother to suffer the fate that was supposed to be his.
“Not sure, could be the Fracture messing with stuff. We saw that effect in the Three Broomsticks Inn and it isn’t in the terrible condition like this place is. We never used it again after the First Wizarding War, not that I’m aware of anyways,” Sirius explained. The amount of negative energy fueling off of this centrepiece made the dejected member of House Black even more nauseous the more he stood next to it, so with the grace of a duck he stepped back, planting a hand on his head. Remus took note of the strange way his friend was acting but for the moment kept it to himself.
“Where would the Fracture be? This place is a hotspot of negative energy, it could be anywhere,” Peter pointed out, moving slightly ahead of the group to take a peek at the other rooms. Sirius sighed, taking another glance at the mural of his family before walking up to the man who betrayed them the last time he was in here. Peter has just as much reason to hate 12 Grimmauld Place as Sirius does, but that doesn’t stop him from being a tiny bit trivial.
“Might be upstairs in our rooms, or maybe the drawing room. Mother liked spending a lot of time there when she was in a bad mood, more times than not summoning someone to take her anger out on. Father entered every once and a while but it was mainly her space,” said Sirius, taking a few steps forward before opening one of the doors, walking into what appeared to be a bedroom of sorts. Blue walls with a rather large bed, a cotton candy colored bed sheet playing perfectly predestined on top, like it hadn’t been touched in years. A Slytherin portrait hangs on the wall, glitching in and out of focus with another that had bluish colours in it, perhaps that of Ravenclaw.
“A bedroom? One of yours?” Lily asked, but Sirius’ eyes were locked onto the snake insignia at the other side of the bedroom.
“I could always see him as being a Ravenclaw, if mother and father didn’t corrupt him with their nonsense.” James and Lily shared a concerned glance, Remus brushing past before taking a look at the desk sitting across from the bed. A broken knife sat plain in view along with a few chunks of what appeared to be metal, though the werewolf couldn’t get a clear image on what it was. The thing had the same aura effect as the painting did, blinking in and out of existence as if it weren’t supposed to be there at all.
“You didn't answer the question,” Remus told him, picking the broken knife up and inspecting it. Sirius snapped out of his gaze, inhaling sharply before letting out an awkward chuckle.
“Ah, yes, apologies. This was Regulus’ room, though that’s sort of strange considering both of ours were on the upper floors. The only rooms that're supposed to be down here are the kitchen and dining room,” He told them, moving further into his deceased brother’s bedroom. Peter stayed slightly back, just within the doorframe, afraid to push too far and upset his friend again. Didn’t want a repeat of the training exercise. Remus on the other hand gladly allowed himself to explore the confines of this place, glad that his fellow Marauder didn’t seem to mind, although Sirius’ gaze was still transfixed on that mural.
“Why would it put Regulus’ bedroom down here, and why isn’t your room along with it?” James asked.
“That is strange. You guys were across from one another, and yet there’s not another room adjacent to his one. Why would the Fracture mess with the configuration of the house?” Questioned Lily.
“Simple,” Remus piped up, placing the object in his hand back on the desk where he got it. “To mess with him, mess with all of us, put us out of our comfort zone.” Sirius approached the bed, glazing a hand over the sheets as his mind began to wander. Flashes of power danced around his fingertips, the decaying spirits of this house reacting to the flickering life within him and brightening up the room. Suddenly, a pulse echoed throughout the house, sending shivers of power through the bodies of everyone around Sirius, watching as the area seemed to glow with power once again. James stepped back.
“What’s happening?” He asked. Before he could get an answer, the sounds of shouting outside of the room came to their attention.
“You insignificant little worm!” Sirius’ entire body went rigid, and Remus knew that something bad was about to happen. Gripping onto his friend’s arm, he gently pulled Padfoot closer to him, away from where he assumed the torment was about to start. Storming into the room was a boy dressed in Hogwarts clothing, phasing through Peter as he slammed the door shut behind him. Though he was a tad younger than they remember him being, striding across the room and jumping into bed was Regulus Black, discarding his robe before covering his ears. Sirius recalls him doing this everytime their parents fought, though usually he was there to help-- whether that be the aftermath or during it didn’t matter, Regulus appreciated it either way. Didn’t take long for history to become accurate.
“Disobeying our orders and intentionally ruining that moment for us, are you stupid?! You could have cost us our image,” This time it was his father shouting, but Sirius was too focused on Regulus curled up in bed, slowly tightening his grip on himself.
“What’s this?” Peter asked sheepishly, still recovering from feeling something actually pass through him. Sirius’ expression darkened.
“A moment in time where I couldn’t be there for my brother, perhaps one of the first times. Had an argument with mother and father and didn’t come to see if he was okay. Got caught in the middle of it, like always,” He explained. They continued to listen.
“I wouldn’t be so much of a fuck up if you two were actually good parents!” They heard another version of Sirius shout back, most likely when he was close to his fifth year in Hogwarts. The older version looked away in shame. None of his friends had heard about these, keeping them locked down inside unless they were virtually unavoidable.
“Jesus, Padfoot, you weren’t kidding when you said your arguments got heated,” James exhaled, causing Sirius to laugh.
“You have no idea,” Was all he said. Regulus shot out of bed suddenly, striding over to where Remus was standing, picking up the broken knife from the desk-- although at this point it seems to be perfectly fine. Staring down at it, Sirius’ gut lurched at what this scene was particularly implying, though his brother never acted upon when he thought he was going to. A sense of dread suddenly came upon the dejected Black as it seemed the entire room darkened, and horror set in as Regulus stared directly at him, inky darkness running down his face from his eyes.
“You did this, you put me here. You made me who I am.” It felt like Sirius swallowed an entire jar of fairies. Suddenly unable to breathe, his entire body froze like a stupefy had been cast upon him, but Remus noticed things that normally no one else would. Noticing the sudden change in Black’s behaviour, the werewolf removed his wand and aimed it at Regulus.
“Riddikulus!” He casted, a small whip cracking noise being heard as Regulus shattered into nothingness, thus releasing Sirius from whatever shock he was feeling. Falling back against the wall, the entire room returned to its normal macabre state, as if nothing had affected anything at all. The bed was still made and the broken knife remained on the desk, even the door had stayed ajar.
“Remus, you beautiful bastard, how did you know that would work?” James asked, rushing over to help Sirius stabilise himself. Remus put his wand away.
“I didn’t. It usually only works on Boggarts but it seems whatever the Fracture is doing is causing some instability with the spells we are casting,” The werewolf explained before turning to his friend. “You alright Sirius?” He asked, earning a small nod from him.
“Yeah, I’m good, let’s keep going,” Lily shared another look with James.
“Are you sure?” He didn’t respond to her question, simply nudging past Peter and towards the staircase up. The other Marauders took no time in following behind, Pettigrew taking the flank nervously as he kept an eye out for anything that might try and sneak up on them. Climbing up the stairs, they reached what was supposed to be the ground floor, however turned out to be simply a pair of double doors staring them in the face. Sirius stared in awe, fully having expected the Fracture to be in the Drawing Room, though it looked like his theory was wrong.
“What the hell is going on?” Lily asked, just as confused as everyone else was. Sirius placed his hands on the doorknobs but didn’t open them.
“Things haven’t made sense yet, why would they start now?” Sirius asked. Though it had been an attempt at a joke it came off a tad bit more harsh than he would have liked. Sirius Black always performed well under pressure, but this was a new level of psychological horror. Opening the duel doors, they came upon a room that was physically impossible to reside within the Black estate; a large ballroom that looked like it could fit over a hundred people, a large chandelier hanging overhead. In the center of the room, completely exuding chaos across the entirety of the room, sending shivers down Remus’ spine with his heightened senses. Even a week or so before the full moon, the poor man succumbed to the feelings and smells around him, making his time during potions class quite the migraine while at Hogwarts. Even now he was plagued by his curse.
“There, in the middle!” Peter pointed out, removing his wand from his pocket. Arcs of lightning flicked off of the chaotic hole in time, striking different pieces of furniture and objects that resided within the room. As if the laws of gravity did not exist here, specific things were just floating in the air, some that Sirius never even recognized as being part of his house. Paintings, artefacts, the memories of long forgotten relatives, they were all here, and they were all calling to him. The five stepped further into the ballroom, slowly taking in their surroundings while cautiously eyeing up the Fracture in the center of everything.
“What is this place?” Remus asked, nudging a small, floating vase and watching it drift off to the side. Sirius’ eyes were trained on the mantelpiece off to the side, completely covered in decorations that he recognizes from his childhood, when things hadn’t gotten to the point they had yet. A small, framed photo sits plainly in view, showing the family in its entirety. Walburga and Orion stood above the two kids, small smiles on their faces as they both briefly looked down at Sirius and Regulus. At this point in time it appeared as if Sirius wasn’t yet enrolled in Hogwarts, not yet the disappointment his family made him out to be. Regulus couldn’t be any older than eight, a big, toothy grin accompanied by a small head pat from his older brother. Sirius almost missed this point in time, but then he would be oblivious to his family's true heritage. He wouldn’t be like them.
“Regulus died because of you,” His mothers voice whispered in his ear. Sirius shook his head, turning away from the photo as he watched James begin to approach him. The wizard appeared slightly at unrest, rubbing his forearm while his wand was at the ready to his side. Almost seemed just as anxious as Sirius was, but he wasn’t going to mention that he was hearing voices now. That would make him sound crazy.
“Found anything?” James asked, taking a quick peek at the mantel in front of them. “Family photo?” Sirius nodded, not bothering to take another look back at it, afraid of what he might see or hear next.
“Yeah, it seems everything we’ve come across has something to do with my bastardised family. Wouldn’t be surprised if mother and father were somewhere around here, just waiting to have a go at me,” The dejected Black mumbled, beginning to walk away. James only watched, glancing back at the photo only to see if it was still there, however he swore things had changed. A black forest, a full moon, a dash of blood, but then another sharp look and it was back to the Black family photo. James swallowed hard, deciding that now would be a good time to remove himself from the proximity of this mantelpiece. Peter stuck by Lily, not because he was scared but because it’s always good having someone to watch your back when you can’t. Remus was crazy for going off by himself.
A bad feeling was creeping up on the werewolf. He couldn’t shake that there was something else at play here, that somewhere in the darkness something was waiting for them to turn their backs and strike, but he had these feelings all the time. Tonks called him paranoid-- in a loving way, though-- but it didn’t steer him wrong when he smelled Bellatrix and the other death eaters outside of the Weasley Farm. Poor souls, he wonders if they ever recovered after that. A low thrumming noise caught his attention, turning to face the Fracture as a small, blue pulse extracted out of it, heading outwards towards all of them. Remus hated when he was right.
“Heads up!” Was all he was able to get out as the see through waves slammed into him, throwing his senses for a loop. Eventually, everything cleared up, but now the entire room was baked in a blue glow, full of ghostly figures all dressed in noble clothing. The Marauders regrouped, Sirius holding his head as a pounding headache threatened to split his skull open.
“Another vision?” Lily asked, looking amongst the people as the make-believe party continued on as if they were not there.
“Wait a minute…” Sirius trailed off, taking a closer look at the people and decorations now littering the room. “I recognize this moment… This is a pureblood gathering, one of many that my parents forced me and Regulus to attend. I can only imagine which shitty memory this one is.” The Marauders split up, taking a look around the scattered split in time while whispers of those who attended echoed within their eardrums. Lily took note of their absent eyes, solid, black orbs staring at those who walked by while others resumed their chatting as if nothing was happening. Some even had small marks staining the underneath, as if they were crying the very thing their souls were made up of. Sirius is uncomfortable.
“Is that the Black boy, the one who was sorted into Gryffindor? What an unnecessary obstacle for Lady Walburga,” One of them spat, digging daggers into his back. This was his worst nightmare; stuck with manifestations of those who were exactly like his family, people who would follow the Dark Lord to the end of the world and back, and he couldn’t do anything about it. He felt 15 again.
“What a joke, can’t even defend himself. Can he do anything right?” Another voice asked, but Sirius wasn’t listening. He was trotting to the place he knew his parents would be hiding, simply out of an instinctual pull from the bottom of his heart. Unaware of what he was doing, Peter and Remus followed, leaving the two lovebirds to look after their backs, in case something or someone were to sneak up on them again. Didn’t want a repeat of the Three Broomsticks Inn.
“Are you good, Padfoot?” Remus asked, stepping beside him while the other remained simply trailing as they walked. Sirius didn’t respond. He finally broke through the crowd, his eyes scanning around until he landed on four figures off to the side, each dressed in noble clothing that represented their house colors, making young Sirius stand out like a sore thumb. He hated parties. It meant that he had to serve all the adults beverages and food when they asked, further putting the shame of being in a different house to the front of his mind. Regulus, on the other hand, loved them. It was the only time he could actually be him, playing with the other cousins his age while his brother was stuck in a never-ending hell of bullying and degradation. He almost loathed Regulus for his ability to have fun.
“Is that…?” Peter asked as they stopped just short of twenty feet of them, Lily and James catching up once determining that no one but them were in here. Sirius only nodded, his body reminding himself of that sickening feeling creeping up on him by small shivers through the spine. The wizard never thought his parents got to him that badly, and after all these years it appears that he was wrong. The pureblood accord always made him queasy, even though he was told he would one day take over where they left off. That was before he became the person he was.
“Lord Estherin had quite the journey to London after his father passed away, the poor soul inherited everything except the bureau that he was looking forward to. That went to his daughter, Merlune,” His father’s voice came over the crowd, almost as if everything else stopped when he spoke. Orion Black had that ability on people, just by the sheer intimidation tactics he used and the booming sound his vocals produced. His mother was the silent but deadly type, his father would never physically lay a finger on him. Orion didn’t believe in abuse.
“Estherin is a fool if he thought Moor was going to give his pride and joy to someone who works for the Ministry. He had no faith in them and I’m sure in his passing, his family will double down on the slander mucking about these days,” Walburga growled, taking a sharp sip of her wine. Sirius stood beside her, hands in pockets, gaze locked on the floor as he listened to his parents converse about the nobles of the area.
“Did you hear that some people suspected him of thrashing his own father? What a concept that is,” Orion commented, looking across the way to see how well the party was doing. Of course this was only to amuse the nobles, he really didn’t care what anyone else was talking about so long it wasn’t dragging his name through the mud. Walburga only let out an affirming noise, finishing what was left in her glass. Sirius grimaced. He knew what was coming, and he didn’t like it.
“Sirius, darling, can you go fetch me another glass? I’m feeling rather adventurous today,” Walburga told him, holding out the just recently empty towards her son as he looked up towards her. Sirius nodded, taking it before walking off into the crowd. No one paid attention to him as he did so, but that didn’t help the fact that he knew what everyone was thinking. James gawked.
“This is what your parents looked like? I’ve never seen them, they were always locked up in your house doing important pureblood stuff,” Prongs pointed out. Sirius couldn’t help but feel like something was wrong, and it didn’t take long for his theory to be proven correct. The ballroom shifted and warped, cataclysmic rumbling sending nervous shocks through their bodies as a bunch of other visions overlapped the already existing one in separate places, Walburga and Orion just barely being seen through the mash of time energy.
“Whoa,” Peter trailed off, amazed that so much chaos could be happening in harmony at once. Sirius felt his heart trying to leap into his throat, but his vision focused on each one individually; him gaining his first gift from his mother at the age of three, meeting Regulus just after he was born, travelling to different places for his mother and father’s work, and then he focused on his first day at Hogwarts where he met James, Peter, and Remus. They were a comfort to one another and they knew that, but it was amazing how different the reasons were.
Remus hated himself because of a curse that was put on him as a child, now being forced to turn into a bloodthirsty monster once every month. Peter hated himself because he saw the others as stronger, thinking that he was nothing but a tag-along that they would eventually abandon, but he relished in their company. James hated himself because he was afraid of what he would be forced to do, what he might see in the upcoming years of becoming a wizard. And Sirius hated himself because his parents made him think he was nothing, made him think that everything that happened was his fault, and that he was at fault for Regulus dying. He should have been there. That good memory lasted only long enough for the Marauders to get a good joy out of it and then it was gone, leaving only one single memory left in front of them. Sirius’ eyes widened.
“No… it can’t be,” He whispered. The dejected Black recognized the surrounding area of the vision as back in their home, within the drawing room that his father loved to spend so much time in. It seemed as though they were absent this time, only his brother, Bellatrix Lestrange, and a few other deranged cousins remaining within view.
“The Death Mark ritual,” Remus informed more out of shock than anything else, looking at Sirius as they watched things take place. Regulus got roped into things after Sirius left home, but the older brother always made sure to keep an eye on him, even when he wasn’t around. How could he have not noticed the hatred Reg had for him, the glare he gave every time Padfoot checked up on him, and the type of people he ended up flocking to. Of course it was going to end out the way it did, the only person who didn’t see it coming was him. Regulus did what he did to spite him, and it ended up costing his own life in the process.
“I swear to uphold the Death Eater mark and follow Voldemort to oblivion and back, so be it as it always has,” Regulus said, winding as his entire arm tensed up once Bellatrix placed her was on it. Soon enough the mark showed itself, that dastardly snake coiling around the skull that represented Voldemort’s diversion from death, and Sirius felt like he was going to be sick. Remus placed a soft hand on his friend’s shoulder.
“Perhaps you should sit this one out, you appear to be disturbed by what you’re seeing,” Moony suggested. Sirius narrowed his eyes at his fellow wizard. How dare he suggest that he back out of this, that he would run from his problems as if that’s not what he’s been doing his entire life. A sudden anger flared up in him and Remus must have felt that, because he let out a small grunt as his grip suddenly tightened. This was not a good place to be in, they both were just as vulnerable as a child fresh out of the womb.
“I can take care of my own problems, Lupin, you stay out of this,” He growled, pushing the werewolf’s hand off of him. Remus stepped back in shock before fixing his messed up coat, trying his best not to get angry with his friend. It was the Fracture, no doubt, it was probably getting great satisfaction at them fighting with one another.
“I’m not saying you can’t, I’m saying that we need to take a breather before this thing causes us to do more than shout at one another,” Remus explained, trying to get closer to the tensed up Black as James approached to back up his friends. Sirius scoffed.
“I’m not a coward, I won’t let this fucking thing beat us. You can turn tail and run if you want. Wouldn’t want your instincts to kick in early, would we?” That hit him hard. They’ve had arguments in the past, especially after the Shrieking Shack incident back in their fifth year, however never before has Sirius targeted his being a werewolf as a way to insult him. Sure they were a little freaked out when they first found out but they were pretty accepting once learning what had actually happened to him, and Remus had to remind himself that he probably didn’t think that, he was just being emotional because of what the Fracture was doing.
“I think that’s enough, Padfoot, you’re getting to that point again,” James warned, setting his hand on the crease of Remus’ back. The werewolf thanked him silently as he took this moment to regain his composure, but it didn’t last long because soon enough, Sirius had just as heated as before. A small shimmer of blue encroached his figure, an evil tint forming in his eyes as he reached for his wand, gripping onto his friend’s collar. Remus went for his but this was not what he wanted, he just wanted to come in and get out. Lily had hers already at the ready, pointing towards Sirius in a defensive manner.
“Don’t make us do this, Siri. You need to step back, see what this thing is doing to you. Don’t let this thing turn you into your parents,” Remus threatened, and that seemed to do it. The imagining that he could turn into what Walburga and Orion eventually became was scary, and that fear drove the influence of the Fracture out of his head, that shimmer dying down into a small smolder that flicked at his shoulders. Sirius bowed his head, letting go of Moony as a deflated sigh exited his mouth, shame influencing his eyes.
“I’m sorry, I don’t know what happened,” Sirius admitted, a sudden exhaustion underlying his voice. Remus smiled.
“It is alright, we are still finding out what these things can do. We now know what they are capable of,” The werewolf told him. Peter peered over Lily’s shoulder, noticing the way that his friend teetered on his feet with the paleness in his skin that reminded him of himself during the times were he was forced to not eat by the Death Eaters, a way of fully becoming one of them.
“You look sick, Sirius. We should get you out of here,” Peter suggested, gently taking the Black by the arm. He shook his head, though.
“The Fracture is unstable, it’s why it is able to do this to us so easily. It’ll go berserk if we leave it alone for too long,” Sirius said softly, brushing his hair out of his face. James took a look back at the rupture in time, noticing the way that the pieces of it seemed to blink in and out more sporadically, the arcs of lightning taking things out of existence just by being close to it. He came to a conclusion.
“I’ll stay behind, make sure it doesn’t go overboard. You guys get back, recover and get your strength back, and come back as soon as you can,” Prongs advised, removing his wand from his pocket as he turned towards the Fracture. Lily grabbed onto his arm out of protest, a very visible grimace on her face.
“You can’t! You saw what it did to Sirius, who’s to say it won’t do the same to you?” She asked, gripping both arms to keep her husband in place. James only gave her a smile in return, however, as he saw Remus get that familiar ‘I don’t want to admit I’m wrong’ look on him.
“He’s right, we have to do this. Better to come back at full strength and have to deal with it then than having to deal with multiple of us at a weaker point. We do not want to face powerful things when not at full capacity,” Lupin told her. Lily let out some noises of distress, looking James in the eyes again before she finally gave in.
“Fine, but you take care of yourself. We cannot afford to lose you, I cannot afford to lose you. Not again,” She told him, giving her husband a quick kiss on the lips before moving away from him. James nodded, exhaling sharply as he watched the other four group up, just like they did when they left the last mission they went on. Prongs gave one last nod to his friends.
“Good luck you guys, come back soon,” He requested softly, turning away to face the Fracture. Letting out a small amount of power, it wrapped around one of the visions in front of them, picking up the pieces and putting them back together again. It solidified and wobbled before disappearing completely, a low thrum being heard in the ears of all that were present. James looked back. “I got this.” Lily rolled her eyes, Peter giving a small wave as Remus rose his wand, nervously giving it a small twirl as the apparition spell took hold. James Potter watched as ⅘ of the Marauders-- his friends-- disappeared from view, leaving him all alone in 12 Grimmauld Place with the very thing that nearly caused Sirius Black to physically harm his best friend. He could only hope that they returned before that buzzing in his head completely overtook his senses, leaving him just as much of an enemy as Voldemort himself.