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As soon as they arrived at the Grimmauld Place, Orion let go of Sirius’ shoulder. The boy stood still, knowing better than to try to escape. His father took a deep breath and glanced over to where a little boy with black hair and grey eyes was standing. Sirius looked over there and hesitated. But then, Orion nodded. A grin appeared on the older boy’s face and he quickly walked over to the boy, while Orion headed towards his study. Sirius grabbed the boy and pulled him into a hug.
“Hey, Reggie.”
The boy struggled to get away and, after two minutes of holding him in a tight hug, Sirius finally let him escape. Regulus glared at him.
“How could you?!”
Sirius tilted his head.
“How could I what?”
His little brother frowned.
“How could you be sorted into Gryffindor?! You traitor!”
Then he turned around and ran away. Sirius was left standing, frozen to his spot. His eyes were wide open and he was just staring at the spot where his brother had disappeared. But then he shrugged and followed the boy.
“Reg! Regulus! Wait!”
He caught up to the boy in the hall on the second floor and tackled him. They both fell forward and crashed into a door. Regulus shrieked and the door opened a second later. Walburga Black glared down to her sons.
“Sirius! What do you think you are doing?! Get off the floor and apologize to your brother! And go talk with your father afterwards!”
Sirius stood up and opened his mouth to say something back, but then he noticed Regulus’ big eyes and he nodded stiffly.
“Yes, mother. I apologize for disturbing you. And I’m sorry Regulus, for tackling you.”
Then he turned around and slowly walked down again. In the main hall, he stopped and took a deep breath.
“Kreacher.”
The elf appeared in front of him.
“Yes, young master Sirius?”
The boy looked down at the elf with hate.
“Where is my father?”
“Master is in his study.”
Sirius nodded and left, not looking back at the elf. He paused outside the study. Fear flitted across his face before it became blank again and he knocked.
“Come in.”
He opened the door and stepped inside. Orion was sitting behind the big desk and looking through some papers.
“Sit down, Sirius. I have to finish reading this letter first.”
Sirius walked over and sat down on the chair on the other side of the desk. He was pale, but kept himself together. There was no point in crying. A few minutes later, Orion put the letter away and looked up to his son. Their grey eyes met and he smiled a bit when he noticed the calm expression on his son’s face.
“You know why you are here. Right, Sirius?”
The boy nodded.
“I was sorted into Gryffindor even though the hat gave me the choice to choose between it and Slytherin. I became friends with a bloodtraitor and mugg…”
He stopped, took a deep breath and corrected himself.
“Mudbloods. I knowingly went against your orders when you told me to stop spending my time with them. I hexed Malfoy in front of other students. I helped James Potter with tormenting a slytherin.”
Then he wrinkled his forehead and added slowly:
“Although he is a halfblood and an idiot.”
The corners of Orion’s lips twitched slightly but his expression became serious a second later.
“Yes. I think that would be all. I’ll let that slytherin go. From what I’ve heard his mother is a pathetic witch who doesn’t even dare to stand up to her filthy husband. I am not sure how she could allow that boy to be alive. And I’m going to let you hexing Lucius slip. I’ve talked with Abraxas about this and he told me that Lucius have been acting incorrectly with the etiquette and have been causing trouble. As to James Potter, I’m willing to let that go without punishment too.”
Sirius eyes widened in shock. Orion nodded.
“Don’t look so shocked. You being in Gryffindor isn’t something I can change. The rules of Hogwarts are ancient and even I can’t mess with them. You’ll have to stay in that house. And, whether I like it or not, James Potter comes from two ancient families. Blacks and Potters. Out of the entire bunch in there, he is the best candidate to be friends with you. As long as you stay away from his parents, I will not punish you for being friends with him. Your behavior towards Dorea is mainly what makes me believe that you can be trusted to keep to my rules around that boy.”
Then he took a deep breath and continued with a more serious voice.
“But there are a few things that I cannot let slip. You choosing Gryffindor over Slytherin is one of them. Those two mudbloods are another. The werewolf is a third.”
Sirius eyes filled with fear.
“Father…”
Orion’s hand went up to silence the boy.
“Yes, I know. I took the liberty to look up the Lupins since I clearly remembered their name from somewhere. One of Greybacks attacks. There was nothing written about Lupin’s son being bitten, but from the way that boy looks, I came up with my own conclusion. Your reaction confirms it. Now, I will not tell anyone if that’s what you are worried about. Albus Dumbledore must have had his reasons to let that beast into the castle. But I will not have my son spending his free time with a werewolf.”
Sirius was keeping his eyes on the desk. Even when Orion quieted, he refused to look up.
“Sirius. Do you understand me?”
After a moment’s hesitation, the boy nodded stiffly. Orion opened his mouth to continue when his son’s voice stopped him.
“I understand, father. But I will not leave Remus alone.”
He looked up, and his eyes were cold.
“I will not turn away from him. He needs me. He needs friends. People who understand. I apologize, father. But I will not listen to you on this one.”
For a moment, Orion looked positively shocked. Then he flew up from his place, rushed around the desk, grabbed Sirius’ hair and threw him to the ground.
“You dare go against me? Are you forgetting who I am?”
His voice was still calm, but there was madness in his eyes. Sirius stood up from the floor.
“No, father. I’m not forgetting. But I have my own mind and opinions too. And they don’t always correspond with what you want.”
Orion shook his head.
“That Potter. He is the reason for this. I’m taking back my earlier statement. I don’t want you anywhere near that boy. Now ready yourself and stand against the wall. I think it’s time for your punishment.”
Sirius, still keeping a cold glint in his eyes, shrugged of the cloak and pulled his shirt off. Then he went to stand against the wall, with his hands flat against it. Behind him, Orion opened a drawer and pulled out a belt. Slowly he walked over to the boy and said in an emotionless voice:
“I think 50 should be enough.”
And, before Sirius could answer, he swung the belt against his back. Sirius didn’t even flinch, even though the force of the blow pushed him forwards. He got back to his old spot and Orion smiled softly. The blows continued to rain down onto his back. After 20, Sirius let his head fall forwards and his long hair hid his face. After 30 his hands curled into fists. At 36 the blow actually cut into his skin. At 40 Sirius was breathing heavily, his shoulders tense. At 45 his legs shook slightly, but he remained standing. The last five blows were delivered quickly. After that, Orion dropped the belt to the floor and waited. Slowly, Sirius lowered his hands and turned around to face his father. His eyes were full of pain but still dry. Orion nodded.
“Have you learned your lesson yet?”
Sirius nodded.
“Yes. I should have chosen Slytherin. I shouldn’t have became friends with James and let his views get over to me.”
Orion raised his eyebrows but Sirius just shook his head.
“I apologize, father, but whatever you do to me will not make me leave Remus. He needs friends right now.”
For a moment Orion looked as if he would snap. But then he nodded slowly.
“This talk is not over. But you can go for now. Kreacher will call you down when the food is ready. And try to not upset your mother too much. I need some silence to finish these letters.”
Sirius bowed his head.
“Yes, father.”
He grabbed his clothes and left the room.
The clip ended and everyone turned to Sirius. Molly and Minerva had tears in their eyes. Harry, Ron, Hermione and Arthur were shocked into silence. Snape looked as if he was seeing Sirius for the first time. Albus looked sad. Remus, on the other side, was smiling.
“Thank you, Pads.”
Sirius grinned towards him.
“No probs. I told you I was your friend. Nothing he said would change that.”
Then he turned towards his father’s painting.
“By the way, did you know that grandfather was coming by? Was that why you went easy on me?”
Orion shook his head.
“No, Sirius. I did not know. I was really going to let some of the things slip.”
Sirius raised his eyebrows.
“Really?”
“Yes. Really. However much I disliked the idea of my son hanging around James Potter, he was the best candidate out of the entire bunch.”
Before Sirius could say anything, Molly spoke up.
“Why didn’t you report on him, Sirius?”
The man closed his eyes and took a calming breath. He was really trying not to snap at the woman. But, to everyone’s surprise, Orion was the one who answered her. His voice was annoyed.
“How stupid are you, woman? No one would have done anything. No one would have dared go against me. And even if they did, they wouldn’t win, and I would find out about Sirius telling someone. And if I found out, my father would no doubt find out too. And, however stupid Sirius might have been sometimes, he would never risk my father getting such a reason to beat him up.”
“But…”
This time, Sirius spoke up.
“Don’t you understand? That man would have killed me. Everyone in the Black family feared him. Even the ones most loyal to the beliefs. Even Bella after she became a death eater.”
Then he waved his hand towards the wall.
“This one might explain it to you. But I’m warning you, it’s not pretty. You haven’t seen it Remi. James is the only person who knew.”
As the new clip started Sirius exchanged a quick glance with his father. In the man’s eyes he saw actual sorrow. And he understood. However cruel and manipulative Orion was, Arcturus Blacks anger wasn’t anything he wished even his worst enemy.