Meanwhile at Hogwarts…
Sirius Black had made up his mind.
He was going to talk to his brother tonight.
After all his father has asked him to do so.
But before that—he needed to check in with his friends. He hadn't seen James or Remus since morning, and that alone was unusual enough to bother them.
He headed toward the Great Hall, knowing their class would have ended by now and if he knew them right, they'd already be there having lunch—probably arguing over something stupid.
He also needed to tell them.
About the tapes.
About what he had seen.
Maybe—just maybe—they'd join him next time. After all, they had risked their lives to retrieve those memories. It wasn't right that he was the only one watching them.
And the guilt—
It hadn't left him.
Not even a little.
Because he knew how close it had been.
If things had gone even slightly wrong… he could have gotten them killed.
Sure, the creatures they had faced—the zombie-like undead—were low-level. Easy to handle in theory. But that wasn't the point.
The point was—
Why were they there at all?
That room… they had used it for years. Nothing had ever happened before.
So why now?
Why did it suddenly feel like something had woken up?
And those creatures—
They hadn't felt… natural.
They moved like puppets.
Controlled.
Directed.
By something else.
Something older.
Something that didn't belong within castle walls.
Sirius frowned slightly as he walked.
He had felt it.
That presence.
Ancient.
Watching.
Waiting.
And that raised a far more uncomfortable question—
How did no one else know?
More specifically—
Did the Headmaster know?
Albus Dumbledore wasn't a fool. No one could reach that position by being ignorant.
So either—
He didn't know.
Or worse—
He did, and chose to do nothing.
Sirius snorted under his breath.
What? Waiting for some idiotic, brave Gryffindor to stumble upon it and solve the mystery? Or die trying?
A pause.
"…Right," he muttered to himself. "That would be us."
He grimaced.
He was starting to see the old man in a very different light.
And he didn't like the picture forming.
Not one bit.
Lately, everything felt… off.
Like his whole life had been built on half-truths and carefully crafted illusions.
And now those illusions were cracking.
One by one.
With a sigh, he pushed the thoughts aside as he entered the Great Hall, passing a group of girls who immediately started whispering and giggling as they looked at him.
Out of habit, he smiled.
Kept walking.
Didn't stop.
Didn't wink.
Didn't care.
A few months ago, he would have basked in that attention—played into it, enjoyed it.
Now?
It felt… insignificant.
Because after seeing his father—
Seeing the kind of presence Orion Black carried so effortlessly—
Sirius couldn't help but compare.
And suddenly, all of this felt small.
Pointless.
What did catch his attention, though—
Was something far more dangerous.
A thought.
A quiet, unsettling realization.
He wanted what his parents had.
That kind of love.
But—
He wasn't stupid.
From what little he had seen, their relationship was far from healthy.
His father…
No—there was no denying it.
Orion Black didn't love normally.
For him, Vishaka wasn't just his wife.
She was the beginning.
And the end.
Everything in between.
There was a possessiveness there—
An intensity that bordered on obsession.
And his mother?
Sirius exhaled slowly.
No sane person loved a man like that.
Which meant—
She wasn't entirely sane either.
Not in the way people expected.
She looked like an angel.
Soft. Gentle.
But if she had chosen him—
If she had stayed—
Then she was just as dangerous.
Maybe more.
Because she hid it better.
"…Brilliant," Sirius muttered under his breath.
"So both my parents are insane."
A pause.
"…Fantastic."
He ran a hand through his hair, exhaling.
Lately, he had been thinking too much.
Far too much.
And honestly?
He wasn't sure it was doing his already strained brain any favors.
He quickly found his friends—Remus and James—but once again, Peter was missing. That made Sirius pause. Now he was sure something was wrong. And worse, it had something to do with Peter. He had been acting shifty lately… distant. Sirius didn't know if he wanted to dig into it, because despite everything, Peter had always tried to be a good friend. He was just… insecure. His family situation didn't help either. Sirius had always kept that in mind, always made an effort to include him, to make him feel like he belonged.
So where were you, Wormtail?
His thoughts were interrupted by a very annoyed-looking James and an exhausted Remus. Sirius blinked. Remus looked worse than usual.
Full moon nearing? he wondered.
"Well, look who it is—the great Sirius Orion Black the Third has finally decided to grace us with his heavenly presence," James announced dramatically as Sirius sat opposite them.
The Great Hall was packed as usual. Sirius absentmindedly glanced toward the Slytherin table and caught sight of Regulus. His brother looked up, met his gaze, gave a small smile—and then went right back to eating like nothing had happened.
That… eased something in Sirius, just a little.
"And it's not like we're his best friends or anything, right, Moony?" James continued, throwing an exaggerated look at Remus.
Remus just sighed, clearly too tired to entertain James's dramatics.
That made Sirius refocus. "Seriously, Jamie, relax. I was just… you know… watching the—"
"Ohhh," James cut in, eyes lighting up like a bulb had gone off. He immediately grabbed his food and started eating. "That."
Sirius frowned. "Wait—Remus, you knew I'd be doing that and just let him spiral?"
Remus smirked lazily. "It's my entertainment. Not my fault I'm the smartest one in the group."
"THAT'S RIGHT!"
Two voices cut in at once as Fabian and Gideon Prewett practically dropped into the seats beside Remus.
"My oh-so-great Remus John Lupin—our academic savior," Fabian declared dramatically.
"Our only hope," Gideon added, clutching Remus's arm like a lifeline.
"What do you want?" Remus asked flatly, already knowing the answer.
"We need you, oh wise one," Fabian said, gripping his other hand. "Charms exams are coming, and we are going to fail. Spectacularly."
"Disastrously," Gideon corrected with equal drama.
They both clung to him, not even letting the poor guy eat.
Remus closed his eyes for a second, clearly reconsidering all his life choices. "Yes, yes, I'll help. Now will you let me eat? Because trust me—I'm not myself when I'm hungry."
That did it.
They immediately let go like they'd been burned and started piling more food onto his plate.
"Yes, Professor Lupin needs his strength," they chorused.
Remus just sighed and started eating, resigned to his fate.
Across the table, James and Sirius burst out laughing.