Black as Night (Sirius Black)

Prologue: Turned My World to Black

Chapter title/song video - "Black" by Pearl Jam. This book will be full of 90s musical gems...
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BRIDGE COLLAPSE DEATH TOLL RISES

"We just sit back and let them kill innocent Muggles? They think it's an actual terror attack. They are blaming Islamic militants and the Spanish Liberation Group for the attack when it's fucking Death Eaters." Sirius Black slammed the cabinet door shut after grabbing a cup for his coffee. He realized quickly he had once again forgotten to buy sugar. Since moving into his flat a month ago, he had discovered he actually liked to cook, but getting organized enough to make a list and go shopping was still difficult. He was still adjusting to life without a house elf.

"No groups claimed responsibility," his best friend Remus Lupin reminded him. "And it's best to keep people guessing. We don't want the Muggles to know the truth."

"How can we keep them in the dark when we don't even have the wherewithal to protect them?" Sirius argued. "Voldemort's armies grow stronger every day. The time to fight is here...NOW."

Remus sighed and took a sip of his tea, also grimacing at the missing ingredient. "Sirius, you always say that. We can't just go marching in wands blazing. Our approach has to be calculated, and our first priority has to be defending our own."

"Are we defending our own? Or are we just sitting back waiting to be massacred?"

Remus changed the subject, something he was always good at. "Have you been going to therapy?"

"Of course I have," Sirius snapped. "What's that bloody got to do with anything?"

"Because you are supposed to be focused on you and not the war."

"Dumbledore made it clear I'm still a part of the Order, which means the war is my business just as much as yours."

"And how is therapy going?"

"I don't think you're supposed to ask me that. It's confidential." Sirius brushed the inquiry aside and returned to the article in the Daily Prophet. Matthew Payne, Elliott Marshall, Scott Grant, Emily Degenhart, Kristin Lamont, Robert Gilmore, Lydia Violetta— just a few listed names of innocent Muggles lost when Fenir Greyback and a small band of Death Eaters flew in a swirl around the river bridge, causing it to buckle and the cables to snap. It was a political power play made by Voldemort when the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, had refused the Dark Lord's original demands to step down from his post.

But it wasn't just those names, Sirius thought. Each name represented an infinite number of spouses, children, parents, and friends whose lives were forever changed and marred because the magical world was at war.

"How do you like the flat?" Remus asked, when it became clear Sirius was in no mood to discuss therapy.

"It will do, I suppose."

The truth was, therapy was therapy and the flat was the flat. Both were rather boring and pointless. Sirius already had a house— a grand one, at that. Of course he hated the memories there, and had originally refused to go back, but it was still four walls and a roof, and it allowed him to be more plugged in with the Order since it served as its headquarters. Having a separate flat in London was just a waste of money, but Dumbledore and Rhiannon had insisted he stick with the plan. Normally Sirius wouldn't abide an ex-girlfriend dictating one iota of how he lived his life, but he felt Rhiannon at least laid some claim to it since she had rescued it back from Death. And of course one could only refuse Albus Dumbledore for so long.

The brilliant catch of it all of course was that the flat was in Severus Snape's name. It had taken a couple of weeks in the aftermath of Lord Voldemort's public return for Sirius's name to be cleared of all charges in the Muggle deaths of fifteen years ago. Dumbledore had pressured the Ministry to do so, and the Ministry had in turn notified the Muggle Prime Minister, since his prison escape had also been leaked to Muggle news three years ago. There had a been a small blip in the Times a couple days prior, recounting the "extremely armed and dangerous" warnings they had issued back then and a quick statement that new evidence had turned up to clear his name— whereabouts still currently unknown.

So Sirius was now "posthumously cleared of all charges" in the Wizarding World, and "cleared but whereabouts unknown" in Muggle world. Dead in one and missing in another. And Snivellus Snape was his landlord and about to marry the only woman Sirius had ever loved. At least Sirius could understand why they all thought he needed therapy.

Therapy was alright, Sirius supposed. His therapist was Mitchell Moody, younger brother to Alastor. Seemed a conflict of interest, since Alastor was in the Order, but everyone in the wizarding world was so interrelated that avoiding some kind of connection was pretty impossible. Dr. Moody made him constantly rehash his relationship with his Merlin-forsaken mother and relive his worst memories of Azkaban. Sirius had been about as pliable as a brick wall at first, but the last couple sessions had been a bit more productive. They'd happened to coincide with mornings Sirius had just gotten laid the night before, which always lent itself to more agreeableness and candor.

Sirius had to thank Rhiannon for that too. If she hadn't dumped him for Snape, he would have missed out on some rather delicious Muggle girls this summer. He was officially done with witches, after dating the goddess of them all. He loved Muggle girls' giggles, the way their homes smelled like vanilla candles, the way they would grind up against him in clubs, and the way they marveled at the subtle, most basic magic he was able to slip under their noses without them being the wiser. And most of all he loved how there were so many of them, and how he could disappear after one night without being found. He had learned that most Muggles seemed blissfully unaware of news and current events; if the ladies he'd met were ever aware of his name in the news a couple of years ago, they seemed to have forgotten.

"Rhiannon was inducted into the Order a few days ago," Remus said quietly. "Apparently it was Snape who was delaying the whole thing, but after she brought you back from death, Dumbledore declared it one of the most heroic feats ever performed by a member of the Order, so Snape was essentially overruled. If you ask me it wasn't very heroic; any one of us would have done the same if we simply had the power."

Sirius laughed and shook his head. "You can never give Rhiannon credit for anything, can you? Not even bringing your best friend back to life."

"On the contrary, I give her plenty of credit, for being loose with her legs and stomping on my best friend's heart." Remus stood, made a face, and dumped the rest of the tea down the kitchen sink. "Have you addressed her with your therapist?"

"Can you stop with the damn therapist? I'm handling it, Moony. Now, don't you think it's about time to head down to Gallagher's?"

It hadn't taken long for Sirius to find his favorite nearby haunt— a multi-level establishment with a restaurant on the bottom, bar with billiards and darts above, and a dance club up top. He could start the evening with some supper, have a few drinks and games with Moony, then head upstairs to find a lady for the evening. They would get to know one another on the dance floor before he'd take her back downstairs where it was a bit quieter to turn on his classic Sirius Black charm. It had an outdoor patio he could escape to for air if he suddenly discovered he had picked one a bit too crazy or clingy. Each night of the week seemed to bring a different crowd in among the regulars, so there were always new prospects to explore.

"I don't know, Padfoot. Why don't we take tonight off?" Remus looked tired just at the thought. He had tagged along with Sirius quite a bit throughout the summer. There wasn't much in it for Moony, since he had his heart set on one witch and refused to entertain the thought of a one night stand. Not for lack of trying on Sirius's part; Sirius thought getting his best friend laid might make him a lot more agreeable — and at least get him to stop going on about therapy for awhile.

"Nope. I've got a good feeling about tonight,"
Sirius said with a grin. "I'm going to go get dressed."