Shadows of a Slytherin

Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Expect the Unexpected

The next morning, Harry woke feeling excited, although he was almost positive his parents and aunt and uncle had forgotten his birthday. Still, he dressed in his nicest day robes and tried to do something with his hair before he went downstairs. The entire family was in the sitting room angrily discussing the contents of the Daily Prophet. They didn't even notice when Harry walked in.

"Good morning, everyone. What's wrong this time?"

"Oh! Harry, goodness. Well, you see..." His mother's sentence trailed off, and she looked to Tom for support.

"Your mother's brother has escaped from Azkaban." Tom misinterpreted Harry's blank look. "Azkaban is the only wizarding prison. No one has ever escaped before."

As Harry tried to process this information, a major question came to mind. "Mother, Aunt Cissy, you have a brother?"

"We had two, actually, Sirius and Regulus, but Regulus died years ago, and Sirius betrayed us and was sent to Azkaban."

"Aunt Cissy, what do you mean? How could your own brother betray you?" Narcissa and Bellatrix gave each other long looks before sighing.

"We had best tell you the story as we know it, Harry, although a part is only speculation." Harry nodded at his mother, who told the story in a somewhat deadened voice that scared Harry a little. "Well, as Cissy said, we are not the only children in our family. We had one other sister, by the name of Andromeda, although she is not important to this story. We also had a younger brother named Regulus, and an older brother named Sirius. We were all the best of friends growing up, but Hogwarts changed that. Sirius was the first to go. He was sorted into Gryffindor, the first in the entire direct line of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black to be so. As you know, the Sorting Hat will, to some degree, take your wishes into consideration, however, Sirius didn't even try to be sorted into Slytherin, he meekly accepted the Sorting Hat's first choice. We were all incredibly disappointed in him, but were willing to see how things turned out. Unfortunately, he soon fell in with the staunchest of Dumbledore supporters: Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew, and James Potter." Harry was surprised to hear that name. Bellatrix noticed his change in attitude.

"Yes, Harry, James Potter, the man who helped steal you from us. I entered Hogwarts the following year, and by then the little band of Gryffindors Sirius was a part of were known as the Marauders." This too, struck a chord with Harry, who thought of the map hidden in his trunk upstairs. Luckily, his mother didn't notice his reaction this time and continued. "He stuck with that group all through Hogwarts, and I didn't see him much. He was disowned by his fourth year, and went to live with the Potters. He tried to reconcile with the family after he graduated. He said he didn't know what they all supported, and wanted out, but none of us could believe that he made it through seven years, three of which he was actually living with one of them, without knowing what they stood for." Bellatrix paused for a moment, and Harry could tell that she was rather red in the face. He wondered what was coming next.

"After father died, Sirius tried to win over mother, but she was even more skeptical than the rest of us. She firmly believed that his attempts at reconciliation were actually instigated by Dumbledore in an attempt to have a spy in our midst. I had no idea how correct she was." Bella stopped and took a deep breath, but seemed unable to continue. Tom put his arm around her and continued the story in her place.

"About a year after you were born, Harry, Sirius came to visit your mother, presumably to seek a reconciliation once again. However, on that particular visit, Dottie, not realizing Sirius was there, brought you to us while we were in Sirius' presence. Sirius was always smart, and was able to immediately discern who you were. We immediately forced him to leave, and were preparing to leave the next morning. However, Dumbledore came for you first." Harry saw that his mother had unshed tears in her eyes. He could understand how difficult this was for her. His own throat felt a little tight.