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NEW POV*
Walking down the halls of his family's ancestral home, Sirius wondered to himself for the hundredth time what he was doing. He had no love for this place. It held too many bad memories and too few good ones.
But he had to do what he must so that he could survive and, most importantly, his godson as well.
Remembering that little bugger, a smile split his face; who would have expected that he would one day be responsible for a kid. He sure as hell didn't, and he never knew that it would be so fun.
It was like having James around at times!
Shaking his head, he got rid of that thought. Harry was his own person, he might be similar to James, but there were also times he resembled Lily at times.
Nevertheless, if he wanted both of them to come out of this war alive, he had to do this.
Taking a turn in the dark, gloomy hallway, Sirius ran into his family's miserable house-elf. Seeing how suspicious the house-elf was acting, he narrowed his eyes at it and asked, "Kreacher, what are you up to?"
Muttering under his breath, the thing bowed its head to him in respect, and answered back, "Nothing, Master B-black."
Taking a second glance at it, Sirius really wondered for the dozenth time what that little punk did to get this wretched thing this obedient. He really worked some magic on the thing for it to give him an ounce of respect.
"Carry on then," Sirius said, then added in a growl, "and I better not see you getting up to your antics."
"Yes, Master," the beastly thing rasped, and it was on its way with its back hunched as usual. For a moment there, Sirius could have sworn he saw a necklace around its neck, but he waved it off since there was no one that could have given it accessories without risking its release.
Continuing on his way, Sirius reached the wall way with countless portraits of Black family members of old. He remembered the few times he had come here as his mother went on and on about all the great Blacks, and he always found it arduous.
Arrogant men and women lined the hallway, cruel in nature with hearts as black as their surnames, and with a mean, nasty streak as wide. All of them looked at him with a varying degree of disappointment, and dislike as if he had failed the family for being so weak and soft.
Finally, he reached the portrait he came here to visit. "Hello, mother," Sirius greeted the living portrait of Walburga Black, the last Matriarch of the House. It has been a decade or two since he has last seen her, and it seems like she went spiraling downward. The once pristine slender woman who held such might and power was now a podgy crazed mess of an old woman.
It appears that she went mad in her latter year with the death of all her family members. Sirius might have found it pitying long ago, and his heart might have ached for her, but now there was none of that anymore as all love and feeling left for her long ago.
"What are you doing here, BLOOD-TRAITOR!!!" the woman shouted once she saw him.
Grinning up at her, Sirius replied in a mocking answer, "Well, I came to greet my mother, of course. What kind of son would I be if I didn't come by to say hi?"
"You are no son of mine," the woman growled like a dog ready to bite and tear of his face. "I disowned you a long time ago, now get out of my sight."
"Come, come," Sirius said, still in his jovial mood like he did not hear the clear revile in her tone. "I am the last remaining Black, mother! Do you really want to kick me out, and have this family all but cease to exist and be forgotten in the streams of time?"
"YES," the woman answered as she had a glowing maddening look in her eyes, "I rather have that than see you lead this family. You are weak and pathetic and would drag our family name in time. I would NOT have that, ever!"
"Alright," Sirius said with a shrug, "if that is how you feel, then I best be going on my way." With that, he made to leave before one of the portraits shouted.
"ENOUGH of this Walburga!"
"Hey, great-great-grandfather Phineas Nigellus Black," Sirius waved at the man who used to be the past Headmaster of Hogwarts.
Ignoring him, the black-haired man's eyes were only on the old Matriarch, daring her to say anything.
From on the left, a woman sniffed out loud and asked her descendant, "Do you wish the Malfoys to take over the family."
"Hey, Aunt Elladora," Sirius greeted the woman who began the family tradition of beheading house-elves.
However, he was once again ignored as the other Blacks took up the chant of, "There is no way I am letting those upstarts take over."
"Yea," someone else agreed, "how did we even mix blood with those bootlickers?"
"It was Walburga's mistake to allow a daughter of the Black family to marry that ingrate!"
"That is enough from all of you," a dignified man shouted over all the noise.
"Hey, grandpa," Sirius greeted the man.
"Hello, to you, grandson," the man answered with a soft smile. Then turning back to his daughter, he growled, "Sirius is still the heir and can become Lord anytime he wishes. From old head to new head, you can respectfully give him your blessing, but it doesn't matter if you don't. A son of house Black will lead this family, no matter what you think or feel, daughter."
Giving her father, Arcturus Black, a narrowed glare, the woman finally turned back to her son with a sour look in her face and uttered. "I give you my blessing!"
"Thank you," Sirius bowed.
Before he could move on, the insufferable woman whispered, "It should have been you!"
Stiffening for a moment, Sirius looked up at her with blank eyes and stated, "Regulus would have been here, mother, leading this family as you so wished, if you didn't push him to that mad man."
Turning from her, he looked at the room at large and declared, "Now, let's get everything back into running order!"
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"Hey Lupin," Sirius bellowed out as he walked into the living room where the werewolf was having a smoke on a pipe while reading the daily newspaper.
Rolling up his newspaper, the man looked up at his best friend and in a bit of an annoying voice asked, "What is it? Can't you see I am reading the newspaper!"
"Forget that," Sirius said as he waved that off, "I need you to come with me."
"And where do you want to take me?" the werewolf asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Come on, don't sound like that," Sirius said in a grumble.
"Don't sound like what?" the browned hair man asked.
"Like that," Sirius pointed off, "It is like I am leading you to your doom."
"Well, to be honest, if you and James haven't led me from one bad situation to another, I guess I won't have sounded like this."
"Come on," Sirius said as he gave his mate a pat on the back, "We will be in and out just like that."
"When have I ever heard you say that before?" the mustached man asked no one in particular. "Oh, I remember, countless times," turning to look at his friend, he asked, "Anyways, where do you want to go?"
"To my family's properties," the old prisoner answered.
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"Are you sure you haven't been taken over by a doppelganger?" Lupin asked his friend as a concerned look crossed his face.
Giving him a blank look, he returned his question with one of his own. "If I was a shapeshifter pretending to be me, would I be sharing that particular fact?"
"No," the werewolf answered begrudgingly, "but this is so not you. What the hell are you even doing here."
Sighing, Sirius turned to his companion and simply answered, "I am doing this for Harry!"
Nodding his head, Lupin said nothing more on the subject and followed his friend until they finally reached the first property along their journey, the Black Estate.
The hold was on top of a hill that overlooked the ocean, dark currents beat against the craggy cliff walls with dark, dead trees taking up the surrounding of the hill side. The structure was made of dark grey stones that left a shadow across the land and it looked as if it would devour you whole.
All in all, the place was indistinguishable from a haunted house where ghosts and ghouls would have made it their home.
All Sirius could do was shake his head, his family was always a melodrama for the dark and foreboding.
Just as they came out of the clearing and were about to go up the slight rise, Lupin held out his hand calling a halt to their steps.
"What wrong?" Sirius asked his friend.
Ignoring him for a short moment, the man went on sniffing the air like a dog who caught a scent, "I smell humans," he growled as his eyes glowed a sickly yellow shade.
"What, but how?" Sirius asked, "that has to be impossible! My grandfather made it clear that this place was abandoned."
"Well, your info is incorrect," Lupin stated, "I smell- sniff, sniff- 17, 18, 19, 20 men just in the surrounding area, more have to be inside as well."
"Fucking shit," the dog animagus cursed. "Do you think that another family is moving on the Blacks?"
"It would seem so," Lupin said with a shrug, "but didn't you say your mother made sure to hide her passing from the outside world?"
"Yea," Sirius answered with a shrug, "she was always a conniving bitch," he muttered the last sentence to himself.
"Mmm, so whoever did this must be real ballsy to make a move this big against Walburga Black, or just plain stupid."
"Maybe," Sirius said as he rubbed at his chin, "they have inside information she died and now are trying to pick at all the lands and wealth left by a now extinct family."
"Yea, but who would have that sort of insider information?" Lupin asked his mate.
"Well if we just stand here all day we will never find out," Sirius answered. "Come on. I know a secret path into the estate."
Nodding, the werewolf followed behind as the Black family head leading him down a winding road. Before long, they came up to a secret door, hidden by leaves and tigs. Prying it open they soon entered into the estate.
Walking down the dark halls, they made sure to silently avoid all the invaders until they finally reached one of the side towers. From there, they had the perfect view of the lay of the land.
"Look," the werewolf said as he was first to spot one of the invaders off in the distance.
"I don't have you enchanted werewolf senses," Sirius grumbled, "tell me what you see!"
"It seems like we have soldiers here," Lupin answered as his eyes glowed a sickly yellow once again.
"From whose house?" Sirius asked as he tried to make out what his friend was seeing.
"It is the Malfoy's men," Lupin answered, "I know that green and black colors from anywhere with that big M."
"So they couldn't wait until I croaked, huh?" Sirius mused out loud as his eyes narrowed into slits.
"It seems so," his friend agreed.
"Mmm, it must have been Cissy, who let them in then," Sirius inferred, "or else there would have been no way that they could have gotten in without being torn to pieces by the gargoyles," he said as he pointed to the gruesome statues that lined the perches. "Or whatever nasties my family keeps around to hold off invaders," he added as an afterthought, knowing better that this would have been all his family would have had on hand.
"Why would your mother allow her to be keyed into the family wards after she was married off?" Lupin asked as confusion was written all over his face.
Snorting out loud, the wizard simply answered, "She was always the apple of my mother's eye. The perfect mix of her two sisters, with Bell's cruelty and Dromeda's brain in equal mix."
"Well, that worked out perfectly," Lupin joked.
"That doesn't matter now. We need to kick them out," Sirius declared.
"And how would that pan out?" the werewolf asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Pretty badly for them," the animagus answered as he gestured to the invading soldier's direction with a growl.
"No, not that," Lupin said with a shake of his head, "I mean they are going to find out your active around these parts and are aiming to get your family's assets in order."
"So what?" Sirius barked out, letting his anger get the best of him, "I just let them roll into town and take everything?!"
"Yea," the werewolf simply answered, "if the Malfoys know you are around they would gladly send some men after you to take care of you, and then there would be nothing at all stopping them from taking over your family."
Grumbling under his breath, the wizard knew his friend was right but to just allow them to do this galled.
"Listen," Lupin said as he rested a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Once your name is cleared, you can go before the Wizengamot and expose this illegal occupation of your land."
"What you think that makes me happy?" Sirius asked out loud, but he was started to calm down and come around to his mate's view.
"Well," the werewolf said as he spread his arms wide, "this does give you clear justifiable Casus Belli!"
Smiling as a wolfish grin slowly spread across his face, Sirius barked out in a loud responding laugh, "Yes, yes it does, indeed!"
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In a smoke covered region where the ashes fell from the sky like rain, and rivers of lava ran across the earth. Two men suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
"The Hunting Grounds should be right over there," Sirius stated as he pointed to caverns that lead deeper into the volcanos.
"Who the hell makes a sanctuary here?" the werewolf asked he cast a few fire protection spells on himself.
Doing the same as his companion, Sirius answered with a grin, "this is the perfect place for those mutts. Or else they would have run wild on the countryside."
Shaking his head, they continued on their way until they reached a ruined castle, the place was made of dark brimstone and it looked to have stood there for centuries on end.
Walking with, they passed the ruined rubble until they came to a large elegant tunnel that had decorations of dogs in savage poses. Without stopping they entered the dark foreboding gap and at their passing dark red wizard lights came on.
Inside there were more paints on the wall of different canines and they looked to be near to life, as if they would jump out at any moment and chomp down on them.
Suddenly they were caught unaware as they turned a corner and came face to face with a soldier who was dressed in green and blacks with a crest of two-winged serpents and a large M.
"Hey!" the family man-at-arms shouted as he pointed his wand at them, "who are you?"
Before the man could even say another word or react at all, two wands were upon him and then he dropped like a fly.
Coming over to him and bending down to study him, Sirius looked up to face his friend and asked, "How did you not catch a whiff of him."
"Blame this sulfur stench," the werewolf answered, "is that a Malfoy man?"
"Yep," the black family head answered as he began to drag the body away and hide it in an alcove.
"We got to get out of here then," Lupin stated as he made to leave.
"No," Sirius stated with a shake of his head, "I can not let them get their hands on any of the dogs."
"Did you not hear any of the stuff I said before?" the werewolf nearly shouted. "It is like it goes in one ear and comes out the other."
"I did," Sirius answered, "but if I do not do anything and these pansy snakes get their hands on any of the magical beasts, then a very bad situation will become a lot more worse."
"If you do this," Lupin said, "then you are alerting the Malfoys that you are here, and they might just go to the Ministry with this fact, and they will put you as the top priority. You can kiss it goodbye sneaking about in the country, rebuilding your family, and even raising Harry anymore."
"I know," Sirius said, "but hear me out for a moment."
Seeing that foolhardy look on his best mate's face, Lupin could already tell that he was in for a very crazy plan.
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With the howls of a werewolf behind him and the terrified screams of countless men, Sirius ran deeper into the cavers. Already he could see gleaming eyes staring at him from the alcove and deep niches of the tunnels.
Sirius knew that his best mate could not hold a whole army back and distract them all day. Sooner or later, the Malfoy soldiers would reorganize and overwhelm the werewolf. Thus time was of the essence.
Without stopping or daring to look back, Sirius finally knew he reached the correct place as he saw mammoth-sized three-headed dogs napping about.
The only word to describe them was terrifying as their paws looked like they could rake mountains, and their jaws could chew trains. These were his family's ultimate weapons, Cerberus.
Picking his was carefully and making sure to not step on any tails or paws, Sirius had no idea how these creatures would react to him after he was apart from them for decades on end.
So it was best to be careful than to be sorry later; there was no way he was taking his chances with magical beasts that could squish him overhead with only one stomp. Making sure to tread lightly, Sirius had his eyes set on only one figure, the motherload of it all, one Cerberus that was nearly the size of a mountain that dozed off in the center of the chamber.
However just as he was halfway there one of the Cerberus stirred.
Picking his way carefully and making sure not to step on any tails or paws, Sirius had no idea how these creatures would react to him after he was apart from them for decades on end.
Just as he was halfway through the throng, one of the Cerberus stirred.
Freezing in place, the wizard did his best to try and hold his breath, and stay as still as possible with not even a muscle moving an inch. Counting the seconds in his head, once he reached 100, he slowly turned to the one that stirred in its sleep, and thankfully it was back to snoozing.
Letting out a deep breath he did not even know he was holding back, Sirius wiped away at the sweat on his forehead and continued on his way.
However, unknown to him was that the Cerberus he imaged went back to sleep, actually opened one of its eyes, and stared at his receding back.
Wishing that he could somehow just run up to his target, the more rational and survivalist part of him kept a more cooler head. He made sure to keep on repeating 'slow and steady wins that race,' like it was a mantra.
It was one of Lily's favorite muggle quotes to James, him, and even Lupin at times when she wanted them to slow down and think through things when they come up with some of their more foolhardy and crazy plans.
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Just thinking about it got a smile on his face, and his rattled nerves and beating heart started to slow down. Now that he was three quarters of the way there and could make out his quarry much clearer, there was a bit of spring in his steps.
However, suddenly he heard a bark coming from behind him and could feel the hot breath of something very big beating against his back and neck.
Slowly, ever so slowly, Sirius turned around until he was face to face with three giant heads that stared at him with slightly tilted heads.
"FUCK," the wizard wore as he spun on his feet and started to run like hell.
The giant three-headed dog did not seem to want to lose track of him, so it gave chase while each of its steps sent mini earthquakes along the ground almost making Sirius fall onto the ground in a heap.
Sirius did not even dare to look back as all the yapping and barking was a good enough indication that the creature was still on his tail. From all around, he could see that the other Cerberus were walking up from their naps thanks to all the noises he good friend was making.
Sirius knew that he was in a real pickle, and as if that thought made the universe want to prove him even more wrong the Cerberus chasing him tried to lap him up. If he was thinking it through straight then the thing tried to just lick him, but he knew that couldn't be right.
Whatever the creature was trying, he did not want to find out, now it was time to transform and try to get out of here. He would have to find some other way to get these winged serpent's men out of his property.
Leaping underneath a paw that tried to squish him in his opinion, Sirius suddenly went from a man to a great black hound.
The giant three-headed dog looked around in confusion as a low whine echoed from all three of its throats. Pausing, Sirius gave the Cerberus a second look while in his dog form, somehow it kind of looked familiar.
Shaking his in his dog form which was more of a waggle, Sirius banished the thought, there was no way this murdering creature was familiar, he had to be losing his marbles. What he needed to do was get out of here before any of them could sniff him out, Cerberus had a very good scene of smell and their nose could catch just about anything- even a wizard pretending to be a regular dog.
Without any notice, a loud yawn echoed in the chamber sending waves of bellowing air through all the tunnels and caverns. Even some of the lava flowing down the walls and in the chamber started to warm up.
Looking up from the place he was hiding in, Sirius saw that the giant mount started to move until six eyes popped open. Coming up to its full height, the biggest Cerberus among them all stood tall with three different crowns on each head and its eyes resting on the previously rampaging Cerberus.
"Muderbeast," a clearly feminine voice spoke from the center head, "what are you doing running about like an idiot?"
"Muderbeast?" Sirius repeated to himself as he stared at the cowering three-headed dog with an unreadable expression.
"Do you have anything to say for yourself, boy?" the head on the right asked as this time a clearly male voice spoke up.
Giving a low whine, the previously obnoxious dog tried to hide its heads as best it could while all its siblings looked on.
Before the three clearly leader Cerberus could speak up again, Sirius stepped out as he transformed back to his human form. "Great Begetters," the wizard called out as he respectfully bowed to the crowned Cerberus. Every head in the place turned to him, and if he wasn't a more braver man then he would have been wallowing in fear and terror.
"Please do not blame Muderbeast for this, all this racket was my fault and the blame of waking you up from your slumber lays at my feet."
Abruptly the third head on the left came a bit closer to him as it stretched its neck and took a whiff of him sending a small tornado at him. "You are a Black," it stated in a genderless voice.
"Yes," Sirius answered, "I am Sirius Black the new head of the family!"
"What are you doing sulking about?" the head on the right growled as it eyes narrowed on the wizard.
Clearing his throat awkwardly, Sirius answered reluctantly, "I feared how you would react after not seeing a member of my family for years."
Snoring as a small bellow of wind swept through the chamber, the feminine head stated, "We are firm in our alliance with your family, boy, it is an insult for you to doubt us like that!"
"I did not mean that, and you have my deepest for the misunderstanding. I know that you, Cerberus, Masters of the Nether have been steadfast in their support of my family," Sirius declared. "But I just did not know how you would react to me, in particular."
"Yes, the wayward son," the head on the left uttered, "I remember you well, now. Both of your mother and grandfather spoke of you very often."
"I hope all good things," Sirius joked, however, he knew how nervous he was as he gave a weak smile.
"Your mother, not so much," the genderless voice answered, "but your grandfather, mmm, he saw you as a great change for your family, but he never knew whether it would be good or bad. So tell me, what would it be?"
Staring up at the Cerberus with a solid set of eyes, he answered with a shrug, "I do not know."
Abruptly they heard the low howl of some bestial creature from deep within the tunnels and the shouts of countless men. Turning back to the giant Cerberus, Sirius announced, "Oh, did I forget to mention, that your territory is being invaded by winged serpents men."
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"Woohoo," Sirius shouted from on the back of Murderbeast as if he was a cowboy back in the wild west. He charged ahead with countless giant three-headed dogs besides as they run up the tunnels, and it wasn't only the Cerberus he ran with. Countless different magical canine creatures also appeared out of the alcoves and tunnels from Blink Dogs who teleported in and out, to two-headed Hell Hounds who spewed out lava, Frenzy dog who seem to be covered in blood and with madness in their eyes, and Shadow Mastiff who staked out of the deep corners and shadow, plus Death Dogs who spread death and decay in their wake.
Finally, they all came upon the Malfoy men who looked shell shocked at the stamped of a myriad of magical creatures. None of them really had a chance as they were all bulldozed over and torn into when they fell.
"Lupin," Sirius shouted as he spotted his friends form on the ground. He looked to be in some very bad shape as there were deep gashed all over his body, his wolf mane was caked in blood all over from his enemies and himself, and he panting in and out on the ground.
Taking his wand out of his holster, Sirius cast a levitating spell on his wounded friend and brought him over to him. Slowly resting him on Murderbeast's back, he whispered to him in low comforting tones, "Rest, buddy, rest. You did an excellent job."
Nodding his head and closing his eyes, the werewolf slowly transformed back into a man, and his enhanced werewolf healing came into effect and his wounds slowly started to knit together.
Seeing that his companion would recover, Sirius turned back to the battlefield, he could see that the Malfoy men were already broken and had started to scatter. Victory was at hand!
However as if the universe wanted to prove him wrong again, Sirius heard some hissing coming from the tunnels and whoever was making them was approaching very fast. Then suddenly from out of one of the burrows, a giant snake's head appeared, then its body which was glistening green and black scales, finally its massive bat-like wings that stretched out. And it wasn't alone!
More of these Winged Serpent creatures appeared from the tunnels with riders on their heads until he counted a good twenty.
Cursing under his breath, deep down Sirius knew that this would happen, there was no way Lucius Malfoy would have sent his family's men here without the proper backup- whatever sort of asshole he was.
"Come on boy," Sirius growled as he patted the Cerberus he was riding, "let's set these snakes a lesson they will never forget."
Already the wizarding foot soldiers and the wizard knights riding on the backs of the Winged Serpent were getting back into order as they formed a proper line and held off the magical creatures.
However there was no way Sirius would allow that, whistling out loud to get the other Cerberus attention all he needed to do was make the proper gestures and they were behind him. Then without further ado, he charged as he let out a loud howl quite similar to that of a mad dog.
One of the wizarding knights must have spotting him gleaming in his green and black armor made of the same hide as the creature he rode. Stepping up, the serpent knight was ready to face him with wand in hand and his mount hissing green acid.
Snorting in contempt, Sirius focused on the spot right behind the wizard knight and suddenly apparate right there. Startled, the Bannerman had no time to react at all as Sirius launched a ray of very dark scorching flames at him.
Armor kicking into gear, his shielding came to life as it took the brunt of the spell, as for the rest, the man bore through the flames thanks to his strict training and scrap of magical resistance.
However the magical armor was totally toast as it was burnt in places and scorched all over.
Murderbeast too took advantage of their surprise attack as it tore into the winged serpent with its sharp, gleaming claw raking a whole gorge across its body and spilling its blood in fountains. Shrieking in pain the winged serpent went into a blind rage as it lashed out with its tail and smacked against the three-headed dog's body
Taking a tooth for tooth, the giant dog jumped at the snake and tore into its neck with all three heads.
Crying out shrilly the snake went mad as it began to start spitting acid at the giant dog, however Sirius quickly came to the rescue as he threw up a shield to protect his buddy.
But that was a mistake, a real big mistake as the knight sent a glob of acid of his own at the shield, caused it to shimmer and wain as the poison ate away at it.
Now they were at a stand still with the Cerberus holding on tight on the snake's neck, Sirius holding up the shield, the wizard knight casting endless acid bolts, and the Winged serpent spraying its own. Whoever gave in first was obviously the one to lose the battle and their life.
Abruptly one of the Cerberus head unclamped itself off the snake's neck then a pitch dark ball of flames gathered in its mouth. Then without further ado, it launched the attack in a wide beam at its enemy which encompassed the whole of the Winged serpent's head and its rider.
As the volatile attack slowly disappeared and the smoke was cleared all that was left were absolutely nothing whether it be of the wizard knight or the creature's head. Seeing no point in grabbing on, the other two heads let go of the serpent's neck and let its body drop to the floor.
Letting the shield drop, Sirius let out a long sigh of relief, it seems like he would live for another day. Slowly patted the Cerberus neck, Sirius looked around the battlefield, it would seem like the Malfoy men were overwhelmed even with their back up.
He could spot countless men laying about unmoving with some creatures already picking at their corpses. He could also see that the Winged Serpents where all dead as the Cerberus handled them by themselves.
However that did not mean his forces did not take any losses, there where an untold amount of more magical canine creaturs that were lying either dead, dying, or slowly bleeding on the floor.
Taking it all in, it sort of reminded him of days long past he would have wished he had forgotten about long ago. Jumping off his mount he gave it a pat again and let it have at the corpse of the Winged serpent it was drooling over.
Before he knew it, the Crowned Cerberus appeared in the battle field surveying everything with a keen eyes like a Monarch would have its domain.
"We could have sued your help," Sirius called out as he made his way over to the giant thing. From the corner of his eye, he could still spot the three downed Cerberus who laid there in a puddle of liquified flesh as the acid dripped down their ruined bodies.
Even if the losses of Cerberus where minimum compared to the rest of the other magical creatures, it still cut him deeply. Unlike the other magical canines his family has- who can produce countless litters for them, a Cerberus is rarely born every few decades.
"We would have loved to tear apart those little serpents," right head answered as the bloodlust was clear in its eyes. "But it was better for our children to bloody themselves against the spawn of Nāgas. We can not always be by their side."
Deep down Sirius knew that they were right and a very cold rational part of him knew it was best to test their metal now when the odds were stacking in their favor. However he still saw all the losses they suffered, and knew that if he/she/it stepped forward it would have all been over in a blink of an eye.
Ruthlessly putting down his dissatisfaction, Sirius announced, "Well I best be going now, but I will be back."
"Before you do," the central head called out, "here." Out of the blue, a pitch-black fang appeared right in the air before the wizard, picking it out of the air, Sirius turned it his hands.
He knew what this was, the first tooth, the item that would give him complete command of all creatures tied to his bloodline.
Nodding its head, Sirius swallowed it one gulp, he ate much worse in Azkaban so this was nothing. Then shaking his head like a dog, his eyes momentarily went pitch dark and back to normal.
SPeaking up, the head on the left stated, "We will see you soon I believe, Lord Black."
Turning around, Sirius still did not know how he felt about that title, but said nothing about it. Looking over he saw that his friend was already moving about as best he could but he had a serious limp in his leg.
Running up to him, he grabbed him before he fell headfisrt onto the ground and pulled up to his feet. "Hey, come on. I know I am the reckless one here, but you? I sure as hell never expect that coming from you."
Chuckling the werewolf immensely broke into fits of coughing, patting him on the back to ease his pain, Sirius reached into one of his pockets and pulled out a green vial. "Here," he said as he offered up the healing potion.
Taking it, the wizard quickly gulped it down in one motion and instantly his cheeks started to gain a red healthy glow. "Thanks," he breathed out as he started to stand on his own.
"You would think holding off a small army would be easy," he joked as he started to do some stretches.
"Would you look at that," Sirius laughed uproariously, "Lupin making jokes."
"Yeah, yeah," the werewolf waved off, "what do you think happens if you spent years with two jokers."
"I guess you are right," the Black family head noted as he smacked his friend on the back, "we were a great influence after all."
"You tell yourself that," Lupin stated. Gazing around and seeing all the death around, he shook his head to himself, "Let's go, don't we have other places to be."
"Yeah," the animagus said as he gazed the battle scene one more look and turned away from it. War, it truly is a pointless thing.
"Hey, Muderbeast," he called out before he apparated out of here. He still could not believe how big the thing had grown up, he remembered coming here with his father and brother and seeing how small it was as a pup.
Turning its head towards him as blood spilled down its muzzle, Sirius shook his head to himself. "I will be seeing you later, you little monster."
With that, they were both gone.
Suddenly appearing at his family's Black Host fortress, his jaws nearly dropped at what he saw.
"So where to next?" Lupin asked as he summed himself a new pair of clothing since his own was torn apart and matted with blood.
Turning around and giving his friend some privacy, Sirius answered, "It is to the Black Fortress where my family's army- the Black Host is posted to guard the Doom Pits. I will need to start rousing them up for the coming war!"
"Well then we best be going then," the werewolf stated as he finished putting on the last article of clothing.
Turning around, the wizard nodded his head in agreement, and they both apparated out of there in two silent pops.
Before they knew it they were in a landscape that made the volcanic area they were at before picturesque. Dark misty clouds swallowed the whole of the land in a tight grip, with red lightning flashing across the heavens, the land itself was dead or dying as if the life has been sucked from it even with the snow that littered the ground.
In the distance was a dark towering mountain with jagged rocks sticking out like spikes and on it was an evil foreboding fortress that stood serving the whole of the land.
However that was not what caught Sirius's attention, no it was obviously the giant Three-legged Crows in the sky and Winged serpent that were attacking the fortress.
"What the fuck is going on?" Lupin asked no one in particular as they watched this massive battle unfolding right before their eyes. On the defending side
"Those are Mort men," Sirius noted with narrowed eyes, he knew those banners better than anyone with the large green M and the twin crow perched on it.
"What the hell are they doing here?" the werewolf asked as gazed at the battlefield in wide wonder.
"They are here to contend for my family's holding and assets just like Cissy," Sirius simply answered as he wasn't really paying any attention to his friend.
His gaze was now focused on his family's army defense which was clearly going poorly, it seems like they never recovered just like the Potter family Griffin Legion with nobody at the helm or more accurately no sane person leading them.
If the two invading armies weren't fighting each other as much as they were his family's army then the fortress might have fallen a long time ago.
"Why? How? What?" Lupin tried to word out but couldn't find the correct words at all.
Understanding what he was trying to get at, Sirius stated, "Bellatrix, Cissy, and Dromeda weren't the only cousins I have. Amaryllis was another, and last I heard she is head of the Mort family after her husband, the old head of the house died under suspicious circumstances."
"So just like Narcissa, she wants to claim your family."
"Yep, exactly," Sirius nodded, "If my family was good for anything, then it is producing cutthroat and scheming women."
"I wonder how you even survived living with them under the same roof," Lupin wondered out loud.
Chuckling, Sirius shook his head, "That is exactly why I ran away from home. I was surrounded by she-devils constantly!"
"Well Andromeda turned out all right," Lupin tried to comfort.
"Yeah," Sirius said as his eyes clearly told he did not think so. "Be that as it may, we still have to go up there," he pointed towards the fort, "and make sure that the defense stands still."
"Of course you would say that," Lupin muttered.
Turning to face his friend tried to argue, "We need to do this, I can not afford to lose the manor because it really isn't worth it, however, if the fortress falls we lose the Black Host a pivotal piece in the coming war."
"I know," Lupin said as he held his hand up, "You know I am always with you. But..."
"But what?" Sirius pumped for.
"If you lose your life here in this battle, who would take care of Harry?"
"He isn't that same little kid anymore we amused when he was one year old," Sirius stated. "He is an adult, I can see that now."
"I guess you are right," Lupin sighed as his shoulder slumped a bit, "this world has made him grow up much faster than he should have."
"Yes," Sirius agreed, "and I guess I will have to make sure that nothing happens to me so that I can see him again."
"Alright," Lupin said, "What is the plan?"
Putting his finger to his mouth, Sirius whistled out loud as the sound of it echoed in the area then suddenly two large great big mastiff the size of men appeared from the shadow.
It seems like his control of all his family's creatures are truly absolute. Now he could summon them with ease!
Giving his bosom companion a grin as he hopped on the shadow mastiff back, he answered, "Well first we need to get into the fortress!"
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Traveling through the chaotic battlefield, both wizards passed by the command tents set up, the supplies ready at hand for a long siege, the magic cannons firing at the fortress, the fresh soldiers ready to set forth at any given moment, and the bloodthirsty family magical beasts gathered up.
Both of them shared the same thoughts as they passed by the overwhelming force set right outside the fortress. They were fucked!
Finally, they reached the foot of the mountain and spring out of the shadows. Jumping off the Shadow Mastiff, Sirius turned to look up the mountain which at this close distance felt like it would swallow him and the sky.
"Now how do you plan to get up there?" Lupin asked. "We sure as hell can't apparate since I can already feel the wards put up, and there has to be countless traps laid out along the path, plus we would be running into a whole lot of soldiers."
"Who said anything about climbing up the mountain the old fashion way?" Sirius replied with a question of his own, sarcastically. He eyes were darting around the landscape until he spotted what he was looking for something.
"There it is," he exclaimed as he made his way over to a spot on the ground with intricate designs.
"Is that what I think it is?" Lupin asked once he saw his friend wipe all the snow and dirt off the outline.
"Yep," Sirius answered as he stood in the middle of the circle along with Lupin, "It is a Jump Disk." Then just as he said it, he pressed down on a spot and they were both off into the air in a single push.
While Lupin screamed all the way up, Sirius on the other hand just laughed like a mad man. Before they knew it they were high up into the sky nearly reaching the dark clouds, then started to slow down when they crescendo over the fortress. With the magic of the disk at work, they smoothly touched down on the ground in the courtyard of the fortress without a single injury.
Immediately countless soldiers took notice of them and started to point wands, gauntlets, magical swords, and other magical items at them.
"Woah, woah, woah," Sirius said as he held out his hands in surrounded, "we come in peace, gents!" Lupin on the other hand bent over and retched up all his breakfast on to the stone floor.
Walking down the planks was a older gentleman, balding in the head, dressed in military regalia of black, the color of his family, with a sash around his shoulder, and countless badges on his chest. At his hip was a sabre encrusted with tahitian pearls and black opals.
As he came up to Sirius, twirling his mustache and his honor guard at his side, he came to a stop right before them and peered down at them with a sneer. "Who are you, and state your business quickly before I have you killed on the spot."
"What?" Sirius asked as he matched his sneer inch for inch with the man. He knew how best to deal with his family's men and you can not give them an inch or they take it for weakness. And weakness can never be shown before dogs!
"Do you not recognize your liege lord, my fine man?" Sirius inquired with an attitude that looked as if he expected the man to get to bowing right away and scraping before him.
Once he did not see the man react, he pressed in an endless barrage, "Tell me who are you? What is your rank? Where is your superior officer? I think they would need to discipline you, if can not do a simple thing such as bowing before your lord!"
"I recognize you now," the man said as he pointed his finger at the wizard. Then collecting himself and his haughty leaked through. "If you are wondering, I am the General of the Black Host, the supreme leader of this army. And you must be Sirius Black, the wayward son. Heh!"
"The supreme leader of this army, you said?" Sirius asked as his eyes bore into the man even Lupin who gathered himself up took a step back when he sensed his friend's mood. It was never good to be around a mad Black, even Sirius.
"You must think very highly of yourself if you think you can usurp the position of your Master."
"You think I would follow you whatever you think," the man asked, curled his lips. "You are a disgrace who ran away from your line. There would be no way I would ever accept you as my liege and lord!"
When coming to do this small tour, Sirus knew that this might be a problem, but he would be damned if he would allow it. "So," he asked with a barking laugh, "are you going to lead you, Great General!"
Puffing himself the idiot did not even realize he stepped on a landmine and answered arrogantly, "Yes! I will beat back these attackers and restore this family to its former glory."
"Ha ha ha, HA HA HA,"
Laughing piercingly a loud harsh laugh, deep dark shadows started to form against the walls with figures of large giant three-headed dogs and countless other canine creatures.
The soldiers that stood around soon became uneasy as the shadows seem to be coming to life. An oppressive atmosphere build in the area until suddenly Sirus broke of and turned to face the General.
However he did not look at him with human eyes but ones that were pitch black from iris to Sclera with blood red slits in the center. They seem to be just like the eyes of the Cerberus.
"You know I find it funny whenever upstart think that they can lead us to a brighter future," Sirius stated in a barking laugh. Then in a blink of an eye before the man could even react, he was upon him and swung low at the General's gut.
Bending over the man broke into fits of coughing, but Sirius gave him no chance as he grabbed him but the scruff of the neck and lifted him up. "I might have believed that if there weren't two FUCKING armies at our doorstep!"
Chocking as the man tried to pry away at Sirius's hands, the Black family head shook him as if he was a ragdoll and asked. "Now, where was that self styled importance, huh?"
All the man could do was stay there as the wizard held him in a vise grip.
Sneering in contempt, Sirius finally let the man drop to the ground, then waved his hands at him, black chains appeared without the use of any wand and wrapped around the General.
"Take him to the dungeons, I will decide a proper punishment for him later," Sirius declared. Then when nobody moved an inch, he turned to the crowd at large and shouted, "NOW!"
Immediately two men stepped forward and took the ex-general in hand and hauled him off.
"Now," he said as he took charge of the situation, "who is next in command? Step forward!"
Without a word, a man who seem to be quite young for his rank stepped forward, "That would be me, Sir! Colonel Michal at your service."
"Now?" Sirius asked, "I do not need to take proper actions against you, do I?
"NO, SIR! If you would excuse my pardon, General Aemin was always an incompetent, arrogant ass who only got his rank and title because of some connections."
Chuckling slightly, Sirius acknowledged, "then it would seem that we will not be having any problems with each other. Now, give me an assessment of the situation."
"Yes, Sir," the Colonel replied as he followed behind Sirius like a dutiful soldier.
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"So our defense is in shambles," Sirius concluded. Right now they stood inside the command center and the Colonel was reviewing and going over everything for him.
"Yes, Sir," the man reluctantly answered.
Rubbing the bridge of his nose, the wizard sighed as he slumped in his chair. Reaching out, Lupin comforted him with a nod and a pat, "You can always abandon this fort."
"No offense, mister," the Colonel as if he looked abhorrent of just the thought of it, "the Black family has held this fortress for over thousands of years. There is no way we would abandon it."
"He is right, Lupin," Sirius said, "We must defend this place to the last man, and we have to also keep to our duties and continue to guard the Doom Pits so nothing gets out."
"What the answer then?" the werewolf asked, "just get overrun?"
"No," Sirius said as he rubbed his chin, "there is still an option left."
"You don't mean that, Sir?" the officer inquired with a slight raise of his eyebrow.
"What are you even talking about?" Lupin grilled for as he wasn't following anymore.
Ignoring his friend for the moment, Sirius announced, "bring up the wardstone."
Nodding his head in signal, the support personal got to work, and promptly a giant stone of pitch-black appeared from out of the floor, floating in the air without any support.
Walking up to it, Sirius rested his hands on it and closed his eyes to focus.
"What is he doing?" Lupin turned to asked the Colonel.
"Look outside," the man said as he pointed to the balcony. Glancing between the two of them, Lupin mumbled under his breath then just followed his direction.
Strolling over to the balcony, he could suddenly feel the wind picking up, and then it began to howl. Looking up at the sky, the dark sky from before was replaced with a bleeding red sun, and the landscape that was worse before now became hellish as the earth split as lava spewed.
Peering down at the two armies camped below who were going absolutely mad, he could see a black shimmering light surrounding all of them, from the soldiers on the ground to those in the sky and every opposing magical beast.
Then in a flash that nearly blinded him, they were all gone, supplies equipment and all. Nothing was left at all, and the landscape when back to his gloomy dark setting.
"What the hell just happened?" Lupin asked no one in particular.
However, someone did answer for him, "It was called Abyss Switch," the Colonel answered.
"Abyss what?"
"Abyss Switch," the man repeated as he stared off into the empty clearing, "they were all sent to Hell."
"Hell?" the werewolf repeated again as he wasn't following.
"Yes, this place is connected to the realm of the damned thanks to that Pit we guard. Consequently, the barriers between the mortal realm and the demon realm is very weak here. Thus a Black from long ago came up with this spell to send whoever dares to invade this fort to the Inferno."
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Appearing outside a dark tower that stretched high into the heaven in a dark mountain, at the height of it was a flaming eye that took in the whole of the surrounding. This was going to be their last stop along their journey.
They visited all the other properties of his family, and he could only say a few remain still. Most where taken by either one family or the other. The other were being fought over, some were ruins, and others were long cleared out with nothing left inside of them of worth.
"Are you still mad about what happened?" Sirius asked his near brother, who was off on the side grumbling under his breath. He knew well when Lupin was angry.
"Yes," the werewolf growled, "death would have been better then what you have done to them."
"You know that was not an option," Sirius stated. "Anyways, they knew what they were walking into or had some idea. There have been legends and rumors surrounding the Black Fortress for centuries on end. All who dare to approach, would enter the fiery depth of Hel!"
"Yeah, but to just press the trigger like that...."
"No," Sirius said with a shake of his head, "my cousins knew better than anyone that it was not a joke or a fairy tale. I take some of the blame, and I will live with it, but it was on them for sacrificing their men like that."
"Will we be expecting any bullshit from your family's Wizarding tower?" Lupin asked as he decided to just change the topic.
"I guess we will have to find out," the wizard answered with a shrug as they marched to the tower.