Black Sky

Black Sky

Chapter 1

A Flight on Death's Wings

It had been a long time since he had stepped anywhere near this house. He hadn't wanted to come back but it was too important not to. He waited. The house wasn't visible yet because of the protections but soon someone would arrive that he could approach. He hoped. He really didn't fancy staying outside all night. He would if he had no other choice or rather if no one he could trust came to the house or left it.

Would anyone believe him?

He didn't know the answer to that question and he wasn't sure he really did want the answer. Dumbledore would believe him, Snape too, probably. He smirked. No one else except maybe the werewolf and the insane former Auror and that was only a small chance. He knew the risks he faced in showing himself here of all places. The people in the house probably did not know about his work during the last war. They wouldn't know anything other than the stories they had been told.

It was approaching midnight and he was starting to get annoyed with the fact that no one was coming to the house. He needed to talk to Dumbledore and he couldn't risk going to Hogwarts and leaving his daughter alone for too long.

The Death Eaters were about to come out and play. No one was safe when that happened and the man didn't want his daughter to know those horrors yet despite the horrors she already knew. He sighed and conjured up a small discrete chair and sat down. This might be a long wait.

His thoughts wandered as he watched the area where the house was supposed to be. He thought about his daughter, Scorpio. He wondered if their arrival in England was the best thing for her. Scorpio reminded him of his brother and his mother. It was almost a frightening combination.

But he knew she was in danger and the only way she could be protected was to be under the protection of the Order of the Phoenix. Dumbledore could do for Scorpio what her own father can't even begin to try and that saddened him. He was her father but the mistakes of his past prevented him from giving her the life she deserved.

He pulled his attention away from the self destructive introspection that he was accustomed to. He watched the house and waited. Soon he was awarded by Dumbledore arriving at the end of the street. The man smiled and got rid of the chair with a flick of his hand. He walked out of the shadows, instantly removing all the charms he used over the years to hide his true identity.

"Hello, Professor," he said.

Dumbledore stopped and stared. The man smirked again. Dumbledore was speechless and that was a very rare thing. After several seconds under the intense gaze, the man spoke again.

"Do you remember me?"

"Yes," Dumbledore said after a few seconds. "Although I have no explanation for why you are here."

"I can explain all of it," the man said. "But first I want to know what happened to my brother."

Dumbledore sighed. "He fell through the Veil. He was fighting Bellatrix and he fell."

The man lowered his head. "Sirius always wanted to die fighting."

"He died fighting to protect his godson and fighting for what he believed in."

"It was what he wanted."

"I believe so. Why are you here, Regulus?" Regulus looked away in the general direction of the Muggle hotel he'd left Scorpio in.

"I need help and I'm afraid only you and the Order can provide it."

Dumbledore nodded but said nothing for a long time. Regulus resisted the urge to look away from the old headmaster's questioning gaze.

"We can talk inside."

Ten minutes and many shocked expressions later, Regulus Black followed Dumbledore up the stairs of his ancient family home. He had prayed that he'd never have to come back here and that Scorpio would never have to experience the hatred he had grown up with. He stopped himself from looking at anything in the house; he couldn't stand the memories that were already coming forth unabated.

They walked into the library where Alastor Moody was already waiting for them. This didn't surprise Regulus but it unnerved him. He had never really liked Moody. He knew the man was a good Auror-the best-but Regulus had been raised as a Death Eater. He nodded to the former Auror.

"Well, since we're all acquainted, Regulus, tell us your story."

And Regulus began. "After my disillusionment with the Death Eaters and Voldemort, I still kept my secrets from everyone; Sirius, James, Lily, and Serenity. You know this," Regulus said and Dumbledore nodded. "You warned me when you discovered Voldemort's realization of my treachery. The night Malfoy was to kill me, I told Serenity everything. We were waiting for Malfoy and when he arrived, we fought, all of us. Serenity Obliviated Malfoy and planted the memories that he'd killed us. We transfigured other items into our bodies and fled to the States. One month later we were married and Serenity was pregnant. We had a girl, Scorpio. We stayed in the states, hiding and waiting for Voldemort to rise again."

"Why didn't you come back before?" Moody asked. "Voldemort's been back for a year."

"Serenity was afraid for Scorpio."

"And now?"

"Serenity was killed last week. Somehow Voldemort discovered what happened and found us. I brought Scorpio here. She's at a Muggle hotel not far from here."

"And suddenly you're willing to put your life and your daughter's life in danger just after your wife was killed?" Moody asked.

Regulus didn't shrink away from Moody's unflinching gaze. "Yes. The only way my daughter will be safe is if she is around people who can protect her. I will give what I can to defeating Voldemort." Dumbledore and Moody looked at each other. Moody nodded.

"Do you want Scorpio brought here?"

"Ideally, no," Regulus answered, "but it is far safer than any place I can provide for her."

"We need to hurry," Moody said. "Last we heard, Voldy was on the move tonight. He's out for blood, Black, and if what you're saying is true, he wants yours as well."

"Scorpio is in considerable danger," Dumbledore added. "You know this, Regulus. I believe that is why you came here instead of going somewhere else."

"Yes."

"Very well. Is there anything else?"

Regulus didn't say anything. There was more, but he wasn't sure he wanted to tell these two about his daughter's condition yet. They would find out soon enough if she came into this house. She wasn't normal. Scorpio was far from normal and Regulus knew that was why Voldemort had risked traveling to the States to get them. If he had Scorpio on his side, he would win the war despite what the Order would do to stop him. He could crush the Order, Dumbledore, and Harry Potter without breaking a sweat. That would only be a small stone of the mountain he would conquer with Scorpio.

Regulus laid his head in his hands. Dumbledore and Moody needed to know. Scorpio would probably cause trouble before she even went to school.

"Yes," he answered and looked up at the older men. "There is much more."

Scorpio Sky Black sighed and ran her hand though her hair. "I don't like this," she murmured.

"Don't like what?" was the answer.

"Shut up," she answered him with a scowl. "Dad's going to catch me."

"No, Reg's busy with something else. He'll be gone for a while."

"And you won't tell me what it is, will you?"

"Nope."

"You're an ass."

"Thank you. I love you too."

She tilted her head. "I know. Everyone loves me."

"That reminds me of someone...I don't know who though."

"Hmm...You?"

"Shut up."

"No."

"I'll get Regulus."

Scorpio sighed again and turned back to her current situation. Her companion wasn't going to be much help to her and she knew it. He was only there to annoy her and she sometimes wondered why the Gods chose to punish her with family like him.

"How's this," her companion said, "I'll ask someone else to come help you and I'll go check on Regulus. When he starts heading this way, I'll send the message along and you can be out and cleaned up before he walks in."

"That...might work. Who are you going to ask?"

"Someone with a personality as charming as mine?" Scorpio could hear the smile in his words. She knew who he was going to send; the only person he would trust with the task of helping her.

"If he causes trouble, I'm coming after both of you when I'm done and you know I'm just as formidable as He can be."

"Don't remind me," the man said with a solemn tone. "Okay, be back in a flash."

She shook her head after she knew he was gone. Too often her father walked in during one of her rituals and messed everything up. He didn't understand what she was doing. He didn't understand what she was. He tried, just like he had tried to understand her mother, but he had never succeeded.

"Allo, Scorpio."

"Potter," she said in response. Sometimes the dead could be really annoying. She loved most of the people she was in constant contact with, but they all still annoyed her most of the time. They did help when she needed it and she needed their help now. She knew that something wasn't right with her mother's death because no one she had talked to had seen or heard of Serenity Black being beyond the Veil. She hadn't dared to ask her mother's family, but she felt she needed to. If Serenity wasn't with them, it could mean only one thing; Serenity Black wasn't dead.

As she began her work, she didn't notice or hear the screams of the people in the street below her.

"She's a what?" Moody asked, leaning forward.

"Yes," Regulus answered. "She's a natural Necromancer, but different, I suppose, more like a Medium."

"Serenity was a Medium," Dumbledore said, trying to clarify things. "Is that how Scorpio is different from other Necromancers?"

"Yes. Serenity trained her. Scorpio has a strong respect for the dead, more respect than she does for the living, I suspect. She lives, works, and breaths with the dead. That is how we found out about Sirius."

"He came to her?"

"As most do when they die untimely, but she said she was visiting with James and Lily at the time when he...died." Regulus didn't feel comfortable saying that word in regards to his brother. As both Serenity and Scorpio explained it, the way Sirius died wasn't normal and his presence behind the Veil was unlike any other. Regulus didn't want to ask how it was different.

"Interesting," Dumbledore said, appearing fascinated. Moody appeared ready to attack or faint, Regulus wasn't sure which. He could understand. When Serenity had told him what their daughter was he hadn't felt much different. Necromancers were evil; at least that was what he had been taught his entire life. They weren't supposed to have souls. They weren't supposed to be his daughter.

But Scorpio did have a soul and she wasn't evil. She was special and in such a way that would make her a powerful weapon to either side of the war. Regulus had explained to her during their trip what Voldemort was and what he believed in. Scorpio answered that she could get an army within hours to battle him if she had to, but Regulus wasn't naïve. He knew that she could get that army just as easily for Voldemort.

"Has Scorpio had much contact with the Potters?"

Regulus looked away. "Over the last year, yes. Before that, if there was any contact I didn't know about it."

"The last year, you say?" Moody asked, looking at Dumbledore. "About the time Voldemort came back?"

"Yes, almost the same time. She said they were preparing her."

"Regulus, do you understand the significance of Scorpio's power?"

"I believe so."

"Good," Dumbledore answered and Regulus stared at him. "Now I think we must get Scorpio and bring her here before Voldemort discovers her location."

It was quiet and dark, but she had known it would be. It was meant to be a distraction of hopelessness He created. She knew it was for her. She was breaking the rules by passing through the Veil so soon after her mother was attacked. He would most certainly try to punish her for it, but it was simple to escape his punishments.

She concentrated on her mother's family. "Okay James, let's go," she said and closed her eyes as he guided her through Death's passages. She knew many things about the Veil and what happened beyond it, but it was a dangerous thing. She wouldn't cross it alone, only with a ghost or other spirit she trusted. Life, for what it was, beyond the Veil was both Heaven and Hell, Life and Death, happiness and despair. Scorpio hated it and she hated that those she considered family were forced to be in its existence. She knew Sirius hated it and that was why he had spent so much time with her since his death. Things had gotten worse since Voldemort came back into power and Scorpio didn't know why. She really didn't want a battle with Death just to find out. One day she knew she would have to battle Him, but she wanted it rather later than sooner.

James suddenly stopped and Scorpio ran into him, nearly falling before he caught her.

"What is it?" she asked, breathless.

"Him."

Scorpio turned around to face what would happen. He knew He couldn't kill her, but she knew He could kill her father.

What brings you to my Realm, Necromancer?

Scorpio sighed. She had to answer and it had to be the truth. "I'm looking for information."

About your mother, Serenity Malfoy.

"Yes."

She is not here, but I will tell you no more. Leave, Necromancer.

Bowing to Him, Scorpio backed away and vanished from the Veil. With a jolt she was back in the room she shared with her father.

"Something is not right," she said, more to herself than to James and realized he wasn't standing next to her anymore. She turned around to cancel the circle of protection that surrounded her.

"NO!" James yelled. She stopped moving her hand and the door was blown open. Two cloaked and hooded figures stood in the frame.