Redemption Song

Author's Note: Redemption Song and all related fics are my brainchild, something I've been developing for over a year. This can be a very tricky AU, but I think I've made it fairly clear what's going on. If you have any questions at all, please feel free to ask via a review and I'll be glad to clarify.

Disclaimer: As much as I would love to own these characters, I don't JK Rowling just lets me play with them in this fun little verse I created.

"Get up, arseface, or I'm taking this back downstairs and eating it myself."

"Mgflemlone..."

"Sorry, didn't catch that."

"Nungrwansleep..."

"Don't speak Troll, either."

"WOMAN!"

Laughing, Lily caught the pillow that had been aimed at her, narrowly preventing the breakfast she had just brought up from the kitchens from ending up all over her plain navy blue dress. Swiftly she sent it right back and caught Sirius squarely in the face as he rolled out of bed.

"Why do you insist on tormenting me every morning?"

"Do you want the intelligent list or the other?"

"Do you always have to get so technical on me, Lil?"

"Yes, quite frankly."

Sirius stuck his tongue out at her. She assumed a highly superior and all-knowing look that she knew annoyed him greatly. They both proceeded to burst out laughing at exactly the same moment.

At that precise moment the door flew open and Lily jumped back to stand by the wall, eyes cast down and hands clasped behind her back, just as Lady Black swept into the room, her many layers of silk skirts and robe flowing behind her.

"Sirius, you ought to have been out of bed an hour ago," she said briskly, taking in the state of the room. "Surely you haven't forgotten today's occasion?" Without looking in her direction, she snapped, "Girl, why haven't you laid out his dress robes? Come on, make it snappy, we haven't got all day!"

As Lily rushed over to the closet, Sirius let out an exasperated sigh and said, "Really, Mother, I don't understand why you have to make such a fuss. London and I've already agreed we want this to be as small a deal as possible."

Lady Black snapped around and said severely, "Well, that's not your decision to make, now is it? Whether you like it or not, the purpose of this gala is to announce the future legacy of the Family Black, not for you to sulk about and complain. As for Miss Brown, you ought to remind her that, as the future matron of this household, she would do well to remember her place, and to hold her tongue. Do I make myself quite clear?"

Sirius barely refrained from rolling his eyes. "Inescapably."

"Good." She walked over to the door and said, "I want you downstairs and ready to go in no less than half an hour. Oh, and please speak to your brother again. I dislike having tea served by a slave covered in horrid bruises."

Once she was gone, Sirius got up and shut the door forcefully. He then took Lily by the hand, twirled her around, and began to waltz. Putting on a very high falcetto he exclaimed, "Oh, darling Lilykins, can you just imagine it? A delightful summer wedding where the heirs of the noble houses of Black and Brown will be forced into matrimony in the name of popping out lovely pureblooded brats to carry on the gracious tradition!"

Lily rolled her eyes and pushed him away. "Come on, Sirius. London Brown's a perfectly nice girl. It could be worse - be glad you're not engaged to that cow Adelaide Gibbons."

"She's pretty damn nice to look at, though."

"You're pathetic."

"It's what I do best."

"I concede. At least your parents aren't doing to you what theirs did to them."

Sirius shuddered. His parents were not related only by marriage, but by blood, as well. And not just in the way that most purebloods were related anyway. In a disgusting attempt to keep the purest of pure within one family, they had been betrothed, despite the fact that they were first cousins. If he was to marry Bellatrix, Sirius might have murdered himself.

"I think I'll take London."

"That's what I thought."

Just then a large commotion came from down the hall. Lily didn't have to guess what was going on when Sirius muttered, "Bloody hell," and ran out the door. She could clearly hear the familiar shouted argument that followed.

"Bugger off Sirius! Why are you always getting in my business?"

"You can't just beat her up whenever something brasses you off!"

"Oh yeah? Well I've got news for you. Just because you've got two of your own doesn't mean you can just barge in here and tell me how to handle mine!"

"Try me."

A few moments later, Sirius re-entered the room, a teenage girl wearing a secondhand green dress in tow. Lily sighed and pulled up a chair for her. "What was it this time?"

For someone sporting a black eye and some rather nasty purple bruises, she was remarkably composed as she said, "How am I to know? You know Regulus - slightest thing goes wrong and of course I'm to blame. Personally I think he just likes it so much that he doesn't need a reason by now."

Sirius gave a long-suffering sigh of annoyance as he finished donning his dress robes and said, "Mother's not too happy about it, either. Of course, I s'pose it's hard for her to show off her slaves when they've got seven shades of shit beaten out of them."

"Ta, Sirius," Lily said wryly.

For the second time that morning, the door flew open, only this time it wasn't Lady Black. Both girls jumped out of the way as Regulus stormed in.

"You know you're not allowed to come in my room without my permission," said Sirius patiently, with the air of someone trying to explain something to a small child.

Regulus ignored him and grabbed his slave. Keeping a tight hold of her, as though she might try to free herself from him, he turned to Sirius and said, "If you ever try to come between me and Alice again, there'll be hell to pay."

"Oh, I'm scared shitless."

The younger boy sneered and then pulled Alice out of the room.

Lily grimaced. "That kid's got it coming to him."

Sirius nodded fervently.

"What'd I miss?"

Both Lily and Sirius turned around to see a boy with untidy brown hair enter the room. He wore a pair of very old, faded jeans and a dirty white tee-shirt.

"Regulus again," Lily replied. "Would it really kill him to lay off Alice for two minutes?"

"Probably," Sirius said. "Where've you been, Remus?"

Remus closed the door. "The kitchen. My mum brought Lady Black's order from Healer Wilkes."

Lily nodded silently.

She had always been secretly envious of Remus for actually knowing his mother. Muggle children were watched closely and, at the first sign of magical powers, removed from the field or quarry where their family worked. Lily had been only three when she was taken from her parents and bought by Lord Black a year later as a gift for his eldest son's birthday, as was tradition. She had only a dim memory of an emaciated blonde woman with vibrant green eyes.

Remus, on the other hand...although the majority of slaves were muggleborn, halfbloods were not uncommon. Where they came from, however, was something of the elephant in the room. Nobody spoke of the young men who took their female slaves to bed with them. It was just one of those things not discussed. Of course, Remus' story was somewhat out of the norm. Fenrir Greyback had lent a young slave by the name of Corinne Lupin to an old family friend but, when she was returned, found her to be pregnant.

Despite the fact that the whole issue was taboo, there was, in fact, a law stating that a slave fathered by a free man would pass into his ownership. Of course, Greyback felt that he had been cheated out of a slave and determined to have revenge and so, just before the man came to collect Remus at the age of three, Greyback bit him and then sold his mother to the Wilkes family. Lily was well aware that it was a miracle he had not been disposed of immediately. The man never thought of him as his own son, though. In the eyes of Lord Black, Remus had never been anything but a filthy slave.

"Anyway Sirius," he continued, bringing Lily back to reality, "I was sent up here to tell you it's time to go. Lady Black's screaming her head off so I'd get a move on if I were you."

"Right," he sighed. "Off we go, Lily, to the bloody social fest of the season. See you tonight, Remus."

"Enjoy yourself."

As Sirius and Lily walked down the hallway, they passed the familiar ancient tapestry that was the Black family tree. Whenever she walked by it, Lily couldn't help but look for a moment at newest hole. It had been there for years, but she just couldn't get used to the fact that Andromeda was gone. Oh, there had been search parties, yes, but they had all been futile, and no one had the foggiest idea where she'd run off to. She and Ted.

Oh yes, Lily thought with a sigh. Of course Ted had gone with her. Anyone that really knew both of them like she and Sirius had could plainly see that they were made for each other. Romantic, really, because everyone that wasn't dimwitted enough to think that Andromeda didn't have the guts knew where they'd gone. But that was by the by now, and no one dared speak of it.

Traditionally the bride-to-be's family hosted the engagement party, and later the groom's funded the wedding. When Alice and Lily arrived in kitchen fire of the Brown manor, Lily tapped a nearby girl and said, "Excuse me, we've come with the Blacks."

"Come with me."

The Brown Manor was much larger than Lily had anticipated. They ascended a few levels and then proceeded to wind their way through several back corridors that Lily was certain were there so that slaves and masters would not cross paths. Finally they arrived at the end of a corridor and the girl opened a door. In the room beyond Lily could see many guests dressed in their finest, laughing and drinking goblin-made wine.

"Just sidle in and stand at the back."

Only one person looked their way as they did what she said. Sirius looked up and waggled his eyebrows at her and she rolled her eyes at him. Stupid move. The girl who had brought them up caught her eye and gave her an odd look before she closed the door behind them.

Lily had been to enough of these types of functions that it had become a ritual for her. Stand at the back. Look meek. Don't talk. Don't catch anyone's eye. In her head she did a mental checklist of who was present. It was the best way to pass time.

There were the Gibbons sisters, all attractive in their own way. Sophisticated Marise, gorgeous Adelaide, sultry Simone, and babydoll Zephyrine. They were all surrounded by various young men. Reynard Zabini, Amycus Carrows, Antonin Dolohov, Rabastan Lestrange. It had been most amusing for Lily to see Lestrange's reaction when news reached him of Andromeda. They had been betrothed, after all.

In the middle of the room stood the latter's sisters, Bellatrix and Narcissa, with their own fiancés, Rodolphus Lestrange and Lucius Malfoy. Florence Zabini and Evette Parkinson, were with them as well, although Florence, as usual, was busy exchanging flirtatious glances with Theodore Nott, who was not paying attention in the least to Alecto Carrows, who, in turn, looked quite miffed. Regulus and Ezmia Wilkes, his betrothed, stood with them.

Lily turned her attention to Sirius. He stood in a corner of the room, conversing with London Brown. She was actually a very attractive girl - terribly light ginger hair and astonishingly petite. Now she was laughing at something Gideon Prewett had said. Yes, he stood there as well - he, his twin Fabian, his sister Molly, and his brother-in-law Arthur. Lily suppressed a laugh. Sirius looked quite out of place amidst all that ginger hair.

There was one person missing from that group, though, who ought to have been there. With the exception of perhaps Ezmia Wilkes, there was no one else he would have liked to converse with, Lily was sure of that. Unless, of course -

"Tiger!"

Oh bother.

Lily looked up and just managed not to roll her eyes. She had to stick to protocol here.

"Master Potter."

"Why so proper, o song of my heart?" He had that grin. She hated that grin, because it usually meant he was in a good mood, which made him do stupid things. Of course, his mood was usually pretty good.

"James," she said, barely opening her mouth for fear she would catch the attention of a passing guest, "you know we can't do this right here."

His grin faltered for a moment but then sprang right back as he said, "You know, you're absolutely right, as per usual. Come on."

Before she knew what was going on, James had grabbed her hand, pushed open the door she'd come through, and pulled her inside. Her last glance before he shut the door was of Alice rolling her eyes. Then it was just them inside the stone corridor.

"How'd you know that was there?" she asked, before he could do anything stupid. Not that what he'd just done wasn't.

James flashed her a grin and said, "I've been watching you since you came in."

"Stalker complex, much?"

"Don't be silly. I could hardly miss an angel fall from heaven."

"Have I ever told you that you need to get better pick-up lines?"

"Why should I? You seem to like them well enough."

"Oh, shut up."

James didn't need telling twice as he bent down to kiss her.