Amor Vincit Omnia

Amor Vincit Omnia

Chapter 1 - The Last Straw

Sirius Black climbed onto his broom and kicked off, flying into the darkness. He was finally leaving his family's home behind and he felt no regret for what he was doing. How could he stay? They were no family of his.

Sirius' family was full of Dark Wizards and avid supporters of Lord Voldemort. They agreed fully with his plans to rid the Wizarding World of Muggles. By comparison, Sirius was the most open-minded of his family, and disagreed with all the anti-Muggle propaganda. He was completely against Voldemort's plans and his family hated him for it. They thought of him as a waste of space, a traitor to the family.

Sirius quite enjoyed winding up his parents, especially his old mother. He had been extremely pleased when the Sorting Hat had placed him in Gryffindor. His parents, however, had been furious! He was the first person in their family to be placed in a House other than Slytherin; even his cousin Andromeda, who had married Muggle-born Ted Tonks, could not escape the charms of the serpent.

Sirius never wished to be in Slytherin anyway. Slytherin was notorious for producing the darkest wizards, and the majority of the house supported Voldemort, hating anything to do with Muggles.

For years, he had endured their insults and punishments, as well as their attempts to drag him to the Dark side. How Sirius put up with his family was beyond anyone's understanding. But he'd never have to suffer again; his parents had crossed him one time too many. This was the last straw and he was leaving. Thinking back to the argument that had just taken place, it was the right thing to do.

As Sirius walked into the dining room, intent on digging into a few helpings of whatever was served for dinner, he immediately got the feeling that eating would have to wait. Already seated at one end of the overly large mahogany dining table were Sirius' parents, Orion and Walburga, and his good-for-nothing younger brother, Regulus. All three had looked up at his arrival. They had obviously been waiting for him; as soon as he sat down in his designated seat, appropriately positioned as far away from the rest of the family as possible, his mother fixed him in her cold gaze.

Getting right to the point, she said, "Boy! We have something we wish to discuss with you."

Something definitely was up, seeing as they typically ignored his presence, unless of course he'd been pulling pranks or winding up his brother. He hadn't really done anything that day, except start a small fire at the end of his brother's bed to wake him up that morning, but that couldn't be it. His old mum had already hexed him senseless as punishment.

"And what would that be?" Sirius prompted. His mother's glare intensified, as did his father's. Sirius saw no need for manners when in his parents' company; even when he'd once had the notion to do so, they never returned the favour. Orion cleared his throat and tried a different approach.

"Son," he began, ignoring the way Sirius flinched at the title, "we have been given word that the Dark Lord is extending his army to include some of his underage followers."

"And how does this have anything to do with me?" he pressed, although he already knew where this was headed. The sooner this conversation was over the better. The house elves had prepared a rather nice-looking beef stew with his name on it and it was rapidly growing cold. His parents seemed to be growing impatient and he enjoyed provoking them; it was just too easy.

His father continued, his voice rising, "It concerns you, young man, because this is your last chance to prove that you are a part of this family, to show you are a Black! You have already disgraced us more times than I can count. You chose to befriend Mudbloods, blood traitors and half-breeds!" He practically spat out the last few words.

"If you were to refuse this honour, you would be insulting this family in the gravest of ways," his mother added as she rose from the table, her anger growing. "Power is what any decent witch or wizard would desire; power is what the Dark Lord can give you. Mudbloods and namby-pamby blood traitors will only drag you down. Wouldn't you agree...son?" she inquired, sneering slightly.

"No Mother, I wouldn't. Muggle-borns are just as worthy as pure-bloods," Sirius replied indignantly.

"Worthless scum! Why Dumbledore allows such filth into Hogwarts is a mystery to me."

"And what do you mean by that?" Sirius snapped.

"Son, what is your decision?" his father asked, ignoring his son's question. "Think hard, and remember: this is your last chance!"

The instant his father had made his proposition, Sirius knew he would refuse; he remained silent for a moment, apparently considering his options, while he actually contemplated how best to word his response. Quite calmly he replied, "There's about as much chance of me saying 'yes' as there is of Regulus graduating top of his class!"

"And what on Earth do you mean by that?" his mother screeched, becoming more addled by the minute.

"I mean no," Sirius replied calmly, secretly enjoying how his parents were slowly getting more and more hysterical.

"No!? What do you mean no?" his father yelled.

Sirius thought long and hard before answering. He knew his parents were supporters of Voldemort; but to attempt to force their son into joining Voldemort's junior Death Eaters, a group of people whose very principals defied everything he believed in, was taking it too far. How could they have expected him to agree when they already knew that he didn't approve of any of it? They knew he had friends who were Muggles. How could they possibly think he would agree to join a group whose leader's sole mission in life was to personally rid the world of them?

He lifted his gaze to meet those of his parents. As he slowly let his calm façade fade away, the volume and speed at which he gave his reply increased.

"I would've thought my meaning was obvious, father; my answer is NO! Do you hear? Some of my best friends are Mudbloods and half-breeds, as you have so wrongly labelled them. These people, who you would have me abandon, are my real family and I would not sacrifice them for anything. Not even for a place as one of that lunatic's cronies!

"What did you expect me to say? Oh of course how stupid of me! How could I ever have thought Muggles equal to us pure-bloods? Of course I'll join; just give me a moment to go rethink my whole outlook on life. Also, I'll need to rid myself of any moral standards and self-decency I might have. After that, I'd be only too happy to oblige. I mean, how many boys my age are privileged enough to be given the chance of becoming one of Lord Voldemort's flunkies and being sent out to get themselves killed?

"How many times do I have to tell you two? I do not want to be any part of His plans! I will NOT have anything to do with him!! Do I make myself perfectly clear?"

By this point, Sirius had risen to his full height and was glaring furiously at his parents, who glared back just as angrily. Sirius could have sworn he saw one of the veins in his father's neck throbbing, and both his parents looked ready to blow.

"Right. Well. That'd be my cue to leave." Regulus spoke up for the first time since the conversation began. He had been sitting silently in his seat throughout the whole ordeal, mouth agape; as soon as his mother's eye began to twitch in rage, he made a speedy decision and quickly grabbed up his plate and cutlery, making a hasty escape out of the dining room.

"Wimp..." Sirius muttered as his spineless bother made his get-away. His parents still hadn't said anything so he continued. "I've had it up to here," he raised his hand high above his head to accentuate his point, "with this family. You can't stand me, and I assure you, the feeling is entirely mutual. We don't see eye to eye and we never will. I am sick of living in this house with you...my so-called family!" He was breathing heavily by the end of it. Finally he had got it all off his chest.

Seconds passed as the information sunk in; finally Walburga Black slowly reached into the pocket of her skirt and pulled out her wand, pointing it towards Sirius.

"Sick of living in this house, are you? We fed you. We clothed you. We sent you to that school...and this is how you repay us for all our hard work?" she screamed, advancing toward the boy who supposedly was her son until she had him firmly backed against the wall.

"Hard work!" Sirius scoffed in spite of the wand jabbing into his throat.

"I warned you, boy; this was your last chance," Orion Black informed him, "but seeing as you've rejected Lord Voldemort's very kind offer, you've lost it. Go to your room!"

"You can't send me to my room!" Sirius retorted defiantly. "I'm leaving! So there!" With that, Sirius pushed his mother out of the way and exited the dining room.

Moments after closing the dining room door, Sirius heard his stomach emit a rather loud groan. That's when he remembered his uneaten beef stew, still waiting for him in the room he had just left.

Retracing his steps, he carefully turned the handle and the door creaked open a few inches. Sirius poked his head tentatively through the gap. He then hurried over to the table, picked up his cold dinner and cutlery and, as he made his way back towards the door, said, "Sorry. Forgot my dinner."

"Out!" screeched Walburga as she threw a Reducto charm in his direction, missing his head by mere inches.

Sirius, who had ducked rather quickly at the explosion, promptly hurried back to the door, muttering, "Okay, okay, you don't have to tell me twice. I'm going."

He paused when he reached the door and smugly nodded once to his mother and father in turn, "Mother...Father." Then he continued his exit with a few curt bows, still protecting his cold dinner plate. "I bid thee adieu," and with that he left, closing the door behind him.

Not long after retreating from the dining room, he found himself shoving some of his stuff into two-barrel bags, and packing his Hogwarts supplies into his trunk after shrinking them all to pocket size. He decided to leave the rest of his stuff and send for it later. Then, taking one last glance around his room, Sirius climbed quickly down the trellis outside his bedroom window and onto the ground, heading towards the shed to get his broom.

Now that he thought back to it, he should have seen it coming. How had he survived in that household for so long? Why he hadn't left earlier was beyond him. Oh well, he'd left now and that was all that mattered. He was finally free...free of the hell that was number twelve, Grimmauld Place; free at last from the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black. He'd never have to set foot in that prison again. James' family would take him in, he was sure of it. He'd stayed there so many times, it was like he'd become part of the furniture. He even had his own room.

Mr. and Mrs. Potter felt more like parents to him than his own. Orion and Walburga were not his parents, never had his parents...after the episode over dinner, the woman who had called herself his mother had blasted him off the family tree. Now, the only thing left to link him to those horrid people was his surname. Sirius flew off into the night and didn't look back.

***

Regulus Black stared up at the night sky through his bedroom window; silent tears ran down his face as he watched his brother's form rapidly fade into the dark. He had always loved his brother, though he would never admit it. He scanned the starry skies, remembering a night years ago when he and Sirius had lay out on the lawn.

"Look at that, Reg!" eleven-year-old Sirius exclaimed, pointing to a bright star overhead. "That's Sirius, the brightest in the sky."

Nine-year-old Regulus grinned at his brother. "What about me?" he asked.

Sirius smiled back, and pointed to a star at the heart of the constellation Leo. "There, the heart of the lion. I bet you'll be a Gryffindor for that."

But he wasn't; the Sorting Hat had considered it, but Slytherin won out. He too, was strangled by the snake's grasp. Regulus would never forget the look on his brother's face when that stupid Hat had shouted, "Slytherin!"

Wiping away his tears, Regulus realised he had only one year left; one year and he would never see his brother again.