WAS HE SUPPOSED TO FEEL GUILTY? Seeing his mother's deteriorating health and listening to her claim that she would be reunited with Orion and Regulus soon, Sirius didn't know how to feel. After the way she had treated him for years, he didn't see his mother as human, only a monster that loved to put him down. Even his father, who also shared extreme views, he didn't put down Sirius nearly as much as Walburga did. And now that she was dying, he supposed to feel sorry for her?

Conflicted, Sirius wasn't sure if he was going to miss his mother or miss what could have been when it came to their relationship.

"You don't get to do this to me," Sirius told her, " you don't get to treat me like rubbish for years and expect everything to be fine, just because you're dying. It doesn't erase what you did. You still won't admit that you were wrong."

"Is that why you came here, Sirius, for an apology?" Walburga asked him. "Or did you come for a different reason?"

"I don't know what brought me here, honestly," he said, " other than the fact that my family is going to need a place to stay here shortly and we don't have many options. For some reason, I thought of this place because of all the enchantments Father put around."

"Family? You're talking about that deaf man-"

"His name is Charlus!" Sirius spat. "You know what his name is, just acknowledge him by it. He might be deaf but that doesn't define him as a person entirely. Why do you have to be this way, Mother? I don't understand. You brought Regulus and me up on these ideas that people who weren't pureblooded were beneath us. But then I meet some other purebloods, but they're not the 'right kind' of pureblood."

Walburga didn't say anything for a minute or so, and Sirius was beginning to wonder if he should check to see if she was still breathing. However, she let out a slight cough before continuing.

"So, are you trying to tell me that you Sirius Potter now or are you still Sirius Black? You are the last remaining male of the Black family, you can carry on the name-"

"It'll die with me,"  he answered with no hesitation. " I never got to change my name once Charlus and I married, only because other circumstances came up. But I don't mind being a Potter, it's actually an honour. Our family name is tainted with Dark Arts affiliation and prejudices, I don't want to take part in that anymore. It's best that this family dies out and becomes nothing more than something jotted down in history books."

"Who knew my firstborn would be the death of this family?"

"It didn't have to be this way. You could have supported me over the years, instead of making me try to hate myself. You're the one who turned their back on me when I was sorted into Gryffindor. You knew I had no control over it, and yet, you acted like I betrayed everyone in the family. If you had stood up for me, it would have made all the difference, but instead, you became the biggest bully of them all in this family."

Sirius felt that his mother was holding on, just for the sake of rubbing salt into wounds. She seemed so happy when he arrived at Grimmauld Place and now, she was claiming that he was the one responsible for the end of The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black. In some ways, there was some truth to her claims, after all, he really was the last remaining male heir of the family after Regulus and his father had passed on.

So yes, if he chose to take the Potter surname and if he and Charlus decided to adopt any children, more than likely, they would also take the Potter surname, that would be the end of that. When he was younger, Sirius didn't realise how much power he did hold within the family and after Regulus' death, more than likely every one of the family had realised that the fate of the Black family really did reside with Sirius.

"Is that why you sought me out?" Sirius questioned again. "Because you wanted to see if you could somehow keep the Black family name alive? Did you still have that bit of hope, the same hope I carried for years, wishing that you would come to your senses and accept that the world is not how you viewed it?"

"Old habits die hard."

He felt like he was becoming borderline hysterical with every passing minute in Walburga's company as she refused to admit her wrongs.

"Is that your excuse then? You were raised to believe something and so that's what you'll die believing? You forget that I was raised the same way by you and I still managed to see what the world was for myself! Andromeda did the same and so did all the others that were burned off the tapestry. And by looking beyond what we were taught, we all met amazing people. We weren't confined to the same group of people every day."

"I-"

"You told me when I was younger that muggles and muggle-borns were a threat to wizarding society. They led us to an underground world where we had to hide because they were dangerous. But the only danger I ever saw growing up, came from the people that claimed they were looking out for my well-being. Regulus followed a man, who thought it was good to kill people and you all supported. The same went for Bellatrix. They killed people, drove others to insanity, and even attempted to kill a toddler. So really, Mother, who are the dangerous ones in this society?"

"What do you want me to say, Sirius? That I'm sorry? Sorry for following the teachings that have been told for generations. Sorry for putting trust in the words of my parents and attempted to do the same for my sons. Is that what you want?"

"I don't want an apology from you unless you mean it," he said, " and right now, you still don't think you were in the wrong at all. Even if it got one of your sons killed and the other had to go to Azkaban fighting it. You still don't think it's wrong. I'm here to ask you if I can make use of this place? We won't be here long, and then you can continue on with whatever you were doing. But you at least owe me this."

Walburga opened her mouth, looking ready to argue the idea of owing Sirius anything. However, as she forced her eyes open to look at him, she stopped. Looking up at Sirius was like looking at a younger image of her late husband, whom she missed dearly. And she had never been able to refuse any of Orion's request in the past.

"Fine," she sighed, " bring your little 'family' here. It might speed up the process of my death so I can finally be put out of my misery."

"A simple yes would have sufficed, Mother."

As soon as Sirius was gone, Kreacher hurried over to Walburga's bedside, looking absolutely horrified that she would allow Sirius to bring others into the Grimmauld Place.

"Mistress is not feeling well," he said, " Mistress should not allow visitors, especially those who are filthy blood-traitors."

"Give it a rest, Kreacher, I'm tired."

Kreacher appeared to bite down on his tongue to refrain from saying anything more, not wishing to upset Walburga. He remained at her bedside, waiting for further instruction and finally, she gathered enough strength to turn her head and look at him.

"You've served this family well for years, Kreacher. You've been through so much, but I feel like your toughest challenge is yet to come."

"Kreacher does not understand what Mistress is trying to say."

"You looked after Regulus with such devotion, you've cared for me through my failing health, I hope you and Sirius can come to appreciate each other in due time after I am gone."

"Mistress?!"

When Charlus woke up in Maeve's flat, he could still feel the lingering symptom of his headache, but he certainly felt better. As he looked around, he could see a very bored looking Remus, and Sirius and Maeve nowhere to be seen. But as soon as he moved, Remus immediately turned his head to face him.

"You're awake," he smiled, " Good. Are you feeling better? Maeve figured you needed some rest again. You tend to worry her a lot."

"I'm fine," Charlus answered, " I just had a bit of a headache. Where is everyone else right now?"

"They are making arrangements for when we go collect Harry."

Instantly, Charlus' face lit up in surprise. Before he had sat down to rest, everyone with the exception of Sirius, seemed to be against his idea. But now, they were currently trying to make it happen, leaving him absolutely thrilled. And just when he was about to stand up, it appeared to be perfect timing as Sirius returned from wherever he had ventured off to.

"Sirius-"

"Well, I have a place we can go to after we get Harry," Sirius announced, " it's not ideal for a long-term stay. Trust me. But it's something. Only, I'm not sure how you all are going to feel about it."

"What are you talking about, Sirius?" Remus asked. "What did you manage to find on such short notice where the Ministry won't be able to find us? A hotel?"

Charlus stood up as he noticed the frown that pulled at the corners of Sirius' lips. It didn't take him very long to work out what Sirius had come up with.

"Sirius, you said you would never go back there. You hated it there growing up," Charlus said and Remus quickly understood what was being implied. " Enough that you ran away. We can find something else, you don't want to go back there. Your mother is there-"

"I'm willing to do this for Harry's sake," Sirius told him. " And we don't have time to come up with something better. Hopefully, whatever Maeve comes up with works out. But right now, this is the best option. It's unplottable and you won't be able to get there easily. It's safe. As for my mother, she may not like it, but she doesn't have the strength to fight it anymore."

"So she's going to let a blood-traitor, a werewolf, and a muggle-born under her roof?" Remus questioned.

"Let's just keep it at blood-traitors for now, Moony. She doesn't need the finer details."

"Well, that leaves us with a couple of more tasks when Maeve gets back," Charlus interjected, bringing the attention back to him. "We go to Gringotts, take out all of our money. Remus, I know your father-"

"While you all are at the bank, I'll go see him and say my goodbyes. He'll understand."

"Then it's settled, once we all meet up back here afterwards and from then on, we go get Harry."

A/N: I know some of you have been waiting for Harry's escape (and are becoming rather impatient about it)  from the Dursleys to come sooner. But I had this story all planned out and I wanted it to be as realistic as possible even in terms of a fantasy world as a setting. I wanted to develop the characters like Maeve and Rita ( or show a different side to Rita) Charlus and Sirius have been through some incredible hardships and it would never be that easy to just recover and decide to go pick up Harry on a whim. And Remus wouldn't be joining in on the adventure if he and Sirius couldn't get over their rocky past. They needed time, so Harry's rescue wasn't going to happen right away, or there would be no story to tell.