Child Of Mine (Serena) [PG-13]

Walking through the village Sirius was greeted by his former friends that now looked at him with a smile on their faces. He was glad his innocence had been proven and that he could walk the streets in his human form. As he walked he heard some muffled screams coming from the end of an alley and turned around to look...

Serena had been out with some friends, simply enjoying a little bit of time away from school. She opted to head back a little sooner than the others, and soon discovered that, perhaps, she should have waited to return with them. She hadn't gotten more then a few yards from the candy shop when she heard the familiar cat-call from a group of older students. Glancing over her shoulder, the sun caught in her blonde hair, she spotted a group of four walking towards her with purpose. Not in the mood boys... "Well, now... Look what we have here. Little Miss Black... Happy that your Daddy is a free man now? Honestly, I can't believe that they let him off..." Narrowing her eyes, she growled, "You take that back." A couple of the boys snickered and nudged one another before beginning again, "Ooooo... Feisty.... And what will you do if we don't? Your father is a criminal and pretty sure, everyone knows it. What did he do to get a clean slate? Sleep with the Minister-"

Before the boys could continue their torment of Serena, her wand was drawn and she had blasted on of the four with a Stunning Spell that knocked him off his feet and into the wall behind him. "You little bitch. He didn't do anything to you." Turning her wand on the one speaking she replied darkly, "Speaking ill of my father is crime enough..." Closing in around her slightly, one of the boys growled to her, "Too bad Daddy isn't here, huh? He's missing how his little bitch is defending his shady honor." Just as before, Serena sent a stunning spell towards the boy, only instead of finding its mark, it was deflected. As Serena put up her own shield, the boy she hadn't been watching grabbed a hold of her. "Let me go," she demanded. "I don't think so," he snarled in return. Letting out a huff, Serena stomped hard on his foot and elbowed him just as hard in the gut, making him not only let her go, but fall to his knees as he tried to draw a painful breath. Spinning out of the way of a spell, she fired a double stunning spell that hit one and then pinballed off the first boy and hit the second.

An ominous clapping filled the small area around her as the two remaining boys fell to the ground. Looking around, her brilliant blue eyes fell on the form of another, the ring leader, if you will, of the four she had just made easy work of. Backing up as he approached her, Serena knew she was no match for him, him being a 7th year. "So, all bark and no bite, eh? Like your father?" he leered at her as he closed in on her. Serena's back bumped into the wall signalling she had no where else to go. Flinching slightly as he slammed his hand against the wall, pinning her and blocking any way of escape, she could only hope that her friends would come out soon, or anyone for that matter. "You're not as tough as you put off. Just a little bitch cub like all the others in your house," he said darkly, leaning in and nuzzling her cheek. "It's not true," she began before his hand covered her mouth to silence her. "Yeah? Why don't you prove it?" he sneered, not noticing the figure coming up behind him slowly and silently...

Approaching slowly and calmly Sirius smirked at the other two boys whom his daughter hadn't defeated. Nodding he cracked his back and hushed them and they did as he asked however began trying to crawl to the exit only to discover that Sirius had sealed it with a protection charm. Looking back at them, he winked and mouthed 'I'll take care of you in a minute', before turning back to the boy threatening his girl. Tapping his shoulder the boy had no time to turn around as Sirius' hands were on his neck and chin. Twisting his head to a point where just one slight move would break his neck, Sirius leaned in, "That's my daughter there, buddy," he growled and broke the man's spine with one swift move forcing his head to swing around to its former position, his soulless eyes staring at Serena. "Are you okay, my little angel?" Sirius asked motioning for his daughter to grab his hand.

A dark smile toyed with Serena's lips as her father approached, silent as ever. She didn't see the interaction between him and the boys that were still conscious, but she was sure he had, or would, deal with them in time. As his hands found the boy's neck and chin, Serena gave the boy a look that was nearly saying, 'Checkmate...' Closing her eyes as Sirius made easy work of him, her ears heard the full crack of his neck breaking thanks to her father. Peeking when all was silent and Sirius spoke to her, she slipped her small hand into his and nodded. "I'm fine now. Thank you," she said, beaming proudly at the man that had only just entered her live, but was already one of the many important people in it. Glancing at the others that were still with it, she tipped her head. "What about them?" she asked, unsure if her father had plans for them or not.

His heart beat quickened at the words of his child, making Sirius erupt with pride knowing that she had grown to be such an intelligent girl. Since he had begun training her he had seen a rise in her power the girl had potential just like every other Black. "Worry not about them, my angel," he answered and waved his hand crushing the boys against the wall. Snapping his fingers the pressure showed to be too much for the weaklings and they were literally crushed between the air and the wall. Their remains fell down to the floor however Sirius didn't mind if Serena saw, that was what happened to the bad guys to those who didn't deserve to live. He would like if she, like Drake, Malphas, Harry, William and Atticus, had the same philosophy as him. "Were you just out on a Hogsmeade trip dove?" he asked as they came out of the alley, Sirius lowering the shield behind them.

Being able to see around the strong form of her father, Serena watched as the remaining boys were seemingly crushed by an unseen force. Flexing her jaw as the sight of there lifeless bodies slumping to the ground, she swallowed lightly. Serena knew that this was the punishment for those that were bad, those whose lived had become forfeit due to their evil actions. It was a hard concept for her to embrace, but she did her best, and, really, it was becoming easier for her to take every day. Bringing her eyes up to her father's face, a smile lit them up as well as her face at his question and one of many nicknames he had tagged her with, almost as if the situation that happened only a few moments beforehad never happened. Nodding, she answered, "Was out with some friends and started to head back early. Guess it wasn't my best idea... What about you?" Following her father out of the alley, Serena didn't even give where they had been a backwards glance.

As they walked Sirius continued to tip his head at many that greeted him in a similar fashion. He was happy that he was now able to walk through Hogsmeade with his daughter in stride and not be afraid of someone wanting to arrest him for something that he didn't do, "Been visiting some old friends, here and there, catching up. Any special friends I should know about, Serena?" he asked making sure he used her name and not one of the many nicknames he had awarded which itself alone showed what he meant: boys.

Giving her father's hand a gentle squeeze, Serena proudly walked along side him as they were greeted and greeted in return many others on the street. Even though they were only newly reunited, she felt like the past had never really happened. It felt like he had always been there for her, watching and protecting her. She knew he hadn't, but the overwhelming happiness and security he brought her made it feel that way. His question made her look up at him as she knew exactly what he meant by 'special friends'. Giving her head a shake, she looked back in the direction they were heading. "No, Daddy. None of those to worry about," Serena answered honestly. Sure she had been eyed over by many, many of the boys at Hogwarts, but none had asked her out. At least none yet. "Did you have lots of girlfriends before you met mom?" Serena asked, curious about Sirius' past that she didn't know much about excpet for stories.

Serena's question forced a chuckle to exit Sirius' throat, Padfoot barking with laughter alongside his human form. "You can say so," he sang and brought a finger to his eye pretending to clear it of a tear of joy.

Grinning brightly up at him as he laughed and confirmed that he had had several girlfriends before he met and married her mother. Although the answer was yes, it didn't bother her in the least. "Maybe I will find someone this year. The Tri-Wizard Tournament is going to be at Hogwarts... Lots of new faces," Serena said brightly. She wasn't in a rush to find a boy, but she would like to actually find one at some point. Up until this year, she was viewed as the Mass Murderer's daughter. Maybe in a way, they were afraid to pursue her due to that. "You were a champion, right?" she asked, her bright blue eyes looking up at her father, "What was it like?"

He growled silently at her mention of getting a boy for herself not that he wouldn't accept it but he wanted her to choose wisely, "Be careful with whom you decide to stick with my darling not all boys are good for you," he motioned for her to look back at the alley and at the boys that wanted to do her harm. Murdering wasn't the thing that was ranked highest in Sirius' list but he didn't mind doing so when it was for a very good cause. Hurting his little girl? That was a truly amazing cause to get your head ripped off, "Yes I was. That tournament was... peculiar, my child. One of the champions was murdered, I lost a partner, I was confused... it was just out of ordinary. I hope this year you will all get to rest easy," he sighed slightly his mind going to his lost son...

Glancing back at the alley where the bodies of the boys were only just started to be tended to, Serena understood the warning completely. His mention of the tournament being rather interesting, drew her attention back to him as he told her about just what made it odd. "The older students were talking about how people die in the tournament. That it's not as rare as people think. I hope that won't be the case this time..." she said with a small smile. Serena's curiosity was starting to get the better of her when he mentioned losing a partner and being confused, but she didn't ask about it. However, the look in his eyes as he finished his statement about the tournament made her unspoken questions light up her eyes as concern washed over her features. "It was bad, wasn't it?" she asked, her compassion for her father filling her simple sentence.

"I don't know what I'm looking for in a boy, Daddy. How did you know that Mamma was the one for you?" she asked, resting her head on his arm as they walked.

Sirius carefully nodded at her question wondering if he should tell her the most important part of the story or not. Only Drake and Malphas knew it and they had kept it a secret from their siblings and cousins under the orders of their father. However one day they would find out anyway so why bother hiding it... "Your oldest brother died during the year of the tournament," he sighed having had enough of that conversation already and just hoped that Serena would eventually tell her cousins so he didn't have to tell them.

"She was just... the moment I saw her, the first time, I knew she was the one. It took some time for us to be together for good but... in the end, destiny brought us together. And if someone leaves you it means destiny didn't want you together. So if someone sticks with you, it means destiny wants you together," he explained not knowing if his daughter already understood such things about love and destiny but he wished that she did not only to understand what he meant but also to learn and to grow.

"I have an older brother? Older than Drake?" Serena asked, her brow furrowing slightly. She'd never heard of another child, a son, that was older than Drake. She wanted to ask further, but something in her father's sigh hinted that this might not be the best time to talk about such matters. It really seemed to bother him, which she wasn't surprised as losing a child had to be painful to the parents that lost them. Instead of pressing matters, she left it. Serena had learned in a short time that if her father wanted to talk about things, he would. If not, well, you didn't push.

The way her father explained how he knew her mother was the one for her made sense. She didn't know how or why, but it did. "I think maybe that is why I haven't had any boyfriends yet, Daddy. Maybe I haven't met the right one yet," she reasoned. Letting out a small sigh, she hoped that was the actual reason and not that people were still stuck on the stigma that had followed her for so long.

"Yes, but he was an half brother, just like Malphas is, who surprisingly is also older," he sighed not truly wanting to discuss Regulus, but they were close to his grave as it was so Sirius grabbed his daughter's hand and apparated them to the cemetery not far from Hogsmeade, close to Godric's Hollow. Pointing at a grave that always had flowers and was tended to, Sirius sighed, "That's Regulus James Black. Stillborn..." he said dropping his head as he walked towards the grave.

Serena was surprised. So she had two half-older brothers. The thought was a little bind blowing for her, but she accepted it in stride, much how she did many other things. Feeling her father's grip tighten slightly on her own, she had only enough time to look up at him before the feeling of being sucked through a straw surrounded her. When they reappeared with a POP, Serena gripped her father's hand tight to keep her balance and put her other hand to her mouth as her stomach flipped and dropped from the apparation experience she had never had until that moment. Taking several deep breaths to fight the urge to retch, she slowly came around. Glancing at their surroundings, she noticed they were in the Graveyard near Godric's Hollow. Seeing where he pointed, Serena saw a grave that was neat and tidy with fresh flowers adorning it. Letting his hand go, she followed close behind at the resting place of her brother she never knew. "Regulus James... Like your brother and Harry's dad?" she asked softly, looking up at her father. She had never met her uncle, but she heard about him from William and Atticus, even some from her mother, and Harry often spoke of his father. She didn't know if her assumption was correct, but it was the first thing her mind connected the names to, if there was a connection at all.

Sirius nodded a small smile being brought to his lips when the words of his daughter hit his ears. She was always so observant, always hearing what others had to say, he was sure that she had caught Harry saying the name of his father, or that she had had the curiosity of checking the family tapestry. "He was mine and Marvolo's son, was supposed to be Mal's older brother," he confessed not really having kept it a secret, Sirius had merely omitted the fact Serena had yet another older brother.

A light lit Serena's eyes at seeing a soft smile touch her father's lips. She liked seeing him smile, there was just something about it that made her happy. Maybe it was knowing that he had been in such a horrid place for so long, likely without many things to make him happy and now he was surrounded by such things... She didn't know, but it brought her happiness just the same. Looking back at the headstone as he told her that Regulus was to be Malphas' older brother and his and Marvolo's son, Serena didn't say anything for a while as she thought. Then, letting go of her father's hand, she stepped to the resting place of the brother she never got to meet and drew her wand as she knelt down. With a small wave and a soft whisper, Serena placed a rose on the platform that held the stone.