Merry Christmas!

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Minerva sat back in her chair as the connection with Potter Manor closed; a mixture of pride and grief battling for the upper hand inside of her.

How could she have missed so completely what had been going on with one of her own lions?

Sure, she had known Sirius didn't come from a loving home; he couldn't have since his views differed so much from his relatives and the way the Blacks were, but she hadn't given it much thought as he was both animated and mischievous and didn't seem the least bit unhappy at school.

It had crossed her mind several times that he might be abused or at the very least neglected as he was both smaller and thinner than one of his lineage should be, but that same sunny personality had made her believe she was just projecting things onto the boy based on what she was expecting to see.

But even in her wildest imagination, she would not have thought of abuse this severe, and she cursed herself for not paying closer attention to the boy as surely there had to have been more signs of it that she had simply overlooked.

The boy was without doubt one of the brightest and most talented students she had ever taught and even when not paying attention at all, he could answer each question thoughtlessly.

Yet she couldn't help but wonder how often she had given the boy detention for not paying attention in class where he wasn't actually bored, but in too much pain to listen.

Dorea hadn't offered to show her the injuries the boy had been left with over the years and Minerva hadn't dared to ask as it wasn't her place when she had failed to notice the abuse in the first place, but regardless, her mind was providing her with all sorts of images that left her feeling ill to the bone.

She supposed it was a comfort that she wasn't the only one who hadn't noticed just how horrible the young Black's home situation was, but it hardly brought her any consolation as guilt ate at her.

It was no surprise to her that Dorea didn't unfold the entire story to her as the woman wouldn't want to break his trust, but she had revealed enough to make Minerva understand perfectly why Sirius had denounced Walburga Black as his mother.

She hadn't thought a victim of abuse would ever stand up so thoroughly against his supposed caretaker when so many young ones shied away the moment they were faced with their abuses and felt pride sear through her as her young lion had done so, both publicly and openly.

Questioning some of the more trustworthy students had told her Walburga had done her best to belittle and humiliate him, but all of them had said how he'd just stared her down unimpressed until she'd begun to insult the Potters and somehow she was not surprised that was what had put him into motion as the boy was fiercely protective of the people he cared for.

And she blessed both the Potters and his friends for having his back as it was clear the three other Marauders had been taking care of him for years where the teachers had failed to even notice something was wrong.

Dorea had admitted that the boys hadn't discovered the severity of the abuse until their third year and she recalled how sick Sirius had been just after the start of the New Year.

It both pained and saddened her to know none of them had trusted her enough to come to her with what they'd learned and even Dorea's attempted comfort that they hadn't taken James' alarm seriously could not make her feel better about it.

All they had to go on was James' words while she herself interacted with the boys almost every day, yet none of them had ever spoken a word; still didn't.

Sirius had utterly downplayed the events that had led to him running away; and how terrified the boy must have been to run all the way from London to Corby.

She wondered if he had unconsciously used Apparition as even by broom it was a three hour travel and he had made the journey in almost the same time limit based upon what Dorea had said.

It wasn't unusual for a scared child to use accidental Apparition and she had no doubt that with how terrified Sirius must have been, he might have done so without even realising it, despite being a teenager, as his magic tried to get him to help and safety as soon as possible.

The revelation of their adopting the young boy into their family also explained why the lists now referred to him as Potter-Black and although she was shocked Dorea and Charlus would go that far for the boy, at the same time she couldn't help but be utterly grateful as it was clear they truly loved the boy and had given him a loving home.

Making a mental note to keep an close eye on the boy from now on and to inform the other teachers about the change of residence, she returned to the Floo and threw a new handful of Floo Powder into her fire as she sat before it. "Black Manor."

She waited patiently until one of the House-elves had warned Arcturus Black, taking a deep breath when the man arrived, taking a seat before the fire.

"Madam McGonagall, to what do I owe this call?"

"Lord Black," Minerva wondered how to best continue. "It has come to my attention today that your grandson moved in with the Potters this Christmas."

"What business is this of yours?" Arcturus raised an eyebrow as he stared her down and as always when dealing with a Black, Minerva felt her defences rise. But before she could say anything, Arcturus closed his eyes. "My apologies, I did not mean to say it like that, it has been a trying month. I am aware of the change, but do not understand why you are contacting me about this."

"I can imagine. Based on that information, I thought it might be wise to inform you Walburga Black came to the castle today."

"She what?!" Arcturus growled. "Why would you allow her access when I have explicitly told Dumbledore that any communication about my grandchildren is to go through me?"

"I was not made aware of that, so when Regulus Black misbehaved badly, I contacted his mother to come to Hogwarts. It is with my deepest regret that I have to admit that I played right into her hands with doing so as it enabled her to make contact with Sirius here."

"What did she do?" there was a surprising hint of alarm and fear in Arcturus' voice that made McGonagall swallow and she wondered how horrible the old man must feel, since Dorea had said he hadn't been aware of the abuse either.

"She yelled at him during lunch in a crowded Great Hall, clearly intent to hurt him. But from various eye witnesses, he just stared her down before silencing and immobilising her for insulting the Potter family. Actually spelled her to wash out her mouth with soap for her use of language while he was at it before he basically told her to go yell at her own son for he wouldn't want to be associated with the likes of her. After that he threatened her and left her while he went to rejoin his friends."

She watched bemused as Arcturus stared at her for a long moment as he progressed the information.

"He stood up against her and threatened her?" He sounded incredulous.

"Yes, I was surprised to learn about it as well. Though I regret that this situation could happen in the first place and have since made sure it cannot happen ever again."

"I am glad to hear that," Arcturus hesitated. "How is my grandson now?"

"Last I saw him, he was planning something with his friends so I fear for the relatively peace of the school. But he seemed all right," it was Minerva's turn to hesitate. "I will however be keeping a much closer eye on him to ensure he is all right and won't overdo things."

"It is hard to overdo things when you can barely move around after your parents tried to kill you."

McGonagall gasped and Arcturus seemed to realise he had revealed new information as his expression narrowed.

"What exactly did Dorea and Sirius tell you?"

"Sirius didn't tell me anything, just informed me that he is now living with the Potters and would appreciate it if they were the ones informed if I want to make a complaint about his behaviour. Dorea told me he was abused and alerted me to the injuries to his feet, she didn't mention they tried to kill him."

"Abuse is one worth for what they did to my grandson," Arcturus spat out and McGonagall dreaded what he might mean with that. "I will ensure they will not be able to contact my grandson in any way, though I would like to request they cannot do so through Regulus either."

"Regulus is still living with them?" It had not even crossed Minerva's mind that the youngest Black could have been abused as well and it both surprised and alarmed her to learn he was still living with them.

"He is currently staying at my house, but I am an old man," Arcturus didn't sound happy about it. "There is no evidence of them having ever laid a hand on the boy, his own memories confirming that much and as such I deemed it fit for him to return there by Easter."

"What makes you so sure they will not turn on him next now that Sirius is gone?" Minerva couldn't help but ask.

"They have no reason to as he holds onto the same views as them where Sirius deterred from them from an early age. The boy does as is required of him, not a single backbone in him. But I will be keeping close watch from now on," Arcturus' voice held a promise and although Minerva was sad to learn the man thought so little of his youngest grandson, she couldn't help but feel he had a point as Regulus did exactly what was expected of him without question.

It was amazing how much two siblings barely a year apart in age could be so completely different as Regulus was the spitting image of a Pure-Blood well trained, never acting out or even becoming excited while Sirius was both animated and spontaneously from the start.

And while Regulus was surrounded by people at all times that he referred to as his friends, Minerva knew that it was Sirius who had made true friends that would likely last a lifetime, proving their bond time and time again.

"I will be sure to keep an eye on both boys from here as well," she promised and Arcturus nodded.

"I thank you for alerting me of what happened and I will ensure it is not attempted ever again."

"Very well," Minerva wasn't sure what to make of that, but didn't question him.

Closing the connection with his grandson's Head of House, Arcturus rose to his feet.

"Dinky, Frilly, bring Walburga and Orion here straight away," he ordered the small house-elves lingering in the doorway and turned to his desk as they disappeared.

He couldn't believe the nerve the woman had to go behind his back like that, though he marvelled at his grandson's strong spirit to stand up to the woman who had made his life hell.

"What is the meaning of this?" Walburga shrieked as Dinky Apparated her straight into the study.

"Watch your tongue around me, woman," Arcturus bit out. "How dare you contact Sirius after I've specifically told you to leave the boy alone?!"

"It is not my fault I ran into the insolent brat when called to the school," Walburga snapped.

"A summoning you should have passed straight to me after you'd been told to not contact the boys in any way. You directly disobeyed my orders and for that, you will pay."

"You cannot keep me from disciplining my son!"

Arcturus was half surprised she didn't try to raise her wand at him, though he noticed her hand was badly burned as she raised it instinctively so he slammed her into one of the chairs magically.

"I can and I will for Sirius is no longer your son. McGonagall alerted me to the fact that you specifically sought the boy out and intended to humiliate him. From what she told me, it was you who was humiliated instead and I would make you pay for dishonouring the family name like this if he hadn't done such a good job of it in my stead. What happened to your hand?"

"He attacked me."

"Is that so," Arcturus' eyes narrowed as he could tell she was lying and he forcefully entered her mind to pull forth the memory attached to the hand.

"You went to the Potters?!" His rage was nothing compared to what it had been as he saw the little confrontation play before his eyes, honoured by how all three Potters had stood at his grandson's side to protect him and marvelling at the power those two boys radiated when joining forces.

It brought home once more how close they were and he finally realised just why James Potter was capable of such cruel and brutal methods as it wasn't just his friend and self-proclaimed brother they had been hurting, it was part of his very soul.

And just like that, he knew exactly what he had to do and retrieved the envelope the boy had sent him at Christmas.

Returning, he pushed the envelope into the immobilized woman's hands and it was with satisfaction that he saw her confusion as the envelope glowed red for a long moment as it passed the spell contained on it onto her.

Straightening with the envelope again, he half turned as Frilly returned with Orion in tow, the man looking both alarmed and uneasy as he saw his father.

"Why are we here?"

"Have I not told you to stay away from the boy?" Arcturus took no pleasure in seeing his son flinch away from him, but didn't change his tone of voice as he stared him down.

"F-father?"

"You have tried to get your hands on him on New Year, going as far as to actually force your way into the wards of the Potters by elf, despite my clear orders."

"I wanted to show you I could change my ways, father. That I am a good heir and son," Orion spluttered.

"Did you truly think I would not learn of what had happened?" Arcturus ignored his son's trembling voice, disgust washing over him at how Orion cowered where his son had stood firm against his tormentor despite having every reason to cower instead. "You are a despicable excuse of a man and I will not tolerate to be undermined like this."

Pressing the envelope into Orion's surprised hands, he watched as the same happened to him before the envelope disintegrated, it's job completed.

"What was that?" Orion swallowed thickly as Arcturus magically forced him into the chair beside Walburga's.

"James Potter's punishment for harming and endangering his brother," Arcturus calmly said. "When he first sent me that envelope, I wasn't going to use it as it contained a very powerful curse. But now, I can see that the boy had exactly the correct idea in how to deal with the likes of you and have activated it. Perhaps you will learn from experience better than you seem to learn from me."

"What kind of curse?" Orion sounded both alarmed and angry as he tried to undo the curse placed upon him, despite having no idea what it was.

"I will leave that for you to find out first-hand," Arcturus sat down in his chair. "From this moment on, you will be placed under strict restrictions and infinite house arrest, starting the moment I am done with you. Neither one of you will be able to leave Number twelve Grimmauld Place for as long as either of you shall live. The House-elves serving there are to relocate here, sans one, who will be able to do grocery shopping for you and run any errant you might need; after it has been approved of by me. The same goes for visitors."

He watched the alarm on their faces turn to horror as they realised he was confiding them to the house with only themselves for company lest they go through the humiliation of having to request a visitor to be allowed entrance.

"You are forbidden from writing or dictating letters of any kind to anyone without my approval. Nor are you to write to Regulus without me seeing exactly what you are writing. Your magic will be bound and restricted in its use for punishment for disobeying my direct orders to leave Sirius alone. Try to contact or approach the boy in any way and your magic will be removed forcefully."

"You can't do this," Orion gulped as Arcturus stared him down.

"I just did. Try to harm Sirius in any way and your own magic will turn itself against you to cause the exact type of harm you imagined to him. Use the house-elf left in your service against Sirius in any way and the same will happen. Raise a finger or wand against Regulus in any way, and your magic will be removed as well."

"Father!" Orion looked utterly horrified as Arcturus placed his entire life on bounds, but he didn't second guess himself.

It was the punishment he should have placed upon them for hurting Sirius in the first place and both confrontations they managed to have with the boy were on him now.

"That is the hand you will be dealt and live with as a consequence of your own actions," Arcturus firmly said. "You are dismissed."

At his words, both Orion and Walburga disappeared without another word, the restrictions activating immediately and he took a deep breath as he knew he would have six more house-elves to deal with from now on.

"Which house-elf would Master like to stay with them, Sir?" Dinky asked and although it could be a mistake, Arcturus immediately had his answer ready as he didn't think he could handle seeing that despicable creature regularly.

"Send Kreacher. But he is to remain bound to that house for the rest of his life unless ordered otherwise by me or my Heir after my death," he didn't think Sirius would ever want to have anything to do with the creature, but he should have the ability to have a say in the house-elf's whereabouts if the time came and the creature was still alive.

"Yes, Master," bowing, Dinky disappeared to do his bidding and Arcturus returned to his desk, wondering what kind of horrors the two would see in their sleep and made a mental note to inquire about it by one of the paintings residing in Grimmauld Place in a few days.

Until then, he had more important business to deal with than the likes of them as he had a visit to make to his grandson's new home to learn more about him.