The Heir of Black
Chapter Two

Sirius stared at the spot where he last saw his brother, unsure of what to do now. The adrenaline had died down but he was still feeling horribly panicked and worried. But that only lasted for a moment. He stood up and stalked to his room feeling determined. Grabbing his prepacked knapsack that he had under his bed Sirius made sure he had his wand and headed for the door.

He never planned on staying, either on his will or someone else's, Sirius knew to be prepared. The knapsack was enchanted to carry far more than the size would suggest and also be light to carry without bothering him. It had the essentials: clothes, camping supplies, toiletries, a few saved currencies, both muggle and wizard, a few potions, the two-way mirror he and his friends had, and a few other objects he thought would be useful.

Leaving the house was, like always, easy. No one stopped him, no one would question him being gone. He wondered if they would search for Regulus at least? His parents might, if only to have an heir, but if this so called Pitch delivered a message that he had Regulus for some greater purpose, they might not go after him.

Pitch is probably the only person greater than Voldemort that his parents would respect and only because his supposed power was theirs. It was their blood, their darkness that Pitch had given them. With the way he turned out, his parents might think this was Pitch's way of making up for his insolence. Taking their 'good' son with him for training.

His stomach churned. Memories flooded him about what he had gone through at the hands of his mother as she tried to force their families belief's on him. If this was the long descendant of darkness and he was as strong as he knew he was, he didn't want to imagine what his baby brother was going through at the hands of the Original Black.

He ran a few blocks before he waited for the Knight Bus to pick him up. It took a few minutes but he got on and was taken to the Leaky Cauldron. The bar keep, Tom, knew him since he spent most of his time away from Hogwarts there. He allowed Sirius to stash his bike there since he wasn't allowed to use magic outside of Hogwarts until this year so he wasn't able to place a Notice-Me-Not spell and leave it in an alley closer to his house. He thanked the man who smiled sadly and knowingly at Sirius and probably assumed he was running away.

It was no secret who Sirius was the son of. He was a huge scandal since his sorting and even more so since people learned he wasn't actually a Lion with a Snake's heart but a full blown "Blood Traitor." There were horrible rumors as to what happened to him behind closed doors when he was with his family. Some of them were rumors, others weren't. However, nothing was ever proven and Sirius himself never went for help or spoke up. In his eyes, that was showing weakness to his family and proving them right that he was weak. So he put up with it but almost every one he knew who was interested in this sort of thing was betting on when he would leave. Because it wasn't a matter of if he would leave but of when.

"You're smart Sirius. This will last you some until you get settled. And this should make sure you don't starve soon either. Take care kid, and visit when you can, ya hear?" Tom said as he passed Sirius a bag. It was a medium sized sack but he assumed it had the same enchantments as his knapsack. He looked inside and saw potions, food portions, and some wizard money.

"I..." he was speechless. He wanted to say he wasn't a charity case, but he knew that Tom and his wife didn't seem him as weak.

"You need it more than we do and it's the least we can do for our most entertaining guest." Tom offered a smile.

Sirius nodded and placed the sack in his knapsack, "I'll see this as a loan. I'll come back and pay you back."

"I'll hold you to that." Tom said and showed Sirius to his bike.

Sirius got on and brought the engine to life and road off. Once he was away from the city he took to the skies and followed the direction his senses were leading him too.

There was a part of him that knew he was walking into the lions den but...what choice did he have? Who else was willing to stand up for them?

.:~*~:.

North had sent out the Auroras and summoned the other Guardians.

With how serious the situation was, he was glad it wasn't near Easter or Christmas. That would complicate things and things were already very complicated. It was this reason alone why North was very grateful and amazed by Tooth and Sandy. They had to care for all of the world's children every day and night, not just once a year like North or Bunnymund.

When they arrived they were all confused. They don't usually get summoned unless it's something very important.

"North...what's so important you needed to call us?" Bunny asked while Tooth and Sandy nodded in silent and curious agreement.

"Pitch." North said evenly and without his humor to let them know he was serious.

"Pitch?" Tooth squeaked as she hovered from next to Sandy to North's side. "As in Pitch Black?"

"The very same," North replied.

"He's been gone since the Dark Ages, North. You know that!" Bunny retorted. "It may not be close to Easter but I still don't appreciate being called away for a hoax like this, North!"

"Is no hoax Bunny. Manny has told me so and I feel it...in my belly!" He shook his stomach in emphasis.

Sandy tugged on North's arm and made a question mark over his head in silent question for more information.

"You can't really believe he's back, do you?" Bunnymund asked Sandy who shrugged.

"Well...if he is back, rather we know right? Be cautious." Tooth said.

"But he's not! I mean, why would he come back now?" Bunnymund demanded.

"He's after his descendants." North replied.

"What?" Bunnymund tensed and turned to face North. Tooth and Sandy copied the notions.

"Ve know vhat they are like...the Black family. They are vhat ve fear vill happen if Pitch ever came back, no?" North asked, his voice grave.

Sandy made a figure of a dog over his head that ran around.

"That's right! Not all of them are bad...Sissy is just a follower...but she doesn't have the same meanness as the rest, but she is...like them. And then Andromeda isn't nothing like the others. She's sweet and kind. And lets not forget about Sirius. He...he is the very...opposite of what Pitch is!" Tooth rambled and caught herself and blushed a bit.

"Pitch vill most likely go after Sirius. But do not forget Sirius has brother..." North said.

"Well...Sirius wouldn't go with Pitch willingly. It's no secret he hates his family and they hate him in turn." Bunnymund said, his brow furrowed.

For all of them, the Black family was tricky. Because they were the family of Pitch's heir, they couldn't do much. It wasn't like that at first. They weren't evil. But then someone from his line learned of his grandfather and what happened to him, and he had magic himself and decided to act out in vengeance. Since then, the Black family has been as evil as the original became.

Generation after generation they would have to watch as child after child suffer through neglect, pain, loneliness, and cruelty. But they could never visit them, never help them...never save them.

Not all of them were born evil. A lot of them had potential to be great. Some of them were strong enough to follow through with their courage and do what they believed was right. They were disowned and rejected and sometimes hurt and by that time they were adults so the Guardians couldn't help them anyway. Though they were magic and could see ghost, they never believed in these spiritual beings who never helped them as children, why would they help them as adults? It stung horribly to each Guardian having plenty of power but not being able to help those who they knew needed it.

Bunny would watch in pain each Easter as another year passed and he was unable to help a child that really needed help. How many Black children needed Hope to help them last another day. To believe that everything would be okay?

"If Pitch is back and he is interacting with his descendants, he'll want the youngest, right?" Tooth asked.

Sandy shook his head and made a noble family crest over his head. The Black family crest.

"You are both right. Pitch vould vant the youngest generation but the oldest son." North said.

"Sides, Sirius may not be the Black family's prize jewel but he's not weak...if Pitch is back, and if he's planning something, and if that plan includes his descendants in some way...he'll want Sirius for sure." Bunnymund said.

"How do you get someone who isn't like you to agree with you?" Tooth asked.

They were all quiet before Sandy began to form figures above his head. This time it was of two boys holding hands. One taller than another but they got the message.

"That creep is using lil Reggy as leverage!" Bunnymund cried.

"Do we...do we go to them?" Tooth asked as she looked back and forth between each face.

North sighed heavily, "I believe me may be too late already..."

.:~*~:.

He flew for the whole night. Night turned to day and then it was getting dark again. The area where the power was taking him to was far colder than what Sirius expected. Then again, what did he expect in the first place? A tropical island with hot babes in bikinis? When he landed his bike on an empty road it skidded as it was lightly laced with ice. The ground next to the road, as well as the road, was coated in light frost.

When he left out a chilling breath, he could see said breath.

He continued driving until there was no more road. He kept on driving until his bike began to get stuck and with a heavy sigh Sirius knew he reached the point where he had to go on foot. He was going to enter a forest and somewhere in there...that's where he'll find something...he was sure of it. It was hard to explain but he was sure of it. Even if he would dare flying through the trees, he didn't want to waste the petrol in his bike.

Placing a Notice-Me-Not spell on his bike this time around he hulls his knapsack over his shoulders and begins his hike. He really should have brought warmer clothes but too late to turn back now. If he stops to camp, he'll charm them to being warmer.

He ignores the cold and is grateful for those long, very cold hours of Quidditch practice with James all year round because they do help him tolerate the chill.

He groaned when the snow becomes the new ground he walks on and hates how it gets deeper as he goes deeper into the forest.

Half an hour into his cold hike the winds pick up and it begins to snow. This time he curses out loud, "Damn it! I really fucking hate snow..."

Another gust of wind and the snow from a tree branch falls on him. He hears a laugh and someone saying, "Well, looks like snow doesn't like you either."

Sirius looked up and glared at the voice and saw some kid in a blue sweater who was pale, barefoot, holding a staff with a hook end, and with white hair.

"Think this is funny Jackass?" Sirius demanded.

The kid tensed and his eyes bulged out of their sockets. He seemed to be having a problem breathing and Sirius took a step back, warily, and grabbed for his wand.

"Wha...what did you say?" the kid asked.

Sirius continued to glare and repeated, "I asked if you thought that was funny."

The kid jumped off the tree and it was rather high so Sirius' heart jumped a bit in panic but he relaxed when the kid seemed to hover until he landed in front of Sirius and placed his hands on his shoulders.

"You're...you're solid!" the kid shrieked and Sirius winced at the volume. "Oh my god! You answered me! And I can touch you! And you can see me! I'm Jack, Jack Frost! Hi!" the kid shook Sirius hand with enthusiasm.

Sirius forced his hand away and gave the kid, Jack, and awkward nod and he said, "Right...that's nice. Now if you'll excuse me, I'll be going."

"Wait! You can't leave!" Jack yelled.

"Oh, and why not?" Sirius asked as he continued with his way.

Jack jumped into the air and landed in front of Sirius, "Look, you don't understand. No one has ever seen me before. This is the first two sided conversation I've had in over 300 years...with someone who didn't hate me."

"You doused me with snow..." Sirius deadpanned.

Jack gave an embarrassed chuckled and dusted off some of that said snow from Sirius shoulder, "Sorry about that. It's summer so this is where I spend some of my time. I don't usually see people here and I couldn't resist."

"Look...I need to go," Sirius said and walked around Jack.

"Okay...I'll go with you," Jack said with a smile as he twirled his staff.

Sirius turned around and glared at Jack heatedly. All of the anger he's been feeling because of this situation bubbling to the surface, "Look Jackass! I'm sorry if I'm the first person you can talk to in over 300 years. I really am cos I'm a total jerk and a reckless disappointment. I would normally be interested in whatever this is but right now my little brother needs me. He's been taken by some monster and needs me!" Sirius felt his cheeks itch with a burning sensation and he realized he was crying. He violently rubbed his eyes and turned away from the other.

"I...I can help. No one else can see me. I can make it snow and freeze things! I can help you..." There was a desperation in his voice that Sirius didn't really understand. "I know this is too much and too soon and a bit awkward because we just met but...please understand. I've been invisible for over three centuries and it's so ...lonely...I can't even tell you how...weird it feels to have a two way conversation...Please...let me come with you. Let me help. I know I can! You can be my first friend...please...I don't want to be alone if I don't have to be anymore..."Jack begged.

He was quiet for a long moment before he gave a sigh. Being an outcast and a Slytherin raised but sorted Gryffindor rebellious teenager, Sirius knew the feeling well. And if Jack wasn't lying, he might be an asset to have along in his mission to save his brother. "Sirius."

"What?" Jack asked.

"I'm Sirius but only by name, not nature...mostly. Circumstance have temporarily changed that I suppose." Sirius said as he offered his hand to Jack.

"Seriously?" Jack asked as he shook Sirius' hand.

"Common misconception but my middle name is Orion, not Lee." Sirius said with a smirk.

"Your parents named you Sirius?" Jack asked as they began to walk after they shook hands.

"It's a tradition in our family to be named after stars, constellations, or figures in Greek mythology. Sirius is also known as the Dog Star and is the brightest star in the night sky." Sirius said.

"Wow...So, where are we going exactly?" Jack asked.

Sirius stood up straight and closed his eyes. When he opened them he pointed to a direction and said, "That way."

Jack shrugged and said, "Good choice sir. Though it's mostly trees, snow, more trees, a rock or two, more snow, oh and more trees..."

Sirius rolled his eyes, "I know where I'm going. And I'm letting you tag along so don't complain."

Jack raised his hands in a placating matter and said, "Alright, alright...just saying. I've been around these parts plenty of times...I know like the back of my hand."

"Even though you aren't human, I doubt you're a wizard. So just trust me, okay?" Sirius asked.

"You're a wizard?" Jack asked with a smile.

"Yeah."

"I don't believe you. Prove it!" Jack demanded.

Sirius rolled his eyes again and took out his wand and pointed it at a tree and made a circular motion with his wand and said, "Orchideous" and a wreath of Christmas roses appeared on the tree.

"No way...is that why you can see me? Because you're magic?" Jack asked.

"Dunno...once we save my brother, I promise we'll look into it okay?" Sirius asked.

Jack nodded and then asked, "Your name is actually Sirius?"

"Yes. I'm Sirius Orion Black III. Oldest son of Walburga and Orion Black...and heir to the Black name."

I am horrible with accents/slang/terminology with anything that isn't American/Mexican/British so to save me the embarrassment and to not insult the Russians and Australians...I'll most likely just have everything proper English when either North or Bunny speak.

To Be Continued.