15-Planning for Freedom

(One year before Rose Potter starts Hogwarts 1990)

(POV Sirius) 

I am sitting in my newly renovated office with Bella, who had woken up an hour later. After breakfast, I took her to discuss how I would get my name cleared and the obstacles I would face. And how to get her arm get cleared of the dark mark.

Bella asked 

"So why were you mad about Lucious apart from him using our family's influence?"

~Sighing~

"I planned to interview the Quibbler and Prophet while appearing with an incapacitated Peter. Showing my unmarked arm while his marked arm. I was going to spin a story about how Voldemort attacked the prison and was going to use a ritual to come back to life....

"Stop, Stop, I got it; you were going to use those ashes of the death eater and throw them in Albania to complete your story."

"This won't work; first, the ministry and public would refuse to believe this scenario, that Voldemort is alive, and instead, they will apprehend you. You would need someone else beside Voldemort."

I missed a big loophole. Thinking about there were a lot of holes in the story.

"Most importantly, no offense, but you aren't known to be strong enough to run away from Voldemort and all his Deatheaters. And   Marked Arms aren't a sure-cut way of innocence. A lot of people will still include but are free."

"Again, Where do Malfoy come in."

I need to replan the whole thing. hmmm

"Malfoy has a massive influence in Britain, politics, and wealth. He is gunning now for Draco to inherit the Black mantle. If I return, he will do whatever he can to obstruct my innocence or trial."

"hmm, I see your point, but he can be useful if we get him on our side."

I snorted at that

"He would backstab me before I could say, jinx. He wasn't even loyal to Voldemort. And with his slippery nature, he would do everything he could to bring me down from the shadow. No, a good Malfoy is a dead Malfoy."

She just shrugged

"Well, your choice."

 As I was thinking about my plans, a face appeared. A pale young man with straw-colored hair and freckles. Bartemius Crouch Junior. The one who originally orchestrated the ritual for Voldemort's revival. The first-ever escapee of Azkaban-who is also currently under imperious living with Crouch. And the perfect scapegoat for the whole ordeal.

I look at Bella, who has a contemplative look, 

Breaking her concentration, 

"Barty Crouch Jr! do you remember him? He will be my scapegoat."

She thinks of the person before, looking at him like I am stupid.

"Oh, the Ravenclaw Barty, but he is dead."

Then I told her about the whole plan, which made her pretty angry

"That Bastard Crouch, acting high and mighty when chucking us all in jail, but broke the law for his son. Hehehe!, Imagine what that old crone Augusta would do to him."

"Well, Augusta would first kill you before going to him, but what about my plan."

She gives me a coy look. "I am not scared of Augusta. Head of House Black will protect me."

Then she took a serious look and had her head slumped in her hands.

She quickly broke the silence by clapping her hand.

Her face had this Eureka look. 

"You leave Barty's capture to me; I will free him and bring him here. He will still trust me as he doesn't know about my change of heart."

I was already going to make her do the work. It will be a test of sorts and training, I guess. But I wanted her to have the initiative.

"They also have a deranged elf called Winky; she might be in the way. So be careful; take Kreacher with you."

We discuss the plan's details before moving on to the next one on the agenda.

She had a grim look now. 

"Malfoy, how do you deal with him? I will say this before I won't attack Cissy okay."

 Nodding at the last part 

"We must attack him both ways, financially and his Reputation."

I think of ways how we can do that. But the main thing is how little intelligence I have. I don't know where to strike so that it can hurt him. Sure he used some Black House contracts, but destroying them will only affect Blackhouse financially, not Malfoy.

Unaware of my brooding, Bella starts the topic.

"I think I will need to connect and re-open the Black Family intelligence. 

I choked and quickly checked by Occlumency at how she just said what was on my mind.

Weirded out by my reaction, "Don't act so surprised; intelligence is the most important to bring a family down unless we stroll up to him and kill him. "

"Nah, that would be too easy; he survived the war and got off Scott clean. He made a lot of enemies but is still stuttering around like a peacock. Assassinating would be very hard, and Malfoy house wards will be hard to break."

"But what's this about intelligence? And Black Network? I didn't know we had that."

She gave me a disappointed look about not assassinating Malfoy but quickly told me about the black network.

"You left the family before the family introduced you to some duties

The Black Family always liked to work from shadows, to do our work in the Wizarding World, especially in the Grindewald War. Aunt Cassiopeia took the black network to new heights, the black family helped many people in the previous war, and they were forced to sign contracts. She was like Black Spider that had its net all over Europe."

Great Aunt Cassiopeia. My grandfather's sister died a while ago.

This was shocking and disturbing, but forcing people to sign contracts would leave them bitter and liable for wrong information. But most of all, how did Bella know this, and did Voldemort use this network?

I relay my concerns to her.

"Aunt Cassiopeia took over my teaching during my teens as a successor of sorts, so I knew the ins and outs of it, but after Voldemort came, I left her side. At one time, I was going to present the network to Voldemort. But Aunt had warned me that the network would only be used to help the Black family, not outsiders."

"What about the people? Would they betray us out of spite of being coerced into agreements? And it has been so long. Would they still be valid?"

"The contacts were made and researched by Ekrizdis. Before we, the Black family betrayed him. The contacts weren't loyalty contacts but stringent clauses of relaying information. They can't wrong relay information; if any person has Black blood in his veins, he exerts power over those contracts."

That was what I read in my grandfather's notes, how the Black family had a history of aligning itself with powerful Drak Lords or mages before betraying them after we had enough benefit. Did the family have a plan about betraying Voldemort too? I mused to myself.

With my worries availed, we hatched out what we should find about Malfoy.

After the details, Bella got up and stretched, which forced my eyes to rove over clothes. 

As if sensing my gaze, her lips grew into a smug smirk. Before Turning to me

"Let's duel; I want to find out how strong you have gotten now.

Matching her grin, I grabbed her by the waist, apparated to the dueling room, and started our deadly dance.