Planning for Freedom (Edited)

(One year before Rose Potter starts Hogwarts 1990)

(POV Sirius)

I was sitting in my newly renovated office with Bella, who had woken up an hour later. We discussed the plan to clear my name and remove the dark mark from her arm.

"So why were you mad at Lucious, besides him using our family's influence?" Bella asked.

I sighed. "I was going to interview the Quibbler and Prophet while appearing with an incapacitated Peter. I was going to show my unmarked arm and his marked arm and spin a story about Voldemort attacking the prison and attempting to come back to life.

"But this won't work," Bella interrupted. "First, the Ministry and public won't believe this scenario, and instead, you'll be apprehended. You need someone else besides Voldemort. And most importantly, no offense, but you aren't known to be strong enough to escape from Voldemort and all his Death Eaters. Marked arms aren't a foolproof way of proving innocence, and many people will still suspect you."

"Where does Malfoy come in?" she asked.

I had to rethink the whole plan. "Malfoy has a lot of influence in Britain, politics, and wealth. He wants Draco to inherit the Black mantle. If I return, he'll do everything in his power to obstruct my innocence or trial."

"But he can be useful if we get him on our side," Bella suggested.

I snorted. "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 in his power to bring me down. A good Malfoy is a dead Malfoy."

Bella shrugged. "Your choice."

As I was thinking, a face appeared in my mind - Bartemius Crouch Junior. He was the one who originally orchestrated the ritual for Voldemort's revival and the first escapee of Azkaban. He was the perfect scapegoat for the whole ordeal.

Bella had a contemplative look, but then she clapped her hands with a look of Eureka on her face.

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

"They also have a deranged elf called Winky, so be careful," I warned. "Take Kreacher with you."

We discussed the plan's details before moving on to the next item on the agenda - Malfoy.

"How do you deal with him?" Bella asked. "I won't attack Cissy."

"We must attack him both ways, financially and reputation," I said. "But I don't have much intelligence on where to strike."

"I think I need to connect and reopen the Black Family intelligence," Bella said.

I was shocked and disturbed.

"The Black Family always worked from the shadows, especially during the Grindelwald War," Bella explained. "Aunt Cassiopeia took the Black network to new heights, and the family helped many people during the previous war by forcing them to sign contracts. Aunt Cassiopeia was like the Black Spider, with her net all over Europe."

"What about the people who were coerced into agreements?" I asked. "Would they betray us out of spite? And have the agreements still been valid after so much time?"

"The contracts were crafted and investigated by Ekrizdis before the Black family betrayed him. These contracts were not for loyalty, but instead, they imposed strict clauses for relaying information. They couldn't provide incorrect information, and if any person with Black blood was involved, they held power over these contracts."

This is what I had read in my grandfather's notes. The Black family has a history of aligning itself with powerful Dark Lords or mages, only to betray them once they had obtained enough benefit. I couldn't help but wonder if the family had a plan for betraying Voldemort as well.

Having aired my concerns, we discussed what information we needed to uncover about Malfoy.

After our discussion, Bella got up and stretched, catching my eye as she did so. Sensing my gaze, her lips curled into a smug smirk, and she turned to me.

"Let's duel. I want to see how strong you've become now."

Matching her grin, I grabbed her by the waist and apparated to the dueling room. We began our intense battle.

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