This is a Sirius situation! No, Siriusly! Pt. 2

Outside Hogsmeade

Ares had used the passage under the one-eyed witch and made his way out of the small village using the invisibility gifted by the cloak of death. He had headed straight to the shrieking shack, not wanting to use the passage through the whomping willow for fear of arousing suspicion.

It was not the ideal location for what he had planned, but it would work.

Lucius had been to the shack last night, setting the place up for what Ares wanted and leaving a gift.

"Hello, Sirius."

The mangy escapee looked up from where he was tied to the bed with eyes akin to a wounded animal.

"Oops!" With a flick of his wand, the gag in his mouth disappeared.

"Who the fuck are you! Do you work for Voldemort? Why are you so young? Are you a mini-death eater? Are you going to kill me?" The almost feral man launched into a tirade of questions.

"Uh... My name is Ares. I attend Hogwarts as a student, I am not a mini death eater, and I might kill you if you don't stop acting so Sirius!" Ares said, ending with a bad joke to lift the mood.

"Really? Are you planning on killing me through the illustrious torture method of bad and overused jokes?" Sirius declared with a raised eyebrow.

"I don't need to; you look like shit! You'll probably die in a day or two on your own. You're lucky I found you." Ares started performing a few diagnostic charms on the man.

"Now, I don't think that is fair; I survived on my own until now. So why are you even interested in me anyway?" Sirius replied with a frown.

"I'm here, Mr Black, because my cousin needs you now more than ever. You'll be disappointed to hear that your Godson is utterly useless. The boy doesn't even know girls exist, let alone what end of the wand to hold." Ares said, over-exaggerating things slightly.

"How do you know, Harry? He doesn't have any cousins!" Sirius seemed rather eager to stop struggling and listen now, "Wait, I didn't father you, did I?"

Ares could see the horror looming on his face as he started to notice the Black family traits that Ares possessed.

Technically he was right. Sirius was one of his fathers; however, he was still mentally unstable and not ready to hear that now.

"No, you idiot, my name is Ares Peverell II, heir to the ancient and most noble house of Peverell. Harry Potter is my cousin through blood, but not yours."

Sirius immediately felt like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders.

Ares unbound the man, satisfied that he wouldn't run.

"What do you want me to do?" The scion of House Black asked.

"Recover so you can protect Harry." with those last words, he knocked the man out with a stupefy and apparated them back to Peverell Manor.

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Hogwarts

Felix and Anastasia had been busy covering their boss's tracks as he

dealt with some business. However, it wasn't too hard as everyone was more concerned with the attack on Gryffindors Portrait and how Sir Cadogan had taken the Fat Lady's place.

Their biggest problem was the youngest Greengrass girl, who seemed to have taken an interest in Ares and kept pestering them about where he was.

She had tried to get into his room but been unsuccessful, with the door repelling all unlocking charms and even banishers.

The two had led her on a merry-goose chase around the entire grounds.

They hoped he would return soon as she was a very persistent brat.

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Peverell Manor

Ares was in bed with Narcissa, having spent the last few hours catching up.

Sirius was safe in one of the guest rooms under Dobby's stern but loving care, and he had already been given the first of a long line of potions designed to heal him.

The foremost expert on mental healing would be arriving in a couple of days after being sworn to secrecy. So, naturally, Ares wanted his Godfather back in tip-top shape.

He had asked Narcissa for advice on how to get closer to Daphne and had been told that gifts might be the answer.

So, he just had to find a gift for a girl with literally everything she could want.

Stefan Greengrass had been true to his word and not tried to cause any outright trouble, although he had sent the occasional spy to try and bypass his wards.

Ares had sent him a letter suggesting better protection in case the new killer decided the Greengrass family would make an excellent target.

He had gotten in touch with a few Hit wizards from other countries, specifically Bulgaria, and asked them to bring him muggle-borns.

Any kind would do as well as squibs.

He had spent much time in Bulgaria in his previous life and knew the situation reasonably well, whether it was economic, political, or social issues.

He needed an army, and what better place to find one than disgruntled walking weapons of magical mass destruction? Squibs had latent magic and could become brewers for his new companies exploiting the Schwarz forest. His bank balance was already increasing massively.

Writing a letter to an official in Bulgaria, he sealed it and sent it off before redressing himself, much to Narcissa's disappointment, and disapparating back to Hogsmeade.

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Hogwarts

Headmaster's office

The Order had been reformed with new members; Albus Dumbledore watched with pride as they arrived one by one.

Alastor Moody was already in his office and was soon joined by Kingsley Shacklebolt, Dedalus Diggle, Emmeline Vance, Mundungus Fletcher, Minerva McGonagall, Remus Lupin, Severus Snape, Rubeus Hagrid, Sturgis Podmore, the three eldest males in the Weasley family, Molly Weasley, Hestia Jones, Nymphadora Tonks and himself.

There were once considerably more members, but with dear Elphias having been murdered and his potential recruit of Xenophilius being made to disappear as well, the Order would have to make do for now.

Though with seventeen powerful witches and wizards, they were not lacking in power.

The room was a little crowded, so he activated the inbuilt expansion charms giving his friends some space.

"Dear Friends and Allies, we have gathered here today because of the recent attacks. My dear friend Elphias Doge was murdered in cold blood along with a potential recruit Xenophilius Lovegood leaving behind his now-orphaned daughter! I believe Voldemort has been resurrected or is growing in power and has recovered some of his followers. It is now a priority to capture Sirius before he re-joins his master. Severus, perhaps you could try getting in contact with Lord Voldemort?" Dumbledore began, only to be interrupted by the panic caused by his declaration.

"Of course, Albus, I will try." Severus nodded and left, planning to do just that.

"Kinglsey, you must increase your search parameters; he may give up on young Harry if he believes his master is alive. I also implore you to start looking for new loyal recruits. That goes for all of you." Dumbledore continued as everyone nodded in agreement.

"Finally, I want you on high alert in case any new attacks are tried on you; he appears to be targeting Order members."

Seeing everyone understood, he dismissed them.

Sinking back into his comfy desk chair, he noticed the report he had

asked for on his desk.

Ares Peverell II was an enigma. He did exceptionally well in class but appeared to put no effort into his work. He was also rather charismatic but had few friends except for two in his year and his apparent Fiancée Daphne Greengrass.

Albus planned to invite him for a face-to-face meeting as soon as possible after all this stress had died down.

He had a feeling it would be an exciting conversation.