Chapter 1 (edited)

Where he wandered, few have walked before, and even fewer understand what it takes to walk through... what he lived through. Others thought the scars on his body were strange, but he thought the opposite.

They have no idea what others have been through, let alone what he had been through; they live their lives with joyful smiles on their faces, while he stared at his scars, reliving the pain and suffering. Even so, he learned to love them- it showed how he survived his battles.

It's simple to deceive others and conceal the truth. The abuse he had endured at the hands of those who shared his blood, but strangely enough, he was able to find happiness. He overlooked everything, and each time he forgave them because that's what life was all about, right? Forgiveness.

He learned to cling to the joys that the world has to offer. He used to stay up late on rainy nights to watch the droplets that graced the earth. He had always believed that there was something worth fighting for, that all that was required was patience, but maybe it wasn't all about forgiveness.

I learned to fight every moment in order to remember, remember, remember that the world has so much to offer.

Is life just a never-ending cycle of remembering and forgetting? He honestly didn't know, that was once his thought, now? He couldn't care less what life meant to him; He just kept going, hoped for the best, and stopped caring... That wasn't the best way to live, because that would stop the worst disappointments.

It wasn't anyone's fault but his that he was lying in a pool of his own blood.

In some ways, it wasn't but in others, it really was his fault- yet he couldn't force himself to care enough.

He had patiently waited at the red light. He watched the red turn to amber, then to green, and with the green shining as bright as ever, he pressed the accelerator, ready to continue with his day, only to see out of the corner of his eye a car on his right. They clearly thought they could make it because their light had just turned red.

He could have hit the brakes—he really could have—but he didn't. Everything seemed to happen in slow motion, but there was nothing happening in his mind, no thoughts, and all he could focus on were the illuminating lights of the car that was heading straight towards him, catching him in a trance.

It hurt—everything hurt—and he wished it would stop. The ringing in his head would not go away, and the tingling in his hands as they continued to grip the steering wheel, it coursed through his body as he felt the car flip, his head hitting the side of the window, shattering the glass.

It all came to a stop eventually. For some reason, he was still able to unbuckle his seat belt and open his door after pushing the cushion that had attempted to assist him. He was able to crawl out of the car after his feet gave way with a lot of effort.

He rested himself on his back trying to take breaths to calm his nerves.

He found himself closing his heavy eyelids, while he coughed uncontrollably.

He could hear horns of cars, voices of passers-by, the yells of astonished voices, footsteps getting closer.

As he laid there, he knew exactly why he didn't press the brake- deep within him he didn't want to live anymore, but to bring himself to take his own life? No- he couldn't. This seemed like the perfect option, this way he could pass away without having a guilty conscience.

He had always despised his life, but he managed to bury those feelings by pretending to be happy, hoping that one day he would be.

He could taste the metallic wetness of his blood, he could hear the sirens blaring in the distance, as well as the chatter of nearby pedestrians who were curious about what had happened.

He felt light pushing on his shoulder, 'Stop that! Can't they see I'm trying to die in peace?' he tried to yell, but nothing came out, all he could do was continue breathing at that moment.

"Sir, sir! Can you hear me?" A feminine voice sobbed out, "He's going to die!" she yelled dramatically, he could feel her tears dripping on his face.

He wanted to open his eyes and stare into hers and tell her to f*ck off, why was she being so dramatic and loud? Was there really a need to shake him? He had just been in a crash.

His chest really hurt, it felt so heavy, it was so uncomfortable he just wanted it to be over. He didn't want to feel the pain anymore it was unbearable.

"We're going to lose him! Susie! Bring the AED right now!" He heard a male voice yell; he had no idea he was here; was he a paramedic?

Strangely, he found himself hearing a distant voice telling him everything was fine—but was it really?

Unknown to him, his life was ending and a new one awaits him.

'Wait what did he mean they were losing me?' If anything, he felt slightly better than he just was.

He felt lighter, and his eyes felt lighter as well. After a few moments, he found himself slowly opening them, only to be blinded by the bright light.

That bright light faded into darkness seconds later.

--

A tall man with dark messy hair that reached his jawline stood admiring the small bundle that rested peacefully where he laid.

The blonde woman, who was holding her newborn child, rolled her eyes tiredly when she realized the idiot was still staring.

"You know Sirius if you look away for one second, he's not going to disappear," she muttered lightly, to prevent awakening her son, a slight change from her usual demeanour.

Sirius looked at her, hesitantly, and inquired "So, what are your plans? Your parents had no idea you were pregnant, which I must say is very uncouth of someone of your blood" Sirius said dramatically, hoping to elicit a response from her. He was always amused by her reactions, but perhaps not this time.

"Sirius?" she demanded with a deadly glare, and Sirius gulped in terror, wondering how she could be so terrifying even after giving birth.

"I'll shut up," he said immediately, anticipating what she would say.

He sat on the armchair right next to the bed she was sleeping in, and he found himself smiling wholeheartedly, staring at his son- it was strange... his son- he had a son- a child, it was real, it was all real, he was imagining it. He would have never thought this would happen.

Sirius' gaze was broken when he heard her voice, "Sirius?"

He raised his eyes to Adrasteia. "Would you like to hold him?" she asked, hoping he'd say no.

She was only asking because he was the father, but she was terrified that the idiot would drop her child.

He looked surprised when she asked, but then relaxed as he realized all the curses and screams, she hurled at him during her pregnancy and labour weren't entirely true.

"I don't know," he admitted, his heart racing at the prospect of holding his child. He was still struggling with the fact that he had a child; he remembered the surprise he felt when he saw Adra's tears running down her face when she told him she was pregnant.

A shiver ran down his spine as he remembered her cursing him for getting her pregnant and the regret he felt when he told her it was a team effort; she wasn't a woman to argue with.

Adra was relieved when Sirius said he didn't know; it was well known that when Sirius Black said that it usually meant no. She triumphantly smiled and gently touched her son's chubby cheek with the back of her finger, only for her joy to be cut short.

"All right, I'll hold him," Sirius said, already standing by the side of the bed with his arms stretched out for the child, then he came to a halt.

"-What? Why are you glaring at me? You asked if I wanted to hold him, and I said yes "He was irritated, wondering why she had to be the way she was all the time.

"No, you're not holding him; I just asked to be nice!" she snarled, holding her child closer to her person.

Sirius scowled; his brow furrowed.

"Are you being serious right now?! He's also my child! We both made him remember, didn't we? Or did you forget after drinking so much firewhiskey that night?"

"Shut up!" she exclaimed, her face flushing in embarrassment.

Why oh, why did she have to get pregnant by Sirius Black? The man who had been cast out of the Black family and was shunned by many including her family, there was a reason she didn't' want her parents to find out.

She was relieved her child was a pureblood; if he wasn't, she wouldn't know what to do if her parents discovered he was a half-blood, making her situation worse if they knew she was pregnant. Although she could never imagine procreating with blood lesser than hers.

"All right," she said softly, handing her sleeping son to Sirius, who gently took him in his arms, smiling and saying, "He's really small."

Before breaking the peaceful silence, Adra rested her head on the pillow.

"You asked what I was going to do...well, I'm planning on taking him with me to France," she began hesitantly. She knew at the start of her pregnancy that was what she was going to do. With everything that was going on, she wanted her child to be safe.

Sirius remained motionless, protectively drawing his son closer to his chest.

"What? What makes France so special? I assumed we'd figure something out together. You're stealing him from me!" He yelled angrily, luckily not waking up the child.

"No! I'm not doing it to spite you, Sirius; I'm doing it to keep my son safe! There's a lot going on with Vo- you-know-who still lurking around "She screamed as she sat up slowly on the bed.

"I'm not sure what they'll do if I return home; I'm sure they'll be angry. I ran away from home; they'll be angry that I became pregnant; they'll be angry that I didn't tell them! I simply want to live in peace; I want to be happy! I know I'll be happy in France with my- our son, and I've already planned everything. I have friends there to assist me, and I don't want him to be affected by all of this "She continued this as tears streamed down her cheeks.

Sirius' heart tightened as he saw her tears, understanding her anguish, and he whispered, "sorry."

He too wanted their child to be safe.

"I hadn't given it much thought. I should not have implied that you were attempting to take him away from me "He spoke slowly.

Adra wiped her tears away, and they sat in peaceful silence once more. Sirius sat on the chair, his child in his arms, while Adra smiled at them.

"Sirius?" she asked.

"Hmm?" He responded lightly, not taking his gaze away from his son, gently playing with the child's tiny strands of dark hair on his head, pleased that he had inherited it from him.

"What should we name him?" She asked hesitantly in all honestly, she already had a name in mind but thought it would be decent to seek his opinion.

"Let's name him Thomas! Thomas Black" he exclaimed; his eyes bright as he stated cheerfully.

Adrasteia looked at him with disdain "No way! Why would you want to give our child a muggle name? He is a pureblood, and he will be named as such" She threw up her hands.

Sirius rolled his eyes and muttered, "Here I thought you changed..."

"What exactly did you say?" Her voice was as threatening as it had always been.

"Nothing!" He was quick to respond "Anyway, Thomas, I guess not... You have a name in mind, don't you?" When she nodded, he wasn't surprised.

"Acrux" she said lightly.

Sirius creased his brow, "Really, Acrux?" he repeated the name himself, not liking the sound of it. "Did you come across a book titled Really Pure-Blooded Names?" he remarked sarcastically.

"No, it's a star's name; you do realize your family has a tradition of naming their children after stars, right?" She asked slowly as if he were slow.

"Of course, I am aware of this... I suppose Acrux isn't too bad, but could we please give him a different name?" He said this while looking at his son, then back at her with pleading eyes.

"Like what?" she responded slowly.

"… Leo?" Sirius replied.

"Leonis it is then, at least it's a star name and sounds appropriate for a pureblood," she pondered.

He gave her a tight smile at her 'fix'.

"I guess he looks like one, but Thomas would also suit him, and I can call him Leo for short," he said quietly, causing Adra to roll her eyes.

She then spoke again, this time with a tight smile, "Leonis's middle name can be Sirius," she said, as if she had to give her liver to someone unwillingly.

When Sirius heard that, he could help give a big smile, it was nearly as wide when he was told that they were both healthy after the childbirth.

His eyes twinkled with delight "It's fantastic! Leonis Sirius Black! In the future, all the ladies will be swooning over him" Sirius said proudly, puffing out his chest.

"Sirius! My son will not be a lady's man; rather, he will be a gentleman "Sirius nodded vigorously as she emphasized, "Of course," he said, pretending to listen.

"Maybe-" Sirius started only to be cut off by Adra, she pointed in excitement, "He opened his eyes, he's awake! Look how cute he is, bring him here let me get a look" she rambled.

Sirius looked down so quickly he nearly sprained his neck, this was the first time seeing his son open his eyes, he moved towards Adra swiftly, sitting close beside her.

She rested her head against his shoulder, staring at Leonis with a motherly smile.

"Hello little one" she whispered, "you weren't awake very long after you were born, I just hope you won't be as lazy as your father" she spoke, with Sirius objecting to being lazy once he heard her.

"He's our little cub" Sirius whispered with admiration, knowing the name Leonis meant lion.

Leonis of course confused at his predicament was wondering who the hell these blurry people were.

He reached his hand up towards them curiously, with his blurry vision.

He froze at the sight of his arm as they came into vision… they were small with that he shouted, "What happened!!" but of course, it came out in screams of a newborn.

'What have I got myself into?' the newly reincarnated soul thought.