Sirius Black was entangled in more secrets and lies than anybody had a right to be. It wasn't like his Light friends and Dark family had left him any choice, with their utterly opposite expectations of him. All Sirius could do was try to finish Hogwarts without everything crashing down around him first, but he was pretty sure his heart and the brewing war had made that impossible.

Anakin couldn't blame Padmé for wanting to be rid of him, but that didn't make it any easier to hold onto the shattered pieces of himself. He thought that taking a solo mission would be a chance to pull himself back together before the Council noticed that he was breaking apart, if only he could figure out how to begin reconstructing Anakin Skywalker without Padmé Admidala. A/OFC.

Being sorted into Gryffindor was possibly the worst fate imaginable for Sirius Black, eldest son of a long line of ancient and noble pure-blooded Slytherins. He inevitably found himself pushed and pulled between his Dark family and his Light friends, and he wasn't even sure what side he was supposed to be on anymore.

Tom thought that perhaps fifty years of utter isolation and stagnation in a diary was a small price to pay to gain the advantages of being a living Horcrux, even if he was probably a bit mad from the experience. After all, being mad was no impediment to a Dark Lord.