Be grateful that you do not know them, Sirius. Whether you believe me or not is, at this point, irrelevant, but the simple truth of the matter is that knowing these things is dangerous. Had you been more attentive, had you not been more concerned with decorating your room with Muggle trash and concerning yourself with the affairs of filth, you would have seen just how dangerous a position your parents' ambitions left the rest of us in, and how, for years, I have tried to rid ourselves of the bonds keeping us in league with the Dark Lord.

Mark me well, Sirius: I have fought for too long to rid our family of the corruption of this cause. My own daughter succumbed to it, as did your brother -- but he, at least, saw He Who Must Not Be Named for what he is.

Pairs of Death Eaters watch us from the edge of the estate now, did you know that?

Cygnus P. Black