the Blacks' second to last generation (walburga, alphard, cygnus, lucretia, orion) having their bloodline cursed so the last generation (bellatrix, andromeda, narcissa, sirius, regulus) are born into some unspecified "beasts" but no one knows what kind or knows anything about them, as they're never seen in society, never acknowledged outside of rumors or stories that border on myths.
cut to when james potter is 23 years old and overhears some people while in animagus form talking about a super exclusive exhibit with highly illegal, very rare creatures in it. he gets pissed off and finds out the location + how to sneak in, which is when he encounters creatures he's never seen or heard of before, all in captivity etc etc, and he's sick to his stomach, and then the crowd is led to the exhibit that apparently claims to hold the last, lost generation of the Blacks who have become beasts, so everyone starts whispering and gets eager to see but also doesn't really believe it, even james doesn't, but then they're led into a room with...Something in it.
the person explaining everything says only one Black can be on display at a time, to lower the risk + keep the others calm etc etc, and this one is apparently the Last Born Black of the line, otherwise called "regulus" the name given to him when his parents still hoped he'd be human. and then there's a whole spiel about the Blacks and what they are and how dangerous they are and how they're not for sale and are only for viewing pleasure etc etc. it's explained that the Last Blacks are not only cursed but also a curse in and of themselves, so no touching is allowed either.
anyway james sticks around (hides under his cloak) and waits until the room empties out to get closer and actually try to get a proper look at this thing (regulus) and then he does and he's obviously enamored Instantly but also he's fucking horrified bc of the captivity of it all etc etc, and so naturally he immediately wants to Save The Blacks + bring down this whole fucked up operation.
so, cut to james skipping off to some auror he knows for help. enter alice, stage left. she's like james wtf why are u always in some shit and james is like. Please Help. so they find out all the details and put together a Team of sorts. james obviously refuses not to be involved, alice is ready to bring down the Bad Guy Behind It All, and they need a way to bust the whole operation which means they need a way to shine a spotlight on it, so enter rita skeeter next, who is a reporter always foaming at the mouth for a scandal. she's more than willing to Get The Scoop, as it were. but they all need a way in, which sadly will take unsavory undercover shit and does in fact need a magical creature to open the door for them, and whaddya know? james just so happens to know a guy. remus is Not impressed but he owes james a lot and also james blinks big sad eyes at him and tells him about the horrible conditions and all the sad creatures who need his help and remus admittedly caves. and lastly, they need unexpected transportation, the sort no one would be expecting, and alice just so happens to know a guy who can drive. none other than ted tonks.
anyway the whole plan ends up going sideways ofc, but each person on the team is supposed to worry about one Black at the very least and do their best to get them out. james, naturally, has latched onto regulus. alice of course stumbles across narcissa, ted finds andromeda, remus is practically kidnapped by sirius, and rita is attacked by bellatrix. so then they are all Stuck with their respective Black, and under threat/on the run from the Bad Guy who is trying to steal them all back etc etc.
james is living out his monsterfucking fantasies, except forbidden romance style. remus has decided he and sirius are now monster4monster. ted is oblivious to the fact that andromeda is slowly seducing him. rita is pissed off that she got stuck with The Crazy One. and alice is in the most complicated position of her life since she has a husband and narcissa doesn't seem to care and just keeps kissing her and thinks alice is Hers now and frank is being such a good sport about it (has no fucking clue what's going on, really, but there's an ethereal creature obsessed with his wife, he's Not complaining).
anyway. thinking about this au very hard rn. does anyone see my vision? is this something?