Genre: General
Rating: M (nudity, violence, sex, strong hurt/comfort themes)
Triggers: Rape attempt.
Slash: Read into it what you will.
Ships: Sirius Black/OC. As always, I don't let her take over the fic, so if anybody wants
to see her as themselves, feel free.
Disclaimer: Other than the two original characters, I own none of it. It all belongs to J.K. Rowling, Warner Brothers, Scholastic Books, and a number of other entities. Oh, and there's also a lyric or two by Steppenwolf.
Synopsis: Sirius slips out of Grimmauld Place in February 1996 and is captured by Death Eaters.
A/N: This story is the result of a dream I had at the beginning of the year that I felt I needed to get out on paper. I do "bastardize" the Death Eaters, particularly Walden Macnair, within its frameworks. However, I dearly love the actors who portray then onscreen and the people I know who cosplay them in real life. Just wanted to add that so everybody is clear.
Chapter 1
Sirius knew he shouldn't leave Grimmauld Place.
Dumbledore had warned that it was far too dangerous, even if he were to slip out as Padfoot. Both the Death Eaters and the Ministry alike knew he was an unregistered animagus and were on heightened alert, waiting for any opportunity to capture him. But with every passing day this house, which he had always hated, felt more and more like Azkaban. Granted, it wasn't swarmed with dementors. Granted, he had loved ones living here with him, and friends who visited, and visited often. But even they couldn't stop the flood of painful memories that washed over him almost every day like the cold, dark waters of the North Sea. Memories he couldn't forget as long as his mother's portrait, and Kreacher, were both daily presences in his life.
Sirius knew Remus would be against the idea. So would Kia, the dark-haired, dark-eyed woman with whom he shared a tender but spicy love life. Both had been fiercely protective of him since he reentered their lives. Especially Kia, who told him almost every day that she couldn't bear to lose him again. Sirius understood-and even appreciated their feelings, but sometimes it seemed as though no one understood or appreciated his! Staying locked up inside this house, all day, every day, wasn't really an option. Not if he wanted to keep what little sanity he had left.
He desperately needed to slip away, if only for a few hours.
"Rock me baby, rock me baby, all night long," Sirius had sung softly earlier. And Kia had, at least until both were exhausted. Laying beside her now, her nude body warm against his with her head resting on his chest, he felt a twinge of guilt for leaving her. But…it wasn't strong enough to make him cancel his plan.
He wouldn't be gone long, after all, just long enough to get some fresh air and stretch his legs a bit.
Softly, he kissed her, gently untangled himself from her arms, and whispered that he would return.
He walked stealthily past Remus' room, well aware he would guess his plan if he awoke.
He crept softly past his mother's portrait, saw that the curtain was in place, then tiptoed down the stairs.
He came to the ground floor and passed the kitchen.
The door was open. Kreacher was asleep by the fire.
Slowly, he opened the front door, hoping the hinges wouldn't squeak. He eased through it, shut it, then transfigured into a big, shaggy black dog…
He was free.
And the night was young.
Sirius trotted down the street, feeling the cold mud and snow squish between his paws. The crisp winter air filled his lungs and whipped through his fur, and stars shone like diamonds in the dark, clear sky.
He wished that Moony and Prongs were at his side. Maybe someday it would happen again. After Voldemort was defeated, they could teach Harry how to become an animagus. And of course he would take the form of a stag! How could he not? Then the three of them would tear through Hogsmeade and the Forbidden Forest, creating as much mayhem in their paths as before.
No, it wouldn't be exactly the same. But it would be close…as close as it ever could be…and that, at least, was something.
Of course, none of them would miss the rat. Not in the slightest! In spite of all of Peter's arse-kissing and overt eagerness to please, he had always been more trouble than he was worth. Halloween of '81, and the people who died shortly after, had been proof enough of that.
Sirius looked up, and realized he was in Soho in front of a Chinese restaurant where he and Remus used to eat lunch together. The clock in the window read one-thirty. His instincts warned him to turn back. But a cat, and the park across the street, beckoned strongly to his canine instincts.
Just a little romp, he thought, sprinting across the street to chase the cat up a tree. He thought of Professor McGonagall, of the time he and the other Marauders had treed her in her animagus form, and wondered if she had ever realized it had been them! And this cat, who was now hissing and spitting on a branch with an arched back, was also a tabby with dark markings around the eyes. He stood on his hindquarters and barked.
He didn't realize it then, but barking was his first mistake.
The wind seemed to change direction, and something felt terribly wrong. Sirius glanced to his right and saw the graceful form of a pale, slender man in expensive black robes. His silvery-blonde hair cascaded down his back in an elegant mane, and in his right hand he carried a black walking stick with a silver serpent's head and emerald eyes. Sirius recognized the man immediately. It was Lucius Malfoy. His hackles rose. Instinctively, he growled.
Growling was his second mistake. It caught Lucius' attention. Sirius could see him reach inside his robes. Sirius, having no wand, began to run…
"HOMOPHORUS!" shouted Lucius.
Sirius saw a flash of blue and white light. He felt himself being lifted into the air, twisting and turning as he was forced to transfigure back into human form. He fell to the ground with a painful thud. He scrambled to get to his feet, and found himself looking straight into the face of Lucius Malfoy.
"Well, well, well," said Lucius smoothly, tapping the ground with his stick as Sirius backed away. "I've only known you for…how many years is it now…and was just saying today that it was only a matter of time before you slipped off your leash like the incorrigible mutt that you are!"
"Nobody keeps me on a leash!" Sirius barked, his gray eyes flashing fearlessly. "Which is more than I can say about…"
That was his third mistake. With a blinding flash and an explosion of pain, Sirius felt himself being thrown into the tree. He fell, breathless, to the ground, unable to defend himself. Lucius, and now two others, were screwing manacles around his wrists, then forcing him to his feet.
"Let's get back to the manor now, shall we?" said Lucius Malfoy. "I'm sure the Dark Lord will be…most pleased!"
With that, Lucius grabbed Sirius' arm, and Sirius felt himself being pulled through a long, narrow vacuum, straight into the drawing room of Malfoy Manor.
Sirius recognized the emaciated, dark-haired woman almost immediately. Not by her appearance, which had changed even more drastically than his own, but by her posh, baby-doll voice that had always annoyed him.
"Let's see now…what have we here?" she said, slapping her wand against her left palm as she staggered down the stairs. "Itty…bitty…baby cousin! I see the years in Azkaban have not been kind!"
"I still look a sight better than you!" Sirius snarled. "But I guess that hardly matters to old Viper Face."
Bellatrix's black eyes flashed dangerously. "HOW DARE YOU, YOU FILTHY BLOOD TRAITOR…!"
"Calm down, Bella," Lucius admonished, thumping the floor with the end of his walking stick. "Remember who we are! We musn't forget our manners simply because the family cur has forgotten his!"
"Hmmm…" Bellatrix pondered, rolling her wand back and forth between her palms. "I suppose you are right! Uncle and Aunty would be sooo disappointed. He should be taught a lesson…CRUCIO!"
Sirius had been hit by the Cruciatus Curse before, but never remembered it being this agonizing. He fell, twitching and gasping as every bone, every muscle, every nerve, every fiber of his being was set afire with a blinding pain that was intense beyond description. He felt himself screaming, and heard his cousin laughing. Then suddenly, it stopped, leaving him dizzy and very weak.
"Now, now Bellatrix," Lucius chided playfully as Sirius lay gasping. "Didn't your parents teach you not to break other people's toys? He is a gift for the Dark Lord, after all."
"Ahh…" Bellatrix smiled, her eyes sparkling malevolently. "Live bait!"
Lucius nodded, and Sirius's blood froze. That could only mean one thing: they were going to use him to get to Harry.
"I'm sure he'll be most pleased…when he returns. However, at the present time he is attending to other business," Bellatrix pouted, still, toying with her wand, "and I'm bored!"
Sirius sighed quietly, hoping his body language didn't betray his relief. At least there was time.
"How long will he be gone?" asked Lucius.
"He didn't say," Bellatrix replied. "But he did say not to disturb him unless it was very important! In the meantime…what should we do with that!"
Sirius noticed that several other people had entered the drawing room. Bellatrix's husband Rodolphus, Lucius' long time friend, Walden Macnair, and of course Narcissa. All of them looked down upon him as if he were a mangy, flea-bitten stray who had been sprayed by a polecat.
"We'll need to make certain he does not escape," Macnair said. "Shall I call a dementor or two?"
"As I've stated before, Walden, you're always welcome here," Lucius said. "Your pets, however, are not!
"They would be under my control," Macnair said. "And if he tries to escape…"
"Not on my property, and definitely not in my house, Walden!" Lucius reiterated. "Not for any reason! Do I make myself perfectly clear?"
"Perhaps we could borrow the rodent from Severus," Narcissa suggested. "Its been awhile since he's been of any use."
"Oh, how brilliant Cissy!" Bellatrix sneered. "Let's make him our Secret Keeper too!"
"Do shut up, Bella!" Lucius snapped, then continued softly, "We will discuss the details over tea shortly. In the meantime, if Walden and Rodolphus would be kind enough to escort our…guest to his chambers, it would be most appreciated.
A/N: The reference to the Chinese restaurant in Soho comes from Warren Zevon's song: Werewolves of London. I recommend this song to any Potter fan, especially if you're a Lupinite.