Prologue
Bone chilling screams rang out as clear as day through the dark basement, the sound bouncing off the concrete walls before colliding with the ears of the present people who had gathered there to watch the show. Deafening silence ensued, ragged breathing pierced the darkly lit room as plops of water dripped from the ceiling. Tears mixing with blood as they joined the growing puddle that stained the dark wooden floor.
A wand was raised in pitiful mercy, relieving its victim of pain momentarily. Moist baby blue eyes stared at the wand that hovered above, hoping and praying for that last bit of hope that the pain was all over. A ragged breath escaped through chapped and dry lips as a fearful sigh escaped the bloodied mouth. Two weak, bleeding hands wrapped delicately around the swollen and large stomach, just praying for the small life within.
Confusion spread amongst the circle of black cloaked figures as one question filled their cruel heads. What was to be done now? A decision was soon made as one of the gathered broke from the others and strode forwards. A long, dark brown wand was whipped out from a black sleeve and pointed at the limp and nearly lifeless figure lying on the blood floor.
With a single flick of the wand, the poor injured victim flew high into the air, soaring upwards until the pregnant body collided with the flaking and chapped ceiling before falling back to the ground. A harsh snap followed as the figure lay on the ground, too helpless to utter a single word or emit even the smallest sound. Even the smallest of breaths hurt as it lay there, too weak to move. It was just thankful that the swollen womb hadn't been too badly affected and yet it was too tired to think about the paralysed spinal cord within its back and despite all this, the victim was still too strong to beg for mercy.
Once again silence filled the room as those gathered looked upon their weak and helpless victim. The silence was broken as a clap sounded in the open space. It was a slow, mocking clap, followed by the clicks of heels echoing over the silence as from the wooden door another figure dressed in black strode into view. This figure with the mad black hair and black eyes knew such cruelty that no one thought possible, with the black dress flowing as they walked towards the victim, the crowd parted as they drew closer.
"Pity," Was the words that came from the mouth of the mad witch. "You have pity?"
The armed attacker glared up at the mad witch, offended by her accusations. "I do not!" He hissed angrily in a deep voice.
The mad witch smirked. "Ah yes, so I see," she said with a mock agreement ringing clear in her voice. "What, then is it that halts you? Confusion, perhaps? Or maybe, you have too much desire to destroy and to show the scum their worth that you know not where to begin?"
"Save me the trouble, darling," she purred as she stood in front of him, "why do you care?" Her voice was no louder than a whisper as her slender hands snaked slowly around his neck. Stepping closer to the glaring wizard, she repeated her words and hissed seductively into his ear. "Save me the trouble dearest, and do your job!" With a flash of her feral grin, she slid her long fingered hands over the wizard's collarbone and down to his chest.
"Do your job, show your worth to the Dark Lord!"
"What do I do?" The wizard breathed his last.
The witch smirked sinisterly; her dark eyes gleamed dangerously in the dark. Suddenly, a snap sounded, before the man dropped to the floor, dead. She huffed, disappointed. "Why does Rodolphus always get the best recruits!" The mad witch whined before turning to the other onlookers who had cast their eyes to the floor.
"Is there no one here who will please his dear lady?" She asked with a pout, her beautiful face standing out clearly in the dim lighting.
A grinning man stepped forth, his teeth flashing as he walked forward. The mad witch smiled with delight. "Oh look, we have a brave soul," she purred, running a hand over the man. "What are you going to do for me handsome?"
"Anything you wish!" The eager wizard answered with a grin.
The mad witch jerked her head towards the slumped figure on the floor. "Do your job!" Was the only sentence she had to say before the volunteer nodded and strode towards the motionless, swollen bellied figure.
The baby blue eyes widened drastically as she felt rough hands running over her body. Screams erupted from her as her legs started to furiously kick out, trying to defend herself and her unborn child against the forcing figure. Her screams sounded so loud and were so long and tortured that it made her throat split and her vocal codswallop snap with pain.
Cackling was heard over the screams as the mad witch jumped with glee. "This is how you prove the scrum their worth!" She exclaimed.
As the traumatised and abused victim lay there, sobbing with pain and shame, a few thoughts entered muggle-born witch's mind as she looked at Bellatrix Lestrange with such hatred. How was it possible that this deranged lunatic was related to her? How could this mad witch be related to the exact contradict of her, her beloved husband. How could the same blood flow through her veins and through those of her sweet, sharp-tonged and yet soft and gentle husband?
"Good job handsome," Bellatrix said as the man completed his work. "I will be sure to report this to our Lord and he will appreciate your worth!"
The vile man grinned wildly as he tiredly made his way back to the circle of onlookers. Happy and content with his work being praised by one of the cruellest Death Eaters of all time. Bellatrix returned her attention to her victim that lay before her.
"You know what mudblood," she hissed as she advanced towards her prey as her long fingernails gripped around the dying victim's throat, tightly. "You are alone!"
"I will personally break you until you are far from repair. I'll break you so much that your dear 'Teddy bear' won't even know you! He'll deny you from the moment he sees you!"
"F-fuck...you...Bellatrix," Elodea hissed back furiously, "you won't be able to break us!"
"You underestimate my will!" Bellatrix taunted, "You see, once I set my mind on something, I cannot falter!"
"You underestimate us!" Elodea hissed back. "You underestimate..."
"What? Your love for that blood traitor?" An amused and humoured laugh escaped the mouth of the mad witch. "Oh but, you see my dear Elodea, I appreciate every ounce of love that you hold for that faithless mistake. In fact mudblood, I'm counting on it!" She grinned as she reached down to pinch her prisoner's chin.
"Does little Siri Bear love his coming child as much as his dear wife?"
"You will not touch her!" Elodea snarled as she glared at her husband's mad cousin.
"Or who knows, perhaps you'll run into early labour here!" The mad witch smirked cheerfully. "That would be delightful! For you see I'll be Auntie Bella! Isn't that wonderful?!"
The thought of her child having this mad woman near her child made Elodea's stomach churn, she knew what this vile woman was capable of and there was no way in hell that she would let any of them touch her child.
"I'd die before I let you touch her!"
"Oh look," Bellatrix jeered an laughed to the onlookers, "the he mudblood is a seer too! How did you know that you're dying? Very talented, ten points to Ravenclaw!"
The weak witch let out an angered and dying breath as the Death Eater leaned forwards and whispered a single bone chilling sentence into her ear.
"You and your dear husband are going to die, I'll see to it myself!"
He was scared, frightened out of his wits. He had opened the door to his home expecting the usual bone crushing hug from his beautiful, generous, giddy wife. For the whole day he had been fantasising about relaxing with the love of his life by the roaring fire and maybe sipping a firewhiskey or two, while perhaps discussing the sweet baby that was coming.
Never had he dreamt that he would come home from work and walking into this mess. But no, merlin forbids that he would ever get a peaceful Friday night these days. Not only was his work as an aurora at the Ministry of Magic simply over straining him, his duties for the Order of Phoenix were definitely not what he would classify as relaxing.
Sirius had opened the door to be embraced with eerie silence and the cold air lashing harshly at his face. He had walked forward slowly to hear glass breaking under his feet. The house was in a havoc. The books that his wife had lovingly kept stacked on the shelves were now scattered all over the floor and their glass coffee table that they had received from James and Lily Potter as a wedding gift was now lying on its side, smashed into pieces. Yet that wasn't the worst part, the ruined furniture and mess wasn't what was making the blood in his veins run cold or his heart stop beating, in fact it was the ruby red puddle that lay staining the centre of his living room carpet that caused the panic to consume him.
With a racing heart, Sirius sent two lightning fast patronuses to his two best friends as his blood ran high and pounded in his ears, his heart hammered in his chest and his legs were becoming too weak to hold him up as millions of thoughts were entering his mind causing him to slowly sink to the glass littered carpet.
His grey eyes were glistening with worry for his pregnant wife as he saw the largest amount of blood laying in front of him, just where his beautiful Pondweed loved to read. That was when he seen it. A piece of clean parchment was sitting neatly on the floor, resting sinisterly amongst the broken glass and smashed wood as though it had just been placed.
Terrified, Sirius reached forwards, snatching the letter up with shaky hands and quickly absorbed the words...
Dear Sirius,
I'd call you cousin but considering that neither of us belong to the same family, let's take it as a 'friends' approach. I must admit, I am rather disappointed in you Sirius, your most beloved cousin gets married and you won't congratulate her? I am deeply hurt!
And you didn't even invite me over to your wedding! What? Why? I don't even get a chance to congratulate my favourite cousin? Now I learn from your dear wife that you are expecting a child! How lovely is this, writing this letter to you, it feels like recalling wonderful memories. I feel like I can see you here, dear. You won't mind if I had a chit chat with the infamous and lovely Elodea? I do so look forward to having a girl-to-girl talk about husbands, weddings, honeymoons, children, you know the usual girly things.
Speaking of honeymoons, did you miss me? I just came back from my own with Rodolphus, Paris says hello to you. I heard you went to Tokyo with lovely Elodea, how was it? I bet you're wondering how I know your darling wife's name?
Well we do have a certain trusted source of information, you see. You can tell dear Dumbles the game is up and it's over, no more point in you silly Order. However I have to admit, I look forward to seeing you and chatting.
Dear Elodea isn't happy about leaving you with no dinner but would you care to come to mine and enjoy a meal with me. A meal of nice roasted chicken legs and wings with wonderful real hot sauce and mashed potatoes? You better hurry though, the meat is getting cold and time is ticking away.
Dearest and deepest love,
Bellatrix Lestrange
Under the signature, an address had been neatly scribbled in curvy handwriting. Sirius' mouth went dry as his world spun out of control. He tried to stand up but his quaking body only let him get so far before his weak legs stumbled, causing him to fall back onto the glass filled carpet allowing the glass to cut into his legs. He didn't care. They had his wife...his pregnant wife...
The sound of his light hearted whistling moulded with his wife's wonderful singing as he helped her set the table for dinner, breathing heavily through his nose, taking in the wonderful smell of roasted chicken and vegetables which engulfed the kitchen of the Potter household.
"Dinner smells wonderful darling," James said with a smile on his face.
Lily looked up at him through her ginger bangs as she set the plates on the table with a smile on her face as she did. "Well you did help me roast it dear," she reminded him.
"You don't want to inflate my ego again do you?" James smirked. "I barely got rid of it!"
"Ah but if it's for something like this love, then I think you can let it inflate even just a little!" Lily said quietly as James wrapped his arms around her waist and placed a gentle kiss upon forehead.
Lily pulled back and looked up at him with a frown. She knew that there was something that he was keeping from her. "Something is bothering, isn't it?" She asked.
James sighed and shrugged. "It is nothing love, just an annoying feeling. I can't stop thinking about Padfoot," He explained.
"James honey, I just got a letter from El, she says that the baby is good, she's good and Sirius is good," Lily reassured him. "Everyone is good!"
"However, I must admit that I was a little concerned about where you went before you came home after work," Lily added with a teasing tone.
James frowned and stepped back. "What do you mean? I came straight home after work, Lily I didn't go anywhere else!" he told her.
"Sirius left before you, didn't he?" Lily asked confused. "It would make only make sense, I mean El said he had been home since four..."
"Lily, we don't leave the ministry until five..." James frowned the worry increasing in her stomach.
"I know but I thought that maybe he might have left earlier, maybe to check on her..."
Now alarm bells were going off inside his stomach and his head. "Lily, I left at five with Sirius and Remus at the same time. He couldn't have been home before five!" James explained standing up.
The cogs were working inside his beautiful wife's head, twisting and turning as she began to realise what was going on. "S-so you think there's an imposter with Elodea?" Lily swallowed, her voice was hushed and afraid.
"When did you receive the letter?"
"W-when you were in the shower..."
Silence fell between them as James' heart began to race and pound in his chest. His mind started racing as he began thinking deeply. He shook his head. "This just doesn't make any sense!"
"Do you still have the letter?"
Lily nodded and hurried from the kitchen into the living room to retrieve the letter, before returning to the kitchen and handing it to James.
James didn't hesitate to read it.
Dear Lily,
I miss you so very much! It feels like forever since I last saw you! Oh I miss a you and Jamesie a lot! I am feeling awesome, although I am kind of frustrated that I can't kick any Death Eaters ass! Did you get anything new from the Order?
Siri Bear is here now, he left work at four! Yes we've had our dinner, I made pasta for us as I finally managed to get the hang of it. Siri loved it, he said it was wonderful!
How are you and Jamesie? Why don't you two come over to our place once you've had your dinner? I miss you bunches!
Love,
Elly
As his hazel eyes darted from one corner of the parchment to the other all of the colour began to drain from his face as James absorbed each and every word. His mind taking in all the odd little things before he spoke.
"You honestly thought that this was Elodea?" He breathed horrified as he turned to face his wife.
"Elly? Jamesie? Siri Bear? Seriously Lily have you ever heard Elodea call me 'Jamesie' or Sirius 'Siri Bear'? And since when has she ever included or even mentioned the Order in a letter?"
Lily watched nervously as a single letter sent her usually level headed husband into a complete frantic frenzy. Now a and again she would open her mouth as though to say something and then close it again seconds later.
"In fact, when has Elodea been so informative? She hasn't been to any of the meetings since she became pregnant and she knows that Sirius doesn't get finish work until five!"
Lily flinched slightly as James suddenly slammed the letter down upon the wooden surface of their dining table. She watched as his chest rose and fell as his heart beat rapidly.
"It arrived with a black owl and I don't know I thought that she was feeling hormonal or something!" Lily sighed as she folded her arms over her chest.
"Dang it Lily!" James said frustrated as he looked up to stare into his wife's emerald green eyes. "She is your best friend love! You are the one who knows her best!"
Lily frowned. "So all of this is my fault?" She asked angrily. "Well I'm sorry that I know nothing about the effects of pregnancy hormones. It isn't like I've had the pleasure of experiencing them!"
Silence fell between them as James shook his head in disbelief. He couldn't believe that she had included that. It wasn't his fault that the Ministry and the Order kept him so busy that he was tired when he came home, and it wasn't like he didn't want to try for a kid, it was just he was afraid.
"You're bringing that up now?! Merlin's beard Lily, you know why I've been putting it off!" James spat as he stood up. "We are in the middle of a bloody war Lily! I'm not going to raise a child when there is so much hate and death!"
James didn't wait to hear Lily defend herself. He had other things to think about like Sirius and Elodea. Clenching and unclenching his fists, he made his way into the living room where he stood by the fire place.
Focus! He told himself as he slapped himself repeatedly as thought trying to slap the answer into him, or maybe it was to expel those horrid thoughts from his mind. Damn it Potter! Focus!
All of the evidence was pointing to the letter being a fake which meant that it wasn't written by Elodea or Sirius, or maybe his wife was right and Elodea was just being hormonal and he was being paranoid...but then why did he have this awful feeling in his gut?
Sudden movement behind him snapped the auror from his thoughts as he heard Lily slowly walk into the room.
"James, I'm sorry," she breathed, breaking the silence in the room, "I'm so sorry! I shouldn't have brought that up and I should have known something wasn't right!"
"Lils no," James said as he walked over to join his wife. "I was the jerk, I'm so sorry!" he said knowing that he and lost his cool and he hated fighting with his wife. He wrapped his arms around her pulling her into a hug.
Lily wrapped her arms around him and relaxed, lightly gripping the back of his shirt as worry consumed her.
"Lils, I'm going to visit Sirius for a bit okay? I just want to make sure that they are alright," James began as he pulled back, "but I..."
"I'm coming with you James," Lily interrupted him knowing all too well what he was going to say. "I care for them too!"
"Lily no! I don't what you to get hurt! If something hap..."
Lily smiled and placed her fingers on his mouth. "Shh James, I'm not letting you go alone!" She told him with a stubborn smile and a small kiss on his lips before summoning their jackets to them.
Just as James was about to argue something suddenly caught his attention in the corner of his eye. Turning around, he seen it. A blue hue of a large dog had the young wizard mesmerised as it stood by the fire. With his mouth hanging open and his jacket half way on, he watched as the dog gave a loud whine and whimpered before falling to the floor.
James' heart stopped as he watched the patronus vanish. "Sirius!" he managed with fear as he yanked on his jacket and took Lily's hand before vanishing within seconds.
Sirius had been sitting on the glass covered ground ever since he had sent his patronus. He was unable to move as tears cascaded down his face. Why!? The same question kept ringing in his head as he read over the letter again and again. Why did they take her?!
The sudden sound of a crack echoing through his house made his head snapped up and his ears pick up the faint sound of movement gradually getting closer to the door. His hand tightened on his wand as he prepared himself to face his wife's attackers, only to hear a familiar voice.
"Sirius?" A soft gentle voice called out.
Upon hearing his name, Sirius turned his head to the side where his sad, broken and lost grey eyes met a pair of concerned and alert hazel eyes that belonged to his best friend, his brother.
"J-Jamie!" His voice was cracked and broke as he shook with panic and fear. "Th-they have her Jamie!" These words cause one of the toughest auror to crumble and sob once more like.
A muffled gasp echoed from Lily as she froze where she was. She let Berkshire husband drag her to the drawing room to where Sirius was kneeling on the ground. She had only ever witnessed him cry twice throughout the time that she had known him; the first was when he had been disowned from the Black family in their fifth year at Hogwarts, and the second was when he had proposed to Elodea.
James rushed in and dropped to his knees beside his hysterically brother. "Sirius, focus!" he told his best friend as he pulled him into a hug. "You need to tell me everything!"
Sirius shook his head as he held on to James. "I don't know Jamie!" he murmured shaking.
"I-I came home to see this..." With a shaking hand, he handed James the letter, who read it without hesitation. With each letter he read the more colour drained from his face.
"L-Lils p-please,"
Lily's head snapped up to look at Sirius as she heard his broken voice pleading with her. She hurried over to him.
"C-can...can you tell if she is s-still alive? I-if our b-baby i-is..." He couldn't finish. He was so lost without Elodea and Lily couldn't bear to see him like this. Watching the puddle of blood and shards of glass as she stepped over the wrecked furniture.
"I'm sorry Sirius," She swallowed as she shook her head. "I can't tell but they took her when she was still alive!"
Sirius' heart stopped and his panic rose even more, his mind was running on over drive with all of the horrid possibilities that could be happening to his wife. "J-James, I-I have to go, I have to get her b-back," he wheezed with a panicked and shaky voice. "I-I can't l-leave her there!"
"No Sirius, you'll be walking into a death trap!" James whispered shaking his head. "It's as clear as day, she laid it out for you and you know it!"
"I don't care! I can't leave her there, I won't!" Sirius declared in horror, his eyes wide with disbelief.
"We need backup! We can't just run blindly into the hideout of Merlin knows how many Death Eaters were there!" James said. "I'll get in contact with Dumbl..."
"He won't let us go, not when they've hinted about the Order in their letter!"
"Who hinted about the Order?" A new voice echoed through her room as the receiver of the second patronus entered the room.
"Remus, they've taken Elodea!" James explained as he got to his feet and handed him the letter.
Remus frowned as he took the letter in his hands and began reading the letter. Any colour that had remained in Remus' face from the upcoming full moon was draining away with each letter that he read.
"What kind of sick game is this!" He hissed, looking up a at the others. "They really took her, just like that?! Sirius what about your defences?"
"I don't bloody know!" Sirius yelled in frustration, gripping the roots of his hair. "It's what is driving me mad! They wouldn't have been able to breach the spells without having certain information!"
"Well we can't leave her there," A sudden fourth voice joined as in stepped a mouse-faced man. "She'll die and the baby!"
Sirius' head snapped up to glare at Peter, who he hadn't even registered had arrived as he had only sent two patronuses but that didn't seem to matter at that moment. "Don't you think I know that Peter!" he barked angrily as he stood up.
Peter flinched at Sirius' volume. "Sirius, don't!" James warned his brother as he stepped between him and Peter. Everyone knew how unpredictable Sirius could be when he was angry.
"Peter, this is way more dangerous than you can imagine!" James muttered turning to face Peter.
"You wouldn't hesitate if it was Lily!" Peter pointed out sheepishly.
James fell silent and screwed his eyes shut as tears started leaking from his eyes at that one thought. Peter was right. James couldn't imagine what it was like for Sirius. He couldn't nor did he want to imagine his life without Lily by his side.
"You're right Pete," he whispered finally, "but because it is Elodea and not Lily I can think rationally about the situation! Elodea is like a sister to me and just like you guys, I can't stand to see her hurt but– "
"Then why are you holding back?" Peter asked.
Sirius shook his head. The love of his life and their unborn baby were being held captive by his estranged cousin and her fellow Death Eaters, and meanwhile he was stuck here listening to his friends bickering and wasting time.
"This is pointless! We are wasting time!" Sirius snarled angrily.
"Fine...we'll-" James began as he looked at his best friend who gave him a bewildered look "We?"
"Yeah, you didn't think we would be letting you go alone, did you?" Remus scoffed.
"You are not coming! It's my wife and child in there and I'm not letting anything happen to anyone else that I-"
"Don't be ridiculous Pad, we aren't letting you go alone!"
"Remus you could transform at-"
"And? Believe me Sirius, I'd love to sink my fangs into their necks if they've laud even a fingernail on Elodea!" Remus snarled.
Sirius shook his head angrily. He clearly had no say in their decision. Even though this was all his fault. He was the disowned bloodtraitor, that was the only reason why Elodea had been targeted.
"I'm coming t- " Lily began but James was quick to cut her off.
"Of course not! No way in hell Lily!" He said firmly. "We can't have you hurt as well, we have no idea what state El will be in!"
Lily sighed heavily and nodded. James was right. "Alright, I'll have St. Mungo's prepare a room for her..." she said.
"Alright, come on," James said as he gave his wife a kiss before turning to face the others with a hand out stretched.
Sirius shook his head. "Damn it if I care!" he muttered and set his hand on top of James'.
With that the four Marauders vanished with a crack, leaving Lily to disparate to St. Mungo's, praying that the boys weren't too late.
"Is this it?" James whispered when they arrived with a crack and looked at the dark and gloomy house that stood before them. Sirius nodded as he tightened his grip on his wand.
"This is where the letter said to come..." He swallowed as he looked up at the house before morphing into his Animagus which took the form of a large black dog.
James nodded, pulling out his incredibly useful and very rare invisibility cloak before draping it over himself and Remus while Peter morphed into his Animagus form and settled himself on Remus' shoulder.
Once the Marauders were all ready, they made their way towards the door and separated, splitting into pairs so that they could search the house faster. Padfoot wasted no time in slamming into the front door, breaking it open and alerting the Death Eaters to their presence.
Two Death Eaters appeared in the hallway, their wands out ready to attack. It was clear that they were expecting aurors or maybe even a very angry Sirius or something a bit threatening because when they seen that it was just a black dog, the men lowered their wands.
"What the hell is a stupid dog doing here?" The first Death Eater asked. Padfoot recognised the voice under the silver mask to belong to Antonin Dolohvo.
The second Death Eater shrugged. "How should I know? Just ignore it, the mutt will go away," he said walking back into one of the rooms and took a seat. "Is Bellatrix done playing with her filthy doll?"
Those words were enough to make Padfoot's head snap up as his ears pricked up slightly. His heart was racing as he followed them into the house and listened to them. His poor wife!
"You know she won't finish until the Dark Lord stops her," Antonin chuckled, "but if you ask me the mudblood deserves it, pity she is hot,"
"You just want to play with her again!"
A snarl rippled through the air as those words enraged the black dog. James could have slapped him for drawing attention to himself but then again if anyone spoke like Lily in that way he'd react the same.
"Oooh, what's the matter mutt?" Antonin asked smirking as he rose to his feet. "You don't like what I'm saying huh? Would you like to see it instead?"
Suddenly Antonin gripped hold of Padfoot's ears tightly and began pulling. Padfoot barked in pain as he was dragged out of the room. He could feel one of his ears beginning to rip as he tried to break free, dragging his paws and snapping at Antonin. James on the other hand, could only watch and follow as his brother was thrown down a flight of stairs. He flinched as he heard his friend hitting the stairs, wincing at the thudding that echoed as his body hit the majority of the steps.
Padfoot could hear Antonin whistling in amusement as he followed down the stairs. Padfoot's whole body ached from the fall and he was sure his ribs were bruised maybe even cracked but he couldn't stop to think about himself when his wife was in no doubt much worse shape.
"Come on mutt, move it!" Antonin spat as he kicked Padfoot harshly in the side, in the direction of the room that lay opposite the stairs.
Padfoot snarled but moved anyway. His heart was hammering inside his chest as he reached the room. It was the most disgusting sight he'd ever seen. His body froze in horror as his eyes absorbed the bloody scene before him. His eyes were locked upon his vicious cousin as she had her back to him, clearly far too preoccupied casting her torturous spells upon her helpless victim.
"Like what you see mutt?" Antonin smirked as he watched with gleaming eyes. He made the mistake of taking his eyes off the seemingly non-threatening dog.
It only took a minute for Padfoot to transform into his human form. As soon he seen where his wife was he no longer needed a disguise. When Antonin turned his attention back to the dog, he was shocked to find a very mad Sirius Black standing before him. The Death Eater didn't even have time to try and defend himself before the auror's fist collided painfully with his face. The force knocked him backwards, hitting the floor with a head-splitting thud. The last thing he'd remember seeing was the blazing rage in the auror's eyes.
Soon spells, jinxes, hexes and curses were flying from the tip of his wand as Death eaters attacked him from all sides. However, it was clear that Sirius was not going to back down. He did whatever it took to get past anyone who dared to stand between him and his wife. Now and again a few Death Eaters got a lucky hit on Sirius, causing a flew slashes here and there but his anger was over powering any pain and the air was soon filled with screams of pain that echoed from the mouths of the injured Death Eaters who scattered the floor.
Sirius was too focused on rescuing his wife from the chains that kept her dangling from the ceiling to notice a Death Eater behind him who was rising to his feet and getting ready to attack as he raced to his beloved. However, James who had remained undetected had whipped off the Invisibility Cloak and shot a spell at the Death Eater before he could even come up with a curse.
With all the Death Eaters dealt with, Sirius wasted no time in kicking Bellatrix in the back, making her fall limply to the ground. It hadn't occurred to him how easy this was. He just glanced at the doll who was dressed in Bellatrix's clothes with a stick in its hand. But when he heard a weak moan and whimper escape his wife's lips all other things were expelled from his mind.
"El! James help me!" Sirius called frantically as he seen the state of his precious wife. With James' help, they removed the captive witch from her chains and carefully lowered her broken body into Sirius' arms.
"It's all over now, you're safe El! I'm here!" He told her, brushing her blood stained hair out of her blood stained face as he laid her carefully on his knees. He just wanted a response from his beloved wife.
"Oh how sweet," A bone chilling voice echoed through he room as a high heeled figure stepped into the light, unfazed by her fallen comrades and a sickening smile slowly spread across her face.
"You came!"
With a single bolt of light from James' wand, Bellatrix was knocked off her feet and thrown into a wall. He wouldn't let her hurt either of them again.
"This isn't your fight Potter!" Bellatrix snarled. "You've got your own game coming so wait your turn!"
"I dare you to try and lay another hand on either of them!" James snarled, stepping protectively in front of the couple on the ground with a furious glint in his eyes.
"Didn't mummy teach you not to meddle in affairs that don't concern you?" The witch taunted as a sickening smirk grew wider on her face. "Oh that's right, she's big dealt with and what about daddy, Potter? Do you still visit him?"
James tightened his grip on his wand as he tried to resist the urge to scream and charge at her for she had done to his family. He had never felt like killing someone before.
"Quite a nasty way to die, dragon pox," the mad with shook her head in mock sympathy as she continued to press his buttons, "who knew that was all it took, Rodolphus' simple trick!"
"He died as a warrior and nothing you do will change that!"
"A warrior, yes," Bellatrix scoffed, advancing as she rolled her eyes, "now step aside Potter, this is a family issue!"
With a single flick of her wand, James was sent smashing into the wall. The impact knocked him unconscious just as a Death Eater was thrown into the room, smashing the wind and was followed by a half transformed Remus appeared.
Upon seeing his fallen friend and the state of Sirius and Elodea, he growled in anger and whipped out his wand. "You will not hurt them anymore, you bitch!" He snarled threateningly as he began charging at Bellatrix.
"Don't interfere mutt!" Bellatrix warned him before casting a stunning spell on the werewolf. "Now with those pests dealt with, we can talk!"
"Leave us alone Bella! You've hurt her enough please just leave her alone!" Sirius snarled as he cradled his wife close to him to block her from his vile cousin. "You can hurt me all you want, just don't hurt her!"
Bellatrix smirked at his words. It was just what she wanted to hear. She raised her wand and pointed it at her little cousin before uttering the words of her favourite curse, one that she had used on him many times before.
"Crucio!"
Sirius groaned in agony and held his wife, yet he did not scream, not until she used more power, making him fall over his wife and scream as his whole body thrashed and shook with the effects.
Bellatrix smirked and continued to torture her little cousin with the torture curse before using another curse that made slashes form all over his body making him gag and tense. She didn't notice James recovering.
"Stupefy!" James bellowed over the screams of his friend. The blue light shot from his wand and hit its target, sending her off her feet and disarming her, rendering all of her spells useless.
Sirius gasped in pain and panted in relief as the pain finally stopped and his body could recover as two sets of feet raced towards him. He felt his slashes begin to heal as someone casted a counter spell to heal him briefly.
"Sirius! Are you alright?" The disorientated wizard could hear two people asking him as he struggled to his feet with Elodea in her arms.
He nodded. "W-we...ah...have to go!" he managed.
They apparated into the lobby of St. Mungo's with a crack, where they met Lily rushing towards them and gasping at the state of her best friend. "Quickly, this way come on!" She told them as she began leading them through several corridors before they reached a ward where they were greeted by a dozen healers.
"W-will she be alright?" Sirius asked as Elodea was taken from his arms and carefully placed on a bed, he felt like his legs were going to crumble but that didn't matter, only the love of his life was his concern.
"You need to get yourself looked at Sirius, you've been under the effects of the Cruciatus Curse and I suggest that while they are giving your wife and emergency c-sec…"
The words shook Sirius to his very core. "W-what?!" he asked shocked. "S-she can't! She still has another four months!"
The nurse sighed. "She can't hold the baby any longer, now either sit and wait quietly or get yourself checked!" She explained before shoving them out of the room.
Sirius couldn't breathe, his legs went weak and he had to lean against the wall. "Merlin's beard! She...she can't lose the b-baby!" he wheezed.
"Sirius, calm down," James whispered, wrapping one of his arms around his shoulders and led him to sit down. "She's in the best hands and Lily is with her?" he reminded him.
A pitiful whimper escaped Sirius as his shoulders shook and he put his head in his hands. "What if she doesn't..."
"Sirius don't," Remus whispered, "don't think about it, just think about that baby yeah?"
Sirius nodded. He just couldn't believe it! How could they do this to his wife?! How could those foul people do something so horrible to a woman as gentle as his wife? Elodea once scolded him for spooking a bird.
Why did he have to bring someone so precious into his cruel family? It didn't matter how many hours that she had spent trying to convince him that he wasn't a curse, he knew he was and yet she kept telling him that he wasn't defined by the blood running through his veins but by the choices he made.
"Remus!" James' sudden voice made Sirius snap out of his self-blaming thoughts. "Stop pacing please, you're making me sick!"
"Sorry..." Remus breathed as he took a seat bedside Sirius.
Sirius shook his head. "It's been too long!" he said finally, his body hadn't stopped shaking.
"It'll be okay Pad, she'll be alright," James tried to reassure him.
"No James! I want to see her! I want to go in!" He said like a demanding child as he rose to his weak feet.
"Sirius Orion Black, get back here!" James called as he rose to his feet and caught Sirius' arm. "You are in no condition to be going in there, either sit down or go get yourself seen to mate!"
"Sirius, James is right," Remus sighed, "you won't do them any good by hovering around them, it will only distract them."
Sirius whimpered and huffed as he eventually sat down, once again burying his face in his hands. Time passed too slowly for his likening and before he knew it his foot was twitching, tapping repeatedly off the floor like it always did whenever he was anxious. This was all his fault and he knew it.
The sudden sound of a door opening snapped Sirius from his thoughts as a nurse stepped out of Elodea's room.
"You may go in," she told them.
Sirius shot out of his chair faster than James whizzed around the Quidditch pitch after the snitch. He rushed into the room where his wounded wife lay. She was still as beautiful as ever. Lily sat in a chair next to her with a tiny baby sleeping in her arms, bundled up in blankets. She stroked Elodea's hair with a hand, tears brimming in her eyes before they streamed down her face slowly.
"El..." Sirius breathed, running to her side and taking one of her limp hands in his. "Hey love, you are okay, you're safe now!" he murmured softly as he kissed her hand gently.
"I'm so sorry!"
"H-have you seen her?" She whispered brokenly.
Sirius looked up to the baby girl that lay sleeping in Lily's arms as she carefully laid the baby in his arms. He smiled sadly as he seen his daughter. She was so small and had long dark lashes that rested on her soft cheeks, she also had thin eyebrows with a tuft of purple and orange hair. "Yeah love," he breathed, "she is awesome and healthy, not to mention how small and beautiful she is!"
"W-who does she look l-like?" Elodea asked weakly.
"You, she's all you love, just like I told you she would be," Sirius chuckled softly as he kissed his baby's soft head. "You should listen to me more often!"
Elodea smiled. "Good," she breathed softly, "she'll remind you of me then..."
Those words made Sirius freeze. His heart stopped and he prayed he had miss heard her. James sniffled and hugged his wife as he watched the heart breaking scene before him.
"W-what?" Sirius gave a scared and nervous laugh as he held onto his daughter and looked at his wife. He could see her eyes fluttering. "D-don't talk like that! El, y-you're going to be fine a-and we'll raise our daughter together!" He refused to believe it. He wouldn't. She was not dying!
"B-behave *swallows* my rascal and be strong," the dying woman whispered. "R-remember that I'll never really leave you, I will always be with you in here..."
The beautiful blonde haired muggle-born witch's used the last of her strength to place her free hand on the centre of his chest, delicately resting it over his heart.
"No El, please don't! Honey you'll be fine!" Panic began to rise rapidly within the young wizard's heart as he watched his wife's eyes slowly close.
"W-watch out *heavy breathing* for the r-rat..." Using her last breath, the witch tried to warn her frantic husband as tears left both their eyes. Seeing him crying and in denial was worse than the increasing numbness of death.
They say that when you die, out of all your senses it is hearing that is the last to go. In Elodea's case that was in fact true. Her sense of touch was the first to go as she could no longer feel Sirius' heart beating under her hand, the second was her sense of taste as she could no longer taste the blood in her mouth, then it was her sense of smell, then speech. But the pain was made worse when her sense of sight vanished. The last thing she saw was Sirius handing Lily their daughter and him leaning forward, closer to her and began shaking her, then it was her hearing. It killed her to listen to her husband beg her not to leave him, to keep fighting and not die, to stay with him and not leave him alone...
"El? N-no please!" Sirius' eyes widened as his wife's hand fell from his chest. "Baby please no! Don't go!" he begged her, he was too consumed with panic and grief to pay any attention to her final warning.
"Elodea open your eyes! Love, p-please y-you can't leave me!" Sirius sobbed as he stroked her cold skin before lifting her lifeless body in his arms. "You have to stop me from screwing up our little girl!"
A choked sob escaped Lily as she rushed to James' embrace with the her god daughter in her arms, hiding in her husband's chest as he wrapped his arms around her, tears cascading down his face as he watched the heart breaking scene in front of them. It was bad enough that one of his best friends had been tortured to death, but now he was forced to watch his brother destroy himself with grief, heartache and denial...
"S-Sirius," Remus managed through his own tears as he watched him, "Sirius i-it's too late..."
"D-don't be ridic-ridiculous Remus!" Sirius said shaking his head as he gently kissed his wife and brushed her face, cradling her close to him. "S-she's just sleeping, s-she promised me that we'd be t-together for ever!"
James bit his lip so hard that blood began to spill as he listened to the broken voice of his brother. Tears were cascading down Sirius' face as he tried to keep himself from shattering but it was too late. He was shaking and the sobs racked his body.
"She can't leave me!" Sirius broke down as he hugged his lifeless wife in his arms. "She promised!"
"Lily, go get a healer," James whispered as he let go of his wife and slowly began to walk towards his brother. "Sirius, there was nothi-" he began.
"No!" Sirius barked as his head snapped up to glare at James. "Don't James! You told me that she'd be alright!" he sobbed, resting his head against his late wife's.
James swallowed and instantly felt a stab at his heart. Sirius was right. "I know...I-I wanted to believe that s-she'd be okay!" he told him.
"Why?" Sirius sobbed hysterically. Tears were streaming down his face as his whole world was crashing around him. "T-this is-isn't real!" he told himself as he kissed his wife's cold lips and her cold forehead just as Lily returned with healers.
"No!" Sirius snarled as his wife was taken from his arms. "Elodea wake up! Show them you're okay! Please El! You can't leave me!"
Sirius felt two sets of arms around him, pulling him away from the healers while he struggled against them. James and Remus struggled to keep Sirius out of their way while the healers tried to revive Elodea.
"Sirius, I'm so sorry!" Remus told his friend as they watched the healers shake their heads and carefully draped the white sheet over the fallen witch's body.
Everything stopped for Sirius. He could no longer feel anything as his world, his life crumbled before his eyes. His sobs turned into the wails of a dying man as he crumbled to the ground. He felt like his heart was being ripped into a million pieces. He could only hear his muffled wails and screams as time slowed down and reality hit. He stopped fighting his brothers and crumbled with grief and he broke down, falling to his knees and sobbing.
"El don't! Please don't leave me all alone!" He sobbed, his body shaking with heartache and grief. "M-make her come back Remy! J-Jamie, why did I do Thai to her!" The auror begged his brothers but knew it was impossible. "S-she can't leave me!"
James and Remus were frozen in shock, never in the time that they had known Sirius had they seen him looking so vulnerable and broke, usually he was the strongest of the four of them, always being able to keep it together. Lily bent down beside Sirius and placed his little girl in his arms and hugged him.
Sirius held the last piece of his wife carefully in his arms as he allowed Lily to rock him while he wailed in agony. "W-why c-can't they l-leave her a-alone!? W-why am I s-such a curse!" he sobbed. "W-why couldn't t-they let me b-be happy!? I-it's all m-my fault!"
"No Sirius!" Lily told him as she cried and rocked his shaking body. "This wasn't your fault Sirius!"
"Y-yes it is! M-my f-family *panicked and heart broken sobs* killed h-her to g-get to m-me! Oh Merlin! Lily! It hurts! It hurts so m-much! I-I feel like I-I'm dying!"