Apparition
"Dumbledore, what's going on?" Lily cried anxiously, her hair whirling as she jerked her head around to face her old professor.
"I'm afraid I don't know Ms. Evans. " How the wizard was keeping a calm face, no one knew.
James took his wife in his arms as the swirling vortex grew bigger and bigger. Sirius and Remus glanced at each other worriedly as the rest of the Order scooted away from fear of being swallowed up. Then, just as quickly as it had started, the vortex stopped and smoothed out into a thin, foamy white rectangle. The members of the Order of the Phoenix stared at it apprehensively.
"What the hell is that?!" Alastor "Mad Eye" Moody growled. The others murmured to themselves, unsure what to make of the white screen hovering before them.
"I haven't the slightest idea," Dumbledore said in a way that could almost be mistaken for cheerfully. As if mysteriously appearing things amused him, which they actually might. Who knows.
"Should we…," Remus started, "I don't know, do something?"
"Like what," Sirius said sarcastically, "poke it with a stick?"
Remus glared at his friend before turning back to his old headmaster. "What do you suggest, Sir?"
Before Dumbledore could answer Remus's question, the white screen started shifting. An image seemed to be forming out of the colorlessness, blurry at first but growing clearer until two distinct blobs could be made out. Some members of the Order began to rise out of their seats at the dining table, but Dumbledore gestured for them to sit back down.
"I believe observation is the best method for know," he said. Almost no one agreed with him, but they stayed seated anyway.
The images were still getting clearer and a loud gasp and a few shrieks emitted from the group.
"That's-that's…," Dedalus Diggle stuttered.
"Voldemort," James whispered fearfully, grasping Lily even closer. Dumbledore motioned for everyone to be quiet, they complied. Many of the Order were still shaking and cowering, however.
"Bring him forward," the Dark Lord hissed to someone out of view. He was in a dark room with seemingly no one else there. Although there must be for him to be talking to someone. A person was thrust before Voldemort harshly, his knees hitting the cold floor with a smack and his hands stretched outward to catch himself. No one in the dining room could make out who the person was, only that they were in pretty bad shape, young, and that they were definitely not a friend of the evil wizard they kneeled in front of.
The view from which the screen was showing the Order switched to show the front of the man, no, boy. His head of dark hair was bowed so they couldn't make out his face.
"Where is it?" Voldemort yelled at the boy. When he didn't raise his head the Dark Lord ordered, "Pull him up!"
Two Death Eaters gripped the boy by the sides so that his feet were just dangling off of the floor. One of the Death Eaters grabbed his hair and yanked his head back to reveal his face.
"No," James whispered, turning to face Sirius. Everyone else was looking at the disowned Black as well.
"But that's…," Sirius trailed off before finishing, "that's Regulus." No one responded to his mutterings, but focused their attention on the scene unfolding before them.
Regulus was staring defiantly at the Dark Lord, his eyes blazing with a fire that Sirius had never witnessed in them before.
"Where is it?" Voldemort repeated venomously. So the young Black had stolen something, but what?
To the surprise of everyone, Regulus's face broke into a smile. "Go fuck yourself, you arrogant dick." He chuckled.
To say that Sirius was shocked would be an understatement.
The view switched to show both people, along with the two Death Eaters, from the side. Voldemort reached a hand out and struck the boy across his face, leaving three scratch marks and a splatter of blood on the floor. One of the Death Eaters holding Sirius's brother up twisted his arm between his shoulder blades. Regulus didn't make a sound, but gritted his teeth and screwed his eyes closed.
"Where is it?!" Voldemort screamed. Regulus chuckled once more, despite the pain he was in.
"I'll never tell you," he smirked, then added. "And don't even think that Veritaserum will work on me."
Was he bluffing or had he really built up immunity to the truth serum? Either way, Moody was impressed.
"Believe me," Voldemort leaned in menacingly, "I've got other ways of making you talk."
And for the first time since the screen had appeared, the Order saw a flicker of fear cross Regulus's face. It was soon gone and replaced with the cockiness that had been there before, but they had seen it. And Voldemort had too.
"Bring it, you prick," Regulus spat in the Dark Lord's face. Voldemort smiled cruelly before the screen turned black.
"Crucio," a cold hissing voice said. The voice was followed by a screaming so filled with pain that it echoed in Sirius's ears even after the screen disappeared, replaced with wall that had been there originally.
Everyone was silent, shocked by what they had just witnessed. Remus spoke up tentatively after a few minutes. "Was that…real, professor?"
"I don't know, Mr. Lupin," he confessed quietly, "I don't know. It could very well have been a trick, or Mr. Black could really be in trouble."
Sirius's face was white and his eyes were wide, but he managed to ask shakily, "But, if it really was real, then shouldn't we go help him?"
"No," Alastor said.
"What?" Sirius breathed.
"We are not risking more men to save some Death Eater who may or may not be in trouble," Mad Eye elaborated. Sirius stood up and glared at the aged auror. Alastor stood up to meet him.
"We can't just leave him," Sirius said darkly.
"We can't risk it," Moody repeated grimly. "He's just a Death Eater."
"He's my brother!' Sirius shrieked. He turned to his friends. "James, Remus, Peter…back me up here."
The three were silent for a while before Remus, ever the voice of reason, spoke up. "If Regulus really is being tortured," he started off slowly, "then it would be immoral to just let them continue on."
"Besides," James added, "Voldemort obviously wanted something from him. Something important. If we can rescue Regulus then he can tell us where it is. It might help in the war."
Peter nodded shakily in agreement. The four friends turned to Dumbledore for his decision.
"If we can figure out where Mr. Black is being held," he began, "then I believe we should at least attempt to save him." As soon as those words were said, a small slip of paper floated down and landed on the table, right in front of Sirius.
"Malfoy Manor," he read. Sirius glanced up at the Order, not knowing if the mysterious paper would change Dumbledore's mind. He hoped with every bone in his body that it didn't, he had to rescue his brother. He had to.