Killing Time

Summary: What does Sirius think about now that he's free to contemplate whatever he likes? With no Dementors around to feed on happy memories, what does Sirius choose to remember but the bittersweet?

Chapter One: Sharon

Sirius fiddled with a chicken bone he had been gnawing on for the past two days and chuckled to himself. He glanced over at Buckbeak, who was entertaining himself by ripping up an old issue of the Daily Prophet. He was happier than he had been in a long time, now that he was free of Azkaban. It's not like bliss, not like he had with Sharon, but it wasn't misery either. It just… was.

Looking back on what had happened before Azkaban, Sirius saw things in a more matter-of-fact manner. In Azkaban, the Dementors had managed to make every memory an unhappy one. So now, all the horrible things he had never wanted to think about in Azkaban didn't seem so bad.

There was one that still stung his heart. White and red mixing together to create a horribly wrong image. Black hair sprawled across the floor, dark eyes closed…

Now that he could, he thought of her, and the moment of pure happiness he had felt before he felt pure despair.

The night was cold, in spite of the spring's efforts of warmth and Sirius was leaning against the white wooden door.

"At least describe it to me, Sharon!"

"No! I'll leave you to wonder!" Sirius heard the giggles Sharon was trying to suppress. He smiled, happily. In June, they would be married. Three months away. The thought of having her, being able to lawfully call her his overwhelmed him. He thought of caressing her petite stature and running his hands through her dark hair like he'd done so many times before, but the thought of doing it as husband and wife…

"Sirius, are you still there?" Sharon asked.

"Oh, I'm here!" he said, immediately. "I'd never leave your side Sharon." Nothing could ruin this now. But…

Sirius jumped and turned at the sound of a crash and noticed the shards of glass below the shattered window. His eyes widened to see three men in dark hoods. Instantly, he turned to the door, but one of the Death Eaters knocked him to the floor and pinned him against the wall.

"Where is Sharon Bates." One thing was for certain, it was not a question.

"Sharon… Sharon who?" Sirius said. The Death Eater banged his head against the wall.

"I'll say it again. Where is Sharon Bates?"

"I don't know what—"

"WHERE IS SHE?!" The Death Eater threw Sirius angrily onto the couch and Sirius struggled to get up.

"Wha-What do you want with her?" he asked, gathering up his courage. Beneath the hood, Sirius could see the Death Eater sneer.

"She is a powerful Auror with a high position. She is of use to us. Now, one more time. Tell us where Sharon Bates is and you will live."

"Uh… She's grocery shopping. Won't be back for a while, you know. All those old ladies wrestling over cabbages. Don't underestimate them, I met this one with a powerful left hook—" Sirius halted and his face screwed up in pain as a second Death Eater grabbed him by his shaggy hair and pulled him to his feet. The first Death Eater shouted a curse.

"CRUCIO!"

Sirius was certain his screams reverberated through the neighborhood. He definitely knew Sharon could hear him. But at that moment, he didn't care about Sharon, or anyone else, all he cared about was stopping the pain, anything to stop the stabbing sensation drilling a hole through his heart and severing his lungs. He felt as if all the blood vessels in his body would burst and he could do anything…

And then, it stopped.

"Well, we'll try a different question, shall we?" said the first Death Eater. "Tell us where James and Lily Potter are hiding."

"Ja-James and Lily?" Sirius panted. "I… I've lost contact, I haven't seen him since—"

"Crucio!" And it started again. Sirius twisted in agony for seconds that seemed to last for hours. In those seconds, he became deaf to anything louder than a pin drop. He heard footsteps. Tiny footsteps that he recognized. The person was light on their feet and Sirius knew it was from all the dancing she did. He knew everything about her, even her footsteps. But the pain stopped. The Death Eater torturing Sirius was caught by surprise.

"YOU!" he shouted, grabbing the girl by the hand. She was still wearing her wedding dress. "You are Sharon Bates!" Sharon screamed and stunned the man, running back to the dressing room and slamming the door. All three Death Eaters lunged after her, but they could not open the door.

"Alohomora!" one of them screamed, but to no avail. The door glowed with a strange light and Sirius knew it was their security spell. Only he and Sharon knew the number to unlock it. The first Death Eater turned and glared at Sirius. He knew Sirius knew the code number. And Sirius knew that there were no windows in Sharon's room and the security spell prevented her from Apparating.

"Tell me the code," the first Death Eater hissed. Sirius slowly shook his head. "THE CODE!" the Death Eater screamed. The third Death Eater shouted the Cruciatus curse once more and Sirius knew anguish. And anything he had to do, whatever he had to say to stop the pain, he would do it, he would say it. He would give them the number.

"The code, Sirius Black!"

"Argh…." Sirius groaned. "10…31…8…8……" and it stopped. Sirius felt as if all the bones in his body had been broken and that his body had turned to water. He slithered to the floor and gasped for breath as the Death Eaters opened the door. Only after he heard Sharon's screams did he realize what he had done.

"SHARON!" he cried and tried to stop it. He would do anything, anything to save his Sharon. For losing her would be agony ten times worse than the Cruciatus. "AVADA KEDAVERA!" One of the Death Eaters fell at the curse, but the other two Disapparated. Sirius lay there for a moment on the floor, the welcomed silence booming in his ears. Finally, he regained strength enough to stand up. Though his legs were shaking, he had to see, he had to know.

The image of white satin stained with crimson haunted his mind forever.