Written for History of Magic Assignment 11 for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Task: Write about darkness in any form.

Prompts used - Genre: Angst; Word: Stop

Thanks, once again, Laura, for your much needed help. Guys, do check out her stories. They are really good. You can find her in my favorites - Sable Supernova.

Receding Darkness

Sirius' PoV

Dark. An endless abyss. A never-ending blindness. I've been left in this hellhole for, perhaps, a month. You see, you could never tell the time. I have been waiting for some kind of correspondence - for a person to inform me about the date of the trial. I had been hoping for Remus to visit me, for anyone to visit me, so I could tell them that Peter was the traitor. Peter was the one who killed Lily and James.

I felt the familiar cold getting closer. My mouth opened in a silent scream. My arms wrapped around my knees. I didn't want them near. I was already in the corner. I couldn't get away far enough. There were Dementors making their rounds. I was still fresh fodder for them, full of positivity compared to others. They delighted in feeding off my memories.

The cold of the castle walls penetrated into my skin. I could feel my ribs digging into my stomach and lungs. The pain was unbearable, but nothing compared to the pain of losing your memories - the most intimate part of your life. I held onto my memories, preparing myself for the onslaught of desperation that would wash over me.

There it was. The cold spreading up through my hands and feet, unnaturally fast. I heard distant screaming as I tried to keep the Dementors out of the memory of when James and I first met - at a Christmas party. The misery poured over me. Please make it stop!

Flashback

I looked around. There was no one my age at this Christmas party. My parents had insisted that I had to be there because I'll be the future Lord Black. I'll happily give away the title if it meant I didn't have to dress up in stuffy boring shirts and suits. I resisted the urge to rub my neck and loosen my tie.

The part was hosted by the Potters. My parents had informed me they had a son my age who could keep me company. The implied meaning being "It's time you started making allies. The Potter boy is a perfect pureblood for you to befriend. It is important for business."

You see, the Potters were natural fliers. It came to no one's surprise that a Potter in the sixteenth century decided to make a faster broom, a better quality broom and named it Nimbus P. The Nimbus for clouds, and P for Potter. Since then, there had been a long line of Nimbus' brooms made by various generations of Potters. They were Witch Weekly's most nominated brooms recommended by professional Quidditch players.

The Blacks, wouldn't be left behind. My family had been in wood charming since a long time. The case for holding the Quidditch balls - the snitch, the Quaffle, and the Bludgers - was first invented by a Black in the 18th century. Till then, there had been no secure way to keep away a Bludger. We had a long- standing contract with Cleensweep Broommaking.

Father wanted to make a deal with Potters about charming the Nimbus. The profit gained from that kind of a deal will be incredible.

I hope I meet that Potter boy soon. No doubt, he'd be pampered. On top of that, he was also an only child. I wanted to get this over with and go back to my father to claim he was such a spoiled brat that he won't even talk with me.

I was feeling hot. I waded through the sea of people to reach the opposite corner of the room where there was a balcony - its ornate doors adding a tasteful glamour to the ballroom. I quietly slipped out. I immediately went towards the shadows, instead of the railing, and starting to unloosen my tie.

"What are doing?" I heard the voice say from where I was heading. I paused. It was a young boy's voice, somewhat high, full of curiosity.

"Who are you? Come out." I said in a confident voice, as if the sudden noise hadn't startled me.

"This is my home.I'm James Potter. Who are YOU?" Ah, so the elusive Potter had been hiding away.

"I am Sirius, Sirius Black. Nice to meet you. Nice hiding place, huh?" I asked jokingly as I went ahead, towards the dark silhouette, swathed in the blanket of darkness.

End of Flashback

And then, we'd talked away the whole evening. I felt the memory receding, fading away, like a white noise which fades into the background. I closed my eyes, desperate for some kind of reprive from this mental agony. I could always feel the loss of a memory, each more acute than the previous one. They were still there, the dementors. I'm curled in a fetal position, to protect myself from beings who couldn't even physically touch me. A derisive laugh echoed through the wall, a hollow sound.

There was the soft, oh-so-familiar pop! I breathed a sigh of relief! I had converted to my Animagus form, a dog. I didn't dare breath, nor open my eyes, lest the Dememtors recognise me. I could feel they were confused . I wanted to let out a big woof of joy! I could already feel the warmth returning gradually. The darkness receding, bit by bit, into the background.

Author's note: Please review...

Update: I got 17/20 for this one.