Valerie sneezed. Sitting up as far as she could she took in her very dusty surroundings. Boards were covering the windows and the room looked like it had been abandoned for decades. The furniture was all broken across the room and huge cobwebs hung from the ceiling. Pulling as hard as she could on the bonds until they were creaking she hoped the headboard was rotten enough to break under the strain. Giving up she dropped her face back into the pillow, raising a small cloud of dust. Becoming aware of a second body on the ancient bed she looked over at her kidnapper.

Sirius Black looked almost human when he slept. His eyes were rolling back and forth under his lids and he'd occasionally whimper. Rolling over he started to shift restlessly. The dust from the bed was sticking to his sweating face making him even filthier. Sitting up with a ragged gasp he leapt from the bed and slammed into the wall. Forcing himself into a corner he cradled his head in his arms and mumbled incoherently. Rocking back and forth he slowly calmed down. Looking up desperately around the room his gray eyes found hers.

"Sleep good?" she asked calmly. She wouldn't feel pity for the man who'd taken her hostage. His eyes focused as he glared at her. Shakily rising to his feet and leaning heavily against the wall until his breath had calmed down he pushed off toward her. Willing herself not to flinched she stared boldly at him.

"Look I didn't plan on this. I'm not going to hurt you, but you can't leave."

"Oh I completely forgot my manors."

"Right, then. What's your name, love?" she scowled and looked pointedly at the other wall. "Listen you're going to be stuck here for a while so you might as well tell me your name." His throat seems to croak from lack of use. Valerie wondered when the last time he'd talked to someone was. Stories of the Brit's famous prison had reached her in the States and nothing about them sounded pleasant.

"Valerie."

"Pet, I know this isn't an ideal situation, but I'm not going to hurt you. Believe me?" Valerie looked at him. Nothing he had done rang sociopathic killer. He was defiantly a little unhinged, but he didn't act like a bloodthirsty maniac. Tilting her head for him to continue he sighed and said, "I know this probably won't make a difference to you, but for what it's worth I'm innocent."

"No one is completely innocent," she said flatly. "If you're innocent why are you here? Hogwarts doesn't seem like a smart place for you to be. The whole place is surrounded by dementors."

"I'm going to get the man who framed me." He growled angrily.

"Taken your time haven't you? You've been in for over a decade." Now would be a good time for her to shut up. Provoking Sirius Black was a terrible way to start the day.

"He disappeared after. Everyone thinks I killed him."

"Who is this guy?" Valerie asked skeptically.

"Peter Petigrew," he spat the name with such venom she almost recoiled.

"Never heard of him."

"How much do you know about me?"

"Honestly hadn't heard of you until I got here and you escaped. Only know what's been in the papers recently."

"I didn't kill any of those people. Petigrew did." Valerie was positive now this man was crazy. Not wanting to make him mad she continued faking interest in his delusions.

"So what do you plan on doing now you're here?"

"Term hasn't started yet. I'll get some stuff for this place so it's more comfortable. I'll find us some food."

"Did you bring my bag? There's some canned stuff in there and some wet wipes that you could definitely use."

"Wet wipes?"

"I eat muggle food a lot and at rib places they give you prepackaged wet napkins to wipe your face with. I've been throwing them in my bag whenever they gave them too me."

"Why would you save those?" he sounded amused.

"I've got a pretty sizable enlargement charm on that bag. There's a lot of random shit in there." She watched him start pulling things out of her bag and set them on the floor.

"You weren't joking were you?" he said holding up a set of sheets and a coffee pot. Setting them aside he pulled out some cans of food and immediately set to work on the food. Not bothering trying to heat anything up he drank down a can of chicken noodle in a few eager swallows. "Fuck that's good."

"It keeps you going. You want to untie me? I can change this bed and I need the bathroom." He continued searching the bag ignoring her. Suddenly he smiled and pulled out a pair of muggle handcuffs.

"What are these for?" he said raising an eyebrow at her as he examined his prize.

"Sometimes the whole dominance thing is fun. Don't get excited." He had started walking toward her with the cuffs and snapped them on her wrists while he untied her.

"The toilet is through that door. Plumbing still works, but make it quick." Valerie rolled to her feet and slammed the bathroom door shut behind her. The bathroom was sizable, but only had a small window near the high ceiling. Glaring at the window beyond reach she turned to the sink and began testing the facilities. The water came through the tap in uneven spurts of brown but slowly cleared to something resembling clean water and she hastily washed off her face. Returning to the bedroom where Black was looking through the small library she always had with her she began stripping the bed and replacing it with the clean sheets.

Even with cuffs on it took very little time. Valerie was soon standing there with nothing to do. Sitting in front of Black she pulled out her cigarettes and lit up to give her hands something to do. He looked up when she flicked the lighter and gave her puppy dog eyes. Glaring back at him she blew smoke in his general direction and put the pack back in her pocket. "Give me the lighter."

"No."

"I'm not having you setting the bed on fire while I sleep. Give it." She shook her head stubbornly and started pacing. Without warning he pounced on her knocking them both on the bed. Hands cuffed there was little Valerie could do to prevent him from pinning her and rustling through her pockets for her lighter. Wrapping her legs around his bony waist she flipped them quickly. She didn't realize how close they were to the edge of the bed and they were soon falling off. In the confusion he managed to get back on top. "You're a feisty little thing," he said breathlessly.

"Yeah well you're a dirty thing so get the fuck off of me." She began writhing and twisting beneath him. Laughing he rolled off her and back to the stack of books picking up her dropped cigarette and taking a long pull from it. "That's mine," she said angrily.

"You've got a whole pack. Give us a break, love. I haven't had a smoke in thirteen years." She stuck her tongue out at him and sat back down.

Sirius watched the woman from the corner of his eyes. He hadn't been able to resist getting her under him again, but it ended far too quickly. He'd gotten off of her before she noticed his growing erection and he'd been able to readjust himself when she was looking the other way.

Other the rest of the day they didn't speak to each other. Valerie paced and sighed making sure he knew she was bored, but Sirius had spent so long confined to a cell that the old room in the Shack with the small collection of books was like a vacation.

As night fell he used the old sheets to block out any light from the boarded windows, so they could light some candles. While he was busy Valerie began going through her clothes, pulling out a loose shirt and pants. He watched her enter the bathroom to change for the night and wondered what she'd do about the shirt. As if on cue she swore loudly. Walking back out with the pants on she thrust her cuffed hands under his nose. "Uncuff me." He smiled and pulled out the key to release one of her hands. When she turned back to the bathroom he stopped her shaking his head. She glared and turned her back on him changing her top at lightning speed and pulling her bra off from underneath her fresh shirt. Dramatically recuffing her free hand she stomped back to the bathroom to brush her teeth.

Sirius was still smiling when she came back and started going through her bag. She walked over to him and handed him some of her loose clothes and a new toothbrush. "I'm not waking up to dog breath again." He gave a bark of laughter and accepted the clothes.

"You ready then?" She glared and held out her hands again so he could uncuff her and recuff her to the headboard while he bathed. Once he was satisfied she couldn't leave he walked to the tub and filled it with the door open while he brushed his teeth. Pulling off his filthy robes from Azkaban he left the door open a crack so he could listen to Valerie. Lowering his pants he stepped into the tub with a contented sigh. She had left a bar of soap and shampoo next to the tub on top of a hand towel and a larger one for his body. Wishing he could spend a few hours soaking he regrettably began scrubbing years of dirt off his ruined body. Looking down at his wasted limbs he washed even quicker. He finished his bath in record time no longer comfortable with the clear reminder of the last thirteen years.

Reentering the room in a foul mood he blew out the candles and settled on the floor in front of the only exit. The bed was softer than anything he'd had in years and with the clean sheets it was like lying on a cloud. Valerie didn't seem to feel the same. She continued shifting and rattling the cuffs on the headboard. "What?" he asked finally.

"I can't sleep with my arms like this. They're going numb." He stood up and released her hands putting the cuffs into his pocket. Sighing she rolled onto her side and curled her arms against her chest. Returning to the floor he transformed and curled up. She wouldn't be able to open the door without hitting him. The room was soon filled with deep breathing as they both fell asleep.

Valeria woke sometime in the night. Unsure what had woken her she remained still, listening for Black. At some point he had resumed human form and was thrashing on the floor. "No please… no more…I'm sorry…all my fault…Please don't…" he seemed to be pleading to multiple people as he cowered on the floor. Standing up Valerie slowly walked toward him. Reaching out she touched his shoulder. The effect was immediate. He gave a pained scream and started thrashing violently. Jumping back Valerie watching in horror at tears started to stream down his face.

When he started tearing at his skin moaning Valerie stepped in. He was so weak it was easy for her to subdue him. Soon he was shaking and mumbled incoherently in her arms. "Black, wake up. You're okay. It's okay," she said soothingly. Rubbing his arms she began to hum as she rocked him. Waking slowly he continued to shake, but he grabbed desperately at her loose shirt clutching the material tightly. "You're safe. They're gone." He buried his face into her shoulder and cried silently. "Come on we can share the bed." She helped him stand and guided him to the bed. Sirius scooted next to her and carefully snapped one of the cuffs on each of their wrists. "Really?" she sighed incredulously.

"Can't have you running off, love." He said tiredly settling his arm around her waist. Too tired to argue she sighed and quickly fell asleep.

Sirius pressed his nose into her hair and breathed deeply. The cuff around his wrist sent him back to nights spent shackled in his cell. His wrists had long since scared and calloused, but it never became comfortable to him. Tonight he just wanted to be sure Valerie would still be there when he woke up. Only the warm body pressed into his front did anything to calm him. Moving closer so he could feel more of her warmth he slowly fell asleep against her feeling a little more anchored.