Bonjour encore! So, this was originally going to be part of the next chapter, but I decided it was better on its own. It's sort of a filler chapter and kind of short, but next chapter will be longer and better. Although I must say, I'm quite happy with how this ended up.
Merci beaucoup to Bluehamster9, cinastories, Dancing-Souls, RockyMountainNerd, liknu, SB- Potterhead Budgie Lover, k4p1o3p, Fangirl-Jess, and andeisawesome for reviewing, favoriting and following! Siriusly, every time I got an alert it made my day!
This chapter is dedicated to Bluehamster9 for leaving the longest review and motivating me to go and write this!
EDIT 11/26: I have updated this chapter because there were a few tiny things I decided I wasn't happy with. Not necessary to reread, but it has been updated slightly. Don't worry, the last chapter will be out soon.
"Only the dead have seen the end of the war." ~George Santayana
A thunderstorm raged violently, somehow managing to drown out the sound of the waves crashing on the rocky beach. Rain thundered down in huge smashing drops. Lightning flashed, illuminating for a moment the silhouette of a formidable walled fortress standing dark and threatening on the remote craggy island.
The electric light then faded back to reveal a shadowy overcast sky. The heavy fog hung sinisterly in the air; crushing, pressing in from all sides. The entire place seemed to reek with the acrid scent of fear and insanity—and as if to prove that, a bloodcurdling scream tore out from the heart of the fortress. It was a scream of despair—of desperation, mania; the scream of one who has been driven mad by fear.
Thunder rolled through the dim gray sky, drowning out the sound of the hair-raising scream.
A nineteen-year-old man sat nursing his morning coffee at the small table in the flat he currently shared with his friend. The friend sat across from him, only half paying attention to his blueberry bagel as he worked on the crossword in the morning edition of the Daily Prophet.
Sirius watched his friend, studying the way Remus' brows furrowed as he worked on a particularly difficult word, when there came the distinct tapping of an owl at the window.
Seeing that Remus was currently absorbed in his crossword and hadn't even noticed the owl, Sirius reluctantly set down his coffee, heaving himself out of his chair and over to the window. What he saw there took him by surprise, as he happened to recognize this particular owl from childhood memories.
He opened the window, and the elegant white owl swooped in, landing gracefully on the table and startling Remus out of his CrosswordLandTM. The owl surveyed his surroundings with obvious distaste, turning his back on the werewolf and cocking his head imperiously at Sirius.
Sirius moved back over to the table; there was a slight hesitance in his step that didn't go unnoticed by Remus. Raising an eyebrow, the werewolf glanced at Sirius questioningly.
Sirius sighed. "Malfoy's owl," he said as way of explanation. Remus blinked in surprise, then made a face and returned to CrosswordLandTM.
Sighing again, Sirius tentatively untied the letter on the owl's leg. He highly doubted that the Death Eather Lucius Malfoy would ever write to either him or Remus, so it stood to reason that the letter was from…yep, Cissy, he confirmed as he looked down at the envelope. It was formally addressed to Sirius Orion Black III from Narcissa Malfoy née Black, in his youngest cousin's neat handwriting.
Sirius paid the owl, who glared at him with undisguised disgust and swooped back out the still-open window, before returning to his seat and his coffee. He glanced at the envelope.
"Are you going to open it?"
Sirius jumped at the sound of Remus' voice. The werewolf had finally put down his crossword and was staring at him expectantly with one eyebrow raised.
"I don't trust that anything coming from the Malfoys isn't booby-trapped," he replied after a moment.
He thought that this was perfectly reasonable, but Remus' other eyebrow went up and he sent Sirius his wow-you-really-are-an-idiot look. It was a look that Sirius got quite a lot from him, surprisingly. "Are you a wizard," Remus said slowly, "or what?"
Duh. Sirius felt heat creeping up his neck as he saw the other man's mouth twitch. Quickly grabbing his wand, he cast several detection charms over the letter that sat on the table. When nothing happened, he frowned suspiciously but picked up the envelope regardless.
Opening it, he pulled out the parchment inside, and before reading it, exchanged a glance with Remus as if to say wish me luck.
Sirius,
I hope that this letter finds you well. We may not be on good terms, and you know that I disagree with you on many accounts, but we are cousins (technically) and therefore family, and I believe that that is somewhat important.
I am writing to notify you of something that we recently learned, and I knew you would want to know. Now, only Andromeda knows that I am writing to you (I am writing to her as well), and I would like it to stay that way. Not even Lucius knows. I am not allowed to have any contact with you, strictly speaking, but no one else was planning to inform you of this, even though it affects you directly. I know I'm rambling, just please don't let anyone know I wrote to you.
I'm sorry, there is no way to soften this. Regulus is dead.
Sirius was suddenly glad he was sitting down, as he definitely would have fallen over. As it was, he knocked over his coffee mug and it spilled all over his lap—but he felt nothing. He was numb with shock, all that mattered were those three words that rang through his head…Surely it wasn't true, surely Narcissa meant something else…
Regulus is dead…Regulus is dead…Regulus is dead…
He was vaguely aware of Remus wiping the coffee off the table and shaking him gently, speaking in low, worried tones.
Regulus is dead…Regulus is dead…Regulus is dead…
No—it can't possibly…
But it had to be. Although Narcissa wasn't exactly the nicest person out there, Sirius knew that she wouldn't lie about something like this.
Regulus is dead…Regulus…dead…
Detachedly, he forced himself to read the rest of the letter.
I really am sorry. I know that you two were never close and probably had not spoken in years, but like I said, family is important. I know how I would feel if Andromeda died.
We don't really know what happened. Kreacher most likely knows, but he isn't talking. No one can find the body and we only know for sure because Kreacher told Aunt Walburga. Apparently, all he would say was that he was dead, nothing more about the cause of death—although as I said, he does most likely know.
Bella confirmed that Regulus was present at the most recent Death Eater meeting—which was four days ago—but was not sent out on any tasks, so perhaps he went and killed himself and had Kreacher Vanish his body—unlikely—or was vaporized in a tragic accident—even more unlikely. Rabastan Lestrange is saying that the Dark Lord might have killed him after he failed to fulfill his wishes, or something like that. It does make some sense; after all, the Dark Lord could easily get rid of a body.
But that is nothing more than speculation; I just wanted to let you know. I know I;m not really the best person to be telling you this, but I knew that you would be beyond angry if no one told you, and I don't think anyone was going to. Do not write back—I am sending this secretly when Lucius leaves for the day, and I do not want him to know that I wrote to you.
Sincerely,
Narcissa Malfoy
Sirius slumped down in his chair, defeated. All his fight, his denial, was gone, replaced only by a horrible absence of feeling.
Regulus is dead…Regulus is dead…
He watched with muted emotion as Remus pried the letter out of his hands and began reading it.
Regulus is dead…
Sometime later, the man silently placed a hand on his shoulder.
Regulus is dead…
Sirius knew that he shouldn't be upset by this. Regulus had chosen his path. Now he was dead, and the world was a better place for it…right?
"It's not fair, Moony!" Sirius cried out suddenly, banging his fist on the table. "He was—just a kid!" He felt his throat close up at the past tense.
"I mean, he wasn't the greatest guy, but he didn't deserve…" Sirius gestured vaguely. "But maybe I'm biased…"
Remus sighed heavily. "Life isn't fair, Padfoot."
Inside a dark, damp prison cell inside a formidable-looking fortress on an imposing black island, a ragged man jerked awake with a gasp.
For an awful moment, his mind was blank: no idea where he was, how he got there, or even who he was…and then the fragments of memory began to trickle back into his brain. My name is Sirius Black…I am Gryffindor…I was imprisoned in Azkaban for a murder I didn't do…I am innocent. He repeated that over and over in his head like a mantra as the rest of his jumbled memories poured back in.
His mind and memory had been dulled by the Dementors; memories were now a bit cluttered and thoughts were simpler and more sluggish than they once were, but he had enough. And he was still a lot better off than most of the prisoners here—he still knew who he was, who was friend and who was enemy, and why he was here. He still had his mind. That was much more than could be said for the other prisoners, even if he had absolutely no idea how long he'd been here and how old he was now.
My name is Sirius Black…I am Gryffindor…I was imprisoned in Azkaban for a murder I didn't do…I am innocent.
Now that he was somewhat awake, Sirius chastised himself for falling asleep. He always tried his hardest not to sleep, though of course there was only so much one could do. What with the Dementors forcing him to relive all his worst memories, falling asleep was an absolute nightmare. Literally. At least while awake, he could channel the creature's effects into anger at the ugly traitor. But when he fell asleep…that all changed.
Sirius shivered as the temperature dropped. One of the Dementors was patrolling a corridor nearby—Sirius could only hope that it didn't come down his hallway anytime soon, for already he could feel its agonizing effects…It always hit him harder right after a dream…a dream…
The memory of his dream—or rather, memory—suddenly crashed down upon him, and he curled into a ball, overwhelmed by anguish and grief and shame…Regulus…
He should have done more…should have made his brother come with him when he left or…or something. It wasn't fair…Regulus had only been eighteen, for Merlin's sake…
Why had he died, Sirius asked himself often. Why had so many people died, and yet he was still alive? James and Lily, Regulus, Marlene, Benjy Fenwick, and so many others…how had he, Sirius, survived when he took more risks than all of them combined?
The Dementor moved on, and with considerable difficulty Sirius attempted to master his spiraling thoughts. Regulus had chosen his path. He'd chosen to follow Voldemort, and there was no place for him at the side of a noble Gryffindor.
Regulus was a dead Death Eater, and the world was better off without him.
Right?
***IMPORTANT NOTE BECAUSE I KNOW SOMEONE WILL POINT THIS OUT: The flashback was not really intended to have Wolfstar, but it worked out in such a way that it can be read as such. I'm indifferent to the ship. Anyway, you can read it as Wolfstar if you want, or not. Just saying.
The next chapter will probably be posted this weekend, as I have it mostly done but need to revise it. Unless I change my plan- which is actually not that unlikely- the one after that will be the last chapter.
REVIEW! Tell me what you think of the French chapter titles and my describing the weather at the start of each chapter. The weather thing just kind of happened on the spot as I was writing, and I thought it did a good job of setting the mood. Does it work? Tell me in a review! And I'll give you a special shoutout if you know what any of the chapter titles mean!
Aithne