Bad Faith Island
A Harry Potter Pirate Story
by VG Jekyll

10. Commandeering the Ship
Dedicated to: Dragonrider123

Sirius looks startled up and squints his eyes as he hears the squeaking of the trapdoor that leads to the hold he's being held in. A bit of light seeps into the hold and he can make out a small form coming down.

"Dennis?" he asks hoarsely. Being down there for four days has been a nightmare for him. He finds it even worse than the twelve years he'd spent in the prison Azkaban, and that is definitely not a nice place to be either.

Down here in the hold there is absolutely no light. Flea-infested rats scurry about, scrounging for fallen morsels. And the boat cradles from side to side, making even the most tough-stomached of sailors nauseous after enduring it for so long with such horrid surroundings.

The sounds from above are distracting, and the hours spent listening to those overhead, knowing that they are free and you are not, are quite mind-wrecking. The fact that he only got dinner and beer late at night once a day made his stomach ache in pain and his throat raw. Not to mention that his wrists, neck and ankles hurt like hell thanks to the heavy, metal chains.

"Yes," Dennis answers and walks slowly towards him. He gives Sirius a cup of beer to sooth his throat and kneels down in front of him. Dennis pulls a small key out of one of his leather shoes and unchains Sirius's feet. He stands up to open the ones on his neck and wrists.

"How are you?" he asks with honest concern and smiles at the older man.

Sirius stares at the boy through half-lidded eyes that have too long been cloaked in darkness, and gives him an impish grin. "Just spiffy!" he replies jokingly, but turns serious in a mere few seconds and looks Dennis over. "And you?"

Dennis shrugs casually. "I'm fine."

Sirius eyes widen as he noticed an involuntary shudder racking through the lithe figure of the boy as he shrugs. "You're lying," he states blankly.

"I'm not," answers Dennis quickly and turns away from him. Sirius grabs his shoulder and Dennis hisses in pain.

"What the-?" Sirius swiftly pulls Dennis' shirt up and stares through the dusk at his shoulder. Four parallel scratches reach over the fair skin and Sirius feels the anger rise in him. "He did it again, didn't he! That bastard! That mangy maggot!" he curses, seething with anger. "That despicable bilge rat! Oh Davy! And it's my fault to! If I hadn't agreed to wait, then it wouldn't have-"

"Shut up, Black!"

Sirius immediately stops his self-condemning rant and stares surprised at the grim expression on Dennis face. 'Too fast grown up,' shoots through his head as he looks at him.

"Just, shut up! You aren't a god, you know!" Dennis says. "It's not your fault."

"Neither is it yours."

"No, its Sharpé's fault. That's why we're going to kill him, right?"

Sirius sees red again and clenches his fists and teeth together. " Yes," he hisses and follows Dennis onto deck.

The deck is completely empty, as the clock already struck eight and the crew is down below, and Sirius forces Dennis to stay behind as he kicks the door to the Captain's cabin open. Sharpé looks startled up from the papers on his desk as the infamous murderer Sirius Black strides towards him. Rage emanating from his very being and the man pulls Sharpé by the shoulders up from his chair. The chair falls on the ground and Sirius pushes the frightened Sharpé roughly against the wall.

"I'm a very tolerant man," Sirius says with a calmness unobtainable by most in such a situation. "Except when it comes to holding a grudge."

Sharpé's eyes widen comically before he falls hard to the ground due to the blow given to his stomach. Coughing and spitting blood from his mouth, Sharpé tries his hardest to stand up again. Once he finally takes hold of himself and is able to stand without his knees giving out, he stares coldly at the scarecrow-like man who stands before him.

"Black," he spats. "Murderer. What are you going to do? Kill me?"

"You've gotten it right in just one guess. Cheers, ol' lad!" answers Sirius and grins maliciously.

He grabs Sharpé's neck and drags him onto the deck where he kicks him hard in the back, sending him flying towards the railing and Sharpé crashes hard on the wood. He rises slowly and smirks at Sirius, wiping a small trail of blood off his lip in a movement only used to mock Sirius.

"Is that all you can do?" he asks and quickly pulls a sharp knife out his boot. He charges forward only to be greeted with a hard kick to the stomach again, which leaves him unconscious when his head hit the deck.

"Well, that certainly took him out," remarks Dennis.

Sirius turns around and watches Dennis walking closer. "What do you think, Dennis?" he inquires. "Throw him overboard now or torture him a bit first?" Sirius prefers the last one, and is already thinking up ways of torture, but is interrupted by Dennis.

"Throw him overboard."

Sirius raises a brow in surprise. "Are you sure?"

Dennis nods grimly. "The less I have to see him-and be reminded-the better."

Sirius nods softly to himself, understanding. He grabs the unconscious Sharpé by his waistband and shirt and throws him overboard. Sharpé's body hits the water with a satisfying splash.

Morning comes with a surprise for the men on board of 'The Bounty', for they find that their captain has disappeared over night and the notorious convict Sirius Black has taken over the steering wheel. And to top it off; he has made the cabin boy his right hand, very strange indeed.

Maybe the boy did 'special' offers for the man? Speaking of the man, he looks like he has came back from the dead, but at the same time appears to be strong-minded as well as strong-willed.

Sirius orders the men to collect on deck while he stands on the stairs that lead to the upper deck, on which Dennis stands by the side of a man who has taken over the steering wheel.

"Men," Sirius begins his speech. "Things are going to be quite different from now on, starting with the fact that I am your new captain!"

"Where's Sharpé?" asks someone in the crowd and Sirius scowls darkly in that general direction.

"Dead."

"Oh good," says an other man. "I didn't like him anyway."

The rest of the crew soon follows with their opinion on the late Captain, and none of it is very good.

Sirius raises a brow in wonder. He has expected them to at least be a bit, well, angry at him for killing their captain. But they act as though he has done them a favor. 'Only for the better,' he thinks.

"Right," he says. "I see you do not mourn his passing very much."

"Hell no!" yells the man laughing.

"I hope you will show me more loyalty," continues Sirius with narrowed eyes and the crew gets silent. They look uncertainly at each other and then back at Black, who looks at the moment like a man you wouldn't want to cross.

The inner Sirius is grinning madly. 'Hah, hanging around ol' Jamesie paid off. Nothing works as good in regaining loyalty as putting some fear in 'em first and secondly giving them treasure. Now for the second part.'

"From now on, this will be a buccaneers' ship," he announces and gazes steadily around, challenging anyone to raise their voice and complain. No one does.

"I offer you riches, in return for your loyalty. Whoever doesn't wish to participate will be set ashore at the nearest city."

The offer of leaving people at a city instead of some deserted island, like a lot of other pirate captains would, makes the crew think seriously about his offer. He appears to be very dangerous, but he knows how to show mercy. That is really something to admire.

All plead loyalty and none wish to leave the ship.

Sirius smirks and looks over his shoulder to wink sunnily at Dennis. "Alright men. Then it's settled, and I am proud to be the captain of the lot of you. Pay respect to me and my right hand, and I will do the same."

Sirius now nods to the helmsman.

"Set sail to Port Key! It's time that I visit an old friend of mine."

To Be Continued