Disclaimer; I do not own anything but OCs and the plot, thanks guys!

xoxo

12. Who Can Make You Scream the Loudest?

'Think about it Sirius,' Lord Voldemort whispered gently almost like a caress and waving his wand so the binds on Sirius's hands disappeared.

Immediately, he curled up into a foetus position just as the door shut gently. His whole body was quivering in pain, and his whimpers were quiet but there. He had never imagined such pain; more than once he almost begged to die. But he held onto the little dignity he had and took it like a man. And the pain was worse than all those Death Eaters combined when they tortured him in Diagon Alley. The sun was rising, and he couldn't believe it had only been a few hours since his capture. It felt like days already. Maybe it was just the pain getting to him...

But Voldemort was offering him a place; a home in the tight circle of Death Eaters. Wasn't that all Sirius had ever wanted? A home – somewhere to feel needed and special; a feeling he had never been indulged in when he was a small boy.

But he already had a home, with the best damn brothers he would ever have and the cutest little sister and the most adorable godson. Weren't they his family? He didn't need a home with Lord Voldemort; he couldn't believe he had been considering it. Sirius almost puked on the carpet he was lying on. See! The Dark Wizard was already getting to him; he was considering handing over the most important people to him. And he'd never felt more sick with himself.

Sirius looked a fright. His face and hair were matted with dried blood; and a lot of it. Apart from a few bruises, and his split lip which had swollen to twice its natural size, he didn't have any actual wounds on his face.

But the main scars were inside him. His body was still screaming with pain. He had never experienced something as horrible and torturous as Lord Voldemort's Cruciatus Curse. Sirius managed to get himself on the sofa; a task that took the best part of ten minutes. Apart from the damage he was feeling, and his cracked ribs and his horribly soar throat, he felt very hungry.

And he had been serious to Bellatrix when he said he needed the loo. He felt his bladder start to moan too, adding to the long list of pain he was feeling. Would Sirius have done this if he knew how hard it was going to be?

But the image of Lily and James dead in Godric's Hollow was enough to sober him up. He ducked his head in shame. If he had the chance to redo things, he'd keep it all the same – he'd stay their secret keeper until death. Quite literally.

The door opened and he looked up, cuddling to the sofa impulsively. But it wasn't the darkest wizard to have ever roamed the earth. It was Narcissa; his dear cousin. The look she had given him downstairs when she slapped him was enough to make his whole body tremble. She hated him; she hated him so much for what he'd done to Malfoy.

The man would be paralysed his whole life; it was dark and evil magic that could only be lifted by the curser. And he'd be damned if he restored Malfoy to his original state after the man murdered his brother.

Narcissa closed the door behind her. She had a glass of water in her hands, and her beautiful long blonde hair tucked behind her ear. Her eyes were red and bloodshot, and there were tear marks on her face. She stood there and looked at her cousin. His bare back was red, and the muscles in his arms were straining and quivering.

'The Dark Lord ordered me to bring you water,' she whispered in a very childlike voice. 'He doesn't want you dying.' She set the water down in the middle of the carpet. 'Yet.' Then she looked at Sirius, a bone rattling glare. 'You don't know what you've gotten yourself into.' Again, her voice was barely above a whisper, and it was shaking.

Sirius reached for the glass of water, ignoring her. And it was almost as if he had died and gone to heaven. The water soothed his soar throat, and put out the fire kicking and screaming inside him chest. He closed his eyes and savoured every sip. And when it finished, he sighed and put it down.

'Thank you.' He said. Then he looked out of the small attic window that was open. 'Will I stay here long?'

'I'm not going to tell you,' Narcissa snapped, collecting the glass of water. 'The Dark Lord shall do whatever he pleases to you, and there is not a thing you can do about it! Unless of course you give up the secret, which even I know you won't do.'

'You're right; I won't tell him a thing. Either way I am a dead man, correct?'

'No, no, you're wrong. If you tell the Dark Lord then he'll offer you a place amongst us Death Eaters, where you can prosper and thrive.'

Sirius looked up at her, tucking his own dirty black hair behind his ear. 'And what is your job amongst the Death Eaters?' he asked, knowing that she would not have an answer.

Narcissa opened her small mouth twice and then closed it. After a moment's silence she seemed to have come up with the pathetic excuse she would use to answer the question. 'I have a young son; I am not expected to perform the duties one must perform when they are within our circle. But I do however heal and feed the Death Eaters! And I pick up packages and parcels, which would for anyone else spike suspicion, as well as provide alibis.'

Sirius scoffed, grating his throat and wincing at the hot fire that flamed inside his neck. He coughed once and then looked up at her. 'You didn't want to become a Death Eater...' he said softly. 'You were pushed into it, weren't you?'

When she averted her eyes and looked down guilty he knew he was right. 'You were forced by Malfoy and Bellatrix isn't that right?'

Narcissa desperately looked at him, flicking a glance towards the door. 'No, you're wrong!' she suddenly exploded, stepping forward and slapping him for the third time since he had gotten here. She really knew how to deliver slaps. 'You are wrong Sirius, and you will always be wrong.'

And then she snatched the glass from the floor and hurriedly exited the room, slamming the door behind her. In relief, Sirius sagged back down. He felt his eyes drifting, his mind slipping. And it was bliss. Compared to the torture Voldemort had subjected him too, this was wonderful.

Sirius coughed into his hands, and then put his head back down. He was surprised. He had always imagined after being captured, to be shoved into a dungeon with black walls and bars, and no windows. He had imagined chains. Was this Voldemort's way of lulling him into a false sense of security? Because it wasn't going to work. Not for the life of Sirius was it going to work. He was on alert – not until he escaped, or he died was Sirius going to relax. This was a war, quite literally. A war he knew he was losing, but a war he was going to battle in anyway.

And he would make sure Voldemort knew what he was getting himself into. Sirius was not going to be easy, he was going to be difficult and childish and stubborn. His Mother said that he had never given her a break; always demanding attention and wanting fights. Well he'd give Voldemort a fight. Sirius's eyes closed, but it seemed bare minutes he'd slept before the door was thrown open. And prancing in like the home was his, was of course Avery, followed by Dolohov and two unknown Death Eaters.

Sirius's body started trembling again, but he wouldn't let them know he was scared. 'Good morning ... it is the morning right?'

Avery threw his head back and laughed, 'I told you he was funny. Good morning Sirius.'

'Hey Emmett. How's your day been?'

'Well it's been rubbish, but it's going to get better now I can have a taste of you.' He smirked, bringing his wand upwards.

Procrastination was the key to survival. Well, sometimes anyway.

'Nice new wand, what happened to your old one?' Sirius's voice was fading – talking took to much effort and energy.

'Some bastard broke it ... Oh wait, it was you.'

Sirius sarcastically laughed. 'I haven't been introduced to your friends, what are your names?'

And the horror Sirius felt when one of the Death Eaters ripped off his mask and sneered at Sirius. Beach blond hair and a white face, it was Crouch's son. He almost fell off the sofa in shock. He'd been working for Crouch Senior since he was nineteen! The man had complimented him more than once, and Sirius trusted and respected the wizard a great deal. And yet here his son was, sneering at Sirius with his white wand pointed.

'Crouch's son,' Sirius whispered in disbelief after moments of gaping and shaking his head. 'I-I can definitely say this is unexpected ... Wait, you do know who your father is, right?' he asked. Sirius remembered Crouch's son from Hogwarts. The young man was barely younger than him – a year or two years was it?

Crouch Junior's face contorted with exasperation and fury. 'Of course I know who my Father is you fool. Do you know who your pathetic brother was?'

Sirius growled and made to get up off the sofa when wires and robes were conjured, binding around his hands like they had been a few hours ago. Then with a powerful Rejection Spell, he was thrown backwards, hitting the shelves and falling. Books started collapsing on him, thumping his head with their hardback covers. Sirius roared and got up, kicking Dolohov as hard as he could just as someone whispered the Cruciatus Curse.

'Crucio,' Crouch hissed. Sirius slowed down and fell on his knees, a flicker of pain rippling across his face and a hiss escaping his mouth. But he'd be damned if he screamed for these cocky bastards. Then a sharper stab of pain hit him and he grunted loud; a grunt was better than a scream though.

When it was lifted, Sirius started panting, clutching at his chest and wiping his eyes. Then the Death Eaters started laughing at him. Sirius was a proud man; it was a trait very common amongst Blacks. He hated when people laughed at him, or misunderstood him. It was one of the main reasons he had gotten in many fights during Hogwarts.

James and Peter and Remus had always said he was so easy to start fights with. Just a taunt or a jab and he'd be off like a rocket. And he agreed. But it wasn't exactly his fault. It was his genes and his parents for passing down the damn Black curse of too much pride and bucket loads of dignity.

Sirius looked up at Crouch from the ground where he was kneeled and raised an eyebrow. A challenge.

'Is that the best you've got?' he sneered, spitting on the ground near Crouch's feet.

xo

Rose took off the flowery dress she was wearing. It had been Sirius's favourite. She was going with Remus to the Ministry of Magic. They were off to see Moody and a few other Head of Departments for a sort of meeting slash update. It might even be a party for all she knew.

But Rose was so nervous, so nervous her body was trembling. She hadn't left the house (except the garden at the back of the flats) ever since she came here.

Was she ashamed? Remus was a kind person, and if her choice to not tell Sirius about the baby pissed him off, what would it do to others? And if some crazy miracle happened and Sirius was able to return, what would he do? Rose was scared of Sirius, just like she knew she scared him a little. But with a few soothing gasps of air, Rose sucked up her fright. It wouldn't do well.

'Rose?' called Remus. 'Hurry up love,'

She looked towards the door. Was it weird that she had started to fancy Remus a little? Just a small part. Even though she had fancied Remus for months during Hogwarts, she felt guilty, and like that wasn't a liable reason for fancying him now.

Maybe it was because Sirius wasn't here and he was, maybe it was all the hormones raging through her body. But she longed to kiss someone; it had been so long since she'd been kissed. Rose took one more look at the dress, and opted instead for a darker one – dark grey. She shrugged on her beige coat and wrapped a scarf around her neck.

Remus sat waiting for her in front of the television with dark expensive robes on. Ever since he'd gotten the job, he'd been sending half his weekly wages to his parents (which was quite a bit!) and used the rest for Rose and her son and himself.

Remus grinned down at baby Sirius, who was dribbling a little. He wiped the dribble and stared into the baby's eyes. They were large and brimmed with thick lashes. The eyelids were lavender, and the irises were deep grey with small flecks of dark grey. Sirius James had very beautiful eyes.

'I'm ready,' Rose said, coming out with her coat shrugged on. She looked very pretty. Her long and heavy hair was drawn into a thick bun in the centre of her head, and she was wearing a very little amount of makeup.

Rose had only ever worn makeup to try and impress Sirius at Hogwarts, or to keep a hold of his heart. But she never wore it for herself. She was also surprisingly skinnier than she had been before her pregnancy, and the dress was a little baggier than usual. In fact the only reason she bought it was because it stuck to her, quite literally like water.

'You look beautiful Rose,' Remus said, smiling at her. 'Have you got everything though? For mini Pads?'

She patted the large bag she was carrying. Then Rose started breathing in deeply. After a few seconds, she started hyperventilating. Remus settled Sirius James into the baby-carrier carefully and rushed forward, putting his hand on her chin. 'Rose, are you alright?'

Tears started running down her face, and she was shaking her head, a few tresses of golden hair spilling around her face. 'N-no, I'm n-not alright. W-what if e-everyone things the s-same as y-you did?' she sobbed, covering her face. Remus pulled her chin up and looked into her pale green eyes.

During Hogwarts, when Sirius had been trying to persuade James or himself to dump Rose, he wrote about everything wrong with her. And so Sirius had always said she had plain eyes; her irises a boring and pale green. But when he had been telling the Marauders why he was so in love with her, Sirius would say how she had beautiful eyes - with light lashes, and pale eyelids and the flecks of different colours that flashed when she was sad or happy.

Sirius had always had a love-hate relationship with Rose, and in some ways the two were so bad for one another that it would be better if they weren't together. But sometimes they fit so right, they looked so perfect that Remus couldn't imagine it any other way.

'They won't understand about the situation like I did. I'm not sure if we should go at all anyway. It might be dangerous. But I thought it would do you some good.'

'I'm scared,' she whispered. Remus had never seen Rose cry over something so trivial; so unimportant. Sure, he'd seen her cry when her heart had been broken or she had lost family, but here she was, crying because of what people might say. The Rose he knew didn't give a hippogriff's arse about what people thought.

But this wasn't the Rose he knew. This was a more mature one. And he wasn't sure if he liked it. He opened his arms and drew her in for a hug. She wrapped her arms around him and cuddled closer.

Then when she let go, she wiped her eyes, tucked the locks of hair behind her ears and plastered on a smile. 'Are we disapparating or flooing?'

Rose was only just beginning to understand how hard it was to be a parent. She was ignorant and confused but Remus always tried to help her. So he didn't laugh at her question like James would have, had Prongs been here instead of himself. Everyone knew you never took children under three in the floo.

Remus smiled at her, and instead of what Prongsie would have done, he answered the very simple question in a patient voice. 'Disapparation. It's much safer, and a little faster.' When all the spells were cast on the flat to protect it, and the pair made sure they had everything, Remus took Rose's hand and disapparated, Sirius James nestled safely in the baby carrier.

They arrived in the Atrium with many witches and wizards bustling around, some dressed up for meetings whilst others looked scruffy for fieldwork.

Many of the passers greeted Remus, and he smiled back. When they reached the Law Enforcement office, there were many people inside, sitting and waiting or standing and chatting. Immediately Jane came hurrying up to Remus with a few folders in her hands, and her dressed rather beautifully. She looked beautiful. But she stopped though when she saw Rose and the baby.

Slowly walking towards them, Jane smiled. 'Good evening Remus and ... you must be Rose?'

Rose plastered on a fake smile. 'Yes, I'm Rose.'

Jane peered into the baby carrier with the same smile most people had whenever looking at babies, but when she looked up, it was as though she had seen the devil, lying naked in her bed, with a pretty large co—

Her eyes turned enormous and they started bulging. 'Is that the son of whom I think?' she hissed. Remus took her hand and pulled her closer towards him. He could smell her soft perfume, and her fragranced hair. And he was slightly mesmerised. But he shook himself out of it and put on an annoyed face.

'Yes, it's Sirius's son, but please, stay quiet. Rose doesn't want everyone...'

It was too late; many older women were crowding around Rose like old women tended to do when there was a baby nearby. Rose looked horrified. She glanced towards Remus with a sad and pleading face.

'Is that Sirius—'

'It can't be! Who are you, dear girl?'

'Sirius Black! He looks just like Sirius Black—'

'My God!'

And it went on and on, quite literally. Some of the seniors in the Ministry still hadn't arrived, and Rose looked near tears when for ten minutes she was being harassed quite literally. Some were scolding her whereas others didn't believe the baby belonged to Sirius.

When she burst into tears Remus quite rudely told the older women to leave her alone, and he accompanied Rose to the witches' bathroom, where luckily no one was inside.

'I'm so sorry Rose,' he said, stroking her hair as she rested her head on his shoulder. 'Do you want to go? We can go now...'

She shook her head. 'No, you've missed too much because of me. It's been nine days since Sirius was kidnapped, and I'm no closer to accepting it than I am getting over him. But please don't make me drag you down too.'

She tentatively touched his face, and they looked deep into each other's eyes. She looked into his pale brown, almost golden irises and felt mesmerised. She was mesmerised. Flashbacks of when she and Emanuelle Danté used to stalk Remus to the library or to the Black Lake came swarming back.

Rose was sure she was the one who leaned in first, but she pressed her lips against his, and they were so soft, much like Sirius's. Her mind conjured memories of her kisses with Sirius. Strong and passionate; warm and cold; soft and hesitant; fast and hard.

And with her life did she miss him; with every fibre in her body. Never had she thought she would get like this over a man. But she was completely in love with Sirius, and it was all her fault they ended. She ran away from him first, and boy did she regret it. This kiss was gentle and warm and sweet, just like Remus's personality. And she was enjoying it immensely.

Remus pulled away quickly after seconds of kissing. 'I'm sorry!' he said.

She shook his head. 'It's not your fault, it's mine ... Go back in there to Jane and kiss her to get our amazing kiss out of your head; well any kiss with me would be amazing but...'

'How did you...'

'I could tell Remus, I'm not an idiot anymore. I could tell by the way you were looking at her, and she's lucky. You're so lovely Remus.' And then she started crying again, giant tears falling down her face. He brushed then for her and kissed her head.

'You're lucky to have Sirius you know, he's the best person I know.'

'He's also the worst.' She whispered. 'Now get back in there, I'm going to freshen up.' At his tilted head she smiled. 'If I'm not back in ten minutes you can come get me.'

He grinned at her, touched her cheek and then hurried out so he wouldn't be missing anything important – that is if Crouch turned up. Cocky bastard was always late.

During his ten minute absence Crouch had arrived, and so had Moody. This was early for Moody, who was never on time for anything. Moody was giving a gruff speech about—

'... when the rescue will be, but we've got good sources in telling us whereabouts he is. We'll need to confirm this, using our interrogation methods on the captured Death Eaters. But we should be rescuing Sirius before the end of the year. Mark my words...'

Rose had slipped back in the large room, with its extinguished lights and most people sitting down watching Mad-Eye Moody talking about Sirius Black.

She softly smiled at the thought of him being rescued. He was going to be safe; he was going to live. And she wouldn't have to worry about her son living without a Father. He was going to have a Father! He was going to meet his Father!

She stepped closer to Remus, dropping the carrier on the floor in between them and cradled her son in her arms. She still had some money left from the thousands of galleons Sirius had given her. It was only a few hundred, but she begged Remus if she could pay for half the bills and some of the food. Rose didn't want Remus thinking she was using him.

Then the lights switched back on, and Moody nodded at Remus in acknowledgement and understanding that the younger man would want to become part of this task in saving his friend. Softly and slowly, almost like in slow motion, he looked at Rose – barely recognising her. Then his eyes drifted to the baby in her arms and he froze.

Ever so slowly he stepped forward, with wide eyes. 'Is that Black's son?' he called gruffly in anger and annoyance and disbelief and confusion. Rose stepped closer to Remus. 'Is that Black's son?' Moody called louder.

She nodded. And before she knew it, cameras were snapping pictures of her and Sirius James Black.

xo

His throat hurt from suppressing the screams; but his throat wasn't strong enough to hold back the grunts and the moans. And his eyes were bulging enormously, and the tears were falling down his face. The sick bastard Death Eaters had been at this for over an hour, and his body was screaming. He was so close to screaming. But he bit his tongue and groaned loudly when a particularly hard jab of the Cruciatus Curse hit him.

Then it was lifted and he sagged down onto the floor, gasping for oxygen. Maybe it would help extinguish the fire that was blazing inside him. He needed water. The attic door then opened, and Narcissa entered with what he'd been wishing for - a glass of water and some old, stale bread. She paused when she saw the four Death Eaters.

'I didn't know you guys were still here—'

'You're feeding him?' hissed Crouch, spitting all over the place. 'What part of torture don't you understand? You don't feed him.'

She defiantly lifted her chin and bared her teeth. 'I'll just tell the Dark Lord you think it best we don't feed Black, but instead let him die of starvation where inevitably the secret will die with him. You fool... I don't take your orders; I take the Dark Lord's.'

She barged past Avery and the Death Eater whom Sirius had acquainted with, well in actual fact he had been acquainted with the nasty wizard's wand but nonetheless – the man was the cousin of Dolohov and his name was Crabbe. Sirius knew him of course; he knew the Crabbe family (well one Crabbe in particular, whose name was something like Dorothy, and was spectacular in bed). They weren't even really worth knowing.

The family were purebloods quite literally because of their blood. But they weren't one of the seven originals, nor were they particularly rich and powerful in the eyes of families like Blacks and Malfoy; merely there to run errands and do jobs.

Narcissa set the food in front of Sirius, who stubbornly didn't eat. He wasn't going to beg for food; he was too proud. Nor was he going to eat stale bread and a half glass of water. Then he'd look like a fool, a joke, and if all he had was his pride he was leaving with his pride.

'You don't want to eat?' whispered Crouch after a moment, bending down and snatching the glass of water from the ground. 'Why don't you have a shower then?' and he poured the water all over Sirius's head. The water washed away some of the blood from his face and hair. But Sirius hadn't even noticed. All he noticed was the pain, the immense, startling pain.

Sirius gritted his teeth. His patience snapped. 'You call yourself a Death Eater? And yet you can't even perform the Cruciatus Curse! None of you fools can.'

'You are right Sirius,' said a quiet voice. All eyes flickered towards the door, where Lord Voldemort was standing with his wand in his hand and a patient smile on his face. He stepped into the room, and all five Death Eaters threw themselves on the floor, bowing their heads low.

'My Lord,' they whispered one after the other. Sirius almost found it comical. Almost. Except his body was already vibrating from the pain he knew Voldemort would inflict upon him. He had never felt something so painful; so powerful. Sirius's lip started to tremble and his hands started shaking gently. Lord Voldemort noticed this and smiled widely, his eyes flashing red.

'You see how he is scared? None of you command his fear except me. Watch. I will show you how a Cruciatus Curse is performed... I'm honoured you are scared of me Sirius; it shows you aren't arrogant as most think. Say, have you made a choice yet?'

He looked Voldemort in the eye and smiled a fake and tight smile that betrayed the hatred he felt, the overwhelming, all consuming hatred. 'Yes, yes, but I thought you would give me more time to "think it through". I've barely had time to ponder what with Death Eaters barging in and torturing me.'

The Dark Lord laughed gently. 'Yes, you can have as much time as you need. In fact, I'm giving you till the first of December. You've already had one day, now you have six more.'

Sirius grinned, a fake and yet infuriatingly real grin. If a grin could be fake and real at the same time. Then one of those looks flickered into Lord Voldemort's eyes. It was cold, bloodthirsty anger that echoed from his red eyes.

'Six days? So generous my Lord.' He whispered, his throat rasping and pleading for something cold to quench the thirst.

'Do you want, Sirius Black, to see how generous I can be?' whispered Lord Voldemort, looming closer to the slumped and half naked boy on the floor. Because to Lord Voldemort he was just a boy; arrogant and stubborn and infuriating.

'Yes my Lord, I'd love to see just how generous you can be.' There was a challenge in his eyes. Barely having time to suck in as much oxygen as possible, the curse hit him. Like a rocket. For barely longer than half a minute he managed to hold out of screaming; and the Death Eaters exchanged baffled and shocked looks. No one ever held out on the Lord's infamous torture curse.

Voldemort's face contorted with anger and fury, and he bellowed louder. And Sirius, poor Sirius could barely hold it back – he tried so hard but it was impossible. And when the pain grew so unendurable and unbearable Sirius just had to open his mouth and scream. Everyone in the house could hear it; and like the night before the chandelier shook and the birds flew away. And the crouching Death Eaters shivered.

For once in their lives they did not envy Black. Not one bit.

A/N: Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed it! I'd also like to say thank you to some of the anonymous reviewers; your reviews have been really kind and constructive. I just wish I could reply!

I'd also like to say how funny I find it that quite a few of you don't like Rose. Is it weird that I sort of intended you to not like her? I've read all these fanfics where the OC Sirius winds up with is sweet and kind and clever, but I wanted to have my own unique OC. And I do honestly believe if Sirius ever wound up with someone, it'd be a girl just like him. Wild, proud, arrogant, fun etc. I don't think it would be someone overly kind and cleverer than him.

Rose is quite the bitch though, so I do understand why no one really likes her. But you have to admit though, she's pretty entertaining? And she'll get more entertaining as the story goes on.

And thanks for reading, please leave a review,

xo