AN: Another rather short chapter, for this I apologise. I have had very little time to write recently so I have been jotting down a paragraph as and when I can. I hope that what I have written will sate your curiosity for a while and that you enjoy it. The song at the head of the chapter is one I thought was perfect for Sirius Black's character. His death in the books was tragic and his whole life was sad, I loved the lyrics in relation to his story. Enjoy and thank you all for reading and reviewing this story.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

And it seems to me you lived your life
Like a candle in the wind
Never knowing who to cling to
When the rain set in
And I would have liked to have known you
But I was just a kid
Your candle burned out long before
Your legend ever did – 'Candle in the Wind' – Elton John

Sirius sat by the window, gazing out at the morbid grey skies with glazed eyes. He rested his head in one palm while his thoughts drifted back over his turbulent past and uncertain future. Remus stopped in the door way to the kitchen, his hand holding a sealed letter, he stood still and watched Sirius for a moment, the soft dreary light splashing over his face and making him look ill. He had recovered relatively quickly after his illness but he still bore the deep weight of guilt for allowing Harry's kidnappers to escape, he had somehow convinced himself that because he was so intent upon revenge that he had not noticed Harry's captors until too late. Remus sighed softly to himself, Sirius was already laden with so much guilt and self-hatred that he could barely stand beneath its weight as it was, he didn't need to burden himself anymore. "It's not your fault." Remus said softly, causing Sirius to stir and look around. "If anyone's to blame, it's me because I was stupid enough to allow myself to get caught in the first place. If I hadn't made the mistake of attracting Bella's attention then Harry would never have had to rescue me."

Sirius smiled sadly. "How can you blame yourself for that?" He asked.

"As easily as you blame yourself for Harry's capture." Remus replied and moved towards his friend, he sat at his side on a nearby chair and looked intently at Sirius. "Are you feeling alright?"

"Yeah, I am. Thanks." Sirius tried on a bright smile but it felt awkward and stiff on his face so he let it slide away. "Where's James?"

"He's taking a nap, I had to force him into the bed. He's going to kill himself if he doesn't sleep."

Sirius nodded. "Yeah, he's not looking too brilliant."

"Sirius…I found this taped to the door. It's…it's addressed to you." He reluctantly handed Sirius the letter, he watched in trepidation as he took it with a frown and turned it over.

"This…this seal…" He muttered, staring at the black wax on the back of the envelope. "It's…it's the Black Family Crest." He looked up at Remus who shrugged. "It can only belong to Bella, she's the only one who would do this. Narcissa now uses the Malfoy seal with white wax…" He frowned and absently chewed on his bottom lip. "Do I really want to know?" He asked himself and felt Remus put a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"Open it, we can always burn it afterwards." He smiled and Sirius returned it briefly before suddenly tearing open the seal quickly, almost as if he was tearing off a plaster.

Sirius' eyes scanned the parchment and he frowned. "It's a letter from Bella, she says that the Dark Lord has Harry and that he will kill him, he wants us to come to him…"

"Well, that's an obvious trap." Remus said with a frown. "What does he think he's playing at?"

Sirius shrugged. "It's got the address and everything…" He turned the parchment over and his face went pale, he quickly handed Remus a photograph. It showed Harry lying on the bed, naked and chained, his head was to one side and he appeared unconscious. Hovering above him like some horrible, hairy vulture was Greyback who looked as if he had died and gone to heaven. Remus' face twisted into a vicious snarl and he looked up to see Sirius glaring into space.

"Why did they send you this? That photograph is surprisingly sexual in nature…"

"He knows." Sirius muttered, his eyes sparkling behind a curtain of black hair. "The bastard knows about Harry and me!"

Remus licked his lips slowly. "How can you be sure?"

"It's obvious! He sent the letter to me! Not you, not even James but me!" He sighed and put his head in his hands. "Once again, Sirius Black puts everything at risk because I can't keep it in my trousers!" He choked off a bitter laugh and squeezed his eyes shut. "If they've hurt him…"

"I doubt they would. Harry is far too valuable to them. Come on Sirius, I'm sure they were just trying to scare you into doing something stupidly heroic."

Sirius looked up at Remus slowly and lowered his hands. "Well, they were right. I'm going to do something stupidly heroic…I'm going to get him out of there."

"Sirius! You're insane!" Remus watched his friend stand up and begin to move to the door, he followed suit and grabbed Sirius' wrist only to find himself shaken off roughly. Sirius spun around and glared angrily at him.

"You stay here with James and Snape! I'm going alone! If you follow me I will curse you and send you back here in a fucking sack, do you understand me?! Tell Jamie and I'll tie you to the garden fence!"

Remus frowned angrily and made to grab Sirius' hand again, Sirius moved with the swiftness of lightening. The jet of light hit him in the chest and he stumbled backwards, he gasped in shock as he realised he was stuck. "I warned you." Sirius growled. "Impedimentia…it'll wear off soon but by then I'll be long gone." He walked to the door and flung it open, he paused and looked back at Remus over his shoulder. "I…I love you, Remus…I love you and James. You'll never truly understand just what you meant to me." He turned away and ran out the door and down the winding garden path.

XXX

"Your lover is most certainly on his way." Voldemort said as he swept into the bedroom where Harry continued to be held captive. "We have alerted him to your situation and Bellatrix assures me that he is the kind of man who would be perfectly content to throw away his life for you…I am unable to comprehend such people but I am aware of their existence and intend to use this to my advantage." He paused and smirked deviously at Harry who sat on the bed, glaring at him with jewel bright eyes. Voldemort pushed away a shudder, it was almost as if the Mudblood woman was watching him through the face of the boy, it was eerie. "Now then, Harry Potter, it is high time that you made a decision…will you join me and save Sirius Black's life or will you refuse and allow him to die?"

Harry licked his lips. "I would never join you, Tom. I would rather die."

"Then you consign your lover to his death, so be it. I will make you watch the light leave his eyes…I will gladly ensure that you cannot do anything but watch as I obliterate him. Once he is dead, his friends will soon follow him here and they too will die. I will make you watch each one and when you're little more than a screaming mass of insanity I will end your pain."

"You seem to be just as arrogant as you were in my dimension!" Harry sneered. "All you ever did was underestimate me and I managed to escape you each and every time! Some even said that my ability to escape was snake-like…Let me tell you now, Tom Riddle, I have no intention of allowing you to murder anyone else! I'm sick and tired of people I love dying around me, it's time I stopped it from happening."

Voldemort laughed softly, his fingers gently caressing the door handle as he looked at Harry with amusement glittering in his blood red eyes. "And how will you escape me, Harry Potter? You are chained with enchanted metal, you are trapped somewhere you do not even know. Tell me, how are you going to save both yourself and your lover? You're a fool. Just like your father is." He turned and swept elegantly from the room, the door slammed shut behind him and Harry let his head drop and his shoulders sag in defeat. He had no idea how he was going to get out, he had no idea how he was going to save Sirius and destroy the Dark Lord once and for all…he was as trapped as a butterfly in a net.