A little touch of Azkaban

Stay close. They were the only words Sirius had spoken since they arrived on this Godforsaken island. It was the only advice he did not need to be told, there was no way in hell he was going to be able to get Regulus to stray from his side. Stay close. He stuck to him like an apprentice would his mentor so that the dust from his footsteps landed on his robes. This was the last place he wanted to be, it was a place he had hoped he'd never have to see, but at least he was on the safe side of the bars, and so was Sirius, this time. He had to come here because Sirius wanted to come and he had accepted immediately, elated at the thought of still being valued but terrified at how dark Sirius seemed to have become.

After his latest stunt with Dumbledore he had been prepared to never accompany him again, he had proved himself to be a liability after all. He did not know whether Sirius had repressed the memory or not so he did not know whether this was Sirius' way of pretending it never happened or not. After all, if it never happened there would be no need to keep Reg away from the danger and Sirius had gone to get the cup horcrux without him, and not told him about his disguise. If this was not the case then he had simply been forgiven with his redeeming actions. To tell the truth he did not much care which it was, because he had never been more frightened in his life. It was not surprising that people barely made the two year mark.

Regulus hated the dementors the most. The dark prison, the unyielding cold, the pale, ghostly prisoners madly muttering nothings–that was all bearable, that could never get under his skin. Even the freezing spray from the sea became bearable after a thick wool coat, a warming spell and some getting used to. The dementors, no matter how often he had been around them, which was not really that long at all, maybe that was why Sirius was faring so much better than he, were like a gas. They seeped through the dark cracks of the prison, filling every nook and cranny and entered the body like air–invisible and without invitation. He shivered and shifted closer to Sirius who walked before him like a God, unperturbed and strong, a beacon of light to show him everything was ok, he was ok; he was going to make sure nothing went wrong.

As long as Sirius was here, everything was going to go according to plan. Sirius was in top form now, he had to be during his revolution, extraordinarily powerful, smart, strong, and confident, he could do this. He'd been planning to go to Azkaban for a long time now, and it had to be harder for him than the ordeal he was finding it. One would not know it from simply looking at him though; there was no hesitance in his steps, no worry. He kept his eyes straight ahead. It was as though he wasn't bothered by, or else he simply didn't notice, what was going on around them. He'd seen it all before, when he was one of the crazy criminals surrounding them. He focused on the warm hand closed around his, he mentally slapped himself, he was so weak.

No. No, he was not weak, not anymore. His foolish plan and eagerness had forced him into a dangerous situation, perilous for Sirius, but they had made it out alive and with allies of sorts. He was not weak since his core was forced to become unlocked and he wondered if it could happen to everyone who was young enough should they suffer something traumatic or meditate long enough. No, he did not believe that, it had to do something with the blood of Merlin and perhaps he had made a mistake. Maybe it was not his dying that meant he was unable to lock his core, it was his inability to focus on one thing long enough that meant he was unable to do it via meditation, perhaps it was his dying that enabled him to do it.

It had become an unspoken rule that they do not speak of the experience. Sirius had healed miraculously well, returning to full strength within a couple of weeks. He did not talk of his defeat, he did not think it was humiliating; in fact he was happy he had defeated Dumbledore of all people, but still his face darkened whenever they strayed too close to the subject. His brows creased in what seemed like pain and he shook his head and it was clear they had to change the subject. The next couple of minutes talking about the weather was always awkward but Sirius looked so troubled, so hurt, so scared and that was worrying. He did not tell him why he looked like that, he just assured him he was not haunted or humiliated and Regulus believed him so that begged the question of what it was on his mind to elicit such an expression.

They say people don't usually make it to the two year mark; well he was here with his brother, a beacon of strength and a shield so the dementors had no effect on him anyway and he felt like he was not going to last two hours. Sirius had been locked in here for a year, he had no wand so could not do magic, at first anyway. He was unable to sleep much because of the freezing cold and the mattress and dirty sheet for bedding. His meals were withheld by a bastard of a Gate keeper; they never did ever learn his name, and he was constantly injured and abused. Yet, starving, sucked at by dementors, hurt and surrounded by nothing but screams and wails he managed to escape past his solitary, heavily guarded confinement and escaped to mainland. Now he was quite possibly the most powerful warlock in the world, certainly Europe.

As they made their way through the prison, climbing cold stairwells and passing through dim corridors, Regulus couldn't help but look at the cells around them. The first few floors housed prisoners that merely muttered to themselves, but as they climbed higher and deeper into the prison, the inmates seemed to become more hysterical and disconnected with reality. They would shriek, cackle, sob, and shout things Regulus didn't understand. It was unnerving. He was pleased to know Sirius never became one of them, that he was too strong, even though his cell was up here among the more dangerous and crazy of inmates. They were on the way to his old cell which now housed a more deserving man, the man who should have been arrested in his place, the murderer and death eater Peter Pettigrew.

"What are you going to do once we get there?" Regulus asked, talking for the sake of talking and to hear his brother' calm, confident voice as he said the blue prints once more. He did not care what Sirius was going to do, indeed he had already said that his plan was not set in stone, this was Peter. All he knew was that he did not have to do anything; he was only there because he wanted to be with Sirius, this was his older brother's revolution and he loved every second of it. Sirius had still not let go of his hand, and Regulus was not asking him too, he was having way too much fun to even notice. "Are you just going to Avada Kedavra them where they lie?" Sirius had not told him all of his plans, but he must have more than one target.

To be truthful, he was still not sure if he preferred the new and improved Slytherin like Sirius but he would always be his brother. Sirius shrugged in answer, "I hadn't really gotten that far, if I'm honest," he said, making his younger brother deadpan in shock, the plotting Sirius hadn't 'gotten that far'? He did not need to glance behind him to know the effect his words had on his brother and he let out a short chuckle. "I know what you must be thinking, but I just thought the next thing to do would just come to me if that makes sense. My instincts always work the best, they never lead me astray and when faced with people I actually hate, like hate enough to kill, planning what to do and what to say would do no good anyway."

Regulus thought about it, it was true that there were so many options. "When I see them lying at my feet and knowing I put them there, I won, who knows what I'll say? I will gloat and I'll laugh and I'll smirk and I'll insult and God knows what else, I might decide to just leave them to rot, there is no one left to break them out, there is little difference between death and letting the dementors have them. I'm still angry and bitter though, at Peter, at Bellatrix, at everyone I know in here, so much so I'm almost dark." Sirius could talk big, but once they actually reached Peter, Regulus knew instantly and with assurance that Sirius was not going to kill him.

He looked so pathetic, so small, so beaten it was hard to believe this was the former Dark Lord's right hand man, the man who had killed thirteen muggles, betrayed his friends and framed Sirius. It was hard to believe this was the man who was evil because he had never looked so much like the shy marauder who had once been like a brother to Sirius. This was the man who had followed the trio around until he was taken under their wing; much like Remus had been adopted by the duo of Sirius and James. He had held their friendship so highly and had actually admitted in 5th year, after he failed transfiguration that it was possibly the only valuable thing he was ever going to get from Hogwarts. But people changed, and could do so in a very short amount of time, he and Sirius themselves were fine examples of that.

He had been in jail for three months, and already he was dirty, shivering, ill, thin and losing his powers. Sirius may be claiming he was dark now but he was not without a heart, not like the warlock in the story, he still cared. There was even a sliver of emotion left for Peter he was sure, like he still loved Remus deep inside and held respect for Dumbledore and affection for Minerva and Hagrid, Peter was his brother first. "Oh my Peter," he said and his voice held no sarcasm, "how the mighty have fallen." He leant his head casually against the bars and waited for a response; he stared down at him, it almost seemed like he was disappointed.

His face was quite stoic like usual but he held none of the usual venom in his voice for when he caught death eaters. Regulus reasoned that he had expended all of that when he caught him that many months ago the first time round. Now all that was left was a heavy sigh full of so many different emotions. Eventually Peter lifted his grimy head from the floor and glared at him with his dull, fading eyes. It seemed the two brothers were on the same page in the final chapters of his life at least. He did not glare with malice, nor with hate or guilt, just the crushing realization of the harsh reality of his situation, and acceptance, letting Sirius know he was feeling the full effects of being bested by the man he thought he had beaten himself.

"Come to gloat have you Sirius?" He asked in a quiet voice. "Terrifying and locking me up a few months ago was not enough for you," again he was not trying to stir that sliver of emotion and Regulus could see it was not being stirred anyway, the flicker was too small. Yet hope was in his voice, hope Sirius had not changed too much after all, maybe...

"Not really," Sirius shrugged in his ever calm voice. "It is not as if seeing you like this brings me much pleasure. I am glad to see you getting your just desserts but it reminds me of all you did and how far you have fallen. It is hard to believe the friend I grew to love as a brother, who turned into a rat so he could be a better friend to Remus, who helped with the marauder's map and all of our pranks is now a turncoat and a murderer. But you are also right when you say terrifying you and locking you up so you never see the light of day again is not enough. You killed thirteen innocent muggles Peter, who never did anything to you more than being in the wrong place at the wrong time, that is thirteen people who will never see the light of day again."

"You also turned on James and Lily, two of the most beautiful souled people I know. Lily and James were powerful, strong, confident, calm, loving and your friends. They loved you, they would have died for you and this is a pretty poor way to repay them." His voice was not getting louder or even more venomous because he was still doing no more than stating facts. "Lily and James were people you should have been honoured to know, I certainly was, honoured they loved you like a brother, honoured they trusted you with their lived, honoured they thought highly enough of you to make you a Godfather to their very much loved only son. You should have loved them and died for them but you didn't, you ran off to Voldemort. DONT YOU DARE FLINCH AT HIS NAME!" Ahh, Regulus smiled, there went his voice, he knew he had to crack eventually.

"And what about little Harry, Peter? You orphaned that beautiful innocent little boy and Dumbledore sent him to live with his aunt and uncle. They abused him Peter; they abused that little four year old boy. He was starved so he still does not eat much and his back is littered with scars, and emotionally he was shut down when I got to him. Even after showering him with love and affection he won't dare misbehave and is too scared to do anything other than obey me with whatever I say. Wonder of a Godfather you turned out to be, he was hours away from death when I found him Peter, hours. I only wish I had come for him earlier once I escaped instead of sorting other things out, thank God I did not start my revolution before getting him, I just had no idea."

"I love Harry more than everyone else I know put together, bar Regulus of course, I would die for him and I certainly could kill and have killed for him. Harming Harry in any way, physically or emotionally, directly or indirectly is a transgression that cannot be forgiven. You are never getting out of here Peter. The ministry know you are an animagus so you can't turn into a filthy rat and squeeze through the bars like I did. You are never going to be able to restore your magic back to what it used to be, you are never going near a wand again. The strongest usually do not survive two years, and contrary to prior belief, you are not strong Peter. They all believe you are right hand death eater, mass murderer and you are all of that but you are not strong."

"I see three months has stripped you down to your basest form, you cannot get lower than you are now, you were never going to last longer. In one more month you'll go insane, it would be a blessing to no longer hear the tortured cries surrounding you and add to the din with you mad mutterings. The only good memories you really have are with me and James and Remus, how irony laughs at us all, I mean we are the ones you betrayed and the only ones your sanity can hold on to. What's more, even though you're captured, I'm still being hunted to be examined for my extraordinary power. They want give me a trial to clear things up 100% and see if I can be bribed into defending Fudge, another man I actually hate, and you know how much I loathe throwing that word around."

"They want me to come forward so they can compensate me and they want me to give up Harry for some reason. They still do not like me very much because I'm not what they want me to be, I'm innocent and they really wanted me to be guilty. I have killed, just not many people, only one in fact and he deserved to die anyway. I almost killed the muggles who abused little Harry but I didn't in the end because it would be far too obvious it was me. All I really want is to be left alone to raise Harry and finish my revolution. It is getting political now with reforming the corrupt ministry and the disbanded Order of the Phoenix. None of this would be necessary if you had done what you were supposed to and gone into hiding. But you just had to cause trouble didn't you?"

"So instead you went running off to Voldemort – and I said DO NOT FLINCH AT THE SOUND OF YOUR MASTER'S NAME! The reason I came here today and I realise you are still waiting for that bit of information as I have not actually told you yet is not to gloat, it really is just to state facts. Give me your hand Peter." It was quiet and calm but the tone left no room for argument and shakily Peter crawled over to the barred door of his cell and just about managed to poke his hand through. Sirius grabbed the wrist and traced the scar on his palm with one finger like he'd done when he caught Peter three months ago. "My, Remus' and James' blood runs through your veins and have done since we decided to become blood brothers."

Peter gave a cry as with a little magic and a sharp fingernail the scar was sliced open and blood began to pour out. "You do not even deserve the blood running around your body." Regulus realised his hand had been dropped and grabbed his brother's again to try to distract him. A glaze had fallen over his eyes and probably his mind too. Regulus doubted he really knew what he was doing; he was acting like a madman, obsessed only with revenge. It was not as if he felt he was going too far, one cannot go too far and he was not losing control of the situation either, he was too good for that, but he did not seem like the brother he knew and loved right now.

It was clear however that Sirius was not to be distracted and he just grabbed Regulus' hand with his left and continued to hold Peter's bleeding hand in the other watching in what looked to be sick fascination as the blood ran down his hand and dropped onto the floor. "I have one last fact to tell you Peter. There is no one left who cares about you, there is no one to break you out, and really, you brought all of this on yourself. Eventually you are going to be forgotten and it will be as if you never even existed. Right here in this cell is where you are going to die, and you are going to rot." It was nothing but the truth, but it sounded like a threat.

In desperation, Peter turned to Regulus. "Reggie, we used to be friends, we went on raids together, please, I'm a changed man."

"No Peter, I'm a changed man. I paid for my crimes, with my life, but you are a coward, you would run the moment the balance of power shifted."

Sirius nodded in agreement, "well said Reggie." Then despite what Sirius had said numerous times before his visit here Regulus had not believed him and he did the last thing Regulus expected his older brother to do. "Goodbye Peter... avada kedavra!"Peter did not have time to scream as the flash of green light struck his chest and he fell over backwards, dead. The guards would find him in the morning when they did their rounds. Regulus stood back shocked and just stared open mouthed as Sirius smiled, pleased with himself, not really bothered that he had just killed using an unforgivable and marched on to where his other victims were. Eventually Sirius noticed there was no second set of footsteps echoing his own and turned to face his brother with a bright smile and a cocked head as if he had not just killed his brother.

"You coming Reg? We still got a few more people to visit yet, don't you worry about him, he'll be found eventually." The way he spoke made it sound as if they were doctors doing house calls, not going on a murdering spree around one of the most secure buildings in the world. He waited until Regulus got his act together and started to follow him before continuing on his way.

"I can't believe you actually killed him. I mean I know you said you were going to and I believed you too. I'm not saying he didn't deserve it or that you are not capable, you are just so nice, so loving, even after your ordeal in Azkaban, seeing you with Harry just... it's hard to believe that man laughing and loving there is the same one I'm looking at now. I thought for sure the tiny sliver of emotion you feel or felt for Peter would kick in. I thought you'd see how much he looked like the nervous boy you befriended and you would not bring yourself to finish him off, leaving him to go crazy here and rot might have been a worse fate."

"I did not do what I did as an act of kindness Reggie," Sirius argued, "no, killing him at his lowest is worse. See, once you have gone crazy, true, your situation is no better, but you are not really aware that you are suffering anymore. That is why you are usually kissed after two years unless your sentence is not for life, but then if it is not for life you are more likely to end up in a less horrific institution. You are usually good at reading me Reg so I'll tell you now, as soon as I escaped from Azkaban I knew without a doubt that I was going to find Peter, I'd prove he was guilty and I am innocent and sooner or later I was going to kill him. The same applies to the others I mentioned Reg, I really am going to kill them, all of them."

A small part of Regulus thought he should protest because Sirius himself had said he did not like killing, he just thought it was necessary in some cases. He thought he should stop him because this was not Sirius, this was not the carefree and loving man he knew, but at the same time, it was. A touch of Azkaban had formed this new man, but it was still the brother he loved, the parental father/Godfather, the lovable dog. That small part of him was overridden, just because Sirius had changed did not mean he had to become the goody two shoes Griffindor in his stead. Dumbledore and McGonnagal may say how strong one must be to be able to forgive those you despised, but if you asked him you also had to be an idiot.

If you turn your back on someone and had a knife run through it, how stupid must you be to turn your back and let your guard down again? Peter had killed before and would have certainly killed again as would the other death eaters that were now imprisoned. If Sirius wanted to dish out what they themselves had done it was only bringing on them what they deserved, they brought it on themselves. If Sirius wanted to kill he was not going to stop him, not that he could, he was going to find and share the excitement that Sirius was obviously feeling. He knew because he was quivering and not from fear or cold or nervousness or anger from facing Peter, it was excitement, as Sirius had just said, he was usually very good at reading him. "Right, who are we going for next?" That was met with a toothy grin.

"The next one to go will be dear Bellatrix," Sirius declared. "She would kill me if given the chance and enough sanity to know what she is doing so I am going to repay the favour."

Regulus shivered slightly. "You are going to kill our cousin, she is blood."

"Problem?" There wasn't really a problem; it was just different when it was family... "She's a danger Reg; don't forget the things she has done. She killed her own son when he was six years old, Harry's age, because he turned out to be a squib. Little Ricki who never did anyone any harm and just wanted to be loved, she killed him because he was a 'disgrace' to the bloodline. That crazy bitch should never have been allowed near a child let alone have one herself, and to think her husband agreed to it. I am going to let the Lestrange brothers live, and Malfoy, and the Notts, Avery and Zabini too can be left, but I'll kill them all if they escape, which is very unlikely." A few steps later Sirius stopped and let out a contented sigh, "here we are."

Regulus came to stand beside him and looked down at his cousin lying on the floor of her cell laughing like the maniac she was. Death was really the only thing they could give her in this situation, she was so far gone it might even be kind. "Good evening cousin," Sirius said kneeling down to the floor so he was staring into her eyes, "how wonderful to see you again." Now the sarcasm entered his voice and it was rather surprising. There was no love lost between Reg and Bella either, but he'd never known the hatred ran so deep between her and his brother to the point he would kill her given the chance. She had, however, been a lost cause since she was in her early teens, Regulus fancied the idea of her marrying someone who took care of her, loved her, taught her, treated her insanity instead of nurtured it…

No, they had never given up on Bella, because that was not what the most Ancient and Noble House of Black was like. They married her off to a 'respected' house, but it was an unspoken agreement amongst them all, even so, that she was a lost cause. Her sister Narcissa was not so bad, she never had been, she was even their ally now. But she had married someone viler than her, she would have been alright, perhaps even turned to the light side on her own had she married someone who was not a death eater, but alas, most noble old pureblood houses were. There was no way Bellatrix would have married someone who was not a pureblood wizard. Despite what Sirius claimed about not performing an act of kindness, death was perhaps the best thing for this woman whose mind was dearly departed, and had been for years.

Bella's glazed over eyes came into focus to look upon her cousins and she laughed again. "Little Siri and Reggie came to see the dear, dear cousin," she crowed. "How did Reggie escape the ire of the dark Lord? The master was not happy that you betrayed him Reggie, he was very angry, very adamant about killing you."

"All that doesn't matter," Regulus replied, even if he told her she could only savour the information for a few seconds, before it was lost to her insanity, or Sirius killed her.

"Have you come to take your dear cousin Bella away with you?"

"Not a chance, bitch," Sirius snarled, Regulus didn't say anything more.

"So cold Siri, how did baby Siri get out of his cell anyway?"

"It is not as if I am going to tell you, I came here to make the world a safer place for my son to grow up in and to avenge my nephew. Not even the other death eaters were happy with the way you dealt with your squib son because he was family and an innocent, at least you pretended to love him while he was not a disappointment, a crazy bitch like you should not be allowed to have children. I am not surprised, glad even that your husband has done nothing to try and get you out of here, the fact he has some boundaries is why I am letting him live. Nothing I do or say will bring him back, but I can destroy the menace who has no qualms over murdering an innocent infant. This is for little Ricki, Avada Kedavra!"

A beam of green light shot out of Sirius' palm and then his cousin was lying dead on the floor of her cell as if she'd never been alive. That was why the killing curse was not as bad as some hexes, despite it being an unforgivable; it was quick and painless, usually. Regulus snuck a glance at his brother's face and was relieved to find it blank, void of any smirk or sign of glee. As awful as Bellatrix had been he must not find joy in killing her. Satisfaction maybe, but it was a chore, not a triumph, the Black family had always been the most family oriented house, that was why Sirius' father backed out of disowning him and his mother only did so because she was crazy. Bella was a Black before a Lestrange and despite all of her transgressions, Bella was blood.

"Are we killing anyone else here?" Regulus asked as they strode away from Bella's cell. He was not sure if e could take much more of this place, even with his brother holding onto his hand in a show of support and strength right behind him. Then all of a sudden the sound of a faint but fast tapping reached his ears and he pulled his brother into the shadows of an alcove. He was surprised that his older brother for all of his power and heightened senses had not noticed it before him; he must have been lost in thought. As soon as they were hidden a pair of guards patrolled the corridors looking cold, freaked out and bored.

"Thanks," Sirius muttered as they passed, and then smirked, "it looks as if they have doubled the guard here," he mentioned lightly, "that makes about eight people in the whole institution, we still did all of that far too easily and with no invisibility spells needed. As for your question, I'll probably kick myself later but there is no one else here I really feel I should kill, now the place is more secure I don't think genocide is necessary, but as I said, if anyone gets out I'll kill them. They'll learn to fear us Reg, especially once they realise we're hunting their precious Lord's horcruxes, the death eaters will be quivering, those who were not in the inner circle, those who turned back to the light will stay on the correct side out of fear if not true loyalty, they'll learn."

"The ministry will learn too," Reg added, feeling his chest swell with pride as his older brother said that they will fear 'us' instead of 'me'. "Fudge especially will experience the worst thing a minister can, he has already been pushed to resign, and once it actually happens they won't even want him anyway near ministry headquarters. Once you reveal how many death eaters were employees there, the man in charge of hiring ministers will be sacked too, Barty Crouch, I believe."

"The world is our oyster Reggie; let's keep it that way for as long as we can."