Sirius was standing in a dark, damp room. Cold stone covered the ceiling, walls and floor. It was very dark and he could barely see a thing except for Remus to his left and James and Dumbledore to his right. No one spoke, they were all waiting for this new memory to begin, for something to happen. The four men had just witnessed the Death Eater named Gideon Rowe dragging Natalie to the basement and locking her in the room they stood in now.
Sirius' stomach clenched uncomfortably. He wished he would have listened to his instincts and refused to look into Natalie's memories. Already he was livid, promising himself silently that he would be the death of that smug prick. But he knew it would only get worse. In that first memory Natalie had looked normal, not like the frail and sickly person that was back at St. Mungo's.
They all watched as the Death Eater used the Cruciatus Curse on her over and over and over again. Sirius felt himself lose all his color. They saw the Death Eater try to force the Veritaserum into her system and watched her break the vial and spill the liquid across the floor. His heart jumped, he was so proud of her in that moment for fighting back. The memory went black and another popped into existence and they watched as the Death Eater attempted to enter into her mind, watched as Natalie learned how to keep him out. They saw him breaking her bones, cutting her with knives, hitting her until her eyes were swollen shut. Sirius didn't know how much more of this he could stomach.
Then they watched as she escaped, shattering her own hands and running on her damaged leg, doing whatever she had to in order to get away from that place and that bastard that hurt her. They followed along as she walked through the woods at night, not sleeping and not eating, trying to find her way back to something familiar. When they saw the moment she found Remus, Dumbledore placed a hand on Sirius' shoulder and he was wrenched from his surroundings, finding his footing at the headquarter house. The shallow Pensieve sat on the table in the middle of the kitchen, contents swirling and sparkling.
Dumbledore was the first to speak. "A muggle poet once said, 'A hero is no braver than an ordinary man, but he is brave five minutes longer.' He was a wise man."
The old wizard took hold of the dish and, without another word, turned on the spot, leaving the three Marauders alone.
She really hadn't said anything. Not one single thing about the Order or anyone in it or where they lived or what their plans were or who they were delivering Death Eaters to. Nothing. She must have been the bravest person Sirius had ever known. It was strange, after seeing so many awful things being done to her, somehow the strongest emotion he had in that moment was respect. Deep admiration for Natalie, for how strong and how much of a fighter she was. Of course, that feeling didn't last very long, as the terrible sickened feeling returned to his stomach just a minute after leaving the memories.
"I think I'm gonna be sick," Remus commented, his hand resting on his stomach.
The three of them were pale and looked dreadful, each of them feeling as if they could have vomited right on the kitchen floor after what they witnessed. How long had they been away from the hospital? Sirius was itching to get back, not at all comfortable with leaving Natalie in such a weakened state and unprotected.
He took his wand out of his pocket. "I'm gonna go back," Sirius muttered. The events from the past few hours had drained him of any energy he started the day with. "I'll check in later and let you know how she is."
James and Remus didn't object, only nodded and watched him leave the kitchen, disapparating as soon as he left the house.
Sirius knocked on the door to Natalie's hospital room. Normally he would have skipped the politeness and gone right into the room, however he saw how she had been alarmed by his attempt to hug her earlier and didn't want to do anything to frighten her again. He had seen, now, exactly what she'd gone through the past seven months. The last thing he wanted was to add to her anguish.
He heard a muffled voice through the door and took that as a signal to enter. Natalie was exactly where she'd been when Sirius left a few hours before, it almost looked as if she hadn't moved a muscle. The sight of her mistreated figure gave him a jolt even though he knew what to expect this time. There was no getting used to seeing her like that.
She seemed to relax when she saw it was Sirius coming through the door, but it was so faint that he was sure no one else would have caught it. He shut the door behind him but stayed at the foot of her bed. The distance between the two of them was killing him. All he wanted to do was crawl into the bed next to her and hold her, to keep her warm and help her sleep.
"Did you get any rest?" Sirius asked, his hands were shoved awkwardly in the pockets of his jeans.
Natalie shook her head slowly. "Not really." She looked up at him, her eyes were sad as she searched his face for something. "Did you watch them?"
Her memories. Had he ever. Sirius' eyes shifted to the floor as he nodded his head, small pieces of hair falling into his face. "Yeah, I did."
"Good," she responded, and the force behind her voice made him look back at her. Her face was twisted in emotion, her chin twitched as she tried to hold back sudden glassy tears that filled her eyes. "Now you know why I can't stay here."
He didn't say anything for a few seconds, trying to think of why on earth she'd want to leave when she wasn't healed yet. "Nat, you're not well."
"Sirius, you saw. I escaped days ago," her voice was hushed as if she was revealing a secret to him. Her hands were clenched weakly around the blanket covering her, shaking slightly. "They're looking for me, I just know it. You have to get me out of here before they find me and take me back there."
Her fear was palpable, Sirius had to fight himself to keep from scooping her up in his arms. Instead, he grabbed a chair from the other side of the room and pulled it up so it was next to her bed. He rotated it and sat in it backwards, legs straddling it's low wooden back, and crossed his arms over the top. "I promise you, no one is going to take you back to that place."
Natalie let out a rough breath, clearly frustrated that Sirius wasn't listening to her. "Please-"
"I will stay here with you until you're well enough to leave," he cut her off, ignoring the glaring look she was giving him. "No one will get anywhere near this room without me knowing, okay? You just need to stay put and focus on getting better."
Her jaw was set and she said nothing else. Maybe it was his imagination but he thought he saw her release her grip on the blanket just a bit. Sirius didn't know how else to comfort her so he just stayed quiet, watching her out of the corners of his eyes.
After a few minutes he broke the silence by starting to fill her in on anything and everything that happened to the Marauders during the seven months without her. She didn't say much or even really react to the things he was saying but he knew she was listening. When she laid her head back onto the pillow behind her he knew something about him going on and on was calming her down, perhaps it was his voice or just the comfort of him being next to her. He wasn't sure, but he continued talking about anything that came to mind for the next few hours, long past the point where even he got sick of hearing himself.
He paused his monologuing when he saw Natalie's head drop down to her shoulder, falling asleep in what looked like an extremely uncomfortable position. Sirius didn't dare move her. He was happy that she was resting, and that despite everything that had happened to her and the obvious lack of trust she had in anyone around her, he was happy she still felt safe enough to fall asleep with him sitting next to her.
Sirius' head dropped down onto his arms not long after that, letting himself drift off, too.
It was well into the early hours of the morning when Sirius woke, arms and legs stiff and sore from sleeping on the chair. The room was dark and it took a moment for his eyes to adjust, looking over to the bed immediately. Natalie was curled up on her side facing Sirius, her body pushed all the way to the edge of the bed, as close to him as possible without falling to the floor. A small smile made its way to his lips.
He got up and tiptoed into the hallway without making a sound, not wanting to wake her. He walked towards the lift, stretching his limbs the whole way. His stomach growled as he thought about what the visitor's room might have in the way of food. At the very least there would be tea or coffee, though he was hoping for something more substantial. It had been almost an entire day since he'd eaten last, there had been too much going on to think of food.
The visitor's room was empty. He wondered vaguely if he was even supposed to be in the hospital at that hour, figuring that the Healer in charge of Natalie's care more than likely overlooked his extended stay. He liked the plump witch in the lime green robes, she seemed genuine and caring and like someone he could trust to get Natalie back in good health. Sirius poured himself a cup of coffee that had been steaming in a container on the counter, waiting for someone to drink it. Next to the coffee was a plate that held a few small sandwiches. He took one and scarfed it down with the contents of his cup in record time.
Satisfied for the time being, he made his way back to Natalie's room. How long would it take before Natalie was sick of him hovering over her? Probably not very long, he thought. Too bad, he wasn't planning on leaving any time soon.
For the first time in a long time Sirius was surprisingly cheerful. The thing that had been plaguing him for so long was finally over, Natalie was back and he was so very grateful. She was going to rest and eat and heal and be back to her old self in no time, then everything could go back to normal. He'd be able to see his friends again without constantly thinking of the one person that was missing, would be able to clear the haze he'd been living in and finally be happy again. Sure, they were still fighting a war, but everyone knew Sirius didn't mind the duels and brawls. If anything he couldn't wait until the next time he could go out and scuffle with a Death Eater in his usual state of mind, without anything bogging him down or distracting him.
Sirius walked into the hallway when the lift doors opened and stopped cold. Someone was lurking around Natalie's door, a short, dark haired man in dark robes. The hair on the back of Sirius' neck raised on end, mind and body on high alert as his hand hovered near the pocket that housed his wand. He didn't pull it into his hand right away, not wanting to scare the strange man off.
"You lost, friend?" Sirius asked, his voice low and dangerous.
The man turned and met Sirius' gaze. He was young and had his black hair slicked back and plastered to his head. His skin was very pale, as if he hadn't seen the sun for months. In his hand was a bit of paper that looked like it was torn from the corner of a larger page, a few small scribbles could be seen in the middle. His voice was nasally when he spoke. "Just here to visit a friend." He spread a fake smile across his face, attempting to come off as friendly but only succeeding in making Sirius feel unnerved.
"Bit early for that, isn't it?" Sirius was watching the man's every movement.
"Is it?" the man asked, pretending to check the watch on his left wrist.
Sirius was beyond the point of suspicion now. He knew why this man was here. Natalie had been right. "What's the room number, I can point you in the right direction."
The man looked at him a little too long before the disturbing smile grew wider. He tucked the paper into his robes. "You know, I think I'm on the wrong floor, actually." He started to walk towards the doors behind Sirius.
"Is that right?" Sirius growled, his eyes following the man down the hallway.
As the doors to the lift slid open, the man nodded once in Sirius' direction. "Have a pleasant day."
Sirius watched as the man walked into the lift and heard the doors clatter shut, leaving him alone in the hallway. As soon as he was sure the man was gone, he turned on his heel and ran down the hallway, his heart beating fast as he rushed into Natalie's room. He didn't turn on the light in the room but took his wand out and muttered under his breath, lighting the tip so he could see.
"Nat," he whispered, shaking her shoulder gently as he came up next to the bed. "Natalie, wake up."
She stirred, one eye opening halfway to see who was waking her up. She shot up when she saw Sirius so close, her face a mask of confusion as she noticed the dark room and his worried expression. "What's going on?" she asked.
"You were right," he said quietly, his words rushing out of his mouth. "We need to get you out of here."
Her eyes widened. "You saw someone?"
"Yeah. They're gone for now but it's not safe here, we have to go before they come back."
She nodded in agreement and Sirius could practically see her push her fear to the back of her mind. Natalie swung her feet off the side of the bed and pushed herself up to stand. She wobbled unsteadily and tried to take a step but couldn't keep her footing, falling forward.
He caught her, his hands under her arms. "You can't walk," he observed to himself out loud. He looked at her, trying to convey his feelings through his gaze. "I'll help you, but I have to put my arm around you."
Natalie recognized him asking permission to touch her and after a second's hesitation she stood up straight, using Sirius' shoulder to brace herself. He took her lead and wrapped his free arm around her waist, pulling her close to him so he would be able to move both of them easily.
"Come on," he said, starting to walk towards the door. She shuffled next to him, still gripping his shoulder for support. "The Healers won't like that you're taking off so soon, we're gonna have to sneak out."
Avoiding being seen was easier than Sirius expected, perhaps because it was so early in the morning and people were still sleeping, with no visitors roaming the halls yet. They had a few close calls where he had to pull them both into a doorway or an empty room so they didn't run directly into a Healer, but most of their path was clear. It only took them a few minutes to reach the window separating the hospital from the city, both sets of their eyes darting around apprehensively. Sirius stepped out onto the sidewalk, lifting Natalie slightly so she didn't have to jump the gap between the window and the walkway. Holding her still, he wasted no time and turned abruptly, rocketing the two of them away from the hospital without a second thought.