December 27, 1992

The sea wind was bitterly cold. Ice crystals formed in Sirius' hair, but he didn't bother shaking them out. The magical boat raced silently across the rough waters of the sea. On the horizon, the looming shape of the Wizarding prison rose like a monster out of the waves.

Sirius mentally ran through the plan for the fourth time. One team would attack from above on brooms, drawing fire away from the other team that would approach from the water, scale the cliffs, and infiltrate the prison without drawing any attention. There, they'd split off into teams of two and scour the prison without being seen. If they were seen, they'd have nothing to do but fight.

All of that had to be done while pushing through the malaise the dementors caused. He'd made sure everyone who came was able to cast a corporal Patronus.

He felt a pressure on his knee and glanced down to see a hand. "Hey," Marlene said from beside him, "it's going to be okay."

He sighed deeply and ran a hand over his face. "Yeah, I know. Because if it's not, I'll burn that whole place to the ground and Voldemort with it." He looked at her. "Thank you for coming. You didn't have to come out of hiding for this."

She was silent for a moment, studying his face. "Look… I know you want to get her back, but this plan is insane. Maybe we should go back, give it a few days-"

"Absolutely not."

"Sirius, the people on this mission aren't all here for Callie. They volunteered for you. Because they trust you. You can't throw their lives away on something this insane."

"I did it for you," Sirius reminded her. "After they took you at the Minister's ball, I raised hell to get you back."

Marlene groaned. "Don't bring that up again. That's one of the reasons we broke up. Besides, I think you and I both know this isn't like that. The stakes are higher this time, aren't they?"

Sirius glanced at her, shifting his weight. "You know about the prophecy?"

"That Callie may be the chosen one? Yeah."

"What do you think about it?"

Marlene shrugged. "It's a possibility, I guess." They slipped back into silence. Sirius turned his attention to the waves again and the looming prison. "You're really in love with her, aren't you?" When Sirius didn't answer, she continued. "I mean, I know you said you were, but I never imagined-"

"I asked her to marry me," Sirius said suddenly.

Marlene stopped. Something deep inside of her cracked and she turned away for a moment. "Really?" she asked, voice surprisingly calm. "What did she say?"

"She said now isn't the time."

"Well, she's got a point," Marlene chuckled. "Bloody Death Eaters everywhere." She paused again, listening to the roar of the waves. She looked at him for a long moment, taking in the sight of him. "I'm happy for you."

That surprised him. The little boat bounced on a wave and he gripped the sides tightly. "You… what? Really?"

"Yes, really. Look, we were never going to end up together. I accepted that a long time ago." She paused, looking down at her gloved hands and the wand clasped between her fingers. "Honestly… it's good to see you care about someone like this. It's good to see you in love."

Sirius stared. He could remember the long days and nights with her in Hogwarts and the innumerable times he told himself that he loved her. He could remember the nights in bed after a long case, moonlight shining through the curtains in her room, her bare skin pressed against his, whispering promises of what they'd do after the war.

More broken promises, he thought with a pang. How many more?

"You're really okay with this?" Marlene nodded. Sirius let out a small laugh and gave her a small smile. "You know, you really are a wonder. I don't deserve you and I never did."

"No, you sure don't. But somehow hearing the Great and Powerful Sirius Black say something so flatteringly humble doesn't make me feel much better."

"I'm sorry, Mar." He meant it.

She shrugged. "It's okay. Really, it is. Besides… I sort of have someone else, too."

Sirius grinned, glad to feel no pang of jealousy. "Really? Who's the lucky man?"

Marlene chuckled. A shadow blocked out the moon's rays and the boat tapped the side of a cliff. "Look at that," she said. "We're here."

Sirius looked up at the solid black mass of the fortress. He could make out shapes floating in the air high above them. Multi-colored light flashed and white shapes danced with black ones; the Aurors had engaged. Other two-man boats struck the cliff near them. He turned and saw James' face in the boat next to theirs, eyes set in determination. They shared a look and a single nod.

"It's probably a trap, you know," Marlene muttered from behind him.

Sirius swallowed. "I know." He took hold of the cliff. A cold deeper than anything he'd ever felt emanated from the stone. For one horrible moment he knew in the very marrow of his bones that this was a horrible idea. They were all going to die, or worse: end up trapped inside. But he thought of Callie languishing inside those walls, tortured and afraid and possibly worse. Those fateful words rang in his ear; So let's do it. Let's get married. She hadn't given him her answer yet.

With a deep breath, he pulled himself out of the boat. The cliff was rough and rocky and would have made an easy climb if not for the waves crashing against them, the water making the stone slippery. He climbed hand over hand up the cliff face. The moon illuminated the progress of the Aurors, up and up and up until they reached the flat top. They crammed single-file onto the plateau, backs to the outer wall of Azkaban. Sirius gave a sharp wave and they split into two groups, around the edges of the building.

The first window they came to was open save for the bars. It let every gust of December wind into the cell beyond. Sirius muttered a spell to vanish the bars and hoisted himself inside. The prisoner in the cell looked up, and Sirius fired a Stunning spell to keep him from crying out. As Marlene slid into the building behind him he opened the cell door and crept out.

A black-robed shape floated down the corridor towards them. Sirius conjured the best memory he could think of and poured his energy into casting a corporeal Patronus. A shaggy dog sprang from his wand and stood between the Aurors and the dementor.

Marlene led the way in the opposite direction, Sirius focusing on keeping his Patronus active. She stunned one Death Eater, but apart from that they met no opposition. Marlene found a staircase and the pair climbed up. The silver dog floated backwards after them, growling at the trailing shape of the dementor, which kept its distance.

Howling rose up from the bowels of the building. The cries of the insane, the haunted, and the damned pressed down on them, thick as the sadness brought at the approach of every dementor. The very air itself was oppressive with the weight of the dementors' sucking presence. Sirius found himself wondering if anyone deserved this place.

The Patronus flickered. He turned his mind back to the memory. Boys' dormitory, first year, sitting on the floor with his back to his four-poster, playing a game of Exploding Snap with James, Remus, and Peter. The moment he realized, for the first time in his life, that family could be people you chose.

They heard screams from one of the floors above them. A skirmish, they hoped. Marlene led them down a corridor on a different floor. She passed one of the last cells in the hallway. Sirius glanced inside and caught sight of a woman chained up and gagged on the floor. He recognized her immediately. With a shout to Marlene that he found her, he rushed into the cell. A dementor stood guard over her but the Patronus leaped onto it and knocked it back. Callie looked up and saw him. Her eyes went wide in fear and she pulled against the chains.

"Callie-"

Before he could react, a figure flew from the shadows and jabbed a wand into his stomach. A spell flashed. A blinding shock of pain tore through him. He heard Callie scream and didn't register exactly what had happened until he looked down. Three dark, wet lines in his shirt were quickly becoming one mass of red. Something prevented his brain from processing this. Shock.

He gazed up again and his eyes met Snape's. His lips were curled into a sinister smile.

Sirius' knees gave out and he collapsed to the floor. His Patronus sputtered, faded, and died.

Callie screamed and strained against the chains. They wouldn't budge.

Sirius could feel the warmth of his blood pooling on the floor beneath him. He coughed hoarsely and struggled to push himself up. "Mar…" He tried to call her, but his voice was weak. She seemed to hear anyway. She appeared in front of him. But she merely stood there. She didn't attack Snape. All she did was conjure another Patronus to replace Sirius'. A lynx sprang from her wand and paced the edges of the cell.

"You did well," Snape said, placing a hand on Marlene's shoulder.

This must be some horrible joke. Or some trick. She was under the Imperious Curse. It was a Death Eater using Polyjuice Potion.

She slapped Snape's hand away. "I didn't do it for you," she spat.

"What the hell is going on?" Sirius coughed. His voice sounded strained to his own ears, as if pulled through a grinder.

Snape smirked. "McKinnon seemed to realize she was on the wrong side. She graciously offered us her services."

Sirius looked up at Marlene in shock. There was no way. There was just no way. He knew Marlene. He knew her fears and dreams and hopes. She would never do this. "You're lying," he snarled.

"Am I? Why don't you ask her yourself?"

But Marlene said nothing. Panic began to rise in Sirius' chest. "Mar, tell him he's off his rocker!"

She didn't speak. Didn't move.

No. No, it was impossible. He'd trusted her with his life, with his friends' lives. She'd never betray them.

"Why?" he heard himself ask.

Marlene couldn't look at him. "This is the only way I could protect my family. I know you don't understand-"

"How long?" Sirius demanded. Maybe if he had more information he could pull it apart and expose it for a lie. "How long has this been going on?"

There was self-hatred in her voice when she answered. "I was approached by a Death Eater three years ago."

Three years ago. Three years ago they'd been together. They'd been living together. There had been nothing wrong.

Realization pooled in Sirius' mind. She was already working for Voldemort when she became the Potter's Secret Keeper. Nausea swept through him. He pressed a hand to the deepest cut and pulled himself to the wall of the cell. He tried to stand, using the bars to support some of weight. His legs wouldn't support him and his head spun. He was losing too much blood.

"Don't bother, Black," Snape simpered.

"Stay out of this, Snape!" he barked. Sirius felt a long robe brush his arm as Snape crossed the room. Severus knelt beside Callie. A wave of fear overcame Sirius' shock as he saw Snape reach out for her. "Don't. Don't you dare touch her!"

He expected to see fear or panic in Callie's eyes, but she just showed hatred and disgust. Thank Merlin, she didn't seem to be hurt badly. Snape slid one finger down her cheek and neck and Sirius growled. He tried to stand again. The heel of a boot dug into his hand. Marlene bent down and pulled his wand away.

"McKinnon has been invaluable," Snape said. "Enough so that I taught her that little spell I used on you a moment ago. Do you remember it, Black?"

"I remember you blasting James in the face with it!" Sirius snarled.

"You see, I've made some changes. The fatality all depends on the distance from which it was cast." Snape looked over at Sirius and raised an eyebrow at the amount of blood on the floor. "You don't have long. I'd say you're already starting to fade." Callie's eyes widened as she stared at Sirius. She tried to scream and pulled against the chains. Snape struck her in the face and Sirius flinched. Snape smiled. "I knew you'd choose her. You've always been so transparent, Black. So arrogant."

Sirius could feel the edges of his mind starting to go dark, and shook off the impending oblivion. He could not die like this. "Marlene, for the love of god-"

"Tell him," Snape ordered.

Sirius looked at her, but Marlene wouldn't meet his eyes. "I told you it was a trap," she whispered. "The Dark Lord isn't even here, but his orders still stand. Lure the Aurors here. Kill the possible savior."

Sirius' blood ran cold. "No. Let her go, or I swear I'll-"

"You'll what?" Snape asked. "No, Black, you'll do nothing. Because that's all you can do." He pointed his wand at Callie and shouted, "Crucio!"

Callie's body went rigid. She bent double in agony. A sound escaped her throat as if torn from it, more horrible than anything Sirius had heard in his life. Her body fell to the slick floor, thrashing.

Sirius strained to stand again, to crawl, to do anything. "Stop!" he screamed. "Snape, let her go! I'll do anything!"

Snape cut the curse and fixed his eyes on Sirius. "Anything, Black?"

"Anything!"

"Then, you can die in the knowledge that you lost. The Dark Lord is on his way to Godric's Hollow as we speak to kill the Potter child."

Sirius' eyes shot to Marlene in horror. "You sold them out. You sold them out!?"

"Only Harry!" Marlene answered quickly. "James is here and he swore not to kill Lily."

At the mention of her nephew Callie's eyes shot wide with new fear. She strained uselessly against the chains again. Her body was still weak from the torture. Her cheek was red from Snape's strike. He backhanded her, the gag slipping from her mouth. "You son of a bitch!" she coughed. "You were supposed to have loved Lily! You're going to let him kill her family!?"

Snape's wand shot out at her again. "Crucio!" he cried. Callie screamed and fell back again.

Marlene's hand grabbed Snape's arm and pulled it down. "Stop," she said. "She's not worth it."

The edges of Callie's mouth bled where the cloth had cut into her. She drew in shuddering breaths. She shot a very nasty name at Marlene, but she didn't flinch. She looked at Sirius. "You have to warn them."

Snape laughed. "No one will be warning anybody. You're both going to die here." He crouched beside Callie and took her chin roughly between his forefinger and thumb. "You're going to watch him die, Potter. You're going to watch the life drain out of him before your eyes. And then, you will understand what it is like to have your soul destroyed piece by peace." He straightened and gestured at Marlene. "We're leaving them to the dementors."

He swept to the door, cloak billowing behind him. Marlene paused beside Sirius. Her eyes betrayed deep turmoil. "I'm sorry," she said, and she meant it. "I didn't have a choice. This was the only way to protect my family."

Sirius glared at her, eyes filled with hatred and desperation. "Marlene, if you ever cared about any of us, I am begging you, don't let him kill Harry!"

"McKinnon!" Snape snapped.

Marlene hesitated. She drew a deep breath and pulled herself up to her full height. "I'm sorry," she said again. "But I can't let him hurt my family. If it were your family, Sirius, what would you have done?"

"Not this," Sirius growled. Pain flashed in his eyes. "Never this."

Marlene followed Snape out without looking back. The iron door of the cell clanged shut behind them. Marlene's Patronus followed. No longer held at bay, the dementor swarmed around them. The air grew instantly colder. Sirius' vision unfocused, his mind under a heavy fog.

Callie watched the growing pool of blood beneath him. His face was pale and his chest rose and fell with shuddering breaths. Most of his weight rested against the bars of the cell. "Sirius," she said, as calmly as she could, "you have to hang on. We are not going to die here!"

He struggled and fought to get up, but his muscles wouldn't obey. After a moment, he stopped fighting. The screaming started somewhere in the back of his mind. His mother's voice, cold and sharp as a knife.

He'd failed. Failed Callie and James and Lily and Harry just like he had Peter.

"It isn't your fault!" Callie yelled as if she could read his thoughts. There were tears streaming down her cheeks and her voice was broken. "Dammit, Sirius, don't you dare give up!"

Sirius coughed. Blood dribbled from his mouth. He could feel death coming, crouching at the door.

His eyes met Callie's and he felt something warmer trickle into his mind as he looked at her. Even bruised and beaten she was beautiful. She was smart and kind and selfless and brave and beautiful and she was his. Even if it was for a short time.

"I love you." His voice was choked.

"I love you, too." Callie managed a tight smile through her tears.

Sirius coughed again. "I've loved you ever since you saved Carrow."

"And I've loved you since our dance at the Minister's ball. But we don't need to do this now. We're not going to die here."

"Yes," Sirius said quietly. "We are."

"No, we're not," Callie insisted. "You promised me a trip to Paris and I'm holding you to that. You didn't revitalize the Auror Department to lose the war. You didn't make all those sacrifices to die in Azkaban!"

A dark shape drifted between them. The temperature around Callie plummeted, the cold penetrating deep under her skin. Ice crystals formed in her hair. She looked up at the creature.

She knew what was coming before it lowered its hood. Paralyzing, sickening fear rushed through her. She pulled against the chains; they wouldn't budge. They were so cold they burned her wrists. She thought she heard Sirius scream her name, but she couldn't be sure. The dementor lowered its hood with scabbed hands. Its face was something from like a nightmare; scarred skin stretched over its empty eye sockets and pulled over its hairless scalp. The only opening was a gaping mouth.

Her voice shook. "Sirius, I love you." She tore her eyes from the dementor's and found his. His eyes were clouded, emptying of life, showing nothing but fear and death and desperation. "My answer is yes. Let's get married." It was foolish, but if he managed to survive this she wanted him to know. She smiled genuinely, holding back tears.

The dementor wrapped a hand around her throat. Its skin burned her like the icy chains. Another hand pushed against her forehead, forcing her head back. Her tears froze on her cheeks. She shut her eyes tightly as the creature's jaws clamped over hers. Its scaly tongue forced its way into her mouth and down her throat, searching. She gagged and tried to throw it off, but the dementor held on.

Her body begin to empty.