Chapter Twenty-five; Hostage Situation
Sirius' body felt strangely distant, lying scrawled on the cold, hard floor of the Great Hall, his mind reeling with the pain. Throat too sore to continue screaming, his breath came in laboured, ragged pants.
He lay still, head pounding as a cold, high-pitched voice reverberated through his mind.
'… unless you surrender yourself, I will see to it that your godfather is put under the most painful torture possible, so that he will die an excruciating, painfully slow death.
'You have ten minutes, Potter.'
His vision swimming, Sirius glared murderously up at the Dark Lord.
'He won't come,' he said hoarsely.
Voldemort slowly turned to look down at him, scarlet eyes shining through the gloom. The throne in which he sat was tall enough to cast him into deep shadow; only a dim silhouette and his glowing eyes were visible.
'I see no reason why he shouldn't,' said Voldemort softly.
Sirius slowly made to get up. He did not want to die lying at this foul creature's feet. His legs shook slightly as he shifted his weight onto them, but he managed to stand, meeting the pitiless eyes, his vision clearing.
The wand he'd taken from one of the Death Eaters had been confiscated. He had no means of defending himself. While Sirius had had a great deal of practise with wandless magic over the past few years it required a lot of concentration and could quickly sap your strength, leaving you exhausted. It was not a viable option against three wizards at full magical strength.
Transforming would hardly do him any favours. What could he possibly do as Padfoot? Bite Lucius Malfoy's leg?
The Death Eater stood on Voldemort's right hand, arms folded, sneering down at Sirius.
Tia was on Voldemort's left, nervously eyeing the snake that was curled in his lap hissing ominously at her.
Sirius felt a hot surge of anger and confusion. There was a disturbing gap in his memory. He could recall seeing Tia in the corridor … she'd ordered him to transform … he must have done so but the next clear memory he had was that of being hit with the Cruciatus Curse. The events that occurred between those two incidences were so hazy Sirius couldn't be sure if they were real.
He had a nasty suspicion that this may have happened before but his memory refused to cooperate and tell him so.
Tia stole a few tentative glances at him but quickly averted her eyes.
Voldemort raised his wand, pointing it at Sirius again. The Cruciatus Curse hit him full force. The pain was unbearable; his very skin was burning, peeling away agonisingly slowly, layer by layer. Sirius was biting his tongue so hard he could taste blood flooding his mouth. A scream of agony erupted from his throat - and the curse was lifted.
Sirius collapsed, black starbursts dancing across his eyes, barely conscious. He could hear Voldemort laughed coldly, the sinister cackle ringing in his ears.
Surely - surely Harry wouldn't risk himself so foolishly? Sirius tried to tell himself that, but a part of him didn't seem to want to accept it. No, he couldn't. It was suicidal. The only possible outcome was death. Yes, Harry had escaped from Voldemort's clutches several times but with each attempt he'd come that little bit closer to losing his life. You could not be lucky every time. The safest thing was for Harry to stay away, not to listen to Voldemort's demands. To ignore the fact that Sirius was now his prisoner.
The thought that he would never see his godson again hurt Sirius more deeply than the Cruciatus Curse could ever penetrate. Tears stung his eyes, threatening to spill.
He had to trust that Remus would get a message out. The Ministry would send help. Fudge may be an incompetent fool but not everyone under his command were so short-sighted as to ignore the urgent plight of hundreds of stranded students; the entire future of the magical community. Their own children.
If Harry and the others could just stay hidden, out of danger, then they would be fine. It would just take a bit of time. Not that Sirius believed that he had much of it left.
Sirius waited until his vision cleared. It took longer than before. Several hits with the Cruciatus Curse had rapidly drained his strength. His muscles and bones protested as he forced himself up again with no small amount of effort.
Voldemort waited until Sirius had regained his footing before turning to address Malfoy.
'Lucius, summon those of the Inner Circle. Destroying the Boy-Who-Lived would be a disappointment without an audience to witness it.'
Malfoy nodded and left the Hall, his black cloak billowing out behind him. Tia stood a little behind the Dark Lord, looking sullen. Voldemort must have noticed.
'You have something to say?' he asked softly.
Tia looked startled at being addressed. She recovered herself quickly however.
'Yes, Sir. You promised me that I would have him if - '
Her curt reply was cut short as the Cruciatus Curse struck. She shrieked and fell to her knees, her body writhing. Sirius closed his eyes, only opening them again when the screaming came to an abrupt end. Tia was gasping for breath, shaking all over.
'Get up,' sneered the Dark Lord. 'You want him? You asked me for him, along with so many other 'small favours', requests that I granted only because you proved yourself capable of carrying out my orders. Yet you believed yourself above such matters, your judgement clouded by petty access to your reward.' He cast a disdainful look at Sirius, who was staring at Tia.
'I don't think you deserve it. You were nothing before my aid, Allison, you know that. I gave you all that you wished for … a beautiful body … seductive prowess … even supplied potion ingredients when you had need of them … all of this I granted in exchange for gaining entry to Hogwarts and Harry Potter. If you fail in your task, then you have not earned your prize.'
Sirius felt a chill run up his spine as the comprehension dawned.
Allison.
Harry had been right.
The whole time he'd been nothing more than a pawn in her twisted game and Harry had tried to tell him, warn him.
And Sirius hadn't believed him.
'Allison?' His voice was so quiet and hoarse he was surprised that she heard him.
Her strange violet eyes snapped up, wide and staring. They narrowed angrily as she hissed, 'I do not go by that name anymore.'
She took a step towards him.
'My love, I'm sorry. He – He said he wouldn't harm you … just tell him where that little brat is and he'll let us go. We can be together again … like before.'
Sirius slowly took a step back, bewildered by the frenzied stare.
'Allison - '
'Don't call me that!' she screeched. 'My name is Tia –' Her face fell, gazing mournfully at him. 'You never meant it, did you? You love me. You told me so.'
'What happened to you?' whispered Sirius.
Tia laughed. It was not a sane sound.
'I became beautiful,' she purred. 'You like me beautiful, don't you, my love? I knew you wanted me back. It was the others that kept us apart. But they won't anymore. We can leave … go somewhere far away. We'll be happy – we're meant to be together … you know we are …'
Sirius continued to back up slowly, trying to keep a little distance. Tia was slowly descending from the podium, a very hungry look in her eyes.
'Alli – Tia,' he said nervously. 'You're not well. If you let me, I can help you.'
But Tia didn't seem to have heard a single word. She stepped down from the podium.
A sudden rumble of sound came from beyond the doors of the Great Hall. All three of them turned to look as the doors burst open with a tremendous bang. Sirius' jaw dropped.
Harry, astride his Firebolt, shot into the Hall, soaring up to the enchanted ceiling. Below him, a number of hooded Death Eaters had followed him inside. They spread out swiftly, keeping to the walls, wands at the ready. Two of them quickly shut the doors behind them. There was no other way out.
Harry hovered high above their heads like a hawk.
'Voldemort,' he shouted. 'If you want me to surrender you'll have to let Sirius go!'
Sirius was torn between pride at the fearlessness of his godson to face the Dark Lord, and exasperation at Harry's foolishness.
'Harry! What do you think you're doing?' he shouted in disbelief.
Harry ignored him.
Voldemort smiled. 'I'm afraid, Potter, that you are in no position to make demands. Your godfather will remain here for as long as I find him useful.'
He raised his wand. Sirius cried out in agony, falling to the floor, his body writhing convulsively.
'Or until you surrender.'
Harry gripped his Firebolt so tightly his knuckles went white. He hesitated for only a second before going into a steep dive. Pulling the broom up sharply, he came to a halt, hovered level with the Dark Lord, who smiled with cruel satisfaction.
'That's better,' he said coldly, lowering his wand.
Sirius lay prone, tremors running up and down his body. Harry leapt off his broom and ran to his godfather, dropping to his knees beside him.
'Sirius?' He touched his shoulder, giving Sirius a gentle shake. 'Can you hear me?'
'Don't you touch him!' Tia cried, making towards him. But Voldemort raised his hand and she faltered.
'Now, now, none of that.'
'But –' Tia struggled against the invisible force hindering her progress, her eyes fixed on Harry and Sirius. 'He belongs to me.'
'He has not yet served his purpose,' said Voldemort smoothly. With a further sweep of his hand, the young woman was roughly thrown back against the wall. She gasped in pain and slumped at the base of the wall.
'Do not intervene,' the Dark Lord stated coldly.
Not sure what to make of Professor Torr's peculiar outburst, Harry quickly returned his attention to Sirius. He drew his wand, waving it over Sirius' body, casting a simple revival spell.
For a moment Sirius didn't move. Then his eyes fluttered open. He carefully sat up, looking rather dazed but he gave a weak smile, wrapping his arms around Harry, pulling him close. Harry buried his face into Sirius' shoulder.
'You shouldn't have come, Harry.' Sirius hissed, his voice somewhere between anger at Harry's recklessness, and joy at being able to hold him close once more.
'I'm sorry,' Harry mumbled, his shoulders shaking. 'I couldn't leave you - I couldn't.'
'Hey,' Sirius rubbed Harry's back gently. 'I'm the one who should be apologising. It's my fault we're in this mess.'
'How very touching,' Voldemort sneered. 'You are either ridiculously brave or ridiculously stupid to risk your life for such a poor excuse for a guardian, Potter.'
Harry's head whipped round, glaring up at the Dark Lord.
'However, you do possess an extremely high level of magical power, that much is clear. To think of the full extent of the powers that you will wield once you have learnt to harness them … why, they may rival even mine.' He laughed coldly.
'Now, Potter, you must see that I have no desire to quash such potential.' A smile twisted his thin mouth. 'Not when it could be directed … channelled, if you will … to aid the continued rise of the Dark Order.
'Light Magic cannot win. It cannot defeat the Dark. It may fight back, but ultimately it will fail. Why continue to fight when you must know in the depths of your soul that you will lose? Failure is death, Potter.
'Choose the winning side, Potter. As I told you before … better to save your own life and join me … or die, begging for mercy…'
'Over my dead body!' Harry snarled.
Voldemort's face darkened.
'That can be arranged,' he hissed. 'But … I will allow you a chance to reconsider…'
He rose with cat-like grace. The snake in his lap slid to the floor, hissing angrily. Sirius held Harry close to him, both of them scrambling to their feet. Sirius' eyes darted round the Hall. The Death Eaters stationed round the room stood perfectly still, keeping their distance.
Voldemort raised his wand, pointing it at Sirius. Harry jumped back, startled, as Sirius was flung up into the air. He landed scrawled at the Dark Lord's feet, the wind knocked out of him.
Harry held his wand firmly, crouching slightly; ready for the Dark Lord's attack. But it didn't come.
Voldemort reached down, grabbed Sirius around the throat, pulled him roughly to his feet, and held his wand up against Sirius' chest.
Harry froze.
With a demonic smile, Voldemort commanded, 'Imperio!'
Sirius' body relaxed. He stood perfectly still, his face blank. He didn't react as Voldemort removed a wand from his robe pocket and placed it in his hands. Slowly, Sirius turned to face Harry. There was no recognition in his dark eyes.
An icy hand seemed to grab hold of Harry's heart at that moment. Fearfully, he took a step back.
'Potter, I give you a simple choice. You may either kill your beloved godfather to save your own life…' Voldemort's eyes gleamed maliciously. 'Or you can die by his hands.'
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To Be Continued
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Author's Notes
BWHAHAHAHA – ack! *coughs violently* ahem, excuse me, little sinus congestion. *smirks evilly*
Oooh, I'm just asking for a lynch mob here, aren't I? *looks about nervously* Er, I didn't mean that literally … what do you think you're doing with that? Hey, put that pitchfork down! I didn't mean it! *gulps and runs off to find a decent hiding place*
Elbereth94 – *Laughs nervously* Why'd you think I invested in a good hiding place?? *ducks out of sight*
Evol norgara – 0_0 Oh no! Don't die on me! Bloody hell, don't scare me like that! Hey, find your own hiding place, this one's taken. ^_^
Christy – Yep, Tia's a bit ticked off about Harry's connection to Sirius, she's pretty possessive. Glad you liked the chapter! ^_^
Evil spapple pie – I loved writing that chapter. The spells were a lot of fun! ^_^ True, I doubt a Peter fic would be well received. He's hardly a favourite, is he? Although it would be different to have him seen a more sympathetic light for a change; don't see many of them. In my mind the other Marauders would be a major part, but it would just be told mostly from Peter's POV. But who knows if I'll ever get round to writing it! I have several fics planned already! A Sirius fic, a Remus fic, a Ginny song-fic, another sequel to this one and yet another fic whose details I'll not divulge here! Jeez, I've got enough to keep me busy for a few years!
Von – *evil cackle* My weapon of choice; the cliffhanger! I love using them! ^_^ Aren't I evil? Sirius attacking Harry? Whatever gives you that idea? Sneaked a look in one of Trelawney's crystal balls? You cheat! ^_^