Thanks to lelegurl9, kantomon, lovevanillacreme, and Sparx, for the nice reviews. I hope this update was soon enough. And don't worry, I won't stop writing because someone says something bad. I'll write until my muse stops working. Oh, and by the way, she works better after I got reviews. They make her happy, and me too, and I can write better when I'm happy!

As always: 'Thanks to Trish and Sparx, you are just great!

And now, without any more ado, the story. ;-)

Chapter 3

When Sirius awakened again, he felt like he had been run over by a train. Every single muscle in his body ached, and his head felt at least twice its normal size.

Now he had time to study his prison carefully, the day before he hadn't gotten to. It was a big, bare room, windowless, with only one door. Not even his trained eye could see something that could help him. There was nothing there. And although Sirius expected there to be other shackles in the wall, he wasn't sure, as there was no hole to be seen.

Then he heard footsteps, and a short time after Voldemort entered the room. This time he didn't stop to chat. "Crucio!" Sirius whole body felt like on fire. Worse then before, he couldn't catch a clear thought. Just from afar he could hear someone crying out. For a fleeting moment he considered who could be the source of those cries, but then every thought abandoned him, as he could only feel his body burning.

Somehow, sometime the pain ended, and when it began to fade, Sirius realized his throat was raw. The cries he had heard - those must have been his own.

"Seems as if I did find 'something better', didn't I?" Voldemort appeared satisfied with himself.

"Go to hell!" was the only answer he got.

"Haven't yet learned the lesson, Black? Perhaps you need a reminder. Crucio!"

And again the unbearable, searing pain. Sirius didn't feel his tears, his throat aching, or how he chafed his wrists open at the shackles. One kind of pain blended into the other.

And finally it ended once again.

"Now, let's try something different." Voldemort thought aloud. Sirius instantly knew what Voldemort was planning. Voldemort would try "Legilimency" to get inside his head. This time all the pain wasn't thought to make him talk, it should weaken him. Weaken him enough, so he wouldn't have strength enough to resist Voldemort. But Sirius had had enough "Occlumency"-lessons to be able to shut Voldemort out. As an auror, you never knew when you would need to hide something, and so everyone was trained in "Occlumency". First Sirius closed his eyes, as Leglimency was much easier with eye-contact. Then he emptied his mind, forcing himself not to think about anything emotional, and instead concentrated on an empty tunnel.

"Legilimens!"

When Voldemort flinched, Sirius knew that he had at least won this round. Voldemort cried out his anger, but calmed himself a little, when he remembered his next plan. He left the room fast, almost running, without saying another word, or at least looking back.

But a really short time after this, he came back, followed by ten beings, clad in long black robes, which covered every inch of them.

Those beings weren't walking, but rather gliding. "Dementors!" Sirius immediately recognized them, when he saw them and, more important, felt them. The room became colder, and the light was being sucked away by something. Sirius suddenly felt terrible, and his courage slowly dropped. What could he do against these creatures? Perhaps he should rather tell Voldemort what he wanted to know, then everything would be over. What reason was there, to fight against the mightiest wizard in the world? Every trace of hope disappeared from Sirius' thoughts.

Voldemort ordered the dementors to guard Sirius, but forbade them to kiss him. He told them that they would get their reward later.

Then he left the room again, and Sirius was left alone with his thoughts and the dementors. He felt more and more miserable, he couldn't remember ever feeling so hopeless: Of course had he been in some really bad situations, but he had never lost his self-consciousness.

The dementors were the reason that he felt so miserable, Sirius knew that much. But that wasn't helping anything against those feelings. He just felt alone, and terrible, and everything was hurting, and when he was honest with himself, he didn't believe that anything would change, ever. An eternity later, during which he thought about the worst things that ever happened, Voldemort returned.

"Now?"

"No." But his time the answer sounded flat, there was no power left in the voice, while Sirius still refused to betray James.

"Why? You are ready to face dementors and torture for him. Why?" there was the sound of honest curiosity in Voldemort's voice.

"He is my friend!" answered Sirius simply.

"Really? And then he asks you to sacrifice his life for him? Then he refuses to take someone different, someone not too obvious? Because he had to know that I would find you. Are you sure that he doesn't just use your feelings for him? Perhaps you don't mean anything to him, or he would have tried to save you. But why should he? Your death would seal the secret of his hiding-place. He can never be found as long as he doesn't want to be found. But he would never do something like this, now would he? But, then, why are you here, while he is safe, when I don't want you? But you have to know this for yourself. I have to go now, I still have other important things to do."

"Yeah, I really believe you," Sirius growled with sarcasm. But the expected reaction didn't come. Voldemort just left.