Chapter 26 – Full Moon
Sirius was led upwards this time, to the top of one of the towers. Voldemort was standing there, looking up at the moon. It was full. Sirius swore under his breath; luckily no one heard him. He called to Remus. /It's a full moon./
/I know. They must have kept us asleep for a day or so; my body-clock is out of synch and I didn't realise. I can feel it now, though – I can feel the wolf. Don't tell them what I am yet./
/They may keep me up here all night./
/Pray that they do. You'll be in no state to change into Padfoot when you come back. I can't control him, Padfoot. Torture is better than death .../
Sirius was jerked back to the top of the tower as Voldemort grabbed his chin. "Look, Black. Look at the outside. This may be the last chance you get to feel the cool night air."
Sirius didn't reply. Voldemort released him and gestured towards a seven-foot-tall square metal scaffold with shackles attached to the top bar. Malfoy pushed him to it. It was right at the edge of the tower, with no parapet in front of it, just a sheer drop. Sirius was shackled to the scaffold. He didn't bother to resist; there was nowhere to run if he did.
Suddenly, Voldemort was whispering in his ear. "Do you know what I'm going to do to you, Black?"
"No, Tom, I haven't a clue," Sirius replied sweetly. Voldemort grabbed hold of his shoulder and pressed hard on the wound the spike had left. Sirius grunted in pain, flinching as the wound re-opened. Voldemort pulled his fingers away and licked them. "Your blood is sweet to me, Black. You would make a good Death Eater – "
"On the day I join you, Satan with be skating to work!"
Voldemort moved away, and Sirius strained his ears to hear what he was doing, twisting to try and see over his shoulder. As a reward from prying, he was hit with the cruciatus curse. Pain exploded all over his body before he had a chance to block it from his mate. He felt Remus scream as he took up half of the horrendous pain, easing it for Sirius. Sirius still couldn't hold back a shriek of pain. The curse was let up after a second, on the snapped order of the Dark Lord. Sirius' breathing was fast now. He didn't look back again.
Suddenly, with no warning, a white-hot lash of pain scored across his back as Voldemort brought a whip down on his back. He screamed in agony, forcefully shoving Remus out of his mind to save him from the torture. His suffering tonight would be bad enough tonight.
"Tell me where the Potters are."
"Never," Sirius grated. Voldemort brought the lash down on his back again, harder. His back arched away from it and he tried to wrestle his hands from the cold metal's grip. Voldemort asked, "Do you want to be lashed until you pass out, Black, or do you want to tell me where they are?"
"Do you have any actual friends? Not people who smarm up to you or do your every bidding, but friends, who you would be tortured for, who you would be prepared to die for?" Sirius asked. "I don't think you do, because if you did you'd know that I will never ever sell Lilly and James to you."
Voldemort screamed in annoyance and brought the whip down on Sirius back again. He yelped in pain. He continued lashing him until his back was dripping blood and the top of his pants was stained dark. No one noticed that the moon was setting and the sky was slowly, slowly lightening. Finally, Sirius was literally hanging from the manacles, no energy left even to scream.
Voldemort brought the whip down a last time. Sirius twitched and grunted in pain, not bothering to open his eyes. He could barely breathe; his chin rested on his heaving chest, and he was unable to find the strength to lift it.
"Now, please tell me where Lilly and James Potter are. Or I will make the pain ten times worse."
Sirius stayed still and silent for a long moment. When he answered his voice was a dull croak; his throat was dry from screaming. "Make it a thousand times worse; I won't tell you."
It was a lie. He couldn't take much more of the torture. He took a shaky breath and tried to stop a tear from escaping his eyelids. He didn't want Lilly and James to die, but nor did he want to be tortured any more. He wanted this living hell to end. He wanted to just die, as a release from the pain – but that would hurt Remus, something he never wanted to do. He was trapped.
Suddenly he heard Voldemort's voice in his ear. "I have here a mixture of citrus juice and salt water. Mostly salt water. Tell me where they are, or I will be forced to use it on those rather nasty cuts on your back. You have no idea how much it will hurt."
Sirius shook his head, gritting his teeth to prepare for the pain. He heard Voldemort move away. Then there was a splash as the liquid hit his back. Burning, mind-numbing agony exploded in his back. Sirius' back arched. His eyes opened and he screamed as his head rolled back to stare at the stars above him. After a long moment, his scream turned to racking, sobs as tears rolled unbidden down his face.
"Take him back to the cells."
Sirius was unshackled and he dropped to the floor, rolling onto his back because he had no energy to prevent it. The rough stone rubbed the cuts across his back. His face contorted as fresh lances of pain ran through him. Malfoy grabbed him by the wrist and didn't bother getting him to his feet. He simply dragged him through the corridors not caring that there were stairs and the floor was rough on Sirius' back. He was still dripping blood and moaning in pain when they reached his cell.
He pushed open the door and kicked Sirius inside without noticing the fresh scratches on Remus' unconscious body and the ruined sheets on the bed. Sirius heard the door close. He didn't move. His back still burned. The salt from the water had dissolved into his blood and there was no way to get it off his body. He didn't have the energy even to move onto his front. He sobbed, screwing his eyes shut in an attempt to shut out the pain.
Remus woke slowly. Sunlight streamed through the window. He sat up, and immediately forgot the pain in his own limbs when he saw Sirius. He scrambled out of bed and grabbed his clothes from under the bed; the only place the wolf couldn't reach, as the bed was too low and was bolted to the floor. He pulled on his trousers and scrambled across to Sirius.
He touched his mate's shoulder gingerly. Sirius opened his eyes. Remus looked down at him. Sirius opened his mouth to speak but Remus shushed him and kissed his cheek. He asked softly, "Can you move at all?"
Sirius shook his head, closing his eyes again. Remus noticed the thick red bruises around Sirius' wrists, which were bleeding in places, and the pool of drying blood around Sirius' torso and bit his lip. "You're going to have to stand up. I'm really sorry."
He grabbed Sirius' shoulders and pulled him into a sitting position. Sirius yelped and gasped as the excruciating cuts re-opened and stretched across his back, and more salt entered them. Remus hauled him to his feet and helped him across to the bed, where he lay him down on his front and looked at the cuts.
They desperately needed cleaning and bandaging. Remus ripped a strip from the bedclothes and hurried to the tap to wet it. He went back to the bed and started to wash Sirius' wounds. Inside his head, he heard Sirius whisper, /What about your wounds?/
/They aren't hurting./
/Yes they are./
/Yours are more important. Don't argue with me./
Remus continued to wash Sirius' wounds, despite his protests. Occasionally, Sirius would whimper or hiss when he hurt him particularly badly. Once the wounds were washed to Remus' satisfaction, he turned his attention to his own wounds. He told Sirius, "The wolf wasn't happy last night. He understood, you know. It was the first time I've ever really felt him feel some anger towards something specific. He really hated this place and everyone in it except you last night."
/So what would it do if it got loose?/
"Kill. Kill until you were the last thing alive here," Remus replied softly, finishing off his last bandage. Sirius sighed and closed his eyes as Remus pulled his shirt on. Sirius' voice sounded exhausted as he said, "Remus, they can do whatever they want to me, just so long as they don't touch you ... that's what I'm most afraid of, you know ..."
"Shh, I know. Sleep now, love. You're worn out. You'll need your strength," Remus told him, fighting back tears. Sirius asked, "Promise me if you get a chance to run you will."
"I can't leave you."
Sirius frowned. "Please, Remmie ..."
"No. I need to be near you. I'll go mad if I leave you here ..."
Sirius smiled slightly as Remus lay down next to him and found the one spot on his shoulder that wasn't hurting to kiss.
For the next three weeks, Sirius was dragged out of the cell almost every day to be tortured until he was close to breaking point. However the point when Sirius would give up his blood-brother was so close to the point where he would die, Voldemort didn't dare push him that close in case he want too far and really did kill him before he had his information. Voldemort wasn't even sure that Sirius would give up James before he died. He ciouldn't risk pushing him that far to find out.
Sirius fell to his knees, back in the cell. The cruciatus curse had done this to him – made him weak as a kitten. His hands were tied in front of him, as Voldemort had previously had him beaten by several of the Death Eaters – Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle and Wormtail.
Remus scrambled over and untied him, then carefully ran his fingers over the worst bruises. "Why do they do this to you? Why don't they accept you'll never tell them?"
Sirius shrugged slightly, stretching the wounds on his back and making him wince, and got to his feet. Remus stood too and steadied him. He walked to the bed and they lay down together.
An hour later, someone unlocked the door. Remus pulled Sirius into a hug. "If they want to take you again ...!"
The door opened and a Death Eater walked in carrying a tray of food, shutting the door behind him. He put down the tray and pulled out his wand. The prisoners started. Remus tightened his arms around Sirius. However, the Death Eater simply cast a silencing charm.
"What do you want?"
The Death Eater pushed back his hood. It was Snape. He picked up the tray again and walked over to the bed, placing it down between them. He said, "I want to help you get out of here. James is distraught, and now I can see he has good reason."
Snape's black eyes took in Sirius' roughly scabbing, half-healed wounds. Sirius sighed. "Tell him I'm OK. There's no point him knowing ..."
"He has a right to know. But Dumbledore has a message. He will come for you next full moon with the Order. A lot of the Death Eaters here will be engaged in a ceremony in the dungeons."
"What ceremony?"
"Another has joined their number, and he needs to be ... initiated."
"What happens?"
"He or she is given the Mark," Snape replied, pushing the robe off his shoulder to show them the rough blackish tattoo-like Dark Mark on his upper arm. "Then, the Dark Lord chooses them a – a mentor. The mentor then ... takes them into another room and ... and ..."
Sirius touched Snape's shoulder. "Is it a hard memory? Whatever they do?"
Remus stated, "It's rape, isn't it. Or at least, it was in your case."
Snape nodded. "I wouldn't care, but ... he assigned my mentor to be Lucius Malfoy –"
"He liked you in school. A lot. It was really scary sometimes, the way he acted around you. Don't know why he bothered to marry; he doesn't even like women!"
"Exactly," Snape replied, shuddering. He composed himself again and said, "But I digress. The Death Eaters must be present for the first and last part of the ceremony."
"What's the last part?"
Snape shuddered again. "He ... he uses the imperius curse to make the new members put the cruciatus curse on themselves. Then if they resist the imperius curse, he puts it on them himself, along with the other Death Eaters. If they resist, they are automatically placed higher in his favour."
"So?"
"So there will be less guards, and therefore it will be easier to break in and get you out."
"Right. So how long till the full moon?"
"Ask the werewolf, not me."
"Thanks for that Snape; remind me of what I am why don't you. It's about a week," Remus told them, glaring at Snape. Sirius sighed. "A whole week?"
Remus kissed his cheek. Snape stood, managing to hold back a stiff grimace at their open display of affection. "Eat. You'll need your strength. Both of you."
With that, Snape stood and left them. Sirius looked over at Remus. "Both of us? Why ..."
"Don't ask. I think we both know, but ... don't ask ..."
Sirius snuggled up to Remus, hoping Snape hadn't meant what he probably had.
The werewolf and the animagus were left alone for a further three days. Four days left before the full moon. However, the lull in the questioning was not to last any longer. Malfoy and Goyle came in on the afternoon of the fourth day and Sirius and Remus were both dragged out of the cell.
They were dragged into a large, shadowy room. It was cold inside. There was a rack against one dripping wall and in the centre of the room was a wooden chair fitted with metal plates and wires. There was a metal harness hinged to the chair. It had spikes on it.
Voldemort stepped out of the darkness. "Ah, Mr Black, Mr Lupin. Since you refuse to tell me what I need to know, I have decided to take up a new tact. Regulus, hold your brother."
The younger man took hold of Sirius' arms in a firm grip and dragged him back until they were close to the rack. Instinctively, Sirius struggled. He could sense that Voldemort was going to do. He was going to hurt his werewolf.
Remus was shoved into the chair and the harness was slammed down. The spikes drove through the skin of his shoulders, though missed the rest of his body and smashed into the wooden chair. Remus yelped in agony, staring in horror at the blood blossoming over his clothes.
Voldemort looked over at Sirius, whose eyes had gone wide and was fighting his brother with all the strength he had. "Tell me."
"No," Sirius moaned. He hated seeing his mate in pain, but he couldn't tell Voldemort where Lilly and James were.
Voldedmort flicked his wand at the chair. Remus' body convulsed and he screamed as a shock of electricity shocked through his body. Sirius gritted his teeth, tears falling freely from his eyes. "No, please, don't!"
Voldemort flicked his wand again, and another equally short and sharp jolt smacked through Remus' body. Sirius wrestled one arm out of his brother's grip, but Malfoy grabbed him and hit him in the stomach. Sirius heard Voldemort whisper, "Crucio."
"NO!"
Remus screamed. His vision darkened. Numbing pain slammed into ever muscle of his body. It equalled the pain of a full moon transformation, but Remus already knew nothing could be worse. Sirius watched as Voldemort let up the curse, but gave Remus another shot of the electricity instead. Sirius screamed at him to stop. "It's not him you want! Please, just stop!"
Voldemort stopped. Remus collapsed into the harness, driving the spikes further into his body. Sirius whimpered as he watched blood drip from Remus' shoulders. Voldemort grabbed his chin. "Look at him. Tell me where the Potters are and I will heal him and let you both go."
"I can't ..." Sirius sobbed, screwing his eyes shut.
"Then I'm afraid neither can I."
He placed the cruciatus curse on Remus again, making him writhe and scream. Sirius yelled, "You bastard! Stop it! Stop hurting him! Can't you see he can't take it!"
Voldemort stopped and walked over to Remus, pushing him back in the chair. "So pretty."
"Don't you dare touch him!" Sirius spat, still struggling against the grip of Regulus and Malfoy. "Don't you even go near him!"
"I see you're very protective ... tell me or I'll hand him over to my Death Eaters. Who knows what they will do."
Sirius' mouth dropped open. "Please. Please, no."
Voldemort grabbed the harness and yanked the spikes out of Remus' flesh as he pulled it up again. Remus grunted in pain. Sirius sobbed. "Please ... please, Lord Voldemort, please don't do that to him ..."
"Tell me where they are."
Sirius shut his eyes and allowed the tears to flow freely from his eyes. "Malfoy. Take Black back to the cells. You can have Lupin for whatever you want."
Sirius was dragged away, still fighting against Malfoy's grip. Remus couldn't even defend himself; he could barely move. He watched in despair as the Death Eaters closed around him until the door shut.
If they raped Remus, he would die. Once a werewolf had chosen its mate, they were the only one they could make love with. If anyone else other than Sirius ever took Remus, he would die – horrifically.
(A/N: I hate myself. I really do. I feel so bad. Last torture chapter comes next. Then I swear it gets happier. I hate writing this. Since I can't complain about my writing thanks to my deal with KrazyKat (why oh why did I make that deal! Oh, yeah, to stop HER from complaining ...) I'll have to say something positive. I liked the forms of torture in this chapter. Thank you to Aranel and Fire Breathing Ferret and I think K-Servo for the lemon juice and salt thing ...
I'm BACK! I have been to ITALY! Woo! So yeah. I'm back. I went to Venice and the Dolomites (find a map of Italy if you don't know where they are. They are near Lake Garda, where we stayed. If you haven't got a clue what they are – they are mountains formed when silt and stuff from a sea when it ... drained, I suppose. They are amazing.) We drove through bits of Verona, we went on a speedboat, went to a place called Malcesine (pronounced Mal-chez-nie – I know it's stupid, isn't it?), and I got a portrait done by a man on a street. It's actually pretty and I like it. He gave me a henna tattoo as well – of a Black Dragon! Woo! I will post it somewhere on the net sometime ... before it wears off ... because I think it's very 'me'. I got loads of new ideas, too, although I wrote nothing blush, so hopefully I will now be able to write.
Anyway. REVIEW! Please?)
