(A/N: OK, since a lot of you have been asking, I'm going to answer a one little question. People keep asking why Voldemort didn't just torture Remus first. Well ... Voldemort is evil. He has no conception of love that strong. In fact I don't think he has any conception of love at all! He can't grasp how close Sirius and Remus are, so he wouldn't think of torturing Remus to get to Sirius first. He would probably have to have it explained to him in great detail first by someone who understands. I think his main problem is that he never was loved, so he can't understand love, and that's why he's so heartless. That's your explanation. That's all you're getting. If you disagree, it's my AU so there, nothing is changing.)
Chapter 27 – Full Moon Rising
The wolf inside Remus whimpered. It couldn't understand the torture its human side had just endured; it didn't know why these men were crowding around Remus, groping at him. But he knew his human counterpart's mind had shut down under the onslaught of such agony, and the knowledge he was going to die the moment any of the Death Eaters raped him – and he knew they would. So the wolf took over. Remus raised his head and growled. Several Death Eaters stepped back. Remus stood up, a little shakily. Malfoy grabbed him. Remus lashed out with his fingers balled into a fist. Malfoy let go. The wolf wanted one thing; it wanted its' human counterpart to take over his own body and it wanted Sirius back. The wolf wanted its mate.
Someone grabbed him from behind and since Moony was still unsteady on these feet he fell. Malfoy fell on him like a hungry animal and started to tug at his clothes, kissing along his neck and across his check. Remus struggled, but more Death Eaters grabbed him and started touching him, kissing him, groping at him, pulling his clothes off ...
Suddenly, the door burst open. It was Snape. The wolf registered the scent at 'enemy', but the human said, 'No, friend!' so the wolf did not attack or move.
Snape yelled, "Leave! All of you!"
"What?" Malfoy sneered, getting up and looking down at Snape through thin, grey eyes. "The apprentice tells the master what to do, now?"
Snape's eyes blazed. "I am not your apprentice any more, Malfoy. I seem to remember I fought the imperius curse, and you did not. Therefore I am higher in His order. Now, all of you, out."
Malfoy hissed at the truth Snape had just told. He swept out, pulling his robes around him. The Death Eaters filed out, grumbling. Snape walked over and grabbed Remus' arm. The wolf growled. Snape noticed his eyes. He swore, recognising the wolf's eyes even though he had only seen them once before. He dragged Remus quickly down the corridors to the cell. The wolf stumbled, unused to this body-shape, and was continually supported by Snape. He was literally thrown into the cell. Snape hissed, "I stopped them for you."
He slammed the door and Remus slumped to the floor. Sirius scrambled over, wiping his eyes and tilted his chin up. He looked into Remus eyes. They had turned gold, totally gold.
"Moony?"
"Padfoot ..."
"It's OK. You'll be OK."
Moony reached out and ran his shaking fingers into Sirius' hair. Sirius leant forwards hesitantly and kissed him. He stiffened for a moment, then responded. The wolf could feel his human side waking slowly. Sirius pulled back. Moony pushed forwards again into a longer, deeper kiss.
Sirius was pushed back slowly until he lay back on the floor with Moony on top of him. Finally, Remus broke the kiss and pulled back. "Sirius ..."
His voice had changed from the lower growl to a much gentler, weak voice of someone who had been tortured. Sirius sat up and pulled Remus into his arms. "It's OK," he whispered, telling him the exact same thing he had told the wolf. "You'll be OK now."
"I was so scared they would ... they would ..."
"I know. I was scared too. I thought I'd lose you, love."
Remus sniffed and snuggled into Sirius' shoulder, wincing at the pain in his own shoulders. Sirius pushed him away and pulled his shirt open to look at the cuts. He hissed in annoyance and kissed each wound in turn, wiping away more tears. "I'm going to clean these. That ... that thing looked rusty. Lie on the bed."
Remus walked over to the bed and lay down while Sirius wet two pieces of cloth, hiding his tears carefully, and gently cleaned the wounds. Once they were clean he gently bandaged them and lay down. "I hoped they'd never do that. Seeing you in pain hurts more than anything else on earth ..."
Remus turned his head and kissed him gently. "I'm OK. It wasn't worse than the transformation ..."
"I never wanted you to be hurt," Sirius sobbed, snuggling into Remus' side. "It hurts me even when you block the mental connection. It hurts all the time ..."
"I know; it hurts me to know you're in pain, too ..." Remus whispered back, stroking his hair. Sirius wrapped his arms around the werewolf's waist and kissed his neck. Tears were streaming from his eyes, dripping onto Remus' pale skin and tickling as they did so. Sirius whispered, "I'm sorry."
"Why? It isn't your fault."
"I should've stopped them from taking you in the first place. I should never have let them. They wanted information from me, not you. They didn't need you."
Remus shushed him, kissing him again. "Stop blaming yourself. It isn't your fault. There's not that much lasting damage ..."
Sirius whimpered and snuggled closer. Another four days of waiting, before they were saved. That was, if it worked ...
Sirius looked down at Remus' sleeping form and frowned. It had been two days since the last ordeal; Remus still hadn't completely recovered. Sirius had finally coaxed him to sleep for a while, but ... Remus' fingers were twitching in his sleep, and he kept frowning. He bent and kissed his cheek.
Remus lashed out, whimpering, and hit him hard in the chest, knocking him backwards. Sirius scrambled back into a sitting position and saw that Remus was curled up, a tense frown covering his beautiful face. He looked as though he was being hurt. He whimpered. Sirius crawled back over to him, starting to panic, and touched his shoulder. Remus whined, flinching away.
Sirius shook him roughly and ordered, "Wake up, Remus! It's a dream; wake up!"
"No, please don't! Malfoy, please! Please!"
Sirius' eyes opened wider and he held Remus down to the bed as he thrashed around as if trying to get away, whimpering, "Please, please don't! You'll kill me! Please, no ... Sirius, help me! Please! SIRIUS!"
Sirius straddled Remus' hips, trying to keep him on the bed rather than falling on the floor. Remus screamed in terror, wrenching his wrists out of Sirius' grip and then grabbing him and throwing him off him. Sirius let out a startled cry and climbed back onto the bed.
"REMUS!" he shouted, grabbing him and shaking him, "Wake up, PLEASE!"
The werewolf suddenly jerked his eyes open, a cry of terror tearing from his throat. His eyes scanned the room and finally rested on Sirius' face. Their eyes locked for a long moment, then Remus sobbed and shut his eyes again. Sirius immediately dragged him into a rough, possessive hug. "It's OK. Whatever it was, it's never going to happen, Remmie. I swear if they try to hurt you again, I'll kill them with my bare hands ..."
"No you won't," Remus sobbed. "They'll send you to Azkaban. You're not an Auror. I dn't want you to kill anyone."
"What was the dream about?"
Remus sobbed harder, snuggling into Sirius' chest and clutching him as though he was the only real thing left. /They ... were raping me. Then they raped you, too, in front of me ... Malfoy brought out this silver – silver collar ... it was horrible, Sirius .../
Sirius kissed Remus' hair and rocked him gently. /I won't let them hurt you like that .../
Remus sniffed and smiled weakly. He looked up and wiped his eyes. "I know."
About an hour later, Regulus and Snape came to the cell and took them down to the same chamber as before. Remus was grabbed by Crabbe and Goyle. Sirius sobbed. /I'm sorry ... I can't tell him where Lil and Jim are./
/I'll never forgive you if you do./
Voldemort walked out of the shadows, holding a metal branding iron with the Dark Mark on it. Sirius' eyes went wide. "No, please – "
But it was too late. Malfoy had ripped Remus' shirt off his shoulder and Voldemort brought the burning metal down on Remus' skin.
Remus screamed and tried to pull away. Malfoy held his shoulder still. Desperation scrabbled inside Sirius. He could smell his mate's flesh burning, smouldering, blackening. He retched as the scent filled his nose. His body shuddered, pain starting to throb through their bond as much as Remus tried to pull it back. Remus' sobbing, screaming howls of pain filled his ears. Voldemort bent and whispered in his ear. Remus' eyes widened and he screamed louder. Sirius knew that had to be a threat – probably a threat of rape. Sirius yelled frantically, "NO, please! PLEASE!"
Voldemort swung the metal off Remus' skin. He collapsed in Crabbe and Goyle's arms, panting. He shut his eyes and whimpered, totally limp. Voldemort swung the iron and slammed it into Sirius' face. He cried out as hit his face, burning and bruising at the same time. "Quiet."
Sirius spat blood out of his mouth, looking back at Remus. Voldemort was bringing the brand back down onto his skin in the same place. He suddenly thought of Voldemort raping his mate. He sobbed and closed his eyes, trying hard not to throw up, unable to watch his mate being tortured, but unable to block the screams that tore into his heart, more painful than any other torture.
Moonrise was an hour away. Full moon rise. Remus was shivering, rubbing his shoulder gently, his eyes unfocused. Thanks to werewolf healing powers, the burn had healed quickly, and was merely sore now. Luckily, the scarring wasn't as bad either, so the Mark on his shoulder wasn't as vivid as Voldemort obviously hoped it would be. Sirius watched him from the bottom of the bed. He was worrying. For the thousandth time, he said softly, "I thought they'd be here by now."
"I know. They'll come."
"But ... if I transform ..."
"Remus, Dumbledore knows what you are. He isn't going to put anyone in danger."
"Maybe that means leaving this until tomorrow! Or next month!"
Suddenly, the door to the cell opened. It was Malfoy. Remus shuddered, remembering the last time he had seen Malfoy. He, Snape, Peter and Regulus came in. Regulus was cringing, scurrying past Sirius and taking his arm as though expecting to be hit. Sirius didn't bother; he wasn't worth the effort. Peter took his other arm. Peter was worth the effort. He wrenched his arm out of Regulus' grip and punched Peter as hard as he could.
Blood flowed freely from his nose. Sirius then allowed Regulus to take his arm again. Malfoy tried to hit him. Regulus swatted his hand away. Malfoy shrugged and grabbed Remus, dragging him out of the bed. Snape took his arm, making sure he was on the sore side of him so that Malfoy couldn't abuse the burnt spot further.
Sirius and Remus were towed down horribly familiar corridors until they reached a pair of dark doors. They looked at each other. Sirius asked, /Does this look kind of familiar. Like we've seen the other side of these doors when we got here?/
/Horribly so./
Snape tapped on the doors and they swung open soundlessly. Sirius was right. It was Voldemort's throne room. /I thought they were supposed to be doing that ritual thing?/
Snape took Remus' arm again. He leant close to the werewolf's ear and whispered, "I'm sorry. He changed his plans ..."
Remus repeated it to Sirius, who closed his eyes as he felt the sickness of terror well inside him. Sirius was taken before the throne and Remus was hauled across towards the wall. Sirius looked up at Voldemort levelly. "You are sure you will not tell me?"
Sirius nodded, screaming at Remus, /The moon'll be up in a minute! Get in the light! Change!/
Remus twitched, looking to his right towards the throne, as the moonlight finally shone through the window. Voldemort stood and began to walk down the throne. Sirius watched him, his heart speeding up as fear tightened his throat. Remus' eyes were filling with tears. Indecision was pulling his mind apart; his hands shook and his eyes flickered around the room.
Sirius stared into Voldemort's eyes and breathed deeply. The Dark Lord grabbed his neck and whispered, "Tell me or I swear I'll kill Lupin, and then you. I promise."
Sirius murmured inside his head, /Fight them, Remmie! It's OK, just do it and they'll be so shocked and scared – "
/Sirius, I don't LIKE people being scared of me! I'll kill them, Sirius! I won't have control!/
/They'll kill YOU if you don't!/
Remus sobbed, hanging his head. Voldemort hissed, "See. He's terrified of death – of me! Spare him; tell me where the Potters are!?"
Sirius growled and replied, "He's not scared of you! No one is scared of you! You're weak! You just have big friends! Malfoy has more power than you! EVEN I HAVE MORE POWER THAN YOU!"
"You insolent bastard!" Voldemort screamed. "How dare you even speak to me!"
He released Sirius' neck and stepped back to the foot of the throne. His arms were grasped again by Regulus, who was trembling, and Peter, who had gone white.
Remus glanced at the moonlight, past Snape. He looked up into his eyes and tried desperately to convey what he intended. Snape hesitantly loosened his grip on Remus' arm. He whispered, "Thank you."
Malfoy frowned, turning to them. He opened his mouth, maybe to shout, but Remus grabbed Snape's wand and murmured, "Stupefy!"
Malfoy fell. Snape grabbed his wand back and whispered an illusion charm, quickly followed by a spell to keep Malfoy upright. The spells made it look as though he was as awake as ever. No one noticed. Attention was fixed on Sirius. Remus bit his lip and pushed past Snape, flinging out his arm as if to snatch the moonlight. The full moon's light sank under his skin, turning his blood to fire. He staggered forwards until the light washed over his whole body. He looked back over at Sirius, who whispered, /Thanks, Moony./
He screamed in pain as the wolf began to take over his mind, and his body began to change. Voldemort spun around, as did several Death Eaters. The Dark Lord shrieked, "WORMTAIL! You never told us it was a WEREWOLF!"
Peter stuttered, "M-Master! I didn't – didn't KNOW! M-M-Master, p-please!"
Sirius roared, "You've known for years, you bloody liar! You, Wormtail, have known Remus is a werewolf since we were all eleven! DON'T LIE!"
Peter sobbed. Voldemort screamed, "YOU knew! And you didn't tell me!"
"You were too busy asking where Lilly and James are."
Voldemort looked back at Remus. His muzzle was lengthening, and his nails turning to claws. Sirius winced at the pain he knew his mate was feeling.
Snape was backing away, towards Sirius. The last time he had seen Remus like this, he had nearly been killed. James had saved him last time. Sirius sighed, knowing what he had to do. He couldn't just let him die. He twisted out of Regulus' panic-weakened grip and grabbed his wand. He pointed it at Snape and knocked him out before Regulus grabbed it back. The spells on Malfoy gave up too. He knew the wolf wouldn't attack something that wasn't moving. OK, it might eat it, but there were far too many moving targets at the moment. Peter punched him in the stomach and hissed, "Stop it! He – he'll k-kill you!"
"You never cared about that before, you bastard!"
"But – "
"Don't speak to me, traitor!" Sirius spat, turning away to ignore Peter completely.
Meanwhile, Voldemort glanced at Remus. The transformation seemed half-way through. He snatched his wand and pointed it at Sirius as he turned back. He yelled at the top of his high-pitched voice, "AVADA KEDAVRA!"
And the wolf howled louder.
(A/N: Don't kill me! Please! That's it for now. I'll update soon, I promise! I want you to know that I hate this chapter for obvious reasons ... and I hate myself for doing it. One more chapter of evilness. Please review and flame all you want. I deserve to be flamed!)
