DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, he belongs to J.K Rowling and if you are reading this and think any different then St. Mungo's should be your next port of call.

Chapter 2: Unthinkable

With a "pop", Sirius, Remus and Harry portkeyed into there desired destination and landed in a tangle of limbs as each tried to raise themselves from the floor unsuccessfully.

Harry was on his feet, wand drawn in an instant and was scouting the room for threats; he would never be unprepared again in his life. Fortunately the room was devoid of life and look as though it had been for some time.

To Harry the room was like some old Victorian parlour he had seen at Primary School once. It was furnished with a hard looking wood furniture sofa, two armchairs that seemed to have been made from the same material, a chandelier covered a good portion of the ceiling and a thick woollen rug adorned most of the floor space. The thing that stood out most to Harry though was how thick the dust was on everything. The room looked like nobody had been in there for decades. Sirius was obviously thinking along the same lines as his godson when he voiced his thoughts:

"Moony, you forget how to do a cleaning charm?" he joked trying to lighten the tense atmosphere that had surrounded them.

"No Padfoot, I live on the grounds in the old caretakers hut, this house has been empty for years." Remus replied swiftly, making his way to the door.

"Why not capture the place for yourself then Moony; you could turn the place into a pad!" Sirius asked though the loom on his face suggested that he and his magic had taken an instant dislike to the house.

Harry couldn't agree more. But there was something about the house as well. Or mansion as Harry's quick glance out of the dusty windowpane told him. A sense of foreboding filled Harry, almost like déjà vu and he didn't like it one bit. The last time a feeling like this came over him it ended with "Kill the Spare" and Harry prayed to whoever was up there that nothing else would go wrong.

"Come on you two, let's get moving." Remus urged, stepping out of the room and into the hallway.

Turning to his Godfather who was wearing an indecipherable look, Harry said in an urgent, serious tone that he hope conveyed his feelings to the man in front of him:

"I don't like this Padfoot, something is wrong."

Instead of being laughed at like he thought he would be, Sirius actually nodded his head in agreement.

"I feel it too Har and I don't like it one bit." He spoke with concern lacing his voice. "This old place gives me the creeps. Reminds me too much of my old childhood home. Let's just get you out of here and you can rest." Sirius motioned for Harry to go through the door first.

Harry just appeased his Godfather who he noticed looked on edge. He had no desire to tell him how bad he really felt or how his rest for the near future would be haunted by green flashing light and the words "Kill the Spare". He didn't want Sirius to worry: the man had enough to deal with as it was.

Stepping out into the slightly cleaner corridor that still ran with the 19th century decorative theme, Harry was dimly aware of his Godfather following very closely behind him as they began walking.

The trio went down several corridors and a flight of stairs but Harry had a feeling that they were no closer to leaving than they had been on arriving at the house.

Finally their walk led them to the ground floor where they proceeded to a huge set of regal looking double doors. With every step towards the doors, Harry's sense of déjà vu grew with each step. Trying to put these thoughts out of his mind, Harry focused on now that Voldemort was back, Pettigrew might be seen and his Godfather pardoned.

As Remus pushed the right door open and entered, Harry's step faltered. A calming hand from Sirius eased his worries and Harry followed Remus through the doors with Sirius on his right. The night just went downhill from there.

The first thing that Harry saw once entering was flashes of light heading in his direction, with each flash of light coming from a wand in the possession of figures all wearing black robes and white masks. Harry stood there, rooted to the spot until strong arms grabbed his shoulders and threw him to the ground, the lights being absorbed by the wall behind him.

Snapped out of his reverie Harry whipped out his wand and quickly surveyed the room. Remus was lying unconscious on the floor, parallel to where Harry had been flung by Sirius. Sirius himself was furiously throwing curse after curse at the Death Eaters that numbered around twenty. But due to the mismatch in numbers he was having to defend both himself an to an extent Harry so his chances to attack were severely limited though Harry did see Sirius manage to hit a Death Eater with a Neck Breaking curse, definite Dark Arts.

"Stupefy," Harry quickly stunned a Death Eater that was trying to quietly make his way to ambush Sirius from the side.

Unfortunately this action led the Death Eaters to turn their full attention onto Harry who soon became overwhelmed by barrage after barrage of curses that headed his way. Even with Sirius using every powerful shield, charm and transfiguration at his disposal to defend Harry, often leaving himself exposed in the process, Harry couldn't hold his shield for much longer; it was weakening with every use.

The pair were slowly being forced back into the corner of the room with the Death Eaters closing in fast. Out of desperation Sirius sent a blast of Pure Magic at three advancing Death Eaters to his left who went sailing through the air, unprepared against such powerful magic from a man who had spent twelve of the last fourteen years of his life in the company of the Dementors. Seeing his chance, after blocking two bone-breaking curses heading for his godson, who was duelling two Death Eaters at once, Sirius pointed his wand towards the fallen Remus and cried:

"Enervate"

Alas, instead of gaining another ally in the fight, the charm seemed to have no effect on Remus who Sirius thought must have been hit with a stronger curse. Sirius's selflessness came back to haunt him though. A Death Eater seeing Sirius attempt to defend Harry and awake Remus simultaneously, thus leaving himself unprotected, capitalised. Pointing his wand at Sirius, a male voice shouted:

"Exterbo"

The Hammer Curse hit Sirius full on, sending him slamming into the corner of the room that was only four feet or so away. Instantly he rolled to avoid three incoming curses and in one motion was back on his feet fighting. This astonished some of the younger, lesser Death Eaters who had not heard of his reputation during the First War. However, even a momentarily lapse in Sirius's duelling was enough to tip the balance of the affair. With his Godfather momentarily out of action and unable to block some of the curses heading in Harry's direction, Harry had been sufficiently weakened enough so that four disarming charms smashed there way through his battered shield sending his precious wand into the hands of a grateful Death Eater. This left him wandless and at the mercy of the Death Eaters, adding more déjà vu into an already horrific experience.

Sirius raised his wand and hand in an attempt to salvage his godson's life; his own life meant nothing to him and hadn't for years, he had resigned himself to death long ago. Before he could properly summon the magic he desired though, a silky voice that Sirius would recognise anywhere reached his ear. The voice of none other than Lucius Malfoy.

"Don't be foolish Black, put your wand down, your hands out in front of you or I'll personally re-intrude your precious boy-who-lived to the Cruciatus Curse. Mine might not be as powerful as my Lord's but I'm sure that he will enjoy it nonetheless." Malfoy drawled in his usual aristocratic tone with his wand firmly pointed towards his wife's cousin knowing full well the extent of his wife's cousin's capabilities.

Sirius tensed at the unspoken message in those words and quickly glanced at Harry who had five unwavering wands trained right between his eyes. Sirius thought for a moment about chucking the wand he had taken from Crouch earlier to Harry but his primary goal was to get his godson to safety. So seeing no other way out at the current moment, he dropped his wand to the floor where it landed with a clatter and extended both his hands in front of him. He would think of a way out for Harry very soon; at the moment he just wanted his godson spared from harm. Sirius did wonder what Lucius was playing at though, he knew damn well that Sirius could easily do magic without a wand; he was a Black after all. His question was answered though when Lucius surprised Sirius by using a derivative of a charm that Sirius had not hard since the First War.

"Latin for bind body core magic total"

The derivative of an ancient charm used to bind one's wandless magic from use hit Sirius, shackling his wrists together with a muggle handcuff look a like, before he could respond due to the close proximity of Lucius. From what he could gather from the Latin used, the bindings not only prevented wandless magic but all type of magic's. Sirius swore and Lucius couldn't help make one more remark.

"Seems like even the great Black couldn't foresee that one coming, nice spell that one isn't it, supposed you expected me just to bind your Wandless Magic and then at the right moment you would escape, save your little brat and be a hero. Not going to happen Black." Lucius spoke in a tone that screamed amusement and sarcasm.

Harry and Sirius were then binded to the wall with wrist and ankle restraints, in Sirius's case the wrist shackles were used instead and his hands were placed above his head. They were both now effectively helpless in the solution of this situation, Harry in particular. Once the Death Eaters had checked that the pair of them were indeed securely binded, they stepped back into the ranks of their comrades.

Then like a message had reached every Death Eater telepathically, they all formed two lines, Lucius Malfoy included and one Death Eater stepped out of the masses. For a moment Sirius was sure that he saw a glimpse of silver coming from the person's robe where his hand was supposed to be. By Harry's sudden intake of breath, Sirius figured that his godson had met this figure before. When the figure pulled down his hood however, Sirius was staring into a face that he himself knew all too well.

Peter Pettigrew had arrived on the scene; maniacal grin and an unnerving smile that made Sirius feel a chill in his very soul. It however took Sirius every piece of self-control and desire for the safety of Harry that he possessed to not attempt to use every shred of magic he held to try and break the bonds he was held by and then disembowel Pettigrew bit by bit.

Pettigrew still yet to speak just gave Sirius one last creepy hate filled look before walking over to the prone form of Remus.

"You hurt one hair on his head and I swear that I will kill you rat!" Sirius vehemently shouted at Pettigrew though he still careful to keep his magic in check though it was getting harder with every second that passed.

The next sequence of actions that transpired though would haunt the days of Sirius Orion Black forever, the happenings burning into his skull, implementing into his mind and they would never leave. A shadow would form and it would follow him to the day he died.

Instead of harming Remus like Sirius had expected him to do, Pettigrew used no magic at all or even any muggle torture. He simply extended his non-silver hand and was rewarded when seconds later the arm of Remus Lupin looked with his using Pettigrew as an aid to help himself up. Once up, Remus stood beside Pettigrew, his face twisted in a scary, mocking way.

"I always thought I was wrong, it just can't be!" Lucius Malfoy exclaimed in a tone far from his normal aristocratic tone.

His proclamation was echoed by a couple of other astute Death Eaters from within the inner circle. This included a voice that Sirius could have sworn was Severus Snape's. Not that he particularly cared at that moment in time. The rest of the Death Eaters just stood there in confusion, their wands alternating between where Sirius and Harry were bound and where Remus and Pettigrew were standing.

The wheels were turning rapidly in Sirius's mind and he did not like the conclusions that he was ending up at yet he still was unsure of so many things.

"Fight it Remus, fight it, fight the curse!" Sirius hollered at Remus, desperate for conformation that Remus was being held under the Imperious Curse or something similar, just to hold on to the last bit of denial that Remus had not gone and done the unthinkable.

The laughs that this drew from Pettigrew and Remus, as well as scattered Death Eaters in the ranks cut Sirius right to the bone. It took a pleading look from Harry who was also giving off magical energy whilst looking at Remus with a deadly glare to stop Sirius from magically exploding. Pettigrew then began to make his way towards Harry and Sirius, giving them a look that weirdly bordered on pity and sorrow but both of them were too far-gone in their fury to care.

"Explain!" Sirius spat at Pettigrew and Remus, his tone cold enough to freeze lava. After looking him up and down, Pettigrew began to speak to Sirius who Harry was sure was beginning to glow slightly.

"Firstly, for all you Crabbe and Goyle's out there!" Pettigrew began in a false game show host accent but soon turned deadly serious. "Let me introduce you all to Remus Lupin, better known to some of you as Silver!"

The response to this statement was instant and amazing. All the Death Eaters apart from Malfoy who was wearing a look of approval and Pettigrew suddenly dropped to their knees and bowed to the man they were ready to torture and kill just minutes before.

Remus just stood there, wearing a look on his face that made Sirius cold to his very soul, it was if Dementors were near the cold was so bad. The werewolf then stepped forward towards Sirius and Harry and began to explain the situation to the animagus whose magic was flaring in bursts of cold fury, the binds keeping it from escaping. In addition, the soft aura that Harry had seen earlier was getting brighter by the second, a brilliant mix of blue and gold.

"Calm yourself Sirius or I will personally curse Harry. I have also heard that he has a personal affinity to the Unforgivables. But he out done himself tonight, it seems Harry has achieved again what no other wizard has done. He managed to block the Imperious Curse from the most powerful wizard in history. You must be so proud Black!" Remus finished his introduction with something akin to a sneer displayed across his face.

"Explain now traitor and I might not kill you where you stand right now!" Sirius snarled, magic lacing each word as the air around him crackled with raw magic as his aura brightened considerably.

Despite him being bound by supposed magic restricting bindings, Remus took the threat very seriously indeed. He knew that Sirius was more powerful than anybody thought, Dumbledore and the Dark Lord included. He was even more powerful than James who was known to be the third most powerful light wizard during the last war behind Moody and Dumbledore. This was because Sirius rarely displayed his full power preferring to be laid back and mischievous but Remus knew that he was more powerful than Moody and maybe even close to Dumbledore's level.

Remus wasn't scared though. His Master would arrive soon and his powers made Sirius look like a squib. Plus once Sirius and Harry were disposed of, Remus had been promised power more so than Dumbledore's and a place at his Lord's right-hand for life, he was finally able to step out of the shadows.

"Don't even try it Sirius or I will make Harry scream for mercy, just try me!" Remus snarled at Sirius who was looking positively murderous. "Explain?" Remus echoed Sirius's previous statement. "How about this Padfoot. I was the traitor. I was working for the Dark Lord since just after we left Hogwarts. It was me who recruited Pettigrew. He wasn't easy to break actually Sirius. He adored you and James. Worshipped you actually. To be honest the rat impressed me. Even after several Cruciatus Curses he still refused my Lord's gracious offer to join the winning side. You know what broke him though Sirius. James did. When he didn't even invite poor little Peter to Harry's christening even though he was supposed to be your good friend. How do you think that made him feel?" Remus finished with a smirk on his face and it only took Sirius a second of thinking to realise why, then it hit him.

"You bastard, you set the whole thing up. James wrote Peter an invite; I was there at the time. We hadn't got together in a while then you dropped in and said that you will see him soon so James gave it to you. When James asked you about it on the day you said that Peter was with his mother who was ill. You're sick do you know that!" Sirius spoke in a deadly tone, the bindings that restricted his magic shaking under the amount of magic that they were having to block but still holding firm.

"That's right Sirius, I just happened to forget about it. Silly me. Once Peter was onboard it was easy. I knew that James would never make me the Secret Keeper and Dumbledore was starting to get suspicious of me too. Why do you think he employed me third year? It was because he could keep an eye on me, as there were rumours of My Lord resurfacing in Albania. All my absences that were planned to put doubts in your mind worked too well, the old man started to suspect that something up and that there was a traitor. I had to act loyal, so I used Peter here. I made him suggest to you that the Dark Lord would know that you would become the Secret Keeper and it would have been perfect if you could have found a decoy, then all the attention would be on you and the real Secret Keeper would be attention free. Peter then suggested that if you switched at the last moment, telling no one including Dumbledore of the change to the Keeper than no one would suspect the change. Predictably you thought that Peter, who took lots of "convincing" but you, using your charm, you won him round. Then you convinced James who convinced Lily. Peter here was made the Secret Keeper; everything went to plan until the impossible happened. A one-year-old baby defeats the most powerful Dark Lord since Salazar Slytherin. Decades lost to one inexplicable moment. Come tonight however the Boy-Who-Lived's luck will run out!" Remus finished with a gleeful, mad look that was frankly very unnerving.

"Why though Remus, why dammit?" Sirius screamed, magic spilling from his barriers as the room shook on its foundations. Sirius suddenly found him and Harry at the wand point of twenty Death Eaters. Taking a deep breath Sirius listened to what the traitor had to say.

"Power, Sirius, pure and simply power. The power that you and James had in abundance. The power that no matter how hard I studied or worked, you two would just wave your wand and it would happen. The Dark Lord simply offered me power. You and James were always more powerful but soon I shall be stronger than the pair of you combined!" Remus cackled loudly as a happy look came across his face as he thought about the power that he would be receiving.

"But James and Lilly. How could you?" Sirius sounded broken but his aura was proof to the cold fury that still consumed him.

"James Potter was a cold cruel bully whilst Lily Evans was an obsessive control freak. You my dear Padfoot, you are the worst. You are a reckless, self-centred ego-maniac who turned his back from the right path long ago." Remus summed up his feelings about his old school friends before adding, "They deserved to die and when My Lord arrives you will finally get to see them again." Remus finished looking like someone who had finally got to say what they wanted.

Sirius was by now past caring, he could feel the fury bubbling up and in that moment knew that the bindings couldn't hold him. Sirius now realised the futility of the situation and fully intended to go down fighting but not before he got Harry to safety. Before he unleashed his magic, he made one last remark to Remus before he fully intended to kill the man.

"You Remus, you a spineless traitor and a dark creature who I should have…"

Sirius and his threats were cut off by a muffled scream of pain from someone beside him. Spinning round his magic ready to explode, Sirius saw his godson struggling against his bounds, holding his scar in agony. "That could only mean one thing." Sirius thought.

Sirius's line of thinking was confirmed seconds later when a grotesque deformation of a man entered the room. His blood red eyes shone ethereally on his bone white face, whilst his skeletal figure was hidden by robes, you could tell that he was walking with the aid of magic.

Lord Voldemort had arrived.

AN

I need a big favour off anyone willing to give it. I need someone to BETA this chapter and the subsequent 3 as the BETA I had could only do the first one. I would be deeply grateful and will send them the next chapter of YHSR a day before anyone else gets to read it!

Araidel: Actually I'm only 16 and just started College not Uni. I'm in Year 12 so to speak! Good luck with the GSCE's. Just one tip: Do the Coursework when you get it unless you like being up for three days straight!

Cheers

Halstead