Disclaimer – No, they're not mine – no matter how hard I wish for them...


Chapter Nine

Sirius sat on his window ledge, his forehead resting against cold glass as he stared out at the quiet street far below him. It had just started to snow. Soft flakes drifted slowly down, coating the concrete in a thin dusting of white. It looked so peaceful. Serene. Sirius sighed. It was so deceptive. He shivered, the chill air seeping through the thick jumper Tibby had found for him to wear. Today was the 27th of December – twenty-eight full days since he had made the worst mistake of his life. Although hidden by the thick, heavy cloud cover, a full moon shone tonight. Which meant that Remus would be transforming.

This time his friend would be transforming alone. Neither James nor Peter would be back at Hogwarts yet – both had had to go home for Christmas this year. He was the one who should have been there... Merlin, how he wished he could be! Back at Hogwarts. Back with his friends again. Back how things had been before. He knew, though, that things would never again be the same – even if he did get back to Hogwarts...

No, not if – when! He would get back!

Shaking his head in an attempt to disperse his dark thoughts, Sirius tore his gaze away from the pristine scenery, automatically glancing towards the empty doorway. Soon Tibby would be returning. It was over half an hour now since she had left. Soon she would return, bearing his wand, and he would be able to get out. Somehow...

How, exactly, he hadn't quite settled on yet. Firstly he would have to remove the spell that blocked his doorway. Once he had his wand that task shouldn't prove too difficult. His father, although a genius when it came to the creation of potions, had never been particularly skilled in any other area of wizardry. Had it been his mother who had placed the spell it would have been another matter entirely... As it had been his father – no, he should have no difficulty.

Once out of his room he would then have to get out of the house. Hopefully he would have no problems with that either. It was late enough at night now for practically everyone to have retired. Even armed with his wand, as he would be, he really didn't fancy an encounter with any member of his family.

After getting out of the house... well, he was not entirely certain what he would do then. He had two options, as far as he could tell. His first was to find himself a broomstick and to fly away. This idea, however, had two major drawbacks. Getting a broomstick would increase his chances of an encounter with someone, as he would have to raid the broom-shed in the courtyard at the rear of the house. He would also then have to fly the thing. He turned a rueful gaze towards the snow-covered street. In these conditions, not to mention the state that he was in... No. No, he really didn't fancy that idea.

His other option was slightly more appealing. He could catch the Knight Bus. Unfortunately he had no money, which, also unfortunately, he would need to pay his fare. His parents had been refusing him any sort of an allowance since back in his fourth year. All last summer he had worked – to get out of the house and away from them as much as anything else – but what money he had managed to earn had since then been stupidly frittered away on sweets and pranking supplies. He doubted he even had a stray knut hiding in his trunk.

He could always steal some money from his parents. After all, they had plenty – but that again increased his chances of running into one of them. It was possible, of course, that he could, maybe, just this once, get away without paying – or at least, without paying immediately. Surely they wouldn't turn him away. They wouldn't refuse him after seeing the state that he was in. Would they? He shook his head, letting his aching eyes drift closed for a moment. It was a chance he felt he was going to have to take.

He ought to get back in bed, he thought. Tibby would not be happy if she got back to find him sitting in the cold window. He flicked a glance at his new watch, his brow furrowing into a frown as he saw the time. She had been gone over an hour now. What was keeping her? Surely she wouldn't be much longer? No. She wouldn't be, he told himself. She would be back soon. Which meant that he really ought to move.

Unfortunately, he realised, not even moving slightly from his spot, he just didn't seem to have to energy to get himself anywhere... He scowled. How exactly was he supposed to escape? He couldn't even walk across his bloody room? He had to move himself off this damned window ledge! Why had he never realised before just how bloody uncomfortable it was? The sudden surge of annoyance gave him enough determination to push himself upright.

He drew a deep breath as he wobbled unsteadily, quickly lifting his good hand to support himself against the wall. He really needed to recover some energy, and the best place to do that would be in his nice, soft bed. He limped slowly, painfully over the short distance, finally slumping gratefully down onto his mattress. Merlin, he felt like shit!

His eyes again strayed to his watch. Where was she? An hour and fifteen minutes, now, she had been gone!

Maybe his mother had still been in there, he told himself. Maybe she hadn't yet retired and Tibs hadn't been able to go in and look for it. Or, maybe she had had to do a job for someone else – a house-elf, after-all, had to obey orders. He lay back on his bed, his eyes closing wearily. Yeah. That had to be it. She would be back. As soon as she could be.

He didn't even notice his descent into sleep – his waking thoughts merely shifted into uneasy dreams, claiming him fully. He awoke some time later to a sharp, insistent pain shooting down from his battered shoulder, through to his broken arm. He groaned, creaking open his eyes. He had, he realised, shifted around at some point so that his injured limb was caught uncomfortably beneath his body. He groaned again, gingerly moving into a position that was, even if only slightly, more comfortable. Tibs would not be happy if he'd managed to reopen the shoulder wound...

A sudden thought cut through the grogginess that shrouded his brain. Tibby! Was she back yet? Ignoring the flare of pain that was sent through his body with the movement, he pushed himself upright, twisting around to examine his room. The hope that the house-elf was sat somewhere, waiting for him to awaken, was swiftly dashed. He was still alone.

He looked at his watch. He then blinked, glancing back at the dial to check that he'd read it correctly. He had. It was half-past seven in the morning. Tibby had been gone now for over eight hours!

Why was she not back yet? She should have been back by now... She should have been back hours ago! Oh shit. What if something had happened to her? He bit his lip, his eyes fixing worriedly on his closed door.

No. No... She would come back! She had to come back...

Time continued to tick past. Sirius sat on his bed, his knees drawn up to his chest, his eyes locked on the unchanging wood of his door. All too soon the sounds of the waking house began to drift up to his ears –banging doors and irritable voices. His mother's voice, unsurprisingly, was particularly carrying as she ordered Regulus out of bed. Next came the scents and sounds of breakfast, causing his stomach to groan in complaint. Merlin he was hungry! He really ought to have eaten more of the food that Tibby had provided for him yesterday... Was it just yesterday? The hours since then had seemed to drag into days. Remembering Tibby's gift he pulled out the brownies and began to nibble on them, eating slowly in an attempt to fool his stomach into thinking it was getting more than it was.

It was nearly nine o'clock. Morning sunlight now filled his room. Silence again descended on the house.

She wasn't coming back. Something had happened to her. He knew it. Something had to have happened. She should have been back... And it was his fault. He should never have asked her to get his wand. It had been a stupid request. Such a selfish request...

He couldn't take this any more. He just couldn't stand it – stuck in here with no idea what was going on!

Where was his mother? Where was his father? What were they doing? And just where was Tibby...? Was she even still alive?

No! She had to be. She just had to be. But the niggling doubt at the back of his mind was steadily growing stronger.

Finally footfalls could be heard on his stairs – but they were not Tibby's. He knew those footsteps only too well. Those were his mother's. She slammed in through the doorway, her cold eyes glinting cruelly in the light of the winter morning. He shivered, flinching away as those eyes fixed on his. The look of pure hatred was chilling; the still seething anger was terrifying.

"Good morning," she greeted him, the false note of solicitousness in her voice making him feel sick. He glared. He couldn't stop himself. A slight jolt of fear shot through him at the spark of satisfaction that his response garnered.

An icy, sinking sensation was gathering in his chest as he realised just what her visit most likely meant. She had come to tell him that Tibs was dead. He knew it. The woman had caught the little house-elf as she tried to reclaim his wand and she had killed her. That had to be it! Why else would she be here?

"Well, Boy? Have you nothing to say?"

"I'm sure I have lots," he finally answered, finding his voice, "but I doubt it's anything that you want to hear."

"Undoubtedly true. What could a blood-traitor like you have to say that might interest me?"

With a sneer of distaste, she advanced into his room. Her dark robes billowed around her thin form; her greying dark hair was pulled harshly back from her face.

"Get up," she ordered.

Sirius reluctantly obeyed – the consequences of disobedience were not ones that he wished to face. He stood, swaying unsteadily, as she took in his appearance with a fervid expression. A small, satisfied smile twisted her lips.

In a gesture that, in other circumstances, coming from other people, could have been seen as affectionate, she reached out a hand and cupped his chin. Sirius was held frozen in place as her touch, which began as a gentle caress, swiftly morphed into a harsh grip. Her long, claw-like nails dug into his skin. Her malicious gaze was locked onto his.

"Your father is in his lab," she suddenly informed him. "He is... trying... to restore some sort of order in there." The nails dug deeper, almost breaking the skin, as she moved her face closer to his. He gritted his teeth against the pain. Compared to what he felt elsewhere, it was nothing but an annoyance. "Let me tell you this, Boy. Had I been on the receiving end of your recent behaviour I would not have been as lenient as your father has been!"

Lenient! She called this lenient? He couldn't help his shudder at the thought of what she would have done with him. After all, he had had a taster of it, that first night...

"But it was he who you wronged, and he's claimed you... His prerogative, I suppose."

With an expression of utmost disgust she released him, turning away. Sirius blinked, staring at her retreating back in shock. That was it? She had just come to gloat over him? He felt a sudden surge of hope as the implications of that sank in. She hadn't found Tibby after-all! The house-elf must have just been detained somehow. She was probably just having to work in the kitchen or something. She would be back. Hopefully soon. Getting out would be rather harder in daylight – but he would do it! And he would take Tibby with him, protests or no. He wasn't going to leave her in this hell-hole.

The woman paused in the doorway, turning back towards him as she leant nonchalantly against the doorframe.

"By the way, I thought you might like to know..." she said slowly. Her words were deceptively casual; the avid expression on her face was anything but. "Your little house-elf friend – Tiggy or something, wasn't it?"

"Tibby," Sirius corrected, his voice choked, his heart sinking again. He didn't want to hear her next words. He knew what was coming and he didn't want to hear it.

"Yes. Tibby. That's the one. Well..." Pure satisfaction filled the woman's voice. "Her head now adorns a nice plaque in the hallway."

No. Oh no. Tibs...

"I found the little sneak in my drawing room last night," his mother's voice continued on. "She was looking for this, yes?"

Held casually between her long fingers was his wand. Sirius stared – too shocked to do anything else, his mind locked on one single, shattering thought.

Tibs was dead. She had killed her. Tibs was dead...

Almost lazily his mother turned his wand until it was pointed directly at him. A smirk twisted her lips into a grotesque parody of a smile.

"Crucio," she said.


A/N – Sorry, I know this chapter is rather shorter, and not much really happens, but it had always been meant to be the end of Chapter 8, not a chapter in its own right... I hope you all find it OK. Please leave me a review. Let me know what you think - positive or negative. Every bit of feedback helps.

Egwene – I actually did a little victory dance when I got your review and I don't think I stopped smiling for the next several hours! Thank you! Umm, yeah, there will be a comfort part. It's still quite a long way off though. I hope you can hold out long enough for me to get to it! I'm kind of glad that at least one person guessed Tibby's fate. I should have known it would be you... And yeah, it's going to be getting worse. Next chapter is going to be rather nasty.

Allacaya – Thank you very much for that wonderfully long review. I love long reviews... This was another one that had me on a high for the rest of the day. Umm – the two-way mirror... I'm afraid he doesn't actually have it with him. There's a brief mention of it in the next chapter. I had intended to mention it earlier, but forgot... Sorry. It comes into the next two stories though. I'm afraid you'll have to wait and see to find out what his parents are planning. Sorry this chapter doesn't really tell you much. If you really want to you can translate it into German – feel free! As long as you still give me credit for it...

Phinea – Unfortunately Sirius never gets a chance to free Tibby. Sorry. I actually found killing her off to be quite hard – rather odd when you consider that I knew she was going to die from the moment I created her. I'm afraid this chapter isn't as long as the last one.

Xaveriijade – Thank you. I'm afraid the soonest I can ever post is Sunday. I'm working hideously long hours at the moment and only get to sit down and properly write a couple of times during the week.

Cicci Green – Thanks for your review. I'm glad you're enjoying it.