Disclaimer: See Chapter One!

Uploaded: 5th February 2005

"Black Light"

By Dante Lewis

Chapter Sixteen: A Letter from home.

Inside his decaying cell in Azkaban, a shaggy black dog whined. The Dementors were making another pass. Sirius had lost all concept of time. His baby had long since stopped screaming, and Sirius didn't know if 17 years had passed or if the child had died in captivity or what had happened. As much as it tore at his heart to hear his child in distress, a part of him yearned for the baser reassurance that sounds from his beloved child unwittingly gave. He could only hope that Remus or Dumbledore, or even Snape, had gotten her out in one piece.

Rolling off of the flea-ridden lump of a mattress that served as his sanctuary, Sirius hastily transformed back into human form as his canine senses had detected the oncoming approach of one of Azkaban's human custodians. Schooling his face into an arrogant sneer of indifference, Sirius prepared himself for the imminent exchange. He had long since given up showing the cold-hearted staff of Azkaban how desperate he was for news of his daughter. Perhaps reverse psychology would provide better results.

"Black!" The harsh voice of the Azkaban postal worker broke through his thoughts. "Mail."

Sirius' head snapped up, shock evident on his face. This was not what he had been expecting. Clambering to his feet, he scuffled across the dirty floor of his cell to retrieve the two conversely clean white envelopes from the floor where they'd landed by the cell door. Then, huddling against the door and lining up the paper in his hands so that the sparse light leaking in through his observation slot illuminated it, he tore open the first envelope and began to read.

Black, the first letter began. A feeling of foreboding relief flooded through him as he recognised his brother-in-laws snaking handwriting. Severus was writing to him! Perhaps news about his daughter! He read on.

Quite the sticky mess you've gotten yourself into this time, isn't it? Such a shame you didn't think to tell anyone else that you weren't the Potter's secret keeper, hmmm? Everyone thinks you betrayed them. But I know better, don't I Black. Why haven't I ran to your rescue, you ask? Why should I? There's still the question of how those Muggles died. Not to mention what was left of Pettigrew. Tsk Tsk dear Sirius, someone has been a very naughty boy. No Dumbledore to play it down this time, Black! I'm almost glad my sister is dead, so she can be spared the consequences of your extreme arrogance. It's bad enough I'm left to raise your daughter in the shadow of it.

Rot in Hell,

S.S.

Sirius choked back a anguished cry and scrunched the parchment in his hand into a unrecognisable pulp.

'How could he?' He screamed inwardly. For not only was he innocent, but a unwilling someone out there knew it. Not only this, but his child was most likely being raised to hate him! What did he have to live for?

Sirius slumped to the floor and leaned against the door heavily, his head bowed, defeated. The passing of shadow and light as the day wore on illuminated the discarded second envelope on the floor near his foot where he had hastily dropped it whilst reading Severus' letter. Throwing the screwed up remains of Severus' letter across his cell, he contemplated the second letter from its place on the floor.

Picking it up tentatively, he ran his hands over the non-descript envelope, sniffing and smoothing it out. This letter, whatever it was, was considerably larger than Snivellus' biting prose, but try as he might he could not ascertain the content's intent.

'Just open it you daft twat!' The long absent voice of his best friend, James, rang in his head. Sirius shrugged, and carefully began to pull the wax seal apart. 'Not like I have anything better to do,' he mused.

Staring intently at the envelope as he pulled apart the wax seal, Sirius immediately recognised the letter to be from Remus Lupin.

"Moony!" He exclaimed. "Thank Merlin you're still alive…"

His joy, however, was short lived, as he was inexplicably pulled into the letter.

'What the?'…..

End Chapter Sixteen: A Letter From Home