So, I had a bit of a writing moment, and wooo here's another chapter! Amusingly, I started getting strange looks when I was reading 'the theory of war' in a pub. Ha! Oh well.

Anyway, as always, a huge thanks to Ambush99 for taking time out her busy to beta this chapter!

Chapter 24

James stared at his friend's unconscious, bleeding form, temporarily unable to react. He had never been great at healing, having only just scraped a pass in his final auror exams. He guessed having a wife as an expert potion maker as well as a qualified healer had caused him to grow lazy. But he wished to Merlin he hadn't. Given the amount of blood Sirius had lost and was still losing, he could very well bleed to death before he could do anything. He had had the chance to do something, but had been too involved, too caught up in being allowed to leave early. If he hadn't acted on some immature notion of getting to the pub, he would have noticed his friend could barely form a sentence, let alone stand up. Why the hell hadn't he put two and two together? The Ministry was going into lock down, the threat level had been raised, so his best friend, who was second in command at the aurors' office, had to be involved.

"Okay, shit. What do I need?" he said to himself. "Lily, I need Lily." With a shaking hand he cast his patronus, just hoping it would get to her in time. He nervously raked his hands through his dishevelled and wild hair. What was the spell for healing wounds? He thought hard, but nothing came. Why hadn't he paid attention? His best friend's life depended on him but he couldn't do anything. "What the hell is the bloody spell?" he cried out desperately to the empty room. "Why the hell can't I remember it?! I'm so sorry Sirius, I'm so sorry. I screwed up."

He stepped back for a moment and eyed his desperately pale friend. He looked lifeless. Why the hell couldn't he remember even the most basic of first aid. If he couldn't remember the spell then what could he do? Bleeding, he thought, what did he need to do? "Fuck," he swore again. Why the hell hadn't he thought of it before? "I'll be back in a minute mate," he said, lightly tapping Sirius' shoulder. With that he raced into the kitchen, grabbing as many towels as he could. He frantically scanned the counter tops for anything else. His eyes fell upon a bottle. He felt as if someone had finally answered his prayers. "Oh Merlin, oh thank you. Thank you!" He grabbed the bottle and raced into the sitting room. He screeched to a halt as he stared at his friend. He looked worse that before. He barely looked like he was breathing. Hesitantly he walked forward. With a shaking hand he placed two fingers on Sirius' neck and waited. He exhaled sharply, releasing the breath he didn't realise he was holding. "Shit Sirius, don't bloody do this to me. You're scaring the hell out of me."

He wrapped the tea towels tightly around his friend's arm, in an attempt to slow the bleeding. But as soon as he did so, the blood had already soaked through the towel. "Mate, this is going to be horrible, but I've got to do it. You've lost too much blood as it is and I need to get this potion down you. It would be a hell of a lot easier if you were conscious, but seeing as you didn't listen to me. Oh fuck, I'm sorry mate, I know it's not your fault," he said as he pulled his friend upright, and leant him against his chest. "Right," James said, as he uncorked the bottle of blood replenishing potion. "You need to drink this, you need to drink as much as you can. I'm sorry, it's going to be really uncomfortable." Reluctantly, he tilted Sirius' head back and started to pour the liquid down his friend's throat, wincing as his friend half choked, half swallowed the liquid. He grimaced as he watched at least half the potion spill down his friend's chin and onto his chest, intermingling with blood. He offered up a silent pray, hoping he at least had brought his friend a little extra time.

Upon hearing the familiar pop of someone dropping out of the Apparation network, he let out the breath he was holding. Help was finally here. Upon hearing a second pop he grabbed his wand. He wasn't expecting anyone else. He sharpened his hearing, trying to tune out his friend's increasing ragged breathing. "Lily?" he called out hesitantly.

"James! Are you okay?" Lily exclaimed, crossing the room quickly, as she saw the blood staining his robes.

"I'm fine," James said distantly, as he stood to meet her embrace. "It's not me, it's Sirius!"

"What?" Lily said slowly, taking a moment to recover. She looked down at the sofa. "Oh Merlin!" she gasped, and fell to her knees.

"How long has he been like this?" Another voice demanded, it was calm and in control.

"What?" James replied nervously.

"James, honey this is Ellie Buxton, she's one of my friends from work remember. She's also one of the best healers. How long has Sirius been bleeding for?"

"I-l, I don't know," James stammered.

"He's lost a lot of blood," Ellie said as she started to inspect the wound. "Why didn't you bring him straight to St. Mungo's? There's no way I can transport him in this state."

"I didn't know he was hurt."

"You didn't realise?! He's lost at least five pints of blood! He would've been unconscious ages ago judging by the rate he's losing it. How long has he been unconscious?" Ellie demanded, as she started to work on the wound.

"I don't know, maybe five minutes."

"How is that possible?"

"You don't know Sirius."

Ellie nodded. "This is not a normal wound. Have you given him anything? Have used any form of magic?"

James shook his head, blinking his eyes as tears threatened. "I couldn't remember the bloody healing spell."

"It wouldn't have mattered, it's not working."

"Oh god, he's going to die isn't he?" James said tearfully, as he rubbed his face.

"Not if I can help it. James, I need to know if you gave him anything," Ellie demanded again.

"I, I just tried to get him to drink that blood replenishing potion you had on the side."

"That old one?" Lily said, looking up for the first time.

"Shit, no, don't tell me I've made it worse!"

"No," Ellie reassured. "It wouldn't have done him any harm. Potions just begin to lose their effectiveness after a while. Lily, there's too much blood, I can't see what I'm working on."

Lily nodded. "Suctus," she said pointing her wand at the wound. "What kind of curse did this!?"

"I have no idea, but it's some form of dark magic," Ellie said, shaking her head. She looked up at James, who looked like a broken man. "James, I need you do something for me, do you think you can do that?" she asked kindly.

James stared down at his friend, his eyes unblinking. "Yeah, umm, sure. What do you need me to do?"

"I need you to give him the blood replenishing potion. Do you think you can do that for me?"

James looked between his friend and Ellie fearfully. "I, I think…" he trailed off.

Ellie reached up and put a reassuring hand on James' arm. "It won't be as traumatic as last time. I'm going to give you a spell so you can give it to him intravenously. Okay?" She watched him nod slowly. "Okay, you need to hold the bottle up to him and point your wand at him. Then you need to say 'inserere'. Do you think you can do that?"

"Inserere," James repeated slowly. "Yeah, I think I should be okay to do that." He sank down to his knees. "Mate, you've got to hang in there, okay. You've got two very pretty ladies working hard to make sure you live. Now, one of those ladies is my wife, so you can't have her." He stopped and looked up at Ellie apologetically. "I'm sorry, I didn't, well I just wanted to encourage him. I didn't mean any offence."

"None taken. Lily are you ready?" Ellie watched her friend nod. "James?"

"Yeah," James said nervously. With shaking hands he picked up one the vials. "Mate, fight okay. We need you, you've got to fight. Inserere," he whispered, as he watched Lily and Ellie work frantically. He returned his attention back to the vial, it was empty. He picked up another vial, and muttered the incarnation. "So, mate what are you doing this weekend?" he said to his unconscious friend. "There's a new pub just opened up in Diagon Alley, I thought we could check it out or something."

"Vulnera sanentur," Ellie tried in a song like voice. She let out a sigh of relief as she watched the wound magically repair itself. "Sirius, you are one tough customer," she said patting him on the shoulder.

"Is he going to be alright?" James asked hesitantly.

"He's going to be fine. He'll probably feel a little tired and weak for a couple of days, but as long as he takes it easy, he'll be fine."

"Sirius doesn't take things easy," Lily said shaking her head.

Ellie nodded. "I thought as much. James, give him a couple more of these vials," she said, returning her attention back to bandaging Sirius' arm. "As we didn't get to it early enough, it'll probably leave a scar."

James looked up after delivering the final vial. He frowned, how long had that owl been there? "I'll be back in a second mate," he said patting his friend's shoulder. Hesitantly, he took the piece of parchment off the owl. He frowned again when he recognised the writing. He found his breath hitching as he read its content. Suddenly everything made sense. "Mate," he whispered, bending down, rubbing his friend's shoulder. "I'm so sorry."

"James?"

James handed his wife the letter before returning his attention back to his friend. "Sirius, I'm so sorry. It's going to be alright."

Lily took the letter with hesitant hands, and began to read.

James,

Is Sirius okay? Please tell me he's with you! I had to pick Tonks up from St. Mungo's. She, Barrett and Moody were caught up in a death eater attack. Moody's dead! I can't believe it! Reply to this owl as soon as you get it. Sirius shouldn't be alone at a time like this.

Remus

"Oh Sirius," Lily whispered.

"Lily?'

"Alastor Moody is dead," Lily informed Ellie sadly.

"Oh Merlin," Ellie exclaimed, covering her face. "I know two aurors were brought in earlier but I didn't know anything happened to Alastor Moody. Surely this will finally wake Fudge up!"

"I doubt it," Lily said angrily. "I pity whoever is taking over from Moody."

"Sirius."

"What?"

"Sirius is taking over from Moody. Poor guy. Moody was far more than a boss to him, he was a father figure."

"So Fudge can try and destroy him more than he already is!"

"Sirius is strong."

"Everyone has their breaking point," Ellie retorted.

"That's what you think Fudge is doing?"

"Yes," Ellie said, looking at Sirius' unconscious form. "At least we know we're still safe with Sirius in charge. I just can't believe Moody's gone."


A crackling sound and a dull light brought him slowly to his senses. He was warm and the bed he was lying on was comfortable. He didn't want to leave it, but the dull ache throbbing from his upper arm reminded him he had to. He slowly sat up and rubbed his face, wondering what horrors he would face today. How would Fudge seek to destroy him? He stood up slowly, testing his body. Apart from the dull ache in his arm, it appeared to be functioning. Judging by the light outside it was just before sunrise, therefore he had to have been asleep for at least twelve hours, yet he felt as tired as if he'd not slept for forty eight hours. Well, that's what he thought anyway as he looked around the room. His last conscious thought was meeting James at the Ministry and agreeing to go to the pub, but he didn't feel hungover, just overwhelming tired. He looked down at his throbbing arm. "Shit," he swore. He had to stop doing this; turning up at his friend's house half dead and passing out.

He looked around the room, in search of his clothes. Spying them on the chair in the corner of the room, he pulled on his jeans. "Fuck," he swore gently, as the t-shirt brushed against his upper arm. He took a couple of breaths, trying to ride out the pain as his eyes watered slightly. He knew he was probably going against every form of medical advice but what choice did he have? He was head of the auror department and yesterday he'd shut down the Floo and Apparation Networks, as well as raising the threat level. People, namely the Minister of Magic, would be asking questions. Questions only he could answer. He knew his answers would only bring criticism but he was sick of it. The Ministry had lost a good man due to Fudge's inaction. He knew Fudge would somehow shift the table of blame to him but he didn't care. He knew Moody had been shielding him from some of Fudge's campaign, but enough was enough. They were at war. If Fudge was going to continue his campaign, he had to start his own. He would continue to fight until his dying breath and he wasn't going to let some career politician take him down. He bent down to tie his boots and felt his vision swim, as the severe lightheadedness returned. Great, he thought, my body is refusing to cooperate. He sat up slowly, allowing his body to regulate his equilibrium. He wondered how he was going to take on Fudge when he could barely sit upright without feeling as though he was about to pass out? He slowly stood, waiting for the lightheadedness to pass before heading downstairs.

"Morning Lily," he said, in an attempt to keep the mood light.

"Sirius!" Lily exclaimed, as she quickly crossed the room towards him. "I'm so sorry. He meant a lot to all of us, especially you," she said as she gently hugged him.

"Thank you, and Lily I'm sorry," Sirius said hesitantly.

"Whatever for?"

"I promised you I'd never turn up at your door half-dead," Sirius said looking down. "And well, I've done it again."

"Oh Sirius," Lily said gently hugging him again. "As much as I'd like that, I know that's unfortunately not going to happen. We're at war, and you are at the forefront of it. I'd far rather you come back here, then at least I know you've been properly treated. Now, how are you?"

Sirius blinked several times. He thought of his standard answer, but he couldn't, not when she had undoubtedly saved his life last night. "I feel, well tired, lightheaded and my arm bloody kills," he confessed.

"Well you did lose a lot of blood last night, so that would account for the lightheadedness and tiredness. I can give you some pain killers…"

"No, I need my head to be clear," Sirius cut in.

"And it's going to be so very clear when you are distracted by the pain."

"You have a point."

Lily raised an eyebrow. "You're worse than James!" She shook her head. "Right, let's have a look. Move your fingers for me. Good. Do you have any numbness or tingling?" She watched Sirius shake his head. "It's going to leave a scar."

"I'm alive and my arm still functions; I think it's a small price to pay. Anyway, don't chicks dig scars?"

Lily rolled her eyes. "You two are impossible!" She stopped for a moment as she considered her next question. "So, what are you going to do?"

Sirius took a breath and thought for a moment. "I'm going to take the fight to Fudge."

"What?"

"Moody and I." Sirius' breath hitched as he thought of his former mentor. "Well, we tried to play the soft game and bring Fudge round politically but it's evident it hasn't worked. I'm going to be issuing several arrest warrants when I get in later. I'll tell Fudge out of professional courtesy, but I'm no longer going to take any more crap from him. I only did for our strategy, but now, well screw him. We lost a good man because of his inaction. We were lucky we didn't lose more."

"Yes Sirius, we are lucky," Lily said pointedly, as she looked him up and down.

"Lily, look, I should be going."

"No, you are going to wait for James and you are going to drink some blood replenishing potion. If you want to play hard ball with Fudge, that's fine and I'll support you every step of the way, but you can't do that if you pass out."

As if on cue, James walked through the door. "Sirius! Mate, you're up! How are you?"

Sirius looked his friend up and down for a moment. He looked as though he'd aged since he had last seen him. "Mate, I'm…"

"Don't you dare say you're sorry, none of this shit is your fault. You scared the hell out of me, but it's not your fault. I don't think you even realised you were hurt. So stop, okay. Just, mate you have too much shit to deal with, too much, I don't know," James said as he sighed. "Fuck, we don't need this. There is too much shit going around for us to start feeling guilty around each other. So right, let's make a pact, let's not have any of this guilt hanging around us."

Sirius looked down and bit his lip. He found the corner of his mouth twitching. "Sure," he said grinning as he took James' hand and shook it. "I have some business to attend to at the Ministry."

"Lily, is he okay?" James questioned.

"He'll be fine, just as long as he takes these. Sirius, drink this now," Lily said handing him a bottle. She watched Sirius drain it, handing her back the empty bottle. "Take these with you. Take one in a couple of hours. If you feel lightheaded, just find somewhere to sit down and drink the other. I'm serious, Sirius." She sighed as she watched her husband and his best friend laugh. "Really?! How old are you?"

"Lily, I'll be fine, and I promise I'll take the potions," Sirius said nodding.

"And don't work late. Sirius, you are recovering from major blood loss. If you push yourself too hard, too soon, you could do yourself real damage. I'm serious, please Sirius just get back here before supper."

Sirius found a small smile and nodded. "Of course Lily and thank you."

James followed his friend out of the door. "Mate, are you okay?"

"James, not now."

James nodded. "What's the plan?"

"We're at war."

James took a sharp intake of breath and bit his lip. "Officially?"

"Officially, no, that would mean that thick fuck would actually fucking take action!" Sirius spat. "No, the auror department is officially on a war footing. I've tried to play nice with Fudge, and what has it got me, apart from a kick in the face and a good man dead?"

James nodded. "What do you want me to do?"

"Nothing at this point," Sirius said, patting James' shoulder. He stopped. "Actually mate, there is something." He stopped again and watched his friend raise his eyebrows and nod. "Okay, yesterday I wasn't in the best of conditions when I got back with Moody. I asked them to take care of him, but I just don't know if they gave him the respect he deserves."

"Of course, Padfoot," James said, wrapping an arm around his friend's shoulders. "I may not have been as close to him as you, but I still had a huge amount of respect for him. He was a good man, he didn't deserve to go the way he did."

"Thank Prongs," Sirius said sadly.

"What are you going to do?"

"Change the game. Put an arrest warrant out for my cousin amongst others and take it to Fudge!"

"Good," James said nodding. "Let's get to the Ministry, you take care of business and I'll ensure Moody is treated with the respect he deserves."

The two old friends exchanged nods before apparating to the Ministry. "Good luck mate," James said, patting his friend on the shoulder.

"Thanks," Sirius said with a smile. Without further word, he strode down the Ministry foyer towards the lifts. He nervously rocked up and down on the balls of his feet as the lift rode down towards the Minister of Magic's Office.

"I know you are reckless and unbalanced, but what the hell did you do yesterday?"

"My job," Sirius growled as he turned around to face his adversary. "I took the necessary action to secure the Ministry and protect everyone within."

"Said you!"

"You think this is the work of some random idiot?!" Sirius bit back pointing to the livid scar on his arm. "You think Alastor Moody's death is the work of some madman?! Fucking wake up!"

"Don't you dare talk to me like that! I am the Minister of Magic!" Fudge spat.

"Then bloody well start acting like it!" Sirius snarled. "I just came down as professional courtesy. I'm issuing arrest warrants for Bellatrix and Rodolphus Lestrange."

"You can't!"

"Why not? Because she's a cousin? Or is it because they line your pocket?"

"How dare you!" Fudge growled. "I'll have your job!"

"Good luck with that. Maybe you should be doing yours before you start judging others," Sirius said, as he roughly pushed past Fudge.

"Just where the hell do you think you are going?!"

"I'm going to talk to my team and then I'm going to pay my respects to the bravest and greatest man this office has ever seen." Without a further word, Sirius strode back towards the lifts and out of sight.