"So…so…the not-so-dead rat man is going to Hogwarts to kill your orphaned godson?"
"Yes."
"Who just so happens to be Harry Potter."
"Yes."
"And rat man is going to kill Harry because he's working for You-Know-Who and only you know that he's alive and not actually dead?"
"Yes."
"And if you don't break out of here and kill rat man before he can kill Harry you'll lose your godson like you lost his parents, your two best friends?"
"Yes."
Elena whistled. "That's rough, man."

"Yes, thank you Captain Obvious."
"Anytime, now, how are we going to escape?"
"We?"
"You seriously think that I'm going to let you escape you without me?"
"Well I am Sirius…"
"I am going to bludgeon you to death with my shit bucket."
"If you can reach up to hit me. What are you, four foot one? Four foot two?"
"Your skull will make a lovely crunching noise as I break it."
"You're practically a dwarf-"
"I will make lipstick out of your blood."
"Or maybe a goblin-"
"I will skin your corpse and use it to make a coat."

"My corpse…" He muttered suddenly. "That's it."
"That's what?"
"I could pretend to die!"
"There is no way in hell they will believe you have died so soon, and so spontaneously. They just saw you, alive, sarcastic and kicking."
"Damn it!"
"I could die, though?"
"How would that help us?"
"Well…the thing is…I'm an Animagus."
He laughs, a genuine, surprised laugh. "Oh really?"
"Yeah, but they know, of course, because I'm registered, so they put preventative charms on my cell to stop me transforming. But if the Dementors thought I was dead and took me outside I could transform…but that wouldn't get you out…any ideas?"
There was silence from the other side, and Elena sighed.
"Sirius? Died yet?"
No answer meant that she climbed up onto the bucket again from where she'd been pacing, mind whirring, and looked down in the cell. A big black dog sat panting in the middle of it, scrawny but friendly-looking.
"What the fu-"
Sirius transformed, and bounded up to standing, letting out a bark-like laugh.
"I'm unregistered! I can slip out, and pull you through, or something…what's your Animagus? Tell me it's not something ridiculous, like a flamingo or some shit-"
"Yes, it's a flamingo," Elena rolled her eyes. "No, I'm a kitten. Black and white and orange. Quite unassuming, but next to your dog…?"
"No one'll think twice if we pretend to be fighting all the time."
"Uh, pretend?" Elena scoffed darkly. "I still haven't forgotten how you called me a goblin."
"Oh alright then dwarf!"
"Shut up you flea-ridden mutt!"
His laughter was short-lived though, as although the guard had gone long ago, the Dementors had returned, and their presence alone drained both of them of the ability to see the positive side of anything, both of them cold and dark and despairing. At least they weren't alone anymore. They had a plan, and they had each other, even if both were reckless and stupid.

Elena had gotten used to not knowing the time, but it still aggravated her that it always seemed dark and stormy on the island prison, so she had to guess when night had fallen. Sirius was asleep in the cell next to hers, she could hear by his breathing, and it wasn't particularly reassuring, because she felt more alone than ever. Despite his faults and her irritation, it felt good to have here be a person who didn't lick their own urine off their cell floor to talk to. Especially if that person was also going to help her to escape.
"He's…he's at…he's at Hogwarts, he's going to…he's going to kill him…I have to…he's at Hogwarts…he's…he's…Lily…James…no James, no no no…Remus…its full moon…stop…stop!"
Sirius let out a strangled cry, and Elena bashed her bucket against the wall, wincing as it made a loud crashing noise although her intention was to wake him up.
"Mate, what the hell are banging on about?"
"I…oh…piss off...I was sleeping…"
"Not well…you were having a nightmare, weren't you?"
"Does it matter?" He snarled, and Elena ignored his tone, adopting a gentler manner of her own.
"I'm sorry, it just seemed…sorry. I know I wish I had to wake me up from my nightmares, that's all."
"Well…fine. Fine."
"I won't do it again then."
"No…no, do. It's just it's the only time I see them…in my dreams. And then I wake up, and I'm in this hellhole, and I'm just…"
His voice was thick with emotion, and Elena felt a surge of anger, of hate for the Ministry and the Dementors and, well, basically everyone.
"We're going to get out, remember? We're going to get out."
"Tomorrow."
"Tomorrow?"
"When they come around to feed us, I'll transform. They won't know I've left, they'll just think I've gone insane like the rest of them, we'll wait until they've passed and I'll help you out…then you can transform and we'll work out what to do from there."
"We're really going to do this?"
"I couldn't save Lily and James." He sounded regretful, but also fuelled by a spark of hope. "But I can save Harry."
"We'll save him, Sirius." She nodded forcefully. "You won't lose him too."
"And then I'm going to commit the crime I was imprisoned for."
"You're…what?"
"Pettigrew betrayed them. I'm going to kill him."
"Well, okay then, you do that."
"Oh I will."
The menace in his tone frightened her, but there was no time for that.

"How do I know I can trust you?"
Elena's voice was small, and quiet; she sounded like a little girl again.
"I guess you don't."

The rain lashed the bars and the waves crashed into the rocky cliffs surrounding the island. Elena cracked her knuckles, stretched out her aching muscles and clenched her fists, feeling her magic swell up under her skin, prickly and powerful, as the cold wind blew into the cell and engulfed her in its roar.

Okay sorry I was too excited to not post another chapter.
I hope you like it!
Fly xx