A/N: Here is the chapter that changes everything; the direction the story is heading in, the way I will continue to write etc. This chapter is also very short because it doesn't need to be long. It's just one giant scene.

That being said, I really do hope you continue to read. Because if you don't like this chapter, well then, I'm not sure you'll like the path this story is heading.

Thank you for all the support and kind words. Have a brilliant day/night.

xoxo

14. Metamorphosis

Did you miss me?

The nerve of Sirius Black. He was so full of nerve, too full of it. Danger screamed in the quivering mind of the darkest lord to have ever even dared to live.

Shock was perhaps the first feeling the Dark Lord was acquainted with. Sirius felt the shock, like an earthquake, shaking the ground and vibrating from each and every person there.

'Impossible,' breathed Voldemort, looking into the face of Sirius and trembling. Before he knew it, Sirius cried a spell, top of his lungs, his voice echoing around them. Voldemort was too distracted to notice at first, the large bubble, like a blanket, wrap around them.

When he saw it, his eyes flashed an ominous red. He slowly held out his hand to conjure his wand from where it sat at his feet into his hands. All the while, his eyes followed Sirius carefully. The man didn't do anything but watch as slowly, followers and haters alike, watched him with suspense, hatred, love, worry.

'Don't worry,' said Sirius, 'I'm not going to kill you whilst you're unarmed. I have integrity.' He snapped. He turned to face Voldemort and smiled, despite his jacked heartbeat and his breathy pants and the collage of images racing through his head: his marauding brothers, his baby, his other baby, and the baby he'd had the longest; Rose. He thought of his darling godson Harry, the little sister James had given him, Lily.

He thought so hard of all of them and how every single thing he was going to do from here on out was for them, and only them.

His hand curled tighter around the yew wand when he watched his old Thestral wand fly into the long thin white hands of the Dark Lord.

'How?' whispered Voldemort, a vacant expression plastered on his face.

'My Mother always taught me to never believe a body was dead unless I got to destroy it myself. You should never have let James take my body. You should have burned it whilst you had the chance.' Sirius stalked closer to the man he hated most in the world, after his Father Orion Black of course. He bared his teeth and took another step towards the man who had destroyed his life.

'I hate you.' Sirius whispered. 'I hate you so much.'

'The feeling,' spat the Dark Lord, 'is mutual.' He raised his arm as his body subconsciously took the stance one takes on when preparing to duel.

'I promise you,' murmured Sirius as he looked up at the sky for just a moment, 'that I'll come home soon.' He closed his eyes briefly even though he didn't know exactly what it was that he was praying for.

A chance to see his children grow up? A chance to make up all the missed time with Rose, to show her how grateful he was that she safely carried his children and gave birth to them and took care of them for him. He probably wouldn't marry her, but that didn't mean that they weren't already so tightly wound into one another's lives and histories and futures.

Sirius was defined by his love for Rose and she herself was defined by what he had made her and what she had become for him.

There was no Sirius without her and she ceased to exist without him: they loved each other so much that all he could see was shots of her face, bombarding his mind and overtaking his heart. A screech cut off what he was thinking. He looked up and met the scarlet eyes of Voldemort, restraining a flinch.

'You keep coming back to dieee!' cried Voldemort, his face morphing more into that of a snake's and less of a man's face. His flat nose, his serpentine hiss, the long digits that resembled worms more than fingers.

He wasn't human anymore.

The first spell hit Voldemort, and he was thrown backwards, but seconds later Sirius was swallowed by a wave of water, he would have choked had he not closed his mouth. With a passionate swing of his wand, he threw the water at Voldemort but this time it was boiling hot, steaming, vaporising.

Then a Legilimens hit him hard just as he had been throwing one Voldemort's way.

Sirius had always been a talented Occulmens thanks to his upbringing and therefore he was quite proud of his accomplishment but in that moment, he couldn't do anything to shield his mind from the Dark Lord. Yet, simultaneously, Voldemort couldn't block his from Sirius's.

In perfect synchronisation, they began to read each other's minds. Such a silly, Muggle term - to read minds. It was so much more complex, intelligent, wise.

Memories passed through their minds, like pages of a book, and Sirius saw deeply into the Dark Lord's mind. But whilst he was rifling through Voldemort's mind to see what his next move would be, what he had come to Hogwarts to particularly do, Voldemort frantically searched through his.

And he found something.

He found where Rose was. SJ was. Where Harry was!

With a cry, Sirius threw the Dark Lord out of his mind, stared him in the eye as he raised his wand arm.

'You're going to have another son?' Voldemort cried with a laugh as he tossed Sirius's spells aside. 'Or will it be a girl? Will you have the next Bellatrix? And your Mother. She lied to me. She will have to be killed when we find her.'

Suddenly, it wasn't a battle of wills. It was a battle of integrity and pride and everything males were and stood for. Sirius couldn't, no, he wouldn't lose. He refused to even acknowledge what he would have to do should Voldemort better him this time, which he just couldn't allow.

Sirius cast spells so fast he wasn't even sure which ones he was shouting. He just knew they were powerful and dark and would probably warrant a trip to Azkaban. No one cared though. Everyone just watched. Watched and waited. That was all they were allowed to do: Voldemort wanted all the attention.

He wanted all eyes on him.

A spell collided with Sirius's body and he flew backwards, crying out. But he rolled over, missing the Killing Curse by mere inches as he thrust out his wand arm and screamed a spell he had heard Snape say.

'SECTEMSEPRA!'

'IMPERIO!'

'CRUCIO!'

'EXPELLIARMUS!'

Two things happened at once: Voldemort cried out in pain when Sirius's Torture Curse hit him, and Sirius's wand sailed out of his hands when he was met with the Disarming Spell.

He dodged another Killing Curse, trying as hard as he could to get back to where his wand was. But he couldn't, because Voldemort's stream of spells started up again. Vibrant colours burst in the bubble Sirius had cocooned around them; reds, greens, pinks and pale yellows. It was like a fireworks display was going off.

Going off in the dark night's sky, when a rogue one slipped away, striking Sirius in the chest and forcing him down to the ground as he whimpered.

'Surrender yourself,' whispered a soft voice in Sirius's ear. It was the voice of an animal he hadn't seen in so long...

Pain.

All he could feel was pain.

'Surrender yourself, and you'll feel no more...' the animal was saying in a quiet, barely even there voice. It was so gentle, it made Sirius's heart break.

Now it wasn't just pain anymore; now it was agony, the sort of agony that turned people insane. Pain that chilled people to their cores and destroyed their morality and transformed them into people they never thought they would become.

Sirius was sure he couldn't be sane anymore. He was so far past the brink of sanity now.

White light flashed.

More pain.

Sirius could hear bellowing in the distance and realised it was him.

'You are going to die, Sirius Black, in front of the people you love most.' Voldemort breathed. He was limping and his face was covered in blood. In actual fact, he was using his left hand to hold his wand. His right was cradled close to his chest. He looked a lot worse off than Sirius had first anticipated. It gave him confidence to know that Voldemort wasn't as strong as he made out to be - that in the end, he was just as vulnerable as anyone else.

'You bastard,' panted Sirius.

'Just for old time's sake,' Voldemort continued, 'tell me where the Potters were hiding. Because you are not going to be coming back from this. However, I would like to thank you for the tip. I will surely remember when I am disposing of your dead, cold body. Now, tell me!'

Another Cruciatus Curse.

Another scream.

'Just for old time's sake, I'm going to say "no".' Sirius heaved.

His eyes glazed over as the Cruciatus Curse wreaked havoc with his body. He was twisting into shapes he hardly knew he could make, writhing on the floor and screaming out.

But he still had one trick up his sleeve. Voldemort was fast. He was quick and his instincts were sharp and powerful. But surprise didn't go down well with Voldemort as had been earlier demonstrated when he had seen Sirius for the first time.

Therefore, all Sirius needed was to surprise him; grasp the split second moment of hesitation and grab his wand.

Voldemort's eyes were deep red now; red and furious. He was livid. 'Tell me Sirius and I might make this as painless for you as I can.'

'Fuck you,' he breathed deeply before jumping into the air and transforming into Padfoot mid-leap, a bark cutting ominously through his vocal chords.

The battlefield was even more silent than before, as the Dark Lord's left arm hung limply from his side whilst he gradually registered the impossible reality staring him right in the face.

Sirius Black, an Animagus?

The enormous black dog with glistening thick fur and long thin teeth yelped furiously, the noise rippling through the air loudly and chilling the bones of the Death Eaters and their leader instantly.

In two leaps he was already in front of his wand. Sirius transformed back into his human body and already had the wand trained onto the body of Voldemort.

Too much shock isn't good for the body, you see. Voldemort was frozen - a factor that had been brought about by nothing other than real shock. No spell had been cast, no potion smuggled into his system, no form of "mind-reading" or "telekinesis". This was all Sirius and everything he had ever hidden from Voldemort.

The Animgaus form, his death...

These were his lasts tricks, and he knew that if he couldn't kill Voldemort now then when could he? More importantly, how could he?

'Avada Kedavra.' Sirius sighed tiredly. But albeit the drowsiness rushing through his veins, the spell still had enough conviction and power and hatred to form.

A flash of green light collided with Voldemort. It had sped up to meet him; Time was on Sirius's side. It was always on Sirius's side. Fast and supple, it flowed through the air like smoke, contorting into peculiar shapes and steadily getting brighter before it hit Tom Riddle, leaving only a soft 'thud' in its wake.

The force of the spell threw the younger man onto his side. Stars flashed before Sirius's eyes and he vaguely noticed his mouth opening in a noiseless scream.

Another body fell not five metres from him. Voldemort was dead. The Dark Lord was dead.

But like before ... like so long ago it seemed, remnants of black cloud formed over the body. It morphed to form the silhouette of the man it once was. The creature it had been.

Silence, like defeaning bells, echoed soundlessly around Sirius, amplifying the noise of his furiously beating heart, his joints cracking, his rib cage bursting...

'Please,' Sirius sighed, opening and closing his eyes. 'Why?' He was tired. So, so tired. He couldn't do this again. How many were there left?

How many more horcruxes before he finally defeated Voldemort? Lying there on the floor, he looked like nothing more than a little boy, wrapped in a bubble much larger than him with shadows purging the world around him.

'Go on,' breathed Amal, appearing for the first time in months. Sirius would have been happy to see her if the situation had been different. But it wasn't and therefore he wasn't happy. She seemed older, wiser, like a more intelligent cat. Her fur was a totally different colour, glowing like fire and illuminating Sirius's tear-streaked face. He ran a tongue over his dry lips and swallowed for a second time, his throat too parched to do more than croak.

'What?' he managed to wheeze.

'Take it.' A new voice. Aubrey's voice. 'Take the spirit.'

Oh, his beloved ferret. His friend. The one who had always offered funny rhetoric, humour, charm. He smiled at Aubrey, reaching out a hand and stroking the pure black fur. He looked gorgeous.

'It's the only way to destroy him. To take the spirit from the world.'

Sirius was delirious. He hadn't slept in at least thirty six hours, he hadn't eaten in days, he hadn't even rested properly. His body was shutting down. Only then did he understand and comprehend what was being said to him.

Take the spirit? Surely that was stupid and would lead to nothing but danger. Wasn't Voldemort the spirit? Wasn't that black, dark cloud nothing but a way of hurting him.

Unfortunately, like his body, Sirius's mind was too, shutting down. He felt some sort of gravitational pull towards the spirit waiting patiently over the dead body of Voldemort. The corpse of the most powerful man in the world, potentially, was like snow against the dark forest ground. He was pale and lifeless.

Sirius felt himself get up and stand, stumbling as he walked closer to the body of Tom Riddle. Maybe it was his soul moving him forward, up on his feet and towards the black looming cloud.

The cloud that was waiting patiently for him; alluring, enigmatic.

'We've been here for you longer than anyone else, when no one was there to protect you.' Amal cried, leading Sirius to the dark shadow. 'You were alone Sirius and I was here to protect and care for you, as was Aubrey. Because we love you. Don't you love us?' as she said this, her tail was growing and had managed to wrap firmly around his arm.

'Do us this favour. Take the Dark Lord away from the rest of the world. Do us this duty.' Aubrey continued. 'We've done so much for you. Do this for us.'

'Don't be selfish.'

Before he knew it, Sirius stepped the last step and was absorbed by darkness and hatred and everything the Dark Lord and his minions stood for.

Those were the first thoughts to enter his mind. But it wasn't his mind, was it? Suddenly, it felt like Sirius was being squeezed through a tube much too small to fit through. His body was being ripped into pieces so he could pass through.

He screamed for such a long time, and it was so high and so loud his ears themselves felt like they were being shredded.

It was like being submerged into a freezing cold shower.

'WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?' a voice bellowed in the noiseless void of time and space.

Sirius looked up. A group had neared him as the bubble disintegrated.

'What have you done?' breathed another voice, older, wiser with a huskier edge.

Sirius could feel him, he could feel Voldemort seizing every inch of him; flooding his senses, body, mind and soul.

His soul.

Bit by bit, within the space of maybe thirty seconds, Voldemort took over the body of Sirius Orion Betelgeuse Black and Padfoot ceased to live anymore.

All the while James watched the transition with wide eyes and an open mouth, as his best friend was pushed aside only to be replaced by the man he loathed most in the world.

Tom Riddle, Lord Voldemort or Sirius Black (whatever he was going to be called now) picked up the wand near the dead body of the Dark Lord, and pocketed the second one as he turned to face the immobile crowd.

'See, James,' the voice was so unlike Sirius's, 'I always win.' Grey eyes, glistening brighter than pearls, flashed scarlet like blood and carved a vivid image of death and pain in the minds of the Marauders.

The very handsome man, with eyes that weren't silver anymore but instead a piercing red, turned to face the Death Eaters.

'Come.' Sirius said.

'M-m-my Lord?'

Sirius waved his wand when he saw James grab his own, ready to jinx him. 'IMMOBLIUS!' He roared, and the bodies of the Marauders froze. Their heads could move but their bodies could not.

'M-m-'

'Yes Bella,' snapped Sirius, 'it's me. He's gone. Sirius Black is dead. Well and truly.'

There were gasps of surprised, anger, shock and yet no one did anything about it. They couldn't, their bodies were frozen with befuddlement and a little bit of fear. Roars were echoing through the strip of land as giants were whipped and bound to individual Death Eaters.

They were scared and a little hesitant to cluster around Sirius Black, a man who had just been dead to them, a man who was their enemy. Yet when he snapped his fingers and tossed a curse at someone, they willingly hurried to his side.

'Come.' He said sharply again. And with a wink towards James, Lily and the shocked people behind the couple, Sirius Black's body disappeared.

And he was gone.

A/N: It's a short chapter, I know, but the next few will be considerably longer, I can promise that since I have chapter fifteen partly written. Thank you to everyone who left a review - Mora: As you can tell from the crazy direction this story is now going in, it's not going to end any time soon. I'm not sure how many chapters, maybe fifteen more hopefully. Thank you very much, I'm glad you're enjoying the story. Guest: Thank you! I put a lot of effort into James's character so it's a relief to hear that you like him in my stories. Alana: Omg, I searched the guy you're talking about and he looks a lot like how I'd imagine Sirius! Thanks for the review. Isles: I'm glad you seem to be enjoying this story, thank you for reading! Kiera: You're so kind, thank you! I would hope that this story would get more reviews but I'll just have to wait and see if it attracts more readers. Tell me what you think of this chapter.