And we have another chapter! Firstly, thanks again to Kalavinka and Sparkleforreason for reviewing.

Kalavinka - Yes, I found that the fluff was getting a bit excess too... too sweet. The problem is, the draft of this story was written a few years ago, and it was pretty fluffy in the starts. So carrying on based on that had it being pretty fluffy and light in the early chapters, which you pointed out.

Sparkleforreason - I understand your need for longer chapters, but as I said, this story is largely prewritten, so the length of chapters are stuck between 1000-2000 words. But I'm trying to pull it out, to make the chapters longer... I'll try to stand by your suggestion :)

Anyway, your suggestions had me writing up this new chapter; it's plenty longer than the rest. Hopefully it will be dark enough and long enough for you. Thanks for the inspiration :)

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

Caught up in the storm

26th August, 1973

It was a regular weekend at Diagon Alley, the crowds swollen to twice the usual number at the last-minute shopping for the upcoming Hogwarts session. Even at the early hour of ten-thirty in the morning, people were clamouring inside and around the shops, rushing to get the best possible bargain.

Sirius walked stiffly through the crowd, his mother's tight grip on his wrist almost painful now. Regulus walked beside him on his mother's other side, the manicured fingers clasping his hand noticeably gentler. One didn't have to look far to see who was the preferred one here, he thought bitterly.

Going to Diagon Alley for his school shopping with his parents wasn't his favourite way to spend a weekend, not that he had any choice in the matter. He was actually surprised that they were still spending their gold on high-quality stuff on him, after all the shame he had apparently brought on them for the last two years. Still, as long as he bore the name Black and had his name on his family tapestry, he supposed it was something they had to do.

The only thing he looked forward to on this trip (after one whole terrible hour of acting stiff and aloof), was that he would be meeting his friends. All of them — James, Remus and Peter, and Marlene, had planned up to get together for a while, as they had a spot of shopping still left. Evans was spending the last weekend with Marlene, but she and the rest of the girls in their year were meeting up earlier. Unlike Marlene, she had declined their (correction — James') offer to have a sundae with the Marauders, because, of course, she couldn't stand them.

Sirius hadn't told his mother anything about this, of course, knowing that she would never let him go meet 'those blood traitors and filth' (thankfully, she didn't know Remus' secret). He was hoping to give his family the slip in the crowd. He'd be punished later, of course, but he could stand that.

It was only when his mother got particularly involved in an argument with the owner of the Apothecary that Sirius finally saw his chance. Taking careful steps backwards without once letting his wary eyes leave his mother, he reached the door. Regulus turned to look at him, and his eyes widened.

Where are you going? he mouthed. Sirius only winked and gave him a little wave of his hand, and as quick as the wind, he was out.

He did not pause for a second until he was sure he was quite far away. He was supposed to meet the others at Jean Fortescue's ice-cream stall, and hurried that way, his heart thumping with a joy and excitement that only rule-breaking offered.

They were waiting when he reached the ice-cream parlour. Before he could get a word out, he was being hugged by several people, back to back.

"Peace, gentlemen," he laughed. "And lady," he winked at Marlene. "I'm all yours."

James, Remus, Peter and Marlene were all there, grinning from ear to ear.

"It's so good that you came," James said, his eyes bright. "We were having our doubts."

"Your mother let you?" Remus asked, although his face told him that he already knew the answer.

"You wish," Sirius smiled easily, "I ran away when I had the chance."

"But — won't you get into trouble?" Peter's eyes were wide with worry.

"Who cares?" Sirius shrugged with some feigned nonchalance.

"Sirius, you shouldn't have!" Marlene exclaimed, appalled. "Now if—"

"Oh, come on, guys, just leave it, okay?" Sirius sighed. "We'd better get our ice-creams instead of wasting our time like this." They didn't look satisfied, but nobody argued the prospect of getting an ice-cream.

Soon they were slurping away happily at the cold desserts and laughing and talking.

"Pity Evans didn't come," James sighed.

"She said she'd be anywhere rather with you," Marlene informed him.

"Even with Snivellus?" James said with a ridiculous pout.

"Sadly, yes," Marlene replied with all the sobriety she could muster, which wasn't much, seeing the valiant efforts the other three were making at not laughing.

They spent five more minutes finishing their ice-cream.

"Hey, did you check the new Nimbus 1500 at the Quality Quidditch Supplies?" James asked suddenly.

"No! I can't believe they've put it up already!" Sirius positively glowed with excitement. "Let's go see it!" The four boys stood up at once, their faces bright.

"Coming, Marls?" Sirius extended his hand to Marlene.

"No, you lot go. I checked it out already." Marlene loved brooms and Quidditch as much as the Marauders, but she found the habit of drooling in front of the shop window ridiculous. "Why don't we meet up in, say fifteen minutes? I'll go check the pet shop for a while. I want Dad to buy me an owl. I'm sick of borrowing Malcolm's all the time."

With quick nods and smiles, they parted.

-o0o-

Marlene lazily walked out of the pet shop, her hands in her pockets. There was this tawny owl she had absolutely loved; now she only had to convince her family. She wondered if they were done with buying Michael and Malcolm's stuff and giving in to her younger siblings' whims and fancies yet. She was glad that her own shopping was essentially over, remembering with a shudder how Mabel had dragged them into a shop full of glitters and fancies last time.

She was just about to check her watch to see if she was late already when she spotted a familiar head in the distance. She squinted, trying to confirm her guess, but there was no doubt about it — it was her brothers' good friend from school, Jonah Hill.

She had known Jonah since she was very young; she loved him like her own brother. They had lost touch over the last year, after he graduated, but Marlene felt a spark of excitement at seeing him again.

"Jonah!" she called out. "Jonah!"

But the milling crowds between them were too loud; he didn't hear her. Marlene shuffled forward, trying to push through the rows and rows of pillar-like bodies. She wasn't very successful, her thirteen year old body not adequate for the task.

"Jonah! Hey JONAH!"

But her efforts continued to be in vain. The young man simply walked on, his curly honey-blonde hair twirling in the breeze.

Finally, the crowds thinned away. Pushing past the few remaining individuals, Marlene managed to reduce the distance between them. She was about to give another call when she became aware of her surroundings, and the shout died in her throat.

She had been so engrossed at reaching Jonah that she had not noticed how far she had followed him in.

The buildings that rose around her were dark and dull, a far cry from the cheery familiars of Diagon. There were fewer shoppers around, and somehow, none of their faces seemed friendly. Marlene had never been to this place, but she recognised it from the descriptions by her seniors — the place her parents had forbidden her from visiting the first time they took her out shopping — Knockturn Alley.

"What some fresh eyeballs, dear?" an old woman croaked from a corner. "At a bargain, too!" Frantically shaking her head Marlene fled down the lane. Her reason dimmed by the surge of panic, she tumbled straight into Jonah.

"Jonah! Oh, Jonah!"

He looked down at her angrily, and then his eyes widened.

"Marlene? Why are you here?"

"I— got lost," she admitted in a small voice.

"Well, that's unfortunate. Now why don't you run along? I have work to do."

"Didn't you hear? I got lost." Marlene seethed. This cold, distant person was nothing like the boy she had known for so long. "What are you doing here, Jonah? In Knockturn Alley?"

"That's none of your business! Now if you know what's good for you, get lost —"

"What's this, Hill? So eager to please? You brought us a hostage!" In the heat of the argument, Marlene hadn't noticed when Jonah had stopped. They were in a darker part even by Knockturn's standards, in front of a dingy looking pub. The pub's door opened and a hooded figure walked out.

"I—" Jonah began uncertainly.

"No problem. I'm pleased. You'll be a good recruit," the cloaked figure said.

Marlene's head was reeling. Recruit? What were they talking about?

"Jonah—" she began, unsure what to say. It proved to be a mistake. The cloaked man turned to her.

"And what of you, pretty? Did no one tell you not to wander about in Knockturn Alley?"

"I got lost," Marlene replied, trying hard to keep her voice from shaking, her hand slowly reaching for her wand in her trouser pocket. She wasn't very proficient at duelling — they hadn't been taught too many offensive spells at school, but she had to try.

The man opened his mouth to speak again. Quickly, Marlene pulled out her wand and yelped, "Expelliarmus!"

The man's wand flew from his hand. Not waiting to look again, Marlene made a run for it.

A mistake again. She hadn't made through ten steps when a rough hand gripped her. Marlene screamed, trying to hit out at at her captor, but her hands and legs did little to make a difference.

"Slippery," a voice commented. With mounting horror, she realised that there were four more people dressed in black now, standing in the alley. The man holding her wrestled her wand out of her hand, and tossed her roughly to the ground.

"Nuisance," he grunted. "Hope you don't mind, Hill. I'm not going to let this one go."

Marlene looked beseechingly at her brothers' friend.

"I'm sorry, Marlene," he said with something like genuine regret. "I did tell you to leave."

The dark-clothed man advanced at her, his wand raised.

"See ya, girlie," he leered. "Here's to the removal of a potential enemy."

-o0o-

"Time's up, you lot," Remus informed the three boys at still drooling at the shop window.

"Aww, just a minute, Remus," James didn't move his eyes from the broom. Remus sighed.

"Marlene won't be happy of we're late. Besides, we have to get home soon. Now come on!" And with that, he dragged three reluctant bodies away from the shop.

But when they reached the pet shop, Marlene wasn't there.

"Maybe she went off to convince her dad to get her the pet?" Peter suggested, but the theory wasn't very convincing. It wasn't at all like Marlene to leave like that.

"Excuse me," Sirius asked a man lounging nearby. "Did you happen to see a girl our age here? Blonde hair, blue eyes? She was wearing a lavender shirt and black trousers."

The man scrunched his eyebrows thoughtfully. "I think I did," he said. "She went off that way, calling after some bloke."

The four boys went ahead, asking around people for Marlene. Fortunately, a fair few people had noticed her. Finally, they reached an area where the crowd was noticeably thinner. Sirius stopped, turning pale. James noticed.

"What is it, Sirius?' he asked.

"Uh, guys, I really hope we're wrong about Marlene being here," he said quietly. "Because this route leads straight to Knockturn Alley."

Peter turned white. "D-do we have to go?"

"We need to find Marlene. We can't waste our time hesitating here," James said determinedly. He took a deep breath. "Let's go."

-o0o-

Marlene closed her eyes tight as she waited for the man to yell out a curse. I'm sorry, she thought, Mum, Dad, I shouldn't have been such an idiot.

But the spell did not come. Marlene opened her eyes by a crack. Jonah was holding the man's hand.

"What's this? Let go, you fool!" he grunted.

"Are you sure this is necessary?" Jonah's eyes darted around nervously. "You could just—"

"If you want to join, Hill, leave it to him," another one of the men growled. "Or if you like, we could finish you off too—"

Paling, Jonah stepped back, his store of courage obviously exhausted.

"And now—" the man turned back to Marlene.

"Stop!"

Marlene looked up, startled, at the familiar voices. Standing there in the mouth of the alley were four boys she knew only too well. But through the rush of relief that coursed through her, Marlene felt a jolt of panic.

They shouldn't have come.

-o0o-

Sirius wasn't sure whether to be glad or to worry when they finally found Marlene. For one thing, she was alive and fine, although there was a bruise on her wrist. But on the other hand, she was surrounded by several cloaked men, and Sirius had a fair idea who they were.

But anyway, he wasn't one to back out of a fight, and neither were his friends. He squared his shoulders and pulled out his wand.

"Leave her alone."

To his annoyance, though he had rather been expecting it, Marlene's captor burst out laughing. "So these are your heroes, princess? A bunch of scrawny little boys?" His mates joined him in jeering.

Beside Sirius, James gritted his teeth.

"Impedimenta!" he shouted. The nearest man was thrown off his feet, and crumpled to the ground.

The laughter was cut off abruptly.

"Not bad," one of the men sneered. "But you're no match against us, boys."

And that was how they all found themselves fighting for their lives.

Sirius knew that the Marauders were the most advanced in their year in magical skills (and no, he wasn't being vain), but they could not match the strength or the skills of five able bodied adults. Plus their limited knowledge of spells as compared to the array of curses that the men aimed at them did not help their situation.

Even as he used his best jinxes and hexes against them, Sirius could see that they were losing ground. Marlene had retrieved her wand and was up, fighting, but she was limping. James and Remus were up against three of the cloaked men, trying to shield Marlene. Peter had already been disarmed and bound, and as for himself, he was having a tough time against his own opponent, a slim individual whose face was hidden under his hood, who was deflecting every one of his spells.

"Furnunculus!" he barked ooutur, only to have it blocked again. Then, without warning, a spell hit him right on the chest, making him double over, pain blooming. He coughed, and a speck of blood came up with the spit. His opponent sauntered over to him.

"Well, well, if it isn't my dear fiancée's naughty little cousin! I have heard a lot about your mischiefs, boy."

Trying to ignore the pain, Sirius looked up. The man had dropped his hood, revealing a handsome aristocratic face, the lips curled up in a sneer. It was the man Bellatrix was betrothed to — Rodolphus Lestrange.

"You're a good fighter. Plenty of spirit." Rodolphus brought his face close to Sirius'. "You need to be tamed, don't you?" he whispered conspiratorially in his ear. "And who does it better than your mother?" Horror spreading on his face as comprehension dawned upon him, Sirius struggled, but his wounds made him too weak. Rodolphus hauled him up by his shirt. Sirius tried to shout, but he had suddenly been silenced. He wondered if any of his friends had noticed his situation. It was unlikely.

Rodolphus' smile was maniacal. "Time to say au revoir to your friends, Sirius."

And in a rush of black robes, Sirius' surroundings melted away.

-o0o-

When things around him turned solid again seconds later, Sirius found himself in Diagon Alley. He felt dizzy and close to fainting. Trying to gain a grip on the heightening nausea, he tried to analyze the situation.

Rodolphus was holding on to him tightly. And steps away from him, glowering like a thundercloud, was his mother. He had no idea how he had known, but somehow Rodolphus had understood that he had run away from her, and by yet another method, managed to disapparate to the very place his mother was in.

"Mrs Black," Rodolphus walked up to her suavely. "I found you son. I assume he had run away?"

Walburga Black's eyes zeroed in on him, and her face went a 180-degree change.

"Oh, Rodolphus! How generous of you, you sweet boy! Sirius is such a nuisance..."

"I understand, ma'am," Rodolphus smiled demurely. "I believe he got into some trouble. He's quite a sight."

Somehow, he had managed to keep his own clothing spotless clean, while Sirius was covered in dirt and blood.

"Thank you, Rodolphus. Do visit us at times."

With that and a few more sickening pleasantries, Rodolphus handed Sirius and his wand over to her, and looking every bit a lovely young man who had never been the reason Sirius was in this state, he disapparated with a pop. Instantly, Walburga's grip on him turned vicelike.

"We're going home," she hissed to him.

"No! Let me go!" Sirius fought with the last of his strength, which wasn't much, and easily overriding it, Walburga pulled him into darkness.

Once they were in 12, Grimmauld Place, Sirius found himself roughly tossed to the floor. Dismissing Regulus with a wave, Walburga turned to him, her face turning white with rage.

"Shame of my flesh!" she screamed at him. "I allow you the kindness to visit Diagon Alley, and you have the audacity to run away! Look at your condition! Sullying the name of Black —"

Finally, Sirius could hold back no longer. "SHUT UP!" he roared. "You have no idea — my friends—!" His anguish made it difficult to express his feelings coherently.

"Kreacher!" his mother called over his shouts. The old house elf appeared with a crack.

"Yes, Mistress?"

"Take him to his oom. Clean him, but if he is hurt, let the pain be. Let this be a lesson for him."

The next moment, Sirius found himself in his room. With his elf magic, Kreacher cleaned him up instantly, but the throbbing in his chest did not recede.

"Master Sirius has been naughty," he was muttering under his breath. "Master Sirius is a worthless young man, ruining the reputation of his house, oh yes, —"

"Get out!" Sirius kicked out at the elf. "Out, you stupid elf!" Casting him a malignant look, Kreacher disappeared.

For a second, Sirius stared at his room, grey walled with posters and banners screaming out his house and character. He was here, locked up in a safe box, while his friends were in danger of their lives. His mother had confiscated his wand, so he couldn't reach out to them even if he tried. With a howl of rage, Sirius crashed his fist onto his writing desk. Splinters of wood flew up, causing blood to ooze from his hand, adding to the pain his body was already suffering. Hot tears ran down his eyes as he thought of James, Remus, Peter. Of Marlene. How were they? They were fighting out there, and he...

There was nothing he could do. Nothing.

And that's it! Don't be miffed that I hung it up like that; you'll find the rest of it in the next chapter. Meanwhile, how was it? Good? Bad? Suggestions? Just review and tell me.

See you again in two weeks! :)