AN: Any of my readers who have the desire to kill me at the end of this chapter, please note that my beta (EsmeCarlisle1921) has already done so.
Happy reading!
Chapter Three: The Cruciatus Curse
(Sirius POV)
I heard the door shut with an audible click as I walked at a fast pace away from the cottage at Godric's Hollow. A cold wind began to blow through the village, and I wrapped my cloak tighter against my body, hoping to prevent the wind from penetrating through the thick layer. As I walked out the gate of James and Lily's home, it was almost as if I felt a shiver run down my spine. I knew that I was out of the precautionary enchantments that Dumbledore had placed on the house earlier in preparation for the Order to have their meeting in privacy. It was easy to recognize that I was out of the protective enchantments surrounding the house because of the despair that immediately attempted to overwhelm me.
A dense fog covered the streets. I held my hand a few feet away from my face and was barely able to distinguish the outline of it. Even though I couldn't see them through the fog, I knew that dementors were close by. Well, at least they hadn't attempted to steal my soul and send my body back to the Order for Christmas, I thought, attempting to quench the dread that encompassed my thoughts and feelings. I was surprised at how hard it was to think of a humorous comment. It had been as easy as breathing when I had been with my friends, but with them absent, it was near impossible. Only then did I realize that it had been that way for an extremely long time. When you walked along the streets at night, you were forced to be on your guard at all times, and if you weren't, you could easily be murdered. Being able to sit inside a house, knowing that we were in no danger of being caught by Death Eaters had lulled me into a false sense of security. I quickly reestablished my caution as I reached into my cloak. I drew my wand. "Expecto Patronum!"
A remarkably life-like dog bounded out of the tip of my wand and began to run around me as if it were chasing birds. Once I started walking again, however, it moved right next to me, a protection from the darkness that had threatened to engulf me only moments before.
There was also one other thing that the Patronus provided. It provided a light, so that I could see everything that surrounded me in intricate detail. There were barely any houses on the street that James and Lily were on. Open fields and trees lined the cobblestone street. When they were illuminated by the iridescent glow that radiated from my Patronus, the trees looked human-like. From the angle I saw them at, they seemed to be in various stages of being tortured by the Cruciatus Curse. I looked away.
I turned off of the street that I affectionately had dubbed "Potter Lane" onto a street that had many more houses that were evenly distributed along the street. I allowed my Patronus to fade into nothing as I stowed my wand in my cloak. Then I landed on all four paws on the stone. It was too careless to risk being seen by a witch or wizard when there was as much fog as there was, and when it was pitch black outside. I began to slink along the road, keeping to the side but still observing everything around me. I paused at a house outside. A tattered Gryffindor banner hung above the front door. I had to admire the homeowners moxie. I was sure that the Death Eaters – who all seemed to be from Slytherin if they had attended Hogwarts – would have them murdered if they noticed the open rebellion.
I began walking again. The one and only tedious thing about being in animal form was the fact that if you didn't want to draw attention to the fact that there was more to you than the eye could see, you couldn't stare at something as though you were reading it or anything in that nature. If you did, to any wizard it was obvious that you were an Animagius. And to a Muggle, it was obvious that you were a figment of their imagination.
I stayed in the shadows to avoid being seen by any prying eyes. I turned on various streets at every chance I got. I wanted to see if there was anything abnormal going on in the quiet town established by Godric Gryffindor. A wizard walked past along the street I was on. He was dressed as Muggle – poorly dressed as Muggle. If you ignored his mismatched clothes, you could see a wand that he had a death grip on in his hand. He was also looking around nervously. I wondered to myself what the point was in trying to disguise yourself from Death Eaters if you were going to have your wand in plain sight. Or why you would disguise yourself at all. It was just as common for Muggles to be attacked by Death Eaters.
The wizard looked behind him as he walked quickly forward. It was as if he was expecting someone to appear out of thin air. It was then that I noticed that the fog had thinned considerably. I instinctively moved farther into the shadows. The cautious man began to walk even faster and I had to trot to keep up with him. As he walked under a streetlight, I recognized him from a picture in the Daily Prophet as Gregory Thomas.
Gregory worked in an area of the Ministry of Magic that held Death Eaters until they were interrogated. That is, until a week prior. The official story was that he had been on a night shift, guarding the Death Eaters awaiting trial. He had been uneasy the whole night, and the fact that he had kept hearing noises hadn't helped. It had got to the point that he had decided to sit on the floor and attempt to get his thoughts to stop his imagination making up possible scenarios that could happen to him while on guard duty. His idea of fun was to make various sparks emit from his wand and to taunt the prisoners by performing spells in front of them. According to reports, he had decided that since Aurors were permitted to use the Unforgivable Curses to apprehend Death Eaters, that he would use the Cruciatus Curse on Death Eaters that were already apprehended. While he was in the middle of his "game", five Death Eaters infiltrated the Ministry and jinxed Thomas. It had been a miracle that they hadn't killed him. All of the Death Eaters that were in custody and being watched by Thomas were released. Since then he had been expecting Death Eaters to appear and finish the job they had started. One in particular. The prisoner that he had been torturing prior to the breach had been none other than my charming cousin – Bellatrix Lestrange, formerly known as Bellatrix Black. She was the most lethal Death Eater and presumably the Death Eater that was closest to Voldemort. If any Death Eater could be considered close to him.
I looked ahead of me and saw that Gregory was turning around a corner far ahead of me. I made a huge leap forward, running to catch up to him. I heard a loud crack. Someone had Apparated up ahead. I heard a deep yell – Gregory. I also heard a cackle of laughter. I growled. The laugh was too familiar to my ears. I pushed myself harder and came to a jolting halt as I stopped and peered around the corner.
My assumption had been correct. Bellatrix Lestrange was talking in her high pitched, sing-song, screechy voice. My improved hearing as a dog allowed me to hear the conversation as if I was closer than I actually was.
"Gregory Thomas, is it?" I had obviously missed a small part of the conversation where she had most likely asked him what his name was. "And what made you think you had the right to use the Cruciatus Curse on me? I'm more than twice the witch you'll ever be!" she screeched.
I smiled to myself as I changed back into human form. This was an opportunity that I couldn't pass up. I walked toward Bellatrix and Gregory, "Naturally, Bellatrix, you will always be more than twice the witch he is. Or have you forgotten that he is actually a wizard?" Gregory jumped when as he turned around and saw me walking toward them. I stopped next to Gregory and put my left hand on his shoulder. My right hand gripped my wand which I held at my side. Although Gregory had jumped when he had heard me begin to speak, it was nothing compared to how high he jumped when he heard Bellatrix begin to speak again.
"You!" she sneered, "Come to save your fellow Gryffindor?" I looked at her like she was crazy, which infuriated her all the more. "Oh yes, your friend Gregory talked all about the chivalry and might that all students in Gryffindor had. And how Slytherin had no important attributes. And then he used the Cruciatus Curse on me. ME!" The last word she screeched louder than ever before.
"He isn't my friend, but I believe that we could quickly become friends. He thinks like I do." I smiled at her.
She laughed again, "Get out of my way Black! It will be no loss to any of the Black family if I finish you off."
I raised my wand, and Gregory did as well. "Expelliarmus!" she pointed her wand at the two of us. Both of our wands went flying, but before she could prepare to catch them, I jumped into the air and caught mine. Gregory wasn't quick enough, and his wand was lost to my cousin. "Crucio!" she smiled as she flicked her wand at Gregory and he crumpled on the cobblestone as if he was a puppet and she had cut the thin string that had been allowing him to have the ability to stand.
He screamed out in pain and clawed at the uneven edges of the stone. I was sickened. I raised my wand, about to disarm her, when I heard the familiar voice of Prongs whisper, "Run. I'll do everything I can." I knew from experience that he was under his Invisibility Cloak. I hesitated, "Do it. The Order can't afford to lose any more members." That was true. I turned and ran to and around the corner. I changed back into animal form, and moved to lay inconspicuously next to a fence that surrounded a cottage.
A cackle of laughter and then the familiar, "Avada Kedavra!" A loud pop of Bellatrix Disapparating.
I felt a sickening jolt in my stomach. Who was dead? Had the Order just lost another member?