Thank you for the reviews! We are coming closer to the end of this fic. I am estimating this story has another three chapters, perhaps four.

Marked

Chapter Seven

Leaving the safety of Hogwarts Castle without any of his friends around was probably a stupid thing but at the moment Sirius needed to cool off steam. Hiding within the boundaries of the Forbidden Forest had been a past-time of his. He had done this after Regulus had been Sorted into Slytherin and any other altercation he'd had with his brother over the years.

Before Hogwarts they had been friends, close… Yet their relationship had changed since Sirius had done the unthinkable. Being Sorted into Gryffindor had been the unravelling over their relationship. His brother had cut all contact with him during his first year at Hogwarts – something Sirius was sure was down to his parents. When Regulus had started Hogwarts a year later, Sirius had made the effort to try to incorporate his brother into the Gryffindor gang on the train to Hogwarts, hoping that it would be enough to influence Regulus' Sorting and help him avoid Slytherin.

But it was not to be.

The hat had barely touched Regulus' head before it had Sorted him into Slytherin. For Sirius the Hat had noticed the difference in him immediately. It had been ready to place him in Slytherin until it had delved further into his mind and seen the truth of who Sirius really was: the type of person he could be if he had the right influence surrounding him. Sirius had always known he was different – and he had never really wanted to follow the steps of his family – he wanted to break the mold.

"Maybe if I had fought so hard to be different none of this would be happening now," he said quietly. "But it is worth it. I don't want to be like them. Ever."

It was getting dark yet Sirius didn't care. He didn't feel ready to go back to the Castle yet. His anger and sadness at the path Regulus had chosen for himself hurt too much. No matter how much Sirius denied it, he would always care about his baby brother. He hated the thought of having to face him one day in battle. "I hope you make the right choice, Reg."

"Oh look who it is…" Bellatrix grinned madly. Her eyes were fixed upon the lone boy who was wondering the edges of the Forbidden Forest. She licked her lips in anticipation.

"His interfering friends are not with him?" her husband asked.

"Of course not. Not if Regulus has done his part."

"A part he doesn't know he is responsible for," grated Dolohov. "You could turn him against us."

"Regulus is a fool if he still cares for the blood traitor," hissed Bellatrix. "But understandable with his young age. It matters not. His sentiment for the blood traitor has ensured he has delivered his brother to us. Trying to save him has led him straight to us. Thanks to dear Lucius we know the blood traitor is easily provoked. This is perfect."

Through the undergrowth they could see Sirius Black sitting underneath the trees, his arms over his knees, with his right hand holding his wand as he cast spells to give the impression there was a short breeze. He was completely unaware he was being watched.

Dolohov leaned in closer. "Shall we go in?"

Bellatrix fingered her wand, her tongue sticking out the side of her mouth. "Yes. Grab him."

He hadn't been listening to his instincts and it cost him.

The spell impacted against his back. He was thrown to the side and his wand went flying from his fingertips.

Shit!

He rolled quickly away from a further spell, reaching for his wand before a cold voice reached his ears.

"Oh no you don't you little blood traitor!"

Sirius' blood went cold. He felt his body lifting into the air. Having not heard a spell he realised it had been non-verbal. They were levitating him into the air. He struggled. Though he was talented at non-verbal spells, he could not break the hold the three Death Eaters had on him, all three wands trained on him, forcing him higher off the ground.

Bellatrix laughed gleefully. "No one here to save you, cousin. You've been foolish to come out here." She flicked her wand again and ropes shot out, twisting around Sirius' body, clamping his arms down by his sides and forcing his knees and angles together.

"Get off me!" he growled, struggling against the binds.

"I think not!" laughed Bellatrix. Then her sneer widened. "How about we leave a little present for baby Potter? Dolohov would you like the honours?"

Dolohov's eyes twinkled in the gathering darkness. "It would be my pleasure." He waved his wand and a long cut appeared down Sirius' cheek, reopening the old wound he had been given months before in Bellatrix's original attack on the Hogwarts Express. They twisted him around in mid-air so the blood dribbled out of his cheek and onto the ground in a dark pool.

Blood spurted out of the deep wound, spilling onto the floor. Bellatrix retrieved his wand before dipping her fingers into the open cut, covering three of her fingers with his blood, before smearing Sirius' blood over it. She dropped the wand next to the small puddle, laughed and turned away.

Sirius felt disgusted and nauseated. His cousin was sick. Insane. He tried to struggle once more but couldn't. There was one option left to him. It shamed him to call for help but he had to. It was unlikely anyone would hear him but Hagrid's Hut wasn't too far away. The Gamekeeper might hear… "HELP!"

"Silencio!" Rodolphus Lestrange cast, immediately silencing him.

Bellatrix laughed again, reached up to grab Sirius by his hair, twisting his head around. "Poor little cousin. Thought he could call for help. That's not happening. You are mine now. No one to interfere with me. I could kill you now… But I'd rather take my time. After all, you deserve a slow, excruciating death. Perhaps when I'm done, if there is enough of you left, I will leave your body for James Potter to find. That will teach blood-traitors a lesson. Perhaps even drive them to our noble cause. Who would choose your fate over serving the greatest wizard there ever lived?"

If Sirius could speak he would have replied angrily. All he could do was glare at his cousin. If she was so intent on killing him slowly, he wasn't going to make it easy for her. No, he would fight her every step of the way. By the time she killed him, she would wish she had Avaded him on the spot instead of taking her time.

It was almost a comforting thought as he was levitated away.

Standing at the edge of the Forbidden Forest, James felt grief wash over him.

His best friend was gone.

All because he had been stupid enough to leave Sirius alone with his brother. Had Regulus been involved? Had he deliberately set off Sirius' short fuse so he'd come out here to blow off some steam or had he not realised the danger Sirius would put himself in by a mere conversation?

"James?"

He looked over his shoulder.

Lily, Remus and Peter were standing behind him.

James turned, still holding Sirius' wand in his fingers. "Sirius… he's… he's…"

"They took him, didn't they?" Lily realised.

James swallowed. Someone saying it made it final. "Yes… He wouldn't leave his wand behind for anything. Oh god… This is my fault."

"Prongs, it isn't your fault," said Remus immediately.

"How is it not my fault?" shouted James angrily, his face flushed red. "We knew those bastards are after Sirius! And we just left him alone with his Death Eater brother!"

"I don't think Regulus Black had anything to do with it," said Lily. "I saw Sirius remember? Regulus wasn't anywhere near him. Sirius went out there on his own! He probably didn't even think it was dangerous."

James felt like snarling however he couldn't do that to Lily. "No. None of us did. After all the attempts on Sirius' life this year, you would have thought we'd have been more careful. Realised the dangers and stopped something like this from happening." He ran a hand down his face.

"What do we do, Prongs?" asked Peter quietly.

James looked wistfully back over his shoulder. "A part of me wants to go charging in there and try to find him. He might not have been gone long… We could still track him."

"How?" asked Lily. "None of us are trackers! We're not animals, James!"

A slight smile tugged at James' lips. "Oh… you'd be surprised what we are capable of."

The red-haired cocked her head to the side. "What do you mean?"

"James, I think we'd better talk to Professor Dumbledore. He's the only one who stands any chance of finding Sirius," said Remus, interrupting James from answering Lily and spilling all of their secrets to her. "I don't like just leaving but we can't do this alone."

James chewed his bottom lip. He knew he couldn't either but he didn't want to leave his best friend to a fate worse than death. Unless Bellatrix had already killed him. But he had a feeling that Sirius' insane cousin wouldn't let him die that easily. She'd take her time. She was sadistic enough to do that. Even if he hated the idea of his best friend being tortured, if it meant it gave them time to find him, James would take anything. He swallowed hard, the truth falling from his lips. "I want to stay here and find him… but I know we need Dumbledore." He looked down at Sirius' wand and noticed it was covered in his friend's blood, which had smeared over his own hands. He shuddered not liking seeing his friend's blood decorate his palms. "Ok. We'll go to Dumbledore."

Lily walked forward. "Come on James. We'll be with you, every step of the way."

As they entered the Castle, James saw Regulus Black walking on his own, his hands in his pockets and his head bowed and his anger exploded.

"OI! BLACK!" He pointed his wand at the younger boy and tripped him. Remus grabbed for him.

"JAMES!" screamed Lily, shocked.

Immediately, Regulus scrambled to his feet and reached for his wand and pointed it at James. "What do you want, Potter! I've done nothing to you!"

James sneered, his anger bubbling forth. "Really?" He struggled against Remus' strong grip but his friend's werewolf strength helped him to contain James. "Let me go, Remus!"

"No. Only if you promise not to curse him again!" demanded Remus.

James growled low in his breath. "Fine!"

Remus released his grip. "Be civil."

James glared at his friend, then turned his attention to the younger Black brother. He reached into his pocket here he had placed Sirius' wand and withdraw it. "Recognise this? We found it outside. Next to a pool of blood."

Regulus' eyes widened. "That's Sirius' wand… What happened?"

"How do I know? I'm not the last person who saw him, am I?" growled James, advancing forward as Regulus stepped back.

"I did nothing to him! I don't want Sirius dead! I want to save him!"

"Yeah well, he wants to save you too, and look where it's got him!" spat James.

"I only wanted to talk to him to make sure he was alright!" Regulus defended, lowering his wand. "Just because we are on opposite sides of a war doesn't mean I don't care about him! I still care! I hate the idea of facing him in battle one day and one of us having to kill the other! I don't want that! I can't help who I am but I can try to save my brother, even if he is too stubborn to admit it!"

James sighed. "Well you failed. Sirius is gone. Probably dead by now."

Regulus shook his head. "No. Cousin Bella doesn't work like that. She'll draw it out. Look, I know we are on different sides but I still love my brother. I want to help."

"We don't need your help, Death Eater," accused James. Then he turned and stormed away. "Come on! We've got a Headmaster to see." He glared over his shoulder at the younger boy. "Don't follow us! You're not welcome!"

As James paced away, Lily caught up with him, a look of anger on her pretty face.

"Don't say it, Evans. I'm not in the mood to be shouted at about my conduct."

Lily sighed. "I won't. You handled that better than I thought you would. I know Sirius is your best friend…"

"He's my brother," James interrupted. "The Potters are the only family Sirius has."

Lily swallowed. "Ok, your brother then. But… no matter what happens, regardless of what Professor Dumbledore says, don't take risks. Don't be reckless. I don't want to lose you."

"Lose me?" James raised a quizzical eyebrow at her.

Lily nodded and then said gently. "When Sirius is back with us, we'll talk?" She slipped a hand into his. "Ok?"

James licked his lips. "Yeah. Ok."

Professor Dumbledore listened to their story without interrupting them. When James had finished speaking he laid the bloodied wand down on the desk.

"This is very unfortunate. A student has been taken underneath my nose," he said quietly. He glanced to Professor McGonagall who had also been summoned when James, Lily, Remus and Peter had barged into his office.

"Would you like me to alert…?" McGonagall trailed off.

"Yes. Please. Knowing what Bellatrix Lestrange is capable of does gives us a time limit. However I do not believe she will kill her own cousin that quickly considering she has expressed an interest in playing with him before killing him," said Dumbledore. "I dislike being so crass but it is the truth. If we can track where they went we may have a chance to save him."

"I want to help," said James.

"You are underage and still at school," the Headmaster pointed out.

James frowned. "I bet you'd say differently if it was Sirius. He is of age now."

"I would say the same," replied Dumbledore serenely. "You are still pupils of mine. I can promise you I will not simply let this go. I would not willingly endanger students of this school."

"I'm seventeen next month. This is my brother we are talking about!" shouted James.

"James…" said Lily quietly.

"Whether you consider Mr Black your brother or not, Potter, it is not the point. You are not trained to face Death Eaters," intoned Professor McGonagall. "Despite your record this year against them, it is not your place to question the Headmaster's decisions. We will get Mr Black back."

"Alive?" sneered James. He didn't care if he was being disrespectful. His brother's life was far more important to him.

"Whilst your loyalty to your friend is endearing and noble, I will not tolerate a student insulting one of my Professors," said Dumbledore, his eyes flashing, but he kept his hands on the desk. "I will excuse your behaviour for now however if you continue to act in this manner then I will have no choice but to suspend you."

James fought to control his temper. Lily's hand found his again and she squeezed it gently. Her touch and her seeming care for him calmed him down. "Sorry."

"Thank you, Mr Potter," accepted Professor McGonagall.

"I suggest you head back to your Common Room and all four of you are excused from lessons for the rest of the week," Dumbledore advised. "I will keep you informed of any progress we make in this matter."

James swallowed. He hated being dismissed, hated being left out, but he had no choice. Grudgingly he accepted the Headmaster's decision and, with his friends by his side, made his way back to Gryffindor Tower.

They didn't sleep that night. Lily stayed with the boys in their dormitory, keeping James comforted. It was mid-morning the following day that Peter spoke up.

"Hey, Prongs, I just thought. What about that mirror?"

Lily crinkled her nose. "What mirror?"

James reached into his inner pocket of his robe and pulled out an old mirror. "Peter means this."

"What is it?" she asked curiously.

Remus smiled. "It's a two-way mirror. James and Sirius use them to talk to one another when they are in separate detentions."

Lily almost frowned but didn't have the heart to berate James for his blatant lack of respect for punishments.

Peter leaned forward. "Do you think Sirius has his on him?"

James turned the mirror over and looked at his own face in it. "I don't know. If he's still alive I doubt he is in much of a condition to talk."

"Isn't it worth a try?" asked Remus. "We could find out where they are holding him."

James' heart lifted. "It's worth a shot…" he swallowed and lifted the mirror. "Sirius Black!"

Silence filled the dormitory as they waited.

And then they heard a noise from the mirror but no image appeared. "Prongs…?"

"Padfoot?" asked James, his breath hitched in his throat, his heart pumping fast in his chest. "Where are you?"

"Help… Please help…" the voice was weak and James could hear the fear in his friend's voice.

"We can't help you if we don't know where you are!" responded James, urgency reflecting in his voice. He was aware of his friends waiting.

"Mountains… Not…. far….from…Hogwarts…" the voice wheezed. "Don't…know…how…much…more…I…can…take."

"We're coming, Padfoot. We'll get you out. I promise," vowed James. "See you soon."

"Yeah…." The voice trailed off and the mirror fell silent.

James swallowed and looked at his friends. "I'm going."

"James…" began Lily but his stare stopped her.

"No. I'm going after him. I don't care what Dumbledore said. That is my brother. By the time he gets people together it could be too late! We can go after him," explained James adamantly.

Lily nodded. "Ok. Then you have me by your side. I want to help."

James started to shake his head. "But…"

"No, James Potter. I'm going too. I'm not letting you do this alone," she said, her green eyes daring him to disagree.

"Me too," said Remus. "You have me at your back to, Prongs."

"Peter?" James asked.

"Erm… I…" stuttered Peter, his eyes shifting from James to Lily to Remus and then back to James.

"I think Peter would be better placed to tell Dumbledore what we are doing," said Remus. "We can't do this alone. We'll need Dumbledore but we can get a head start."

James nodded, relieving Peter of the pressure to actually commit to going out on a reckless rescue mission. "Can you do that Wormtail? For the Marauders? So we can get Padfoot back?"

Peter nodded, even though his shoulders were shaking. "I can."

"Good." James stood, tucked the mirror into his pocket and turned to the others in the dormitory with a look of determination on his face. "Let's go rescue Padfoot!"

To be continued...

Please let me know what you think!

This was a fun chapter to write!

Just to clarify regarding Regulus, he does want to save Sirius but he also wants to be a Death Eater. He's torn between two very different choices. Regulus didn't betray Sirius either. Bellatrix knows her cousin still cares for Sirius despite him being a blood-traitor. She has used other students to influence Regulus into making his brother angry enough that he would be stupid enough to go out into the grounds. Neither Regulus or Sirius has realised this.

And the Mirror was always going to be an important part in James tracking down Sirius. Being a Gryffindor, natrually James will go against authority and go and help his friend. Lily and Remus are going as well, mainly to support James because they know they can't stop him going. And I don't like Pettigrew so his role is minimal and I feel he would be the one who would report to Dumbledore.

The next chapter should be posted next week!

Until then,

the-writer1988