Bonjour m'dears!

I've had a lot more inspiration for this story than I thought I would so I've been able to update more frequently than originally planned! I should write Harry Potter stories more often, this is really fun.

Warnings: This fic is dark. It contains torture, murder, kidnapping, implied/referenced domestic violence, the use of mind-altering influences and mind magic, abuse, and other mature themes. This fic will also contain character bashing, namely Dumbledore-bashing and some Weasley-bashing (this will come later in the fic).

Warnings will be updated as I go along. If I missed something that should be in the warnings, please let me know and I'll add it immediately.

Disclaimer: I do not pretend to own Harry Potter.

"Speech"

"Spells"

Chapter Four: Violent Dreams, Bloody Encounters

Hermione screamed.

She cried.

She begged and pleaded.

Still, they didn't stop.

Sirius ripped himself awake, rushing out of bed and into the adjoining bathroom. He proceeded to empty the contents of his stomach into the toilet until he was dry heaving.

Violent, bloody images flashes across his mind making him feel sick even though there was nothing left in his stomach. He sat there, hunched over the toilet, panting and crying.

"Padfoot?" Remus' concerned voice broke through Sirius' haze.

Unable to speak, he choked back a sob as a fresh wave of nausea crashed over him. The images wouldn't leave. The picture of Hermione, a girl his godson's age, covered in blood and tears made him feel sicker than anything else had in his life.

"Sirius, what's going on?" Remus asked, coming to kneel next to Sirius' trembling form.

Seeing that Sirius wasn't able to talk at the moment, Remus stood up. Sirius whimpered, thinking he was leaving him but Remus kneeled back down in a few seconds, now holding a wet wash cloth.

Gently, Remus wiped Sirius' sweaty forehead before folding the cloth and wiping his mouth.

Remus vanished the cloth and reached over to flush the toilet. He made himself comfortable on the floor and pulled Sirius closer to his body, carding his fingers through Sirius' hair. Sirius closed his eyes, leaning into the caring gesture. He swallowed roughly as he remembered his dream and gagged at the taste in his mouth. Wandlessly, he used quick cleansing charm so his mouth was minty fresh.

The nausea seemed to have passed for now so Sirius didn't hesitate to lean against Remus.

"Can you tell me what the dream was about, love?" Remus whispered, pressing a comforting kiss to Sirius' head.

Sirius shuddered, Hermione's screams still ringing in his ears. He burrowed closer to Remus, seeking the comfort that Hermione had been so cruelly denied.

"Hermione…" Sirius whispered, face muffled by Remus' chest. "They're hurting her, Remus."

"Who? Who's hurting her?" Remus asked, concern growing. Hermione was supposed to be at home with her parents for another week; she was supposed to be all safe and sound.

"Different Death Eaters," Sirius replied roughly, "Bella…Bellatrix was one of them."

Remus winced at Sirius' hushed confession. He knew how much it hurt his mate to see Bellatrix become a Death Eater. It wasn't common knowledge but Sirius and Bellatrix had actually been close when they were younger. At first, Remus had found that extremely hard to believe; after all, he had met Bellatrix at school and the woman was cold and closed off, and he couldn't see her liking, or even tolerating, Sirius and his shenanigans. But then Sirius had explained to him one night how they used to play together, how Bellatrix was like the older sister Sirius had always wanted, and how Bellatrix had had to become the cold, closed off woman she was in Hogwarts because she needed to survive her family. It was easier not to feel at all when you were part of the Black family. Feeling just made everything so much harder.

One day, Sirius had shown Remus some old memories of Bellatrix in a pensieve they found in the Room of Requirements and Remus had held Sirius as he cried. Seeing his cousin the way she used to be had been difficult and it only got harder after her engagement to Rodolphus Lestrange had been announced. You could see the pain shining in her eyes as she was forced to marry that man and they had become a dull ghost of what they used to be. She had become a dull ghost of who she used to be.

After their wedding, which Sirius had not been invited to, however, everything had changed.

Bellatrix's eyes had become a light purple and her personality had completely changed, something that everyone else seemed to ignore. That or they just didn't want to admit to themselves they knew what that meant.

The Bellatrix Sirius knew would have never become a Voldemort supporter; and she certainly wouldn't have become a high-ranking, muggle-hating, fanatical Death Eater who slaughtered without reason, hesitation, or remorse.

Something had happened to his cousin and Sirius had vowed to find out what. He had promised himself that when he became the Head of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black that he would dissolve her marriage to Rodolphus and get to the bottom of what had happened to her.

But then his parents had kicked him out after they found out he was dating Remus, they didn't take lightly to the fact he was dating a werewolf. They hadn't officially disowned him though so Sirius still had some hope. Until that fateful night when his best friends were murdered, his godson ripped away from him, and he was sent to prison for allegedly killing the traitor Wormtail.

All those years in Azkaban had killed his hope, especially since the woman he wanted to save ended up having the cell next to him.

Some days it would seem like Bellatrix was coming out of a trance and she would act more like the Bellatrix he remembered and then she'd grab her left arm, scream, and become the monstrous, fanatical follower many had come to fear, all over again.

The dementors would pass by and Sirius would have to listen to her scream out that she'd be good and he didn't need to use the spell, for Rodolphus to stop and to let her go home. He longed to break out of his cell and strangle Rodolphus, who was in the cell across from him. He wanted to hug his cousin, to comfort her, to be there for her like he should have before everything changed.

It was an endless cycle that broke something in him.

Now she was out of prison and back in the hands of her husband and the Dark Lord. Even if Sirius could obtain the Black Lordship, he knew that he wouldn't be able to get her away from them. Especially when he was confined to Grimmauld Place under Dumbledore's orders. The old coot had actually put up wards that prevented him from leaving. He was the Lord of this House yet he couldn't leave all because he hadn't been able to officially accept the Lordship. That sneaky old coot had been one step ahead of him this whole time; and now he had a heavily-warded house to use as his headquarters while he not only kept Sirius from leaving, but kept him from seeing his godson.

"Knut for your thoughts?" Remus whispered, shifting slightly in his position as Sirius' pillow.

"Sorry," Sirius whispered back, sitting up.

"It's okay. Do you want to talk about it?" Remus prodded gently.

"Not really, no. At least, not right now," Sirius admitted, using his sleeve to wipe at the tears that had gathered in his eyes the more he thought about Bellatrix and the past.

"That's fair. Shall we go back to bed and talk about it in the morning?"

"Okay," Sirius mumbled, giving Remus a small, grateful smile. "Thank you for understanding, Moony."

"Always, Padfoot."

Remus stood up and helped Sirius up, taking his hand and leading the man back to their bed.

Sirius waited for Remus to lie down and get comfortable before he too climbed into bed and laid his head on Remus' chest, listening to his mate's heartbeat.

"Goodnight, Sirius."

"Night, Remus."

oOoOoOoOoOo

Malfoy Manor - Current Death Eater Headquarters:

Hermione awoke to the sudden feeling of icy water being splashed in her face. She gasped for breath and shivered as cold water soaked into the thin pyjamas she had been wearing when she was kidnapped.

"Wakey-wakey little girl," A dark voice cooed.

Hermione blinked and stared at the man who had woken her up.

Rockwood.

He was one of her torturers and one of the more eager ones. The louder she screamed, the happier he looked.

Hermione regarded him coolly, keeping her mouth shut.

Displeasure bloomed on Rockwood's face as Hermione refused to engage with him.

"Whatever, mudblood, the Dark Lord wants to see you," He growled, smirking at the fear she couldn't hide that flashed through her eyes.

Hermione wasn't sure how long it had been since she was kidnapped but it felt like weeks. Everyday was painful in some way. Someone would wake her up, feed her a meager and often disgusting meal, she would be taken to another room, and then the torture would start. The first time had been the easiest. Two masked Death Eaters had thrown weak pain spells at her and it had left her with a headache but there wasn't enough power in the spells to really hurt.

The next day Rockwood had tortured her with the muggle technique of water-boarding. He had also slashed her across the face with a dagger after she had mentioned that water boarding was of muggle origin.

"Do not associate me with those vile creatures, mudblood," He had whispered menacingly into her ear, smirking as blood dripped down her face and she breathed harshly from the previous lack of oxygen.

The day after that, however, was by far the worst.

Nothing that had happened to her since could even compare to the physical, emotional, and mental ordeal of that day.

When Hermione had woken up to see Bellatrix staring at her through the bars of her cell, she had actually felt a spark of hope. But then Bellatrix had sauntered closer and Hermione was able to see that not only were her eyes a very light purple but there was also an evil glint present that sent shivers down Hermione's spine.

"Wake up, mudblood, it's time to play," Bellatrix had cooed.

After it was all over, Hermione's throat was so raw from screaming she had coughed up blood.

She had curled up in her tiny cell and cried herself to sleep that night. Nightmares filled with light purple eyes and high-pitched laughter had plagued her and she longed to be at home. She wanted to curl up on the couch with her parents and watch a movie.

She wanted that feeling of safety and comfort back.

Now everything was so cold.

Everything ached.

Confusion and frustration also plagued her as she continued to deal with Bellatrix.

Hermione just couldn't figure her out. One minute she would be laughing as Hermione screamed and the next, she'd be looking at Hermione in horror.

One particular moment had been stuck in her mind, replaying over and over again.

Bellatrix had been straddling her, screaming questions that Hermione just couldn't answer.

Where are the headquarters to the Order of the Phoenix?

Where is Harry Potter located?

What was Albus Dumbledore planning?

Who was in the Order?

The questions went on and on and every time Hermione would explain that she didn't know the answer, Bellatrix would get even angrier.

And then, all of sudden, she just stopped.

The room went silent except for Hermione's harsh panting.

"Who are you?" Bellatrix whispered, looking at Hermione with wide, horror-filled eyes.

Hermione stayed silent, searching Bella's face.

The woman's eyes slowly darkened to a vibrant plum and she started breathing faster.

"Who are you? Where am I? Where's Sirius?" Bellatrix cried, panic taking over her expression. She ripped herself away from Hermione and stood up, pacing frantically and looking around in fear. Tears welled up in her eyes and she looked nothing like the Bellatrix from a minute ago. Remarkably, Hermione felt a spark of protectiveness surge through her even though this woman had been torturing her a few minutes ago. Hermione didn't have time to analysis her feelings right now- she had bigger things to worry about, such as the witch in front of her who was starting to look more and more aware by the minute.

"Bella-," Hermione croaked, trying to make her tired and sore body sit up. Bellatrix made an aborted movement in Hermione's direction, like she was going to help her up, before her head snapped towards the doorway.

Before Hermione could finish her sentence, however, the door banged open and Rodolphus strode in.

"YOU!" Bellatrix screamed, hatred filling her eyes as she laid eyes on the dark-haired man. "YOU DID THIS TO ME!"

Rodolphus looked at Bellatrix in wonder for a few seconds before he whipped out his wand and shot a stunner at her before anyone had time to react, sending Bellatrix to the floor in a heap.

"How do you keep resisting?!" Rodolphus growled, striding over to Bellatrix's limp body and roughly moved her into a sitting position, leaning her against one of the walls. He ignored Hermione as he shoved up his sleeve and pressed his wand to his left arm.

Hermione had managed to crawl over to the opposite wall and pull herself into a seated position just moments before a dark swirl appeared in the middle of the room.

It disappeared to reveal the Dark Lord, standing there with a look of fury on his face.

"This better be important, Rodolphus," Voldemort snarled, before catching sight of the aforementioned man hovering over his wife's body. "What happened?"

"She came out of it," Rodolphus said simply, providing no further explanation.

"That's impossible. I created the spell myself, there's no way she would be able to resist it," Voldemort scoffed, however he couldn't help but look at Bellatrix's body in concern. Well, if there was anyone who would be powerful enough to resist his own spells, it would be Bellatrix.

That's exactly why he had chosen her. He wanted, no, he craved her power and loyalty and had been willing to do whatever it took to get it. He just hadn't realized that it would be this complicated to keep her obedient and under control.

Voldemort waved his hand and Bellatrix's body floated towards him.

"I'll have Snape look at her. There's got to be some kind of potion he can brew that will keep her until control. I'll give her some Draught of the Living Dead until she's needed or Severus can figure something out," Voldemort mused, looking at Bellatrix with annoyance and intrigue. "Take the mudblood back to her cell."

Rodolphus startled slightly, having forgotten that Hermione was still in the room, "Yes, my Lord. Right away."

"Good."

With that, Voldemort disappeared, leaving Hermione alone with Rodolphus.

He took her back to her cell and threw her in roughly, paying no attention to her when she let out a pained whimper. He merely locked the cell door and left.

"I said let's go, mudblood! I don't have all day," An rough, impatient voice broke Hermione out of her thoughts and she shook her head, bringing herself back to the present.

"Why does he want to see me?" Hermione questioned, immediately regretting it when she saw the look on Rockwood's face.

"I don't answer to you," He snarled, grabbing her arm hard enough to bruise and dragging her out of her cell.

He dragged her all the way to the throne room. He pushed open the heavy doors and pulled Hermione inside.

It reminded Hermione of her first night here. The way she was dragged into the room, the sudden hush that fell over everyone. The way Voldemort sat up in his throne, looking at her with those intense red eyes.

Even with dread heavy in her heart, Hermione held her head high, refusing to cower like he so clearly wanted her to do. She liked how it pissed off how she wouldn't cower in front of him the way he was used to.

They could torture her all they wanted but they would never make her bow to him.

Ever.

One day, it would be him bowing to her.

Thank you guys for all the support I've received for this fic! I've been going through a really hard time recently and honestly every review, favourite, and follow make my days a little better :)

I hope you liked the chapter!

If you guys have any ideas on what you'd like to see happen in the story, I'm more than willing to take some suggestions! After all, the more inspiration I have, the more often I'll be able to update ;)

JANUARY 12, 2017 UPDATE: Due to some serious personal issues the next chapter will not be posted on time. It's in the works, but it'll most likely be posted next week instead of this week. Sorry about that!

JANUARY 25, 2017 UPDATE: As I now have a bout of writer's block, the next chapter will won't be posted for another little while. I have no idea when I'll have enough inspiration to write the next chapter but I wasn't happy with the flow of it and I don't want to rush it. So, yeah! It is in the works but it's going to take another little while to actually finish it.