Disclaimer: Harry Potter isn't mine.

Chapter 16 Broken Heart

Kat didn't wait for the healer to finish explaining what was going on with Sirius. After she heard the words heart attack, she pushed past her and barged into Sirius's room. This couldn't be happening.

"You're ruder than me, Kitty Kat," Sirius said breathlessly. Remus shushed him and put a breathing mask to his face.

"He's going to be alright," Remus said as Sirius tried push him away so he could take the mask off and talk. "He'll just need to be on potions from now on."

"But-I-is it because of…" Kat glanced at Sirius, who scowled. He hated hearing Bellatrix's name, and she didn't blame him. "And these potions—"

Remus smiled while Sirius turned his glare to him. "Were invented by Severus. So Sirius will be leading a nice, long, healthy life thanks to him."

Kat wasn't so sure about that. Sirius was an odd grey color, and it was obvious that he was in a lot of pain. What if he died? "But…"

"The potion he just took will take another hour to stop the heart attack." Remus put a hand on the top of Sirius's head and ran his hand through his hair. "So I'm sure he'll make his medi-witch cry by morning."

Kat hugged Sirius and said nothing until he fell asleep, ignoring him when he complained that Remus was petting him like a dog. "I should never have gone to the Department of Mysteries."

"You know it drives Sirius nuts when you say that." But Remus looked equally guilty. "I should have looked for him."

Kat shook her head. This was her fault, not Remus's. "Then Teddy might not be here. I was the one who ran off. I started it all."

June 18th, 1996

Kat felt like she had tunnel vision. If one of her friends got hurt, she reluctantly left them behind and felt like she could only move forward. Sirius was with Voldemort, so he was in the most trouble. That's all she had to worry about. But then the Order showed up… And Sirius was with them.

Because she was so shocked, Kat froze during her duel with Bellatrix and was rewarded with a disarming charm to the neck.

"Oi!" Bellatrix cackled as Kat flew into the wall behind her. "These disarming charms are useful! No wonder you sillies use them so much!"

"Stay away from my goddaughter!" Sirius roared. They immediately started dueling, and Kat couldn't help because Lucius Malfoy immediately started trying to stun her. She supposed it would look good for him to hand deliver her to his master.

Lucius didn't hesitate to try to slow her down with a Cruciatus, and when he missed, Kat didn't hesitate to kick him in the nuts so she could stun him and try to get to Sirius. But there were too many Death Eaters, and it seemed like they were trying to separate her from Sirius. She should've known something was up.

Since she was dueling two Death Eaters at once, Remus swooped in to save her. She wanted to yell at him to go help Sirius, but she was too busy concentrating as a third one joined the fray. She didn't notice what was happening until it was too late.

"We got him! We got him!" Bellatrix cheered, sounding like an excited child who caught her first fish.

Bellatrix's husband… or brother-in-law… Kat could never tell the Lestrange brothers apart... Anyway, he had a belt around Sirius's neck and was dragging him through one of the doors. Kat screamed and tried to run over to him, but it was too late.

The doors started spinning, and when they saw a familiar green flash through the one that Sirius was taken from, they thought it was already too late.

Remus tried to hold Kat back, but she was so devastated that she elbowed him in the chest and ran after Bellatrix.

"Sirius told me they cast the Killing Curse over his head to get him to stop struggling," Remus mumbled. Kat didn't say anything. Sirius only told Remus what happened to him after that. "He said he gave up on us finding him after he heard Dumbledore died."

Kat stared off at nothing. "Once, I called Lucius a loser. In a store in Diagon Alley before sixth year. Narcissa said that I would be reunited with Sirius sooner than she would with Lucius. I bet she knew."

"Don't start," Remus warned, although very softly. He flattened the wrinkles out of Sirius's blanket. "I don't know, and I don't want to know. Do you think she could have stopped Bellatrix?"

"I don't think she wanted to," Kat said darkly.

"Narcissa can be just as cruel as her husband," Remus admitted. "But… I honestly think the cruelty that Sirius was forced to suffer under… Only Bellatrix and Voldemort were capable of it. If she, if anyone with half a heart, took one look at him, I don't think she would have left him there. Bellatrix may have gloated, but I think Narcissa remained silent out of fear for herself and her family."

"Out of indifference," Kat hissed, suddenly disgusted with herself for having spent time with the woman.

"Out of fear," Remus insisted. "I've spoken to her, Kat. She wanted out once Draco was forced to take the Mark. If she didn't care about Sirius, she would have at least used him to get her and her son a safe place to hide with the Order. If she knew, she was too afraid to get him."

Kat didn't want to hear it. "All she had to do was unlock his bloody cell."

"He couldn't walk." Remus suddenly wouldn't look at her. He was staring at Sirius, and Kat could tell he felt guilty for telling her this. "Kat, you didn't see him until he had a few weeks to start to recover. It was so bad…"

August 1996- April 19th 1998

They were starving him and only fed him thick, disgusting soup when they thought he might die. Sirius was so hungry that he tried to eat his own hair. Bellatrix giggled like a school girl when she saw him doing it and started shaving it with her wand.

"Not worry!" Bellatrix exclaimed as she vanished the hair. "I'll kill you after you watch the Dark Lord kill Baby Potter! It'll be quick." She snapped her fingers in his face. "Just like that, little cousin!"

He was chained to the wall and wasn't allowed time to go to the bathroom, so he had to go where he was seated. It took him months to stop being ashamed, to actually be able to ignore Bellatrix when she jokingly offered him nappies. She unchained him once she realized he was too weak to move much.

"Drink up, little cousin!" she cooed as she poured water down his throat. "I have news for you! It seems my friend Severus did my nephew a favor! He killed Dumbledore last night!"

Sirius immediately started choking as she laughed hysterically, which he regretted because he wouldn't get more water for too many hours for him to count. He had no idea what day it was. A few weeks could have went by or ten years. He didn't know if Kat was ready to fight Voldemort without Dumbledore. Bellatrix didn't seem to think so.

"So you'll be reunited with Baby Potter soon enough," she informed him happily before prancing off. Sirius wished he had the energy to scream.

Then, there was a day when light actually entered Lestrange Manor. Sirius squeezed his eyes shut and cried out for the first time in nearly a year.

"Who's there?" That couldn't be Fred Weasley, could it? Sirius thought that he must finally be losing it.

"Oh my God." Kingsley. Sirius had yet to open his eyes. "There's no way! You're dead!"

"Damn it." Fred again. Or was it George? Sirius used to be able to tell the difference. "Remus would be able to ask a proper question."

"Who cares who he is?" Charlie Weasley, if he wasn't mistaken. "Look at him! We are not leaving him! Bellatrix isn't here. And I'll be damned if she's going to leave a horcrux here unsupervised. This is a rescue mission now."

"I wasn't even there." Remus put his face in his hands. "I wanted to get to know Teddy before I went out on another mission."

Kat wanted to ask how Sirius was still sane. But then she remembered that Sirius never went to bed without Dreamless Sleep. Never, not even during the full moon. She joked and called him an addict sometimes, and Sirius always said the same thing back, that his life now was as good as any dream, so he had no reason to up his dose and form a habit.

"I always thought I would die first," Remus went on. "Because of… Because of my condition."

"No," Kat snapped but flinched at her own tone. "Snape will make sure you both live longer than Dumbledore! He owes me that much."

Remus gave her a knowing look that often made her wonder if he knew about Snape's memories. He smiled weakly. "He is brilliant, isn't he? I suppose we're lucky you have some dirt on him."

So he had some idea. Kat was sure that Sirius didn't, considering the fact that Snape's head was still connected to his body. She swallowed at a lump in her throat. "Tell me about… About him meeting Teddy."

"It was June before he could hold him, if you recall." She could tell that Remus wanted to ask if she was sure, but he didn't. Kat had to give him credit for that.

April 20th 1998

Sirius slept for an entire day after he returned home, and Remus couldn't blame him. Tonks told him to go, because he was so nervous. She knew about their past, but she was too worried about Sirius to get jealous over it. It only made Remus love her more.

Teddy had been up every hour that night, and because Tonks was breastfeeding, she was the most exhausted out of the two of them, so Remus figured he'd do her a favor and bring him. He was sure that Sirius wouldn't have the energy for a long visit.

"I thought you wouldn't come," Sirius said hoarsely in a way of greeting. His eyes were so dead that it broke Remus's heart.

"Did Molly tell you?" Teddy whined slightly in his arms, and Remus hoped that this wasn't the first Sirius knew of his existence. "I thought you were dead… Tonks helped me through it…"

"So you got my little cousin up the duff?" Sirius asked. Remus could tell that he was trying to make a joke, but he was so pale, and Remus could see every bone in his face sticking out. "That's fucked up, Moony. You know that right?"

Remus grimaced. "I tried to put a stop to it. I stopped talking to her for months. And then Kat said you would want me to be happy. Next thing I knew, Tonks was telling me that she's pregnant."

"Don't worry about it, Moony." Sirius was lying flat in his bed. The only part of him that was moving were his lips and his eyes. "Do you love her?" Remus nodded. "Do you love me?"

"Yes." Remus laughed, even though he was crying. "And yes I know. 'That's fucked up, Moony. You know that right?'" For the first time in nearly two years, Remus saw Sirius smile. "Tonks and I are married with a baby now."

"Not to worry, Moony." Sirius tried to force himself to sound cheerful. "Molly was trying to set me up with Hestia Jones, last I remember."

"We'll start double dating," Remus joked, knowing that Sirius wasn't bisexual like himself. "… I want to apologize. But that would mean apologizing for Teddy's existence. I can't do that, Sirius."

"No, no." Sirius slid his eyes to the ceiling. "I want you to be happy, Remus. Because I don't think I'll ever be happy again. Even if you came here with flowers instead of the pink haired sprog."

"Yes you will." Remus tried to sound like he knew for sure. "Kat thinks you're an imposter. But once she realizes you aren't, she'll be so happy."

"She's only fifteen," Sirius said, making Remus's heart sink. He hoped he wouldn't accidently start calling her Lily again. Or worse, start drinking again to the point that he would call her James.

"Almost eighteen," Remus corrected. "The War is almost over. I just know it."

Sirius didn't answer. Perhaps he didn't have time too because people were yelling downstairs that there was a fire. Remus felt like his heart stopped. Part of him already knew that Tonks was dead.

"I wish she was here." Remus was so heartbroken that Kat now knew for sure that he still had some guilty feels about being with Sirius. They didn't so much as hug until Teddy was almost three. "I-I'm not one hundred percent sure if we'd still be married. But it doesn't matter. She should still be here. Bellatrix was so angry that we got Sirius back."

"I saw her. With the Resurrection Stone." Kat never told Remus this. She thought it would hurt him too much. Now, she didn't think so. "She said that it was lucky, that we found Sirius. That's when I knew he was really alive."

"She would say something like that." Remus looked down at his hands. Kat saw a few tear drops fall into them. "She was too kind for jealousy."

Meanwhile, an oblivious Draco was being forced to have a bachelor party. He was beginning to regret it, because Theo still had a week left on his honeymoon. The only male friend he had left after Greg killed himself three years ago was Blaise. Or so he thought.

His old Quidditch captain, Marcus Flint decided to show up along with the rest of the team. Draco wanted to flee but then realized that he couldn't leave a party that was in his own home. He and Blaise were just going to go out to eat. This had to be Father's doing.

Marcus smiled, showing off his brick-like teeth. "You don't have to worry about tonight, Draco. Your father gave us money."

Draco forced himself to smile. He was going to kill Father. "Did he? That was kind of him. So I'm assuming you spent it all on alcohol?"

"Some of it." To his horror, Marcus pushed a girl with bleach blonde hair forward. She must have been hiding behind him. "And we got a stripper. A Muggle one, so Potter won't find out."

"My name's Vixen," the girl simpered while Blaise tried to look anywhere but her.

Draco almost forgot that he was wearing the Invisibility Cloak, so she wouldn't recognize him. "Your name is Channel." The girl immediately paled. "And I'm marrying Katherine Potter."

Channel's mouth formed a perfect 'O.' She started looking frantically around the Manor as if Katherine would pop out and start screaming at her. "I-I…"

Draco glared at Marcus. "Give me the rest of the pounds. Now!" he yelled when Marcus hesitated. He grumbled a few complaints under his breath but handed the money over. Draco rolled his eyes and handed Channel the stack. "You weren't here."

Her eyes popped out of her head, but she took the money and nodded. "I wasn't here!"

She ran out, and a second later, Draco heard a car start, splutter, and then start again before speeding off. At least Marcus was smart enough to get that Katherine knew "Vixen."

"So we should have gotten a magical one?" Marcus asked, just to be sure. "But did you really have to do that, Draco? If you didn't want to sleep with her, I would have. She charged… about fifty galleons up front since she had to travel so far."

"Yes because Katherine would have killed me." Draco groaned when he saw how much alcohol the Quidditch team was holding. He was going to do worse than kill Father. He was going to tell Mother. "Listen, I didn't really want to have this party. I'm not much of a drinker."

"You just have to build up a tolerance," Marcus insisted while Draco heard Blaise laugh behind him.

"Draco can't drink," Blaise lied for him. "It's part of his probation."

Thankfully, Mother saved him before Marcus told him not to worry about it. She looked at all the alcohol and gave Draco a look of disapproval. "There you are. Sirius is in the hospital, sweetheart. I'm afraid your friends will have to go."

Like he had just saved Draco's life, Blaise gave him a dark look that said, You owe me. Big time. Then, he gestured to the floo. "We'll move the party to Zabini Manor."

"What happened?" Draco asked when they were gone. If anything happened to Black, Katherine would be heart broken.

Guilt flickered over Mother's face. "He had a heart attack. Luckily, Lupin knew he had a weak heart, so he knew the early signs. Severus is already brewing him a daily regimen."

"Then what's the matter?" Father was nowhere in sight, but that didn't surprise Draco. What surprised him, was that Mother's eyes filled with tears.

"I didn't know that she had him," Mother whispered. "Bellatrix. She didn't trust me because she knew I was becoming resentful of the Dark Lord. If I had known… We could have hidden in Grimmauld. Sirius wouldn't be sick. You would have known Katherine was your mate sooner. I should have been better at hiding it!"

Draco swore under his breath. If Mother was thinking of this, Katherine had to be too. He hoped she didn't accuse Mother, Father, or himself of knowing that Black was alive and being tortured. He suddenly wasn't in such a rush to go to the hospital. It wouldn't be pretty if she didn't believe that they didn't know Black was alive.

Mother was equally fearful. "We-we'll go in the morning with Severus. I think we should help him brew Black's potions."

Draco knew he was being a coward, but he agreed anyway. "I'll get Father. He should help too."

Draco was stuck in the waiting room with the Weasleys and Hermione the next morning. He hadn't slept because he was afraid the situation with Black would set him and Katherine back. That made him feel worse since he knew it was ridiculously selfish to think of that while Black was sick. At the very least, he thought she wasn't going to talk to Mother or Father. Finally, she emerged at almost noon.

"He's going to be alright," she announced, causing everyone to sigh in relief. Draco's heart jumped to his throat when she smiled at him. "But I want to live at Grimmauld until the wedding."

Is that all? Draco wanted to say, but he was too nervous and relieved. Ginevra wasn't too afraid, unfortunately.

"That's it?" the youngest Weasley snapped, ignoring her mother when she swatted at her to try to silence her. "I bet he knew! Maybe he was too busy planning to kill Dumbledore to tell us that Sirius was alive!"

Katherine shrugged, looking very tired. "Narcissa said she didn't know, and Remus believes her." She quietly added, "So I do too."

"What does Sirius think?" Ginevra asked loudly. "Or do you care?"

Katherine must have really feared for Black's life last night because her eyes filled with tears, and she ran off crying. Draco suddenly felt horrible for not being there for her last night. He was about to run after her, but Hermione distracted him.

"What's your problem?" she yelled at Ginevra. "We've been waiting for hours to hear about Sirius, and that was the first thing to come out of your mouth?"

Ginevra wouldn't look at her. Her hateful eyes focused on Draco. "How dare he show his face? He took Katherine from me, and he doesn't even deserve her!"

Draco frowned at her word choice. He took Katherine from me. That's what she said, not us. Draco backed away and ran off to find Katherine when her eyes widened because Ginevra knew what he just realized. She was in love with Katherine.

I almost waited until Sunday to post this. Then I thought it was too sad and that you shouldn't have to wait a whole week for a happier chapter!

If you remember, Ginny stopped talking to Kat when she let Snape get out of jail. It was also when Kat started sleeping around.

One chapter left until the wedding!

Thanks for the reviews gr8rockstarrox and justaislinn!

justaislinn- I'd never kill Sirius! I think if he did live, he'd have health problems later on because of Azkaban. I also think it would be ironic for him to have to depend on Severus, who he almost killed as a teenager. The next chapter will have Teddy meeting Severus! I didn't think he'd been in the hospital because they wouldn't want him to see Sirius like that, so Teddy will have some questions for our favorite potions master!