Disclaimer: I own nothing except my depressed mind.

Written for QLFC.

Prompts:

Hamlet(avenge someone's death

(word) burning

(sentence) That is literally the worst thing ever

Remus,

You must believe me. No one is to be trusted. No one. Not even your shadow. Just listen to me.

Please, you must understand. I am not a spy. I can never be one. Not over my dead body. I could never betray James or Lily. Never.

I cannot Apparate, they are looking for me. They have wards and sensors put up all over London. They think I killed James and Lily. Even you do, I know. They now think I killed Peter too. They are after me. You must trust me, Remus. I didn't kill anyone. I need you to believe me.

There is nothing more torturous than being thought of as the one who killed them. This is literally the worst thing ever. Nothing trumps that, mate. To be thought of as the betrayer. The one who followed Voldemort. You know me since Hogwarts. You know I would never do anything to remotely even connect me to him. To the inglorious heritage I have. You know me.

They are going to come here any time soon. I am trying to run away, but they've set up shields around the place, curse their swiftness. You never see them this fast otherwise. Why today, why?

These might as well be the last few minutes of my life out in the open. They are going to take me away, I am sure of it. But I won't go without a fight. No, I won't. They are wrong if they think I can be taken down easily.

Remus, I want you to be wary. Trust nothing. No one. All you need to know is this: I have not killed anyone. I am innocent. You think wrong if you think I am the spy. I am not. I would never do that. The only person you can trust is Dumbledore. He will fix this. He is the only person who can do something to save us. And most importantly, come what may, do not trust Peter. I am sorry that this is the truth, but it is. Peter betrayed us. Peter was the snitch. Peter led Voldemort to James and Lily. Peter killed them.

He escaped from my clutches, and I feel helpless. He staged this whole thing to make it look like I killed him. He sliced off his own finger and vanished, and now I am hiding in an alley, trying to find a way to escape this mess as they search for me. Everyone in this area is now convinced that I killed him. They think of me as Sirius Black, the murderer. The snitch.

I never meant to confront Peter like this here, you know. I simply couldn't stop myself from hunting him down when I realised he was the spy. How dare he betray them? They trusted us. They trusted me, and I failed them. I failed my friends. I failed my godson's parents. I could not sit quiet. I know one thing for sure - I will not leave him alone. I cannot sit by idly as he continues to romp around freely.

Even if they do manage to capture me today, know this: I will find a way to break free. I will not let him rest in peace. Not till I am alive. I will avenge their deaths. I will avenge the betrayal. I will avenge every dying scream and eery flash of light they faced when they died. I will avenge every drop of blood they shed, every painful groan they shrieked, every moment they spent in fear, every time a footstep in the night set them on alert.

Remus, I need you to tell this to Dumbledore. Or send it to him, at least. He can help me out. He can help me get free rightfully and find Peter.

The bridges of law and trust and burning down, and I find myself being charred along with them.

Help me, Remus.

Sirius

Breathing heavily, Sirius whistled softly and his owl swooped into the alley, its wings flapping smoothly as the unmistakable cracks of wizards Apparating and shooting hexes into alleys rung out in the night.

"Hecate, good girl. Take this to Remus. No one else. Only Remus. As quickly as you can. Go!" he tied the letter to her leg and snapping her beak softly at her owner, the owl hooted and rose swiftly into the night air, Sirius's gaze darting distractedly into the street. He had barely crouched low trying to escape the sight of a Minister that a loud sound rang out and simultaneously, everyone's heads snapped up to spot Hecate in a tussle with an eagle, which belonged to one of the officers.

"No.." mumbled Sirius, as the eagle cried out loud and Hecate swooped low behind a building, rising up sporadically as she tried to escape its clutches. "No, Hecate, leave this place. Leave!" Sirius pleaded mentally, as he saw the vicious eagle attack his owl repeatedly. He looked around and saw an officer drawing out his wand, raising it to point it at the fighting birds. "No, no, no, n-" the cry died in his throat as a green light shot out of the wand and giving out one final weak hoot, Hecate spiralled downward, the eagle circling her as she fell.

Tears streaming down his face, Sirius lost track of the gravity of the situation and dashed out into the street, not hearing the words by an officer, "It's Black's owl. He must be nearby somewhere. Go!"

His feet thudding against the ground, Sirius dodged the hexes and dropped to the ground where Hecate lay, her wings still spread wide open in mid-flight, the broken string of the letter tied around her leg. He had barely scooped her in his arms when a spell hit him square on his back as he thrashed about painfully, in the throes of what was the first of many Crucios he would have to endure.

Like Hecate, Sirius's freedom and James and Lily's friendship to Peter, the letter lay trodden in an alley, forgotten and not cared for, lost in the midst of a battle where no one could trust anything, or anyone.

A/N:

Like the previous one, this one felt best not being just a letter, but something more too. This is my take on the moments before Sirius was caught.

Thoughts and reviews are highly appreciated!

~Ana