The air was thick with tension.

Sirius paced the length of the room, his mind racing with a dozen different plans and counterplans. Each one more desperate than the last.

Doctor Stevan had just finished another round of healing spells on Harry, but it wasn't enough. Harry was still dangerously weak, barely able to keep his eyes open for more than a few minutes. He needed rest, food, and most importantly time. None of which they could afford.

Sirius clenched his fists, frustration building. They were running out of time.

"We can't keep him here," Stevan said quietly, his voice heavy with the weight of their situation. "Not with Bellatrix still out there."

Sirius stopped pacing, glancing toward the bed where Harry lay. His godson's face was pale, almost ghostly, his lips cracked from dehydration. The boy who had fought so many battles, who had faced death countless times… now lay helpless, at the mercy of forces far darker than any they had faced before.

Sirius was angry. So angry.

But there was a new urgency now.

The door creaked open, and Frank Longbottom stepped inside. His face was still drawn with exhaustion, his eyes haunted. But there was something new there something resolute.

"Frank?" Sirius asked, his voice strained.

"I just came from the Burrow," Frank said, stepping closer to them. "They've tracked her. Bellatrix is…" He hesitated, glancing at Harry. "…She's getting closer."

Sirius' blood ran cold. "We're running out of options."

Frank nodded, his eyes shifting between Stevan and Sirius. "We move him now. We need to get him to a safer place. And we can't waste any more time."

Stevan nodded in agreement, though his face betrayed his own doubts. "I've already set up protections, but Bellatrix is not going to give up. She's obsessed with him. We won't be safe for long."

Sirius' gaze hardened. "Then we need to take the fight to her."

The thought was barely out of his mouth when a sudden chill filled the air, cutting through the tense atmosphere.

The window shattered.

The explosion of glass was a second too late.

Sirius barely registered it before the air warped, and a figure stepped through the empty frame, her figure flickering with shadowy malice.

Bellatrix.

For a brief moment, no one moved.

Her eyes gleamed with triumph, dark and cold. Her lips curled into a sadistic grin as she took in the scene her quarry, her prize, lying before her, helpless.

Sirius' heart slammed against his chest. "No"

But it was too late.

With a sharp flick of her wand, Bellatrix unleashed a dark, twisting force that sent Stevan crashing into the far wall, unconscious before he even hit the floor.

Sirius moved too slow.

Before he could react, Bellatrix was already at Harry's side, her wand pressed against his throat. Harry's breath was shallow, ragged. His eyes fluttered open, meeting the cold, gleaming eyes of the woman who had tortured him once, and who was now about to finish what she started.

"No…" Harry rasped, his voice barely more than a whisper. "Don't… don't take me…"

Bellatrix ignored him, her gaze cold, unfeeling. "You think you can hide from me, Potter? You think I'd let you escape me twice?"

Sirius reached for his wand, but Bellatrix was faster. With a flick, his wand was yanked from his hand and sent spinning across the room. He felt the sting of the magic as the air thickened with the tension.

"Get away from him!" Sirius shouted, taking a step forward.

Bellatrix's grin widened. "I think not. He's mine now."

With another quick flick, Harry's body was pulled toward her, floating just a few inches off the ground. His eyes went wide, his body still too weak to fight back. The tendrils of dark magic wrapped around him like chains, forcing him into a sitting position as she dragged him across the floor.

"No!" Sirius shouted again, running at her, but her wand flared brightly. The force sent him sprawling to the ground, his breath knocked out of him.

"You're too late," Bellatrix purred, looking down at him as she stepped over his fallen body. "And you will be too late for the rest of your miserable lives."

She raised her wand higher.

"Aperio."

The door to the room swung open with a loud creak, revealing the dimly lit hall beyond. In the flickering light, the shadows seemed to stretch and grow, warping as if alive.

Harry's eyes locked onto Sirius, a weak cry escaping his lips. But it was the last sound he made before Bellatrix Disapparated vanishing from the room and taking him with her.

Sirius stared at the empty space, breathless and furious. His heart was pounding, his mind screaming at him to do something, anything. But there was nothing left to do. She had taken him. And now…

Now it was too late.

Sirius lay on the cold floor, his chest heaving as he struggled to gather his thoughts. His heart felt as though it had been ripped from his chest, torn away by the cruel hand of fate. His mind screamed in protest, desperate to take action, to fight, to save Harry but the room around him was silent, still.

For a brief moment, all he could hear was the ringing in his ears. Then, the heavy, oppressive silence was broken by the sound of footsteps.

Frank Longbottom appeared at the doorway, eyes wide with disbelief. His hand gripped the doorframe as though he were afraid to approach.

"Sirius?" Frank's voice was hoarse, filled with disbelief. "Did she...did she take him?"

Sirius couldn't answer. He could barely even nod. The room seemed to tilt beneath him, the edges of reality blurring.

"She took him," he finally rasped, his voice hoarse and cracked, as though the words themselves were too heavy to say. "Bellatrix… she took him."

Frank's face twisted with an expression that was half anger, half fear. "We've lost him. We've lost Harry." His voice cracked, a tremor running through his body.

Sirius pushed himself to his feet with a grimace, his legs feeling weak beneath him. He wiped his hand across his face, trying to clear the haze that clouded his thoughts. He couldn't think clearly, but the raging fury inside of him burned bright and dangerous, hot enough to sear away everything else.

"No," he said, gritting his teeth. "We haven't lost him. She's taken him, but we can still get him back. We will get him back." His fists clenched, the urgency rising. "She'll pay for this. She will pay."

Frank took a step back, clearly shaken by the situation, but Sirius didn't care. The rage was all-consuming now. It was the only thing keeping him moving.

He looked at Frank, his eyes intense. "We need to move fast. I'll get the Order together. We'll track her down. She won't get far."

Frank nodded. "Right. But what about Stevan? The healer?"

Sirius blinked, as if just realizing that Doctor Stevan was still unconscious. He glanced at the fallen healer still slumped against the far wall. "We can't leave him here. Get him somewhere safe. I'll contact the others."

Frank hesitated but nodded, moving to help Stevan.

Sirius's gaze flickered back to where Harry had been lying empty. The bed was still, the sheets disturbed but no longer warm with Harry's presence. He felt a wave of nausea ripple through him. She's taken him. Bellatrix has him now.

His mind raced with one terrifying question: What will she do to him?

There was no time to waste.

Sirius turned sharply and grabbed his wand from where it had fallen. With a quick glance at Frank, who was helping Stevan to his feet, he made for the door. He had no plan yet only a burning desire to find Harry before Bellatrix could finish what she'd started.

Sirius stormed down the hallway, his boots echoing loudly in the silence. He couldn't afford to waste time. Harry's life was on the line. He had to do whatever it took to bring him back.

The hall outside the room was eerily quiet, the heavy silence pressing down like a physical weight. The walls felt like they were closing in. Every step Sirius took made his chest tighten with dread.

He didn't know where Bellatrix had gone, didn't know how far she'd taken Harry. But he knew one thing for certain he couldn't stop.

As he approached the staircase, he saw Frank and Stevan at the far end of the hall, Frank still supporting the healer, but Stevan was beginning to stir.

The healer's eyes fluttered open, and he groaned as he slowly pushed himself upright. His eyes were blurry, but they cleared quickly when he saw the situation unfolding around him.

"Bellatrix…" Stevan muttered, his voice thick with confusion. "She took him. Harry…"

"We know," Sirius cut in, his voice taut with urgency. "But we don't have time. We need to find him."

Stevan winced, clearly still in pain, but his resolve hardened. He nodded. "You're right. I'll help you. But we need to be strategic. She's playing games with us, trying to lead us into traps."

Sirius clenched his jaw. "I don't care about her games. We find him, and we stop her."

The trio made their way down the hall, stepping carefully over the debris of shattered glass and broken furniture, every shadow threatening to hide something far darker than they had realized. The fear was palpable, but Sirius refused to let it paralyze him.

They reached the front door, and as Frank and Stevan prepared to set up wards to ensure no one else could enter, Sirius grabbed the handle, his grip tightening. He didn't stop to think about the risks, or the uncertainty of the situation.

He had no time for that.

Harry was in danger. And Bellatrix would pay for it.