Beast ;)

Siriusly confused

(a/n: thank you so much for all of your lovely comments! Once again, this is sadly short, but I figured you’d rather have quicker, shorter chapters, than wait forever for a good-sized one. Please enjoy!)            

                Sirius Black couldn’t remember a time he’d felt more disoriented. For a few minutes after waking, he merely sat dumbly, with his eyes open but unseeing. Slowly, he began to take in his surroundings. He was in a forest. Before him, chatting a bit away, stood two rough looking men. They were muscular and scarred, clothing in tatters. Thick ropes bound him to what he gathered was a tree. A gag around his mouth prevented him from crying out.

                Next, the memories began to hit him. Panic spiked his heart. Harry! His sweet little pup was in danger!....Or…was he? Sure, he himself had been hit by that bloody bitch Bellatrix, but surely with the entire Order there, Harry was fine. But what of Moony, and Rika? And the Weasleys? Tonks? They couldn’t have all made it back could they? But…where was he? He must have been captured by Deatheaters….but wouldn’t that mean they lost?  No, no, they couldn’t have!

                The next few hours ranked among some of the hardest of Sirius’s life; nothing was worse than not knowing if his loved ones were okay, yet being unable to do anything about it. He closed his eyes, trying not to break down.

                Behind his closed eyes, he could sense the sun had almost sunk beneath the horizon. By this time, he’d deduced that he was in the presence of werewolves. His guards obviously hadn’t bathed in a while; he could smell there stench despite their distance. But what would werewolves want with him? Then he heard her voice.

                “Merlin, what happened to him? I thought you’d only had Black for a day.”

                His eyes shot open. Rika. At least…he thought it was Rika…

                The same face, same eyes and curls, same voice….

                Yet she seemed more muscular than before, her frame a bit thinner. She may have the same curls, but her hair had been hacked into a sharp bob. She wore a pair of worn muggle jeans, full of rips with a thick belt (which he could see held a wand and several knifes), an equally worn black tank top under a vest of some kind of animal hide (he suspected the vest hid more weapons).

                Most shocking though, was her skin. The exposed areas of her stomach, arms, neck, and face were heavily scarred.

                There was no way that could be Rika! Unless…Bloody hell, just how long had he been unconscious!?

                One of his guards shrugged. “We found him unconscious in the woods; reckon he’s spent some time with some of the Deatheaters and managed to escape.”

                Rika stared at him, frowning. “We weren’t informed Black had been captured… It seems like they would have told us…”

                “Maybe you’re just out of the loop,” the other guard sneered.

                Rika shot him a cold glare, and he ducked his head, unable to hold his gaze. Despite the immense confusion he was feeling, Sirius couldn’t help but be amused that Rika could put a grown man in his place by just one look.

                Rika sighed, pulling out her wand. “Alright, I’m going to have a little talk with Mister Black…”

                She walked towards him with calmly. Behind her, the guards were smirking at him. She knelt in front of him. He tried to call out to her, but the gag muffled his voice. He stared into her eyes, trying to find some sort of answers in them; her golden gaze was blank and uncaring. She gently traced the length of his neck with her wand, then, suddenly, spun around.

                “Stupify! Stupify!”

                The two guards hit the ground with identical thuds. Ignoring Sirius, she walked over to the guards, muttering an unfamiliar spell to them.  She began digging through their pockets, pulling out Sirius’s wand. Then, she turned back to him.

                “Well, you’ve certainly gotten yourself into a mess, haven’t you Black?”

                He could only watch silently as she once again knelt before him. Carefully, she removed his gag.

                “Rika!” he croaked. “I don’t understand! What’s going on?”

                “I supposed you wouldn’t understand. Don’t worry, you won’t be confused for much longer. Oh, and sorry about this. Stupify.”

                His eyes widened as his body was rendered immobile. Pulling a knife from her belt, Rika cut the ropes binding him to the tree. His body fell sideways, hitting the hard ground. Rika leaned over him, breath tickling his ear. The musky scent of wolves clung stronger to her than ever. Unfamiliar words were whispered to him, like an eerie lullaby. The words began to change to English but kept the same soothing undertone. “You were never captured by werewolves; rather, you overheard them while you were in the woods. There’s going to be a raid two full moons from now on the small village north of Nesvile. Now you shall return to your headquarters. I was never here.” She stood to walk away, then paused. “Head east. Take the straightest path possible. That should get you out of the woods.” And then she was gone, leaving Sirius with even more questions than before.

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                Sirius stood outside of the doors to Grimmuald place. He didn’t know what had happened while he was out, but it was something bad. The streets to his house had looked the same but the terrain…Buildings were in ruins, trees uprooted; there were no signs of life. What had happened here? What had happened to Rika?

                On the way, he’d decided that she must be a spy. There was no other explanation for her behavior. But, why? There was no way Moony would allow that. And what did she mean what had happened to him? He was the same, wasn’t he? Maybe he really had been captured by Deatheaters and just couldn’t remember it.

                Yes, that made sense. He was knocked out by Bellatrix and captured. While he was in captivity, the war must have fully begun. His memory had somehow been wiped clean.

                Were his friends okay? Was Harry? Oh, please, please let Harry be okay.

                Fist trembling, he knocked on the door—somehow he just didn’t feel right barging in. After a few tense moments, the door opened, revealing, to his utter astonishment, a familiar face.

                Brown eyes widened behind wire frames, jaw dropping, probably mirroring his. “Sirius?” the voice he’d longed to hear gasped.

                Sirius swallowed hard, feeling dizzy. Something was wrong here, so wrong, but no, not wrong, right, so right, but wrong, different, what? How….

                Grabbing the doorframe to steady himself, he whispered the name of the man at the door, half convinced he’d gone mad.

                “James?”

(a/n: I know you’re all confused. Next chapter will explain what’s going on. Feedback, please!)