Sirius's Son Harry Black

17

On the Brink

Without checking to see if he was splinched-which, thankfully, he wasn't-Sirius jumped up from the cold floor, grabbed Harry and wrenched him away from Peter, thrust his hand into Harry's pocket, pulled out his son's poplar wand, and blasted Pettigrew into the stone-block wall.

A thick, red smear was left behind from Pettigrew's head as he slid to the floor.

"What happened?" Harry asked, staring at Pettigrew's limp body. He stepped closer to Sirius.

"He was the spy," Sirius growled.

"Where are we?"

The corridor was long, narrow, built of cold, colorless stone, and stank like death. Or maybe that was Pettigrew's blood pooling around his head. "Don't know, but we're not staying long enough to find out." If Harry wasn't with him, Sirius would stay long enough to finish the traitor off. Maybe he'd come back. He held out his arm to Harry, who clung to it. At least Harry's anger seemed to have been scared out of him. Sirius disapparated. Or tried to disapparate.

"Dad?"

Insane laughter. Bellatrix. "Do you really think the Dark Lord allows his prisoners to simply apparate out of his dungeon, Cousin?" She disapparated and appeared closer to Sirius. "You need a Dark Mark to leave alive from this dungeon."

Sirius pulled Harry behind him and backed into the wall. "Piss off!" He felt Harry clutching his robes, shaking a little. He held the wand tighter.

Bellatrix deflected the nonverbal spells sent her way and disarmed Sirius, who couldn't move without exposing Harry. By now, more Death Eaters began filling the corridor, surrounding Sirius and Harry.

Sirius was still shouting as loud as he could. The Death Eaters had locked him in this tiny, dirty cell and taken Harry Merlin-only-knows where. He knew his throat would pay for his shouts soon enough, but until then, he'd keep yelling.

"Really, shouting will only make it worse."

"YOU! I'LL KILL YOU, TRAITOR! WHERE'S MY SON?"

For once in his miserable excuse for a life, Pettigrew didn't seem terrified. "But he's not your son."

Sirius slammed into the bars of his cell and let loose every curse he knew.

Pettigrew chuckled.

Sirius imagined a giant mouse trap snapping on his neck.

"You know, the more you scream, the more she'll make him scream."

Sirius quieted long enough to hear what the bastard meant. Faintly, from somewhere above him, he heard screaming. Harry screaming. In pain.

"She won't kill him."

How could that traitor sound so calm?

"Our Master gave orders that the Potter boy was to be left alive. For aiding in finding him, we're allowed to do whatever we want, as long as the Potter boy is alive at the end of it."

Sirius felt sick. He knew what his twisted cousin was capable of, and now she had Harry, and permission to torture Harry all she wanted. He had to get out. He had to save his son!

"I only came down here to ask what you think I should do with Harry."

A threatening growl escaped Sirius' throat.

"After all, I didn't get to practice on the Mudblood in the Shrieking Shack. I had to stay out of sight while the others had all the fun."

"Shut up! Keep away from my son!"