scars || sirius black

57 - at last

When they reached the Leaky cauldron at 7 o'clock, the attack was already in full swing. They heard the screams of terror from two streets away and immediately broke into a run. There were a dozen Order members and by the sounds of it, double the amount of death-eaters. Sturgis Podmore dropped back to call for back-up but the rest of them carried on, fuelled on by sheer adrenaline.

The doors to the Leaky Cauldron were blown off and lay smoking in cinders across the street along with half the front wall.

Curses were firing out the door and they entered with the strongest shield spells they could muster. The pub was in chaos, people were crying out in pain or lying unconscious on the floor. Death-eaters were battling the remaining outnumbered patrons, quickly overpowering them.

Emmy ran forward and fired at Mulciber who roared as the stinging jinx hit his body, leaving him twitching on the floor.

Lily backed her up as another two death-eaters rushed forward and soon enough they were in the midst of the fight, ducking and diving away from curses flung their way.

It seemed like hours had passed and still their back-up hadn't arrived. Sturgis' patronus would take a while to find everyone, but the seconds passed by like millennia.

With three death-eaters for every Order member it didn't take long for there to only be a couple of them standing, everyone else either immobilised or unconscious.

Emmy had taken a few hits already when she felt the cruciatus curse flood her body.

She screamed out in agony and Sirius was distracted for a second. That was all it took for him to be tackled by six full-grown death-eaters. They hauled him to his feet as Bellatrix Black strolled from the shadows, cackling at the look on his face, her wand twirling in her fingers.

One by one, Edgar Bones, Moody and McGonagall were taken down until there was no one left to fight them.

Sirius roared her name, manically trying to escape his captors while James, Euphemia and McGonagall desperately tried to reach her, but they just couldn't move.

Emmy was writhing on the floor, crying out in excruciating pain as Lily sobbed nearby, paralysed but able to hear her friend's screams.

The waves of pain coursed through her body and in a mind-numbing haze, she caught Bellatrix' eyes and found them to be unrecognisable from the person she used to know. She could feel the memories of that girl slipping away already; the Bellatrix who ran giddily through the Forbidden Forest as she helped her train for the Triwizard Tournament, the one who'd spun around in her gown deliriously at the Yule Ball, who she'd shared secret laughs with and knowing glances, usually when Amos had said something particularly arrogant.

She had always been wild but this different, she was like some rabid animal waiting to pounce, drooling at the sight of her prey down and wounded.

Lucius Malfoy strolled forwards, "Now, now Bellatrix, that's quite enough for one day. We need her alive after all," he drawled, a boyish smirk on his face that eerily juxtaposed his manner.

With a shrug, the witch flicked her wand away from her victim, remorseless and unfeeling.

Emmy shuddered with relief, body twitching as she came to. She dragged herself to her knees, heaving and arms shaking as she tried to scramble away from her attacker.

"It's Black that's the real prize here, after all," he added, turning towards Sirius. "What would your poor mother make of all this I wonder?"

"I don't give a damn what my mother thinks," Sirius spat.

Lucius laughed cruelly, "You should, it was her who persuaded the Dark Lord to recruit your brother after all."

Sirius surged forwards again but was restrained quickly with the incarcerous spell.