The Marauders: Year Five #Wattys2017

A Traitor

Carefully he sat up and winced at the pain as he moved the wound. It reopened a little and a bit of blood oozed beneath the scabbing starting there already. He reached a shaky hand for his wand and cleared his throat aiming the tip of it at himself and muttering the incantation for bandages. They came out weakly, but enough to cover the wound at least. He'd need somebody to bandage him up better. He'd ask James, he decided.

He pressed his sloppy bandaging down with his palm again as he struggled to sit up. He felt drained, empty, and still lost.

What time is it? he wondered. There in the underground cavern it could be any time at all - day or night - and it would look the same. Though he was fairly certain the light reflecting off the water at the mouth of the cavern there on the water was the sun and not the moon. They'll be wondering where I am, he thought.

The door far below opened with a creak and Sirius went still as the sound of the hinges echoed through the cavernous room. He could hear footsteps below across the stone and then on the wood of the docks and the steps stopped, whoever it was below was waiting... Sirius was afraid if he moved he would bring attention to himself, so he did all but hold his breath, clutching the bandage tighter to his skin with one hand, spinning the ring even more frantically with the other.

The door opened again below and two more sets of footsteps echoed across the room and Sirius closed his eyes, imagining himself to be made of stone. What was he about to be a witness to? He was sure it couldn't be any good, whatever it was... After all, who would meet here, and why, if not for some dark purpose? It had to be something terrible.

"You came."

It was Regulus's voice.

Sirius's heart rate doubled.

"Of course we came."

Sirius opened his eyes in shock.

He knew that voice. Knew that voice very well, in fact.

James?

What the bloody hell were James and Regulus doing meeting here? Why was James meeting with Regulus at all? Sirius felt as though the knife had gone a bit deeper than he'd pushed it himself - and in from the back - plunged in by James Potter.

Not wanting to believe that James Potter would betray him like this until he saw it with his own eyes, he pulled himself to his feet, clutching onto his chest still, and looked over the stone edge of the stairwell to where Regulus and James stood. There was a third person there, too, but they were back-to him and he couldn't tell who the third one was. Who the hell was that? He squinted through the dark...

Well, it looked like -- well, himself. But of course, obviously, it couldn't be... after all, he was himself and he was right there. Unless this was like some sort of weird out of body experience thing... or perhaps this was some sort of terrible nightmare and he'd wake up again and it would all be okay. He'd be under those curtains for real this time and there would be no cut across his chest, the blood would be gone, the dementor in his chest would be cast away...

"Sirius, I'm - I'm so glad you're here, I'm --" Regulus started, but James's voice cut him off.

"Mate, Sirius is here so I did my part, you gotta tell us about Severus Snape."

Of course, Sirius thought. Bloody James and his bloody vendetta against Snape. Of course that's what would make him do this.

But how did he do it? Who was that down there pretending to be him if even Regulus, his own brother, was fooled by the disguise? Certainly not Peter in a wig or anything like that!