Sirius Black Fest 2013: Fic: Repercussion
Title: Repercussion
Author: unbroken_halo
Pairing(s)/Character(s): Sirius Black, Albus Dumbledore, Various aurors
Rating: PG
Prompt #: #195: This picture
Word count: 1,141
Summary: Sirius just can't believe what has happened.
Warnings: Highlight to read *Canon Character Deaths*
Disclaimer: Harry Potter characters are the property of J.K. Rowling and Bloomsbury/Scholastic. No profit is being made, and no copyright infringement is intended.
A/N: Thanks to my betas for the pre-read and SPaG help.
This shouldn't be happening to him. He was Sirius Black, for fuck's sake. All right, so maybe he had pointed his wand at that bastard Peter in front of all those Muggles but he'd had a perfectly valid reason for doing so, he just couldn't say so at this moment.
How could he explain that it was because they'd all been friends as children that now three people he loved were dead? How could he say that magic learned in secret had been the cause of their deaths? All to protect another loved one he would never see again. Not that Remus would want to see him now but that wasn't the point. The point was his friends were dead and it was his fault, hard as it was to absorb that fact, even though Dumbledore had said it over and over again.
In fact, he was still rather stunned at what had happened. He'd always been a bit irrational and impetuous but that could be excused because he was young, yes? His uncle Alphard thought so. He was a good kid. He'd done stupid things in the past and they'd been overlooked before but he supposed that this time he'd seriously fucked up. Again.
That thought nearly started him laughing again and he snorted, covering his mouth to hold in the hysterical sounds that kept threatening to escape. It was serious and he was Sirius. It was too funny but it was also too unbelievable to comprehend. James and Lily were gone. Peter was dead and that fact sobered him, even though it was entirely Peter's fault. All of it. All the death and destruction was Peter's fault and this time no one was escaping with a slap on the wrist. Someone had to take the fall and this time Sirius was it.
He swallowed and looked up at Dumbledore. The Aurors standing behind the old wizard, all order members. Damn.
Dumbledore stared right at him and Sirius looked away. He couldn't meet the old man's eyes. He couldn't let him know that they'd circumvented the protections. That it had been his and James's idea, once again to do something stupid. Because they thought they'd known better. So many secrets and lies. So much that had gone unsaid and unheard, and now he couldn't even make it right.
"There's nothing I can do for him, if he doesn't want to speak."
Dumbledore, then, not taking his side this time. Sirius continued to stare at the floor.
"You stood up for the Snape boy but not this one?"
Moody. He should have known the old man would have that particular man around.
"Severus Snape, at least, admitted his fault. Sirius Black won't even speak on his behalf. Tom Riddle is... defeated and Sirius Black exposed our world to the Muggles. He cannot be allowed to voice anything else he might know of the order's business, Alastor. You know what to do."
Moody grunted but Sirius heard nothing more as they left the room and he sat there. Waiting and wondering what would happen to him. It wouldn't be McGonagall's wrath this time. No simple loss of points or detention. Well, he'd been detained and suddenly he knew what was coming and his throat went dry.
The chains on the chair seemed tighter, his body went cold and he shivered uncontrollably. The door opened and he looked up. Two Aurors, robes red and stark in the thin light came through the door, entered the room, and Sirius shrieked then.
They jumped at the sound and Sirius couldn't help it. He began laughing again, the high hysterical, mad sound that had escaped him when he'd found Peter on the street. When their spells had connected and backfired, exploding magic through their wands and the backwash had flung him away and killed Peter.
The Aurors didn't even bother to stun him as he laughed they just cast magical ropes over top of the chains then banished the chair. Dragging his body out of the room, they laid a Portkey on top of his chest and the swirling sensation made him howl even louder.
The wind and rain assaulted him when they appeared on the island and still Sirius couldn't find it in himself to pull back from the edge of insanity as he was hauled through the halls of Azkaban prison.
More sounds joined his, the madness catching even as the chill of the Dementors closed in. That though broke through the psychosis and then next crazy thought was chocolate. Remus would have chocolate to drive away the darkness. But Remus was out of his reach. Not near as gone as James and Lily and Peter but gone nonetheless and Sirius shook his head. The thoughts remained though. All his fault. All his fault.
He swallowed as they turned a corner and he saw it. Through the open door a barred window and a scarred wall. Marks scored the cell walls. A former prisoner's count of the days to his end in the cell. His cell now. Sirius' cell. He began to struggle. His feet scrabbled for purchase as he realized his fate. Dumbledore had left him to this. He was finally going to pay for Snivellus. His actions in James and Lily's deaths had led him to this cell. Peter was calling for the Dementors to come for him and take what was left of the warmth from him. Even Remus waited for him inside those cold stone walls, each one of those slashes a mark from the werewolf, reminding him that he'd fucked up this time and no amount of lemon drops and counselling was going to fix it.
Then they were there, the threshold loomed and Sirius tried to brace his feet against the jamb but it didn't work. The Aurors were strong and in he went without so much as a by your leave. Hard, the cold, stone floor was hard against his face and it scraped across his skin.
The door slammed closed, sealing him inside and the charmed ropes vanished. Sirius rolled over, panting as he looked up at the ceiling. Even here the marks sliced into the stone and he closed his eyes trying to catch his breath and calm himself.
Freezing fingers pulled at him as fog rolled in through the bars of the window and Sirius' eyes snapped open. Ghostly fingers wrapped around the outside of the bars, scraping at the metal and he screamed.
The sound ripped his throat to shreds, pulling more than noise from him. Memories of the house, blown to bits, Peter's face, James's body. Hagrid's tears. Harry's wails. Remus' disappointment and McGonagall's frown. Regulus' dark eyes. Sirius flipped over and buried his face but the memories continued and would until the Dementors sucked every last bit of life from him.
Author: unbroken_halo
Pairing(s)/Character(s): Sirius Black, Albus Dumbledore, Various aurors
Rating: PG
Prompt #: #195: This picture
Word count: 1,141
Summary: Sirius just can't believe what has happened.
Warnings: Highlight to read *Canon Character Deaths*
Disclaimer: Harry Potter characters are the property of J.K. Rowling and Bloomsbury/Scholastic. No profit is being made, and no copyright infringement is intended.
A/N: Thanks to my betas for the pre-read and SPaG help.
This shouldn't be happening to him. He was Sirius Black, for fuck's sake. All right, so maybe he had pointed his wand at that bastard Peter in front of all those Muggles but he'd had a perfectly valid reason for doing so, he just couldn't say so at this moment.
How could he explain that it was because they'd all been friends as children that now three people he loved were dead? How could he say that magic learned in secret had been the cause of their deaths? All to protect another loved one he would never see again. Not that Remus would want to see him now but that wasn't the point. The point was his friends were dead and it was his fault, hard as it was to absorb that fact, even though Dumbledore had said it over and over again.
In fact, he was still rather stunned at what had happened. He'd always been a bit irrational and impetuous but that could be excused because he was young, yes? His uncle Alphard thought so. He was a good kid. He'd done stupid things in the past and they'd been overlooked before but he supposed that this time he'd seriously fucked up. Again.
That thought nearly started him laughing again and he snorted, covering his mouth to hold in the hysterical sounds that kept threatening to escape. It was serious and he was Sirius. It was too funny but it was also too unbelievable to comprehend. James and Lily were gone. Peter was dead and that fact sobered him, even though it was entirely Peter's fault. All of it. All the death and destruction was Peter's fault and this time no one was escaping with a slap on the wrist. Someone had to take the fall and this time Sirius was it.
He swallowed and looked up at Dumbledore. The Aurors standing behind the old wizard, all order members. Damn.
Dumbledore stared right at him and Sirius looked away. He couldn't meet the old man's eyes. He couldn't let him know that they'd circumvented the protections. That it had been his and James's idea, once again to do something stupid. Because they thought they'd known better. So many secrets and lies. So much that had gone unsaid and unheard, and now he couldn't even make it right.
"There's nothing I can do for him, if he doesn't want to speak."
Dumbledore, then, not taking his side this time. Sirius continued to stare at the floor.
"You stood up for the Snape boy but not this one?"
Moody. He should have known the old man would have that particular man around.
"Severus Snape, at least, admitted his fault. Sirius Black won't even speak on his behalf. Tom Riddle is... defeated and Sirius Black exposed our world to the Muggles. He cannot be allowed to voice anything else he might know of the order's business, Alastor. You know what to do."
Moody grunted but Sirius heard nothing more as they left the room and he sat there. Waiting and wondering what would happen to him. It wouldn't be McGonagall's wrath this time. No simple loss of points or detention. Well, he'd been detained and suddenly he knew what was coming and his throat went dry.
The chains on the chair seemed tighter, his body went cold and he shivered uncontrollably. The door opened and he looked up. Two Aurors, robes red and stark in the thin light came through the door, entered the room, and Sirius shrieked then.
They jumped at the sound and Sirius couldn't help it. He began laughing again, the high hysterical, mad sound that had escaped him when he'd found Peter on the street. When their spells had connected and backfired, exploding magic through their wands and the backwash had flung him away and killed Peter.
The Aurors didn't even bother to stun him as he laughed they just cast magical ropes over top of the chains then banished the chair. Dragging his body out of the room, they laid a Portkey on top of his chest and the swirling sensation made him howl even louder.
The wind and rain assaulted him when they appeared on the island and still Sirius couldn't find it in himself to pull back from the edge of insanity as he was hauled through the halls of Azkaban prison.
More sounds joined his, the madness catching even as the chill of the Dementors closed in. That though broke through the psychosis and then next crazy thought was chocolate. Remus would have chocolate to drive away the darkness. But Remus was out of his reach. Not near as gone as James and Lily and Peter but gone nonetheless and Sirius shook his head. The thoughts remained though. All his fault. All his fault.
He swallowed as they turned a corner and he saw it. Through the open door a barred window and a scarred wall. Marks scored the cell walls. A former prisoner's count of the days to his end in the cell. His cell now. Sirius' cell. He began to struggle. His feet scrabbled for purchase as he realized his fate. Dumbledore had left him to this. He was finally going to pay for Snivellus. His actions in James and Lily's deaths had led him to this cell. Peter was calling for the Dementors to come for him and take what was left of the warmth from him. Even Remus waited for him inside those cold stone walls, each one of those slashes a mark from the werewolf, reminding him that he'd fucked up this time and no amount of lemon drops and counselling was going to fix it.
Then they were there, the threshold loomed and Sirius tried to brace his feet against the jamb but it didn't work. The Aurors were strong and in he went without so much as a by your leave. Hard, the cold, stone floor was hard against his face and it scraped across his skin.
The door slammed closed, sealing him inside and the charmed ropes vanished. Sirius rolled over, panting as he looked up at the ceiling. Even here the marks sliced into the stone and he closed his eyes trying to catch his breath and calm himself.
Freezing fingers pulled at him as fog rolled in through the bars of the window and Sirius' eyes snapped open. Ghostly fingers wrapped around the outside of the bars, scraping at the metal and he screamed.
The sound ripped his throat to shreds, pulling more than noise from him. Memories of the house, blown to bits, Peter's face, James's body. Hagrid's tears. Harry's wails. Remus' disappointment and McGonagall's frown. Regulus' dark eyes. Sirius flipped over and buried his face but the memories continued and would until the Dementors sucked every last bit of life from him.