a POTC crossover for penknife!
Author: laurus_nobilis
Recipient: penknife
Title: Animagus of the Caribbean
Rating: G
Crossover fandom: Pirates of the Caribbean
Main characters: Sirius Black and the main cast of PotC: Curse of the Black Pearl.
Summary: "Just when I thought I'd seen it all," Sirius muttered to himself, "I have to deal with an undead monkey."
Author's note: This fic is set after book 5 for HP, and during the events of Curse of the Black Pearl for PotC. A few of Gibbs's and Elizabeth's lines come straight from the movie.
The first thing that Sirius noticed when he woke up was that he wasn't at the Department of Mysteries anymore. He felt very dizzy, as if he had fallen for a long time, or touched a Portkey. But he couldn't remember anything like that. One moment he was fighting against Bellatrix, and the next he was lying on the sand and looking at the starry sky above him.
The second thing he noticed, as soon as the dizziness passed and he began to think clearly again, was that he was alone. He jumped up, suddenly realizing what this meant. He couldn't help Harry anymore. Somewhere far from him, his godson was in mortal peril - and he couldn't help him. He couldn't do anything at all. Sirius almost hoped for this to be an illusion, some kind of spell, but it didn't take long for him to admit that there was no way back.
He had no idea of how he had ended up here (and the worst part, he thought, was that he probably would never find out), but this place was real.
All he could do was roar at the night sky, overwhelmed with anger and despair. If only he had thought before acting - but now it was much too late for that. He couldn't do anything for Harry. He couldn't help anyone at all.
He ran his hands trough his hair, trying to think clearly. Calm down now, Sirius, he muttered to himself under his breath. He didn't gain anything by just staying there, mad at the world and Bellatrix and himself. There had to be something he could do. Perhaps he'd find the solution with a bit of magic.
He patted his pockets and cursed loudly. He couldn't find his wand. Great. That made things even more complicated. On a whim, he tried to change into his Animagus form; everything was so strange now that it wouldn't have surprised him to discover he couldn't do it.
But he could. Luckily, transforming into Padfoot was still an option, and he was sure that it'd prove to be useful. He didn't want to show himself until he figured out if any people lived there; perhaps it'd be easier to steal some food as a dog and then hide somewhere.
With the idea of food in mind, he trotted along the beach for a while, hoping against all hope that this wasn't a deserted island. He followed the shore for about half an hour until, at last, he saw yellow lights in the distance. There seemed to be a town not too far from him. A little more optimistic, and now truly hungry, he hurried towards the lights.
The sounds and the smell reached him long before he arrived, but he didn't mind. He'd been in far worse places, after all. Besides, if there was something good to be said about the town, it was that a large stray dog would certainly go unnoticed. Sirius hadn't seen a noisier and dirtier place in his entire life, and that was saying a lot. Most of the people there seemed to be having fun; others were trying to kill each other. Some were doing both at the same time.
Making his way around all the drunkards on the floor, he reached the back of a tavern. There he'd have no problem finding something to eat. True enough, he found not only leftovers, but people actually eating out there - or trying to. He stole a piece of meat from a man who was too drunk to run after him, and went to hide in a corner. From there he could look around a bit, and try to figure out what to do next.
More than watching, though, he discovered that listening was useful. No one bothered to lower his voice or to be secretive in front of just a dog. Very soon, he heard enough to realize what exactly did all these people do... and, more importantly, he heard the name of the island where he'd ended up.
He would have laughed out loud if he had been in human form. Tortuga? Well, that certainly explained a lot. It would have explained even more, though, if it wasn't for a tiny detail: there hadn't been any pirates there in a couple of centuries. Had he travelled back in time or something? Or maybe it was even worse, like it happened in those Muggle stories sometimes... what did they call it? Alternate dimensions, or parallel worlds, or something like that. Not that it made much difference to him. He was still stuck here.
Too nervous to stay still, he started wandering again. He hadn't gone far when something caught his attention. There was a small but colourful crowd gathered around a middle-aged man, who seemed to be telling them something very interesting. It was a strange group indeed. There was a little bald man, an older man with a parrot perched on his shoulder, and a very angry black woman.
After a few minutes of careful listening, Sirius managed to figure out more or less what was going on. The middle-aged man, whose name appeared to be Gibbs, was trying to gather a crew. There was a treasure involved, of course. And the same name was repeated over and over: a certain Captain Jack Sparrow, who seemed to be a bit of a legend.
Sirius didn't think about it very long. If he was stuck in this place, at least he was going to do something that didn't let him worry about what he couldn't fix. It was crazy, yes. But he was used to doing crazy things.
When the others were gone, he returned to his human form and walked up to Gibbs.
"Nice plan," he said simply. The sailor gave him a very unpleasant look.
"Who are you?" he asked. "And why were you listening to us?"
"The name's Sirius Black. And it doesn't really matter how I found out."
"I could shoot you right now, you know."
"I want to join the crew," Sirius interrupted him.
Gibbs stared at him as if he had just sprouted a second head.
"Are you mad?" the pirate asked.
"Yeah, probably. But so are they," Sirius replied, shrugging. "I'll fit right in, don't you think?"
For a few moments, Gibbs didn't say anything, eyeing him cautiously. At last he put a hand on Sirius's shoulder.
"Come on," he said. "We could use someone to clean up a bit."
"I thought pirates were dirty," Sirius muttered, but he didn't complain anymore. It was still better than not knowing if he'd have something to eat or not each day. And he had always been up for adventure.
* * *
They were going to leave the very next morning, as soon as their Captain met them. Sirius felt strangely detached, as if it was all just a game. He didn't quite understand what was going on in his mind. Less than a day earlier, he was fighting for his life and for Harry's in the Department of Mysteries. He had no way to contact his friends; they probably thought he was dead. It made him furious, being unable to help Harry now that he needed him so much.
And, at the same time, he was so busy and excited that he barely had time to think about that. He didn't even care what happened to him from now on; he just wanted to be doing something. Maybe he'd gone mad at long last. Then again, if that was the case, this was going to be just the right place for him.
None of his future companions paid much attention to him, but that was a good thing, in a way. At least he didn't have to answer any unwanted questions. Then again, he supposed these people wouldn't be too keen on talking about their pasts, either. They just went around their business, without talking too much. Suddenly, Gibbs called them, and they all ran to stand on a row. Sirius shrugged and did the same as the others, placing himself at the end of the line.
And then, at last, he saw the legendary Captain Jack Sparrow.
He didn't look legendary at all, and he walked as if he had been drunk his entire life - which, all things considered, was probably the case. He was just as insane as the rest of the crew, but the young man who had arrived with him was the only one who seemed to notice it. No one else batted an eyelash at his crazy behaviour.
Sirius wondered if it was a way of showing respect to their Captain, but he changed his mind when Anamaria gave him an apparently well deserved slap. Maybe they just got used to him.
"You're new here," Sparrow said when he stepped in front of Sirius, tilting his head while he stared at him.
"Just arrived," Sirius admitted.
"Really? From where?"
"England," he said truthfully. "I just want to do a bit of pirating, savvy? Arrr, matey, and all that."
Sparrow gave him a long look.
"Sun's very strong here in the Caribbean, you know. Does things to your head," he said at last. "You might want to get a bit of shadow once in a while."
"So, am I in?"
"Who knows, you might prove useful," the Captain said, shrugging. "Just remember. Shadow."
His young companion rolled his eyes, but Sparrow didn't seem to mind at all and just walked away from them. Sirius smiled to himself. This was certainly going to be an interesting trip.
* * *
Sirius had never been on a ship before, much less on one like the Interceptor. But he got used to it sooner than he had expected. There was always something to do here, from keeping the deck relatively clean to trying to stay alive in spite of all the storms. They were strangely common here, yet another oddity of his new surroundings.
He also discovered that he could get along with the rest of the crew, at least as much as possible among a bunch of pirates who didn't entirely trust each other. With them, listening to the gossip was far more useful than actual asking. Questions brought suspicion upon the one who asked, after all. And Sirius had learned to figure things out from small clues long ago. It didn't take him long to find out why Sparrow was so famous. He wasn't sure he bought the story about how he'd escaped from that island, but it was impressive, he had to admit that. Besides, he was getting used to the idea that he was stuck in a somewhat supernatural place - not quite as magical as his wizarding world, but not entirely Muggle, either.
Something else he found out soon was that they were headed to a place called Isla de Muerta. That was hardly a reassuring name. Once they got there, he was glad to know he wasn't going to get off the ship. Only Sparrow and Will left; Gibbs watched them thoughtfully as their boat advanced. He was drinking, as usual, and Sirius thought this might be a good time to make a few details clear.
"So," he said casually, "what does the captain want there, anyway?"
Gibbs told him. Sirius sulked.
So there was a curse. Perfect. Nobody had bothered to tell him that when he joined the crew.
In a way, he thought he shouldn't be so angry; he was there out of despair, after all. When he first approached Gibbs, it hadn't mattered to him if he lived or died. But now he had changed his mind. He was enjoying himself, he was beginning to contemplate a life of adventures and rum in the Caribbean, and he had no plans of getting killed by zombie pirates.
Time seemed to go slower than ever while he waited for them to return from the island. He could only hope that they were the ones who came back, instead of the... other ones. Then he discovered it was both: Will and his girlfriend were in the boat, the Black Pearl was after them, and Sparrow was nowhere to be found. This wasn't going to be nice at all.
They couldn't even escape. The Interceptor, in spite of all its fame, was no match for the Pearl. All they could do was put up a good fight, and even that was mostly improvisation. Sirius was pretty sure that the things they were shooting from those cannons defied every law of physics, but he didn't stop to think about it. Now he was sure that this place did have a magic of its own, different from the one he knew. There was no other way to explain the fact that they were throwing cutlery out of the cannons.
Or, actually, the fact that they were dealing with cursed zombie pirates. But he'd rather not think about that.
"We need us a devil’s dowry," Gibbs said at last, when everyone had run out of ideas.
There was only one problem. All that Barbossa wanted was that stupid medallion, and it was nowhere to be found. Will went looking for it, but it was in vain; it wasn't where he had last left it. Then Sirius saw it, a flash of gold at his side - it was the medallion. And it was on the greedy paws of Barbossa's monkey. He jumped, trying to catch it, but the animal was too fast. By the time Sirius could react, it was already climbing up a rope.
"Just when I thought I'd seen it all," Sirius muttered to himself, "I have to deal with an undead monkey."
But he wasn't going to give up now, not at all. He was going to chase that stupid beast to the end of the world if he had to. As son as he made sure there was no one looking, he threw all caution to the winds and transformed into Padfoot. That monkey was not going to get away from him. He chased him all through the ship, until he had it cornered at last. Slow and careful, he approached it with a constant growl - but it was too late.
The little beast jumped over him and ran away again, still carrying his treasure. By the time Sirius, human again, reached the deck, the medallion was in Barbossa's hands. And so was Captain Sparrow, along with everyone else on the Interceptor.
* * *
Will reminded him a bit of Harry, Sirius decided, now that he was trapped in a cell (again) and had time to think. It wasn't an idea that he particularly liked, since it reminded him of everything he'd lost after falling through that veil; but he couldn't shake it off. They were similar to each other. They were brave and honourable and never bothered to think things through. Now he was going to get killed, and chances were that everyone else would follow. Barbossa wasn't exactly a man of his word.
But then, something unexpected happened.
"Shh!" said Gibbs. "It's Elizabeth!"
True enough, she had managed to board the ship. How she had got there from a tiny deserted island, Sirius could only guess. Not that it mattered right now; all he wanted to do escape. The rest of the crew seemed to agree with him, of course. Except that their idea of escaping was a bit more extreme. Elizabeth looked like she was close to a nervous breakdown when she realized what was going on.
"And what about Jack, you’re just going to leave him?" she asked them at last.
It turned out that, yes, they were. But Sirius understood where she was coming from. Even if he'd only known Sparrow for a short time (and, on the other hand, not too short to figure out that he wasn't exactly trustworthy), he still couldn't bring himself to leave him and Will there alone. He had a basic sense of decency that wouldn't let him do that.
Some people would tell him he was thinking like a stupid Gryffindor. Then again, those were all people he didn't like.
There was only one thing he could do if he didn't want to put the whole crew against him, too. He went to a dark corner, transformed into a dog, and jumped into the boat.
"Bloody pirates," Elizabeth muttered, rowing towards the island.
Padfoot barked and wagged his tail. The girl turned around to look at him, surprised.
"How did you get into the boat?" she asked. "I didn't even realize there was a dog aboard..."
Luckily for Sirius, she was too busy trying to arrive on time that she didn't give it much thought. She didn't pay attention, either, when Padfoot jumped off the boat and followed her. Not that he blamed her; that cave was a mess.
At least it wasn't hard to figure out who was the enemy. But the best part of all was that he got to help even as Padfoot - and it was fun, too. This was the right time to give to his most canine instincts. Lots of bones to throw around! If only fighting Death Eaters had been this easy...
It didn't take them long until everything was over. Barbossa was dead, really dead this time, and his crew was escaping. The three friends jumped into the boat, and Padfoot jumped just behind them. Sparrow finally noticed him, and stared at him with narrowed eyes.
"Who's the dog?" he asked.
"What do you mean by who?" said Will. "Dogs are... dogs."
"Yes," the Captain said, grinning. "And skeletons are dead."
Sirius could have sworn that he'd just winked at him.
* * *
The Black Pearl was gone. Perhaps it shouldn't have surprised him, but it wasn't part of Sirius's plan. A big black dog might have gone unnoticed until then, but there was no way he could blend in if he got on the Dauntless. On the other hand, transforming while he was still on the boat was an even worse idea. He'd have to take the risk.
He got a rather nasty look from the Commodore, but Elizabeth wouldn't leave him behind.
"It helped us," she said. "I will take it with me to Port Royal."
Sirius wasn't sure if she did it out of gratitude or just to annoy the Commodore, but he honestly didn't care. All that mattered was that he now had the certainty of reaching land again. Then he'd figure out what do next. For now, he'd just enjoy the trip as well as he could.
He had planned to escape as soon as he stepped on the beach, but once he was there, he changed his mind yet again. Sparrow was going to be executed, and that angered him like only someone who had been unjustly convicted could understand. The fact that Sparrow probably had committed the crimes he was charged with was irrelevant, he decided. He had to help him, somehow.
But he didn't need to. It turned out that others did the job for him, and that was even better. However, there was yet another surprise left for him. When the Captain was about to jump into the sea, he turned around - and actually whistled at him.
Sirius didn't think about it twice. He transformed into a human again, took a good dive, and swam towards the Pearl.
"So," Sparrow said when they were safely aboard his ship. "I'm just curious about one small insignificant detail here. What kind of magical thingy are you?"
"Animagus," Sirius replied, as if it was the most natural thing in the world. "Nothing special, I just change into a dog and back. It's useful for hiding, though."
"I'd bet it's useful for many things," Sparrow muttered. Then he grinned, and offered him a nearly empty bottle.
"Then I guess it's settled. A pirate's life for me," Sirius hummed, and finished the rum.
Recipient: penknife
Title: Animagus of the Caribbean
Rating: G
Crossover fandom: Pirates of the Caribbean
Main characters: Sirius Black and the main cast of PotC: Curse of the Black Pearl.
Summary: "Just when I thought I'd seen it all," Sirius muttered to himself, "I have to deal with an undead monkey."
Author's note: This fic is set after book 5 for HP, and during the events of Curse of the Black Pearl for PotC. A few of Gibbs's and Elizabeth's lines come straight from the movie.
The first thing that Sirius noticed when he woke up was that he wasn't at the Department of Mysteries anymore. He felt very dizzy, as if he had fallen for a long time, or touched a Portkey. But he couldn't remember anything like that. One moment he was fighting against Bellatrix, and the next he was lying on the sand and looking at the starry sky above him.
The second thing he noticed, as soon as the dizziness passed and he began to think clearly again, was that he was alone. He jumped up, suddenly realizing what this meant. He couldn't help Harry anymore. Somewhere far from him, his godson was in mortal peril - and he couldn't help him. He couldn't do anything at all. Sirius almost hoped for this to be an illusion, some kind of spell, but it didn't take long for him to admit that there was no way back.
He had no idea of how he had ended up here (and the worst part, he thought, was that he probably would never find out), but this place was real.
All he could do was roar at the night sky, overwhelmed with anger and despair. If only he had thought before acting - but now it was much too late for that. He couldn't do anything for Harry. He couldn't help anyone at all.
He ran his hands trough his hair, trying to think clearly. Calm down now, Sirius, he muttered to himself under his breath. He didn't gain anything by just staying there, mad at the world and Bellatrix and himself. There had to be something he could do. Perhaps he'd find the solution with a bit of magic.
He patted his pockets and cursed loudly. He couldn't find his wand. Great. That made things even more complicated. On a whim, he tried to change into his Animagus form; everything was so strange now that it wouldn't have surprised him to discover he couldn't do it.
But he could. Luckily, transforming into Padfoot was still an option, and he was sure that it'd prove to be useful. He didn't want to show himself until he figured out if any people lived there; perhaps it'd be easier to steal some food as a dog and then hide somewhere.
With the idea of food in mind, he trotted along the beach for a while, hoping against all hope that this wasn't a deserted island. He followed the shore for about half an hour until, at last, he saw yellow lights in the distance. There seemed to be a town not too far from him. A little more optimistic, and now truly hungry, he hurried towards the lights.
The sounds and the smell reached him long before he arrived, but he didn't mind. He'd been in far worse places, after all. Besides, if there was something good to be said about the town, it was that a large stray dog would certainly go unnoticed. Sirius hadn't seen a noisier and dirtier place in his entire life, and that was saying a lot. Most of the people there seemed to be having fun; others were trying to kill each other. Some were doing both at the same time.
Making his way around all the drunkards on the floor, he reached the back of a tavern. There he'd have no problem finding something to eat. True enough, he found not only leftovers, but people actually eating out there - or trying to. He stole a piece of meat from a man who was too drunk to run after him, and went to hide in a corner. From there he could look around a bit, and try to figure out what to do next.
More than watching, though, he discovered that listening was useful. No one bothered to lower his voice or to be secretive in front of just a dog. Very soon, he heard enough to realize what exactly did all these people do... and, more importantly, he heard the name of the island where he'd ended up.
He would have laughed out loud if he had been in human form. Tortuga? Well, that certainly explained a lot. It would have explained even more, though, if it wasn't for a tiny detail: there hadn't been any pirates there in a couple of centuries. Had he travelled back in time or something? Or maybe it was even worse, like it happened in those Muggle stories sometimes... what did they call it? Alternate dimensions, or parallel worlds, or something like that. Not that it made much difference to him. He was still stuck here.
Too nervous to stay still, he started wandering again. He hadn't gone far when something caught his attention. There was a small but colourful crowd gathered around a middle-aged man, who seemed to be telling them something very interesting. It was a strange group indeed. There was a little bald man, an older man with a parrot perched on his shoulder, and a very angry black woman.
After a few minutes of careful listening, Sirius managed to figure out more or less what was going on. The middle-aged man, whose name appeared to be Gibbs, was trying to gather a crew. There was a treasure involved, of course. And the same name was repeated over and over: a certain Captain Jack Sparrow, who seemed to be a bit of a legend.
Sirius didn't think about it very long. If he was stuck in this place, at least he was going to do something that didn't let him worry about what he couldn't fix. It was crazy, yes. But he was used to doing crazy things.
When the others were gone, he returned to his human form and walked up to Gibbs.
"Nice plan," he said simply. The sailor gave him a very unpleasant look.
"Who are you?" he asked. "And why were you listening to us?"
"The name's Sirius Black. And it doesn't really matter how I found out."
"I could shoot you right now, you know."
"I want to join the crew," Sirius interrupted him.
Gibbs stared at him as if he had just sprouted a second head.
"Are you mad?" the pirate asked.
"Yeah, probably. But so are they," Sirius replied, shrugging. "I'll fit right in, don't you think?"
For a few moments, Gibbs didn't say anything, eyeing him cautiously. At last he put a hand on Sirius's shoulder.
"Come on," he said. "We could use someone to clean up a bit."
"I thought pirates were dirty," Sirius muttered, but he didn't complain anymore. It was still better than not knowing if he'd have something to eat or not each day. And he had always been up for adventure.
* * *
They were going to leave the very next morning, as soon as their Captain met them. Sirius felt strangely detached, as if it was all just a game. He didn't quite understand what was going on in his mind. Less than a day earlier, he was fighting for his life and for Harry's in the Department of Mysteries. He had no way to contact his friends; they probably thought he was dead. It made him furious, being unable to help Harry now that he needed him so much.
And, at the same time, he was so busy and excited that he barely had time to think about that. He didn't even care what happened to him from now on; he just wanted to be doing something. Maybe he'd gone mad at long last. Then again, if that was the case, this was going to be just the right place for him.
None of his future companions paid much attention to him, but that was a good thing, in a way. At least he didn't have to answer any unwanted questions. Then again, he supposed these people wouldn't be too keen on talking about their pasts, either. They just went around their business, without talking too much. Suddenly, Gibbs called them, and they all ran to stand on a row. Sirius shrugged and did the same as the others, placing himself at the end of the line.
And then, at last, he saw the legendary Captain Jack Sparrow.
He didn't look legendary at all, and he walked as if he had been drunk his entire life - which, all things considered, was probably the case. He was just as insane as the rest of the crew, but the young man who had arrived with him was the only one who seemed to notice it. No one else batted an eyelash at his crazy behaviour.
Sirius wondered if it was a way of showing respect to their Captain, but he changed his mind when Anamaria gave him an apparently well deserved slap. Maybe they just got used to him.
"You're new here," Sparrow said when he stepped in front of Sirius, tilting his head while he stared at him.
"Just arrived," Sirius admitted.
"Really? From where?"
"England," he said truthfully. "I just want to do a bit of pirating, savvy? Arrr, matey, and all that."
Sparrow gave him a long look.
"Sun's very strong here in the Caribbean, you know. Does things to your head," he said at last. "You might want to get a bit of shadow once in a while."
"So, am I in?"
"Who knows, you might prove useful," the Captain said, shrugging. "Just remember. Shadow."
His young companion rolled his eyes, but Sparrow didn't seem to mind at all and just walked away from them. Sirius smiled to himself. This was certainly going to be an interesting trip.
* * *
Sirius had never been on a ship before, much less on one like the Interceptor. But he got used to it sooner than he had expected. There was always something to do here, from keeping the deck relatively clean to trying to stay alive in spite of all the storms. They were strangely common here, yet another oddity of his new surroundings.
He also discovered that he could get along with the rest of the crew, at least as much as possible among a bunch of pirates who didn't entirely trust each other. With them, listening to the gossip was far more useful than actual asking. Questions brought suspicion upon the one who asked, after all. And Sirius had learned to figure things out from small clues long ago. It didn't take him long to find out why Sparrow was so famous. He wasn't sure he bought the story about how he'd escaped from that island, but it was impressive, he had to admit that. Besides, he was getting used to the idea that he was stuck in a somewhat supernatural place - not quite as magical as his wizarding world, but not entirely Muggle, either.
Something else he found out soon was that they were headed to a place called Isla de Muerta. That was hardly a reassuring name. Once they got there, he was glad to know he wasn't going to get off the ship. Only Sparrow and Will left; Gibbs watched them thoughtfully as their boat advanced. He was drinking, as usual, and Sirius thought this might be a good time to make a few details clear.
"So," he said casually, "what does the captain want there, anyway?"
Gibbs told him. Sirius sulked.
So there was a curse. Perfect. Nobody had bothered to tell him that when he joined the crew.
In a way, he thought he shouldn't be so angry; he was there out of despair, after all. When he first approached Gibbs, it hadn't mattered to him if he lived or died. But now he had changed his mind. He was enjoying himself, he was beginning to contemplate a life of adventures and rum in the Caribbean, and he had no plans of getting killed by zombie pirates.
Time seemed to go slower than ever while he waited for them to return from the island. He could only hope that they were the ones who came back, instead of the... other ones. Then he discovered it was both: Will and his girlfriend were in the boat, the Black Pearl was after them, and Sparrow was nowhere to be found. This wasn't going to be nice at all.
They couldn't even escape. The Interceptor, in spite of all its fame, was no match for the Pearl. All they could do was put up a good fight, and even that was mostly improvisation. Sirius was pretty sure that the things they were shooting from those cannons defied every law of physics, but he didn't stop to think about it. Now he was sure that this place did have a magic of its own, different from the one he knew. There was no other way to explain the fact that they were throwing cutlery out of the cannons.
Or, actually, the fact that they were dealing with cursed zombie pirates. But he'd rather not think about that.
"We need us a devil’s dowry," Gibbs said at last, when everyone had run out of ideas.
There was only one problem. All that Barbossa wanted was that stupid medallion, and it was nowhere to be found. Will went looking for it, but it was in vain; it wasn't where he had last left it. Then Sirius saw it, a flash of gold at his side - it was the medallion. And it was on the greedy paws of Barbossa's monkey. He jumped, trying to catch it, but the animal was too fast. By the time Sirius could react, it was already climbing up a rope.
"Just when I thought I'd seen it all," Sirius muttered to himself, "I have to deal with an undead monkey."
But he wasn't going to give up now, not at all. He was going to chase that stupid beast to the end of the world if he had to. As son as he made sure there was no one looking, he threw all caution to the winds and transformed into Padfoot. That monkey was not going to get away from him. He chased him all through the ship, until he had it cornered at last. Slow and careful, he approached it with a constant growl - but it was too late.
The little beast jumped over him and ran away again, still carrying his treasure. By the time Sirius, human again, reached the deck, the medallion was in Barbossa's hands. And so was Captain Sparrow, along with everyone else on the Interceptor.
* * *
Will reminded him a bit of Harry, Sirius decided, now that he was trapped in a cell (again) and had time to think. It wasn't an idea that he particularly liked, since it reminded him of everything he'd lost after falling through that veil; but he couldn't shake it off. They were similar to each other. They were brave and honourable and never bothered to think things through. Now he was going to get killed, and chances were that everyone else would follow. Barbossa wasn't exactly a man of his word.
But then, something unexpected happened.
"Shh!" said Gibbs. "It's Elizabeth!"
True enough, she had managed to board the ship. How she had got there from a tiny deserted island, Sirius could only guess. Not that it mattered right now; all he wanted to do escape. The rest of the crew seemed to agree with him, of course. Except that their idea of escaping was a bit more extreme. Elizabeth looked like she was close to a nervous breakdown when she realized what was going on.
"And what about Jack, you’re just going to leave him?" she asked them at last.
It turned out that, yes, they were. But Sirius understood where she was coming from. Even if he'd only known Sparrow for a short time (and, on the other hand, not too short to figure out that he wasn't exactly trustworthy), he still couldn't bring himself to leave him and Will there alone. He had a basic sense of decency that wouldn't let him do that.
Some people would tell him he was thinking like a stupid Gryffindor. Then again, those were all people he didn't like.
There was only one thing he could do if he didn't want to put the whole crew against him, too. He went to a dark corner, transformed into a dog, and jumped into the boat.
"Bloody pirates," Elizabeth muttered, rowing towards the island.
Padfoot barked and wagged his tail. The girl turned around to look at him, surprised.
"How did you get into the boat?" she asked. "I didn't even realize there was a dog aboard..."
Luckily for Sirius, she was too busy trying to arrive on time that she didn't give it much thought. She didn't pay attention, either, when Padfoot jumped off the boat and followed her. Not that he blamed her; that cave was a mess.
At least it wasn't hard to figure out who was the enemy. But the best part of all was that he got to help even as Padfoot - and it was fun, too. This was the right time to give to his most canine instincts. Lots of bones to throw around! If only fighting Death Eaters had been this easy...
It didn't take them long until everything was over. Barbossa was dead, really dead this time, and his crew was escaping. The three friends jumped into the boat, and Padfoot jumped just behind them. Sparrow finally noticed him, and stared at him with narrowed eyes.
"Who's the dog?" he asked.
"What do you mean by who?" said Will. "Dogs are... dogs."
"Yes," the Captain said, grinning. "And skeletons are dead."
Sirius could have sworn that he'd just winked at him.
* * *
The Black Pearl was gone. Perhaps it shouldn't have surprised him, but it wasn't part of Sirius's plan. A big black dog might have gone unnoticed until then, but there was no way he could blend in if he got on the Dauntless. On the other hand, transforming while he was still on the boat was an even worse idea. He'd have to take the risk.
He got a rather nasty look from the Commodore, but Elizabeth wouldn't leave him behind.
"It helped us," she said. "I will take it with me to Port Royal."
Sirius wasn't sure if she did it out of gratitude or just to annoy the Commodore, but he honestly didn't care. All that mattered was that he now had the certainty of reaching land again. Then he'd figure out what do next. For now, he'd just enjoy the trip as well as he could.
He had planned to escape as soon as he stepped on the beach, but once he was there, he changed his mind yet again. Sparrow was going to be executed, and that angered him like only someone who had been unjustly convicted could understand. The fact that Sparrow probably had committed the crimes he was charged with was irrelevant, he decided. He had to help him, somehow.
But he didn't need to. It turned out that others did the job for him, and that was even better. However, there was yet another surprise left for him. When the Captain was about to jump into the sea, he turned around - and actually whistled at him.
Sirius didn't think about it twice. He transformed into a human again, took a good dive, and swam towards the Pearl.
"So," Sparrow said when they were safely aboard his ship. "I'm just curious about one small insignificant detail here. What kind of magical thingy are you?"
"Animagus," Sirius replied, as if it was the most natural thing in the world. "Nothing special, I just change into a dog and back. It's useful for hiding, though."
"I'd bet it's useful for many things," Sparrow muttered. Then he grinned, and offered him a nearly empty bottle.
"Then I guess it's settled. A pirate's life for me," Sirius hummed, and finished the rum.