Sirius placed his hand on the door handle, muttered something, and depressed it. The door opened a few inches.
“Excellent,” muttered Jocelyn, pushing past Sirius. She placed a hand on the door, and began to push into the room.
Sirius grabbed her shoulder.
“Wait!” he commanded. Reaching inside a pocket of his robes, he pulled out James’s invisibility cloak, which he threw over both of them. Then, pushing Jocelyn behind him, Sirius stepped through the doorway. Jocelyn was only a step behind.
They had entered a medium sized, completely bare, stone chamber.
“It’s empty,” Jocelyn observed, feeling a bit disappointed.
“Shut up!” Sirius hissed.
“I have to say, this chamber is really overrated,” sighed Jocelyn, ignoring Sirius. “There’s no summary or anything.”
“Joce’, shut up!” Sirius growled.
“Oh, come off it Sirius, nothing’s here,” said Jocelyn impatiently. She threw off the invisibility cloak and took a step away from him.
“No wait!” Sirius shouted, grabbing her shoulder, even as another voice cried, “Crucio!”
Sirius yanked Jocelyn out of the way just in time. The jet of red light shot just past her cheek as two invisibility cloaks slid to floor, and two more figures were revealed: Sirius and Bellatrix.
She was clad in her full Death Eater attire, complete with skeleton-like mask, cackling madly.
“Aww, still believe in fairy tales, wittle Adhara?” she mocked, advancing slowly toward Sirius and Jocelyn. “Disappointed they weren’t twoo?”
“The legend was true,” said Sirius quietly. He stepped in front of Jocelyn as he spoke. “It said the summary of the Black family was in this chamber, and it was right. You, Bella, truly are the sum of everything the Blacks stand for: hatred, and cruelty, and senseless killing!” Sirius’s voice rose slightly as he spoke.
Bellatrix dropped her mocking demeanor as she and Sirius glared at each other.
“I take that as a compliment,” she whispered harshly.
“What did you have against Vega, eh?” Sirius growled. “It was me who sent your mates to Azkaban, not Jocelyn! Why didn’t you go after my parents?”
Bella’s lips curled into a mocking smile.
“I somehow didn’t think that would have quite the same effect, Sirius, though I can’t imagine why. Mostly it was because they weren’t blood-traitors.”
“Blood-traitors!” Sirius spat. “It was a blood-traitor who sent your pureblood pals to Azkaban, if you don’t remember!”
“Yes, so they’re not exactly non-threatening, are they?” Bellatrix pointed out, her mouth twitching.
Sirius suddenly looked wary.
“Threatening,” he murmured. “Threatening. … Is that why you attacked James, then?”
Bellatrix’s smile broadened.
“Very good, Sirius,” she jeered. “Although Potter was never the primary target … just bait. The real target has always been you.”
Sirius nodded slowly.
“Always been me,” he muttered.
“That’s right,” Bella affirmed. “Potter was disposable.”
Sirius stiffened.
“Disposable!” he snapped. “Is that what you think? I swear if you touch him “!”
“You’ll what? Take another “ what’s it been, now? “ eight months to find me?”
“Not quite so brave without that mask on, are you Bella?” mocked Sirius, ignoring Bella’s jab. “Why don’t you take it off? After all, your face is probably your deadliest weapon.”
“Just like yours, Sirius. Strutting around that castle like you own the place,” Bella sounded disgusted. She pointed her wand at Jocelyn and her voice softened. “Ensnaring the hearts “ and consequently, endangering the lives “ of beautiful young girls….”
With his own wand Sirius jerked Bella’s wand tip back at himself.
“Don’t point that thing at her!” he growled. “Your quarrel is with me!”
Jocelyn saw a movement behind Bella’s mask, and could have sworn she had smiled.
“She’s my cousin “ and a blood-traitor!” she spat the phrase “ “as well, Sirius,” she said, her voice soft and deadly.
“She’s not your concern!”
There was a pause, a silence, as each tried to stare the other down. Neither noticed as a third figure in the room quietly dematerialized.
“Why did you tell Voldemort “”
“Crucio!”
Sirius blocked the curse easily.
“What, scared to hear your own master’s name?” he asked coolly.
“Don’t you dare “ don’t you dare “ desecrate his name with your unworthy lips!” hissed Bellatrix, positively shaking with rage.
Sirius gave a humorless smile.
“It’s just a name, Bella,” he pointed out.
“Don’t you dare!” Bella hissed again.
“All right, fine,” shrugged Sirius. “Why did you tell your master” “ he laid careful emphasis on the words “ “I was the greatest threat to his power? You know it’s a lie!”
There was another movement behind Bella’s mask, as though she was grinning. Broadly.
“I couldn’t be sure, now, could I, Sirius? You had a great talent for magic, great ambition … but nothing you seemed to be channeling it toward. And then, one night, it occurred to me…”
“What?” asked Sirius warily.
“Your greatest secret. You didn’t want to join the Dark Lord because you were planning to replace him. You put on a front of abhorring the Dark Arts to hide your true intentions. But you made one fatal error.”
“Yeah?” growled Sirius. He didn’t like the direction this conversation was taking. “What was that?”
“I noticed you had a certain fondness for hexing people,” said Bella softly.
Sirius flinched.
“I only hexed gits who deserved it!” he snapped. “Your mates “ Narcissa’s gang “ Snape! I never cursed Muggleborns!”
“Ahh, yes,” Bella agreed. “But it was common knowledge you hated one.”
“Who?”
Another movement behind the mask suggested Bella’s grin had widened. When she spoke, the words dripped with pure malice.
“Lily Evans,” she whispered.
Sirius looked as though she had slapped him.
“I don’t care what sort of blood she’s got!” he shouted. “I never cared what sort of blood she’s got!”
“To outside observers that was a matter of opinion,” shrugged Bellatrix. She was obviously enjoying this.
“Why you “!” Sirius’s breathing was heavy, his face livid.
“Don’t you want to hear the rest of the story?” asked Bella calmly.
“I know the rest!” Sirius growled. “You framed me!”
“But don’t you want to know why?” questioned Bella.
Sirius stopped. Then he nodded slowly.
“Why?” he asked in a voice of forced calm.
“To get revenge,” answered Bella levelly.
“Revenge for what?” Sirius demanded, shouting again.
“For embarrassing the family name,” she answered. “Not just you. Not even really you. Mostly to get revenge on the one person who brainwashed my older sister, turned her into the disgrace she is today!” Bella’s voice was shaking again.
“If you’re talking about Andromeda, she’s the best your family’s ever produced!” Sirius shouted. He stopped, as he realized what Bella had actually said. “Who did you want revenge on?” he asked quietly, but, even as asked it, he knew he didn’t want to hear the answer.
“Vega,” said Bella quietly. “You were never really a target. But then you decided to come after me, and I thought, ‘Well, why not?’ Four for the price one, you know.”
Sirius had raised his wand now.
“I misspoke earlier, Sirius,” Bella admitted, not sounding at all remorseful about this. “The real target wasn’t always you. The real target was always Veg “”
A jet of red light shot from nowhere. It hit Bellatrix squarely in the small of her back. She fell forward, stunned.
Jocelyn threw the invisibility cloak off her head. For a moment she and Sirius stared at each other, Sirius still with his wand at the ready.
“Well,” said Jocelyn quietly.
“Yeah,” Sirius growled.
There was a sudden, sharp crack! Jocelyn leaped over Bellatrix, and threw the invisibility cloak over Sirius. Nearly a dozen more cracks! A dozen Death Eaters had Apparated into the chamber.
“Sirius, Disapparate,” Jocelyn hissed. “Now!”
“Not without Bella,” Sirius hissed back.
The Death Eaters had heard the hissing. They all turned toward the noise.
“Leave her!” Jocelyn snarled.
“No!” Sirius growled. “She’s going to Azkaban!”
The Death Eaters were advancing slowly.
“There’s nothing you can do!” Jocelyn snapped. “Leave her!”
Sirius looked longingly at Bella’s comatose body, lying less than two meters away. She was so close, almost within his reach…
The Death Eaters drew closer.
“Leave her!” Jocelyn hissed. “Sirius, there’s nothing you can do! Leave her! Disapparate!”
“NO!” Sirius shouted.
He darted out from under the invisibility cloak. Jocelyn grabbed his elbow, pulled, turned. There was a chorus of shouts, a loud crack!
A dozen jets of light collided at the place where Sirius and Jocelyn had stood not a second before.