The winds.
The howling winds.
The deafening crash of the waves against the walls.
The screams…
The never-ending screams.
It was a comforting sound.
Because at least they were still alive.
At least they still had the will to scream out, to try and remind the world that they still existed down in the depths of hell.
Sirius had stopped screaming many years ago.
He hadn’t had any reason to because there was no one to listen to him anymore. The ones who screamed, screamed in the hopes it would somehow reach the ears of the ones they left behind. Their howling calls into the endless crash of the sea, desperate to reach the ears of the ones who loved them across the vast water.
Sirius felt no need to scream. No one was listening.
Not James…
Not Lily….
Not Remus…
Not even his little brother…
The fallen and the forgeters. Not a single soul was left in the wider world that would even care what became of him. He was in a pit of his own making, stuck with the guilt of those he left behind and those he led to Death.
It was a miserable existence, waiting for Death. The soul longed to be freed from the haggard body it was chained to, like the chains which held the ten pound lock firmly fixed to his ankle.
A new wave of cold passed over him, from the dementors or the sea mist he couldn’t be sure, despite Azkaban’s impenetrable walls, it seemed as though either the barely there windows or the waves themselves were bewitched to ensure that the bone-chilling cold of the damp would not allow a single inhabitant a moments peace even when the dementors weren’t lurking outside their cells.
The dementors…
One could truly never know peace once you had spent time within their walls.
And they were truly their walls. They oozed out of the cracks, infesting every corner with their spores. They infiltrated your lungs and your skin until the imprint of their terror inked out of you with each breath.
Oh, let me die…
Oh, please just let me die…
“Well, well, well. So it is you.”
Sirius whipped his head up from the dank floor of his cell towards the sudden noise. Despite the never-ceasing chorus of screams that reverberated off the walls, to hear a voice speaking to him resounded through his ears with the force of a cannon being fired, deafening and shocking.
“I- what?” Sirius said, his voice no longer held the strong and charming tone it once had. Instead, it sounded weak and hollow.
He could not seem to make out the figure in the darkness of the prison; the only thing clear to his eyes in the dim light was the clearly defined silhouette of a guard's uniform and a head of long curly hair.
“It’s good to see you again, Sirius. I look forward to getting reacquainted with each other.”
And he was gone.
And Sirius was alone in the dark again.
*****
“Looks like you haven’t moved even a lick since my last visit. I’ve never known you to be able to sit still for more than a minute. I suppose things really have changed since we were last face to face.”
Sirius tried to raise his head in the direction of the voice but as was normal for him these days— the effort to do anything other than breathe was too much for his body. It had been far too long since he was last fed, and he was sure it wouldn’t be until he could barely maintain consciousness before the mysterious substance that seemed to be an attempt at food appeared in his cell.
The voice of this new guard felt heavy in his ears. He opened his mouth to give him some sort of retort but the words died on his tongue, the effort of the action too much for him to bear.
“What, no witty comeback? My, my they really did break you. How sad.”
“Wh-what’s it to you? D-d-do I kn-know you?” Sirius managed to gasp out.
“Whether you know me or not I can’t say for sure, but I know you. Tell me, because one thing about all of this confuses me to no end. How does Sirius Black betray James Potter?”
The guard's voice felt like poison in his brain. Something about his tone gave Sirius an uncomfortably familiar sense of dread which fueled a long forgotten fire in his stomach. “I didn’t.” Sirius spat.
The silence felt odd. There was never silence in these halls, and yet in the moment that passed between them, Sirius could have sworn that the screaming, the waves, the wail of the dementors, and even the sound of his own breathing stopped.
“I know you didn’t.”
*****
“You really stink, you know? I mean, I remember the putrid smell of muggle cigarettes that always seemed to cling to you at school, but this is just repulsive.”
Sirius titled his head towards the dark, murky entrance to his cell. The silhouette of the mysterious guard once again loomed against the dim light that leaked in.
As ever, the figure was too far for him to make out his features in the dank of the prison. His voice, however… something about his dry, sarcastic drawl felt eerily familiar.
“It seems this unfair advantage between us continues. You know me so well but won’t even tell me your name? What? Piss me off in potions class or something? Scared of big bad Sirius Black? Well I promise, there’s not much I can do to you in this state.” Sirius returned with as much confidence and conviction as he could manage. Though, to his dismay, his voice came out raw and raspy, sounding as though he had smoked an entire pack of cigarettes in one go despite the fact he couldn’t even remember the last time he had had one.
“Oh, we have some pep today do we? Good. You sounded like a whimpering infant during my last visit.”
“Why not just tell me who you are and why you are so interested in me and get it over with?” Sirius said with a lazy eye-roll.
Something about the way the guard chuckled to himself unsettled him, and he didn’t quite know why.
And yet, the long dormant Marauder within him suddenly perked up with intrigue.
He knows me… He clearly wants something from me. Maybe I can use this somehow…
“Finlee… Call me Finlee.” The guard said, almost whispered into the crushing darkness.
The name meant nothing to Sirius as he pondered through every single face he could recall from his days at Hogwarts. He could find no recollection of this supposed classmate.
“Is that all I get? You have me on the edge of my seat, Finlee.”
Once more, Finlee chuckled at his response.
“Don’t worry, you’ll have plenty of time to get reacquainted with me.”
And then once again, Sirius was alone with the screaming.
*****
Sirius wasn’t sure how long it went on. Weeks? Maybe months? But every few days, at least what he assumed to be days, Finlee would arrive at the opening of Sirius’s cell. His face always in shadow, and his voice always in jest.
Through the sarcasm and the jabs of wit, Sirius was able to scrounge up bits and pieces of information about his new “old friend”.
Finlee was apparently a half-blood, Hufflepuff, and a few years behind Sirius and James in school.
He had managed to ascertain pieces of the puzzle bit by bit with each visit of the shadow in his sight. Whatever it was Sirius learned about this not-stranger, one thing was very clear to his prison-addled mind.
Finlee wanted to know Sirius… and wanted Sirius to know him.
Though he was a mystery at first, Sirius felt he had begun to unravel the fabric of this new guard.
“And what of your family? Half-blood have any interesting stories for the former pureblood prince?” Sirius said cheekily.
Finlee liked to think he played it cool during his visits, but Sirius had figured him out. If he wanted him to talk– to reveal his weaknesses– Sirius had to play the part of the boy he had been in school. He applied his mask of cool, easy confidence and bravado each time the shadow paused in his doorway. Perhaps Finlee had had a thing for him in school? Maybe he had been envious of the Marauders and wanted to be a part of what they had? No matter the answer, Sirius would use whatever tricks he could to get what he wants.
You're my ticket out of hell on earth.
“There’s not much that would interest you. My mother died when I was young, and her being the witch in the family, I didn’t really know much about the magical side of my family until I got my Hogwarts Letter.”
Alone again. One sliver of intrigue and then he was alone again.
Ever and ever alone. Each passing moment the darkness felt heavier.
The cold felt sharper.
The call of the dementors more tempting.
The screaming louder and louder.
*****
“My father is a priest.”
“What’s that? Is it an important job?”
“Some people think so. Some people think it’s pointless.”
“Why?”
“Because, a priest tells the word of God. He preaches the virtues of the Bible and the sins of each and every soul. Some people look to him like he is the secret, the answer to the peace that they crave. Others see him as a liar, praying to nothing while preying on the fears of the faithful.”
Sirius pondered this for a moment.
He had heard about muggle religion. He had never thought to consider that muggles took such stock in whether or not it meant something.
It meant nothing to him.
But laying there, on the filthy, vermin-infested floor of his cell, he wondered. Wondered what it would be like to believe in something. What it would mean to believe that all the suffering would be rewarded someday in ways his mortal soul could never understand.
Nothing. It would mean nothing. It would change nothing.
Suffering is still suffering whether it is a god's will or not.
“But you know-”
Finlee’s sudden words jolted Sirius from his contemplation.
“My father says God is a ticket out of the hell that is earth. What is God but the water of a baptism that washes us clean again? Makes us feel renewed? Miracles and magic and every other fairytale I ever scoffed at turned out to be real? Why not God? What is better, then, than hope of salvation? That our soul can be saved?”
Sirius forced himself to look at the shadow crouched across the bars. He couldn’t bring his body to lift itself to a seated position so Finlee was sat on his heels… staring at him.
Even though Sirius could not make out his expression in the dark, he felt sure of one thing. Finlee was studying him. Waiting to see his reaction.
Waiting to see him repent.
The winds howled.
The walls screamed.
The dementors wailed.
The world around them filled with a symphony of agony and pain, and this stranger wanted to know if Sirius would buy into the fairytale muggles told their children to make them feel better when they had nightmares.
But Sirius said nothing… and Finlee continued.
“But then… I suppose it must be hard to believe in God when you make your own miracles every day don’t you? Well… you could if you were smart enough to notice it.”
It took what little energy Sirius possessed to raise an eyebrow in the shadows direction.
“Do you ever notice…” Finlee whispered, leaning closer to the bars of the cell. As he drew nearer Sirius was able to make out a familiar, cunning gleam in the guards eyes and a knowing look to his smirk.
“The rats here… are just as chipper as the rats back home, carefree. They climb over one another to survive not caring if they condemn the ones they leave behind. But… none of them can claim anyone but themselves. Do you know why, Sirius?” Finlee said slowly, as if his words were the most precious thing in the world and he didn’t want Sirius to miss even a syllable.
“The dementors… don’t affect animals. Too bad you aren’t an animagus…right?”
He froze.
He tried to speak, but the choked sounds of his voice were strangled in his throat.
The shock of the knowing leer being cast on him felt like a stab to his chest.
“I told you… I know you, Sirius. Far better than you ever knew me.”
With that Finlee once again rose to his full height and backed away from the bars. Once more, nothing more than a silhouette in the gloom.
But, just as he faded away into the endless black of Azkaban's walls, he turned once again towards to face what was left of the once great and powerful Sirius Black.
“I managed to sneak in a bit of light reading for you… thought it might help pass the time.”
And then he was gone.
And Sirius was alone.
With nothing but the howling winds.
The crashing waves.
The echoes of screams.
And a copy of the Daily Prophet …. With a very large, very red-headed family on the cover.
*****
No…..
No.. not him… no it was
Not him….
Not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him
Not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not him not himnot him not him not him not him
not him not him not him not him
not him not him…….
not him not him not him not him
not him not him not him not him
not him not him not him not him
not him not him not him not him
not him not him not him not him
not him not him not him not him
not him not him not him not him
not him not him not him not him
not him not him not him not him
not him not him not him not him
not him not him not him not him
not him not him not him not him
not him not him not him not him
not him not him not him not him
not him not him not him not him
not him not him not him not him
not him not him not him not him
not him not him not him not him
Except, of course it was him…
There could be no mistaking it.
Sirius had spent what felt like days counting…
Over and over and over again.
5 toes…
5 toes…
5 toes…
4 toes…
There’s 4 toes. That’s only 4 toes.
It’s missing a toe.
Wormtail is missing a toe!
Everything inside Sirius was screaming… Screaming to get out. Screaming to stop the pain. Screaming to turn back time and do things different. His heart was screaming from within to jump out of his chest because the pain would be less than the truth of knowing that it was unfinished… that he had failed to avenge his family. His brain was screaming for salvation…
Sirius was screaming.
Loud, haunted, and heartbreaking screaming.
He screamed for James.
He screamed for Lily.
He screamed for Remus… and Regulus… and Harry…
He screamed out to whatever god Finlee believed would save him.
“Sirius! Breathe! You need to breathe!”
Finlee. Always Finlee. He could hear the familiar guard; he was calling to him from the other side of the bars. Sirius was sure he was calling to him but yet he seemed so far away.
The dark of his cell was slowly drawing nearer, closing in on him. Finlee’s calls to breathe.. To calm down.. They felt so inconsequential. Then the voices shifted, Sirius wasn’t sure if it was his screams ringing in his ears or the ghosts of those he left behind… those he failed.
He thought of Lily and James– screaming for their child's life.
Harry’s cries. A child alone in a world that should have sheltered him.
Regulus’s wails. His brother who he had abandoned, never even knowing what had become of him during the war.
Remus’s howls, forced to suffer his fate alone because Sirius had failed him again…
And just as consciousness creeped away from him, pulling him into the bliss of the quiet void,
He could have sworn he heard his baby brother… his voice calling out, shaking him as he slipped away…
“Don't leave me again…”
*****
Time was a cruel joke.
For what felt like years after Sirius awoke face first on the floor of his cell, he wrestled with the war raging inside his mind.
Wormtail got away. He’s out there.
…he could hurt Harry.
His chest felt as though it were collapsing in on itself as the realization of his failure sunk deeper and deeper into his bones. For days he hurled his rage from his core through his screams. He cursed his former friend, he wailed for his godson's innocence, and he cried for the life they should have had.
And then he fell silent.
He plotted.
He reasoned and worked over every possibility in his mind until the key to his prison fell into his outstretched and begging palms.
Finlee.
Oh Finlee… may your “god” have mercy on me for what I need to do.
*****
He was sitting quietly when Finlee’s shadow appeared at the threshold.
His palms were clasped together and his head bowed, not even glancing up at the guard he had come to know.
“If I didn’t know any better, I’d say it looks like you’re praying.” Finlee chuckled. The sound of his levity reverberated off the stone like it was trying to escape, like it didn’t belong in a place like this.
Sirius said nothing.
Not yet.
“You scared me there, Black… I’ve never seen you like that.”
“I’m going to die here Finlee.”
Slowly. So slowly, Sirius raised his gaze to the shadow that had haunted him.
“I’m going to die here… there is no salvation for me in this life. But…”
Finlee said nothing. His silhouette stood motionless as he waited for Sirius to continue.
“Would your God welcome me? Could I finally know peace in death, despite my sins?”
Will you set me free?
“God forgives… that’s why we are baptized. To wash away the sin of being born, so that we can be welcomed back home again.”
Finlee’s voice felt chilling, the mocking tone was gone and in its place a deep sense of dread had taken its place.
For what felt like hours… the silence crescendoed around them. It drowned out the waves and the screams and engulfed them in its symphony.
It’s now or never. This is my one chance at this and it has to work.
“Finlee, I’m sorry I never knew you in school. I-I have so much that I am sorry for in my life. Finlee– I want to atone. I want to maybe one day have the hope of finding peace when I’m finally free of this place.”
Finlee shook his head slightly then looked up to meet Sirius’s gaze, the low light glinting in his eyes in an unreadable manner.
“Repent.”
Sirius laughed. Now was the moment he hoped would change everything, if he could only pull off one more prank.
“I can never repent for all the things I have done. My sins damned me years ago. No, Finlee, I need to wipe the slate clean.”
“You--”
“I need you to baptize me into a new age. My soul is as black as my name, just as my ancestors would wish it, but I want to end the darkness. I can do nothing about the darkness of this cell as it eats away at what's left of my body, but you can save me from the blackness that has taken hold inside me.”
Finlee’s breath stuttered, and it looked to Sirius as if his hands had begun to shake. The fear of the next words out of the guard's mouth had his heart sitting in his throat. He thought over everything he knew and everything he had done to this point, wondering if he was about to fail yet again, or if perhaps he still had a chance.
“You– I– very well.”
The clang of metal on metal was like the chorus of church bells in Sirius’s ears as the door to his cell swung open… It worked.
Is this real?
Did I really do it?
Oh, Finlee… you don’t know me at all. That was your first mistake and for that, I am so very grateful, you poor fool.
“Transform. I’ll do as you ask and then bring you back.”
“Of course.” Sirius said softly as he fought to hide the smile that threatened to betray him. But, as his body shifted and the warmth of fur coated his limbs, he could not help the delighted wagging of his tail as Finlee led the way out of the stone box which had been his home.
The walls of Azkaban were narrow and damp, like they were closing in more and more with every step they took away from the cell. The Dementors stood sentinel at each bend and the cold of their grasp dug into his skin whenever they passed.
*****
It was too bright…
It was blinding, burning, stunning…
As his body changed and he grew to his full height on two legs, stumbling back, he tried desperately to squint into the brilliant light of the outside. It felt as though the world he had once known no longer wanted him. The crushing light was screaming at him to cower away and return to the dark pit where he belonged.
I can’t… it hurts… it’s too-
“Come on. You’re almost there.”
Finlee’s voice cut through the piercing rays that were assaulting him. Sirius forced his eyes to peek out at the world he had long ago been banished from as the shapes of life began to form in his vision. For the first time, he was able to make out the face of the man who had offered him salvation as Finlee stood out on the edge of the rocks up to his knees in the temperamental water. The harsh winds blew his curly blond hair about in a manner so violent that his stillness in his posture looked almost otherworldly.
His face was chiseled and firm, though Sirius still had no memory of this man there was something familiar and aristocratic about the guard’s posture. He didn’t know him, and yet he did.
As his eyes adjusted to the unwelcoming light, he took in the sharp talons of rock that sprung out from the sea around him. Their biting claws seemed to reach out and grab at the walls of the prison. The edge of the rocks dropped off with a sudden halt as the water appeared to be as dark and deep as the night. Just beyond Finlee’s steadfast stance, his hand extended out towards Sirius in invitation.
“Don’t be scared, come on in… the water’s fine. I won’t let you drown.” Finlees said softly, his voice somehow reaching him through the screams of the wind and the sea.
Slowly, and awkwardly Sirius stumbled down the rocky hill, the sharp thorns of stone cut into his feet leaving the evidence of his sin behind him as he approached the edge.
“You will be ok Sirius… I promise. I will be right here with you.”
I’m sorry… I’m so sorry for what I have to do. You are my only hope. I’m so sorry.
Sirius slowly nodded as he reached the guard who now stood at the very edge of the island's rocky coast, waist deep in the water. He stepped into his space as Finlee’s arms reached out and encircled Sirius’s frail form. One hand gently cradled the back of his head as the other came up to just below his nose and mouth. Sirius’s bony fingers held on Finlee's forearm, feeling the stiff outline of his wands below his sleeve as he leaned back into the careful embrace, trusting Finlee as he held him back over the drop. The sudden descent of the deep, unforgiving waters just beyond their rock.
“We thank you, Father–” Finlee begins, his voice humming and calm against the violence of the waves lapping up their legs. “--for the water of the baptism. In it we are buried with Christ in his death. By it we share his resurrection. Through it, we are reborn by the Holy Spirit”
To be reborn… I have to… I’m so sorry Finlee.
“Do you wish to be baptized?”
Finlee gazed down at Sirius, held protectively in his arms. His eyes held a hope so fierce that something in it made Sirius sure for a moment that he knew them. That he saw something familiar in the guards face, but the fleeting feeling was washed away with the next wave of the sea that hurled itself against them as he spoke.
“I do.”
“Do you believe and trust in God?”
I don’t.
“I do.”
“Well, then, I baptize you in the name of the Father…”
As he spoke, Finlee lowered Sirius back into the water. The world was lost for a moment as his body was submerged below.
One…
“In the name of the Son…”
To the water again, Sirius descended.
Two…
“And the Holy–”
Three!
In a flurry of movement, Sirius mustered all the force he had to pull the guard's wand from his arm holster as he swung the man down into the water.
“ Petrificus Totalus!” Sirius bellowed, freezing Finlee like a statue as he reached out to Sirius to pull him back to the safety of stable ground.
His hand slowly sunk.. Down into the void away from view, down the sudden drop into the depths of the sea.
“I’m sorry, Finlee… You never really knew me. And I’m sorry I didn’t know you.”
Taking one last look up at the stone walls of hell, Sirius tucked Finlee’s wand between his teeth and allowed his body to once again transform as he began the long swim to his freedom.
To Harry.
To Remus..
Maybe even to his brother…
To his rebirth.
*****
None knew what had become of Regulus Arcturus Black.
The truth was too outrageous to believe.
Regulus had gone to that dark, menacing cave in the hopes of finally making the right choice. Of fighting the side he had never wanted to choose.
He had been so sure. So sure he could muster some Gryffindor-like courage as his brother had for so many years, finally standing in defiance of the tyranny his family had supported for so long.
When Regulus sent Kreacher from that place, horcrux in hand, he had sworn he would be brave. That he would see the task done.
But he was scared– as terrified as the child he had once been, left alone in a house that held no love for him. A house that was hell on earth.
So when Regulus Black managed to escape Death’s firm grip, escape that dark cave, he disappeared.
Kreacher will destroy it… he will do it. Others will find the path I laid and the Dark Lord will fall… I’ll go back one day… I’ll go back.
He had not. He had found no bravery, but perhaps salvation.
Hidden away in the muggle world Regulus took refuge in the warm welcome of an old priest and his congregation.
Father Finlee.
Regulus prayed. He repented for the mistakes of his youth and his cowardice. But he never left.
He had followed the news of his world discreetly, finding his way to a copy of the Daily Prophet whenever he had the chance. He hid away with his knowledge and his secrets, and he prayed.
Until he saw that headline.
“Sirius Black sentenced to life in Azkaban following the murder of 12 muggles and former friend Peter Pettigrew: Black jailed after killing spree succeeding his betrayal of James and Lily Potter.”
It wasn’t possible. It didn't make sense. It was a mistake.
So Regulus returned.
For years he would return to the wizarding world, trying to find his way into the despicable walls of Azkaban with his freedom still intact.
He prayed in the pews of the church at night and hunted for his ticket to hell each morning.
Years of searching and scheming in secret lead him to a young guard, Alan Mickbly, who had been a Hufflepuff student a year or so behind Regulus in school.
I’m sorry to do this, Alan.
Sending the young man away had been simple enough, not before altering his memory and retrieving enough of his hair to keep Regulus’s charade afloat long after he had discovered the truth that lay waiting behind bars.
Oh, Sirius. What have they done to you? He thought, heartbroken, each time he paid a visit to his older brother.
I need to get him out. Lord, please help me get him out. Sirius, help me get you out.
Sirius, just as clever as he had been in their youth, followed the breadcrumbs Regulus laid at his feet. He found the places in the persona Regulus crafted to worm his way into possession the key that could allow him out. Allow him to return to the world that had tossed him aside where the two brothers would finally be able to stand tall, stand freely side by side. Regulus would reveal himself after he had saved his brother's soul, and the two of them would escape to the life they had never lived.
But Sirius was so clever, cleverer than Regulus could ever hope to be. Always had been.
As he sank below the surface, down to the depths of the darkness he had escaped once before, he felt the cold chill of Death once again gripping his body. Pulling him back where he belonged.
You always were the better escape artist. Brother. You escaped that house. You escaped Azkaban… you escaped me. No matter how hard I try to hold you, you always escape me.
As the world faded away to black, the effects of his Polyjuice potion withered away. The last thing Regulus saw before the water claimed what it was owed, was the shadowy silhouette of a dog swimming out of hell.
May God bless you, brother.