the_debt_of_time

emotions ran strong—worry and panic at the very top of the list—but also the brilliant
feeling of adrenaline coursing through his veins.
"Department of Mysteries. Voldemort put a vision in Harry's head and made him
think you'd been captured. Harry and his friends broke into the Ministry to save you,"
Remus explained in short sentences as he tried to fill in the blanks, while Sirius put the
pieces together himself.
"I think I remember something like that," Sirius muttered. Suddenly, an image
flooded his mind, and his fists clenched. "My cousin?"
"Tonks?" Remus blinked and glanced toward the kitchen where he could hear his
wife putting on the kettle.
"No," Sirius growled fiercely, shaking at the memory. "The crazy bitch!"
"Bella," Remus hesitantly confirmed. "She got away."
"Fuck!" Sirius threw his arms and legs out in frustration, unable to reach anything
to throw or break, and became abruptly aware that he could not feel a wand on himself.
He looked up and saw the familiar piece of chestnut wood resting on a nearby table, and
he snatched it up quickly, checking to make sure it had not been damaged.
At the feel of his wand in hand, Sirius scowled as the memories came flooding back.
The Department of Mysteries. He had gone to rescue Harry. Not just Harry, though.
No, she had been there too. She and a number of other students: the youngest Weasleys,
he remembered; Alice and Frank's boy had been there; and there was a girl who bore a
striking resemblance to a witch Sirius had been acquainted with in school.
There had been fighting. Death Eaters had broken into the Ministry: Lucius Malfoy,
Bellatrix, and a number of other people Sirius had the misfortune to know by name.
"I remember duelling," he recalled laboriously. "And you and Tonks were there.
Kingsley and Moody too. Some big room that looked like the most depressing theatre I've
ever seen."
"It's a room in the Department of Mysteries. Appropriately called the Veil Room
or... the Death Room."
Sirius's eyes widened as he peered up at his friend. "She killed me, didn't she?"
"To be fair, you're not exactly dead right now," Remus said with an awkward shrug.
Sirius glared at him impatiently. "You know what I mean, Moony!"