the_debt_of_time

Walburga came to his room, instructing him to bathe and dress in his finest robes. Unable to fight
her when she insisted that she would have the elves do it for him if he would not, Sirius begrudgingly obeyed.
When he was led down the stairs to the drawing room, a circle of masked figures met him. His
eyes widened, and he scowled at the sight of them: Death Eaters. Long, pale blond hair peeked out of the
mask of one Death Eater, and Sirius knew it was Malfoy. He had lunged forward, but his cousin Bellatrix
was there, all too eager to fling Sirius to the ground where she set a curse on his flesh, slicing and cutting his
skin, bleeding him out onto his robes to further weaken him—a sacrifice to her master.
"He is ready my Lord," Orion insisted, his head bowed. "He is sixteen, just as you requested."
"I requested nothing. I required him to be at least sixteen, but he also needed to come willingly
and offer sacrifice. I do not intend to Imperius every last follower into understanding and obedience."
"Perhaps a little persuasion is useful, my Lord?" Bellatrix cooed lovingly in the direction of the
hooded figure. Sirius wanted to vomit, but there was nothing in his stomach to throw up. He turned his
head to the side and watched as the hooded figure gave a short, quick nod and Bellatrix turned, her eyes
alight with ecstasy and madness.
Then the Cruciatus Curse began.
Pain unlike any he had ever known filled his body, flames licking at his nerve endings while knives
simultaneously stabbed into his muscles, pinning him to the ground yet forcing him to thrash at the same
time. He screamed as the pain racked through him.
Still, Sirius would not break.
Behind the screams that his body made involuntarily, Sirius clenched his eyes tightly and focused
as hard as he could. James, Remus, Peter, Mia. Flying above the pitch with the wind in his hair. Winning
the Quidditch Cup. Ducking into secret passages to avoid Filch and his silly cat. Pranking Slytherins.
Sneaking into Hogsmeade. Firewhisky and pumpkin pasties and Chocolate Frogs. Christmas at Potter
Manor. Nights in the Shrieking Shack with his pack. Prongs, Moony, Wormtail... Mia.
Mia.
"Never!" Sirius screamed as the Cruciatus Curse ended, and he struggled to stand. In frustration,
Bellatrix hit him hard on the side of his head, knocking him back to the floor where he found himself now,
bleeding on his mother's favourite Persian rug.
"Does the boy love anything?" the stranger asked. "His family perhaps? Would he join our cause
should their lives be threatened?"
Sirius panted heavily, licking blood from his lip before spitting it onto the rug. "Not... even...
if you let me kill them... myself."