âA dog. A bloody dogâŠâ
Barty paced the length of his cell, fingers drumming against the iron bars as he shot Sirius the occasional glance.
âYepâŠâ Sirius snorted, voice rough from disuse. âJames was a stag. Wormtail... well, he turned out to be a rat. Shouldâve seen that one coming.â
âAnd Lupin?â Barty stopped, gripping his cell door with both hands. His eyes gleamed with interest.
Sirius didnât answer. He just lowered his gaze to the stone floor, jaw tightening.
Bartyâs grin spread slowly. âSo itâs true, then. We heard rumors. Makes sense, really⊠you lot becoming Animagi. All to protect a wolf.â
Sirius met his eyes at last, cold and unblinking.
âRelax,â Barty said with a low chuckle. âI wonât tell anyone. Thereâs no one left to tell.â
âI worry about him,â Sirius murmured, a deep frown settling between his brows. âAll these years without us⊠without me. Every full moon... Merlin, it kills me wondering what heâs going through.â
Bartyâs gaze swept over him, assessing, sharp. âYou love him.â
âOf course I do.â Sirius scoffed, but the sound was hollow. âDoesnât matter, though. Heâll never forgive me.â
âBut youâre innocent,â Barty pressed, eyes narrowing as if trying to crack Sirius open.
âHe doesnât know that.â Sirius let out a slow, shaky breath. âAnd even if I got out⊠thereâs still the implication. The shadow of it. Thatâs enough to ruin everything.â
âHow can we get out?â Barty asked, though it wasnât really a question. Sirius could see the calculations already lighting up behind his eyes, like gears spinning too fast, like something dangerous waking up.
Sirius swallowed. Heâd always known Barty was brilliant; frighteningly so. Top marks in almost everything at Hogwarts, a mind that worked sharper and quicker than most adultsâ. But brilliance came tangled with something else in him, something jagged and unpredictable. The damage done by his father hadnât created that mind, but it had certainly twisted it into something volatile.
Sirius shifted on the cold stone floor, watching Barty pace. A genius with a cracked foundation, he thought. Thatâs the most dangerous kind.














