Thoughts in the Abyss

Author's Note: Well, this is it. The sequel to Part IV: Recognition of Shades of Black is finally here, and the title - Thoughts in the Abyss - is thanks to butter_beer_drinker from the MNFF forums! Also, please be aware that prior reading of Recognition IS necessary, as this first chapter continues directly right on the end of Part IV, whose last couple of paragraphs are written below again. Finally, I extend a "Thank You" to fg_weasley of MNFF for beta-ing! And now, I present for your reading enjoyment, Chapter I of Thoughts in the Abyss, entitled Familial Encounters.

~**~

Thoughts in the Abyss

By ForeverSirius77

~**~

Chapter I: Familial Encounters

~**~

This is it, he thought, knowing that he didn't have a way out this time: the ropes wouldn't give and he could barely see straight. He braced himself for the curse, not knowing if doing so made any difference at all. Vaguely, a part of him wondered if it hurt to die; it wasn't like anyone had ever given an answer to the question, after all. So, it was a valid concern.

But the Death Eater did not wave his wand or say any spell. Instead, he slowly tore the mask from his face, letting the object fall to the ground at his feet. Sirius, whose mind was torn instantly from thoughts of death or pain, paid no attention to the mask. He just stared at the Death Eater, whose face looked so like his own.

"Regulus?"

Silence seemed to reign after Sirius muttered that one word, the name of a brother he hadn't set eyes on in nearly two years - It had been almost that long since he'd left Hogwarts, after all. Ever since then, Sirius had not even managed to see his younger brother walking in Diagon Alley or grabbing a drink at the Three Broomsticks in Hogsmeade. Of course, they had barely seen each other much while the both of them had inhabited the same castle every day, so in reality, it shouldn't have been so much of a shock that so much time had passed since the two Black brothers had met face to face.

However, Sirius had never imagined that the next time he would see his brother again would be in this type of situation.

Everything stopped at that moment - the wind ceased its howling, the battle that had previously been so noisy had muted ... or so it seemed to the currently bound Order member as he stared at the Death Eater above him. No matter how much Sirius had known that his younger brother would end up following the path of his cousin, the ideals of the family ... regardless of how he would wave it off and say it didn't matter, say his brother was of no concern to him ... Sirius knew, now, that a part of him had been lying when he'd uttered those words.

For the Death Eater in front of him was barely of age, had only reached his seventeenth birthday a few months in the past ... He was far too young to be dressed in those black robes and white mask that had brought fear to the Wizarding World for nearly a decade.

Neither wizard had moved in the entire time since Regulus had removed his mask and Sirius had uttered his name. Neither had moved, nor spoken a word, and an onlooker would have sworn that the two men had been Petrified. The silence soon grew too heavy, the sounds of the night and vicious battle not seeming to be able to penetrate the area around the two brothers. It was as if someone had cast a huge Silencing Charm on this side of the foreboding stone manor - a charm which let no sound in or out. But the silence had gone on for too long, and someone had to break it.

And so Sirius did. He had always been the more talkative, the more outgoing, of the two of them, anyway.

"Regulus, what are you doing here?"

It was not precisely the question that he had wanted to ask - although, as he thought about it, Sirius realised that he wasn't even sure what that question would have been. Too many thoughts swirled in his mind, and asking his brother what he was doing was a decent enough place to start the conversation - however obvious the answer might have been.

Regulus Black did not respond at first. In fact, it looked like he was temporarily surprised that Sirius had even spoken, for his wand arm jerked just a bit as if the young Death Eater was expecting an attack. The words of his older brother's statement, however, did end up breaking their way into his head. He said the first thing that came into his mind as an answer.

"Fighting."

"Well, I can see that," muttered Sirius, wincing slightly as pain shot down his arm once again from the still-bleeding injury in his shoulder. The bonds around his wrists and ankles continued trying to cut into his skin as well (I wonder if I can get Regulus to take them off, he thought), and his head had yet to cease its throbbing. (Hitting one's head on the outside wall of a massive stone manor will definitely cause one some discomfort.) "You know what I mean."

And he knew that his younger brother did - Regulus just chose to ignore it, as he always had in the past. Some things, it appeared, never changed.

"I don't ... I don't really know," whispered Regulus.

But then again, maybe some things did change.

"What -?" The seemingly honest answer from the younger Black surprised Sirius, and he once more saw the hesitant and nervous boy that had been his brother for so many years, before time and differences in beliefs tore them further and further apart. He saw, not the vicious Death Eater that he had been duelling with throughout the night - When the hell did Regulus get so skilled in duelling? he thought distractedly - But rather, the boy who was only seventeen years old and had not-yet-left Hogwarts' halls.

"You're a Death Eater," Sirius muttered, not expecting a denial but still feeling that impossible and illogical idea that the cold fact would be disputed. There was still that part of him that hoped to wake up from the nightmare he'd stumbled into and find that his brother hadn't sold his soul to the most evil wizard to ever exist.

Silence fell over the two wizards once again; the lack of Regulus's refusal to Sirius's statement - as well as the physical appearance of the younger Black - was enough of an answer to Sirius's accusation. Distantly, the sound of voices started to break into the silence, though Sirius could not tell if they were meant to be friend or foe - and in that regard, whose friend or foe. At this point, however, a small part of him almost couldn't care less one way or the other.

"So, what are you planning on doing, Regulus?" asked Sirius, and the Death Eater's attention focussed back on him immediately. "Are you going to kill me, then?"

A part of him wondered how he could speak of death at the hands of his brother so flippantly, but he quickly pushed the idea aside. He wouldn't think of the figure before him as Regulus, his brother, anymore. The wizard holding him bound at wandpoint was not his flesh and blood, but rather just a Death Eater - a nameless, faceless coward who terrorised the country hidden behind a mask and under a hood.

"Sirius, you -"

"REGULUS!"

The exclamation cut the boy off immediately, the words he was going to say to his older brother forever lost and left to be unknown by anyone save himself. Two nearly identical heads turned in the direction from which the voice came, though sight wasn't needed by either of them to identify the speaker. Her voice had been heard by both Black brothers for their entire lives.

Grey eyes met blue as the two wizards faced each other again, Sirius trying to get his younger brother to at least let him out of the bonds before Bellatrix showed up. Even without a wand and seeing nearly double of everything due to his head injury, he knew he had a chance - however slim - to get away, but not if his wrists and ankles were still tightly bound. At that moment, a sharp pain tore down his arm, the injury seeming to remind him that the situation was hopeless whether or not he was tied up.

A slight shake of Regulus's head was the only acknowledgement he gave to even show that he had understood his brother's silent request. Words were on the tip of Sirius's tongue to reply when Regulus muttered a nearly silent apology.

"I can't," he said. "I'm sorry, Sirius." The words were barely out of his mouth before another darkly robed figure entered into the sights of the two wizards.

~**~

Author's Note: Well, there you have it - the beginning of the new story. I have plenty of things planned out for this fic, and my muse can always take me onto other avenues as well, but certain questions raised in Recognition will have their answers in this fic in due time. I hope you enjoyed this first chapter, and look for the second chapter, entitled Taken, not too far in the future - it's half-written and some of the other scenes needed for it are already planned.

Another thanks to butter_beer_drinker for her title suggestion, as well as fg_weasley for beta-ing, and please, let me know what you think thus far!

~Megan ... who's going to be evil and not apologise for the slightly cliffy ending again!