βA dog. A bloody dogβ¦β
Barty paced the length of his cell, fingers drumming against the iron bars as he shot Sirius the occasional glance.
βYepβ¦β Sirius snorted, voice rough from disuse. βJames was a stag. Wormtail... well, he turned out to be a rat. Shouldβve seen that one coming.β
βAnd Lupin?β Barty stopped, gripping his cell door with both hands. His eyes gleamed with interest.
Sirius didnβt answer. He just lowered his gaze to the stone floor, jaw tightening.
Bartyβs grin spread slowly. βSo itβs true, then. We heard rumors. Makes sense, reallyβ¦ you lot becoming Animagi. All to protect a wolf.β
Sirius met his eyes at last, cold and unblinking.
βRelax,β Barty said with a low chuckle. βI wonβt tell anyone. Thereβs no one left to tell.β
βI worry about him,β Sirius murmured, a deep frown settling between his brows. βAll these years without usβ¦ without me. Every full moon... Merlin, it kills me wondering what heβs going through.β
Bartyβs gaze swept over him, assessing, sharp. βYou love him.β
βOf course I do.β Sirius scoffed, but the sound was hollow. βDoesnβt matter, though. Heβll never forgive me.β
βBut youβre innocent,β Barty pressed, eyes narrowing as if trying to crack Sirius open.
βHe doesnβt know that.β Sirius let out a slow, shaky breath. βAnd even if I got outβ¦ thereβs still the implication. The shadow of it. Thatβs enough to ruin everything.β
βHow can we get out?β Barty asked, though it wasnβt 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. Heβd always known Barty was brilliant; frighteningly so. Top marks in almost everything at Hogwarts, a mind that worked sharper and quicker than most adultsβ. But brilliance came tangled with something else in him, something jagged and unpredictable. The damage done by his father hadnβt 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. Thatβs the most dangerous kind.