A/N: You probably guessed by the date, but this is where it ALL goes south.

October 31, 1981

The news reached the Black house by owl.

There had been an attack at Godric's Hollow. Desi was at the office, working on a tracking list, so Sirius received the letter alone. He went immediately to Godric's Hollow on his motorbike. He collapsed to his knees as his eyes landed on the burned out wreckage that had been the Potters' house. His eyes filled with tears and he scrambled to his feet again and began digging in the rubble, ignoring the pain as his fingers blistered amidst the smoldering ruins.

"Sirius?"

He whipped around, his eyes wild, as someone called his name. He relaxed as he saw his friend, Hagrid.

"What're you doing here, Hagrid?" he croaked.

Hagrid, who had a sensitive soul and a kind heart, sniffed back his tears and comforted Sirius, who was pale and shaking. "Dumbledore sent me for little Harry," Hagrid said.

"Harry?" Sirius breathed. "He's alive?"

"He is," Hagrid said, pushing his coat aside and showing Sirius the sleeping baby secured in a sling around Hagrid's midsection.

"Give him to me," Sirius said quietly, eyes fixed on the baby. "I'm his godfather, Hagrid. He should be with me."

"I've got orders to take the lad to Dumbledore," Hagrid said, closing his coat. "If yer wantin' the boy, you should come and talk to him. If you don't mind, could you give us a lift?"

"Take the motorbike," Sirius said blankly, straightening. "Keep it. I won't need it. Take Harry to Dumbledore. Straight away."

"You'll not be coming then?"

"No," Sirius said, his voice still distant. "No, there's something I have to do."

Without another word, he left his godson in the care of the half-giant and Disapparated back to his house. He knew with cold certainty who had betrayed them.

Peter Pettigrew.

The little rat had been keeping busy on missions for the Order, but had obviously been serving another master. He'd find the bastard and he'd kill him.

For James and Lily.

For Little Harry.

Sirius threw some items in a bag and tore off a piece of parchment so that he could write Desi a note. He didn't know how long he would be gone. As long as it took to track down Pettigrew.

"Sirius!" Desi's frantic cry came from downstairs. He heard her footfalls on the staircase. "Sirius! They're gone! James and Lily are gone!" She burst into the bedroom and rushed into his arms. "Voldemort found them. They're dead!"

"I know," Sirius said evenly.

His calm demeanor made Desi quiet down and look at him. Her eyes met his and she shook her head.

"Oh, Sirius," she whispered. "What are you planning? Please...please don't do anything. Let's just go. Let's just pack up and leave London," she pleaded. "Please don't go after him."

Sirius pulled away from her and slung the bag over his chest. He tucked his wand in his back pocket, as was his custom, and looked at her. "I will leave, but I'll not run from him," he said savagely. "First I'm going to kill his spy. Then I'll kill Voldemort. But I'm leaving now, Desi. Step aside."

"You know who the spy is?" Desi asked. She clenched his jacket in her hands and gave him a shake. "Sirius?" she asked when he didn't answer. He brushed past her and left the bedroom. As she stared after him, one solitary tear slid down her cheek. She started after him, calling his name as she hit the stairs. "You can't just lea-"

Her sentence was lost as their front door splintered. Three Death Eaters streaked inside, moving so fast they appeared as smoke. Sirius called for her to get down, bounding over the banister and blocking her from their attackers. He pulled her down and crouched in front of her, countering the Death Eaters' spells and attacking with his own. He heard Desi's voice in his ear and caught a glance of her in his peripheral vision, noting that she was over his shoulder, firing her own defenses.

"Avada kedavra!" she shouted, landing a blow on the tall Death Eater closest to them.

The wall behind them exploded and debris rained down upon them as the remaining two Death Eaters shot spells at them.

"Upstairs Desdemona," Sirius shouted. "Now!"

Desi turned and scrambled upstairs. She shoved an old wooden wardrobe over onto its side and called for Sirius. He joined her in the doorway of the bedroom, hunched behind their makeshift barrier. They fought for what seemed like hours, but finally the last Death Eater fell. Desi wiped sweat from her forehead with a shaking hand, keeping a tight grip on her wand.

"You're alright?" Sirius asked as he stood.

"I'm alright," she affirmed with a nod, stepping over the overturned armoire and approaching the Death Eater's body. "This one is still alive," she said without emotion.

Sirius rushed over and pulled away the mask, surprised at the fine-boned, feminine face it revealed. The woman might have been lovely once upon a time, but with blood coming from her mouth and hatred burning in her eyes, she looked every bit an evil spirit.

"Where's Pettigrew?" Sirius asked, his voice deadly.

"I won't tell you anything, blood-traitor," the woman wheezed. She spat blood at him.

"Crucio!" Sirius said, pointing his wand at her. The woman flailed and screamed. Finally he relented and she was still, panting and groaning in pain. "I'll ask again. Where is Pettigrew?"

"The Dark Lord kills those who betray him," the woman said as tears streamed down her face.

"You're already dead," he said. "Tell me what I want and I will end your suffering. Keep jerking me around and I will drag it out as long as possible."

Desi watched her husband, afraid. He was colder than she had ever seen him and she was scared that he was close to losing his true self. They had never resorted to torture for information. Aurors were authorized to use the Killing Curse on Death Eaters, so they occasionally did as well, but this... She grimaced as he used the Cruciatus Curse again.

"Diagon Alley!" the woman shouted amid her screams. "He's in Diagon Alley!"

Sirius released the curse. "Where in Diagon Alley?"

"He's staying above the Leaky Cauldron," the woman said, coughing up blood. She looked at Sirius, her eyes pleading. "Finish it."

Instead of ending her anguish, Sirius turned away, looking at Desi. "Go to Dumbledore," he instructed. "He's got Harry. I'll contact you when I can."

"You're going after him? Alone?" Desi asked, glancing at the dying woman. The Death Eater coughed again, and then was still.

"Pettigrew was Secret Keeper," Sirius said. "I convinced James to pick him since everyone would assume it was me. It is my fault, Desi. Do not think to stop me," he said harshly, drawing her attention. "I will not be swayed in this."

"If you are so set on going on this suicide mission, then I'm going with you," Desi said hotly.

"You're not," he said. "This is something I'm doing alone."

"Like hell!"

"Do not push me, woman!" Sirius shouted, punching the wall. "You get to Dumbledore," he said after a moment as he struggled for calm. "Get Harry. Keep him and our child safe. I will come back for you when it is done."

Desi angled her chin defiantly, trying in vain to keep from crying. When she spoke, her voice was steady and strong.

"If you think for one minute I am going to let you go without me, you've got another thing coming," she said quietly. "I'm coming with you, and good luck trying to stop me."

"Desi..."

"No." She shook her head and brought her hands to his cheeks. "You are my family, Sirius Black. You're all I have in this world." She kissed him gently, pulling away and smoothing back the boyish lock of hair that always fell across his forehead.

"We need to go if we're going," she said.

Sirius nodded, not inclined to argue the matter further. He supposed he should, given the danger of the situation and the risk involved to both his wife and unborn child, but he knew the look in Desi's eyes and knew that regardless of what he said, her mind was made up.

Early morning, November 1, 1981

They tracked the rat down. He spotted them outside the Leaky Cauldron and bolted down the street, shoving Muggles and drawing attention to himself. Sirius and Desi chased him over several blocks of London. Desi fell behind but Sirius kept on going and finally cornered him in an alley.

"Give it up, Peter," Sirius spat. "It's over."

"It isn't over," Pettigrew said. "The Dark Lord—"

"Voldemort is dead!" Sirius shouted. "You killed James and Lily for nothing!"

"I didn't!" Pettigrew insisted.

"You were his spy! You told him where to find them!"

"He was going to kill me, Sirius!" Pettigrew whined.

"Well he's dead," Sirius said again. "So it looks like that honour falls to me."

Pettigrew grinned, looking over Sirius's shoulder. Sirius glanced back and saw Desi rounding the corner.

"Expelliarmus!" Sirius shouted at Pettigrew, even as the other wizard fired a spell of his own.

Sirius watched helplessly as purple flames shot from Pettigrew's wand a split second before his spell knocked the wand from his hand. The flames went off course, but a couple of small ones hit Desi in the center of her chest. She stopped running and looked at Sirius curiously before slumping to her knees in the alley.

"Desi!" Sirius shouted. He pointed his wand at Pettigrew, who had taken advantage of his inattention and retrieved his wand. "Stupify!"

"Expulso!" Pettigrew yelled at the same time, pointing his wand at the side of the apartment building that shadowed them.

The building exploded as if someone had packed every crack and cranny with C-4. The force of the explosion knocked Sirius to the ground, even as the alley crumbled beneath him. He rolled down the side of the crater, his head slamming into a piece of asphalt as debris rained down on him. He looked to his left and saw Desi's still form lying on her back. Summoning his strength and moving past the pain, he crawled over to her with tears leaving trails in the dirt on his face.

"Des? Desi, love, wake up," he cried, gathering her in his arms.

"Sirius?" Desi whispered. "I'm sorry."

"Shh," he said, trying for a smile. "You'll be fine, love. You and the baby."

"I was stupid," she said, her voice weakening. "Shouldn't have come. Protected the baby."

"It'll be ok, Desi. I promise," he said. His blue eyes shined amid the dirt and mud on his face, his tears building and dripping unchecked.

"Don't cry," Desi breathed. "I love you."

"I love you too," Sirius said. His breath caught as Desi's head went slack, falling back against his arm. "Desi," he said, shaking her gently. "Desi, no. Desdemona, don't you do this!" he shouted on a sob. "Come back to me, Des," he pleaded. He cradled her in his arms and buried his face against her neck, rocking her as he cried.

Sirens wailed in the distance. Sirius gently lay Desi down and folded her hands over her chest. He placed a kiss on her lips and stood, looking around the rubble for any sign of Pettigrew. He spied a fat rat skirting the wall of the crater.

"Avada kedavra!" he cried. The rat bolted into a sewer pipe, narrowly escaping the killing curse.

Sirius ran over to the pipe, but the vermin was out of sight. Sirius fell to his knees and hung his head. He spotted something out of the corner of his eye. A short, bloody finger lay on the ground next to the sewer pipe. He picked up the discarded digit, examining it as he scrambled to his feet. He could not contain the bubble of hysteria that built in his chest. He giggled quietly at first, but it built and built until he was doubled over with laughter.

When the Ministry of Magic's team of Aurors arrived, tears were streaming down his face and his eyes glowed with a kind of madness. Cornelius Fudge examined Desi's body and discovered that she was alive, though barely so. His team restrained the laughing madman holding the bloody remains of poor Peter Pettigrew. Fudge waved a team of healers down from the edge of the crater and they loaded Desi onto the stretcher.

Sirius saw the men taking Desi away on a stretcher and began clawing at the Aurors who held him.

"Desdemona!" he screamed. Over and over he shouted for her, until his voice was hoarse and his throat raw.

Bartemius Crouch, Sr. arrived on the scene and surveyed the surrounding area.

"What've we got, Cornelius?"

"Sirius Black," Fudge said, shaking his head as Sirius struggled fruitlessly against his magical bonds. "According to witnesses, Sirius was chasing Pettigrew for quite a while. We backtracked them to the Leaky Cauldron. The barmaid there said Pettigrew mentioned Black being after him. Looks like he caught up with the poor boy," he said. "The owner of that shop says that Pettigrew and Black came into the alley and a moment later the woman entered behind Black. I'm not certain, but I think it was his wife. He must have felt trapped and decided to use an expulsion spell on the Muggle building. Twelve Muggles were inside, Barty. This is bad for us. Very bad indeed."

"Is there any proof that it was Black who did this?" Barty asked.

"The witch at the Leaky Cauldron swears that Pettigrew wanted to avenge the death of James Potter," Fudge said. "He mentioned it several times. Everyone knows Black is the only choice Potter would have for Secret Keeper."

"Moody reported as much," Barty said. "So Black works for Voldemort, does he?" He eyed the maniac in the crater below with revulsion. "Cornelius, the Minister's policy with those in league with the Dark Lord is very clear," he said, putting on his hat and jerking his chin toward Sirius. "Take that filth to Azkaban."

A/N2: Ok, so this wasn't the original stopping place because I started working on a Part II that goes sort of along with the events of the books, but I got stalled out on HBP. So, instead of having that one "In Progress" or leaving readers hanging with this one, I made it end here. If you're interested in the rest of this one and what I have of the second part, let me know and I'll go ahead and put up what I have or PM it or something.

Thanks for sticking with Des!