Re: Sirius/Bellatrix
Magic crackled in the air around them, screams rising up from all floors of the Ministry, but Sirius' world had narrowed down to the woman in front of him. His cousin, and despite that part of himself that was again and again reminding him of his promise Sirius didn't seem to hear it loud enough to push him off course.
"We're not children anymore, Bella." He called to her. He was focused on Bellatrix, almost ignoring everything else around them as they sent hexes and curses back and forth between the two of them. A few of hers grazed him, hitting his arm or his leg, but he didn't let himself be too far distracted.
It was the Crutiatus that really hit him though, and you didn't just push past that sort of pain and keep going. He stumbled unable to stop himself from falling to his knees as the pain spread through him, unable to hold back the scream. And even when it stopped Sirius thought he was still feeling it - it had been too many years since he'd felt that pain, too long and he didn't recover from it as quickly as he should have.
He fired off a blasting curse, and a few others, aiming as best he could at his cousin, though his aim wasn't nearly as good now as he struggled to get to his feet.