"WEATHERING THE STORM IN SEARCH OF SUNSHINE"
A twist in the tale with a sound Sirius.
What if Sirius was more rational and strategic from the start? Well, at least from the time of escape. How would that change the life of Harry Potter? Is it for the better or worse? Will Harry finally have the family he always wished for? Let's see how Sirius and Harry weathers the storm from Light, Dark and Ministry forces to find sunshine in their lives.
Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J K Rowling.
PS: This is my first attempt at writing a story. And English is not my first language. So please excuse any mistakes. All reviews and criticisms are appreciated. Thank you.
Chapter 1:Fire Ignition
It has been more than 12 years since that fateful night. But the pain from the tragedy which occurred is still fresh and raw. Sirius blinked his eyes rapidly trying to forcefully forget the images of the dead bodies of James and Lily Potter. Usually, he transforms into his animagus form when the memories become too much to handle. But today, it was not an option as he overheard some of the guards speaking about an inspection from Minister of Magic. The price to pay for not exposing his secret survival is reliving his worst memories over and over again. Resigning himself to a rough morning, he tried to meditate and bring up his occlumency shields. It helped him calm down a bit and slightly overcome dementor affects.
He observed the minister make rounds with patroni lapping him. Sirius felt the warmth patroni brought, even if they are far from him. The present minister of wizarding world seems to be a pathetic air headed man from what he could tell. It wouldn't take much on his part to rile up the minister. Desperate to use his voice, he smiled inwardly when he felt the minister approaching his cell.
Sirius opened his eyes and said "Good Morning Minister". Fudge seemed to have frozen on being cheerfully greeted by an inmate. He was gaping with mouth wide open, contemplating whether or not to address him. He need not have made the choice as Black once again moved to speak with him. If the first statement shocked him, it was nothing compared to the one he received from Black's next statement. With a smirk on his face Black asked him, "Are you finished with the newspaper Minister? I missed doing crossword puzzles in Daily Prophet". Fudge automatically gave his newspaper to Black with a gob smacked expression on his face. All he can think was "How in the name of Merlin and Morgana, did Black sounded cheerful in the midst of these soul sucking monsters". Perhaps he is madder than most of the inmates. Whatever, he is happy that inspection is ending and he can head back away from this awful place.
With the Minister, warmth from the patroni also left the building and dementors swooped back into their places. As Sirius opened the Daily Prophet, he froze seeing the photograph that he did not notice the dementors standing right in front of his cell. The person who was responsible for the death of his best friends, many innocent muggles and his own incarnation is in this photograph. He was in his animagus form, one which he could recognize animagus form anywhere. His hands were shaking and about to rip off the paper, but he controlled his emotions to read the article. It is the photograph of the Weasley family that was taken in Egypt.
"MINISTRY OF MAGIC EMPLOYEE SCOOOPS GRAND PRIZE"
Arthur Weasley, Head of the Misuse of Muggle Artecrafts Office at the Ministry of Magic, has won the annual Daily Prophet Grand Prize Galleon Draw.
A delighted Mr. Weasley told the Daily Prophet, "We will be spending the gold on a summer holiday in Egypt, where our eldest son Bill, works as a curse breaker for Gringotts Wizarding Bank.
The Weasley family will be spending a month in Egypt, returning for the start of the new school year at Hogwarts, which five of Weasley children currently attend.
He remembered them from war times. Though they were not officially in the order, they were on the light side and considered as blood traitors. The newspaper mentioned five of the children are going to Hogwarts. He started looking at the kids carefully and stopped when he reached the twins. They reminded him of somebody. On closer look he realized Molly Weasley a Prewet before marriage and sister of the infamous twins. Once the connection is made he can see how the mischievous grins on the twins are uncannily similar to their uncles.
His eyes moved next to the freckled boy holding Wormtail. If his memory serves him correctly, the boy was few months older than Harry. But, they must be in the same year in Hogwarts. For generations, all Weasleys went into Gryffindor, and chances of the freckled kid being placed in the same house are very high. He also knew from the guard's taunts that, Harry was sorted into Gryffindor. This means that the Weasley boy along with his pet rat are sharing dorm room with Harry.
The realization of this fact sent shivers down his spine. The little piece of vermin, the traitor is very close to Harry, ready to strike when opportunity arrives with no one wiser. Afterall, how could one suspect a dead war hero to attack on the Boy-who- lived. Sirius was the only person who knew Pettigrew was even alive. The world will be frozen before he left the fate of a Potter in the hands of Pettigrew again. All the promises he made to James and Lily to protect Harry rang in his ears. The fire lit by these overwhelming ideas cannot be dimmed.
He furiously thought of the ways in which he could expose the rat and protect his godson. Alerting the Ministry Officials and asking for a trial is not an option. He gave that years ago. He cannot expose the rat sitting in Azkaban. The only way is for him to escape prison. With this in mind he kept muttering things planning to escape and find a way to expose the rat to the world. A sharp knock and yell interrupted him. It was the guard asking him to take his food. The food served in Azkaban is abysmal and though he would skip them regularly, Sirius decided if he had to swim to reach the land, he better eat whatever it is in that plate. While eating he observed that in the process of planning his escape, he totally forgot about the presence of dementors.
Finishing his meal, he decided that he would take baby steps and be logical and analytical before jumping into action. Tomorrow during night when the dementors opens the cell door for dinner, he would slip through the gap as pad foot. And when the guards settle down in another corner of the building, he would get out into the water and swim to the shores. Sirius briefly considered on next course of action after reaching the shore, but he decided to forgo those thoughts for now as he would need a clear mind to decide. Satisfied with his plan, he tried to get some sleep.
Fire is ignited in his heart to protect his godson. And he will see through it this time, come what may.