Hopes and Dreams
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any parts of the book Harry Potter and the Order of the Pheonix. I'm just taking a quote from the book.
Summary: What if Sirius hadn't fallen through the veil? What would have happened that night at the Department of Mysteries? Main characters are Sirius and Harry.
Chapter 1: A Godfather's Duty
"Dubbledore!" said Neville, his sweaty face suddenly transported, staring over Harry's shoulder.
"What?"
"DUBBLEDORE!"
Harry turned to look where Neville was staring. Directly above them, framed in the doorway from the brain room, stood Albus Dumbledore, his wand aloft, his face white and furious. Harry felt a kind of electric charge surge through every particle of his body- they were saved.
Dumbledore sped down the steps past Neville and Harry, who had no more thought of leaving. Dumbledore was already at the foot of the steps when the Death Eaters nearest realized he was there. There were yells; one of the Death Eaters ran for it, scrabbling like a monkey up the stone steps opposite. Dumbledore's spell pulled him back as easily and effortlessly as though he had hooked him with an invisible line-
Only one couple were still battling, apparently unaware of the new arrival. Harry saw Sirius duck Bellatrix's jet of red light: He was laughing at her. "Come on, you can do better than that!" he yelled, his voice echoing around the cavernous room.
Suddenly, Dumbledore yelled, "Stupefy!" causing Bellatrix to fall, stunned. Sirius turned quickly to see who had hit her. He let out a sigh of relief when he saw Dumbledore.
"Sirius, go now! Take Harry with you!" Dumbledore yelled. "I'll take care of the others!"
Sirius ran across the room as Harry released Neville and gently placed him onto the ground. He grasped Harry's arm tightly with his right hand and pulled him, his wand in his left hand. Harry had to sprint to keep up with Sirius as they ran from the room. Sirius was still grasping Harry tightly as got up the lift. They were almost to the apparation area when Sirius ran right into a man in a pinstriped cloak
"Black!" Fudge snarled.
"Minister," Sirius said coolly.
"Finishing off Harry Potter for You-Know-Who?" Fudge asked.
Sirius loosened his hold on Harry a little, but kept his hand on him in case he needed to apparate both of them quickly.
"I really would have thought as minister you could at least say Voldemort's name, Fudge," Sirius spat in disgust. Fudge flinched. "And how dare you accuse me of such things! I'd never harm Harry!"
"You betrayed Lily and James Potter! Why wouldn't you want to kill Harry too? And I don't need you telling me what I should do, Black! Why does it matter anyway? He's gone. You-Know-Who has been gone for almost fifteen years."
"Am I gone?" came a cold voice from behind.
All three turned around and came face to face with Lord Voldemort. His black robes were swaying, his scarlet eyes were glowing through his hood and his thin, white fingers were grasped around his wand. Fudge stiffened. Harry withdrew his wand and was about to attack, but Sirius stopped him.
"No, Harry!" he hissed. "Stand back, keep alert, and let me fight."
"Sirius… no!" said Harry. He knew how strong Voldemort was. Sirius was no match.
Sirius ignored Harry and pointed his wand at Voldemort, ready to fight. He was going to do all he could to protect Harry. He didn't really care about Fudge's safety though. He just hoped all his efforts would be enough to protect Harry.
Voldemort immediately sent a jet of green light at Sirius, but Sirius dodged it. Azkaban had taught him how to stay alert. Voldemort decided he try another approach.
"Crucio!"
The spell hit Harry who immediately collapsed onto the floor in pain. The earlier battle had worn him out. His reflexes weren't good enough for him to have dodged it. Harry kept his mouth shut, not showing how much pain he was in. He wouldn't scream. That's what Voldemort wanted him to do. Sirius' eyes widened in shock.
"Harry!"
"Not a very good Godfather, are you, Black?" said Voldemort. "Can't even protect him from a simple spell."
Sirius' gray eyes flashed with anger. He began sending unknown curses at Voldemort, who only dodged them all. Harry refused to cry out in pain throughout it all, but his face showed he was suffering. Voldemort began sending curses back at Sirius, who also dodged them all.
"Imperio!" Voldemort said lazily.
The spell hit Sirius who was finally unable to dodge it. He felt his mind go blank. The feeling was familiar.
Kill Harry came a voice in his head. Kill him. It's only a simple spell.
Sirius raised his wand and pointed it towards Harry, then stopped.
No, not Harry! I can't kill my godson! I'm suppose to protect him! Came a voice in his head
Murder him. Get rid of him. He's not James.
He's- No, James wanted him to protect Harry, not kill him. He wouldn't do it.
Kill him!
"No!" Sirius yelled.
"No?" Voldemort asked. "You'd rather not kill him? So much unlike your brother, Sirius. He'd have murdered Harry in a heartbeat, but you seem to feel the urge to fight against me. Brave of you. I'm sorry you'll have to end your life this way."
Voldemort finally released Harry from the curse. He moaned in pain, still shaking, unable to get up yet. He pointed his wand at Sirius who was going to see if Harry was alright.
"Crucio!"
Sirius, his mind set on his Godson, could not dodge the spell. He fell to the ground beside Harry and cringed his teeth in pain. Harry grasped Sirius' hand tightly.
"Stop! Don't hurt Sirius!" Harry's voice was weak.
Voldemort laughed a horrible, cold laugh making the hairs on Harry's back stand up.
"What are you going to do about it, Potter? You can't get up and the worthless minister of yours fainted when he saw me. You're helpless. Maybe I'll just end it all for you. Avada k-"
A burst of orange light hit Voldemort before he could finish the spell. He turned quickly and glared at what he saw.
"Dumbledore," he said quietly.
Sirius felt himself being released from the curse. Voldemort forgot about him with the arrival of Dumbledore. He soon became aware that Harry was squeezing his hand.
"Are you okay?" Sirius whispered.
Harry nodded. Sirius moved the hair out of Harry's face. He was still shaking. He had been under the Cruciatus a lot longer than Sirius had. Sirius was surprised Harry didn't scream out once.
"What brings you to the ministry tonight, Tom?" Dumbledore asked serenely.
"Why I'm here is none of your business," said Voldemort, sending a flash of green light at Dumbledore.
Dumbledore dodged it, "The Aurors are on their way."
"I'll grab the prophecy and be gone before they arrive."
"The prophecy is gone. It smashed." Harry said quietly.
Harry felt the presence of Voldemort in his mind for a second, then he left.
"He's telling the truth," said Voldemort furiously. "The prophecy is really gone. Crucio!"
The spell was aimed at Harry, but Sirius managed enough strength to jump up and take the hit himself. He needed to protect Harry. He fell back to the floor beside Harry, twitching in pain.
"You're being foolish, Black. Just give me Potter, and I'll let you go. You don't have to suffer all this pain," said Voldemort forgetting Dumbledore was still there.
"The only foolish one here tonight is you, Tom." said Dumbledore. "The Aurors will be here any minute."
"You think I'm afraid of them? I could take them all on single-handedly. I could kill them. I could kill you."
"There are things worse than death."
"Like what?" Voldemort spat. "Nothing is worse than death!"
At this Voldemort sent another flash of green light at Dumbledore, at the same time releasing the Cruciatus from Sirius. It missed Dumbledore by barley two inches and hit the Fountain of Magical Brethren. The stone Centaur broke into pieces everywhere. Sirius weakly moved to block the stone from hitting Harry's fragile body. He felt pieces knock into his back and knew he'd have bruises there later. He didn't care though, as long as Harry was safe.
Dumbledore and Voldemort began dueling swiftly. Unnamable and unforgivable curses passed like blurs of light. It was impossible to distinguish who was using what curse. Sirius remained where he was, covering Harry with his arms. The battle seemed to last forever.
"You okay?" Sirius whispered.
Harry nodded, but his eyes were still squinted in pain.
"It will all be over soon," Sirius assured him.
"I'll be back for you again, Potter. You're precious Godfather won't always be here to protect you," Voldemort said icily.
Soon enough, the Aurors did arrive, but they were too late. Voldemort left right as the first teams apparated in. A few spotted him as they arrived, but it wasn't enough. Everyone knew he'd be back to attack once again. He promised he'd be back for Harry.
The Aurors revived Fudge and gathered around where Sirius and Harry were. They made a circle around the duo, while Sirius kept firm hands on Harry's body. He should have left sooner.
"Sirius Black," a tall female Auror announced, "you are under arrest under the following charges: betraying Lily and James Potter, blowing up a street full of muggles, murdering Peter Pettigrew, escaping from Azkaban, aiding in the release of ten Death Eaters from Azkaban and attempting murder on Harry Potter."
"I won't deny my escape from Azkaban, but the rest is all lies," Sirius growled, still clinging onto Harry.
Fudge butted in, "He lies! Witnesses saw Black blow up the street!"
"Thought they saw me blow it up." Sirius corrected. "But Pettigrew beat me to it."
"That's nonsense!" Fudge exclaimed. "Pettigrew is dead! You blew him up!"
"Pettigrew is alive! I've seen him!" Harry blurted out.
"You couldn't have seen him! He's not alive anymore. All they found left of him was a finger!"
"That he chopped off himself before transforming into his animagus form and running away!" Sirius yelled.
"Animagus form? Last time I checked the registry, Pettigrew was not on there," Fudge snapped back.
"That's because he didn't register!"
"If I may interrupt you, Minister," Dumbledore cut in, "I assure you Mr. Pettigrew is very much alive."
"And what is your proof of this, Dumbledore?"
"He's right downstairs with the rest of the Death Eaters."
"WHAT?" Sirius yelped in surprise. "I'm going to kill him!"
He tried to get up, but Harry held him back. "No, Sirius! It's not worth it!"
"Why not? There're just sending me back to Azkaban anyway as it is. I may as well earn my stay there this time."
He struggled under Harry's grip, but those crucios really took a lot out of him. He was surprised Harry had that much strength in him still. He was pinned to ground, squirming to free himself from Harry.
"Sirius, wait," said Dumbledore. "Who said anything about you going back to Azkaban?"
"You heard the Aurors; they're taking me back."
"I don't think that will be necessary. Minister, I demand you give Mr. Black a fair trial."
"But-"
"Minister Fudge, you just saw Voldemort and if you go downstairs you will see Pettigrew. What more proof do you need to declare that Sirius is telling the truth? You can even bring out the Veritaserum if you need too."
"I- you- fine," Fudge said. "We can hold a trial on July 7th, but Mr. Black is to stay in a ministry holding cell until then."
Sirius glared at the minister, but didn't dare argue. He didn't want to try his luck. Who's to say Fudge won't reconsider the trial? This trial could mean his freedom, and being able to fulfill his duty as Harry's Godfather. Harry on the other hand didn't seem to like this deal as much.
"Only if you allow me to come visit him," Harry requested immediately.
"And I request that you allow him to get some medical attention first. I think he may have cracked a rib while blocking Harry from that exploding statue. Not to mention that both of them were under numerous crucios," Dumbledore added.
Fudge reluctantly agreed to this in the end. He requested that Black be kept in the room with at least two Aurors at all times though. And if he tried to escape, he'd be sentenced to a Dementor's Kiss. Sirius scowled under his breath at this, mentally thinking of ways to take revenge on Fudge. Dumbledore and Harry didn't seem too eager about the plan either, but agreed to it as well. Knowing Fudge, that was the best it was going to get for Sirius.
Fudge gathered four Aurors to escort Black to the Hogwart's Hospital Wing, while the remaining Aurors and Fudge went to go see the Death Eaters downstairs with Dumbledore. Dumbledore thought taking Sirius to St. Mungos would cause too much commotion, so he immediately suggested bringing them to Poppy. Fudge didn't mind the arrangement as much as he pretended he did. Black couldn't apparate out of Hogwarts at least. Then again, you can't apparate out of Azkaban either, but he managed to escape from there. Yes, Black definitely would be explaining his escape at the trial.
Once Sirius and Harry were both comfortably situated in beds beside each other, Poppy began fussing over their injuries. Apparently all Harry's friends had been healed already, as their wounds weren't too bad. Except Ron whom was currently at St. Mungos getting his brain back in order. Those brains had really messed up his mind, but Poppy assured Harry all his friends would be back to normal in a few days.
Madam Pomfrey came out with several bottles of potions for Sirius' wounds. There was a foul smelling orange liquid she gave to both of them to get their bodies to stop trembling. She then gave them both a goblet of dreamless sleep potion and left them both to rest. She complained about crazy Death Eaters as she walked back inside her office, making Harry and Sirius exchange a look before falling asleep