Author's Note: So this is my first chaptered fanfiction, i appreciate any and all constructive review, but please, no flames. I am in school and so can't make any promises about when updates will be, sorry about that. This Story will contain both girl/girl and boy/boy pairings but nothing explicit. if you don't like that, then there are plenty of other fics on the web. Otherwise, enjoy!

Disclaimer: I unfortunately cannot make any claim of ownership to anything that is Harry Potter.

Prologue

Sirius Black remembered each and every arrival to his cellblock in the weeks following That Night, after all, there weren't all that many alternative forms of entertainment in a place like Azkaban. Barty Crouch Jr. was already half gone, sobbing and moaning, they had to literally drag him in. Rabastan Lestrange had been muttering, while his brother Rudolphus wore an expressionless mask, though his eyes gave away his fear. Bellatrix had cackled. But none had made such an impression on him as Jade Potter.

Sirius would be the first to admit that his best friend's elder sister was one damn confusing individual. Old Charlus Potter, despite his Light leanings, had raised his kids neutrally, making it clear to them from the start that they were free to choose for themselves what side they would support. It was an old family tradition, one that had resulted in the family having a somewhat… colorful background. No one was particularly surprised when Jade chose Dark, the nature of her magic had been almost obvious; no, what surprised them was how she handled it. She was sorted into Slytherin, yet dated and eventually bonded with a half-blood witch from Hufflepuff. She was best friends with Bellatrix Black, yet insisted on getting a drivers license and went to muggle university. She became the Dark Lord's apprentice, yet upheld the family motto of "Family First" and remained close with her bother and his family all through the war, right up until the very end. Apparently she had made it clear to her Master, from the time she accepted his offer when she was fifteen, that she would not harm or sever ties with her family, and had then somehow gotten him to agree to those terms.

Most didn't know about her apprenticeship of course; she presented an almost flawless public face. With the Potters being one of those families that allowed an eldest daughter to inherit before a younger son, so long as their spouse took the Potter name, Jade had had a obligation to uphold the responsibilities of Lady Potter, and for the most part, she was damn good at it. Fortunate, since James admittedly didn't have the head for finance and politics the position required. As far as Sirius knew, the public had never gotten so much as a hint that she was in fact the infamous Silver Shadow, thus named because of her very effective use of blades. The last thing many an auror saw was a shadow and a flash of silver. Only a handful of people outside of the Death Eaters knew of her dual identity, and they either couldn't or wouldn't tell. James himself had made Sirius swear a blood-oath of secrecy when he found out. Because of her elevated status she didn't even have a proper Dark Mark.

So it was not altogether unreasonable that Sirius couldn't for the life of him figure out how the hell the Aurors had known to go after her, let alone manage to catch her. To be blunt, Jade was scary as hell as far as Sirius was concerned. She was intelligent, cunning, powerful and highly skilled in both muggle and magical fighting, after all, one didn't rise to her rank in the Death Eaters on reputation alone, and though Voldemort was undeniably an evil bastard, he had trained her well. Her Draconian blood also gave her some extra advantages. And she had a temper fearsome enough to cow even Lucius Malfoy. Knowing this, the grim animagus had a hard time imagining them taking her in anything resembling a fair fight, and if what he saw now was any indication, it was bad.

Jade didn't have any visible wounds, but then, she always did heal fast (one of those extra advantages). She walked proudly, confidently, with steady steps and impeccable posture, as befitting her station; it looked almost as if she was leading the guards, rather than the other way around, and her face was set in a stony mask. The image was almost perfect, except for her eyes. They were the same very dark green with flecks of black and gold, but the vibrant emotion that they had always held was gone, replaced with a haunted, deadened look. Sirius shivered, there were only two things he could think of that would make her look like that, and neither were something he wanted to think about.

To his surprise, the guards unlocked the cell next to his and across from Bella's (whom he noted was also paying rapt attention), the one he had a small, barred window into, and pushed her in. She turned and watched impassively as they locked her in and walked away, only after they were out of sight did she move, taking a seat across from the inter-cell window with her knees bent, arms resting atop them, and starred unseeing at the back wall of her cell. Sirius pulled himself closer to the window, grabbing the bars.

"Jade, Jade Potter." He called softly. When she didn't respond he decided to try a different tactic.

"Katana." He whispered, using her Death Eater code name that she had confided to him and James only a few months prior. Instantly her head snapped around, eyes locking on Sirius' own. The animagus gulped, if she was responding to that name, and not her given one…. This was very bad.

"What happened?" he asked softly, dreading the answer. Her response was only three words, three words said in a dead monotone that made his heart clench.

"They killed her." With that she turned away, once again lapsing into silence and starring at the wall. In the cell across from hers Sirius saw Bella withdraw, a hint of sadness in even her eyes. He turned away from the window, leaning back against the wall and closing his eyes. There was only one person that Jade could be talking about: Callista Shade, or Callie as most called her, Jade's long-time girlfriend and bond-mate. This was one person whom Sirius could honestly say had done nothing to deserve death, nothing but love someone on the loosing side. The killing had to have been in cold blood, because Callie was as innocent as any adult could be. She was one of those people that were pretty much impossible to hate. Gentle, calm, loving and kind, she was the perfect balance to Jade's dark sarcasm, serious nature and violent temper. She pretty much embodied the Hufflepuff ideals of hard work and loyalty, making her a beloved friend and sister and valued co-worker. She hadn't had any enemies.

The Shades were an old family, but a mixed one, being pretty much indiscriminate about relationships and marrying whoever the hell they wanted to, making Callie a half-blood. Despite this, Sirius knew that no one among the Death Eaters would dare harm her for fear of what Jade would do to them in response, which meant it had to have been either an auror or an Order member. That thought made him slightly sick. He knew why they had done it, but that if anything, made it worse. Draconians were humanoid creatures that had some of the traits of, and could turn into, dragons. They were temperamental and dangerous, but they were also social beings that formed deep emotional family bonds. When a Dracos took a mate they formed a powerful psychic and magical bond with them, their version of a marriage. The breaking of this bond, for any reason, was said to be excruciatingly painful. Jade was technically James's half-sister; her mother had been a half-Dracos (who apparently expressed as a quarter), but she had died in childbirth and Charlus had remarried to Dorea, James's mother. Jade was technically a quarter-Dracos, but the gene was strong in her, being fed by the Dracos blood far back in the Potter lineage, and she expressed as a half, more than enough to form a bond with Callie. Killing her mate to incapacitate her… effective or no, it was a cold-hearted, despicable act.

Even so, Sirius could not help but be the least bit relieved, because this meant that it wasn't the other possibility. 'It wasn't Harry'. Right as he thought this, he got a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. Sirius hadn't been too concerned for his godson when they first threw him in here, because he knew that Jade would look out for him, and Dark as she was, she would do right by him. She would look after him fiercely and give him the same neutral upbringing she had, letting him choose sides for himself when he was old enough. But now Jade was in Azkaban, which prompted a rather disturbing thought.

'If Jade's in here, who's looking after Harry?'

Jade stayed near catatonic for three days after her arrival, and when she finally did speak, Sirius could have howled in relief, if not for what she said.

"We were ambushed." She said softly and without preamble, startling Sirius into paying attention.

"I'd finally found out where the old coot took harry, and we were going to collect him, we were just exiting the apartment when the spells started flying." She closed her eyes briefly and shook her head. "I fought back of course, but we were outnumbered. They must have sent at least a dozen aurors, and I had to stick to non-lethals since I was unmasked." Here she stopped and gave a bitter little laugh. "Callie didn't even send a single hex, she just shielded us… but you can't shield against that spell."

She looked so broken that Sirius almost didn't ask the next question, but he had to know… "Did you see who did it?" he almost whispered. Jade's eyes suddenly blazed with anger and hatred, her pupils going silted like a dragon's, while a snarl twisted on her face and her nails turned into sharp black claws. Sirius was almost relieved; this was the most emotion she had shown since getting here.

"Oh, I saw." She hissed. "It was Moody." She spat the name like it was a curse. Moody was a long-standing battlefield rival of hers. She was the one who put out his eye. He had crossed the line though, and Sirius had no doubt that if Jade ever got out of here, Moody was a dead man. It might not happen right away, but eventually, he would die by her hand. The girl could hold a grudge.

She took a deep breath and calmed herself, the dragon features disappearing, before she continued. "When she went down, so did I. The pain Sirius, it felt like my very essence was being torn in two." The last part was said in a near whisper, as she clenched her fists and screwed her eyes shut.

"Then they threw me in here though, didn't even bother with a trial, just like you." She continued, and Sirius felt a sharp stab of pain at those words. Then suddenly she let out a snort and a sarcastic laugh.

"Joke's on them though," she said caustically, and Sirius frowned in confusion. "Once Daemon finds out what they did, it's just a matter of time." And then Sirius understood. Daemon Faey was a full-blooded black-fire Dracos, Patriarch of the Dark Wing Clan, one of the largest and most powerful Clans in Europe… and Jade's grandfather. He most definitely wouldn't be pleased with his granddaughter's treatment. Between her status as a Lady of an Ancient and Noble House, his influence, Callie's death and the fact that due process hadn't been observed… yeah, it was only a matter of time.

"You know," she said after a few moments "I might be able to spring you, after I get out." She offered. "After all, you didn't get a trial either, and you're not even guilty."

"I'd like that." He said quietly. "Thank you." She met his eyes and nodded.

"Me too!" Bellatrix called out, sounding like a petulant child. Jade chuckled lowly and shook her head before calling back.

"You confessed Bella!" She said with a hint of exasperation. "You're stuck in here until our Lord returns, nothing I can do about it!" The Dark witch pouted and withdrew further into her cell.

"Are you really so sure he'd coming back?" Sirius asked softly.

"Yes, I am." She answered. They fell silent again after that.

They developed an odd little routine thereafter. The next day Sirius woke up as Padfoot to actual light and a bit of honest to Merlin warmth. He changed back and looked over to seen Jade playing with a handful of fire. He just stared for a few moments before smacking his forehead as he remembered that pyrokinesis was a Draconian ability. Jade just gave him a small smile, brushing some of her wavy black hair out of her eyes. That was how they discovered that Dragon Fire helped stave off the effects of the dementors.

Each day Jade would light her fire for a little while. She couldn't keep it up for very long since Azkaban wasn't exactly conducive to good health, but even the hour or so they got was a help. During this time, the three of them, Sirius, Jade and Bella, would talk for a bit. Rudolphus and Rabastan would even join in on occasion. They exchanged war stories, or childhood memories, or even just happy memories that they didn't want to slip away. The conversations weren't always pleasant of course, they had their fair share of arguments, and when Jade revealed Harry to be at Petunia's Sirius went on a rather spectacular rant that actually garnered applause from Bella. Still, Sirius found that the talking actually did help him maintain his sanity, despite the fact that he was having semi-civil conversations with Bellatrix Lestrange of all people.

Every day like clockwork, as the day turned to night, Jade would turn one fingernail into a claw and scour a tally on her cell wall, to keep track of the days. Sirius once asked her why she did it, and she said that having a sense of time helped her stay sane. He couldn't really argue with that. If it helped, it was a good thing.

As the months marched on though, Jade's strength began to wane, and the fire time and conversations grew shorter. Sirius began to worry about her. Dracos were wild creatures; they didn't do well in confined spaces. This place could very well kill her if Daemon took too long. Despite that though, she did everything she could to stay fit, from wandless magic exercises to pushups and crunches; it was rather impressive.

It was in one of their shorter conversations, after Jade had been there for a long time, that Sirius finally voiced something he had been wondering about for a while. The two women were comparing times they had seen lesser Death Eaters humiliate themselves in front of Voldemort (some of which were simply ridiculous). There was a lull in the conversation and Sirius jumped in.

"That's why I could never understand why you joined Him." He said to Jade.

" What?" she asked, tilting her head.

" I could never imagine you groveling to anyone." He explained. Instantly her eyes narrowed, turning dragon-like, and she stiffened.

"I never. Groveled." She said coldly, before turning her back to him and putting out her handful of flames. She didn't speak to him for the rest of the day. It was only later that night, after she had fallen asleep, that Bella spoke up.

"She didn't, you know." She said in a surprisingly sane, quiet voice, looking over at Jade's sleeping form.

"What?" Sirius asked.

"Groveled." She clarified. "She never groveled. Far from it actually, she was the only one of us who ever had real, normal conversations with the Dark Lord. She was the only one who could get away with teasing him. Sometimes she even argued with him." She continued, a tone of awe in her voice. "A sight to behold really."

Bella sighed and met Sirius' eyes. "I know he never really cared about us," she said ruefully, "not personally. He's our leader, and we were soldiers, assets, nothing more." She paused, and then continued in a softer voice. "But he was always looking out for her," she said fondly, looking at Jade almost tenderly, "concerned for her safety, her health, even her happiness. You could see it in his eyes, when she came back injured, or did something truly impressive; he cared about her, as much as he could care about anybody."

Bella fell silent after that; still watching her old friend sleep, and Sirius withdrew to the back corner of his cell to digest what he had learned, before changing into Padfoot for the night. That was the most same he had ever heard his cousin, and indeed, that sanest he ever would see her.

It was some time after that incident, nearly five years since Jade had first been thrown in her cell, that the guards finally came to collect her. The old warden who looked after their block (and took significantly better care of his prisoners than other wardens in other cellblocks did for theirs) unlocked her cell, the ministry escorts shifting from foot to foot nervously behind him.

"Come on, Princess," he said. The guy had nicknames for all of them; Sirius' was "playboy". "You're getting outa here. Don't belong here anyway." The old timer had always had a soft spot for Jade.

Jade got to her feet, nodding to the Lestrange brothers and giving Bellatrix a small smile as she exited. She reached through the bars and squeezed Sirius' hand, giving him a nod to show she hadn't forgotten the promise she had made all those years ago. With that, she turned and strode out down the hall with her head up like she owned the place, just like she had when they brought her in, except this time her eyes were alive.

Sirius slid down the wall chuckling as they vanished from sight. Lady Jade Potter was free; he wondered if the wizarding world would survive, though at this point he really didn't care if she trashed the Ministry. It might be an improvement. He did hope she would hurry though.