A/N: Welcome to "Numb." This is a slightly AU (Alternate Universe) story.
For one, Number 12 is already known as the headquarters, and Harry's fifth
year hasn't started NOW IF YOU HAVEN'T READ ORDER OF THE PHOENIX, DON'T
READ THIS NEXT SENTENCE!!! Sirius remains alive, and anything from Harry's
fifth year in the book doesn't happen. NOW READ:This story is rated PG-13
for some rather violent scenes and blood. Also, this story is based on the
song Numb. If you don't totally get it, the song is like Harry Potter's
feelings and trying to remain himself in Azkaban and everywhere else. The
"less like you" part can be anyone you want, the other prisoners,
Voldemort, or who the Ministry says he is. I thought it fit and I hope you
guys think so too. So, lets get started.
Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to JKR and the song "Numb" belongs to Linkin Park
"Numb"
I'm tired of being what you want me to be
Feeling so faithless
Lost under the surface
I don't know what you're expecting of me
Put under the pressure of walking in your shoes...
I've become so numb
I can't feel you there
I've become so tired
So much more aware
I'm becoming this
All I want to do
Is be more like me and be less like you
Can't you see that you're smothering me?
Holding too tightly
Afraid to lose control
Cause everything that you thought I would be
Has fallen apart right in front of you
*Caught in the undertow, just caught in the undertow*
Every step that I take is another mistake to you
*Caught in the undertow, just caught in the undertow*
And every second I waste is more than I can take
I've become so numb
I can't feel you there
I've become so tired
So much more aware
I'm becoming this
All I want to do
Is be more like me and be less like you
And I know
I may end up failing too
But I know
You were just like me with someone disappointed in you
I've become so numb
I can't feel you there
I've become so tired
So much more aware
I'm becoming this
All I want to do
Is be more like me and be less like you
Chapter One: The Blood of the Innocent
Harry knelt weakly in the pools of shimmering blood that covered the street. He blankly stared at the masses of tangled body's that lay in odd shapes and forms all around here. Harry could hear a strange ringing in his ears, droning out the terrified screams erupting around him. Vomit was slowly rising in his throat as the smell of death filled his nostrils. A dark cloud hovered in his mind. He pressed his temple hard, trying to make the pain go away. Harry couldn't remember.......the last image he could see was a long needle.......a piercing of his skin. He looked down and saw a tiny hole on his arm. Everything was a jumble. Where was he? What was going on? Suddenly he was roughly pulled up, his stained wand clattering to the ground. A sad voice broke through all the sound.
"What have you done Harry? What have you done?" Albus Dumbledore was holding him tightly, an expression of calm horror on his face.
"I don't know.......nothing." Memories were flooding back. Ms. Figg.......a familiar high-pitched laughter. He couldn't make sense of it.......nothing was making sense. Dumbledore slowly picked up Harry's wand and muttered something Harry couldn't hear. The echo of the spell flickered around them and the screaming returned to Harry's ears. Dumbledore's face darkened.
"Harry, how could you? How could you do this?" Dumbledore let go of Harry and he felt strong arms grip him. Harry cringed as someone began to drag him along the ground. He realized what was happening.
"No......." he croaked. "I didn't do it! Please Professor! You know me! You know!" Dumbledore shook his head sadly. Harry couldn't stand the look he was giving him. It was a look of betrayal, and Harry could feel their walls of trust crumbling. Anger bubbled inside him.
"He thinks I did it.......he thinks I did it......." he thought weakly. Everything was exploding in the pit of his stomach. Dumbledore's voice bore into him.
"I'm so sorry Harry. There's nothing I can do." A tear slid down his cheek as Harry began to fight the Hit Wizards. His scrawny body thrashed in their arms, his black hair flying around his face. His screaming grew louder than that of everything around him. He struggled till his was thrown into the back of the magical car. He immediately began to pound on his metal cage. Dumbledore gripped Harry's wand tightly in pain as he heard Harry screaming for help. But for once, he couldn't save him. He couldn't make any of this right again.
)*( )*( )*(
"Let.......me.......out!" Sirius Black growled dangerously as he tried to make his way past his friend. Remus Lupin kept holding him back, blocking the way out of Number 12 Grimmauld Place.
"Sirius, listen to me!" Lupin held on tightly to Sirius's shoulders. "Harry was caught......."a sob escaped his lips, "we can't help him now. You can't help him. That's the last thing Harry would want. He wouldn't want you to be captured." Sirius looked at him, his face lined with fury.
"I won't just sit by and let this happen!" He grabbed Lupin by the collar and pushed him hard against the door. "How could Dumbledore just let them take him? I know he didn't do it! He didn't do it!" Sirius was breathing hard, an icy hand squeezing his heart. He slowly collapsed into Lupin's arms, tears streaming down his face. "I know he didn't do it......." Lupin rubbed his back.
"Dumbledore will help him, don't worry." Sirius looked up, his face still contorted with pain.
"He better."
)*( )*( )*(
Harry's voice broke and his screaming subsided, his face in his hands. His arm was throbbing painfully, and Harry could almost feel something other than blood running through him. The black car came to a halt and sunlight streamed onto his face. He looked up into two ice brown eyes
"Get up." The man grabbed his arm and yanked him up. They wind blew bitterly and the salty waves crashed up against the grainy sand. Off in the distance Harry could see a tiny island, and his suddenly his heart stopped. They weren't taking him there.......anywhere but Azkaban. He was pushed into a tiny boat, the man still holding his hands tightly behind his back. They were immediately propelled, coldness growing with each inch they traveled. It took a good hour till they reached a crumbling dock, rocking back and forth in the sea. The water was so deep, it seemed to be bottomless, a great depth of darkness. Harry began to shake as he saw the flowing black robes of the Dementors, gliding over the barren land. He tried not to scream as he was taken out of the boat and pulled away by the Dementors. The familiar sound of his mother's begging and pleading filled his mind. After just minutes passed, Harry lost sense of time. All he could fell was the pain, endless and eternal. It never seemed to stop and Harry couldn't think of anything but every horror he'd ever seen, his parents dying, Cedric Diggory, the awful years of his childhood. Harry couldn't tell what was going on, but he felt his body hit a cold hard ground. He just lay there, trying to keep his will to live, for his breathing was slowly subsiding.
)*( )*( )*(
"He's just 15!" Dumbledore flashed his eyes angrily at Cornelius Fudge, though keeping his face calm, his voice quiet. "You can't send a minor to Azkaban Cornelius. They wouldn't last. It's immorally wrong."
"He killed fifty innocent muggles! We had nowhere else to send him. He'll have to wait there for his trial." He pointed a finger at Dumbledore and added, "And your lucky he's even getting a trial! I didn't have to give him one. I could have just let the Dementors kiss him." Dumbledore stood up silently and made his way to the door.
"You are blinded Cornelius. You can't see past what's put in front of you. There's always a bigger story. We have nothing left to discuss." He walked out and let the door quietly click.
)*( )*( )*(
Lupin placed his face into his hands. He rocked back and forth, trying to clear his jumbled thoughts. But for some reason, all he could think of was the past, how things used to be, how things could have been. He let out a weak chuckle. Lily and James would've killed them if they knew what was going on, if they could suddenly appear in flesh. Sirius was upstairs; leaving after his rage had gotten the better of him. Lupin had left the broken glass Sirius had shattered on the floor, too tired to care. He didn't bother to look up when he heard the door open. Mrs. Black began to scream louder than ever, but she was quickly silenced. Dumbledore walked slowly into the room, none of the familiar twinkle in his eyes.
"What's going on Albus? Where did they take him?" Dumbledore frowned slightly as Lupin questioned him. He let out a sigh.
"Azkaban, Remus. They've taken him to Azkaban." Remus gasped and the tears that had already begun to form silently slid down his pale cheeks.
"Azkaban.......how could they? He.......he didn't do anything. He could.......could.......die in there......."
"We'll get him out of there Remus." Dumbledore glanced around the empty house. "Where is everyone?"
"I sent them home. Hermione was having a fit, and I figured that Number 12 wouldn't be the best place for them to get some peace. So it's only Sirius and me." Dumbledore nodded and made his way back to the door.
"I've got a lot to do to straighten all this out. I'll contact you if I have information." Lupin shook Dumbledore's hand as they both journeyed outside. "Harry will get through this. Azkaban won't break him easily." A smile flickered across Dumbledore's face.
"What if it does? What if he's sent there for life? Sirius was sentenced to life for 13 murders. Fifty will be much worse, won't it?" The smile passed as quickly as it had come.
"Should that happen......." Dumbledore paused, trying to find the right words. "The boy name Harry Potter will cease to exist. And in his place will be a soulless shell.......and we'll never be able to save him.
)*( )*( )*(
A/N: That's the end of the first chapter. I tried to make it deep and suspenseful! Please R&R, it helps get me motivated to write more.
Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to JKR and the song "Numb" belongs to Linkin Park
"Numb"
I'm tired of being what you want me to be
Feeling so faithless
Lost under the surface
I don't know what you're expecting of me
Put under the pressure of walking in your shoes...
I've become so numb
I can't feel you there
I've become so tired
So much more aware
I'm becoming this
All I want to do
Is be more like me and be less like you
Can't you see that you're smothering me?
Holding too tightly
Afraid to lose control
Cause everything that you thought I would be
Has fallen apart right in front of you
*Caught in the undertow, just caught in the undertow*
Every step that I take is another mistake to you
*Caught in the undertow, just caught in the undertow*
And every second I waste is more than I can take
I've become so numb
I can't feel you there
I've become so tired
So much more aware
I'm becoming this
All I want to do
Is be more like me and be less like you
And I know
I may end up failing too
But I know
You were just like me with someone disappointed in you
I've become so numb
I can't feel you there
I've become so tired
So much more aware
I'm becoming this
All I want to do
Is be more like me and be less like you
Chapter One: The Blood of the Innocent
Harry knelt weakly in the pools of shimmering blood that covered the street. He blankly stared at the masses of tangled body's that lay in odd shapes and forms all around here. Harry could hear a strange ringing in his ears, droning out the terrified screams erupting around him. Vomit was slowly rising in his throat as the smell of death filled his nostrils. A dark cloud hovered in his mind. He pressed his temple hard, trying to make the pain go away. Harry couldn't remember.......the last image he could see was a long needle.......a piercing of his skin. He looked down and saw a tiny hole on his arm. Everything was a jumble. Where was he? What was going on? Suddenly he was roughly pulled up, his stained wand clattering to the ground. A sad voice broke through all the sound.
"What have you done Harry? What have you done?" Albus Dumbledore was holding him tightly, an expression of calm horror on his face.
"I don't know.......nothing." Memories were flooding back. Ms. Figg.......a familiar high-pitched laughter. He couldn't make sense of it.......nothing was making sense. Dumbledore slowly picked up Harry's wand and muttered something Harry couldn't hear. The echo of the spell flickered around them and the screaming returned to Harry's ears. Dumbledore's face darkened.
"Harry, how could you? How could you do this?" Dumbledore let go of Harry and he felt strong arms grip him. Harry cringed as someone began to drag him along the ground. He realized what was happening.
"No......." he croaked. "I didn't do it! Please Professor! You know me! You know!" Dumbledore shook his head sadly. Harry couldn't stand the look he was giving him. It was a look of betrayal, and Harry could feel their walls of trust crumbling. Anger bubbled inside him.
"He thinks I did it.......he thinks I did it......." he thought weakly. Everything was exploding in the pit of his stomach. Dumbledore's voice bore into him.
"I'm so sorry Harry. There's nothing I can do." A tear slid down his cheek as Harry began to fight the Hit Wizards. His scrawny body thrashed in their arms, his black hair flying around his face. His screaming grew louder than that of everything around him. He struggled till his was thrown into the back of the magical car. He immediately began to pound on his metal cage. Dumbledore gripped Harry's wand tightly in pain as he heard Harry screaming for help. But for once, he couldn't save him. He couldn't make any of this right again.
)*( )*( )*(
"Let.......me.......out!" Sirius Black growled dangerously as he tried to make his way past his friend. Remus Lupin kept holding him back, blocking the way out of Number 12 Grimmauld Place.
"Sirius, listen to me!" Lupin held on tightly to Sirius's shoulders. "Harry was caught......."a sob escaped his lips, "we can't help him now. You can't help him. That's the last thing Harry would want. He wouldn't want you to be captured." Sirius looked at him, his face lined with fury.
"I won't just sit by and let this happen!" He grabbed Lupin by the collar and pushed him hard against the door. "How could Dumbledore just let them take him? I know he didn't do it! He didn't do it!" Sirius was breathing hard, an icy hand squeezing his heart. He slowly collapsed into Lupin's arms, tears streaming down his face. "I know he didn't do it......." Lupin rubbed his back.
"Dumbledore will help him, don't worry." Sirius looked up, his face still contorted with pain.
"He better."
)*( )*( )*(
Harry's voice broke and his screaming subsided, his face in his hands. His arm was throbbing painfully, and Harry could almost feel something other than blood running through him. The black car came to a halt and sunlight streamed onto his face. He looked up into two ice brown eyes
"Get up." The man grabbed his arm and yanked him up. They wind blew bitterly and the salty waves crashed up against the grainy sand. Off in the distance Harry could see a tiny island, and his suddenly his heart stopped. They weren't taking him there.......anywhere but Azkaban. He was pushed into a tiny boat, the man still holding his hands tightly behind his back. They were immediately propelled, coldness growing with each inch they traveled. It took a good hour till they reached a crumbling dock, rocking back and forth in the sea. The water was so deep, it seemed to be bottomless, a great depth of darkness. Harry began to shake as he saw the flowing black robes of the Dementors, gliding over the barren land. He tried not to scream as he was taken out of the boat and pulled away by the Dementors. The familiar sound of his mother's begging and pleading filled his mind. After just minutes passed, Harry lost sense of time. All he could fell was the pain, endless and eternal. It never seemed to stop and Harry couldn't think of anything but every horror he'd ever seen, his parents dying, Cedric Diggory, the awful years of his childhood. Harry couldn't tell what was going on, but he felt his body hit a cold hard ground. He just lay there, trying to keep his will to live, for his breathing was slowly subsiding.
)*( )*( )*(
"He's just 15!" Dumbledore flashed his eyes angrily at Cornelius Fudge, though keeping his face calm, his voice quiet. "You can't send a minor to Azkaban Cornelius. They wouldn't last. It's immorally wrong."
"He killed fifty innocent muggles! We had nowhere else to send him. He'll have to wait there for his trial." He pointed a finger at Dumbledore and added, "And your lucky he's even getting a trial! I didn't have to give him one. I could have just let the Dementors kiss him." Dumbledore stood up silently and made his way to the door.
"You are blinded Cornelius. You can't see past what's put in front of you. There's always a bigger story. We have nothing left to discuss." He walked out and let the door quietly click.
)*( )*( )*(
Lupin placed his face into his hands. He rocked back and forth, trying to clear his jumbled thoughts. But for some reason, all he could think of was the past, how things used to be, how things could have been. He let out a weak chuckle. Lily and James would've killed them if they knew what was going on, if they could suddenly appear in flesh. Sirius was upstairs; leaving after his rage had gotten the better of him. Lupin had left the broken glass Sirius had shattered on the floor, too tired to care. He didn't bother to look up when he heard the door open. Mrs. Black began to scream louder than ever, but she was quickly silenced. Dumbledore walked slowly into the room, none of the familiar twinkle in his eyes.
"What's going on Albus? Where did they take him?" Dumbledore frowned slightly as Lupin questioned him. He let out a sigh.
"Azkaban, Remus. They've taken him to Azkaban." Remus gasped and the tears that had already begun to form silently slid down his pale cheeks.
"Azkaban.......how could they? He.......he didn't do anything. He could.......could.......die in there......."
"We'll get him out of there Remus." Dumbledore glanced around the empty house. "Where is everyone?"
"I sent them home. Hermione was having a fit, and I figured that Number 12 wouldn't be the best place for them to get some peace. So it's only Sirius and me." Dumbledore nodded and made his way back to the door.
"I've got a lot to do to straighten all this out. I'll contact you if I have information." Lupin shook Dumbledore's hand as they both journeyed outside. "Harry will get through this. Azkaban won't break him easily." A smile flickered across Dumbledore's face.
"What if it does? What if he's sent there for life? Sirius was sentenced to life for 13 murders. Fifty will be much worse, won't it?" The smile passed as quickly as it had come.
"Should that happen......." Dumbledore paused, trying to find the right words. "The boy name Harry Potter will cease to exist. And in his place will be a soulless shell.......and we'll never be able to save him.
)*( )*( )*(
A/N: That's the end of the first chapter. I tried to make it deep and suspenseful! Please R&R, it helps get me motivated to write more.