The Man of no Innocence
Every child is born with an equal amount of innocence. How much of this innocence that remains as they grow older depends on how long it is left in their soul to decay.
Four children were born in the same year. Each looked as though there was no innocence to be uncovered, but if one looked behind the fog that seemed to populate their souls you would find that three of the four had innocence that was protected only by loyalty. The other child left his innocence to decay; to be consumed by fear.
These four boys became to be called the Marauders, and like every student that attended the school, the four Marauders out grew the castle, each choosing a different path. James had married the love of his life, Lily. Her long red hair flipped about with any movement her head made, brining out the seemingly endless green colour in her eyes.
Talk of a "Dark Lord" began to spread throughout the wizarding world. People feared to say his name, and grew used to the phrase 'He-who-must-not-be-named.' Lily and James did not fear his name, but rather his influence on their new son, Harry. They were forced to go into hiding with the rise of Lord Voldemort. Their son had matched the description of a prophecy. This boy would be the only one able to destroy Lord Voldemort.
The Potters concluded the need of a secret keeper. They could never be found if the person containing the secret didn't reveal the information. The Potters automatically turned to Sirius Black, despite many people pleads. Albus Dumbledore had even offered to be the secret keeper, but the Potters were determined to use Sirius.
But even Sirius was nervous. In secrecy he convinced the Potters to use Peter rather than himself. No one would think of Peter. He was rather cowardly….
Peter's innocence was consumed by his fear. Voldemort was taking over every where. Peter's fear of death led him to be Voldemort's spy.
Sirius was framed and went looking for Pettigrew, not finding him until the next day. When he did, however, he forgot about the ministry and came into plain view of all the near by muggles. Peter was at the end of the street holding his hand, which was severely cut and bleeding.
Pettigrew got the best of Sirius. He had shouted to the whole street that he had killed the Potters, just before sending a killing curse down the street. Despite all of the chaos, Sirius managed to catch a glimpse of a large rat climbing into the sewer.
And there Sirius stood; wand drawn, dead muggles lying around him, and Pettigrew's finger lying on the ground where he had once stood.
Trials were becoming uncommon. No one who had been thought to have killed the Potters could have acquired one. Sirius was entombed within Azkaban's walls, but Azkaban didn't need walls to keep prisoners from escaping. Each was trapped within their own head; their very mind.
Sirius was not trapped the same way everyone else in Azkaban was. He only had bars keeping him away from freedom. His main thought being the horrible image of Pettigrew. It wasn't happy thing to obsess about, and for that reason the Dementors couldn't destroy it. For 13 years Sirius would be trapped in Azkaban, until he found Pettigrew, with an innocent family, inches away from his godson.
The one friend that Sirius had left thought he had killed the Potter. If only Sirius had told Remus that he was not the Potter secret keeper. Then he would have someone speak out for him. Someone to prevent him from imprisonment. But Sirius had thought, somehow, that it was possible for Remus to have been the spy, though Remus had always been the most reasonable of the four Marauders, never once stepping out of line.
His mind lingered on Harry as well as Pettigrew, as though stuck within the moment of the Potters' death. Hagrid had told him Harry would live with Lily's sister and her husband. He had never met them, but somehow it seemed anyone who was disliked by Lily would be despised by anyone else.
And so he stood, trapped within the cells of Azkaban, all because of a rat who had outsmarted him, a cowardly man whose innocence was consumed by fear.
Not many were as lucky as Sirius - if that is what one chose to call it. Not many lived through Azkaban. Among these people was Bartemuis Crouch Jr. He had died only a short while after his mother came to visit him.
Crouch was buried outside of the fortress. Sirius watched through the fog as the Dementors brought him to a pit that had been dug earlier that day. One carried his shoulders while the other held his feet, both gliding towards the pit. When directly over it, they dropped him with no further thought.
Sirius winced at the sound of his body reaching the bottom of the grave. Was that how he was going to die? What if the last living thing he was to feel was the rotting hands of the Dementors grasped around his shoulders and ankles? The only people that would see were those who inhabited Azkaban. It would probably be the Lestranges finest moment….
The prison was completely run by Dementors. They floated about, making it impossible to think clearly. They brought the prisoners meals, and as they did so Sirius shivered. The cold that came with them was too much. It ruined the meal. He waited several minuets before deciding to even pick up the tray.
Cornelius Fudge was inspecting the fortress that day, most likely having heard of Crouch's death. Sirius hadn't known this until he saw Fudge peering through the small barred window on his cell door. He had a newspaper in his hand, something Sirius hadn't seen for many years.
"Are you finished with that?" he asked coolly, inclining his head towards the newspaper. "I miss the crosswords." he added.
Fudge looked shocked and somewhat uneasy, as though not expecting Sirius to be able to talk. He dropped the newspaper through the bars of the window and hurried away, still looking quite upset.
Sirius grinned roughly before grabbing the copy of the Dailey Prophet . On the front was a picture of what looked to be Arthur and Molly Weasley, and a large amount of red-haired children all grouped in front of a pyramid. He gave a small laugh at how many children there were and began to count them, but sopped on the first boy.
He was holding a rat. Perhaps it had been all the years in Azkaban, but Sirius was sure that he had just found Peter Pettigrew. He held the paper up so that it was nearly touching his nose. It was Peter. He was missing a toe!
His eyes flew down to the matching article. " Arthur Weasley… Grand Prize Galleon Draw…summer holidays in Egypt… returning for the start of the new school year at Hogwarts, which five of the Weasley children currently attend." He had seen enough. Pettigrew was at Hogwarts, in perfect reach of his godson.That was all he needed to know.
Sirius was the only person who knew the truth about Pettigrew, and was the only man who could catch him. He was to escape, but how? Sirius picked up his tray and began to eat in deep thought….
Perhaps he should play dead. Then he would be carried outside of the fortress. No, he would be that desperate to leave. He wouldn't be touched by a Dementor.
A new thought came to mind. The Dementors couldn't see. They felt emotions. Perhaps it would be possible to fool them. Would they be able to feel a dog's presents? Two voices spoke to him in the back of his head. Test them.he thought, Transform when they come to bring your next meal… and if it goes wrong I'm dead…The other voice scolded. Do it for Harry!
All other thoughts stopped. He began to plan how he would get pass the Dementors. First he would test them; transform into a dog and see how they react. Then he could find a way to escape.
With that on his mind he transformed, for the first time in 13 years, into a large shaggy dog and curled into a small ball on the grimy mattress. He would be the first to escape from Azkaban, despite the fact that he didn't quite know how.