Convaluisset
Chapter 1- Prologue
Harry Potter escaped from the graveyard. The only mistake he made was that he used the killing curse to fend off Voldemort. He escaped but now the ministry has put the blame of Cedric's death on him. The wizarding community has turned against him. His godfather, Sirius Black tries to free him but fails. Black is a free man. Severus had seen Pettigrew that night at the whoomping willow and had made him confess before Pettigrew had escaped. His testimony had got Sirius released of all charges. Harry is facing a term in Azkaban. Dumbledore has tried his best but has failed. The minister has still sentenced Harry to prison from 1st July to November 31st. Harry was not even given a trial. Dumbledore and Sirius and the Weasleys had protested against this but they had no power to outrule the minister. Dumbledore had been removed from the Wizengamot. Harry's wand had been destroyed. Even after his release he could not attend Hogwarts as the ministry stated that he was a danger to the other students.
Dumbledore's Office
"Albus, you have to do something. We can't let Harry go to prison. We just can't. He is innocent. Due to realise what they are doing. They are sending a fourteen year old boy to prison. An innocent fourteen year old boy. He will not survive Azkaban. All the other prisoners will kill him. They hate him. They think Harry's the reason their Lord had disappeared, that Harry is the reason they were captured. He won't survive Albus." The look on Minerva McGonagall said the rest. She was exasperated. How could they do this to a boy? The boy was innocent. The man standing at the other corner of the office spoke.
"May I add something Headmaster," his voice as calm as ever.
Minerva glared at the man. It was a marvel that he did not recoil. "Severus, I swear if you say that Harry deserves to go to prison, working as a spy for us would be the least of your worries."
The man's face showed no emotion. It was as impassive as ever. He ignored her and continued. "Headmaster, I am not a fan of Potter or his father or his father's friends or his friends as a matter of fact but I most certainly think that he does not deserve to go to Azkaban."
Dumbledore smiled sadly. "Severus have you let the past go and forgotten your grudges for once."
"No, I still firmly believe that Potter is a mediocre boy who slacks just like his father, does things for attention has no regards for authority whatsoever, disregards rules, he is disrespectful but he is most certainly not a murderer, not a cold blooded murderer. Therefore I suggest you do something Headmaster to save the boy from this hell he is on the verge of entering."
"What can I do Severus?" His hands were on his face. It had been a long day. "Harry confessed that he cast the killing curse. That alone would get him to Azkaban. Plus the minister won't see his memories. He is not going to hold a trial so Harry could testify. There is no proof of Voldemort coming back, there is just Harry's word which might be good enough for us but is not for them. Cornelius is a fool, who thinks I want his job. There is no way to convince him. The only thing we can do is to make sure that Harry heals after Azkaban."
Severus slowly said, "If he survives."
"Always remember that we are there for you Harry. Ok. Just think that you are innocent and that will keep you going. You can fight this. You are strong. Stronger than me, stronger than your father, stronger than Voldemort." Sirius kissed his godson's forehead. The ministry aurors had come to take him away.
"This is not fair. This is so not fair, Harry." Hermione had been crying for sometime.
"Yeah well, Hermione when has life been fair to me." He tried to smile but couldn't. He did not know what he was about to face.
The others had said there goodbyes. Ron was the only one left. He hugged Harry. It was just like when they had hugged after the first task. Just this time, it was tighter. Ron was hugging him as if he let him go he would lose him forever. They slowly parted. Ron had tears in his eyes but he did not cry.
"When you get out and people find the truth about You-Kn…." He saw the expression on Harry's face. "Volde… Voldemort, we will sue Fudge. We will have the Wizengamot so far up his ass that he would have to turn his head to the left to cough."
Harry laughed at this. It was the first time he had laughed in the last two days. The laughter died.
"Goodbye mate."
"Goodbye."
He left and did not look back. He could not see their faces. It had been his mistake. He had been so consumed in his rage that he had used the Avada Kedavra. He had brought this upon himself. He was going to Azkaban and nothing was going to change that.
The first week had been hell. He had never felt so cold in his entire life. It had been a nightmare. He could feel every happy thought, every happy memory been sucked out of him. The prisoners had done nothing so far. There had been occasional slangs, death threats, but nothing dangerous of the sort. But he had a feeling something would happen. He had talked to few of the prisoners. They knew that their lord had returned. They kept on saying how he was going to reward them for their loyalty. The cell door opened and the dementors brought the food or trash, there was no difference. The coldness had again spread. He could hear his mom screaming, could see Voldemort coming back to life. Then the feeling was gone. Tears fell down his cheeks. He was not going to survive this. He was not going to make it out alive. Sometime later the cell door opened again. This time the dementors did not come in but two men. Their beards grown long looking at him maniacally.
"Potter, now we get our revenge. You brought down our lord. You are the reason for our suffering."
They reached for Harry. He tried to fight them off but was unsuccessful. He was no match for two grown men. One of them held his arms while the other started punching him. The man kept on punching Harry till what seemed like eternity. He could feel blood filling his mouth. He could feel cuts on his face. He could feel his broken nose and his stomach hurt. Until the men were dragged away by someone or something. They were screaming. The feeling of coldness had returned. The feeling of dread had returned. The dementors had arrived. They had taken the two men away. He lay there inside his cell cursing fate for being so cruel to him, till darkness enveloped him.