Tada! I had originally intended to write this story more from Ed's perspective than Harry's, but since I'm re-reading The Prisoner of Azkaban, it just is easier this way. Anyway, blah blah blah don't own either of these titles yadda yadda yadda enjoy. P.S there is some of the obligatory emo-ness down there somewhere. Enjoy nonetheless!
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It had been a wonderful three long weeks now, spent wandering aimlessly in exploration among the many strange and exciting magical shops that lined Diagon Alley. And Harry had
completely forgotten about the strange boy aboard the bus. Despite actually enjoying his summer vacation for the first time, Harry could still not help but feel excitement as the days
until the new school term began drew near, especially as it was during these days that he was reunited with his best friends Ron and Hermione, and was introduced to Hermione's ugly
new cat Crookshanks (who did not get along well at all with Ron's second-hand rat Scabbers).
All the adults seemed determined to keep Harry from learning anything about Sirius Black or his agendas, not knowing that Harry already knew of the danger he was in, no thanks to a
certain bus conductor with a loose tongue. Even so, Harry didn't mind, and wasn't even all that concerned. 'After all,' He thought. 'The safest place to be in the entire magical world is
surely wherever Dumbledore is. Even Voldemort himself feared him, so why wouldn't his 2nd-in command?' So, Harry spent his days carefree and enjoying himself immensely.
On that fateful day of the beginning of school once again, Harry found himself being driven to the station in one of the Ministry's own cars, and then being hurried onto the train, but
not before being given the mysterious message "Don't go looking for Black." It was while pondering the implications behind why he needed to be told this that the 'golden trio' boarded
the train only to realize that there were no empty compartments left. After several minutes of fruitless searching, Hermione finally said "Well, we shall just have to settle for the LEAST
full one then. I just hope we don't have to split up." A girl in the compartment they had most recently checked told them that the compartment on the very end had only two
passengers. They were, as she put it "very weird", which was why she herself had gone to find somewhere else to sit. But at this point, she added, if they wanted to stay together, it
would really be the only place left with enough room. Thanking the girl, who looked to be a hufflepuff, they hurried down. Just as the girl had said, there was still plenty of room, but
also just as she said, the two people already inside made the atmosphere in the cabin a little awkward as the three students slipped in through the door. This was despite, or perhaps
even more so, because both of them were sound asleep.
The first was a man none of them had seen before. He was rather shabbily dressed, his hair streaked with grey although he couldn't have been any older than 30, and his robes were
patched in more places than even Ron's. The faded lettering on the cracked and battered leather case on the rack above his head proclaimed him to be Professor R. J. Lupin. None of
them had ever seen an adult on the train before, but then, they guiltily considered, the teachers would need a way to get to Hogwarts just as much as they did. He sat in the corner,
his head resting against the window as he slept.
The 2nd occupant did indeed appear to be a student, and as Harry was shocked to see, was none other than "I know him! Well, not know know him, but I've SEEN him! He was on the
Knight bus with me! And it was a secret! That he was on the bus, I mean. I think. And the Minister of Magic himself came to collect him! Said his name was…Elkrid? Something Elkrid. The
Minister said that. Not the boy. He was asleep the entire ride. And…and…what's he doing HERE?" To which Hermione promptly responded "Attending school. I should THINK that would
be obvious. And you're babbling again Harry. You mustn't make a habit of it." 'Attending Hogwarts? I guess that means he's not a squib after all.' Harry thought privately, ignoring the
second comment. All three silently stared at the boy, currently slumped across two seats on his own and looking exactly the same since Harry had last seen him. After a while Ron
voiced "Sure sleeps a lot then, huh? And really? Fudge himself?" "Yeah…" Harry responded slowly. "And don't ask me why, because I REALLY don't know." "Anyway," He said, sitting
down. "I don't think either of them is going to wake up anytime soon, so listen up. I need to tell you what I learned about Sirius Black." When the tale was over, both Ron and
Hermione were horrified, more than he had expected them to be, but he managed to get them to calm down. After all, Hogwarts was the safest place he could be.
Gradually the talk turned to quidditch, and the Hogsmeade trip and how Harry didn't have permission to go. The food cart rolled around. The two strangers slept on. There was a brief
scare when the blonde boy sat up and mumbled "Not that one, Alphonse. I already read it through 3 times, and there's no mention of it anywhere" and then lay back done again,
entirely asleep through the whole episode. Draco and his flunkies paid a brief visit, but left quickly when they noticed the teacher in the compartment. Time passes, the sky grew dark,
the lights flickered into life along the corridor, the rain thundered against the sides and windows of the train, and the air grew cold.
"Nothing wakes them up, huh?" Ron said, staring at the two other passengers, trying to lighten the now damp mood in the compartment. "Don't worry. We must be almost there by
now." Moments after he spoke the words the train began to slow down. "See, what'd I tell you!" "No! This can't be right! I KNOW we can't be there yet!" Hermione cried, jumping from
her seat. The train jolted to a stop, and the lights went out.
Ron wiped a patch clear on the fogged up glass of the windows, and tried to peer out through the driving rain. "There's…something out there. Why would they be picking up new
people here? Has this ever happened before?" The compartment door was flung open, and the real Neville fell through, followed by Ginny. "Ow! Sorry 'bout that. Do you know what's
going on?" "No, Neville." Hermione replied. Everyone tried to make room for the newcomers, but in the dark it wasn't easy. "Oof!" "Watch it!" "That was my hand!" "Sorry!" A new voice,
which Harry guessed could only belong to the boy with the silver pocket watch, gruffly complained under its breath. "Damn it all! I haven't even ARRIVED at this stupid job yet, and
already there's trouble that I'M probably going to have to fix. Now, what does this remind me of? You sure know how to pick 'em, eh Mustang?" Louder then "Will you get OFF me?!?!"
There was a thump as Neville hit the ground. "QUIET!" A hoarse voice said suddenly. Professor Lupin seemed to have finally woken up as well. There was a crackling noise, and the
cabin became illuminated as a small fire hovered in the palm of Lupin's hand. He brought the other up to his mouth, and pressing his finger to his lips, whispered "Stay here and don't
make a sound." But before he could even stand, the door slid open a crack.
Fingers curled around the edge of the doorframe, and slid it open a few more inches. Glistening black, almost skeletal, rotting and scabbed fingers. The door slid open the rest of the
wall at their pull. Then the fingers disappeared into the sleeve of a cloak, and its owner stepped into the doorway.
Towering over them all, it turned to look directly at Harry. Instantly, all warmth in the room seemed to disappear and he couldn't quite remember what joy was anymore. He felt as
though he were drowning, his vision began to go black, and a terrible scream sounded in his ears…but then the pressure lessened. The monster had paused, as if hearing, smelling,
SENSING something. And it turned to the blonde. He faced it with his fear disguised well, and slipped into a defensive position, but the creature kept coming. It knelt down in front of
the boy until the two were face to face, and through his still blurry vision Harry saw the boy's begin to pale. And then, the creature began to breathe in, a deep and long and
rattling breath. And Harry could only watch in horror as the boy seemed to fade a little more with every second that the thing dragged out the breath, sucking something visible from
him, and his eyes were so glazed, so dead, resigned to his fate while not even seeing it, looking at something far away. Lost in nightmares.
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It was happening again. All of it. Every last second of pain, every last sickening high of fear, every last drop of blood. Images flying through his mind so fast he could barely process
them: Nina, Scar, the Homunculi, his mother, so many others. At the same time, they went by so slow so as he could truly appreciate every horrible detail in all of its glory until the end
of time. And there was the overwhelming feeling, the overbearing certainty, the undeniable truth, that it was all his fault. He KNEW that they all blamed him, hated him for it. Hell, he
hated himself. Why deny it. And there, in the middle of it all, the endless white space and grasping black hands and impossible knowledge of the Gate. "What are you waiting for, Elric?"
The Truth asked, voice oozing triumph. "You always knew that one of these days after one of our little visits you wouldn't be coming back. You don't deserve life anyway. Not after the
things you've done, the deals you've made." It added thoughtfully, stretching out its arm, HIS arm, his flesh and blood arm, and beckoning him forward. "You're place is here. With me.
For all eternity." The black hands reached out for him, smothering, greedy, and hungry. He closed his eyes and felt them take him…Until he was blasted backwards and out of their
reach by a blinding force, burning so brightly he could see its image even behind his eyelids. It was enough to shock him out of the depression, and cause him to think "What the hell
was I about to do!" Just long enough to think this, before everything went a peaceful black, and he knew no more.
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"You have orders to harm NO ONE!" You are only to search for Sirius Black!" Lupin shouted angrily. The dementor ignored him and continued its feast. Harry watch in amazement then,
as the Professor whipped out his wand and growling a spell word, sent something large and shining a brilliant silver out of the tip of his wand and charging into the creature. The
dementor reared up, and quickly glided away. The boy went limp and slumped to the ground.
"Is he…is he o.k.? What was that?" a voiced asked. It was Ginny, peering out between her fingers and pressed up against the wall. The Professor bent down and picked up the still
unconscious boy and flung him over his shoulder. "Don't worry, he'll be fine. Those…were the guards of Azkaban, hoping to find Sirius Black hiding aboard our train." Here he frowned.
"They make excellent guards, but only because their duties there suit their own needs. Letting them loose like this…they will follow their desires before any orders. Nothing good will
come of this, I promise you that." He stood silent a moment, deep in thought, before distractingly digging around in his pockets and pulling out an enormous slab of chocolate. "Here."
He said, tossing it to Ron. "All of you, eat a piece of this. It will help. Especially you, Harry Potter." He said, turning to the black haired boy, who wondered how he knew his name. "You
look faint." With those words he walked out, still carrying the dementor's victim. They all sat silently, munching the chocolate. Eventually the lights came back on and the train began to
move again, but no one really felt like talking anymore.
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Fin. So far. Definatley gonna do at least one more now. But then, i'm gonna need to see at least 5 reviews to have the heart to write anything more. I know at least SOMEONE is reading this, so hurray!!! In for the win!