And then Sirius is free.
Not legally, of course, but rightfully.
And as he swims through the freezing water, snapping up mouthfuls of salt and wind and foam, there is only one thought in his shaggy black head:
He is going to kill Peter Pettigrew.
He isn't sure how yet - he doesn't have a wand, doesn't have a gun, doesn't have anything but the ragged clothes on his back and the mantra in his head (kill him, kill him, kill him) - but he's going to do it, and that's a murder for which he'll gladly go back to Azkaban.
And he's going to find Remus, too, and tell him the truth.
(About everything.)
(About that night.)
(About the rat.)
(About his heart, and the way it once beat only for Remus, because women are lovely and women are sexy and women are fun, but the only true mate for a dog is another dog.)
And he's been swimming for hours (days) and he's a little tired (his legs are giving out) but he presses on (kill him kill him kill him) until land is finally within reach, and then he clambers up the beach, shakes twice, and turns back into a man.
His hair is long and wet, his body skeletal, his skin a ghastly yellow. His clothes hang from his body in tatters. His shoes didn't even make it out of his cell. And it's not as if he can fix any of it, because new clothes cost money, and he can't very well walk into Gringotts and request access to Sirius Black's bank vault.
(But Padfoot can.)
So he scrawls a note and treks off to Diagon Alley. The goblins are suspicious when the giant dog pushes through the door and spits soggy parchment on their desk, but they walk into their back room, and return with the 10,000 galleons he's requested. He fits it into his mouth and trots away with a muffled bark of thanks.
After that it's easy to get robes (he writes down his measurements) and food (chocolate, because the dementors' effects linger) and a wand.
(Ollivander is the only one who realizes. But he doesn't say anything, only winks and hands over the new wand.)
And suddenly anything is possible, and Sirius' mantra has become as natural to him as his own heartbeat.
Kill him. Kill him. Kill him.
[The Star Challenge: Sirius]
[Becoming A Wizard Challenge: Chore 6 - clothes]
[Wizard Sweets Challenge: Chocolate]
[100 Prompts: wink]