Disclaimer: The world belongs to JkR and Marvel. I'm just letting them stamp my passport.

CHAPTER TWO: IMPOSSIBLE? WHAT ELSE IS NEW

AZKABAN PRISON

Harry was laying on his cot and had his head pillowed on his arms. He thought back over the last fifteen months that he'd been trapped in this hell-hole. The food sucked, the Dementors finally left him alone now. But it had taken months to reach that point. The first couple of months had been almost too much to bear.

Aurors had paid him visits at all hours, beating him as severely as they could get away with for the first few days. They all seemed to want to exact some kind of revenge for the death of Cedric Diggory and he'd just taken it because he felt he'd deserved it. Then they would lay off for a day or two, just enough time for his magic to start to heal him. After about the third day, they would be back to administer another beating. Not to mention the Dementors were playing hell with his system.

During the first two weeks, he'd at least had some relief from Voldemort tormenting him with visions. Instead he'd just been privy to things when the Dork Lard had gotten extremely happy. But it was the third week when one of the aurors slipped up and Harry had found out who was behind the beatings.

"Lord Diggory wanted to make sure you're comfortable." Dawlish had popped off as he beated Harry into unconsciousness. But that wasn't the end of it. So Harry had started trying to put something into practice that he'd heard once.

During those times that he was lucid and left alone he would sink into himself in meditation, trying to find some way to keep himself sane so the damn dementors would leave him alone. It took some time but evetually he started to live in his own mind. The only time he came out of it was when he had 'guests' so to speak. That had tapered off until his friends had started to give interviews about how far he'd 'fallen' from grace.

They came out once a month and they were always brought to his attention when Auror Dawlish brought them out to the prison. Dawlish would beat him nearly to death, breaking what bones he could with 'Lord Diggory's compliments' before he left the article behind. He always made sure that Harry knew he was Fudge's personal bodyguard and that this was a special assignment as a reward for satisfactory performance of his duties.

He'd even had a visit from Diggory on Cedric's birthday along with Dawlish so that he could bring his own wishes. That beating had nearly been the death of him, but he'd survived. And he'd started practicing and learning to use his magic without a wand. Finally the day had come when he was able to cast the patronus charm and after that the dementors found that he wasn't easy pickings anymore. Unfortunately the bones had been broken so often that they wouldn't heal properly, even with his magic working harder. And during all of this Dumbledore would take a trip to Azkaban, trying to get information while Voldemort had started his terror sprees again, giving him the full view.

Finally he learned through trial and error to protect his mind from the terrors snake-face had shown him. Then had come the times Dumbledore would come to try and get him to redeem himself while trying to pry for information. That had led to him ignoring the old man altogether and closing himself off to the outside world.

For fifteen months he's battled the visions, Dumbledore and the dementors while still receiving beatings from Dawlish to make sure that he knew he hadn't been forgotten. And his magic had finally grown strong enough that he could do most spells, charms and even some transfigurations wandlessly. That was when he decided to ignore the world and just live on his own mind and cell. He didn't need them and he sure as hell wouldn't let them use him anymore.

Little did he know that things were happening to change his life.

MINISTRY OF MAGIC 3 DAYS AFTER THE TRIAL

MADAM BONES OFFICE AS HEAD OF THE D.M.L.E.

Albus Dumbledore knocked on the door of Madam Bones' office and waited to be called in. When he walked in, he closed the door behind himself and waited. She motioned for him to take a seat and then looked across her desk at him.

"What can I do for you, Albus?" she asked as she put her files down and took her monocle out to polish it while she waited for him to speak.

" After I transported Alastor to the hospital wing and Poppy began his treatment, I had a disturbing thought. The question that came to mind was why I left Harry to fend for himself during his trial. That was very much something that I couldn't reconcile with my own actions. So I asked Poppy to run a diagnostic scan on me. The results were very disturbing. I must admit to my own fallibility after seeing the results." Dumbledore said, voice full of remorse.

"Be that as it may, Headmaster, somehow I doubt very much that Mr. Potter will be very forgiving. At the current time, I am researching some other options for him should he decide that he is un-willing to forgive anyone that stood against him. At the present time that is all I'm willing to say. Now, if you don't mind, Headmaster, I have aa very busy day ahead of me. Good day." she said in dismissal.

"What do you mean options, Amelia? Harry must remain here and return to Hogwarts. You have heard the prophecy and even you must admit that he is needed here. We cannot allow him to leave. He needs to learn to forgive." Dumbledore said as he started to panic at the very idea that Harry Potter would abandon the magical world.

"I'll be discussing that with young Mr. Potter when he is removed from Azkaban Island, Headmaster. But I would like to remind you that his life is his own. Not yours to play with as you see fit." she said, then deliberately pointed at the door.

Dumbledore got up to leave the room, knowing that with what has happened so far, they could very well lose any chance of Harry Potter being willing to interfere at all with Tom's destruction in the magical world. If that was the choice he made, then Merlin help them all.

MINISTRY OF MAGIC 4 DAYS AFTER THE TRIALS

MINISTER'S OFFICE

Albus Dumbledore and Amelia Bones sat in front of Fudge's desk waiting for him to make a choice. But he was stalling as usual because he didn't want to believe what he'd seen in the trial or admit that he'd acted in haste.

"Cornelius, you witnessed it as well as we did. Now that Voldemort is back our only hope is to retrieve Harry Potter from Azkaban and help him achieve his destiny. There was a prophecy made about young Harry and Voldemort.." Albus was saying when Fudge cut him off.

"Don't say that name!" Fudge almost shouted.

"Without Mr. Potter we have no chance to defeat him. You need to do this Cornelius!" Madam Bones told him intensely.

"Yes, yes. I understand that. But do we really have to go through another trial. Couldn't I just issue a ministerial pardon?" Fudge whined at their insistence.

"I'm sure that would save your job. But then how would you explain that Diggory needs to return the full Potter estate to Harry. Or would you rather leave him penniless and unable to fend for himself." Amelia started, then took in the look on his face. "Morgana's tits! You would! I swear Cornelius Fudge if you try that I'll air every dirty little secret I can find on you to the Daily Prophet as well as what you've done to Mr. Potter and why. Then I'll stand back and let the people tear you apart."

"You wouldn't dare! I'm still your boss." he blustered.

"Yeah, I would. But right now I'm going out to Azkaban and you two will be going with me to personally apologize. You will beg and grovel if that is what it takes. But you will be there to at least try to apologize." she said in her own tone of command.

Both Dumbledore and Fudge looked at her and they knew by the expression on her face that she was deadly serious. Both nodded in acquiesence. But it was a potion that did not go down well for either of them. While Dumbledore had the excuse of being enchanted to act as he had, Fudge had no such excuse and he knew that he was probably the most hated wizard that lived in the young man's mind. But Fudge didn't want to lose his position as Minister either where he would have to give up his power and the money he received through contributions. The only way he could keep that position was if he could convince young Potter to support him. To do that he was willing to bribe or blackmail the young man to do what he wanted.

Amelia could almost see the wheels turning in Fudge's mind as he schemed to get what he wanted and she considered what she had done to counteract whatever he would try. But she had some hope that she could at least convince Mr. Potter to listen and maybe accept what she was willing to try to help him.

"Very well, Amelia. Let's go and speak to Mr. Potter. We should be able to convince him to aid us." Fudge said as he stood and picked up his bowler hat, then putting his cloak on.

Dumbledore followed suit and they went to the atrium's apparation point where Amelia supplied them with the portkey that would take them all to Azkaban's boat.

AZKABAN PRISON ONE BOAT RIDE LATER

While Amelia remained with the warden to fill out the paperwork to transfer Harry Potter to the Ministry Holding cells, Fudge and Dumbledore were being led to the cell that Harry Potter was held in by a guard. They both hoped that he had managed to hold onto his mind while he was in prison, but they also realized that the chances were very slim.

When they reached the cell that Dumbledore had visited so many times before on his own, the guard opened the door and they both walked in to see Harry Potter once more laying in his cot with a forearm over his eyes, ignoring what was happening around him.

"Harry, we have come to take you out of here." Dumbledore said in his grandfatherly tone.

"Right! Once again the great Albus Dumbledore is here to try and redeem me. Haha, that's a regular laugh riot. Go away, old man. We don't have anything to talk about." Harry said in a bored tone.

"Mr. Potter, we have come to remove you from Azkaban. We are in need of your help. He-who-must-not-be-named has appeared and you're our only hope. If you're willing to help us, then we can arrange a new trial for you." Fudge said, trying to deal from a position of strength.

"Oh, joy! Minister Fudge, Malfoy's favorite bought and paid for puppet. You're pathetic! Voldemort shows up and you piss your robes then come looking for somebody to save your ass. Please! You can take Dumbledore and enjoy a trip to hell! You've got nothing to say that I want to hear. So taake a walk and leave me the hell alone." Harry said without taking his arm off his eyes.

"Harry, we've come to bring you home. New evidence has come to light that can free you and you can come home." Dumbledore tried again.

"In case you've forgotten, Headmaster, I am home. You and Fudge saw to that. So there's nothing to discuss. Why don't you leave now. You're all done here." Harry said dismissively, without looking at them.

"Look, Potter, we have need of you. You owe it to your country to do your duty to protect our world." Fudge blustered.

"Hahahaha!" Harry snorted in laughter, "What duty? I don't owe any of you a damned thing. You're nothing but a bunch of cowardly sheep. You dump me in a hole and forget about me until something scares the shite out of you. Then you show up to try and make me do your dirty work. Not happening. Now leave." Harry said, waving with his off hand and magically forcing them out of his cell.

"How? He doesn't have a wand!" Fudge said in disbelief.

"It would appear that young Harry is stronger than he appears. We may have under-estimated him." Dumbledore said as Amelia Bones joined them outside the cell.

"What happened? What did he say?" Amelia asked.

"He refuses to even speak to us. He says that this is his home and we should just leave him be." Fudge said without giving anything away on how he tried to strong-arm Potter to do what he wanted.

"What did you do, Fudge? You tried something really foolish didn't you? And you pissed him off." Amelia said, shaking her head in disbelief.

"No. I wouldn't..Potter has a duty to protect us." Fudge tried to bluster his way through.

"Dammit, Cornelius. I swear I'm ready to call for a vote of no-confidence myself if you mess this up." she said as she made her way into the cell where Harry was laying on his cot with his arm still over his eyes.

"Fudge, I told you and Dumbledore to go away. I have nothing to say to you." Harry said without looking up.

"Mr. Potter, I'm not Albus or Cornelius. My name is Amelia Bones." she started off and Harry actually moved his arm to look up at her.

"I remember you from my trial. You're the only one that didn't vote against me." Harry said as he looked up into her eyes.

"That's right, Mr. Potter. I didn't believe you were guilty. We did catch the one that killed Cedric Diggory, however. With the new evidence we have, we can actually have a trial and reverse the verdict, if you're willing to trust me." she said.

"Sorry, Ma'am, but trust is a little in short supply these days. After what those two bastards did to me, I don't have any reason to leave here. They just want to throw me at Voldemort to try and save their own arses." Harry said scathingly.

"Maybe that's why they came but that's not my I'm here, Mr. Potter." she started, then stopped as he realized that she was standing over her.

"Sorry. I guess I could be a better host." he said as he waved his hand and created a comfortable chair to sit in. "I would get up but that's kind of hard to do with everything that's happened."

Amelia sat in the chair as she looked over at him in curiousity, trying to understand what he was telling her. Finally she decided to just out and out ask him, thinking it couldn't be any worse than what she'd dealt with before.

"What do you mean with everything that's happened? Can you tell me what happened?" she asked as she sat forward in her chair.

"Ma'am, do you know how to read minds?" he asked, looking her in the eyes.

"Do you mean legilemency? Where you could show me your thoughts?" she asked cautiously.

"Yeah, that sounds about right. How about I show you some of the high-lights of my stay here and then you can try and tell me who owes who." he suggested as he leaned forward a little bit.

Amelia thought over what she was offering and wondered if she should really take the chance. But then she realized he was offering her a chance to gain a little of his trust and maybe they could start there.

"Alright, Mr. Potter. How do you want to do this?" she asked as she sat back comfortably and waited for him to make a move.

While she watched, Harry lifted himself up on his elbows and then slowly managed to sit up. As she watched he literally used his hands to move his legs over the edge of the cot without his blanket falling off his legs. Once he was able to, he leaned back against the wall where he could look her in the eyes. She wanted to ask what was wrong with his legs, but decided to leave it for now.

"Okay, Ma'am. I'll meet your eyes and you do what you need to. I won't fight you." he promised as he waited.

"Very well, Mr. Potter. Just think about what you want me to see and don't break eye contact." she said, then looked into his eyes as she held her wand and incanted, "Legilimens."

What happened after that shook her to her core as she realized how bad it had been. First he showed her the last fifteen months and every beating and meeting with Dawlish. Whenshe saw Dawlish she was literally seething in anger. Then he went further and showed her all of his time at school as well as the ten years before he had gone to school. By the time she had witnessed everything that he had to show her, Amelia was ready to strangle Fudge with his own robes. But that wasn't the half of it.

She broke the connection and sat back in her seat as she thought it all over and looked at him carefully. Then she had another thought that might help them both.

"Mr. Potter, I've been in touch with an old friend that could help you. We talked when the information about you and Mr. Diggory came out. He's already offered to help you if you are willing and it means that you can leave here without anyone trying to force you into anything against your will." Amelia said, meeting his eyes.

Harry looked at her and tried to think about what he needed to do. But she had given him something to thiink about and she had voted for him at the trial. Sure he knew Susan Bones but she had treated him the way the rest of the school had because of that damned tournament. He had to make a decision on what he was going to do. Finally he decided to take a chance.

"Ma'am, you can call me Harry. I guess if I have to trust somebody, I might as well start with you. You did try to treat me as innocent. So where do we go from here?" he asked.

"I will arrange transport to a Ministry holding cell and have your trial arranged. After that we'll get you someplace safe so that you can do what you want with your life." she promised.

"What about that old meddler and the chicken-hearted bastard? Can you keep them away from me?" Harry asked.

"Yes. I can arrange for them to be kept away from you. Can I ask a question, though?" she started and went on when he nodded, "What happened with your legs?"

"You saw the beatings I got?" he started and she nodded, "I've been healing myself with magic. The problem is that magic can only do so much. Without the right diet and a way to try and work them, I'm at a disadvantage. So even though I've been healing them it's been bad and I really can't do anything else while I've been cooped up in here."

"Damn! Alright, you'll leave here and be transported to a secure room in St. Mungo's if you like." she offered.

"No! Just get me out and get me a trial. I'll supply a chair to travel in, but I don't want anybody else around. When I go to trial, just make sure my friends are there to see the truth. Then get me the hell out of there to someplace safe." he said.

"Harry, do you remember Fleur Delacouer?" she asked carefully, afraid of setting him off.

"Yeah. She was the french champion from Beauxbatons." he said.

"Her father was the one I contacted to help you. He's agreed to take you into his home while we try to find a way to help you. I know someone else that I can get in touch with once we get you out of Britain. Will you let us help?" she asked.

"If it will keep those bastards away from me then I'll take what you can give me." he agreed as he leaned back against the wall to rest and try to relax.

"I understand that you hate them but we can't give them any idea of what's going to happeen until after the trial. I only hope that they don't realize what we've been talking about." she said as she remembered that she hadn't put up any privacy wards.

"Don't worry about it, Ma'am. They haven't been able to get back into this corridor since I forced them out of my cell. So they can't hear a thing. Can we leave once they're gone?" Harry asked.

"I'll go explain to them that they need to leave. Unfortunately they'll be on the boat back to the mainland with us. But then I'll take you straight to your holding cell at the ministry by portkey and they won't have any way to interact with you." she promised.

"If you believe that I've got a real nice castle to sell you. Think about it. You know Dumbledore has his own group and some of your aurors are part of it." he warned her.

"We'll talk about it at the ministry. I'll go tell them to wait at the boat for us. Until then, just be quiet and we'll make this work." she promised as she stood up. He vanished the chair she had been sitting in and transfigured his own chair to transport himself. "You do know that you're not supposed to be able to do magic here. Especially without a wand."

"Nobody ever told me." he said with a lop-sided grin as she just shook her head and walked out the door.

She walked to the door and found Albus and Fudge trying to enter the door without any success.

"I managed to get Mr. Potter to agree to return to the mainland and go through another trial. But he's not thrilled with either of you and your best bet is to make sure that you stay away from him. He doesn't even want to talk to either of you. Don't bollocks this up or I'll make sure that you both pay for what you've done." she said protectively.

"But Amelia, we need.." Fudge started before she cut him off.

"NO, Cornelius. You've done enough damage. Leave him alone." she said angrily as she re-called everything that Harry had shown her through Legilimency.

Both Fudge and Dumbledore looked at her, then took her at her word and they both headed for the boat without her. When she returned to the cell he was already in his chair and the blanket was over his legs, hiding the evidence of what had happened. She guided the chair as they left his cell, down through the prison and out to the docks.

Author's Note: To all of my readers. Thank you for your support and reviews. I hope that you get as much joy out of this as I do when the muse let's me see the creatuion come to life.