AN: Hey, sorry for any confusion but Harry has been in Azkaban for a total of five years which mean he arrived there when he was just 13. And yes, when I was writing it I didn't picture Harry like I normally would so I picked out a different look for him. Hope you enjoy ^-^
Chapter four: I 'murdered' my puppy
He vaguely recalled a night he shared with Rodolphus on his first day in Azkaban. The Dementors had led the way into the darkened corridor. Harry remembered feeling scared, with a weight on his chest that would never be lifted as long as he was in prison. And the next thing he knew, he was being stared at by many pairs of dull eyes.
And he'd stared back. Recognising them all, he wondered why he was there. Their faces were all on wanted posters, millions of galleons on their heads. Did he too have a poster somewhere?
Harry didn't know. But out of everyone he recognised, only one man spoke to him. Rodolphus Lestrange.
He was the husband of Bellatrix, The Dark Lord's right hand. She was vicious, a harpy, she cackled at things that most certainly weren't funny. Harry could only imagine what her husband would be like.
"Hey kid," he wheezed out.
From within his cell, Harry looked up best he could. "Yeah?"
"What you in for?" The man coughed some more and Harry resisted the urge to call out for some water.
"Depends who you ask," he'd told him. "I on the other hand, am perfectly innocent."
"Sassy, I like it." He coughed again. "No man that has stepped foot in Azkaban is guilty."
His laughs filled the corridor. It sounded deranged, like he was a mad man. But Harry couldn't help but laugh at the irony.
"You make damn fine case," he had said once the laughter had died.
Rodolphus inhaled, "If I asked someone else what would they say you were in for?"
It was Harry who laughed this time, it echoed and sent him into more laughter. He lay down on the floor and laughed some more.
"Tell me what's so funny."
Harry closed his eyes. "I killed a dog."
Laughter bubbled around them again.
He was shaken awake, sweating and confused. He couldn't think, his mind was fuzzy and when he caught sight of someone standing over his bed he immediately flinched back.
His warm hand had shielded him from what he thought was a threat and he almost started mumbled protection spells but the threat jumped back.
"Hey! Hey, easy there!"
Harry scrutinised the perpetrator and saw that it was Theodore. He grumbled, "What?"
Theodore gulped and took another step back. "It's time for breakfast, you need to be ready in a few minutes. I didn't want you to be late. But err, w-what were you erm dreaming of?"
"Nothing special."
Harry sat up and rubbed his eyes and then looked down at his clothes. His uniform seemed neat enough. He pulled on his shoes and then began his trek down to the Great Hall.
"Wait!" Theodore caught up to him quickly. "I thought it would be nice to walk together."
"Huh," was all Harry said.
They exited their dorm and tread through the common room. There were still many people about, mostly first years who were lost. But sticking to house unity, the second years had taken it upon themselves to help.
"So, what do you do for fun?"
Harry stopped and looked at Theodore. "Fun?"
"Yes?" He let out a nervous laugh. "Come on, I don't want to miss the bacon."
They carried on walking and it was when they were half way into their journey did Harry reply.
"I don't know."
"You don't know what?"
"Fun. . . I don't know."
Theodore caught on, "Oh. Well there are lots of things you can do for fun. Like Quidditch, or duels or eating bacon."
Harry saw his new companion was eagerly making his way to the Great Hall but he stopped him in his tracks.
"W-what's Quidditch?"
Thedore gawped and immediately he grabbed Harry by the shoulders and dived into the nearest alcove. He whispered loudly, "Never say that to anyone else! Salazar's dirty washing! You can't say a thing like that!"
"And why not?"
"B-because! Just because! It's not normal!" Theodore was out of his depth here. He didn't understand anything; he swore the universe would implode. Then he could afford to have people ask him abnormal questions.
"Let go of me."
Theodore did as he was asked but he still looked exasperated. "If you ever have anything abnormal to ask again then ask me."
Harry nodded and the two entered the Great Hall, he never did receive an explanation as his companion had already sat down and started to pile up his plate.
He sat down next to him and noticed that Pansy had quickly joined them, Daphne shortly after. "How was your first night?"
He shared a look with Theodore before answering, "Just fine."
"Right," she looked unsure. "Snape should be coming round with our timetables soon."
"Timetables?" Harry asked.
"For our classes," it was Daphne who had answer this time. "How will it work for you? You've never had classes before, correct?"
"No, not here."
"So I wonder what will happen."
So did he, Harry spied McGonagall making her way over to them. In her hands she held a familiar bottle and a piece of parchment.
"Potter," she nodded in greeting and passed him the bottle. "I would like you to start with these basic classes. It comes from my understanding that you hide a lot of things."
Harry's lip curled, "Right you are Professor."
"Well take these classes with the rest of your eighth years and if you're finding it too hard we'll work on that."
She waited for Harry to drink the Pepper Up potion before leaving. He looked down at his timetable. It seemed easy enough.
Once everyone got their timetables they left, obviously sharing the same classes because there were so little students. It was Potions first, taught by his head of house. It was clear to Harry that Snape didn't like him much but he could see there was some effort being put into it so he couldn't really hate the man.
They arrived a bit earlier than starting time and sat in the seats that Theodore told him were reserved for their lot. But as students with different coloured ties walked in, he noted the classes would be smaller than he had originally thought.
Many had died in the war while he was fighting one of his own.
Shortly after everyone was seated, Snape burst through the door, his robes billowing behind him.
"Everyone put away your wands," he looked at Harry expectantly but after no movement his eyes hardened. "Potter where is your wand."
"Don't have one, Professor."
"How are you going to work in your other classes without a wand? Such insolence."
"Don't need one, Professor."
Harry found himself mildly enjoying tormenting Snape and seeing him grow paler as he became more irritated.
"Of course you need one; every wizard needs one even if they are able to cast wandlessly."
"I guess I'm an exception then, aren't I?"
Snape ignored him and flicked his wand at the blackboard. "There are the instructions. Proceed. Do not cause any havoc."
He eyed one boy with a red tie as he passed.
Theodore stood in front of Harry, "Need any help?"
Harry shook his head and waved his hand, the required ingredients lazily floated towards him. Within the hour, he'd managed to perfect the potion and come out top of the class.
He passed a scrawny red head on his way out mumbling about new kids showing off.
He smirked.
