Warning: This chapter will have references to the Disney movie The Rescuers. If you haven't seen that movie, don't read this chapter!
Chapter 3: With Great Decisions… Comes Great Responsibility!
Sirius continued searching for the runaways in his dog form. As he was doing so, he eventually came upon a manor built out of some kind of marble. Sirius knew that he had come across Delacour Manor, and House Delacour was one of the seven Most Ancient and Most Noble houses. As he approached the backyard to Delacour Manor, he saw Lady Apolline Delacour outside with a three-year-old girl who had the same platinum-blonde hair as her mother. Sirius knew that Fleur was in her second year at Beauxbatons, since he remembered one of the formals he attended was at Delacour Manor. This also meant that the three-year-old before his eyes was Fleur's sister, Gabrielle (or Gabby for short). From what Sirius observed, Apolline was playing with a bouncy ball by pushing it towards Gabby and she would push it back.
"Ooh, wookie wookie, a doggy!" Gabby exclaimed as soon as she saw the 'dog,' pointing her finger in the direction while jumping up and down ecstatically, her chin-length platinum-blonde hair flying up and down with every jump.
"Sirius?!" gasped Apolline in surprise (remembering when she once saw Sirius transform into a dog and James into a stag at a formal).
Sirius transformed back into his human form, with Gabby jumping up and down again while clapping her hands and squealing 'Yay!' Apolline picked her three-year-old daughter up into her arms.
"Hello, Apolline!" Sirius greeted. "I can explain though."
"Did your animagus form help you escape Azkaban?" asked Apolline.
"Yes," Sirius admitted. "I'll tell you the whole story, but not in front of your daughter."
"I understand," assured Apolline, then she faced Gabby. "I think it's time you take a nap anyway."
So she walked inside to put Gabby down for her nap, with Sirius also walking in to sit down on a couch in the living room. It was a couple minutes later when Lady Delacour walked back downstairs and over to the living room.
"Alright, Sirius, what's the story?" asked Apolline.
"Well," Sirius started telling the story. "It started one day in Azkaban, in which I was never given a trial. When Cornelius tossed a copy of the Daily Prophet in my cell so I could do some crossword puzzles, I was distracted by an article mentioning that Harry, my godson having ran away and not having been seen much since. That was when I began working on my plan to escape and reunite with him. It took me several weeks to get thin enough to slip through the bars in my animagus form, make my way to the entrance and start the long swim back to shore."
"Did you ever find Harry?" asked Apolline, getting worried.
"Yes, and he had a friend with him." Sirius continued. "Harry and the girl accompanying him confided in me, while thinking I was really a dog. They both even explained that they were abused and how they ran away near the end of September. They also explained how they tried getting help, which never worked out for them. Harry and his friend even stated how they have no idea who to trust, which was enough for me to deduce that they're terrified to go near somebody. They even explained that somebody was also trying to help, but said person hasn't had any luck in succeeding."
"Do you have any idea where they may be now?" asked Apolline.
"They said something about going to Orleans, and making their way over to Paris," Sirius stated. "They said they wanted to see the Eiffel Tower."
"We'll need to inform Amelia as soon as possible," said Apolline. "But first, I need to inform Anthony and have him bring some aurors."
"I'll go into custody willingly," said Sirius in a matter-of-fact voice. "I just wanna have a real reunion with my godson. I need for everyone to finally realize that I've been innocent the whole time."
Apolline sent a patronus charm to her husband and informed him what all happened. Lord Anthony Delacour brought several aurors with him and brought Sirius to the french ministry and into one of the holding cells. Concurrently, Harry and Hailey were continuing to stroll inside the mysterious tunnel. To the runaways, it felt like they'd been walking inside it for hours because it was still pitch-black. The longer it went on, the more anxious the runaways were getting. But they knew it would be just as much trouble turning around and going back as continuing on. After forty-five seemingly-eternal minutes, they runaways finally spotted a hint of light that appeared to be miles away (the pitch-blackness certainly made it seem like it).
"Finally!" Hailey whispered with relief in her voice.
"No kidding!" Harry whispered back in agreement. "Perhaps we're closer to Paris now!"
So the runaways continued on toward the source of light. They resisted the temptation to run, not wanting to risk a possible serious injury. They got a bit more excited the closer they got to the light. When they were finally close enough, they could see more trees and what sounded like a river or something. Upon peeking their heads out of the tunnel, Harry and Hailey had to squint and cover their eyes because of how long they were in the tunnel. Once their eyes readjusted to the light, they crawled out and stood upright. Upon checking their surroundings, they realized they'd passed through the area before. When they got the map out, they saw that they were right by River Otter in England.
"Krud!" the runaways blurted out simultaneously.
"We're back in England," stated Harry. "Looks like that tunnel was a magical one after all!"
"Looks like we'd better stay here in England," said Hailey reluctantly. "It was hard enough passing through that tunnel."
The runaways continued following River Otter upstream. They eventually reached a familiar looking bridge they remembered crossing shortly after the start of their journey, before the man with red hair driving the ford anglia spotted. By coincidence, the same ford anglia was just driving over the bridge. Harry and Hailey panicked and ducked under the bridge, but they were spotted by the man who's name was Arthur Weasley. He pulled over and walked onto the bridge and looked down into the water to find the runaways. He waited a few minutes to see if he could spot them walking out, but he realized that he needed to get home for dinner, so he climbed back into the car and drove home. Harry and Hailey waited a few more minutes to make sure the coast really was clear, then they started walking up the hill to the top of the bridge and dashing into the trees. This time, they resisted the temptation to walk beside the road, just in case Arthur came driving by again, so the runaways continued walking through the trees. Eventually they reached a field that gave Harry and Hailey another view of the Burrow (which was out in the distance).
"At least we're not as close this time," Harry whispered. "Maybe we can sneak by and travel north this time."
"We'll need to sneak our way by," Hailey whispered. "Since those four kids who were at the Burrow the other day could be hiding."
Harry nodded his head in agreement, then the runaways started their difficult task of sneaking past the Burrow. As they sneaked closer to the Burrow while keeping a reasonable distance away, Harry and Hailey got down on their hands and knees to crawl. They continued doing so for approximately fifteen minutes when they heard bushes rustling about twenty feet or so away, forcing them to stop. The runaways felt their arms and legs stiffen when they heard talking and heavier rustling.
"Where is this frisbee thing that Hermione calls it?" asked a familiar voice.
"It's gotta be here somewhere, Ginny," said the familiar dreamy voice. "Ron appears to be a good thrower, no wonder it flew far."
Harry and Hailey spotted a white frisbee ten feet away from where they were, making their stomachs twist in fright. It was making them believe that maybe this time, their journey was nearing it's conclusion. However, the rustling was getting quieter, allowing them to relax some. The runaways quietly crawled their way over to the frisbee, with Harry picking it up. In an attempt to try and throw Ginny, Luna, and potentially Ron and Hermione off track, Harry tossed the frisbee over towards the Burrow. For a moment, this relieved Harry and Hailey until they heard a 'donk' and somebody reacting to it.
"Oww!" Ron blurted out, rubbing his left shoulder, where the frisbee accidentally hit him, then looking down at the ground behind him. "Oh, here's the frizabee, frizzaby or… whatever it's called! But how did it get here?"
"It came from that direction!" stated Hermione, pointing her finger in the direction.
"Krud!" Harry whispered. "I shouldn't have thrown that, we should've just continued on immediately!"
"Right," Hailey agreed. "If we don't, we'll get spotted!"
The runaways continued crawling quietly through the bushes, making sure that they stayed hidden. The rustling in the surrounding bushes was heard, making Harry and Hailey stop in their tracks (with their arms and legs stiffening once more).
"I think the frisbee came from that direction!" blurted out the dreamy voice that belonged to Luna.
Harry and Hailey felt their stomachs twist in fright for the umpteenth time, so they tried crawling on. As the bushes rustling started getting heavier and louder, the runaways got up and made a run for it, going north. They no longer cared if they were spotted, they were more concerned about getting away.
"Wait, Harry…!" Ron called out.
"Don't leave, we wanna…!" Luna also called out.
"MUM, DAD! HARRY AND HIS FRIEND MADE IT BACK!" Ginny hollered.
The runaways picked up the pace in their running. They were out of sight as soon as Molly and Arthur came out and into the field where Ron, Ginny, Hermione and Luna were.
"They ran that way!" Hermione stated, pointing north, in the direction Harry and Hailey fled.
"I'd better inform Amelia right away," said Arthur firmly. "You five go try and find them!"
So the Weasley patriarch ran back inside while Molly, Ron, Ginny, Hermione and Luna began walking in the direction Harry and Hailey fled. The runaways kept on running until they spotted a nearby cave, then they ran over and into it to hide. They could feel their hearts beating and breathing in fright, with tears welling up in their eyes. Fifteen to twenty minutes later, the runaways heard some voices and they were getting louder as they got closer to the cave. Harry and Hailey found themselves hugging each other and more tears welling up, terrified that they were bound to force themselves to terminate their journey. Nevertheless, their crying was done silently, hoping that they'd get lucky that they wouldn't be found.
"Well, they couldn't have just continued in this direction." one voice responded.
"Maybe," replied a strict, authoritative-sounding voice. "But Harry and Hailey are around here somewhere, they have to be. December is approaching fast and they wouldn't want to travel out in the cold."
"Mummy, do you think Harry and his friend are in that cave?" asked the voice belonging to Ginny. Harry and Hailey stiffened when they heard that.
"I doubt it, Ginny," said the voice belonging to Molly. "Exploring a cave in the winter would be worse, especially without warm, winter clothing."
"I'll take a look!" Ron spoke up, making the runaways even more tense.
"No, Ronald!" said Molly in an adamant voice. "There are bats and other sorts of creatures in there, so don't bother!"
"I thought I saw them walking under a bridge as I was driving over it," said Arthur. "I waited a few minutes to see if they would walk out from under it. Nothing came out of waiting, so I just drove on home. Harry and Hailey appeared to be so determined to stay away from anybody!"
"Myself, Hermione, Ron and Ginny even saw Harry and his friend heading in this direction," said Luna. "Despite trying our best, we didn't convince them not to run off."
"Well, we can't stay out here," said Molly. "They're long gone by now."
"Don't worry, Amelia," said Arthur. "If we see them again, we'll try to give you a faster notice."
"Thank you, Arthur," said the voice belonging to Amelia, in a grateful tone of voice. "It's best I return home myself. Susan will be worried sick if I don't pick her up from Hannah's house soon."
So they all walked back to the Burrow (where Amelia apparated away). Harry and Hailey quietly blew sighs of relief, waited a few more minutes before emerging from the cave and resuming their journey. Once the sun hit the horizon, Harry and Hailey found a clear patch of grass within some trees, got the tent out and got it set up. The runaways decided on another movie night to help distract them from their searchers. Shifting through a stack of VHS tapes of Walt Disney movies, Hailey spotted another interesting movie called The Rescuers.
"What movie did you find, Hailey?" asked Harry.
"Another Disney movie called The Rescuers," stated Hailey, showing the VHS cover to Harry. "What do you think?"
"Sure, put it in," said Harry, intrigued. "I'm not sure I've seen that one before!"
"Alright." said Hailey.
She put the tape into the VCR and pressed play. The movie was about a girl named Penny, who was six years old, black eyes and dirty-blonde hair in short pigtails. She was being used for child slave labour and kept confined in an abusive environment with no true opportunities to escape. Regardless of the situation, Penny never lost faith and finally escaped from her captors, leaving her main tormentor, Madame Medusa at the mercy of her crocodile pets, Brutus and Nero. Not only that, but Penny's wishes to be adopted came true at the end of the movie. The movie also left Harry and Hailey conflicted over their natural reactions to run away from anybody (minus Xander) who noticed them.
"Is it true that those people may be trying to help us?" asked Hailey.
"I hope so," said Harry in a forlorn voice. "But every time I tried making friends and/or getting help, it always backfired. Those who said would be my friend actually turned out to be jerks, they'd just laugh and point fingers at me before saying stuff like 'I can't believe he fell for that,' or anything in that type of the branch."
"Yeah, and the same thing would happen to me, too." said Hailey downheartedly. "We don't really know for certain that those who seem to be trying to help us, besides Xander, are trying to trick us."
Harry nodded his head to acknowledge that he understood. The runaways spent some time hugging each other for comfort. Then they got ready for bed, said goodnight to each other and went into their respective bedrooms. However, they both laid awake while pondering their thoughts. It took them some time to fall asleep, but eventually they did. Neither Harry nor Hailey had any idea that their wishes were starting to come true, even though it was still going to be awhile before it happened.
To be continued!
Author's note: Well, Sirius is finally taking responsibility and doing his best to get the trial he was denied. Will his trial happen quickly to allow Sirius to reunite with his godson or will bad luck for Harry and Hailey remain? Stay tuned to find out more. Happy reading!
