AN- A short one, getting a little warmed up before getting in full throttle once again, back story through thoughts and all, next chapter we go back to Harry and Fleur and try to end half or more the summer.
As far as the magic and how much of AU are we talking about in this story, the original batch of Gryffindor house is one year backed, the rest of all the houses are in the same year as Harry, Harry is in the Katie and Leanne batch. How was Harry able to do magic in front of an auror no less? Explained in the next chapter.
The sheer vastness and immensity of the North Sea were made known to one severely malnourished and luckless prisoner as he tried to desperately swim towards the shore, the most notable thing about the prisoner was that he was not looking like a wizard at all. He was transformed into a dog, the prisoner was an animagus and was paddling away towards London.
He had blacked out several times during the journey, of course, but his fluffy fur and the capsizing waves always kept him afloat and gunning for him to move on, it had been three hours since his great escape and he wasn't feeling too optimistic about his chances of surviving another such gigantic wave. Death. Death hadn't scared him since he had that talk with Regulus but his illusions seemed to have taken a sharp turn as, finally, a big wave capsized him. All he could think about was the warm and familiar voice he had last heard.
It was a long and tiring night after the announcements of the NEWT exams, the conditions were like a bombshell dropped on them with the looming war, not exactly the ideal premise for Sirius to profess his true feelings but Marlene had looked so stressed during the announcement earlier today. Sirius was no slouch when it came to studies but he wasn't exactly a revision fanatic either, not enough to assuage her fears. He just wanted to help her…
He looked up near the wall where James was, already beside Lily who had come here to discuss notes with Alice. James could've gone to the Head Boy/girl dormitory alone if he wanted to but of course, he waited.
Both of them weren't exactly looking too happy at the moment after the NEWT announcement by McGonagall in the Great Hall earlier but at least they had each other, Lily leaning against James's arms as he tried to assuage all her worries by speaking some sweet and comforting words. It was no wonder, James had made his intentions clear to Lily since the sixth year, he was a one-woman man and he'd been chasing her since the days she wasn't even ready to spare him a look. Sirius always thought what exactly did his best mate see in Lily, why was he always rendered a useless fool when she was around? Why did her wishes take priority even greater than the legendary pranks of marauders? Why had Lily been in on all the pranks they did since their sixth year? But just one thought of Marlene made him reconsider all his questions.
It was all worth it.
But how do you exactly do it? When you love someone, you want to find as many ways to show them as possible. It wouldn't be the first time they said those words to each other, but this wasn't a heat of the moment decision, this was a long thought-out serious decision, but sometimes, simply saying, "I love you" just doesn't feel like enough. After all, how could three small words—which you tell your partner regularly, as it is—capture the depth and meaning of what you feel for them? The task suddenly felt impossible to him. What was he going to do!
But first things first, he had to find her.
He wandered the common room pushing the other seventh years aside, his eyes roamed over the couches, the corner walls, and the fireplace. She wasn't in the common room, Sirius concluded. He rushed up the stairs to the boys' dormitory, plunged his hands in Moony's trunk as he looked for the marauder's map.
"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good," he chanted almost as a force of habit, and all the small dots started appearing on the map.
There she was! Near the grounds! But what the hell was she doing there at this time? No gain in asking these questions to no one who couldn't answer these, time was of the essence if he wanted to even do something.
He rushed past Wormtail as he let out a loud 'hey', swiveling and dodging around his fellow Gryffindors as he exited the common room.
Ah yes, he remembered the bloody long flight of stairs, and never in seven years of his Hogwarts education had he ever been so pissed that the Gryffindor dorms were located on the seventh floor, he cast a disillusionment charm on himself and just like that with the feeling of an egg that just had been cracked open over him, he ran to Marlene.
About five minutes later, his charm vanished as he rushed towards the greenhouses, he saw Hagrid coming towards him, well nothing could be done about Hagrid he supposed as the friendly giant frowned as Sirius came to a halt before him.
"Oi Sirius, pullin' a late nighter cou' be dangerous in times like these.", Hagrid said, his brow furrowed in concern and admonishment.
As a way of distracting the half-giant or maybe just to simply get away as quickly as possible Sirius just asked him the information which was already known to him, "is the firebird still parked near the shack?"
"I think so yeah, but wai…!", the marauder was gone before the half-giant could get any more words in.
There she was, with a diary in her hand, looking all sorts of beautiful as he ran again towards her. Nothing would stop Sirius now!
It spluttered- once, twice, heaving for any small amount of air near it willing to enter its lungs, its paws thrashing away at any danger near him, a reflex action mostly, out of necessity if anything, suddenly the dog opened its eyes, his eyeballs frantically looking around for any sign of familiarity that anyhow he knew, anything that would ease his worries or provide him comfort, alas, no such luck.
It was still battling the seas, it seemed, the water was still showing no signs of backing down if anything, the waves were more ferocious than ever but this time Padfoot was on a boat.
He'd been rescued by some gentlemen clad in a bright orange fishing outfit, who'd even been kind enough to revive him.
Padfoot started whimpering and shivering, trying to gain some more sympathy, a proper meal perhaps a warm blanket if the orange gentlemen were feeling generous. Again, his lady luck seemed to have found a better suitor or a different mistress altogether, for, except a few rotten fish heads and a few head pats, the orange gentlemen kept to themselves.
And for all that Sirius was still grateful to have lived to see another day and have an opportunity to fulfill his oaths as Harry's godfather.
Padfoot wobbled up to the nearby rail, as the fishermen continued to reel in their net for something possibly better than an underfed dog, he looked ahead and saw his embers of hope once again reigniting as he saw land.
Twelve years, twelve years at the godforsaken island, and finally a piece of reprieve as he arrived at the port, the ship docked and tied its wharf just as Padfoot jumped straight off the rails in his excitement.
Now, a sailboat isn't that big in its form of height but for the limbs of a man or a dog who hasn't jumped or has had any meat on his bones, a 1.5m jump can be quite startling.
Much less for the dog itself but so much more for its muscles and bones.
So this was how a piteously moaning Padfoot found itself wobbling slightly as it again got up and roamed the docks.
Now to find a wizard with a prophet….
The trip from Southend to London wasn't as cumbersome as Padfoot was expecting at all, a local real estate agency near the docks was run by wizards, and they were sometimes more than generous to leave their wands in their back-pockets, dangling outside just enough for a dog to jump and snatch it without them knowing.
And people say that no good ever came with thievery.
He ran towards the nearby alley, clutching the wand in its mouth, his stomach growling like a cyclops in a cave, he had been so intent on going to the Ministry in London that he had forgotten all about food.
He had had nothing but a few fish heads since yesterday, which were plain nasty when raw and all those small bones just intent on lodging in his throat. It had already given him a rather bad case of diarrhea, so it was a rather big surprise as he trotted in the alley.
A hot take-out, in the form of ambrosia straight from the gods, was just kept there near the big bins without anyone nearby. Maybe his luck was finally changing.
Padfoot looked around in the alley, all deserted and empty and then behind him. No one was there. Good.
He transformed back to his human form, with his ragged prisoner 228 Azkaban uniform, his face still grimy, hairy, and moldy, he took out the wand which had still been in his mouth, clutched between his rotten teeth, and after almost a decade or so he felt magic.
A sudden rush and jolt left him in exhilaration and wonder of magic, had he had been using magic regularly then he might've noticed that the wand hadn't accepted him completely, still longing for its previous owner but all that Sirius felt was joy, joy, and excitement.
"Muffiliato" he rasped out in a rather gruff and raspy voice as he collapsed to his knees. No magic, not yet. It was taking too much, way too much energy.
Just as he had collapsed, he took some time, deep breaths but finally when he regained his composure, he tore into that meal.
He didn't notice a blue-robed Auror on the rooftop watching him pensively, he also wouldn't notice the Auror when he'd take the next bus to London as Padfoot under a disillusionment charm with a wand in his mouth.
Draco Malfoy was quite conflicted. Nay scratch that, he was going through a phase that a young wizard his age should never go through.
The separation of his parents.
Yes, separation was the right word here, not divorce, separation. They hadn't had their divorce yet but his mother had moved out of the manor at the beginning of the summer.
It was bound to happen sometime Draco mused as the Leaky Cauldron's floo flared green. They were living merely on sneers and snide remarks, not even the last graces of goodbyes were afforded to them as his mother stormed the Malfoy household.
Well, his petrification for almost two months might've been the final trigger for his mother's drastic actions, especially when her husband was the reason behind it.
Alas, still he had a nagging doubt in the back of his mind that that was not the only reason Narcissa Malfoy had broken all and any bonds with his father, for just after his revival she had had a meeting with saint Potter.
Saint Potter….
"Malfoy Manor," he said aloud in a clean and crisp voice and entered the floo station, soon coming out at the other end. The interiors were a well-matched french Decor, nothing quite matched stuttering like some of the peacocks his father liked, talking of the man, there he was with the prophet in his hand looking like God's own special creation, a personal favor to wizarding Britain itself. Was that how he truly looked before last year?
A bigoted pureblood ponce with no sense of self-preservation? A blonde albino ferret? A father's boy?
Maybe…
Oh, c'mon who was he kidding! He had been worse.
And who he had to thank for that change? His mother, of course, she'd always been gentle with him, shown him that there was love beyond such artificial and ready-made things, let him use her wand when he wanted his first touch of magic at seven. And who else had helped him? Saint Potter.
His rejection of friendship had hurt Draco at first, but now that a fourteen-year-old Draco looks back at that eleven-year-old one, even he would have rejected his offer and that was saying something as to how far he had come in terms of humility.
"Draco! Are you there son? Have you reached a decision now?" Came his father's voice from the patio as Draco moved inside the foyer.
Ah yes, another one of Potter's tricks if Draco started to look too deep into the situation but the only message he had received regarding this decision was from his mother, nevertheless, it had Harry Potter and Leanne Rosier written all over it. Well, whatever their plan was, it better be worth it.
"Yes father, I have."
END NOTES - So, that is it for now at least, I'll try to get back in the writing scene again, tell me how you liked it or any critics, Review, fav and follow!