Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.
Chapter 26 – Breakout at Azkaban
After the trip back into the Chamber, Ginny began to truly heal. Within a week she was no longer looking so pale and haunted, she was eating better and speaking again, and no longer clung to Harry, terrified if he wasn't holding her hand, though she didn't yet stray far. Within two weeks she was attending her own classes again and her nightmares were receding enough that talk began about everyone returning to their own dormitories, and Bill returning to work. That brought back a moment of panic that only Harry could calm, and it was decided that talk about that would cease for now, given there were only two weeks left until the Christmas holidays. That in itself worried Ginny as she'd be home at the Burrow with Harry at home in London with the Fudges. Bill promised to stay until the end of the holidays though, and between him, her other brothers, her parents, and frequent visits by Harry, Ginny managed it without breaking down again and returned to her own dorm in the New Year.
The rest of Harry's second year went by quickly, unmarred by the machinations of any dark lords. He might have found it boring if he wasn't so happy. For the first time in his life he actually had friends and could just be himself and act his age. Even before Hogwarts that hadn't been possible as he was always under scrutiny as the Minister's ward, and the closest thing he had to a friend was Draco Malfoy, which in Harry's opinion didn't count at all. Now though isolated from the rest of the wizarding world as he was at Hogwarts, and with Ron, Hermione and Ginny – who although attended her own classes and slept in her own dorm had continued to spend her free time with them – Harry found that he was just like any other schoolboy.
Well, almost, as training with Snape continued. They had taken a break after the Chamber incident, but after the Christmas holidays when things returned to normal Snape had insisted they press on. Ginny was included in their training now, though, Harry having brought her to the very first training session of the New Year and telling the professor, in no uncertain terms, that she was joining them. Given what she'd suffered at Tom Riddle's hands, Harry believed she had a right to know that he wasn't really gone. He believed also that she'd want to fight and was proven right during that very first session. Snape had grudgingly agreed to teach Ginny as well, given how close she'd become to Harry he knew it would be quite unwise not to. They'd spent the first fifteen minutes of training that day with Snape testing Ginny and being quite surprised at what he found. Her skill was far beyond that of a first year, and Ginny seemed just as surprised as the others were. Snape began by casting a simple tickling charm at her, telling her to block it any way she could, only to find that she erected a perfect shield charm before casting three spells in quick succession and causing Snape to actually defend himself. They'd all been surprised at her skill and Ginny said she didn't know what she did, she'd merely reacted instinctively. Snape asked then to test her mind and found a near impenetrable fortress, though it was obvious Ginny wasn't consciously doing anything. With her permission, and some help from Harry to distract her, Snape broke through her mental barriers and what he found was disturbing to say the least.
"It appears your skill is not your own." He said with a sigh, taking a seat and, not for the first time, looking older than his years. "Such dark magic as what possessed you some months ago, Miss Weasley, often leaves traces. Frankly we were amazed that none seemed to have been left by the Dark Lord."
" 'None seemed to have been left?' " Growled Ron, an arm around his sister. "What the bloody hell do you call the state she was in then?" Snape glared at him.
"Never take that tone with me again, Weasley, or you will spend the remainder of the year as Mr. Filch's assistant, am I clear?" Ron swallowed nervously, realizing his mistake, and nodded. "I did not mean that the trauma of the events did not leave their mark, merely that there appeared to be no traces of dark magic still residing within Miss Weasley. I now know that not to be the case."
"What do you mean, Professor?" Ginny asked nervously.
"I do not know the extent of what the Dark Lord has left behind, to discover that I would have to delve deep into your subconscious, and as it is I barely managed to enter your mind at all. To go deeper would see me having to tear your walls down quite forcefully, which would also tear your mind apart and would likely see you a resident of the long-term ward at St. Mungos. What I can discern, however, is that at least some part of the Dark Lord remains within you." Four sets of eyes widened.
"There's a piece of Tom still in me?" Understandably she sounded fearful.
"Yes, and it is that which gives you these skills. The Dark Lord was a very skilled duelist and was as skilled at occlumency as he was at ligilimency. Somewhere in your subconscious the piece of him resides, and it is this that caused you to react instinctively when attacked, regardless that the spell was harmless, and it is this which is protecting your mind."
"So what does that mean?" Harry asked. This time it was him clinging to Ginny and not the other way around. "Could he take control of her again?"
"I cannot say with absolute certainty, though it is unlikely that the piece of the Dark Lord is strong enough to possess Miss Weasley once more." It was a small consolation, but they'd take what they could get right now. "Do you have any conscious thoughts, skills, information, or anything else that is not your own?" Ginny thought for a moment and shook her head.
"No. I mean, I find it's easier to understand things in class, and I'm having an easier time performing spells, but it's not like I know things before they're taught to me, or otherwise know things I shouldn't. Except for what just happened, but I can't explain what just happened, so I don't know things I shouldn't, but at the same time I can do things I shouldn't be able to?" It was all quite confusing for Ginny, but it seemed to make some sense to Snape.
"Then likely it is not a piece of the Dark Lord himself still within you, but merely a piece of his magic." Snape seemed to relax a little bit, which they thought was at least a good sign. "As unpleasant a thought as that may be, it is doubtful to prove harmful. For now, I believe it will remain in your subconscious, giving you a boost when needed, such as what we just observed. However, as you grow, and your magical core matures and strengthens, you will likely be able to control it, calling it forth at will." While not what they'd hoped to hear today, it was better news than they'd thought ten minutes ago. Ginny worriedly asked her friends to keep an eye on her just in case Tom started taking control once more and all three swore that wouldn't happen. Even Snape said he would help, though not in so many words, and so they moved on.
That was the only hiccup in an otherwise calm rest of the year and before they knew it, they were on the Hogwarts Express back home. Aldora greeted Harry on the platform just as fondly as Mrs. Weasley greeted her children, before giving Harry an enormous hug as well. Ever since he'd saved her daughter, Harry could do no wrong in Mrs. Weasley's eyes. Fred and George were heard saying several times that he was her new favourite son. It was harder to say goodbye to his friends then it had been the previous year, especially Ginny. They'd developed a closeness over the last several months that Harry arguably didn't even have with Ron and Hermione. They knew they'd see each other again soon though; if nothing else it was only two months until the new school term started. Returning home to the Fudge manor, Harry quickly fell back into his usual routine, even the enforced playdates with Draco Malfoy. With no proof of Lucius' misdeeds, and Lucius knowing that until his lord returned there was nothing he could do to Harry, both of them pretended that their altercation hadn't happened. As such, when the Fudges continued to try and shove Harry and Draco together the Malfoys had no reason to say no. Harry was relieved, though, that their visits were fewer and farther between. As he grew older the Fudges gave him a bit more freedom to choose who he spent time with.
Summer flew by faster than anyone wanted, except for Harry. In the second week of July, Arthur Weasley won the Daily Prophet draw and it was decided that the Weasleys would all go on holiday. They chose Egypt, partially because the Weasley siblings had for years been hearing amazing stories about the pyramids and ancient wizards from their eldest sibling, and partially because Bill couldn't take any more time off. Charlie managed to, however, and joined them for two weeks of their month-long trip. Ron and Ginny both wrote to Harry, sharing many of the amazing things they'd seen, but it wasn't the same as seeing his friends. Hermione he saw a bit more of, but she too went on holiday for a few weeks with her parents, the Grangers choosing to go to France, and so Harry had to make do with letters from her as well. His thirteenth birthday was spent in the company of the Malfoys – who couldn't find an excuse to not come this year – and Harry had to applaud their acting; Draco managed to look at least semi-genuinely happy when he wished Harry a happy birthday. Finally though, his friends returned and Harry spent a blissful mid-August week at the Burrow. It was almost too blissful, and so Harry wasn't terribly surprised when the other shoe dropped.
Waking one morning with only a week to go until the new school term started, Harry trudged sleepily downstairs for breakfast and found Aldora at the table with an uneaten plate of food before her as she poured over the paper, dressed in the same clothes from the night before and looking like she hadn't slept.
"What's wrong?" Harry was immediately on guard. Aldora's head snapped up when he spoke and he saw genuine fear in her eyes. "Aldora what is it?" His guardian's eyes gained a look of pity and sorrow as she slid the paper across for him to see. Escape from Azkaban! the headline screamed, beneath which was a photo of an inmate looking almost psychotic as his image screamed silently and kept getting pushed back by two sets of hands whose owners stood outside the picture. Harry sat down in shock. Like everyone who grew up in the wizarding world, even partially like he had, Harry knew of Azkaban. It was an unplottable prison somewhere in the North Sea used to house Britain's worst criminals since the sixteenth century. It was home to many Death Eaters, Harry knew, and was guarded by dementors. The dark creatures gloried in death and decay, feeding on happiness, hope and peace. Those that got near them found every good thought, every happy memory sucked from them, leaving you with nothing but the worst experiences of your life. Such a thing was considered by many to be psychological torture, but it did practically incapacitate the inmates of Azkaban, making the dementors the only guards needed. No one had ever escaped from Azkaban. Given its location nowhere near land, and the constant presence of the dementors rendering the inmates insane, it was considered impossible. And yet this person, this Sirius Black, had somehow managed to do the impossible. Before Harry could ask any questions the floo flared to life and Cornelius stepped out, looking much the worse for wear. Seeing his wife and ward staring at him expectantly Cornelius sighed and took a seat, accepting a strong cup of coffee from Misty.
"No, he has not been found." He answered the question foremost in their minds. "We've been searching all night, longer even, since he was discovered missing yesterday afternoon. I had no choice but to inform the public this morning, they needed to be aware and to be on their guard."
"But he will be found, won't he?" Harry asked, and Cornelius managed what he must have thought was a reassuring smile.
"Of course he will, Harry. The dementors are incensed, and rightly so. No one, not one person in almost five hundred years, has escaped them. They will find him, not to worry."
"In the meantime we will all be extra cautious." Aldora's tone brooked no argument. "Sirius Black is a madman, was one before he ever even set foot in Azkaban." She shuddered and Harry looked back up from the article.
"What did he do?" The article said that Black was a murderer, but they were light on the details. He didn't miss the look that Aldora and Cornelius shared.
"He uh…he murdered twelve muggles." Cornelius said finally. "He was a supporter of You-Know-Who and when he fell Black went mad. Blew up a whole street, killing those muggles and one wizard, who had confronted him. I was working as an Obliviator in the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes at the time and was one of the first on the scene. Black was laughing maniacally even as body parts continued to rain down on him."
"Cornelius!" Aldora admonished, deeming such details too gory for Harry to hear.
"Apologies, Dora, but he should know what Black is capable of. Our young Harry here seems to have a knack for getting himself into trouble, and I do not want him to go looking for it again with Black on the loose."
"I don't have a knack for getting into trouble." Harry grumbled. "Trouble usually finds me. Besides, why would I go looking for someone who wouldn't hesitate to kill me?" There was a bit of relief in Cornelius' eyes.
"Good. Then we needn't worry." He stood from the table. "I can't stay, I'm afraid. I only came for a fresh change of clothes and then I must return to the Ministry." Cornelius made his way towards the stairs, stopping only briefly to kiss Aldora good morning. "There will be little rest in the coming days, I fear."
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