A.N. Hey y'all!!!!! Okay, I have good news!!!! This is not the only Harry Potter fanfiction I have been working on. I have also been working on a joint project with Tadariada and SEEKER_2000. We are under the pen name: Define Normal. Our story is called Harry Potter and the Torch of Darkness. I encourage you to read it!!!! Well, thanx for reviewing!!!!!!!!

Malena

~*~

you know where i lie

gently i go into that good night

all our lives get complicated

~*~

It was pouring down rain outside. Rain splattered the windows, pattered on the roof, and made the garden muddy and almost unmanageable. Garden gnomes had started to pound on their backdoor, demanding to come in because their houses had collapsed. The inhabitants of the Burrow ignored all of this. They were too preoccupied with the current situation.

It had been three weeks. Three weeks since the end of term. Three weeks since Percy had gone searching for a new job. About three weeks since Cedric Diggory's funeral. And three weeks since Harry had been taken away…

Most of the Weasleys had shown their outrage openly. Mrs. Weasley had written an angry letter to the Daily Prophet when they printed another story about how dangerous he was after he had been taken away. Mr. Weasley was working overtime, trying to sort things out with the Ministry of Magic about Harry. Percy Weasley, who was stressed enough, had gotten enough information from the Ministry about why Harry had been taken away.

Ron and Ginny Weasley had been most quiet. Ron had to get over the initial shock of his best friend being arrested. At first he had been furious. He was so mad that he was thinking about taking Floo Powder to see the Minister and fighting with him. Then when Hermione appeared at the Burrow, crying madly about Harry, he thought that it would be best if he just set up a good defense against Harry's charges.

"Not that it will do any good," Hermione had said bitterly that evening. "Look what we did for Buckbeak. And he almost got k-" Hermione stopped in the middle of her sentence when Ron have her a sharp look. He didn't want to think about that. His head was hurting as it was. He just couldn't believe that this was happening.

~*~

all those colors long since faded

all our smiles all confiscated

~*~

Even Fred and George weren't their usual bursting-with-energy selves. They had spent a lot of the time in their room, or slouching around the house. Even when Percy had left all of his paperwork on the kitchen table, where they could have easily taken it and hidden it or something, they didn't touch it.

Bill came for a visit once. Ron didn't know how long he was there for. He vaguely remembered Bill offering to play wizard's chess with him. Ron refused. That was probably the first time that he had ever refused to play wizard's chess.

Mrs. Weasley had invited Hermione to stay with them for a while, so that she would be able to keep up on wizarding news. Her stuff was now in Ginny's room. Ron remembered the last time that Hermione had decided to stay with them… it was the summer before their fourth year… Hermione, Ron, and Harry had gone to the Quidditch World Cup…

Ron clenched his fist in anger as he remembered the Death Eaters who had scared everyone after the match. And now Harry was in Azkaban because of them. Ron glared at the spot on the wall that he had been staring at.

"Glaring at walls again Ron?" said a familiar voice from the doorway. Ron turned jerkily and found his second oldest brother, Charlie, standing there. "You need a new hobby."

"Hi Charlie," Ron said softly. "How're the dragons?"

"They're doing ok," he said. "How are you?" Ron shrugged and stared at the wall again.

"Ron?" Charlie said timidly, sitting down next to him on the bed. "You okay?" Shrug.

"Listen, I know you're worried about Harry. We're all worried. To tell you the truth, I don't know what's going to happen. But I'm sure we'll get him out of there. There has to be some way to prove him innocent." Ron nodded slowly. Charlie clapped him on the shoulder. Ron cracked a half smile.

"It's almost time for dinner," Charlie said. "We'll talk some more then. Kay?"

"Okay," Ron replied. Charlie gave an encouraging sort of smile and left his room.

Ron looked out the window at the rain pouring down. The gray clouds were getting darker and darker as night crept closer. Ron sighed and turned back to the wall, wondering what Harry could be thinking about right now…

~*~

Darkness. It was all he could see, feel, and sense. He was shaking but he took no notice. The same images kept playing in his head.

"No! Not Harry-" His mother was screaming…

"We'll take it at the same time," he was saying to Cedric…

"Lily! Take Harry and run!" His father was yelling…

And through all that he could hear the same cold voice laughing.

Harry shivered slightly and wrapped the thin blanket he had been given closer around him. He could barely see the black cloak of the Dementor outside of his cell. A Dementor was a creature that lived off of pain. Its mouth was used for sucking good thoughts and feelings out of a person, and for sucking out the soul. At least that hadn't happened to Harry. Yet.

Another shiver ran down Harry's spine and he tried to focus on something else besides the screams that were echoing around inside his head.

His eyes landed on the tray that had been placed in his cell. It had a small bowl of soup on it, and a glass of slightly cloudy water. Harry was ravenous, and getting very thin, but he would have to get closer to the door, where the Dementors were, if he wanted to eat. Harry was sitting in the corner of the cell that was farthest away from the door. He was curled with his arms around his legs. He didn't know how long he had been there. The first few days were rather foggy, because he was out most of the time.

Now his life was just a living nightmare, filled with watching his parents get killed over and over again, watching Cedric get killed, seeing Voldemort be reborn…

Another vision clouded his mind…

A graveyard… Harry was tied up… Wormtail was in front of him with a knife, and his hand had been severed from his arm already. There was a searing pain in his arm as the knife dragged across his flesh. Blood soaked his robes and he hang sort of limply in his bindings…

Harry's eyes snapped open and he was shaking like mad now. His scar was burning dully now. His scar had been hurting ever since he arrived, since he was constantly seeing visions of Voldemort. He felt something wet on his hands, and half-realized that his nails had pierced his skin. He didn't care anymore. He curled up even more and fell into a nightmare filled sleep…

~*~

Ron hated how his family watched him and Hermione now. Did they look like they were about to burst into tears at any second? Everyone was really cautious about what they said too. However, they never made Ron do chores anymore! Hermione was picking at her slightly mushy broccoli. She certainly hadn't been the same after Harry got put in Azkaban. She hadn't mentioned schoolwork, and she hadn't started begging to go to the bookstore. Mostly she just stayed around the house, following and helping Mrs. Weasley with chores. She would be constantly asking questions though. Ron turned back to his still full plate and muttered, "May I be excused?" Mrs. Weasley eyed his food-covered plate, but nodded anyway.

Ron walked up to his room, closely followed by Hermione.

"Have you heard anything from Sirius?" Hermione asked quietly.

"No, you?" Hermione shook her head.

Ron pushed the door open to his room and found a large, tawny owl sitting on his bed. Seeing that Ron had arrived the owl dropped the letter and flew out the open window. Water was starting to soak his bed, so Ron closed the window and turned back to the letter.

"It's from Hagrid!" he exclaimed. He tore it open.

Ron and Hermione-

Keep yer chins up. Dumbledore will find a way to get Harry out o'Azkaban. Great man Dumbledore.

Hagrid

Ron started to ponder whether tears or rain had made the ink so smudged.
"He's right," Hermione said. "Dumbledore will find a way to get Harry out of that-that… place."

Ron smiled at her, the first real smile he had given in days.

"Good old Hagrid," he said. "You have to hand it to him, he does know how to make people feel better."

"Yeah," Hermione said softly. "I'm going to turn in, I'm really tired. See you in the morning Ron."

"Goodnight Hermione."

~*~

Remus ran his hand through his hair in frustration. He had been going over the same file all day, and he couldn't remember anything he read. It wasn't relevant, so why was he still going over it? Remus tossed it to the side and picked up a new one. He needed to prove that Lily and James had switched Secret-Keepers somehow… They had to have some sort of documentation about the switch…

"It's not like Fudge will believe it anyway," Remus thought. "Just like he didn't believe Harry or Crouch…"

Remus remembered when he had taught Harry the Patronus Charm. Harry's weakness was Dementors, and the charm would drive them away.

"Not much of a help now, is it though," Remus said aloud. He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair again. "If only there was some way to get Pettigrew…"

"Talking to yourself again, Lupin?" Sneered a familiar voice. Lupin looked up and saw Lucius Malfoy standing at the door.

"Sorry Mr. Malfoy," Remus said, trying to be as pleasant as possible. "Didn't know it bothered you."

Malfoy smirked and walked over to the crowded table that Remus was sitting at. "What's all this, werewolf?"

"Files," Remus said simply.

"Hmm…" Malfoy picked one up and opened it. "Researching your little friends' deaths?"
"That is none of your concern," Remus replied, a bite of impatience in his voice.

Malfoy's smirk widened and he leaned close to Remus.

"No matter what you do, you'll never get Black and Potter free. I'll make sure of that." Malfoy glared slightly and turned on his heel, exiting the room.

"Wanna bet?" Remus growled after he had disappeared.

~*~

"We'll take it at the same time."

"You-you sure?"

"Yeah, we've helped each other out, haven't we? We both got here. Let's just take it together…"

The same phrases were echoing over and over again in Harry's head. He was staring blankly at the wall, seeing the scenes again and again in his mind's eye.

"He wanted me to take the cup," Harry murmured to himself. "He wanted me to take the cup. He shouldn't have died. He shouldn't have…"

Inside of his mind he heard the icy cold voice command, "Kill the spare!" Then Cedric fell to the ground. Dead.

Harry shuddered.

"He didn't deserve to die. I did. I deserved to die," Harry continued to mutter. "I've survived to much already. I shouldn't have lived when Voldemort first attacked. I should have been the one to die. I as good as killed Cedric. I deserve to be in here. I'm guilty of killing Cedric. I should be here. Cedric should be alive. I'm guilty…"