Author's Notes: So I turned on my computer this morning and, as usual, went
to check my reviews for Chained. Immediately I squawked, fell out of my
chair, and turned into a gibbering mess (it's true, ask my brother). Oh my
God, thank you all so much for those fantastic reviews!
Disclaimer: See part one.
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It took five minutes for Harry to get himself back to reality after the shock of seeing his godfather; by the time he had, Gary, Claw, Eddie and Rubber had joined me outside the cell door. Harry waved us all in, and we took various seats about the cell, although we wisely left Harry and Black to sit on the bed.
"Sirius, these are Gary, Claw, Rubber, Draco and Eddie," Harry reeled off, gesturing at us vaguely. "You lot know my godfather, by reputation if nothing else."
A small smile lit up Black's eyes, if only for a moment before he looked serious again.
Oh God. I just made the ages-old joke, didn't I? Well, it was entirely unintentional and not aloud, so I forgot it and looked up at Harry, waiting for the inevitable question.
Which Harry didn't ask. Rubber did.
"Why are you in here?" he demanded. "I mean, you haven't been caught in six years - more if you count the years before that after.....oh, what's it called?"
"Azkaban," I supplied. "Although you have to remember that Fudge was in charge then."
"And he was a complete idiot if ever there was one," Gary agreed, with a viciousness that I hadn't expected from him. I was surprised - but I'd weasel it out of him later, probably.
"And here I was thinking I'm an idiot," Eddie said in mock-hurt. Claw guffawed.
"No, Eddie, you're just a bottom-less pit," he retorted. Then he looked back at Black, who had been watching our banter with a little confusion. I suppose that was only to be expected - the prison he'd been in before, after all, was Azkaban. And Azkaban, even before the Dementors had been given free run of it, was...not pleasant, to say the least.
"Does it have something to do with what that...Half-Eye told Gary?" Claw wanted to know. "The possible attack on the prison?"
Black spared a measuring glance at Harry for a moment. "I really couldn't say," he said finally.
He didn't trust us. Well, of course he wouldn't, he didn't know us, but that didn't much change the fact that after being trusted in here, not being trusted again hurt. But it wasn't just me, I at least had that comfort.
Harry narrowed his eyes slightly. "Right." He looked us all over for a moment, then sighed. "Could you guys...meet me in my cell in about half an hour?"
"Is that exactly half an hour, or more or less half an hour?" Eddie wanted to know, ever the comedian. "Because I know Gary here has some sort of perfect inner clock, but we all know how Draco is about being anywhere on time."
"And we all know how you are about getting to the dining room first, Eddie," I teased him back. "You must be in agonies over waiting two whole hours for more food."
A triumphant grin spread over Eddie's face. "Ah, but I don't have to wait," he crowed. "I have a bar of chocolate in my cell - my cousin sent it to me, God knows why. And I'm going to go and eat it."
"Not on your own, you don't," Rubber said with deep conviction, and they rattled out of Black's cell, followed at a more leisurely pace by Gary and Claw, who glanced back worriedly a couple of times.
I stayed where I was, despite Black's glare.
"Draco," Harry said quietly.
"I'm perfectly comfortable where I am, thank you," I said evenly in reply. Black glared at me. I didn't move so much as an inch; he may be Harry's godfather, and very influential in the resistance, but by kissing me like he had and claiming me as his, Harry had effectively pulled me up the pecking order to be on a level almost equal to his. And I would be damned if I let Black push me out.
Besides, I was the most recent addition to the prison besides Black, and I knew more about the outside situation than most in here did.
I freely admit that I also had selfish reason for wanting to talk to Black. He would know if anything had happened to...to Mother.
Harry caught my eyes fiercely for a moment, then he nodded. "Draco can stay," he told Black. "Sirius...why are you here? Not that I'm not pleased to see you, of course, but..."
"There must be a reason," I finished for him. Black glanced between us, sighed, and nodded.
"Yes, there's a reason," he admitted. "I assume Half-Eye got in and out safely?"
"You don't know?" I demanded, startled. He *ought* to know, being who he was, but maybe...
"No," he admitted. "I wasn't told, in case...well, in case this happened." I frowned. So did Harry.
"You let yourself get caught," he accused. "You - I don't believe you, Sirius! Of all the stupid, insane, crazy -" He cut himself off, his eyes smouldering.
"Harry," Black started smoothly. "Don't worry, we have it all planned out. Yes, I let myself get caught, but they needed an inside man to get you all ready for what's going to -" He broke off abruptly. "Is it safe to talk?" he asked urgently.
I rose from my seat on the floor and checked the cells around Black's; they were empty, and I remembered that only one of them had any occupant at all. I looked down over the railing, and immediately wished I hadn't. I gripped the railing, unable to move.
Someone grabbed hold of the collar of my uniform and jerked me away from the edge, back inside Black's cell.
"Someday," Harry said, with no little amusement, "you are going to tell me why you can't stand heights." Shaking, I sat down - on a chair this time - and ignored Black's curious stare as Harry checked around the cell.
"There's no-one around - Claw and Gary will have got rid of them all - but I'd...I'd feel more comfortable if I put a deafening spell around the cell."
Black stared, I chewed my lip - a nervous habit I'd picked up from the guy in the cell across from mine.
"Harry, won't he know?" I queried. "I mean...he warned you..."
"He won't know," Harry assured me. "Or at least...at least I don't think he will. I don't have those chains on, so he shouldn't be able to monitor me so closely - just the prison in general, and he'll assume it's a guard."
"Okay," I murmured, but I wasn't satisfied. True, he no longer wore the chains, and I'd realised that they were some sort of magical monitor, but still...when dealing with Voldemort...
"What on earth are the two of you going on about?" Black demanded. "Harry, do you really trust him?" He waved a hand at me. I narrowed my eyes.
"Yes, I really do," Harry asserted, sparing me a glance. I fought to prevent a grin from spreading over my face at this first verbal confirmation of something I had hoped - suspected - was true. "Hold on, Sirius, I'll just...*Non audius*."
I felt as though I had suddenly gone a little deaf; I shook my head, and my ears 'popped'. Harry was doing the same, Black was merely sitting on the bed staring in disbelief at Harry.
"It's safe to talk now," Harry said after a moment. "No-one outside the cell can hear us." He looked expectantly at his godfather, who was still dumbfounded. Harry suddenly looked a little abashed, and I was struck with how differently he was acting now he had his father-figure back with him, even if it had only been scant minutes so far. He seemed...younger. More innocent, in a way, although also not. It was...strange, and disconcerting.
"How -" Black choked. Harry waved it off.
"Not important right now," he said. "You're here because of something to do with the attack that Half-Eye wouldn't say was happening."
"Yes," Black agreed, clearly not really focusing on what he was saying. He shook his head, and started paying attention. Well, good. I would rather like some information this side of tomorrow. "Only it's not really an attack."
"Oh?" Harry was instantly curious, and leant forward slightly. "So what is it?"
"It's a takeover."
Hmm. Not really an attack then.
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To be continued.
Replies to reviews...all of them...:
Squeegee - ooh, thank you! Severus...I can't tell you anything about Severus yet!
Draco Malfoy N Harry Potter - yes, three chapters in a day. Don't expect that today, is all I can say!
Countess Twizzler - oh, some people like women. I think.
Hippy Flower(Voldie's kid - Mmm, more muffins...
Nagini - is there any reply to your review? Thanks...but I'm afraid free monkeys don't quite inspire me to write more...
Hana-chan - thanks - and you're right, Harry and Draco do balance each other out. Somewhat.
T.K. Yuy - hmm. Forgiven, then. I suppose 'Hurts I' did answer some general questions...alright, I concede to you on that point. As to Sirius - well, you've seen some of that this chapter, and you'll see more in the next.
drika - *good* evil? There's a *good* evil? Hmm. Anything for more, huh?
::-^ - thanks! And you'll see more Draco-Sirius interaction next chapter, and the one after. I think. And I don't been at all guilty in revealing that Harry won't ignore what's happened. No, not at all. But...dammit, can't tell you that.
zeyner - thanks! Snape, as I said above, can't be commented on at the moment. Hermione will be talked about soon, I promise. Maybe.
Maddy - thank you! I'm glad you feel that way about the OC's, I tried very hard with them to make them feel as natural in Chained as Ron and Hermione do in the actual books. Sorry, Harry won't open up much (yet, anyway) and there's little fluff at all in this! It's all pretty much darkness...but I'm glad you like it despite what you usually read. That shows that I've done my job of interesting you! Ooh, I'd win an award? Yay!!
Piri Lupin-Snape - Ooh goodie, you don't think I'm cruel anymore! Your questions: I can't say anything about Remus right now, and Albus...ooh, I don't know whether I should say this, but I'm going to anyway...Albus is ****--censored--****. Sigh. Sorry, couldn't do it. Yes, I suppose I do update very quickly, don't I? (Possibly my biggest understatement of the century). But I only write...maybe just about 2000 words per chapter, something like that, so I finish faster. None of you are complaining though!
chrisseee667 - I know it's not exactly a regular pairing...thus the basis of its appeal to me.
bwaybaby79 - Oh good, yet another person who doesn't think I'm cruel and evil! About Harry and Blaise: You'll find out more when Harry and Draco actually get around to talking about things, which won't be for ages yet. Plus you'll pick up things along the way. A word to the wise: I have a tendency to leave off answering questions until it becomes natural for my characters to answer them in normal conversation, for example you didn't find out what Draco saw until he comments that 'them screwing each other into the wall wasn't wrong', or something to that effect. And yay, yet another person who likes my OCs!
lostgrl - thanks!
Eien - ooh, I'm a goddess, I'm a goddess! And it wasn't *that* bad a cliffhanger...not so bad as this one, anyway...
AngelKity - Yes, they're together. Sort of. And don't worry, I think all my readers are somewhat confused about this fic, even if some of the confusion is gradually being cleared up.
Nexus - I can't answer your question yet, sorry!
Jeannie - ooh, praise is good. Thank you!
Disclaimer: See part one.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
It took five minutes for Harry to get himself back to reality after the shock of seeing his godfather; by the time he had, Gary, Claw, Eddie and Rubber had joined me outside the cell door. Harry waved us all in, and we took various seats about the cell, although we wisely left Harry and Black to sit on the bed.
"Sirius, these are Gary, Claw, Rubber, Draco and Eddie," Harry reeled off, gesturing at us vaguely. "You lot know my godfather, by reputation if nothing else."
A small smile lit up Black's eyes, if only for a moment before he looked serious again.
Oh God. I just made the ages-old joke, didn't I? Well, it was entirely unintentional and not aloud, so I forgot it and looked up at Harry, waiting for the inevitable question.
Which Harry didn't ask. Rubber did.
"Why are you in here?" he demanded. "I mean, you haven't been caught in six years - more if you count the years before that after.....oh, what's it called?"
"Azkaban," I supplied. "Although you have to remember that Fudge was in charge then."
"And he was a complete idiot if ever there was one," Gary agreed, with a viciousness that I hadn't expected from him. I was surprised - but I'd weasel it out of him later, probably.
"And here I was thinking I'm an idiot," Eddie said in mock-hurt. Claw guffawed.
"No, Eddie, you're just a bottom-less pit," he retorted. Then he looked back at Black, who had been watching our banter with a little confusion. I suppose that was only to be expected - the prison he'd been in before, after all, was Azkaban. And Azkaban, even before the Dementors had been given free run of it, was...not pleasant, to say the least.
"Does it have something to do with what that...Half-Eye told Gary?" Claw wanted to know. "The possible attack on the prison?"
Black spared a measuring glance at Harry for a moment. "I really couldn't say," he said finally.
He didn't trust us. Well, of course he wouldn't, he didn't know us, but that didn't much change the fact that after being trusted in here, not being trusted again hurt. But it wasn't just me, I at least had that comfort.
Harry narrowed his eyes slightly. "Right." He looked us all over for a moment, then sighed. "Could you guys...meet me in my cell in about half an hour?"
"Is that exactly half an hour, or more or less half an hour?" Eddie wanted to know, ever the comedian. "Because I know Gary here has some sort of perfect inner clock, but we all know how Draco is about being anywhere on time."
"And we all know how you are about getting to the dining room first, Eddie," I teased him back. "You must be in agonies over waiting two whole hours for more food."
A triumphant grin spread over Eddie's face. "Ah, but I don't have to wait," he crowed. "I have a bar of chocolate in my cell - my cousin sent it to me, God knows why. And I'm going to go and eat it."
"Not on your own, you don't," Rubber said with deep conviction, and they rattled out of Black's cell, followed at a more leisurely pace by Gary and Claw, who glanced back worriedly a couple of times.
I stayed where I was, despite Black's glare.
"Draco," Harry said quietly.
"I'm perfectly comfortable where I am, thank you," I said evenly in reply. Black glared at me. I didn't move so much as an inch; he may be Harry's godfather, and very influential in the resistance, but by kissing me like he had and claiming me as his, Harry had effectively pulled me up the pecking order to be on a level almost equal to his. And I would be damned if I let Black push me out.
Besides, I was the most recent addition to the prison besides Black, and I knew more about the outside situation than most in here did.
I freely admit that I also had selfish reason for wanting to talk to Black. He would know if anything had happened to...to Mother.
Harry caught my eyes fiercely for a moment, then he nodded. "Draco can stay," he told Black. "Sirius...why are you here? Not that I'm not pleased to see you, of course, but..."
"There must be a reason," I finished for him. Black glanced between us, sighed, and nodded.
"Yes, there's a reason," he admitted. "I assume Half-Eye got in and out safely?"
"You don't know?" I demanded, startled. He *ought* to know, being who he was, but maybe...
"No," he admitted. "I wasn't told, in case...well, in case this happened." I frowned. So did Harry.
"You let yourself get caught," he accused. "You - I don't believe you, Sirius! Of all the stupid, insane, crazy -" He cut himself off, his eyes smouldering.
"Harry," Black started smoothly. "Don't worry, we have it all planned out. Yes, I let myself get caught, but they needed an inside man to get you all ready for what's going to -" He broke off abruptly. "Is it safe to talk?" he asked urgently.
I rose from my seat on the floor and checked the cells around Black's; they were empty, and I remembered that only one of them had any occupant at all. I looked down over the railing, and immediately wished I hadn't. I gripped the railing, unable to move.
Someone grabbed hold of the collar of my uniform and jerked me away from the edge, back inside Black's cell.
"Someday," Harry said, with no little amusement, "you are going to tell me why you can't stand heights." Shaking, I sat down - on a chair this time - and ignored Black's curious stare as Harry checked around the cell.
"There's no-one around - Claw and Gary will have got rid of them all - but I'd...I'd feel more comfortable if I put a deafening spell around the cell."
Black stared, I chewed my lip - a nervous habit I'd picked up from the guy in the cell across from mine.
"Harry, won't he know?" I queried. "I mean...he warned you..."
"He won't know," Harry assured me. "Or at least...at least I don't think he will. I don't have those chains on, so he shouldn't be able to monitor me so closely - just the prison in general, and he'll assume it's a guard."
"Okay," I murmured, but I wasn't satisfied. True, he no longer wore the chains, and I'd realised that they were some sort of magical monitor, but still...when dealing with Voldemort...
"What on earth are the two of you going on about?" Black demanded. "Harry, do you really trust him?" He waved a hand at me. I narrowed my eyes.
"Yes, I really do," Harry asserted, sparing me a glance. I fought to prevent a grin from spreading over my face at this first verbal confirmation of something I had hoped - suspected - was true. "Hold on, Sirius, I'll just...*Non audius*."
I felt as though I had suddenly gone a little deaf; I shook my head, and my ears 'popped'. Harry was doing the same, Black was merely sitting on the bed staring in disbelief at Harry.
"It's safe to talk now," Harry said after a moment. "No-one outside the cell can hear us." He looked expectantly at his godfather, who was still dumbfounded. Harry suddenly looked a little abashed, and I was struck with how differently he was acting now he had his father-figure back with him, even if it had only been scant minutes so far. He seemed...younger. More innocent, in a way, although also not. It was...strange, and disconcerting.
"How -" Black choked. Harry waved it off.
"Not important right now," he said. "You're here because of something to do with the attack that Half-Eye wouldn't say was happening."
"Yes," Black agreed, clearly not really focusing on what he was saying. He shook his head, and started paying attention. Well, good. I would rather like some information this side of tomorrow. "Only it's not really an attack."
"Oh?" Harry was instantly curious, and leant forward slightly. "So what is it?"
"It's a takeover."
Hmm. Not really an attack then.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
To be continued.
Replies to reviews...all of them...:
Squeegee - ooh, thank you! Severus...I can't tell you anything about Severus yet!
Draco Malfoy N Harry Potter - yes, three chapters in a day. Don't expect that today, is all I can say!
Countess Twizzler - oh, some people like women. I think.
Hippy Flower(Voldie's kid - Mmm, more muffins...
Nagini - is there any reply to your review? Thanks...but I'm afraid free monkeys don't quite inspire me to write more...
Hana-chan - thanks - and you're right, Harry and Draco do balance each other out. Somewhat.
T.K. Yuy - hmm. Forgiven, then. I suppose 'Hurts I' did answer some general questions...alright, I concede to you on that point. As to Sirius - well, you've seen some of that this chapter, and you'll see more in the next.
drika - *good* evil? There's a *good* evil? Hmm. Anything for more, huh?
::-^ - thanks! And you'll see more Draco-Sirius interaction next chapter, and the one after. I think. And I don't been at all guilty in revealing that Harry won't ignore what's happened. No, not at all. But...dammit, can't tell you that.
zeyner - thanks! Snape, as I said above, can't be commented on at the moment. Hermione will be talked about soon, I promise. Maybe.
Maddy - thank you! I'm glad you feel that way about the OC's, I tried very hard with them to make them feel as natural in Chained as Ron and Hermione do in the actual books. Sorry, Harry won't open up much (yet, anyway) and there's little fluff at all in this! It's all pretty much darkness...but I'm glad you like it despite what you usually read. That shows that I've done my job of interesting you! Ooh, I'd win an award? Yay!!
Piri Lupin-Snape - Ooh goodie, you don't think I'm cruel anymore! Your questions: I can't say anything about Remus right now, and Albus...ooh, I don't know whether I should say this, but I'm going to anyway...Albus is ****--censored--****. Sigh. Sorry, couldn't do it. Yes, I suppose I do update very quickly, don't I? (Possibly my biggest understatement of the century). But I only write...maybe just about 2000 words per chapter, something like that, so I finish faster. None of you are complaining though!
chrisseee667 - I know it's not exactly a regular pairing...thus the basis of its appeal to me.
bwaybaby79 - Oh good, yet another person who doesn't think I'm cruel and evil! About Harry and Blaise: You'll find out more when Harry and Draco actually get around to talking about things, which won't be for ages yet. Plus you'll pick up things along the way. A word to the wise: I have a tendency to leave off answering questions until it becomes natural for my characters to answer them in normal conversation, for example you didn't find out what Draco saw until he comments that 'them screwing each other into the wall wasn't wrong', or something to that effect. And yay, yet another person who likes my OCs!
lostgrl - thanks!
Eien - ooh, I'm a goddess, I'm a goddess! And it wasn't *that* bad a cliffhanger...not so bad as this one, anyway...
AngelKity - Yes, they're together. Sort of. And don't worry, I think all my readers are somewhat confused about this fic, even if some of the confusion is gradually being cleared up.
Nexus - I can't answer your question yet, sorry!
Jeannie - ooh, praise is good. Thank you!