(Usual disclaimer!)

Chapter 5

Memories.

Sirius was back in his bedroom after the meeting with Pat. He was looking at the pictures she had thrown at him. The ones that showed him changing into a dog.

"There's no way these could be fake, and she knows that." He muttered to himself. "What's she doing?"

He heard a faint knock at his door, and went to answer it. Pat stood there.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, propelling her into the room.

"I… ummm…" She was flustered.

'There must be something wrong. She usually doesn't act like this.' He thought.

"What... what is it??" He asked and steered her on to the bed.

"You... ummm..." She gestured to his lack of undress. He was thrilled that she couldn't keep her eyes off of him, and resisting the impulse to strut around the room he went to a drawer pulled out an old T-shirt and pulled it on.

She coughed, went red and avoided his gaze.

"What?" He'd covered up enough hadn't he? Then he noticed the T-shirt slogan in the mirror.

('Hello Gorgeous. Kiss Me Slow and Sexily.')

Knowing that it flustered her he kept it on.

"It's the only clean one I've got!" He shrugged.

"I wanted to explain to you about…." She gesticulated to the pictures. "You should really destroy those. The wrong people could think that they were real."

"I wanted to tell you about my gift. In my…"

"No!" She interrupted him. "If I even thought that those were true, you would be placed into custody." Her eyes flashed a warning. "Tell me when we've cracked this case."

She knew what he was, he was sure of it. Why was she helping him?

He leaned closer to her.

"I take it I'm off the suspects list." She nodded her assent. "Why?" He whispered.

"The animagus I'm after is working for Voldemort. Whoever they are, they are after Harry. I've seen you with him. I don't believe that you could kill him. Plus…" She looked at him through narrowed eyes. "…There Is No Evidence." She said slowly and firmly.

He grinned.

"Okay, okay! I get the picture." He leaned in a bit closer. "Could you tell me something?"

She looked up at him. "I won't know until you ask."

"What makes you think someone is after Harry?"

"Just the fact that people have seen an animagus." She declared.

"So…." She kissed him again. 'I'm beginning to get used to this.'

She ended the kiss and glared at him. He frowned back. 'What's the matter?' He thought.

She tapped at her notebook. He read it.

Ministry Spy on Campus.

Can't be sure who spy or animagus is.

He nodded, picked up the pictures he had and threw them in the fire he had. She silently handed him the note sheet, which he tossed in, and watched it burn.

~ ~ ~ ~ * ~ ~ ~ ~

She watched him look into the fire. His handsome face lit by the flame's warm glow. The light showed his face as she had never seen it before. He looked troubled, not at all like the laughing man she had seen with Harry earlier.

"Want to tell me about it?" She broke the silence.

He looked at her, puzzled by her statement.

"Azkaban." She said quietly. Grasping him by the hands she pulled him on to the bed next to her.

His face contorted at the mention of the name. After a couple of moments he looked her straight in the eyes.

"Are you sure you want to hear about it?" He questioned her.

"Yes." She faced him silently, still holding onto his hands in a noiseless gesture of support.

He sighed turned his face so she could only see his profile, and looked into the fire.

"It was like nothing I've seen before, and wild horses couldn't drag me back." There was silence for a few moments while he collected his thoughts.

"The Dementors feed on good emotions, they suck them away from you. At the beginning, to keep yourself sane, you think of nothing but good memories. They attract the Dementors. When they have drained you of all the things that keep you sane, memories of family and friends, thinking of outside, escape…" She stiffened at the thought of escape. "… Yes, the thought of escape keeps you sane, the only thing you can hold onto are the bad feelings. Guilt, jealousy, revenge. These are the things that make you insane. I was different from everyone else there. I was partly guilty, and partly innocent. I kept myself sane by thinking of James and Lily. Partly torturous and partly happy thoughts, the dementors didn't know what to do. They began to ignore me, and I started planning my escape. I used to hide behind newly convicted people. They were like fresh produce to the dementors. You see there was no need for cells, no need for solitary confinement. The punishment goes on inside of your head. You can do nothing to escape the cold, harsh reality of the fact that you are there, and there is nothing you can do about it. The despair is the last thing you feel, the hopelessness is the thing that kills you."

His voice faded away, he had finished talking. She could feel his protective inner armour slotting into place getting ready for the rejection he thought was coming. She let go of his hands. His shoulders slumped.

"How did you get released?" She asked timidly.

He laughed, a bitter laugh.

"The Ministry had to look for Peter Pettigrew. They didn't believe Remus or Harry, but Dumbledore did, and he had power over Cornelius Fudge. Eventually they caught up with him, and when they did he was more than willing to talk. Voldemort wasn't happy with Pettigrew because he had plenty of chances to kill Harry, but didn't. Thank god for Mad-eye Moody, huh? He was the Auror who found Peter."

She took his chin in one hand and moved his head to face her. She wrapped her arms around him, and held him. They lay down on the bed, her arms still enclosing his body.

"Shhhh, Shhhh." She whispered gently to him as she rocked him slowly. He fell asleep in exhaustion.

Pat smiled sadly. 'How could they do that to an innocent man?' She thought. 'You have no need to fear from me, Sirius. I think I ….' They slept together. Wrapped in each other's arms.

~ ~ ~ ~ * ~ ~ ~ ~

"This is not good!" The shadow yelled at the bowl. Inside the basin you could see Pat and Sirius, sleeping soundly. "The Auror is one of the best! She wouldn't do anything like this! Her files suggested there'd be no problem!" They growled. "She has the pictures! She knows he is an animagus! Why hasn't she arrested him?"

The silhouette walked around the table.

"It is interesting that there is a ministry spy here though. I will have to look into that." It looked into the bowl and stroked Sirius' face "I will keep an eye on you. Voldemort only wants Harry dead, but if you get too close to the truth I will have to do something about you as well."

~ ~ ~ ~ * ~ ~ ~ ~

He woke up and looked at the sleeping girl next to him. This is the third night in a row that she had helped him sleep.

'Usually women prevent me from sleeping!' He grinned wryly. He looked down at her still in the suit she had worn yesterday. Her hair had come out of her ponytail, and covered the pillow, and some of her face. Her eyes had small dark rings around them where her make up had smudged.

'I have told her all of my secrets and still she stays with me.' He smiled and pushed some of the long red hair out of her face. He pulled a face and groaned. 'I will have to talk to Harry.' He thought. 'This can't go on. He has to trust her like I do.'

He looked into her sleeping face, and watched her expression change into one of slight annoyance as he extracted his arm from underneath her. Her eyes fluttered for a second and he paused.

'I don't want to wake her.' He frowned, never before had he shared a bed with a woman, and just slept. There was a kind of intimacy he had never experienced before in waking up and finding her there.

'I trust her implicitly, but does she trust me? I influence her in a way she has never been before, but does she trust me?'

Climbing from the bed he started to shave.

'She trusted me enough to tell me about the spy.' Staff members and students flashed through his head. None of them seemed – well like a spy.

He wondered when his sisters would come through with the file on her. Not that he wanted to check up on her. Just that he was sure she had been hurt in the past. He could help her like she had helped him.

'Maybe I could ask them to look into this.' He wondered.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw movement coming from the bed. Pat stretched and groaned. She opened her eyes, looked at the bed and sighed.

"Morning!" Sirius smiled.

She looked up at him in shock. He could have sworn for a moment he saw pleasure in her eyes, but it was soon replaced by a smile.

"Want to help me try to sneak back into my room?" She asked.

~ ~ ~ ~ * ~ ~ ~ ~

 A/N

Okay, usual thanks.

Mrs Grim and Siriuslyinlove thanks for continuing to read the story.

Mrs Grim, you're right. I couldn't send Sirius to Azkaban. He is way too nice for that!

Siriuslyinlove, I can't reveal the shadow yet. It's the only suspense I have in this story!!

Rugi and Gwena and Blondie in Disguise. Thanks for reading for the first time! Please continue to read and review! (I appreciate it!!)

And "All" as you requested, here is the next chapter!!

Love to you all.

Krusty.

xxx.