Hello everybody! Welcome to the next round of "The Chaos Begins".

I thank you all for your patience. I know I don't post as often as I or you

would like me to but I always post eventually…

As you can see from the chapter's title, Azkaban comes nearer, finally.

As always, I promise to write as fast as possible but instead of more free

time I have less every week!!!

*sniff*

But I promise to post the next chapter this year! (Ok, ok, only joking.)

Before I forget, the inevitable:

Disclaimer:    I own only two characters (Mr. Bransom and Mr. Conald).

                        The rest belongs to JKR. Not that you didn't know…

And how could I write a chapter without the help of my fantastic Betas

Danae, Pigwidgeon and Skipper ?!?!?!

Enough of this! Have fun with the newest part of:

THE CHAOS BEGINS From: Caius Julius

Chapter 11: Into Azkaban - Waiting

The next day passed too quickly for Harry's liking. Of course, Ron and Hermione 

wanted to know what happened at the meeting with Dumbledore.

But Harry, true to his promise, had to disappoint them. He didn't like to keep secrets

from them but the Headmaster had specifically asked him not to tell anyone.

So he would be quiet about it, weather he felt comfortable with it or not.

Although that didn't mean Ron and especially Hermione didn't try to guess what had

taken place. But it did them little good because Harry neither confirmed nor denied

their suspicions. Truth be told, by lunch he rather enjoyed their pleading glances.

"Oh come on," Ron said.

"Just one hint, Harry. We won't tell anyone else about it. Please."

Harry shook his head, like he had done so many times before.

"You know, Harry," Hermione remarked. "That's not very, well, kind of you. To leave

us to our conjectures without any real hints or points to begin with."

Harry smiled mischievously at his friends.

"Well, the only thing I can tell you is that you'd get the fits if you knew what Dumbledore

plans to do. And that's all I'm going to say. End of story."

Still smiling as Ron made several 'humpf'-sounds, Harry returned his attention to his

lunch. The dessert tasted rather well. Harry could never say 'no' to chocolate cakes.

Especially when they contained large pieces of the brown sweet.

He bit into the cake and startled. What was that? There wasn't supposed to be

something paper-like in it. Carefully, he took the something out of his mouth and

examined it, making sure that no-one else could see the little piece of paper he now

held in his hand.

A note was scribbled on it.

Finally, it hit Harry. That was yet another of Dobby's ideas of how to contact him.

How the House-Elf had made sure this piece of cake would end up on Harry's plate

was beyond him.

The message itself was short and clear.

'The Headmaster wishes to see you after Lunch.'

It seemed if they had finally got word from Sirius. Inconspicuously, Harry put the note

into his pocket and finished the cake.

Neither Ron nor Hermione had noticed anything. Obviously, they had decided to

ignore Harry as 'punishment' for keeping secrets from them.

Thus, it was rather easy for Harry to attend the Headmaster's meeting.

When he rose from his seat, Ron and Hermione took no notice of him.

Smiling to himself, Harry left the Great Hall for Dumbledore's office.

The Headmaster himself had left some minutes ago, so Harry was sure he would

already be in his office.

***

"Glad you could make it up here so soon, Harry. I knew I could rely on Dobby."

Dumbledore said, offering a seat to Harry. "Would you like some hot chocolate?"

"Yes, sir. Thanks." Harry answered, a little disappointed that Remus Lupin wasn't

present as well.

"So," the Headmaster continued, after conjuring two cups of chocolate and taking a

seat himself. "As you can probably guess, I received word from Sirius today.

Fortunately, so far everything works out as planned. Sirius was able to follow

Bransom and his associate and get all the information we need. But I better start at

the beginning." He gave Harry a warm smile and began to explain.

"Sirius got several assignments from me when I met him in London. I had previously

learned that Mr Bransom lives in London. A nice and handy coincidence. Well, since I

knew when he was supposed to 'visit' Severus I told Sirius to look out for him. And

we were lucky, because Bransom indeed left his home at the indicated hour. Sirius

followed him and observed how Bransom met with another man, obviously the

second interrogator."

Dumbledore stopped and opened a drawer. He took a wizard-photo out of it and

handed it to Harry.

On the photo were two men. One of them Harry recognised immediately as Bransom.

The other was unknown to him. There was nothing remarkable about him. Of

average height with light brown hair he could have passed as an innocent

accountant. Surely he didn't look like a follower of the Dark Lord. But then again,

most people didn't have darkness written on their faces as clearly as Voldemort

himself.

"That's the man?" the fifth-year asked.

Dumbledore nodded. "Yes, it is. His name is Derek Conald. He works in the same

Department as Bransom, so it would appear only natural that these two met after

work. But we know better of course."

Harry once again glanced at the picture in his hands. Bransom and Conald shook

hands and exchanged some words in what seemed like a comradely manner. You'd

never guess they would soon be off to Azkaban.

Harry felt proud that Sirius had taken the picture. How had he done it? A dog simply

couldn't have taken a camera with him, could he?

"What happened afterwards,?" Harry asked, placing the photo on the desk again.

"Apparently, they strolled around for a while, without an exact destination. When they

felt unobserved, Bransom took out a lighter and both of them vanished."

Harry nodded in understanding.

"So they used a Portkey to get to Azkaban… If they indeed went there, that is."

"Good thinking, Harry." Dumbledore acknowledged and Harry could have sworn he

saw a small proud smile.

"But Sirius was cleverer than they were. Bransom and  Conald went into a small dark

alley to use the Portkey. Sirius in his dog-form was able to follow them. Although he

is quite a big dog he knows how to move undetected. He overheard parts of their

conversation. We are lucky, since they indeed went directly to Azkaban. Also, Sirius

overheard when they expected to be back again. Thus, he sauntered around for

some hours and came back at the time they had mentioned. No more than ten

minutes later our friends appeared, in the same small alley, quietly talking about their

accomplishments with Severus. Sirius didn't hear much, but at least we know that

they seem to have been satisfied with telling Severus of my announcement yesterday

and playing a bit with him." His voice was dripping with disgust now.

"Well, another very useful thing Sirius overheard was that they agreed to meet at the

same time and place tomorrow evening. That makes preparations for us a great deal

easier." With that he fell silent and gave Harry time to think the whole situation over.

Taking everything the Headmaster had told him into account, Harry decided that

yesterday had been bad-luck's big day out. Now they had all the vital information they

needed to put their plan into action. They 'only' needed to switch places with

Bransom and Conald and convince Snape of Dumbledore's trust. Only…

"I presume you have Polyjuice? And Veritaserum?" Harry asked. How else were they

supposed to learn what Bransom hoped to achieve with Snape tomorrow.

Dumbledore nodded. "Yes, I have. After last year, Severus gave me some of his

supplies. Just in case I needed them and he was not available."

"And how will you 'capture' Bransom and Conald? Simply overwhelming them and

taking them here for questioning, by means of a Portkey?"

Again, the Headmaster confirmed Harry's assumptions with a nod.

"As simple as that. Sirius could have done it easily yesterday if we had been

prepared. He himself will distract our two friends tomorrow so that I can stun them."

Harry's eyes widened.

"You want to go yourself? Isn't that too risky? What if someone notices you?"

Dumbledore smiled at him, his eyes once again sparkling.

"A minor risk only, I assure you. They feel far too self-assured for their own good.

You won't need to worry, Harry. After all, I am a little more than just an old

headmaster who sits behind a desk all the time, don't you agree?"

He winked and Harry felt his cheeks burning. After all, this was Dumbledore, the only

one Voldemort himself feared. Two Death Eaters really meant no threat at all to the

Headmaster of Hogwarts.

Harry grinned at Dumbledore.

"Yes, sir. When do you expect me to be here tomorrow? I need to think of a story to

tell Ron and Hermione." He chuckled good-heartedly.

Dumbledore laughed.

"I see. They bother you about this quite a lot, don't they? Well, Remus and I should

have got our friends to my office by six tomorrow evening. If you could make it here

then? That should be sufficient in my opinion."

Harry nodded.

"Of course, sir. I'll be there. Thank god tomorrow is Saturday. I probably will need a

good night's sleep after our stunt."

The Headmaster smiled at him and wished him a good day.

"Oh and Harry," he added. "I told Professor Sprout that you'd be delayed and thus

maybe a little late for Herbology, so if you have to think about the matter a bit longer,

you are free to do so. Just make sure you join the lesson before it's over."

"Thank you, Sir." Harry said and left.

While he went down the stairs Harry wondered if maybe Sirius would be coming to

Hogwarts as well. He hoped so – it would be wonderful to see his godfather again.

As it turned out, Harry strolled around for some time, pondering everything the

Headmaster had said. Only then did he make his way to the Greenhouse. Like

Dumbledore had told him, Professor Sprout didn't question him about his lateness

but instead asked him to join one of the groups busying themselves with some plants.

"Hey, look Hermione," Ron said. "It's our friend, the secret keeper!"

He winked at Harry.

"Well, can we at least hope you will let us in on it at all?"

Harry grinned.

"Maybe, if you two are nice enough to me. No, no. Only joking, Ron. Of course, as

soon as everything's over. Promise!"

Ron slapped him lightly on the shoulder.

"Now that's my friend! But don't let it be too long. Hermione's head will blow up if she

has to think about it much longer."

"My Head?"

Hermione asked, tapping her fingers tapping on the desk in mock-outrage.

"Who has been asking all day 'What's Harry up to, Hermione?', 'Couldn't he at least

leave a hint?', 'Do you know what that's all about, Hermione?' Hmm, Ron?"

Ron looked at his feet, equally pretending to be ashamed.

"Well, now that you mention it, I might be a bit interested myself…"

Harry rolled his eyes and patted the plant in front of him. At least it couldn't talk.

***

While Harry worked on the plant he thought what to tell Ron and Hermione about

tomorrow evening. How to explain his absence? Finally, he decided he had to tell

them at least a part of the truth. They would probably guess why he was away

anyhow. So after the class he waited until most of the students left the Greenhouse

and then pulled Ron and Hermione behind the building, making sure they couldn't be

overheard.

"About my secret," he began. "Don't grin yet, Ron. I don't intend to tell you just now.

But there's something I need you to know."

"Of course," Hermione said. "Out with it."

"Well," Harry continued. "I won't be here tomorrow evening."

Ron frowned. "Not here? But where would you go? Ok, ok, I see. Classified material."

Harry nodded. "Exactly. Let's just say I am somewhere else. You'd find out on your

own so I don't see why I shouldn't tell you about it myself. But no-one else must

know. And it is your part to come up with a plausible excuse should I be missed."

"Right," Ron nodded. "So if some nosy person asks where you are, we just tell them

some story. Like you are visiting the Dementors in Azkaban or something."

Harry froze for a moment. Did they know? Had Hermione figured out somehow?

But his fears were unjustified.

"Ron!" Hermione looked slightly angry at him. "You know that Harry has some…

issues with the Dementors. It's not quite polite to joke about something like that."

"You're right, Herm. Sorry, Harry." Ron murmured.

Harry sighed with relief and patted Ron on the back.

"No harm done, Ron. I know it was a joke. Who'd be so insane as to go to Azkaban

out of his own free will anyway?"

They laughed and Harry started wishing tomorrow evening would never come.

***

But of course, such a wish was totally in vain. Like many dreaded things, the visit to

Azkaban, as you could call it, approached faster than Harry would have thought

possible.

Ron and Hermione had decided to stick rather close to the truth, or at least the small

part of it they knew, in case someone asked for Harry. They would say he had some

business with the Headmaster and that they knew nothing more themselves. That

was, after all, true. Also, they noticed that this business wasn't at all a piece of cake

for Harry. As the hours passed by, Harry became more nervous. He tried not to let it

show but Ron and Hermione noticed it nonetheless. But they were kind enough not

to fuss about it. Instead, Ron kept up a constant conversation about the Chudley

Cannons' chances of playing for the title, and Hermione kept on and on about

studying for the O.W.L.'s and how they were hopelessly behind schedule – at least

according to her schedule.

So Harry spent the afternoon discussing the Cannons with Ron and studying and

revising with Hermione. He had the distinct feeling both had secretly planned to keep

him occupied. He was more than thankful for it.

However, the afternoon was bound to end eventually. Thus, some minutes before six

Harry said good-bye to his friends - who both gave him a thumbs-up - put on his

Invisibility Cloak and stole out of the Common Room. That proved to be quite easy

since many of his housemates were outside.

Silently, Harry walked to the entrance to Dumbledore's office. Did the Headmaster

really say he had to come when Bransom and Conald were brought in? Did that

mean he had to witness the questioning, too? Harry shuddered but while thinking

about it felt a bit easier. Surely, Dumbledore wouldn't force information out of his

'guests' the hard way. He had Veritaserum after all. If one considered the situation it

made sense that Harry would be present. Thus, he could learn more about the two

Ministry men first hand.

Besides, it would be interesting to see Bransom at the receiving end.

Finally arriving at the office door, Harry knocked.

"Come in, Harry, come in!" came the Headmaster's voice.

Harry opened the door and stopped dead. The sight was truly singular.

Behind the desk sat Dumbledore, smiling warmly at Harry. In front of the desk was

Lupin, winking at the astounded fifth-year.

Next to the former Professor sat two men - both bound and blindfolded.

There was no question who they might be.

But what really surprised Harry was the big black dog guarding the prisoners.

"Snuffles!" Harry exclaimed, nervousness and fear were forgotten at the sight of his

godfather.

Wagging his tail, Snuffles stormed towards Harry, putting his forepaws onto the boy's

chest. Harry gently stroked the dog's fur gently and scratched him behind the ears.

"I am so glad you are here, too." Harry said. "I hoped you'd come but never thought

you would. Because of the danger and all."

Snuffled gave a sharp bark as if to say he didn't care.

"Harry," Dumbledore brought the present back into Harry's mind.

"I am sorry to interrupt you two but we have to stick to our timetable. Really, Sirius.

You do enjoy your Animagus-form rather much, don't you?"

The fur under Harry's fingers changed and he stepped back. Within moments the dog

was gone and in his spot stood Sirius Black.

"You know me too well, Albus." He grinned and now it was his turn to ruffle Harry's

hair. Finally, he let go of his godson and sat down next to one of the prisoners.

Carefully, Harry took a seat himself.

"You see, Harry," Dumbledore said. "We have been successful with part one of the

operation. Don't be afraid. Our guests already have been given quite a dose of

Veritaserum already. Of course we will have to alter their memory a bit afterwards."

His smile faltered and he turned his attention to one of the two men before him.

"Now let us continue, Mr Bransom." The Headmaster said.

"What did you hope to accomplish tonight?"

"We wanted to make sure Snape believed our story." Bransom answered slowly.

"And what exactly was 'the story'?" Dumbledore went on.

"That you had abandoned him and his cover was broken. We wanted to erase every

possibility he might leave our side completely."

Dumbledore raised his eyebrows at this statement and looked at Lupin who smiled

darkly.

"Indeed," the Headmaster finally muttered.

"What else did you do to ensure Snape believed you?"

"We used the Dementors and some curses to weaken his state. It was hardly

necessary, though. After tonight we will have to pause for a few days if we don't want

him to lose it completely or to die on us."

Harry saw the Headmaster grip the desk hard at this.

Dumbledore closed his eyes and breathed slowly in and out.

"But he still is not completely convinced, is he?"

Bransom shook his head. "No, unfortunately not. He desperately wanted to believe

you still had faith in him. It took some persuasion to even make him consider whether

our story's true. But by now they should have done their fair share to break him."

Dumbledore frowned. "They?"

"The Dementors." Now it was Conald who answered.

"We gave them orders to take care of Snape every few hours."

Now it was obviously even harder for the Headmaster to restrain himself.

"One last thing," he continued. "Does Voldemort believe Snape has left him?"

Harry looked at Bransom. That was the one question he had asked himself often

during the last weeks. The one question the answer to which could change

everything.

Bransom shook his head and Harry sighed in relief. So did Lupin.

"He doesn't." the Ministry man said. "He fears, though, that Snape might consider

leaving him. He thinks Snape has been too long under your wings."

Dumbledore nodded.

"Sirius, if you could keep an eye on our guests while I talk to Remus and Harry?"

"Certainly, Albus." Sirius said. Dumbledore nodded again and beckoned Harry and

Lupin into the adjacent room. After he closed the door he turned to them.

"You understand this is probably the best we could have hoped for, don't you?" the

Headmaster asked.

"Indeed, Albus." Lupin agreed. "Unless the Dark Lord is cleverer than we give him

credit for he really doesn't know Severus has left him. That means we can stick to our

original plan, then?"

"Yes, Remus, we will. You understand that as well, Harry?"

Harry nodded.

"Good," Dumbledore went on. "Now to the details of stage two of our operation: the

visit itself. I think it's preferable that Harry take Bransom's role since he has a better

idea of how he behaves, having seen him in his dreams. Therefore you, Remus, will

act as Conald. Is that all right with you?"

Both Harry and Lupin nodded. In fact, Harry had known it would end up like this. He

had had an - admittedly short - vision of Bransom during his sleep and knew how the

man conducted himself towards the Dementors and the guards. Lupin just had to

follow him.

"Very well. Do you have any questions before you are off? If so, please ask them

now. As it is, we have to hurry or Bransom's and Conald's delayed arrival might

cause suspicion."

Dumbledore looked from Lupin to Harry.

"I have one, Sir." Harry said. "Do we know how long we have to stay at Azkaban?

Can we bring some potion to improve Snape's condition with?"

Dumbledore smiled. "To the first question: no, we don't. But I think everything from 30

minutes to a few hours will be justifiable. To your other question: I am afraid I cannot

allow you to help Severus other than with words. If his condition really is as bad as

Bransom sad it would be far to suspicious if he somehow regained his strength over

night." He sighed. "Anything else?"

Lupin met Dumbledore's eyes.

"Just in case someone asks: What are our alter ego's first names?"

"Ah, I almost forgot. Bransom's is Gregory and Conald's is Derek. Good that you

asked, Remus. Anything else?"

Lupin shook his head.

"No, Albus. I believe you already have the Polyjuice?"

"Yes," the Headmaster said, taking out two small bottles out of his robe. He handed

one each to Harry and Lupin, then gave each a hair.

"These are Bransom's and these Conald's. Don't mix them! Make sure you drink it

every hour. You know what happens if you don't." He winked at Harry and the boy

remembered how he had changed back into himself while talking to Draco Malfoy in

his second year. That had better not happen while they were at Azkaban.

"Good." Dumbledore finally said.

"Here is the Portkey. You simply have to concentrate on Azkaban and it will take you

there. Just one thing before you are off: Conald told me earlier that usually they are

given the return-portkey by one of the guards. A Peer, if I remember correctly-"

"I know who that is!" Harry exclaimed, remembering his dream.

"Excellent, Harry. Well, what I wanted to say is this: Sirius will wait for you near the

narrow alley you will be transported to through the portkey. He can show you the way

back to Hogwarts. Now, I suggest you drink the Polyjuice. Here are your robes. I

duplicated them from Bransom's and Conald's real ones. You can use my spare

rooms to change."

Harry looked at Lupin who nodded.

Sighing deeply, Harry trotted into one of the rooms indicated by the Headmaster and

climbed out of his student's robes. He dropped some hairs into the potion and drank.

Immediately he felt the strange sensation of his body changing into that of a grown

man. Looking down at his new self he grinned. He liked to be taller.

But this was no game and he knew it. So Harry put the robes on and walked out of

the room.

Lupin / Conald was already there.


"Ready, 'Gregory'?" he asked and Harry frowned at the unfamiliar sound of his voice.

"Yes, 'Derek'." Harry replied. His own voice didn't sound any better.

They stepped over to Dumbledore who was holding the portkey.

"Here you go and most of all: Good Luck! Our cause depends on your success!"

He gave Lupin the portkey and smiled one last time at Harry.

"Ready, Harry?" Lupin asked?

Harry nodded, put his fingers on the portkey and closed his eyes.

Think of Azkaban, think of Azkaban. Azkaban. Azkaban…

The warmth of Dumbledore's quarters vanished and Harry felt himself being

transported far, far away.

TBC…