Disclaimer: I own nothing...
A/N: Ugh! This took me awhile for some reason. And after leaving you with a cliffhanger! Sorry! Strangely enough part of the reasons I took so long was because I was writing chapter 8 of all things. I'm not even done with chapter 7! *Sighs* Oh well though. I don't know if anyone noticed or not, but I added a prologue to this fic, and I strongly suggest you go read it. It may seem sort of pointless, but it's really not, I swear!
All right, I'll shut up now and let you read. I hope you like this chapter, though it's certainly not my favorite! Also, thanx again for all of the awesome reviews!
***
The Edge of Forever
Part Six: The Same Old Fears
***
~Everything that I believe is slowly overtaking me~
The stars were shinning brightly against the midnight sky. 'No clouds tonight.' Harry thought sardonically. Tonight he could have made it, but the one before...If only there hadn't been that damned storm! Tired as he'd been he could have flown through the night, he'd be there right now if the weather hadn't been so foul. He'd be safe, Sirius would be safe. Or as safe as they could be. But he wasn't with his godfather right now, and Harry was beginning to doubt that he ever would be again.
Staring longingly at the night sky, his vision hindered only by the steel bars on the window, he couldn't stop the strong wave of hopelessness cascading over him. How could he have let himself be caught like that? How could he have let this happen? If he'd only left sooner, if he hadn't slept in, if he hadn't given in to Mrs. Lawson's demands that he eat something...All the what ifs were coming at him with a vengeance. If he'd only done one little thing different he might be okay now. He'd be safe with his godfather and professor Lupin, not locked away in some backwater muggle jail cell--The only cell in fact that the police station offered.
Harry sighed, the frown on his bewildered face deepening yet further. It had all happened so fast, one minute he'd thought that he was home free and the next he was being taking into police custody for withholding evidence. Thus far he'd gotten through questioning without giving up any information on Sirius, but that would all change once Fudge showed up. He'd send Harry to hell and back if he thought that he could put Sirius Black back in Azkaban. Anything to further his flimsy reputation.
Any minute now he'd show up, with a handful of ministry wizards and a bottle of veritaserum. Then there would be no escape. They'd know where Sirius was, they'd know Lupin and Dumbledore had helped him, they'd know that he and Hermione had been the ones that helped him escape at the end of third year. Who knew what he'd say under the influence of that stuff, there were so many little things that he could let slip. Harry shuddered to think of what they might ask him.
There was no escape for him now, he didn't even have his wand. He'd hoped that they wouldn't think anything of it when they'd emptied his pockets, but that hadn't worked out for him either. They'd taken that and all his money without thinking twice, and shoved him into an empty cell to await further questioning. He'd waved his one phone call when it was offered. The only person he could think of that had a phone was Hermione, and she was on vacation. Even if she had been home he didn't think he'd call her, there was nothing she could have done for him now anyway and he really didn't want to drag her into all of this.
Harry drew his knees up against his chest, hugging them close to his body. It really was hopeless now. He tried not to think of what would happen in the coming hours, but it was all too hard to block out. Pretty soon he'd be forced to tell them everything, to betray the closest thing he'd ever had to a parent. Would Sirius ever be able to forgive him? He'd warned him not to address owls to him directly, and not to send them with Hedwig. If he had only listened. Deep down he knew that Sirius wouldn't blame him, but his guilt would linger inside of him forever. It would eat away at him until there was nothing left.
He'd have nothing, no one. He'd be worse off than he'd ever been before. Finding his godfather had been like a beacon of hope, a reminder, long overdue, that the world wasn't always so cruel. The feeling that had washed over him at the thought of finally having someone there for him was unlike anything he'd ever felt. It had undoubtedly been the happiest moment of his life, nothing that had ever happened to him before could have even come close to rivaling it. But now he was about to destroy it all. The only thing he had left to look forward to was about to be gone forever. Sirius was the only hope he had left, and now he was going to lose him too. He didn't think he could stand it.
Another sigh escaped his lips then. When had he become so damn selfish? He had basically become the ruin of his godfathers life, and all he could think about was himself! Sirius was the one who's life was about to be destroyed. Sirius was the one about to lose everything. How could he feel so sorry for himself, when Sirius was the one who deserved it? What happened to him was insignificant, Sirius was all that mattered. Nothing else was even remotely important right now.
He wasn't sure how long he'd been sitting there like that. Time, it seemed, had speed up considerably since his capture. Every minute had gone by like a second. The hours couldn't have faded more quickly. He couldn't even remember when the night had fallen, only that it had. It would only be a matter of time now. Any minute, any second, could bring with it the inevitable end that was awaiting him. Any moment...
"Ron?"
Harry's head snapped up as the familiar voice reached his ears. "Mrs. Lawson?" He exclaimed, gazing up at her with a mixture of hope and horror clouding his emerald eye's. "What are you doing here?"
A small smile lit her face as she stared back at him and she looked as though she might actually laugh--About what though, Harry wasn't sure. "I was looking for you of course." She said as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.
Though her voice held not a hint of malice as she spoke, Harry couldn't help but wonder if she was upset with him. After what he'd done, how couldn't she be? "I...err..." He trailed off before getting a single sentence out. There was nothing he could say that would make things better right now. Russell was right, he'd been lying all along. What she must think of him now... He'd taken advantage of her kindness and generosity, and all he could do now was apologize for it. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Lawson." He whispered softly, suddenly finding the hard concrete of the floor very interesting.
"For what, dear?" Her smile remained, and Harry looked up a bit startled at her reaction.
"For lying to you!" He replied, turning his eye's back to her in exasperation. "For not telling you who I am. Everything that Russell said is true, and I'm sorry."
"Not everything." She said softly, smile never fading for a second. "You're not the malicious, scheming boy he made you out to be, your a nice young man and I-"
"But I lied to you!" Harry said again, staring at the old women incredulously. "I lied about everything!"
"You gave me a false name, that's all." Mrs. Lawson reminded him. And now that he thought of it, that really was the only lie he'd told. But still, wasn't that enough? "I guess I should really be calling you Harry now, shouldn't I?" She added, a tiny smile tugging at her thin lips.
"I'm sorry." He said again, despite his sudden realization.
"Don't be." She said in that stern but kind voice she always seemed to use. "Now, as you haven't eaten yet, I've packed you a bit of food to take with you, along with your other things."
"You didn't have..." Harry began to reply before trailing off in confusion at her words. "Wait, what do you mean 'to take with me'?"
Mrs. Lawson simply stared back at him for a moment, for some reason she seemed quite taken aback by his question. "You didn't actually think I'd leave you to wrought here in this miserable cell now did you?"
"They're not keeping me here forever." He reminded her upon hearing her over dramatic response. "Just for a couple hours really, and then..."
Harry was silent for a moment, eye's on the floor again as he thought about how that sentence would have ended. And then what? They'd take him away, question him and then leave him with no where to go. He'd have no home, no school, no wand, no Sirius...In short he'd have nothing, he'd be nothing. But as much as a part of him really wanted to talk about it all he couldn't possibly bring himself to burden Mrs. Lawson with that horrible truth. She'd only worry then and she didn't need that.
"Well, in any case I'm not leaving you here." She said firmly, catching the boys attention. What in the name of Merlin could she possibly mean?
"But how can you-"
Her smile cut him off then as she reached into her pocket and pulled out something that made Harry's eye's go wide. Dangling there, from her long weathered fingers, was a dull old set of coper keys. Keys that looked remarkably like the ones that had locked the heavy door to his cell.
"Are those..." He didn't understand, it was all way to simple. He just didn't have that kind of luck. "How?"
"This is a small town, security's not what it should be." She replied simply--almost sadly--approaching the door.
Harry couldn't believe what was happening. It wasn't all over yet. It was like the world that had been slowly crumbling around him for the past couple hours was suddenly being rebuilt. The hope he'd all but let die, was growing inside of him like it never had before. This wasn't the end, he still had a chance. He hardly dared to smile just yet though, least it all be some cruel dream.
But then, as the door swung slowly open, and he stepped out of his prison, Harry couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief. It wasn't a dream, it couldn't be. 'Please, please don't let it be!' He might actually be able to set things right. He might still have a chance. Sirius, might still have a chance.
"Now, here you are." She said, pushing a small bag into his hands before he even had a chance to speak. "That's your old clothes and some food. I got the things they confiscated from you, but all that was there was some money and this strange stick thing."
"My wand!" Harry exclaimed, a tiny smile lighting his face for the first time in what seemed like forever.
"Your what, dear?" Mrs. Lawson gave him a quizzical look.
"My, err..." His smile faltered, had he really just said that out loud? Idiot! Harry bit down on his lip as he gazed back, he didn't want to lie to her again but he didn't have time to explain everything. Not that he really wanted to anyway. "Thank you Mrs. Lawson." He said, desperate to change the subject. "You really didn't have to go to so much trouble."
"Of course I didn't have to, I wanted to." She told him, holding his gaze. "Now you have to get out of here, okay? There's a back door just down the hall, go out that way and get out of this town as fast as you can."
Harry opened his mouth to say something else but stopped himself when Mrs. Lawson shook her head. "Just go." She urged him lightly. He smiled back briefly before rushing out of the room and down the said hallway.
"Bye." He muttered quickly, stepping though the door, as Mrs. Lawson came into the hall. "Thank you."
"Good-bye." She whispered back to him as he disappeared into the night. "Good luck."
Throwing the bag over his shoulder, Harry tore away from the small police station. He'd left his firebolt back in that clump of bushes and he had to get back them before he went anywhere. It wasn't far, just a little bit farther than the inn had been, but he had to be careful. If he was seen...Harry dreaded to think of what would happen then. He really would be done for then, and all of Mrs. Lawson's efforts would have been in vain.
Gasping for breathe, he reached the front yard, weary of the lights that were on inside. But he rushed in anyway, dashing towards the bushes with a speed born of desperation. He had to get out of there, he had to go now. Reaching in, Harry rummaged around, paying little attention to the branches tearing at his skin. It was several moments later when he finally felt the smooth liquid fabric of the invisibility cloak slip between his fingers.
A tiny sigh of relief escaped his lips as he pulled it from the mass of branches hastily, along with his firebolt. He wasn't so worried anymore, everything was finally beginning to look like it would be all right. He had everything that he needed to get to his godfather. He'd been given a second chance, and nothing was going to stop him now. Not Fudge, not the police, not another storm threatening to blow him clear off his broom. Nothing!
Draping the invisibility cloak over him and mounting his firebolt quickly, Harry pushed off the ground and into the beckoning sky. He was on his way.
~~~
A/N: I don't know if I really like this chapter. It's too...Simple I guess. Ugh! And it's short too! But I didn't want this situation to take over the story, if that makes sense. It was just another conflict on the way to the real story. I dunno, in my original version Harry got away without being physically caught at all, so I guess this is better...Oh well, I hope it wasn't as bad as I think it was. Thanx for reading this! And go read the prologue. It's kind of important, though it doesn't really appear to but. So, yeah...Read it!
Smilies: I am horrible, aren't I? Sorry I took so long to update! Sirius will be around soon :)
Saya-Sato: Glad you liked it! Thanx!
wonder: Ack! Sorry about the cliffie, lol. Russell is rather a jerk, isn't he? Poor Harry, it's like he finally gets away from Fudge and he runs into this guy! Nothing ever goes right for him. Though I suppose if they did it wouldn't be so fun to write ^_^
Lee Lee Potter: Sorry! Glad you liked it though! Thanx!
sirius_the_homicidal_maniac: Wow, sorry! I seem to be saying that to everyone here...I spelled Woman wrong? Ack! Well that says a lot for my grammar...Thank you for reviewing!
Lady Game: Thank you! Hmm...Perhaps my grammars a bit better? Or maybe you just didn't notice all of my unavoidable screw ups ^_^;; Er...Anyway, thanx again for reviewing!! As always, I really appreciate it!
kateydidnt: You put this on your favs list? Wow, thanx!
Starlette: Harry couldn't hide under the cloak cause it was hidden in the bushes...Wow, for some reason that sounds really stupid...Thanx for the review!
A.Dee: lol, nervous? ^_~
Tigerdrake: Really? It's original? Really? Thanx!!
CokeFreak: Thanx! I glad you like it!
Dark Blood AKA hermionegranger: Thank you!
Arwena: Yeah, that would be nice. They could both use a break from their normal hectic lives! Thanx for the review!
Camel Socks: Than you again! I'm actually coming out of the writers block a bit, it's very refreshing! So worry not, you will find out what happens next :)
A/N: Ugh! This took me awhile for some reason. And after leaving you with a cliffhanger! Sorry! Strangely enough part of the reasons I took so long was because I was writing chapter 8 of all things. I'm not even done with chapter 7! *Sighs* Oh well though. I don't know if anyone noticed or not, but I added a prologue to this fic, and I strongly suggest you go read it. It may seem sort of pointless, but it's really not, I swear!
All right, I'll shut up now and let you read. I hope you like this chapter, though it's certainly not my favorite! Also, thanx again for all of the awesome reviews!
***
The Edge of Forever
Part Six: The Same Old Fears
***
~Everything that I believe is slowly overtaking me~
The stars were shinning brightly against the midnight sky. 'No clouds tonight.' Harry thought sardonically. Tonight he could have made it, but the one before...If only there hadn't been that damned storm! Tired as he'd been he could have flown through the night, he'd be there right now if the weather hadn't been so foul. He'd be safe, Sirius would be safe. Or as safe as they could be. But he wasn't with his godfather right now, and Harry was beginning to doubt that he ever would be again.
Staring longingly at the night sky, his vision hindered only by the steel bars on the window, he couldn't stop the strong wave of hopelessness cascading over him. How could he have let himself be caught like that? How could he have let this happen? If he'd only left sooner, if he hadn't slept in, if he hadn't given in to Mrs. Lawson's demands that he eat something...All the what ifs were coming at him with a vengeance. If he'd only done one little thing different he might be okay now. He'd be safe with his godfather and professor Lupin, not locked away in some backwater muggle jail cell--The only cell in fact that the police station offered.
Harry sighed, the frown on his bewildered face deepening yet further. It had all happened so fast, one minute he'd thought that he was home free and the next he was being taking into police custody for withholding evidence. Thus far he'd gotten through questioning without giving up any information on Sirius, but that would all change once Fudge showed up. He'd send Harry to hell and back if he thought that he could put Sirius Black back in Azkaban. Anything to further his flimsy reputation.
Any minute now he'd show up, with a handful of ministry wizards and a bottle of veritaserum. Then there would be no escape. They'd know where Sirius was, they'd know Lupin and Dumbledore had helped him, they'd know that he and Hermione had been the ones that helped him escape at the end of third year. Who knew what he'd say under the influence of that stuff, there were so many little things that he could let slip. Harry shuddered to think of what they might ask him.
There was no escape for him now, he didn't even have his wand. He'd hoped that they wouldn't think anything of it when they'd emptied his pockets, but that hadn't worked out for him either. They'd taken that and all his money without thinking twice, and shoved him into an empty cell to await further questioning. He'd waved his one phone call when it was offered. The only person he could think of that had a phone was Hermione, and she was on vacation. Even if she had been home he didn't think he'd call her, there was nothing she could have done for him now anyway and he really didn't want to drag her into all of this.
Harry drew his knees up against his chest, hugging them close to his body. It really was hopeless now. He tried not to think of what would happen in the coming hours, but it was all too hard to block out. Pretty soon he'd be forced to tell them everything, to betray the closest thing he'd ever had to a parent. Would Sirius ever be able to forgive him? He'd warned him not to address owls to him directly, and not to send them with Hedwig. If he had only listened. Deep down he knew that Sirius wouldn't blame him, but his guilt would linger inside of him forever. It would eat away at him until there was nothing left.
He'd have nothing, no one. He'd be worse off than he'd ever been before. Finding his godfather had been like a beacon of hope, a reminder, long overdue, that the world wasn't always so cruel. The feeling that had washed over him at the thought of finally having someone there for him was unlike anything he'd ever felt. It had undoubtedly been the happiest moment of his life, nothing that had ever happened to him before could have even come close to rivaling it. But now he was about to destroy it all. The only thing he had left to look forward to was about to be gone forever. Sirius was the only hope he had left, and now he was going to lose him too. He didn't think he could stand it.
Another sigh escaped his lips then. When had he become so damn selfish? He had basically become the ruin of his godfathers life, and all he could think about was himself! Sirius was the one who's life was about to be destroyed. Sirius was the one about to lose everything. How could he feel so sorry for himself, when Sirius was the one who deserved it? What happened to him was insignificant, Sirius was all that mattered. Nothing else was even remotely important right now.
He wasn't sure how long he'd been sitting there like that. Time, it seemed, had speed up considerably since his capture. Every minute had gone by like a second. The hours couldn't have faded more quickly. He couldn't even remember when the night had fallen, only that it had. It would only be a matter of time now. Any minute, any second, could bring with it the inevitable end that was awaiting him. Any moment...
"Ron?"
Harry's head snapped up as the familiar voice reached his ears. "Mrs. Lawson?" He exclaimed, gazing up at her with a mixture of hope and horror clouding his emerald eye's. "What are you doing here?"
A small smile lit her face as she stared back at him and she looked as though she might actually laugh--About what though, Harry wasn't sure. "I was looking for you of course." She said as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.
Though her voice held not a hint of malice as she spoke, Harry couldn't help but wonder if she was upset with him. After what he'd done, how couldn't she be? "I...err..." He trailed off before getting a single sentence out. There was nothing he could say that would make things better right now. Russell was right, he'd been lying all along. What she must think of him now... He'd taken advantage of her kindness and generosity, and all he could do now was apologize for it. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Lawson." He whispered softly, suddenly finding the hard concrete of the floor very interesting.
"For what, dear?" Her smile remained, and Harry looked up a bit startled at her reaction.
"For lying to you!" He replied, turning his eye's back to her in exasperation. "For not telling you who I am. Everything that Russell said is true, and I'm sorry."
"Not everything." She said softly, smile never fading for a second. "You're not the malicious, scheming boy he made you out to be, your a nice young man and I-"
"But I lied to you!" Harry said again, staring at the old women incredulously. "I lied about everything!"
"You gave me a false name, that's all." Mrs. Lawson reminded him. And now that he thought of it, that really was the only lie he'd told. But still, wasn't that enough? "I guess I should really be calling you Harry now, shouldn't I?" She added, a tiny smile tugging at her thin lips.
"I'm sorry." He said again, despite his sudden realization.
"Don't be." She said in that stern but kind voice she always seemed to use. "Now, as you haven't eaten yet, I've packed you a bit of food to take with you, along with your other things."
"You didn't have..." Harry began to reply before trailing off in confusion at her words. "Wait, what do you mean 'to take with me'?"
Mrs. Lawson simply stared back at him for a moment, for some reason she seemed quite taken aback by his question. "You didn't actually think I'd leave you to wrought here in this miserable cell now did you?"
"They're not keeping me here forever." He reminded her upon hearing her over dramatic response. "Just for a couple hours really, and then..."
Harry was silent for a moment, eye's on the floor again as he thought about how that sentence would have ended. And then what? They'd take him away, question him and then leave him with no where to go. He'd have no home, no school, no wand, no Sirius...In short he'd have nothing, he'd be nothing. But as much as a part of him really wanted to talk about it all he couldn't possibly bring himself to burden Mrs. Lawson with that horrible truth. She'd only worry then and she didn't need that.
"Well, in any case I'm not leaving you here." She said firmly, catching the boys attention. What in the name of Merlin could she possibly mean?
"But how can you-"
Her smile cut him off then as she reached into her pocket and pulled out something that made Harry's eye's go wide. Dangling there, from her long weathered fingers, was a dull old set of coper keys. Keys that looked remarkably like the ones that had locked the heavy door to his cell.
"Are those..." He didn't understand, it was all way to simple. He just didn't have that kind of luck. "How?"
"This is a small town, security's not what it should be." She replied simply--almost sadly--approaching the door.
Harry couldn't believe what was happening. It wasn't all over yet. It was like the world that had been slowly crumbling around him for the past couple hours was suddenly being rebuilt. The hope he'd all but let die, was growing inside of him like it never had before. This wasn't the end, he still had a chance. He hardly dared to smile just yet though, least it all be some cruel dream.
But then, as the door swung slowly open, and he stepped out of his prison, Harry couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief. It wasn't a dream, it couldn't be. 'Please, please don't let it be!' He might actually be able to set things right. He might still have a chance. Sirius, might still have a chance.
"Now, here you are." She said, pushing a small bag into his hands before he even had a chance to speak. "That's your old clothes and some food. I got the things they confiscated from you, but all that was there was some money and this strange stick thing."
"My wand!" Harry exclaimed, a tiny smile lighting his face for the first time in what seemed like forever.
"Your what, dear?" Mrs. Lawson gave him a quizzical look.
"My, err..." His smile faltered, had he really just said that out loud? Idiot! Harry bit down on his lip as he gazed back, he didn't want to lie to her again but he didn't have time to explain everything. Not that he really wanted to anyway. "Thank you Mrs. Lawson." He said, desperate to change the subject. "You really didn't have to go to so much trouble."
"Of course I didn't have to, I wanted to." She told him, holding his gaze. "Now you have to get out of here, okay? There's a back door just down the hall, go out that way and get out of this town as fast as you can."
Harry opened his mouth to say something else but stopped himself when Mrs. Lawson shook her head. "Just go." She urged him lightly. He smiled back briefly before rushing out of the room and down the said hallway.
"Bye." He muttered quickly, stepping though the door, as Mrs. Lawson came into the hall. "Thank you."
"Good-bye." She whispered back to him as he disappeared into the night. "Good luck."
Throwing the bag over his shoulder, Harry tore away from the small police station. He'd left his firebolt back in that clump of bushes and he had to get back them before he went anywhere. It wasn't far, just a little bit farther than the inn had been, but he had to be careful. If he was seen...Harry dreaded to think of what would happen then. He really would be done for then, and all of Mrs. Lawson's efforts would have been in vain.
Gasping for breathe, he reached the front yard, weary of the lights that were on inside. But he rushed in anyway, dashing towards the bushes with a speed born of desperation. He had to get out of there, he had to go now. Reaching in, Harry rummaged around, paying little attention to the branches tearing at his skin. It was several moments later when he finally felt the smooth liquid fabric of the invisibility cloak slip between his fingers.
A tiny sigh of relief escaped his lips as he pulled it from the mass of branches hastily, along with his firebolt. He wasn't so worried anymore, everything was finally beginning to look like it would be all right. He had everything that he needed to get to his godfather. He'd been given a second chance, and nothing was going to stop him now. Not Fudge, not the police, not another storm threatening to blow him clear off his broom. Nothing!
Draping the invisibility cloak over him and mounting his firebolt quickly, Harry pushed off the ground and into the beckoning sky. He was on his way.
~~~
A/N: I don't know if I really like this chapter. It's too...Simple I guess. Ugh! And it's short too! But I didn't want this situation to take over the story, if that makes sense. It was just another conflict on the way to the real story. I dunno, in my original version Harry got away without being physically caught at all, so I guess this is better...Oh well, I hope it wasn't as bad as I think it was. Thanx for reading this! And go read the prologue. It's kind of important, though it doesn't really appear to but. So, yeah...Read it!
Smilies: I am horrible, aren't I? Sorry I took so long to update! Sirius will be around soon :)
Saya-Sato: Glad you liked it! Thanx!
wonder: Ack! Sorry about the cliffie, lol. Russell is rather a jerk, isn't he? Poor Harry, it's like he finally gets away from Fudge and he runs into this guy! Nothing ever goes right for him. Though I suppose if they did it wouldn't be so fun to write ^_^
Lee Lee Potter: Sorry! Glad you liked it though! Thanx!
sirius_the_homicidal_maniac: Wow, sorry! I seem to be saying that to everyone here...I spelled Woman wrong? Ack! Well that says a lot for my grammar...Thank you for reviewing!
Lady Game: Thank you! Hmm...Perhaps my grammars a bit better? Or maybe you just didn't notice all of my unavoidable screw ups ^_^;; Er...Anyway, thanx again for reviewing!! As always, I really appreciate it!
kateydidnt: You put this on your favs list? Wow, thanx!
Starlette: Harry couldn't hide under the cloak cause it was hidden in the bushes...Wow, for some reason that sounds really stupid...Thanx for the review!
A.Dee: lol, nervous? ^_~
Tigerdrake: Really? It's original? Really? Thanx!!
CokeFreak: Thanx! I glad you like it!
Dark Blood AKA hermionegranger: Thank you!
Arwena: Yeah, that would be nice. They could both use a break from their normal hectic lives! Thanx for the review!
Camel Socks: Than you again! I'm actually coming out of the writers block a bit, it's very refreshing! So worry not, you will find out what happens next :)