1 Broken Trust – Chapter 2
The days went by. Sirius guessed that they were now entering October. He wondered what classes Harry was taking now, during his fifth year of schooling. He was standing, leaning on the wall – this actually felt good to muscles sore from the stone floor – immersed in a daydream. More like a memory. He was remembering Halloween, during his second year in school. They had just finished preparing their newest prank, planning to try it out on the current Potions teacher. They were looking forward to the feast that evening, not eating anything at lunch so that they would have room – " his daydream was interrupted by a loud bang. The doors to the section burst open at either end. Shouting voices and light flooded the corridor.
The guards were reaching for their wands, some too late. Sirius pressed back against the corner of his cell, hoping that he wouldn't be hit by any curse spells. He felt his stomach sink as he realized the intruders were masked. Death Eaters. Here to free their fellow death eaters. Cell doors were being knocked down left and right. Someone sent a blow to his door; it was half off of the hinges –
"You there, don't you even have the sense to move?" Someone snarled at him. "Are you one of the insane ones?"
Sirius found his voice. "I'm not insane."
"Who are you?" The person asked, looking closer. He recoiled suddenly in horror. "You're Sirius Black. You're not a death eater, are you." He stated the last bit.
"What-who-how-" Sirius felt his head begin to spin. He needed to think fast.
"Hey!" Another death eater addressed the first one sharply. "We don't have time for conversation!"
"But this one is Sirius Black!" The first one argued.
"Well move on, I'll take care of it." The voice did not leave room for argument, and the death eater moved away hurriedly.
"You. Out. Now."
Sirius remained where he was. A wand was now pointed at him. "Move or I use an unforgivable. I'll decide which one in a minute."
Sirius decided that he should postpone his death for every second possible, and so he moved forward.
"Down the corridor. Walk quickly." Sirius tried to walk quickly, using muscles that weren't used to being used, stepping over bodies and rubble.
"Up those stairs. FASTER!" The voice barked. Sirius hurried, grabbing at rotting handrails for balance.
They reached the top. More cells, mostly empty. Offices. A door to the outside.
"Here I leave you." The death eater said. "Get away if you can. If I were you, I would commit suicide if I couldn't find a way out of this place."
"But what-"
The death eater turned and re-entered the building. Sirius stared after the retreating figure, thoroughly confused and shaken. Then it occurred to him that he needed to think fast. Fast thinking, twice in one day. It was too much.
A resource occurred to him suddenly. Could he? After all this time? He concentrated. Suddenly he was a large, black dog. No time for elation that he still had the ability. He, in the dog body, plunged off of the rocks into the icy water and began swimming. It was the swim of his life, making a break for mainland. He was lucky that his dog form was so big, and did not seem to be as weak as his human form. Even though he had more strength, he steadily grew tired. The swim was long, and the pressure to move fast taxing. Sirius pressed onward only because he knew he had no other option.
The death eaters had made their attack during the night. The sky gradually lightened, then turned to gray, then turned pink. And Sirius could see land. He was close to giving out, energy field nearly drained. Seeing the land gave him a new burst of momentum.
He staggered out of the water, drenched, freezing, and exhausted at a little after dawn. Mustering up the last of his energy, he sought shelter from the nearest cluster of bushes. He awoke briefly, in the middle of the day, but promptly went back to sleep. It was shortly after nightfall when he rose and started his journey. Unfortunately, he had to stop only a few steps after starting to ask himself where he was going. He was then surprised to find that knew exactly where he was going.
The death eaters seemed to want him dead for not being a death eater. The wizards would want him dead for being a death eater. The muggles would want him dead because they were muggles and tended to panic in large groups at any small thing. Professor Dumbledore was his only hope.
He started moving again, thinking about food. It had been a while since he had eaten anything, and he would need to keep his strength up in order to make it all the way to Hogwarts.
His dinner that evening came in the form of leftovers found spilling out of a trashcan lying on its side. He didn't mind though, there were worse things to be eating. At least what his stomach now held was generally classified as food. His larger problem was figuring out the way to Hogwarts. Once again, he was surprised to find that he knew the answer. It wasn't in his mind, exactly, but in his instincts. No, wait. Not his instincts. The canine instincts of the animal that he was for the moment. Sirius vaguely remembered stories about dogs that found their way home from hundreds of miles away…maybe his dog self remembered Hogwarts and knew the way without him having to think. He'd just have to trust that it did.
Over the next few weeks as he traveled, hunted, and slept, Sirius had time to think. It was a different kind of thinking then he had done in Azkaban, however. For one thing it was far less pessimistic and morbid. For another, he was thinking of the future. He might have one now, providing that Professor Dumbledore didn't hand him back over to the proper officials once he lay eyes on him. Sirius doubted that Albus would do that though, not without at least hearing his side of the story. Another problem came in there. How did he know that they would be willing to listen to him? He supposed that if push came to shove he could demand a truth potion at the top of his voice until they realized that he was intent on not returning to hell.
And Remus. He would need to find his old friend and explain everything in person. Sirius wondered if Remus could find a way to forgive him for everything. For being the cause of the death of James and Lily. For thinking that one of his best friends was the spy. He wondered what Remus had done with himself all these years. Two friends dead. One in prison for killing them. Sirius mentally cursed Pettigrew for the millionth time for causing so much trouble. If only the little bastard hadn't been working for Voldemort…
The brush was getting thicker. Sirius found himself jumping trees, taking long routes around tangled masses of vines, and burrowing on his stomach beneath clumps of bushes. He must be getting closer to Hogwarts, at least.
He didn't come to the forest until the next evening. At the sight of it he stopped and stood, frozen. That couldn't be the forbidden forest…but it was. Hogwarts would be on the other side of the monstrosity, providing he didn't get turned around once he was inside. Did he want to go inside, though? He forced himself to think rationally. Most creatures in the forest wouldn't hurt a dog. As long as he stayed in dog form, he would be all right. Probably. Sirius laughed at himself. An escaped convict who had narrowly missed death by Lord Voldemort's groupies was afraid to enter a dark forest. He started into the forest.
A/N: I go on spring break next week, and so there will be no new posts of this story until sometime after the first week of April. If you like this so far (or if you are just a fan of Sirius fics) please check out 'The Shadows of Insanity', my songfic about Sirius. Don't forget to review! Oh, sorry about the weird formatting and numbers in the first fic…I didn't put those there, ffn did that alllll by itself.
2 ~Katameran :o)
That brings me to my thanks to everyone…thank you to Kaylin, who beta reads EVERYTHING I write and tells me NOT to delete it, and then tells me why.
Also thank you to everyone who has reviewed so far!
Nicky – I went to check out what you had written, but there was nothing there! What do you mean you don't have talent for writing? In my opinion, if you can talk, you can write…start off small with a funny list in the list section (under misc.) here at ffn. You'll be surprised how the reviews you get (or don't get, as in my case) motivate you! Anyway, you'll be sure to get at least one because I'll review for sure! :o)
Heath and sar - *bluses* I love that phrase: 'you rock'. Seriously, thanks. That boosted my confidence a lot about this story and was one of the reasons I posted again today!
Brittanie – I was trying a different style of writing when it came to this story. I'm glad to see someone other then myself enjoys it! I'm off to send that email…and yes, you did spell azkaban right!
Cassie – Sweet, my very first reviewer! You are awesome! Glad to hear that you like the story, hope chapter two is to your liking…
The days went by. Sirius guessed that they were now entering October. He wondered what classes Harry was taking now, during his fifth year of schooling. He was standing, leaning on the wall – this actually felt good to muscles sore from the stone floor – immersed in a daydream. More like a memory. He was remembering Halloween, during his second year in school. They had just finished preparing their newest prank, planning to try it out on the current Potions teacher. They were looking forward to the feast that evening, not eating anything at lunch so that they would have room – " his daydream was interrupted by a loud bang. The doors to the section burst open at either end. Shouting voices and light flooded the corridor.
The guards were reaching for their wands, some too late. Sirius pressed back against the corner of his cell, hoping that he wouldn't be hit by any curse spells. He felt his stomach sink as he realized the intruders were masked. Death Eaters. Here to free their fellow death eaters. Cell doors were being knocked down left and right. Someone sent a blow to his door; it was half off of the hinges –
"You there, don't you even have the sense to move?" Someone snarled at him. "Are you one of the insane ones?"
Sirius found his voice. "I'm not insane."
"Who are you?" The person asked, looking closer. He recoiled suddenly in horror. "You're Sirius Black. You're not a death eater, are you." He stated the last bit.
"What-who-how-" Sirius felt his head begin to spin. He needed to think fast.
"Hey!" Another death eater addressed the first one sharply. "We don't have time for conversation!"
"But this one is Sirius Black!" The first one argued.
"Well move on, I'll take care of it." The voice did not leave room for argument, and the death eater moved away hurriedly.
"You. Out. Now."
Sirius remained where he was. A wand was now pointed at him. "Move or I use an unforgivable. I'll decide which one in a minute."
Sirius decided that he should postpone his death for every second possible, and so he moved forward.
"Down the corridor. Walk quickly." Sirius tried to walk quickly, using muscles that weren't used to being used, stepping over bodies and rubble.
"Up those stairs. FASTER!" The voice barked. Sirius hurried, grabbing at rotting handrails for balance.
They reached the top. More cells, mostly empty. Offices. A door to the outside.
"Here I leave you." The death eater said. "Get away if you can. If I were you, I would commit suicide if I couldn't find a way out of this place."
"But what-"
The death eater turned and re-entered the building. Sirius stared after the retreating figure, thoroughly confused and shaken. Then it occurred to him that he needed to think fast. Fast thinking, twice in one day. It was too much.
A resource occurred to him suddenly. Could he? After all this time? He concentrated. Suddenly he was a large, black dog. No time for elation that he still had the ability. He, in the dog body, plunged off of the rocks into the icy water and began swimming. It was the swim of his life, making a break for mainland. He was lucky that his dog form was so big, and did not seem to be as weak as his human form. Even though he had more strength, he steadily grew tired. The swim was long, and the pressure to move fast taxing. Sirius pressed onward only because he knew he had no other option.
The death eaters had made their attack during the night. The sky gradually lightened, then turned to gray, then turned pink. And Sirius could see land. He was close to giving out, energy field nearly drained. Seeing the land gave him a new burst of momentum.
He staggered out of the water, drenched, freezing, and exhausted at a little after dawn. Mustering up the last of his energy, he sought shelter from the nearest cluster of bushes. He awoke briefly, in the middle of the day, but promptly went back to sleep. It was shortly after nightfall when he rose and started his journey. Unfortunately, he had to stop only a few steps after starting to ask himself where he was going. He was then surprised to find that knew exactly where he was going.
The death eaters seemed to want him dead for not being a death eater. The wizards would want him dead for being a death eater. The muggles would want him dead because they were muggles and tended to panic in large groups at any small thing. Professor Dumbledore was his only hope.
He started moving again, thinking about food. It had been a while since he had eaten anything, and he would need to keep his strength up in order to make it all the way to Hogwarts.
His dinner that evening came in the form of leftovers found spilling out of a trashcan lying on its side. He didn't mind though, there were worse things to be eating. At least what his stomach now held was generally classified as food. His larger problem was figuring out the way to Hogwarts. Once again, he was surprised to find that he knew the answer. It wasn't in his mind, exactly, but in his instincts. No, wait. Not his instincts. The canine instincts of the animal that he was for the moment. Sirius vaguely remembered stories about dogs that found their way home from hundreds of miles away…maybe his dog self remembered Hogwarts and knew the way without him having to think. He'd just have to trust that it did.
Over the next few weeks as he traveled, hunted, and slept, Sirius had time to think. It was a different kind of thinking then he had done in Azkaban, however. For one thing it was far less pessimistic and morbid. For another, he was thinking of the future. He might have one now, providing that Professor Dumbledore didn't hand him back over to the proper officials once he lay eyes on him. Sirius doubted that Albus would do that though, not without at least hearing his side of the story. Another problem came in there. How did he know that they would be willing to listen to him? He supposed that if push came to shove he could demand a truth potion at the top of his voice until they realized that he was intent on not returning to hell.
And Remus. He would need to find his old friend and explain everything in person. Sirius wondered if Remus could find a way to forgive him for everything. For being the cause of the death of James and Lily. For thinking that one of his best friends was the spy. He wondered what Remus had done with himself all these years. Two friends dead. One in prison for killing them. Sirius mentally cursed Pettigrew for the millionth time for causing so much trouble. If only the little bastard hadn't been working for Voldemort…
The brush was getting thicker. Sirius found himself jumping trees, taking long routes around tangled masses of vines, and burrowing on his stomach beneath clumps of bushes. He must be getting closer to Hogwarts, at least.
He didn't come to the forest until the next evening. At the sight of it he stopped and stood, frozen. That couldn't be the forbidden forest…but it was. Hogwarts would be on the other side of the monstrosity, providing he didn't get turned around once he was inside. Did he want to go inside, though? He forced himself to think rationally. Most creatures in the forest wouldn't hurt a dog. As long as he stayed in dog form, he would be all right. Probably. Sirius laughed at himself. An escaped convict who had narrowly missed death by Lord Voldemort's groupies was afraid to enter a dark forest. He started into the forest.
A/N: I go on spring break next week, and so there will be no new posts of this story until sometime after the first week of April. If you like this so far (or if you are just a fan of Sirius fics) please check out 'The Shadows of Insanity', my songfic about Sirius. Don't forget to review! Oh, sorry about the weird formatting and numbers in the first fic…I didn't put those there, ffn did that alllll by itself.
2 ~Katameran :o)
That brings me to my thanks to everyone…thank you to Kaylin, who beta reads EVERYTHING I write and tells me NOT to delete it, and then tells me why.
Also thank you to everyone who has reviewed so far!
Nicky – I went to check out what you had written, but there was nothing there! What do you mean you don't have talent for writing? In my opinion, if you can talk, you can write…start off small with a funny list in the list section (under misc.) here at ffn. You'll be surprised how the reviews you get (or don't get, as in my case) motivate you! Anyway, you'll be sure to get at least one because I'll review for sure! :o)
Heath and sar - *bluses* I love that phrase: 'you rock'. Seriously, thanks. That boosted my confidence a lot about this story and was one of the reasons I posted again today!
Brittanie – I was trying a different style of writing when it came to this story. I'm glad to see someone other then myself enjoys it! I'm off to send that email…and yes, you did spell azkaban right!
Cassie – Sweet, my very first reviewer! You are awesome! Glad to hear that you like the story, hope chapter two is to your liking…