'Yo ho!' Remus whispered, handing Sirius dry cracker, 'we're getting close to the end of our rations. A penny for your thoughts.'

'Plans to destroy the Dementors are worth far more than a penny, I can assure you', Sirius said, frowning into the thick mist that surrounded their little raft.

'Ah', Remus said, smiling slightly, 'got any decent plans yet?'

'Not really', Sirius replied with a sigh, 'why aren't you asleep anyway?'

'I'm not tired', Remus told him, 'surprising really, seeing as how I'm usually exhausted. But we're too close to danger for me to sleep in peace. Wolf's instincts and all that.'

'What d'you think about this mist?' Sirius muttered anxiously.

'Same as you', Remus answered, 'it's not natural. It makes the air feel heavy and it's far too thick. And it descended the very same second as we got into deep waters.'

'Mmm.' Sirius had hoped that Remus would disagree with him, but it seemed that his suspicions had just been confirmed. Lord Voldemort, or at the very least the Dementors, knew that there were unwelcome guests approaching.

'We need a plan', Sirius whispered, 'tell the others they can sleep later- we need to lay our plans now. We never know what might happen.'

Remus nodded, and as soon as he moved a few inches away from Sirius, he was swallowed by the mist. Sirius heard him waking the others, and called out 'Eva! Where are you?'

'Over here!' Came Eva's voice, only a few feet to his left. Sirius walked carefully across the raft, and reached out like a blind man.

'Ow! Sirius, that was my eye!' Eva hissed.

'Sorry', Sirius grinned to himself. 'Eva, can you do a clearing spell? I know I said the fog was a good thing, because it would hide us, but we need a little bit more vision than we have. Can you even clear the air around the raft?'

'I'll try, but my magic was out when I tried to make light earlier', Eva said doubtfully. She muttered some words beneath her breath, and suddenly, as though someone had cut the fog away with a scissors, a small, circular area close to Sirius became clear.

'You're a star, Eva', he whispered, taking her hand momentarily, and grinning at her again. She blushed, smiled, then looked away.

'Right you lot', Sirius said, ' come as close to me as possible, so you're all out of the mist. Brilliant. We may as well sit down, this could take a while.'

'Have you come up with any ideas, Sirius?' Tonks asked, yawning.

'A couple. But the details are very sketchy', he replied, 'and they're not all that realistic, to be honest.'

'Tell us about Azkaban, Sirius', Remus suggested helpfully, 'what's the island like, and how will we get into fortress?'

Sirius made a face. 'That's the most difficult part of all. If we get into the fortress without them catching us, and manage to make them talk to us, then the rest will be a cinch.'

'Oh, so no problems at all then', Snape butted in sarcastically.

'There is a way though', Sirius continued, ignoring Snape's remark, 'actually, there are several ways, but none of them are pleasant, easy or foolproof. One; we can all turn into animals. That's really hard-and quite painful, or so I hear-for people who aren't Animagi. But we could try, I s'pose. Two; We can go underwater, and dig our way up through the foundations, into the fortress. Or three; we can let them capture us. That way, we'll definitely get in, and there would be a small chance of success.'

Silence greeted Sirius' suggestions. 'You're not giving us a lot of choice', Bill said thoughtfully, 'but we're going to have to try one of those ways. Which has the best chance of success?'

'I dunno, do I?' Sirius said, raising an eyebrow, 'I'd be willing to put money on it that we're the first people ever to try and break IN to Azkaban, wouldn't you?'

'Couldn't we break in the way you broke out?' Oliver suggested.

'How DID you break out?' Asked Eva and Tonks together.

Sirius laughed. 'I transformed into a dog, and slipped past the Dementors.' He explained. 'I bet that's not half so galmorous as half the stories you've heard. But that's an interesting theory, Oliver. The only hitch is, we know we're not just dealing with Dementors any more-Voldemort and have his fan club are camped in Azkaban. Dementors mightn't be able to sense animals, but Death Eaters can see-and kill them.'

'So basically, it's a question of which plan is the least suicidal', Snape stated blankly.

'It doesn't really matter whether we survive or not, does it?' Sirius said suddenly, 'all that matters is that one of us survives long enough to smash the orb that controls the Dementors.'

'Cheers, Sirius', Bill said heavily, 'I hadn't thought of it like that before.'

'He's right though', Remus intervened, 'our lives are not the important thing here. If we can do it, and get out alive, so much the better. But what it comes down to is this; we told Dumbledore we would undertake this mission, in full knowledge of the danger we were putting ourselves in. Now, out here, on the middle of the ocean, that may seem like a bit of a bad choice, but the time to quit was when we left Grimmauld Place. There's no point in putting down every single idea, beacuse we've got to go with one of them!'

'I know!' Tonks hissed suddenly, her eyes shining, 'I know! We have to split up! We can use all three of Sirius' plans, and that gives us better odds on actually succeeding!'

Sirius and Remus exchanged a glance, and silently agreed.

'I believe Tonks has settled the argument for us', Sirius announced, 'we just have to split up. None of you are Animagi, are you?'

'I am', Eva responded quietly.

'What?' Sirius said, amazed, 'you never said!'

Eva shrugged. 'It's not a skill I use very often.'

'What animal are you?' Bill asked interestedly.

'A bluebird', she replied, smiling slightly.

'Nice and small', Sirius mused, 'wouldn't be spotted easily. Will you try the animal trick, then?'

'Yes', she said softly, 'I will.'

'Great. Anyone have a particular desire to come up from underneath? With a Bubblehead Charm, it'd be easy.'

'I also have some Gillyweed', Snape added stiffly, 'if there are two people who are prepared to dig.'

'Dig? Nah, we needn't dig', Bill said, shaking his head, 'we just blast a hole in the foundations of the island, right the way up!'

'There's a hole there already', Sirius said, in a subdued voice, 'it's close to the shore, and the Dementors throw the dead down it, and it always seemed to me to be a bottomless pit. It probably opens somwhere down there.'

'So...whoever goes has to climb up through a load of old skeletons?' Tonks asked, wrinkling her nose.

'Exactly', Sirius replied, imitating Tonks' face.

'I'll do it', Oliver declared sombrely.

'You'll...are you sure?' Sirius asked, surprised, 'why, Oliver?'

'It'll probably be tough work, whether we've got to climb, or dig', Oliver replied, swallowing hard, 'I'm the youngest, and I'm probably the fittest here. So it makes sense, doesn't it?'

The young man's bravery shamed the others into volunteering far more rapidly.

'I'm already able to change shape a bit, so transforming into an animal won't be quite as hard for me', Tonks explained, 'I'll do the animal bit too.'

'I'll go with Oliver', Bill volunteered determinedly, 'and I want to be the one who stuns whoever's guarding Dad and Charlie.'

'We'll try and facilitate you', Sirius replied seriously. 'Okay, so that leaves....well me, Remus and Snivellus. So I s'pose we're the ones who are giving ourselves up.'

'Can't we at least by invisible or something?' Remus asked, sounding nervous. But Sirius shook his head ruefully. 'Nope, Dementors dont need us to be visible to sense us, and I'm sure Voldemort has some intruder detectors in place. Invisibility will make little difference.'

'So...we just...?'

'Let 'em come and get us.' Sirius replied, smling slightly. 'Voldemort won't let Dementors or Death Eaters harm a hair on our heads 'til he hears what we want, and what we did with his men.'

'I do not relish the thought of being force-fed Veritaserum, or being tortured into revealing our mission', Snape said stiffly, 'it is most important that my identity remain secret.'

'Shut up about your secret identity, Snivellus', Sirius snapped, 'Dumbledore obviously didn't care about it-he wouldn't've sent you with us if he did. And I don't think your identity will make any difference-he'll probably have us all killed anyway!'

'So who's going to try and get to the central chamber?' Tonks asked quietly.

Sirius looked around at the others, and sighed softly. 'It has to be me, doesn't it?' He said, with a wry smile, 'I know where it is, roughly, and I'm the least powerful of everyone here. You'll need all the strength you have to overcome the Dementors and Death Eaters. Hopefully, they'll be distracted enough that my activity will go unnoticed.'

'Snape and I will accompany you', Remus said, 'obviously. I can cover you with a Patronus, and Snape can use some of his potions.'

'It'll be easier for one to escape than three', Sirius argued, 'if I fail, then someone else can try. That's better than all three of us being killed in one fell swoop.'

'Dumbledore said we would all have a part to play', Remus replied calmly, 'and my Patronus is my real strength. while Snape's lies in his talent as a Potionsmaster. Oliver is the strongest and fastest, followed by Bill, so they can climb or dig easily, as well as create a diversion, while Eva and Tonks are mistresses of diguise. So, Sirius Black, you will not be going anywhere in Azkaban alone. If you're going to die, then I'm going to die defending you, because anyone who wants to kill you will have to come through me.'

Sirius stared at Remus, not knowing what to say.

'Touching as Lupin's little speech was', Snape sneered, 'we do have rather important plans to make.'

'They can wait', Sirius was no longer in the mood to plan anything, 'get some more sleep. I'll try and work something out, and wake you in a few hours.'

'You haven't slept in two days, Sirius', Eva remarked, 'you need rest more than any of us.'

'I'm not tired', Sirius responded shortly, 'rest while you can. As far as I can recall, when Fudge came to visit the prison he mentioned something about the dangers of this sea. I didnt experience any trouble myself, but that's not to say Fudge was incorrect. If and when anything happens, I'll wake you all.'

The members of the Order of the Phoenix lay down on the uncomfortable, cramped raft. Sirius stood, staring into the mist, wondering what lay ahead. He heard a noise behind him, and knew Remus too was awake.

'The last adventure of the Marauders', he breathed with a sigh. He laid a hand on the hilt of his knife, and felt that it was warm.

'And I have a feeling that old Prongs will have a deed or two to do, with this knife, before it's all over', he added softly.

************

Sirius' reverie was interrupted by the sudden realisation that the wood beneath his feet was becoming very warm. Tonks turned over in her sleep and murmured 'who turned the heating up?' Sirius dropped to his knees, and gingerly dipped his forefinger into the water, yanking it back violently as he felt a scalding pain.

'Get up!' He shouted, 'the sea is boiling!'

The others, who had all been sleeping quite lightly, leapt to their feet, looking around wildly.

'Thank God Dumbledore made this raft so thick', Sirius commented, at the same moment realising that apart from the heavy mist, there was now very hot steam in the air.

'It's like a bloody sauna', Bill gasped, going red in the face, 'we're going to be boiled alive, like lobsters!'

'Take down the mast!' Eva cried suddenly, 'we can use the two pieces of wood as oars, until we get away from this patch!'

'Well done, Eva! Remus, disconnect the mast.' Sirius ordered. With a flick of his wand, Remus plucked the mast from the raft, and broke it into two seperate pieces. He threw one to Oliver and one to Bill, who both immediately started rowing. There was nothing for the others to do but huddle together in the middle, and wait anxiously for the heat to recede.

'Oh my!' Tonks gasped, 'the raft! It's coming apart!'

Sure enough, Sirius felt the wood beneath his feet begin to crack.

'This isn't just boiling water', Remus said, swallowing hard, 'this is something foul-it's rotting the wood!'

'Row, Bill! Go on, Oliver!' Sirius shouted. 'All of you, just hold tight, we'll get through this.'

'Argh!' Bill let out a cry, as his oar broke in two.

'Now would be a good time for the mist to lift, so we could at least see what we were doing' Sirius muttered, grabbing hold of Snape to stop himself from falling.

'It's not as hot', Eva said breathlessly, 'but the raft is still falling to pieces.'

'This water is still dangerous', Oliver gasped, 'my oar's nearly broken.'

Just as he spoke, there was a tremendous crack, and the entire raft broke in two.

Sirius thought he was dead this time. If the water rotted wood within minutes, what would it do to a person? But before he could hit the water, a tremendous wind picked him up and carried him some distance away like a ragdoll. It also cleared the mist, and Sirius could suddenly see that he was floundering in the water, with the rest of his party. In the distance could be seen the island upon which stood the fortress of Azkaban.

'Voldemort', he spluttered, struggling towards Remus, 'he's playing with us. Showing us he can save us, then let us drown!'

'Probably', Remus said, his teeth chattering, as he splashed around, trying to stay afloat, 'I did not like the feel of that wind one bit.'

'Look on the bright side!' Eva said, 'at least we're not dead!'

'My potions!' Snape gasped, 'they are all lost!'

'What? No! We need them!' Sirius cried.

'What we need is to hold onto each other', Tonks said firmly, 'where's Bill?'

'Here!' Bill was swimming towards them, from some distance away, 'that was fun! Almost like surfing.'

'Glad you enjoyed it', Sirius said sarcastically, 'but now, there's only one thing for it. We have to swim the rest of the way. We picked a bad spot of the sea to sail across, it seems.'

The seven witches and wizards held onto each other's robes, and turned towards the black lump in the distance.

'This is when it really starts. Are you ready?' Sirius asked, pushing his sopping wet hair out of his eyes.

The comrades looked at one another, and nodded. Azkaban was in sight. ***********

I only plan on doing two more chapters, one on the events in Azkaban, and an epilogue, which will be really important. I want to thank all my reviewers once more!