'Well, Remus. Severus. This is it.'

Sirius, Remus and Snape were wading towards the shore, their robes sopping wet, their hearts pounding. Tonks(now a gadfly) and Eva (a bluebird) were hovering some distance out from the shore, while Oliver and Bill were currently swimming to the bottom of the sea, using the Bubblehead Charm.

'We are walking straight to our deaths', Snape said tonelessly, gazing at the shadowy outline of Azkaban Fortress through the mist.

'For God's sake, stop looking at it!' Sirius snapped, 'that place causes despair as soon as you lay eyes on it, stop making this harder than it has to be. Try and think of-'

'Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens?' Snape replied sourly, wrenching his gaze away from the prison, 'you forget, Black, that I am a double agent. With no Polyjuice Potion left, I will be recognised at once, and punished accordingly.'

Just as he spoke, there was a horrible scream that sent a shiver down Sirius' spine. 'Voldemort's torturing someone', he said tightly.

'Now who's despairing?' Snape sneered.

'Just shut up, the two of you!' Remus hissed, 'you're both on the same side, but you wouldn't think it to listen to you! Can't you just leave each other alone for the rest of this mission?'

'Sorry', muttered the two chastened wizards.

They reached dry land.

'It'll only be a few minutes', Sirius murmured, 'just a few short minutes. Then they'll come.'

Sirius' words proved true. Within a few minutes of setting foot on dry land, some shadowy figures began to emerge from the mist. Sirius guessed they were Death Eaters, for he did not feel the dread fear of the Dementors weighing down on him.

'We haven't come for a fight!' He shouted, as the figures came closer, inch by inch, 'we've come to negotiate! We're not holding our wands, please, just take us into Azkaban, and let us tell you why we are here!'

'Padfoot.'

Sirius' gaze switched to the direction from which the voice had come- straight in front of him. The smallest of the dozen or so hooded figures approaching sped up, and came to a halt only a few feet from Sirius, where he could be seen more clearly. He laughed unpleasantly, and threw off his hood.

'Pettigrew.' Sirius spat the word out, with contempt. 'We meet again.' Under his grip, James' knife grew very hot.

The small, balding man grinned evilly, and looked at Sirius' comrades. The sight of Snape seemed to shake him, but he recovered quickly.

'So, Severus', he said, sneering, 'The Dark Lord will have a special treat for you. Or Snivellus, wasn't that what we used to call him, Padfoot? Moony?'

'Don't you dare, Pettigrew', Sirius growled.

Peter Pettigrew feigned a saintly expression. 'What?' He asked innocently, 'Im not doing anything!'

'You're trying to turn us against each other', Remus answered, shooting Peter a look that would make a fully grown hippogriff quail, 'just like you used to at school. Licking up to James, trying to get between him and Sirius. Convincing Sirius to make you Secret Keeper. A rat suits you, Peter. I've always thought you were just like those filthy, slippery little- '

'Silence!' Pettigrew's eyes were popping, 'be quiet, werewolf! Or we'll wait 'til the next full moon, then lock you up with your two friends and let you eat them! Now, enough of this playgound nonsense. Where are the others?'

'Others?' Sirius said blankly, 'what others?'

Peter growled. 'We have spies', he replied, 'spies who inform us that seven of you, and not just three, were travelling here.'

'They are dead', Sirius responded, bowing his head, 'they died when our raft fell to pieces.'

'Check if we're lying', Snape added, with a smirk, 'oh, that's right, I forgot you can't. You were never good enough to learn Legillimency.'

Suddenly, Peter's hand shot out, and he grabbed Snape by the throat. His grip was strong, and Snape's eyes were bulging.

'Leave him, Peter! You wouldn't want to deprive Voldemort of a little fun with the double-crosser, now would you?' Sirius shouted.

Peter glared at Snape, then released him. The taller wizard fell to his knees, clutching his throat and coughing. Peter walked away from the trio.

'Take them to the fortress', he ordered the closest Death Eater, 'bind their hands. We'll let the Dark Lord decide what is to be done with them.'

The Death Eaters waved their wands, and cords sprang from them, binding the three wizards tightly. As they were led towards Azkaban, Sirius glanced over his shoulder, and thought that he could make out the shape of a little bird, fluttering closer to the shore.

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

'Our master will want to speak with you at once', growled the Death Eater who was guarding Sirius, 'he is intrigued by your arrival.'

Sirius did not answer. A horrible terror had seized his heart the moment he passed the gate of Azkaban, and he was having great difficulty with shaking it off. A wave of nausea swept over him. The Dementors must be at the far end of the jail. Gathered for what purpose?

The great iron doors swung open silently, and the three wizards were pushed roughly inside. It was dark, damp and extremely unpleasant. Sirius closed his eyes, as memories of his years within these walls filled his head. Only now, he had no way to escape the torment of the Dementors...he had no magic...

As he was escorted down through a row of empty cells (all the Death Eaters had obviously been freed), Sirius realised what Voldemort had decided to do with them until he was ready to speak to them. They were to be thrown into Sirius' old cell.

His theory was correct. The Death Eaters removed Remus' and Snape's wands, and shoved them into the cell. As the door slammed after them, Remus turned to Sirius in the horrible, cold, half-light and said 'this was your cell, wasn't it?'

Sirius nodded silently. How well he remembered staring through the tiny grid in the door, watching Cornelius Fudge march up and down, inspecting his prisoners. How well he remembered the sense of envy every time a prisoner was carried from his cell, hacing finally succombed to the pain of Azkaban. Sirius had often wished to be one of these corpses. Turning around, he took in the hard, stone floor; the pathetic mattress of straw; the flea-bitten blanket. He had returned to Hell.

Sirius slid to the floor, and put his head in his hands. Although there were no Dementors around anymore, he could almost hear their rattling breath, and feel their clammy hands on his shoulders.

'I wonder how Bill and Oliver are doing', Remus murmured.

'They didn't take your knife', Snape said suddenly, staring at Sirius.

'What?' Sirius mumbled, not looking up. He had been feeling so ghastly that he wouldn't have noticed if they had stripped him naked.

'You've still got your knife, Sirius!' Remus whispered, 'James' knife!'

Sirius, with an effort, looked down, and saw the knife still hanging from his belt. His jaw dropped. 'Why didn't they take it?' He wondered aloud.

'I doubt that they saw it', Remus remarked, 'you know it's a magical knife. I'm sure it knows how to hide itself.'

Somehow, this thought comforted the desolate Sirius, who struggled to his feet again, and walked over to the door. The corridor was deserted.

'We demand to see Lord Voldemort!' He roared. His voice echoed through the prison, and in the heart of the fortress, the Dark Lord heard his enemy's call. His face twisted into a sneer, and he flicked his wand casually, leaving a trail of smoke in the air.

To Snape, Sirius and Remus, it seemed as though a ferocious wind blew the door open, picked them up, and carried them through the halls of the mighty fortress. Before Sirius knew where they were, he saw another set of huge iron doors, with snakes engraved upon them, looming ahead.

'He's in there!' He shouted to his comrades.

The doors blew inwards, and Sirius, Remus and Snape landed on the floor (rather painfully) in the centre of the room.

'So. The wizard without magic, the werewolf and the traitor have come to witness the greatness of Lord Voldemort.'

All three knew the voice well, and dreaded looking upon the face of the Dark Lord. Sirius was the first to stand, and meet his eye. He realised that the room was empty, apart from Voldemort, who sat casually on a sort of throne.

'We did not come to witness anything', Sirius said loudly, 'nor to trade insults, nor to fight.'

'Why did you come then, Sirius Black?'

Sirius felt a horrible pain wrack his body as he returned Voldemort's glare. The red eyes! How had Harry withstood this torture?

'If you are so powerful', Sirius replied, with much bravado, 'then you already know why we are here.'

This remark stung the dark wizard, and Sirius immediately felt him trying to search his mind. Sirius, although without magic, was still able to shut Voldemort out before he could gain any information (occlumency is not magic involving a wand, but mere strength of mind). So, Voldemort's spies had not been quite so efficient after all.

'I think you need taking down a peg or two, Black!' Voldemort said coldly, 'Crucio.'

The pain was so intense that Sirius almost passed out. He vaguely knew that Remus and Snape were suffering the same torture. He placed his hand on the hilt of his knife, as he fell to his knees.

Suddenly, the pain was gone. He leapt to his feet again, and saw by the look on Voldemort's face that the dark wizard had not lifted the spell.

The knife...

As Sirius' hand went to the knife, Voldemort's eyes followed him. 'Accio knife!' Shrieked the dark wizard.

The knife stayed where it was.

Remus and Snape struggled to their feet, and moved closer to Sirius.

Voldemort stood up, and walked forward. He decided to change his tactics. He advanced on Snape.

'Severus', he said softly, shaking his head, 'I did not realise you were so dim witted. You know I own you.' He grabbed Snape's arm with his white, bony hand, and pressed hard. Snape let out an agonised cry, and his eyes rolled up in his head. There was nothing Remus or Sirius could do.

Voldemort threw Snape aside like a rag doll. He turned towards Remus, an evil smile on his face. 'I am bored, werewolf.' He said, 'how about giving us a little show?'

Remus spat into Voldemort's snake-like face.

Voldemort let out a roar of rage, and shouted 'Imperio!'

Sirius stood, transfixed with horror, as Voldemort made Remus howl, and behave like a wolf.

'Now', Voldemort said, so Sirius could hear him, 'attack Sirius. Attack Sirius Black.'

As Remus charged at him, Sirius saw the fury and desperation in his old friend's face.

Sirius didn't run. He did not lay a finger on Remus, but braced himself. Remus knocked him off his feet, and was about to sink his fist in Sirius' face, when he let out a wild moan, and rolled quickly out of the way.

'You are fools', Voldemort said, laughing thinly, 'but strong fools, I grant you. I will only speak with one of you-I choose you, Black. You and I have quite a history, shall we say-you having created the impression that you were my greatest follower. Cords!'

Strong cords made from wire uncoiled from his wand, and bound the hands and feet of Remus and Snape. A piece of wire also wrapped itself tightly around their jaws, cutting into the skin, making them bleed. And still Sirius did nothing. He needed more time...

'Does being here remind you of your prison days?' Voldemort asked cruelly, 'maybe we should make it more authentic...'

Suddenly, shackles closed themselves around Sirius' feet and hands. The chains on the shackles at his feet were so short that he could not move an inch.

'Speak!' Voldemort commanded, 'unless you'd like to be bound like your two fine friends here!'

And so Sirius began to speak.

'My comrades and I have travelled for some time, to get here', he told Voldemort, 'on the orders of Albus Dumbledore, we were to come here, and negotiate for the destruction of the Dementors, to make the war fair. We didn't realise you would be here yourself.'

'You want me to destroy the Dementors?' Voldemort laughed again, 'Sirius, did your time beyond the veil teach you nothing? Do you not understand?'

Sirius had no idea what the dark wizard meant. But since he was playing for time, he asked 'how did you know I came back from beyond the veil?'

Voldemort smirked. 'Do you know, I feared that you would return as one with powers that would rival my own. But instead, you came back a weakling. But I am not a man to take risks, Sirius Black. I wanted to test you. And so I sent some of my followers to attack you. And lo and behold, they put you in hospital!'

Sirius noticed that Voldemort had avoided his question, so he posed it again. 'Who told you I had returned?'

'Foolish, naive, unselfish Sirius', Voldemort replied, 'sacrificing your magic for Harry Potter. Do you not know that he will be destroyed soon? I thought that you, being an intelligent man, would have realised the potential! But no matter...'

What WAS he talking about? Sirius was quickly forming a desperate plan. Why had Tonks and Eva not arrived yet?

'Where are the members of the Order? The ones you captured and had brought here a few days ago?'

'I will tell you when you tell me where the rest of your party is.' Voldemort responded.

'Never. I will not leave here until I know what happened to your captives.'

'You will not LEAVE at all', Voldemort said, sounding amused.

'If you set them free', Sirius said, sudden inspiration hitting him, 'I'll give myself up.'

'You do not seem to understand, Master Black, that you are my prisoner, and you cannot make any bargains.' Voldemort sat back down again, 'although, I do have an offer for you.'

Inspite of himself, Sirius was curious. 'What is it?'

Voldemort waved his wand, and Sirius gasped, as an image of Harry, James and Lily Potter being reunited appeared in front of him. The image changed, and Sirius saw his own brother walking down Diagon Alley. It changed again, and Sirius was staring at himself, dressed in black, hooded robes, casting spells as admiring witches and wizards looked on in amazement at the wonders he could perform. The images dissolved, and Sirius saw that Voldemort was watching him closely.

'All these things I will give you', the dark wizard said slowly, 'I will restore Harry's parents to him. I will give your brother life and freedom from my service. And I will give you your magic.'

'On what condition?' Sirius asked, mesmerised.

'On the condition that you work for me', Voldemort replied, 'it wouldn't be so bad. You would be my right hand man-just like everyone thought you were. Peter is useless and shall be disposed of soon, and I need a replacement. All I ask is that you help me gain power. I will do all that I have said, if you agree.'

Sirius thought of Harry's delight at seeing his parents again. He thought of his brother living once more-although they had never been friends, he had felt slightly protective of his little brother, who always followed everything his mother told him to do. Perhaps, if he was given a second chance, he would be a better person...

But a time would come when Voldemort would order Sirius to kill the Potters. And what then?

'Here', Voldemort said softly, 'let me show you more.'

A cloud of white light encircled Sirius, and all around him were images of dead friends returned to life, and happy. And he was there too, surrounded by glory, victorious in battle, feared and renowned. Then, he felt a burning pain at his waist, and realised that the knife was glowing white. It brought him to his senses, and he knew that Voldemort was trying to ensnare him, and trick him into saying yes. He shook his head to clear it, and saw, through the screens, the Dark Lord muttering a spell and pointing his wand at Sirius. A jet of light was heading towards him. Without thinking (for he had no time), Sirius pulled out his knife, and held it up as a shield, to deflect the spell.

The beam broke into ten strands as it bounced off the knife-but one beam went through it. It hit Sirius square in the chest. One also hit Voldemort.

Time stood still, and suddenly, everything was clear to Sirius. He saw right into Voldemort's mind, and he felt himself growing stronger.

Voldemort had been beyond the veil. He had gone there on purpose, having heard rumours of a great power that ruled there. He managed to escape, having robbed the keeper of the archway of some of his power-the body of one who had fallen through the veil (becasue Voldemort pushed him). But the keeper had his way, and instead of stealing Voldemort's body, he stole his humanity, so that the dark wizard was trasnformed hideously, and cursed with immortality.

The spell shattered, and Sirius was flung to the ground. In his hand, he no longer held a long knife, but a wand of some sort of silvery-white wood. His hand trembling, he pointed the wand at Remus. 'Libertus!' He whispered.

The cords fell from Remus' hands, feet and mouth.

And then Sirius turend to face Voldemort, who was still shaken by the effect of the spell.

'Intruders! Master! Intruders!' Peter Pettigrew came dashing into the room, but stopped dead, as he saw his master seemed to have shrunk and withered.

Tonks and Eva entered only seconds later, and Voldemort, shaking terribly, beckoned Peter towards him. Peter, like the mindless slave that he was, hurried forwards, and while Sirius was releasing Snape, Voldemort pressed the Dark Mark on Peter's arm, calling all the Death Eaters to him. Immediately, Death Eaters began to apparate from all around, whipping their wands out of their robes, preparing to duel. Bill and Oliver came hurtling in seconds later, having blasted two Death Eaters out of their way already.

'Run Sirius!' Eva ordered, stunning two Death Eaters in quick succession.

Sirius was still dumbfounded, gazing in amazement at his new wand. He looked up, and realised that Voldemort was beginning to recover.

'Stupefy!' He bellowed, with all the force he could muster, knocking Peter Pettigrew to the floor. With that, he turned on his heel and ran as fast as he could. Death Eaters got in his way, but without the aid of any magic, he shoved them violently out of his path, sprinting for the door.

'Stop, Sirius.'

To his horror, Sirius found himself slowing down, and turning around. Voldemort was pointing his wand straight at him, casting the Imperius Curse. But Sirius was too close to victory...

'No!' He bellowed, shaking the spell off. He took his frustration out on three unfortunate Death Eaters, performing a full body-lock on them. He reached the doors, wrenched them open, and dashed out. Behind him, he knew that Remus was preventing anyone from following him, and Snape was doing the same.

Sirius hurtled through the prison, his eyes darting around, trying to figure out where the central chamber was. He reached a stone staircase, and practically flew down it, almost breaking his neck in the process. He turned right, and ran on for about half a minute, then swerved left. He knew he was heading towards the centre, every bone in his body was urging him onwards...

He did not realise he was in the central chamber until he was half-way across it. For one thing, he had not expected it to be unguarded. For another thing, he had expected it to take longer to reach. But no matter. His eyes fell upon the pedestal in the centre of the room.

It was about five feet tall, and made from a smooth, black rock, with some thin veins of green and white threaded through it. In a small hollow in the centre of the pedestal sat a black ball, made from glass. It was about the size of a quaffle, and Sirius was amazed that so tiny a thing could control the evil of the Dementors. Slowly, he walked over to the pedestal, and gazed into the orb.

The orb was filled with memories of evil, pain and despair. After a second, Sirius reeled backwards, the force of these emotions almost overcoming him.

'You hardly thought I would let you walk in here and take it, did you, Black?'

Voldemort and about twenty Death Eaters had apparated around him. The followers of Lord Voldemort were holding Remus, Bill, Snape, Tonks, Eva, Oliver, Charlie, and Arthur Weasley, all of whom watched Sirius in dismay. Sirius himself felt fear and despair creeping up on him, and knew the Dementors were on their way. So he did the only thing that he could think of.

'I challenge you to a duel!' He shouted at Voldemort, 'If I win, you set my friends free and let me destroy the Dementors.'

'And if you lose', Voldemort said, narrowing his eyes, 'what then? This had better be good, Black.'

Sirius hesitated for a moment, and exchanged a glance with Remus, who shook his head slightly.

'If you win, you can kill all of them', Sirius replied softly, 'and I'll deliver Harry Potter to you.'

There was a collective gasp-even Voldemort looked surprised. 'It seems that the Potter boy will be joining us sooner than expected', he said with a smirk, 'Black, you cannot beat me. I am the most powerful wizard on earth.'

'You forget Albus Dumbledore', Sirius retorted, 'come on, Riddle! No Unforgiveable Curses, but everything else is allowed.'

'Very well, Sirius Black. Move out of the way, Wormtail, unless you want to be blasted into oblivion along with your old friend Black. Now we bow...'

Sirius bowed, gritting his teeth as he did so.

'Sirius, no!' Tonks sobbed.

'Silence!' Voldemort roared. 'Stupefy!'

Sirius dodged the jet of red light that shot from Voldemort's wand, and retaliated with a curse of his own. 'Tantallegra!' He bellowed. Voldemort nimbly skipped out of the way of Sirius' spell, and aimed two more curses that Sirius did not know, at his opponent, but missed. Sirius fired three stunners at his enemy, but Voldemort used a shielding spell to deflect them, leaving Sirius to dodge once more.

And then, suddenly, a dozen Death Eaters apparated between Voldemort and Sirius. Sirius' eyes fell on one in particular, and his jaw dropped.

Bellatrix Lestrange and her comrades, who had attacked Harry in the Department of Mysteries, were standing in the middle of the duel.

'It took some work, master', Lucius Malfoy said apologetically, 'but we managed to kill our guards.'

'We made them touch the Dark Marks', Bellatrix said, grinning in a deranged manner, 'they couldn't stand the pain.'

'Bellatrix', Voldemort said coldly, 'look behind you, and see who I am current duelling with.'

The dark-haired witch spun around, and saw Sirius. Her eyes travelled from his determined face, to the wand in his hand.

'But...'she hissed, 'but you lost your magic! I pushed you.'

'Get out of the way, Bellatrix, I'm busy with your master.' Sirius growled.

Voldemort ordered the group out of the way, and Sirius immediately aimed a body-locking curse at his enemy. Voldemort dodged it, but it hit the unprepared Lucius Malfoy straight in the chest. His limbs snapped together, and he toppled to the ground.

For some time, the duel went on, and neither wizard could gain the upper hand. Voldemort did not like to see that he couold be so easily matched. 'You know my secret, Black', he hissed, 'you know only Harry Potter is of any danger to me. So why do you bother to fight me?'

'Expelliarmus!' Sirius roared. Voldemort's wand flew out of his hand, and whacked off the opposite wall. Voldemort let out a shriek of rage, and Peter Pettigrew ran forward to give him his wand. Sirius, who was busy performing the rather complicated freezing-spell, and was entirely focused on Voldemort, failed to notice his own cousin Bellatrix reaching for her wand.

'AVADA KEDAVRA!' The insane witch screamed.

In the seconds that followed, a lot of things happened.

Remus elbowed his guard in the face, and managed to break free, although his hands were still bound. He sprinted towards Sirius, to knock him out of the way.

Voldemort pulled the wand from Wormtail's hand, but suddenly found the wand of another pointed at his throat; Snape had disarmed his Death Eater, and apparated right beside the Dark Lord.

In utter terror, the Death Eaters who had just arrived made some sort of signal, and out of the shadows (they seemed to come out of the very walls), fifty Dementors appeared.

Sirius stood transfixed, unable to move, watching his death come closer every millisecond. He was knocked violently off his feet by Remus, and the Killing Curse hit...

No. It couldn't be. Sirius pushed Remus away and staggered to his feet.

'Sirius!'

The victim of the Killing Curse turned to face Sirius Black, who could not believe his eyes.

'Harry...'

'Avada Kedavra!' Bellatrix, having seen Harry Potter appear from nowhere, take the brunt of Avada Kedavra and still able to stand up straight, tried again, this time aiming for Harry.

The curse hit Harry in the back. Sirius let out an anguished yell, as Harry lost his balance momentarily, and stumbled forwards. His godson seemed to be glowing with a strange light, and instead of looking distressed, flashed a grin at Sirius, then quickly turned around.

'Avada Kedavra!' The shout came from Harry, and it was followed by a flash of green light and a horrendous scream. Everyone watched, dumbstruck, as Voldemort was surrounded by the green light, and it began to suffocate him. He put up a hell of a fight, but Sirius knew that he was no longer a threat. Striding forwards, he grabbed the orb from its pedestal, and threw it to the ground, between Peter and Bellatrix.

The orb smashed into a million pieces, and the Dementors evaporated with an unearthly shriek. Black, acrid smoke, and dreadful sounds of torture filled the chamber. Peter and Bellatrix, along with the paralysed Lucius Malfoy and four or five other Death Eaters, were enveloped in the smoke and simply ceased to be. The remaining Death Eaters began to disapparate, left without any strength or a leader.

The foundations began to shake.

'We have to get out!' Sirius roared.

'Sirius...' Harry, who had been simply staring in disbelief at the scene around him, swayed, and Sirius caught him as he fell. Tonks, Eva, Snape, Bill, Charlie, Arthur and Oliver all raced towards the chamber door. Remus, Sirius and Harry left last. As Remus sealed the doors with a strong enchantment, Sirius saw one last huge flash of green light, and heard a hideous howl.

Lord Voldemort was gone.

They sprinted from the fortress, and had reached the shore before they realised they had no way to return to the main land.

'I'll sort it', Remus announced, 'I'll send a message to Dumbledore-on a paper aeroplane.'

While Remus busied himself with getting them home, Sirius laid Harry gently on the ground. The boy was shivering violently, and was a ghastly shade of white.

'Harry', Sirius whispered, 'how did you get here?'

'I...was dreaming....but when I....d-destroyed V-Voldemort, I woke up....here', Harry replied, his teeth chattering, 'I almost died Sirius....I thought I saw my parents for a second-'

'Shhhh', Sirius said gently, 'guess what?'

'Wh-what?' Harry opened his eyes a fraction, and looked at his godfather.

'I got my magic back', Sirius replied, 'because your Mum advised me what to do beyond the veil, and my choice made me the anti-Voldemort, I guess. And guess what else?'

'Mmm.' Harry was losing consciousness.

'Remus is going to be teaching you Defence Against the Dark Arts next term!'

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

That's it-there will be one more chapter, describing exactly what happened with the whole Harry appearing , Voldemort vanishing thing, plus telling you what happens to them all afterwards. please review, I wanna know what u think!