DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, he belongs to J.K Rowling and if you are reading this and think any different then St. Mungo's should be your next port of call.

Chapter 2: Fortunes Linked

3rd September 1995

It was cold, so permanently cold. Not the kind of coldness that you would put on another jumper to stave off but the kind of cold that chills you right to the core. A cold that is never ending and makes you feel like any happy emotions you ever felt were alien. No, this was not the weather; it was the one of the effects of the Dementors of Azkaban. Foul creatures that when close brought up a person's worst memories, drained people of all happy emotion and made them feel cold to the very being of their existence. Some peoples experiences were worse than others were and as such the Dementors affected them more than others. Unfortunately for Harry Potter, the newest resident to Azkaban's High Security Wing, he suffered from the worst memories out of anyone in the prison.

It had been a month since Harry Potter, The-Boy-Who-Lived, fallen hero of the Wizarding World had been sent to Azkaban for the murder of Cedric Diggory. A month where he constantly heard the worst memories of his life replayed over and over again in a never-ending loop.

His Mothers Screams,

Voldemort's Laughing,

A Flash of Green Light,

The Basilisk,

Cedric Dying,

Voldemort's Re-Birth.

The only break Harry got was from unconsciousness or sleep and that was haunted with nightmares of Muggle killings and the planning's of Lord Voldemort. Being incarcerated in Azkaban had widened his link to Voldemort and had brought about Harry being in Voldemort's mind when he was asleep.

Sitting on the floor of his cell, which ironically was also Sirius's home for twelve years, Harry tried to clear his mind of the dull memories the Dementors brought up. At the moment the Dementors were not so near, so Harry's thoughts were relatively clear though it was becoming harder to stay focused with each day. Not that helped him one bit. His mind was in constant turmoil about his best friends' betrayal. He was sure that the only thing that kept him sane was the thought that Sirius, Remus and the Twins believed in his innocence and for that he would forever be in their debt. He thought about the people that had turned their backs on him and while he was angry, he could understand to an extent but for Ron and Hermione, the looks on their faces were unforgivable.

The thought Harry held onto though, desperately, as if his sanity depended on it that, was the promise that Sirius made to rescue him. He held on to that hope as he knew that he wouldn't last much longer. This place was making him question his self more and more each day and the Voldemort connection when he slept was just driving him insane quicker. His respect of Sirius had rose ten fold. Even though Sirius had told him that his Animagus form helped and the fact that his memories weren't half as bad as Harry's plus Sirius didn't have any Voldemort connection meant that it wasn't the same. But anyone to Harry who managed to keep his or her sanity after twelve years in the same cell with no one to talk to and had the power to escape was a person stronger than Harry could ever be.

Screams echoed throughout Harry's head signalling the return of the Dementors. Curling up into a ball, threadbare clothes giving no protection to the cold and certainly no chocolate on hand to relieve the effects, no wand for the Patronus, all Harry could was repeat the same thought in his head. "I'm innocent, Sirius is coming, I'm innocent, Sirius is coming." Curling tighter into the foetal position, Harry tried to block the thoughts in his head to no avail and soon he slipped into the haunted world of unconsciousness not knowing how much longer he could stand.

*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/

Fred and George Weasley were past livid. After being revived at Auror Headquarters, a task that took much more effort in the case of Fred, instead of being apologised too, the pair were treated like common criminals. Aurors trying to get information on the whereabouts of Sirius Black interviewed them together and separately. Not only that but they had been told that they could be prosecuted if they didn't tell the Aurors everything they knew. They had been frisked and searched but the only thing found on their possession was the Marauders Map but no matter what the Aurors did or said the map didn't reveal anything and in the end they gave it back. In all it was a terrible night for the pair who vowed that the first time they saw their brother, no matter where he was, he was going to pay for betraying Harry.

The Twins had tried telling the Aurors that Harry would never do a thing like that and that he had been framed but they were just laughed at and taken back to Hogwarts where they would be keeping an eye on them. Dumbledore had been notified of their being off school grounds and their meeting with Sirius. The twins didn't know what to expect from Dumbledore but not for him to seem happy. He told the twins that no matter what he tried, he couldn't get Harry off, the lies were just too convincing. He also told them that in future if they did anything to not get caught and if anyone asked, they were one step away from being expelled.

This just strengthened the twins resolve for justice and the pair headed back into the common room determined to do anything they could to help Sirius, prove Harry's innocence and to free Lupin. The problem was they didn't know where too start. Luckily as soon as they entered the Gryffindor common room they knew exactly where too start.

The common room went silent at their entrance and the pair started to stride their way over to Ron who had noticed the entrance of the twins and immeadiatly begun to rise to meet his brothers holding his hands where the twins could see them. It didn't matter one bit.

"Repundo" Fred and George both shouted whipping their wands violently watching as the purple beams of light struck Ron before he had a chance to move.

Ron flew backward twenty-foot and slammed into the hard stone wall with a loud bang and fell to the floor. Ron managed to wobble to his feet but not for long.

"Blasot" Fred shouted and watched with satisfaction as Ron flew back into the same wall and fell again, this time unconscious. George had his wand trained on Hermione who immeadiatly rose to Ron's defence. She had her wand out pointing it in the face of Fred who just looked at her calmly.

"Leave him alone. What have you just done? He's your brother. If you don't stop I'm going to get McGonagall." Hermione shouted in what sounded to the twins like a whining annoying voice.

"Well Hermione-" George started.

"-It seems like our little brother here-" Fred continued.

"-Has some explaining to do-"

"-And you can guarantee that we won't leave him alone-"

"-Until we get some answers-" George finished seriously.

Fred picked Ron off the floor and threw him into an armchair before muttering "Enervate".

Ron awoke and gaining his bearings he took one look at the twins before his hand went for his wand and he started to rise from the chair. Unfortunately for Ron, the twins had expected something like his and within ten seconds Ron was wandless and bound to the chair.

At this point a couple of the seven or eight Gryffindors left in the common room looked like they were about to ask what in hell was happening but Fred and George didn't care. They decided that an audience was not required.

"We don't mean to be bothers but this is family business so if you could go to your dorms. Thanks." George said, his voice solemn and this alone shocked most of the Gryffindors in the common room, as they had never heard such a tone from the pranksters supreme.

Most people respected the twins' wishes and started to leave and Lee Jordan who the twins gave a grim smile too pushed out the couple of sixth year boys that looked on the verge of protesting.

Now that everyone had left the common room, the temperature seemed to have dropped by ten degrees and the tension was so thick you could have cut it with a knife. The twins stood over the bound Ron who had also been silenced so the twins wouldn't have to hear his whinging.

The twins turned to Hermione who was stood with her wand pointing straight at both of them though her hand was shaking ever so slightly.

"Would you too care to tell me what the hell is going on here." Hermione shouted at the pair.

The twins who hearing the volume of her voice decided that they would cast a silencing dome over the room and before Hermione could raise her wand the twins had muttered a long incantation. With a bright yellow flash the dome was in place.

"What the hell going on is this Hermoninny. Our dearest Ronnikins here decided to sell his own brothers out to Aurors. We were then threatened for hours at Ministry Headquarters and were then told that people would be were watching us and our every move." Fred told Hermione who looked shocked.

"Why did he sell you out?" Hermione asked as she had an inkling of what the answer may be and didn't like the way Fred and George were reacting too it one bit. Here face must have betrayed some of what she was feeling as George answered her question for her.

"Hermione, me and Fred here aren't stupid. We know that you knew Ron was going to tag along to our meeting with Sirius and Remus. You knew that we were discussing Harry. So don't play dumb with us." George bellowed at Hermione who was starting to get angry. The pair were right in their assumption that Ron was too stupid to have done this all by himself though.

"You want to know why we tipped off the Aurors, it was because it couldn't happen. You have to accept that. There was no chance that we could let you two, Sirius and Remus attempt to rescue Harry. All he is, is a murderer that deserves to rot in Azkaban. I'm glad that it all got stopped and I would do it again. Now let Ron go!" Hermione shouted wand twitching in her hand as she was prepared to use force if necessary but one look from Fred and George made her back down.

Hermione was by now on the edge of hysterics seeing the predicament Ron was in. He was fighting his bonds to no avail. The twins at her statement grew maniacal grins on their faces as they surveyed Hermione who definitely looked scared at the change in their demeanour.

"Hermoninny, Hermoninny, never wrong Hermoninny" George spoke in slow tones, mocking Hermione slowly watching how she got more angry.

"This time you are though. You don't think twenty Aurors could have stopped Sirius Black from rescuing his Godson, do you?" Fred rhetorically asked as horror drew on Hermoine's face as she realised what he was implying.

"Oh no, he got away but Remus was caught and you two will pay for what you did, he was your best friend and you betrayed him. You two of all people should know that Harry would never kill." George told Hermione in a low dangerous tone.

Hermione raised her wand but the curse never escaped her lips.

"Expelliarmus!" Both twins shouted at the same time. Due to the close proximity to the pair, Hermione never stood a chance and the curse hit her sending her to the floor and her wand to the twins before she could react.

The pair then summoning another armchair from across the room proceeded to do exactly to Hermione what they had done to their brother just moments before. Making sure that each chair was side by side, the pair cancelled the silencing spell on Ron who took the opportunity to vent his feelings on the matter.

"YOU TWO WILL PAY FOR THIS! YOUR JUST AS BAD AS HIM NOW, I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU DID THIS TO YOUR OWN BROTHER. I WAS TRYING TO PROTECT YOU."

The twins, hearing this outburst were shaking with suppressed rage, as they coldly looked over their brother and Hermione who was now whimpering softly.

"You see Ron, you're wrong there, you did this to us. You weren't trying to protect us, you were trying to condemn Harry and that is one thing that we can't let happen." George said in a low tone that sounded very threatening.

"What are you going two going to do, your just students, pitiful seventh years, there is no way that you can save Harry and Sirius will be caught soon enough." Ron spoke with pure hatred lacing his smug tone.

"We don't care, we'd rather die than give up on Harry. He's a true brother to us, like we thought you once were. We hoped you would help but we now see the error of bringing you along and because of us Remus Lupin is probably being tortured as we speak." Fred said sadly, looking straight at a person that they used to call their brother.

"Let us go and we won't tell. We'll act like nothing ever happened." Hermione spoke up as she saw the futility of struggling against the bonds and knew that her and Ron were going nowhere. Fred and George looked at her as if she was the lowest of the low and the disgust in George's tone of voice summed everything up.

"Presumptuous aren't we Hermione. We said that we couldn't help Sirius or Harry but Remus is a different matter altogether. You see as me and Fred sat there in our "cell" we did some thinking and decided that we would do everything to free Remus, everything." George said, steely determination in his gaze.

"Why? You barely know him." Hermione asked struggling to find logic.

"Why? Why? You're pathetic, the pair of you. It was us that put Remus there, don't you see. If we had never been so blind to see that Ron was planning something, he wouldn't be in this mess, facing Azkaban. It's our duty and we owe Harry, more than you ever know." Fred said anger seeping into his voice, wand twitching.

"Owe Harry, what for? That murderer has never done anything for you and your risking your life for him. You two have finally lost it. I've said for years that you were mental." Ron laughed scornfully at his brothers who couldn't take any more.

"Traverso!"

"Nenficus!"

The Strike Spell and the Punching Spell struck Ron making him shout and shriek in pain but due to the dome, no one apart from the twins and Hermione heard him.

"Now Ron, I wouldn't say anymore. Anyway we best be off, we have a friend to save." George said before continuing. "But first we have to make sure you don't get the chance to spoil this plan." At the fearful looks on Fred and George's face, Ron and Hermione struggled even more in the bonds but it weren't to be.

"Stupefy!" Both twins said, watching as Ron and Hermione both slumped against their bonds that still held tight.

The twins then set into action quickly. George levitated the bodies of his brother and Hermione up the stairs until he came to the unused Head Boy and Girl Suites as the Head Boy and Girl were both from Ravenclaw. Entering the room he dropped the pair on the bed then quickly muttering incantations put locking spells on the windows and a silencing charm over the whole room. Taking a deep breath due to the amount of magic he had just cast in a short space of time, he exited the room and locked the door with a complicated locking charm and made his way back to the common room to await the return of his brother.

Fred came down a minute later, a grim smile on his face as he saw his brother waiting nervous to get going and at the prospect of breaking somebody out of Ministry Custody. Glancing at the clock he saw that it was gone 3:00am, he started speaking to his brother.

"Lee is fine with it, he said he'll make sure no one blabs about the incident down here and that he'll make sure no one notices or finds Ron and Hermione till we're back." Fred told his brother. "I also managed to get Harry's Invisibility Cloak without any trouble, I'm sure he won't mid us borrowing it." He finished looking at his brother who mirrored the same determined look he had on his face.

"Floo Powder?" George asked.

"Of course dear brother, after you." Fred handed his brother the Floo Powder.

George made his way to the fireplace and with a sparkling of Floo Powder, he stepped into the fireplace with a muttered location and was gone.

Fred picked up the bag and sprinkled some more Floo Powder into the fire. Fred put the bag of Floo Powder back in his cloak pocket and with a muttered "finite" to end the silencing dome; he took a deep breath and stepped into the fire.

"Ministry of Magic" Fred spoke clearing and his last thought before he was engulfed in green flames was "Remus here we come."

*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/

Sirius Black was getting closer to Azkaban by the minute and still he had no plan. The plan that he had proposed with Remus needed two people and now Remus was gone he knew of no other to take his place. More than once he had stopped in his Animagus form and thought about going to the Ministry of Magic to rescue Remus but he knew it was too risky and he also knew that Remus could handle himself and that Dumbledore would have him out in no time.

It was about 4:00am when Sirius finally reached the shores of Azkaban. Just seeing his home for twelve years made Sirius want to turn and run but he knew that while Harry was in there he would never do that. No, he would free his Godson even if it killed him.

When he thought about Harry and the way his friends and Order members had treated him when he got arrested filled him up with rage. The people turned on him straight away believing him to be guilty without question. Everyone apart from Remus, Dumbledore, who had done all he could yet even that was not enough and the Weasley twins who when this was over would be receiving a sizeable chunk from his Gringotts account. They had stayed loyal to Harry when the rest of his family turned their backs on him and they even sacrificed themselves to the Aurors so Sirius could get away and for that he was eternally grateful.

Sirius backed away from the shores and into the forest he had just came out of. Transforming himself back to his human appearance, he conjured a sleeping bag, Sirius lay down thinking how he was going to break in to the fortress that was Azkaban. Muttering incantation after incantation, Sirius set up as many wards as knew around himself and the surrounding area knowing he had got this far and wasn't about to be captured now.

Sirius lay deep in thought about how he was going to get Harry out. He knew that there were only five or six guards on Azkaban and they were only members of the Law Enforcement Agency not Aurors so they wouldn't be a problem if he didn't slip up. The Dementors would be a problem but Sirius was sure he would be able to avoid them as he had become pretty used to the schedule of patrol that they did as he had twelve years experience of it. He also was quite confident that the Ministry had placed Harry in the high security wing with the rest of the lifers. What Sirius worried about was how he was going to enter undetected, not raise an alarm while in there, then get out safely.

In the end, after hours thinking, Sirius decided tomorrow that he would stake out the shore to see if any boats were entering or leaving Azkaban. Then he would hijack it, get to the shores of Azkaban, get Harry, and then leave on the boat, get to the forest where Sirius would Portkey them both to Grimmauld Place, his old family home, now Headquarters of the Order of the Pheonix. Once there they would work on convincing Fudge of Harry's innocence.

As he was settling down to some much needed sleep, Sirius thought, "if only it could be that easy" knowing full well that nothing ever went to plan.

God did he know how right he was in that assumption.

*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/

In a dingy, dilapidated manor house in Little Hangleton, a group of people had congregated in the old Riddle Manor. These weren't normal people like you and me though. They were Death Eaters. Followers of the newly resurrected Lord Voldemort, greatest Dark Lord in a century and Heir of Slytherin. People who got their kicks from torturing and killing people, Muggles especially. All the Death Eaters had been summoned to a meeting by Lord Voldemort, who was at present sitting in a grand looking throne, surveying his Death Eaters who were all on knees in a show of respect to their Master.

"Tomorrow my faithful, we shall show the Wizarding World that we have returned. Tomorrow I will finally kill Harry Potter and with that the hope of the Wizarding World." Voldemort told his followers, his voice hissing while his blood red eyes remained intense.

"Master, isn't it too soon, you have not recovered yet?" One Death Eater asked and by the look on Lord Voldemort's face, he immeadiatly regretted his concern.

"Perhaps Nott, you have forgotten how to speak properly to your Master. I think a lesson is what you need. Crucio!" Voldemort lazily said as he watched Nott screaming on the floor. After a minute or so Voldemort relented.

"At nightfall tomorrow we shall go to Azkaban, release our comrades that have been held for so long and finally finish Potter off for good. Everyone understand." Voldemort said and was met this time with no resistance from the group.

"Dismissed," Voldemort said silkily as all his Death Eaters vanished into thin air.

Sitting on his throne Voldemort couldn't wait until Harry Potter, The-Boy-Who-Lived was finally dead and unable to be a thorn in his side. Then all that was left between him and domination was that Mudblood loving fool Dumbledore. The Ministry was rotten to the core and will easily fall to Lord Voldemort. No, once Dumbledore was gone then the world will hail Lord Voldemort as their ruler and all shall bow.

An evil grin appeared on his face as he thought of those that might oppose him and the pleasure he would get from torturing them. Lord Voldemort was back and the world was certainly going to know about it.

AN

Here's the next instalment, hope you enjoy it! This story is now going to be slightly longer, due to a new plot line I just had to incorporate.

I have gone back and edited the first chapter to make it easier to read but no need to re-read it. One part I did add though was when Harry saw the reactions of everyone; the twins gave a smile and shouted he was innocent.

Did any of you know that after every spell in the books, which isn't many, there's an exclamation mark, at least I think? I just thought it was interesting as few fanfic writers ever put them after their own spells.

The next chapter for YHSR will be out Monday for those interested.

kateydidnt: Yes he did summon the Aurors, I went back and made it a bit clearer to read. Thanks for the review.

Rachegrint: Yeah it's a bit rushed but I have gone back and beta'd it slightly so hopefully it should be more readable. About blurting it out, this is only a short story and will unfortunately not go the way you planned; it will be explosive I can guarantee.

ShadowBlade: I hate Ron too and would love to kill him but I can't justify it in this story or my other, just humiliate and beat him.

Remo Con: I second motion 3 *evil laughter* but the above answer should explain.

Jeanne2: Thanks, that is the best compliment I've ever received. I seriously doubt my writing skills is that good but you're the boss and who am I to argue? YHSR is still my main priority by far, this will be a violent explosive short story and will be finished before YHSR comes to a conclusion so don't worry, and my time will only be split for a little while.

Mr. Happy Java Man: Yeah, those stories are my favourite at the moment. Have heard great things about Faith but truthfully I don't like reading slash. In fact the only slash story I am reading is Turn Back Time by Sstar Luna and that is a good read. Might just check Faith out actually. Cheers for the tip.

Didge: There my favourites too, they are great aren't they, especially Sirius who rocks.

Midknight(): Thanks for the compliments mate but I'm still nowhere near your league of writing, I'm still trying to develop my H/T story so its not as shallow and linear as my two existing stories but I'm struggling.

Thanks to you all, big chapter next, can't wait to write it.

Cheers

Halstead