Rain of Awakening
A pestering voice was attempting to wake Sirius up. It reminded him of his agenda for that day. He was to check on Peter; make sure he was safe and well settled in hiding.
He attempted to pull the covers away, but found it difficult, as though his fingers weren't working properly. Then it accured to him that he had slept as a dog. But why had he done that…? Sirius forced his eyes open, only to find himself surrounded by the wall of Azkaban.
The shaggy dog's ear dropped in depression. For a few moments he had forgotten the wizarding prison. For a solitary moment he thought that he was merely going to check up on an old friend... But now he was plotting against Pettigrew. He was no friend, but an enemy—a rival.
He had the best sleep that night than in 12 years. It was a wonderful, dreamless, thoughtless sleep. It was as though he was merely trapped behind walls and the dementors were random bystanders.
Down the halls several doors could be heard creaking open. Sirius glanced out the window. The sun was rising. The dementors were bringing meals.
Normally Sirius was awoken by a thin but bright stream of sunlight that seeped through the window. He was very fond of this beam of light. It would wake him just before the dementors came. It was as though something in the universe cared enough to wake him before the eerie feeling of a dementor's presence did.
The door creaked open, and with it came a feeling of panic. How would the dementor react to a dog? Would it react all? Perhaps it would merely overlook him…
The dementor looked rather confused, as though trying to suck something out of the air but failing to do so. Sirius didn't dare move from his shadowy corner and began to wonder how long he could hold his breath.
Very slowly, the dementor turned away from the room and glided into the hall, unfortunately taking the meal with it. Sirius allowed himself to breathe again and nearly laughed in relief. He now knew that the dementors can't feel a dog's presence. Now all he had to do was find a way to use this information. The cell door only opened three times a day, and that was for meals.
He would wait until night. Somehow this seemed more reasonable than day, even though the dementors could not see. The only aspect that seemed important to plan was getting safely past the dementors. He didn't care about what he should do next. He began to plan…
Should he move swiftly or stealthily? Dart past them or sneak? It would be less nerve-raking just to charge past them, but more dangerous. He wanted to spend as little time as possible getting past them, but it would be difficult. It would be safer to walk slowly. His mind was set on that.
Heavy fog was forming around the fortress. Sirius saw this as neither an advantage nor disadvantage; merely something to take note of. He was waiting for the sun to set—that was when the dementors would come.
A few hours ago this seemed to be the perfect plan; escaping Azkaban, saving his godson… but his common sense was now hitting him hard. Not one man had ever escaped from Azkaban, and his plan was to sneak past them without any trouble. The idea was becoming more ridiculous by the second…
Something behind him clicked, causing the dog's head to turn. The door knob—it was turning. The dog's ears dropped, and he backed slowly into the shadowy corner. The dementor's hand appeared at the edge of the door, pushing it open. The reaction was the same as before; confusion.
The dementor drifted further into the room. Sirius only wished he could back into and through the wall behind him. He sunk into the floor; the dementor only seemed to be growing large and more intimidating.
Then it stopped, and began to turn. No! — Whether it was intentional or not he did not know. All he was aware of was his back legs springing from the floor, hurtling his entire body towards the doorway…
The dog's tail whipped hard against the dementor. Sirius knew immediately that the dementor felt his presence. Everything was turning black, to the point where he couldn't see more than five feet in front of him. He did not stop, however. He wasn't waiting for the dementor to find him. The dog ran, sprinting down the prison hall.
Sirius hadn't run in years, and it didn't take long before he grew tired. Panting heavily, he bounded around a corner. A barred gateway was blocking the way out of the fortress. The dog didn't dare slow his pace in concern for it. Closing his eyes, Sirius brushed through the bars, painfully squeezing his ribs as he did so. He had done it.
The first thing he had noticed was the rain pelting down on his fur. Twelve years… It was cold and muddy, but to Sirius it was a sign of freedom. It was almost welcoming. All the moister cleared his mind, though he couldn't see far through the fog. Sirius continued to run, sending puddles of mud flying in every direction.
A gigantic canvass of black came into view. Sirius bounded senselessly towards it. The substance was rippling, giving off a thunders roar. The land started tilting downward, until the dog couldn't control his footing.
It was then that Sirius realized what the black substance was. It was the sea. The land was tilting more and more towards the sea. The giant black dog transformed back into himself, grasping hopelessly at the ground for balance. The mud was caring him down, until there was no more land. He was falling… down… down…
His back hit the water with a painful crack from the sea. The cold water engulfed him—he was blinded. The noise was painful to his ears. He broke his head through to the surface, and the appreciation of rain quickly dismantled. The sea was determinedly attempting to bring him back underwater, and the rain was making it hard to grasp any breath.
Sirius looked up from where he had fallen. There was no hope of climbing back up to the fortes. He transformed back into a shaggy dog, beginning a difficult journey to save his godson.
