Hi. Its me, MagicalMuggle, author of this fic. I just want to say thank you for reading what I have done. This is my first time really writing something like this so its an honor to be read even by just one reader, more so now that more than one person read this fic (thank God!). Thanks for the reviews, too. The compliments are very much appreciated.

About the longer chapters plea from many, I'm sorry. I am just not a fan of long chapters full of slow paced events. It, for me anyway, discourages me from reading something. Well, this chapter, the eleventh one, is the longest I've done so there you go. Its not super long but it reveals a lot of key things.

And also, I've noticed that some of you have the notion that Voldemort is back. Voldemort is dead from the beginning of this fic and will remain dead. Crouch just used Flesh Blood and Bone to return and regain a body okay? I mean Crouch was supposed to be kissed by the Dementors on Harry's fourth year but his soul wasn't sucked, as will be explained in this chapter. He survived but regained strength and a body through Flesh Blood and Bone, just like what happened to Voldemort in GOF. Hope thats clear. Sorry if you misunderstood this whole thing. I mean, its my first time writing. Well, here goes Chapter eleven.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

LUCIUS EXPLAINS AGAIN

Harry woke up into the Christmas morning. Another bed across the room supported Ron's sleeping body while Hedwig swooped in from the window, returning from her nighttime hunt. Harry removed the red blanket that covered him and sat up. The dawn's sunlight was creeping through the silken draperies that hung on the magnificent windows. At the foot of his bed laid a mound of presents, as much as Ron's own pile.

Harry quickly rummaged through the gifts, feeling a cheerfulness that he had recently scarcely felt. After what he did to Malfoy and the totality of the misfortunes that had come his way, being happy was a rare treat. He opened the present form Hermione, revealing a brand new suitcase with a charmed lock. Mrs. Weasley gave him a five-hundred galleon shopping spree from Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. Mr. Weasley gave him an embossed Parker pen, with a note attached to it saying:

Happy Holidays! I found these pents or pens- whatever they are called, from a Muggle shop. Fascinating really. A bit expensive for a bunch of sticks.

Harry found himself smiling at the note. Now setting aside the box of pens, he scooped up the twin's gift. They gave him a dragon scale jacket that glimmered in the dark and a box full of their new creation: Croaking Cocoas, their version of the regular Chocolate Frogs. Harry then spotted a letter at the bottom of the pile of gifts. Harry went to get it and started to open the seal. He unfurled the piece or parchment and was exposed to a very familiar handwriting:

Harry Potter,

Ah, I bet that little note I sent before, the one about Sirius Black being alive, caused quite a stir inside your head, didn't it? I guess you are off to try and rescue him then. Well, I can help you since I myself escaped from the veil just fine. I guess that Magda already told you about the methods of my return. I assure you, they are true.

You might find the way of my return to be unoriginal, for that was the exact same method the Dark Lord used ten years ago. I assure you, I have no intentions of following in his footsteps, especially after showing me how weak he was against you when you defeated him. No, I will never be a failure such as him.

Well, until we meet, which I still am sure we will,

B. Crouch Jr.

Harry just sat there, open mouthed, as he reread the letter. The Christmas spirit in him suddenly evaporated, replaced by the same blue feeling he had the whole month of December.

When Ron woke up at around ten in the morning, he found Harry already out of his bedclothes and in a new sweater which was a gift from Cho. The sun was already relatively high then, with snow pouring out of the sky.

"What is the matter, mate?" asked Ron while he stood from his bed, obviously puzzled by Harry's frowning expression.

"Oh,…" replied Harry, lost in thought on Crouch's letter. "well, there is something actually. It's about…"

Harry wasn't able to finish his last sentence for Mrs. Weasley suddenly went into the room and hugged both Ron and Harry.

"Merry Christmas, the both of you" said Mrs. Weasley cheerily, wearing a red and green dress that made her look like a Christmas tree. She hugged both of them tightly and kissed them lightly on the cheek. "Well, quickly now, after you've changed Ron, have breakfast together with the rest of the family, okay? We'll be having some visitors so dress decently Ronald. Harry dear, come with me downstairs now. Ron will catch up later as soon as he is done."

Harry followed suit. He went out of the door towards a long hall lined with family portraits, occasionally greeting him along the way. He went down the majestic staircase and went into the dining room. The room was decorated lavishly with singing elves and candy canes. Everything was perfectly prepared, even the rest of the Weasley's were whistling Christmas tunes in the air. The visitors Mrs. Weasley talked about were Lupin and Professor McGonagall and they both were high with Christmas cheer. This though, failed to cheer Harry up. He went to his usual spot around the table and sat down, getting some eggs and toast.

As he munched on his breakfast, Harry thought of what he was to do next. Just days ago, he placed Malfoy under the Imperious curse, granting him complete control over him. Harry instructed Malfoy, unable to think and act for himself as he is under a spell, to lay low for the next couple of days and to stay at the Divination room back at Hogwarts so his locations will be known. Tomorrow, first thing in the morning, Harry will go to Hogwarts and then instruct Draco to go see his father in Azkaban. Having a plan formed made Harry feel better in a way. With that, he finished the rest of his toast and joined in the merrymaking, knowing that today might be the only day he could be joyous.

The next day arrived with Harry waking up from a short sleep. He had a hard time falling asleep the night before due to the pressure of what he must do this day. He woke up and ate quickly and before long, disapparated and apparated at Hogwarts's train station, the one students arrive to from platform 9 ¾.

He then went his way up towards the castle, passing through the Black Lake, rippling along the Forbidden Forest. He sped through Hogwarts's handsome doors and went inside. He again went towards the North Tower, pass the spiraling staircase and the trapdoor and into the Divination Classroom. He entered the living quarters of Draco and saw him eating breakfast. Without further words, Harry concentrated, letting his mind enter Draco's, and soon, they were going towards the fireplace of the Divination classroom. Draco stepped into the hearth and grabbed some Floo Powder. The next moment, he was consumed by emerald flames. Harry did the same and was transported to the fires of the Ministry of Magic.

"Now, Draco, we go to Azkaban." said Harry as they stepped out of the ministry fireplace. The building was empty since everyone was having their holiday vacation. They stepped forward towards the dark hall, lined with fireplaces that were unlit except the one that they entered from. The tall windows were covered with curtains that permitted only little light.

A man was there just before the Azkaban gates. He was of course still on duty though it was clearly a time for vacations. Harry, seeing this, seemed determined to not let a single guard get in his way after going through a lot to get Draco here. Feeling guilty with what he was about to do, he crept towards the guard, hiding behind a table to avoid being recognized, raised his wand and said "Stupefy!"

The guard went limp and fell on the floor. Harry then came out of his hiding place and walked towards the big iron gates of Azkaban Prison. Harry then instructed Draco to assist him in opening the iron gates and then as they did, the sweeping coldness of Azkaban swallowed them.

Harry and Draco walked towards the dungeon-like hall of Azkaban, leaving the gates open behind them. They passed torches mounted onto the stone walls as they continued into the dim hall. Occasionally, a Dementor would show itself, sending chills unto their spines. They saw the many cells containing the criminals, all pale looking within ripped clothing, staring into the darkness. Of course, in their way, they saw familiar Death Eaters, still in their own cells, dead looking and limp. At last, they reached the cell of Lucius Malfoy.

"Son!" a voice broke into the silence. Lucius jumped towards the cell bars to get closer to Draco. "What… how…"

"Now then" said Harry as Draco stood beside him. "you will give me what I need. Your son is under the Imperious Curse and now," Harry lifted his wand and flicked his wrist. "…I shall release him from it."

Lucius looked at Harry reproachfully. Apparently the idea of his son being under an Unforgivable Curse was not good. It was as if it was only now that it dawned on him how horrible it was to put someone under Unforgivable Curses when in the past, he has done so to many others.

"That is… fine" Lucius replied to Harry. He then looked at Draco. "son, what have you been doing all these years? How is you mother?"

"Dad..." Draco was lost for words. He looked first at Harry with anger in his eyes for dragging him against his will to this place. "Dad, well, mom is…"

"Yes?" asked Lucius.

"She left us." said Draco in a sad note, "she left me."

This news was not at all what Lucius wanted to hear. "What? Why?"

"When you were sent here, the family fortune decreased until it was all spent." said Draco. "When mom realized this, she left us."

"I see." Said Lucius in an anguished expression for being fooled for so long that what drove his wife to marry him was not for the money. "What about you, Draco. How have you managed to live without the family fortune?"

"Well, Dumbledore hired me as teacher. As professor, I get to live at Hogwarts and receive salary." Said Draco quickly as if it was embarrassing to say what he just did.

"Its not your fault, my son. It was someone else's" said Lucius menacingly, looking at Harry as he did. Harry got the message. He was responsible for putting Lucius and many others in prison that night during his fifth year. Because of him, the Malfoy fortune was reduced to nothing. Because of him, Lucius' wife left them and Draco had to work for Dumbledore.

"So." said Harry suddenly. He was determined to cut their conversation short. He wanted them to have as less time to together as possible because he felt that since Lucius was a Death Eater, in some way, he contributed to his parents' death. It was partially Lucius' fault why he had so little time with his parents. With this, he wanted Draco to have less time with his father. "my end of the deal is done"

"Yes." said Lucius in defeat. "What do you want to know?"

"Wait" said Harry, looking at Draco then at his father. Lucius, taking the hint then said "Son, you can return now to the Ministry. Harry and I need to talk alone."

Draco, though he didn't want to, started going back towards the iron gates.

"What was Crouch's purpose of joining the Death Eaters if he wasn't faithful to the Dark Lord, as you said before?" asked Harry as soon as he was sure Draco was out of earshot.

"He never was a faithful servant. He was there to learn from the Dark Lord."

"Learn?" replied Harry.

"You see, like the Dark Lord, Crouch wanted power. He wanted to be as powerful, if not more powerful, as the Dark Lord."

Harry looked confused. Lucius continued.

"Crouch saw the Dark Lord as some sort of an idol, an ideal for him. What he wanted was to know much from the Dark Lord and be like him. Think of it as how your friends back then wanted to be like the Weird Sisters. The Dark Lord would disapprove, of course, on this but Crouch closed his mind from the Dark Lord's power, preventing his motives from being discovered."

Harry was lost, completely stunned with what he just heard. He stared at Malfoy, open mouthed, as he listened to every word.

"When the Dark Lord was defeated, he was disappointed. The one he looked up to the most was dead." continued Malfoy. "He began to think that the Dark Lord was weak to lose. He…."

"Wait wait wait…" said Harry. "Crouch was supposed to have been kissed by the Dementors years before Voldemort was defeated."

"Don't dare say the Dark Lord's name!" said Lucius loudly. Breathing deep, he continued. "Well, Dementors are evil creatures in nature. They are easily swayed by the Dark Lord. To the Dementors, what the Dark Lord offers was more tempting to what the Ministry offers. When the dementor was about to perform the kiss on Crouch, he made a deal with it. A deal that gives the dementor the pleasure of kissing him but restricting it from sucking his soul. Crouch was reduced to something of the Dark Lord's state, remember, the one before the Dark Lord regained a body? Crouch was somewhat bordering on the physical world. He was trapped though, in this world or… or some sort of dimension of the Dementors."

"Dementors have a home by themselves?" asked Harry.

"Yes. I haven't been there of course. The only way for a human to go there is through the kiss of a dementor or by entering the veil in the Department of Mysteries. There is supposedly no return but in Crouch's case, he found a way to escape from there."

Harry froze. Sirius…. Sirius has been trapped in the realm of the Dementors for almost ten years now.

END OF CHAPTER ELEVEN