Hey everyone, sorry for the LONG wait. There was no excuse.

Chapter 15: Dementors and Hidden Voldy's

"Harry?" Hermionie's anxious voice seemed so far away. Her hand was clenched onto his as if he was her only hold on life. Harry stared around, opening his eyes as wide as the would go but still he could see nothing. It was if he was blind. "What's going on?"

"I can't see." Ron whispered, his voice rising to a high pitch in fear. Harry took a deep breath and steeped forward, finding solid ground beneath his feet. If Ron couldn't see then the only logical explanation was that none of them could.

"Whoa! Who touched me there?" James suddenly said angrily. Ginny giggled.

"Sorry Har…I mean, James." She said. Harry could almost see her face turning red. Suddenly, a flash of light illuminated everything around them and for a second Harry could see before all went dark and thunder rolled around them.

He'd seen a rocky island…an outcropping of some kind and a castle in the distance. They were standing in a small copse of trees and rocks, all dead and withered. Near the castle, a twister ripped across the barren ground and high waves lapped a black beach nearby.

Taking one cautious step after another, Harry led the group across the loose ground and into the thick of the trees. Pain shot through his face as a bolt of lightning streaked through the sky, illuminating the dead tree he'd just ran into.

Going around the tree, the darkness suddenly lifted and Harry stopped. He'd come out of the shadow of the dead and now stood on an open plain, overlooking Azkaban fortress. Taking a deep breath, he turned and was shocked to see the others groping blindly, waiting for him to move on.

When he'd pulled them all into the vision again, Ron looked back the way they had come, confused. "It must be a last defense." He said, holding his hand out and feeling around. Harry ignored him and turned back to the castle which looked dark, ominous and deadly. He didn't want to proceed but he couldn't go back.

Taking a step, he was about to move forward when Hermionie threw out a hand and stopped him. "Wait." She said, her eyes on the windows. "Anyone could be watching." Looking down at her body she sighed. "My disillusionment charms don't last as long as they should and I doubt they'll work very well here. I'll make us invisible, incase anyone's watching."

Moving around, she tapped each of them on the head and they became invisible. Harry led the way across the barren landscape, bypassing large boulders or skulls in their path. The tornado was difficult, it picked up their clothing, ruffled their hair and almost pulled them off their feet but they managed by it, entering the shade of the castle.

Harry felt his heart rate speeding up and the clammy effects of the dementors before he even saw them. Leaning against the wall, he waited for the others to group around him. "Now what?" He whispered warily.

Hermionie shivered and looked up at the window above her. Frowning, she looked like for once in her life she was lost. "I don't know. There are no map books on Azkaban." Harry rolled his eyes.

"If we could get both Harry's inside, they could use their vision to find the right hall and the right room." Ginny whispered. The identical boys looked up at each other grimly.

"Yeah, even though I lament having to share anything with him." James said nastily, crossing his arms over his chest. Harry ignored him.

"Okay, I have an idea." Hermionie said suddenly. Looking around them she pulled out her wand and shook it, as though testing it. Red sparks shot out of the end, which seemed to satisfy her. "Okay, everyone group together. This will be a bit strange, but it's a spell of my own design."

"Oh no." Ginny muttered making Hermionie glare. She composed herself quickly and continued as though there had been no interruption.

"Okay, Patronus blankatus." She muttered. The others all looked around at each other expectantly but nothing happened. Hermionie, however, seemed satisfied. She smiled and stowed her wand in her pocket.

"Okay…" James began, one eye brow raised. "Look point Dexter, I don't mean to sound um…stupid or anything, but nothing seemed to have happened. I expected something spectacular." Harry nodded in agreement. Hermionie seemed pleased.

"Thank you." She said. "Okay, now…" But Harry didn't let her finish. A dementor had suddenly rounded the corner and was floating along the wall just in front of them. Grabbing Hermionie, he pulled her close to him, claming his hand over her mouth to quite her. Hermionie swatted at him and pulled away.

"Harry, it's okay. Watch." And, without waiting for anything else, she moved out of the shadow of the castle and towards the dementor. Harry cried out in shock and tried to run after her but Ron, James and Ginny grabbed him and pulled him back.

"No, wait…I trust her." James said, his voice rather height. Harry watched in terror as one of his best friends moved towards the darkest creature on earth…and lived. The dementor changed course and began moving away. Out on the tornado swept plain, Hermionie smiled and turned back to them.

"See." Walking back, she informed them of what she had done. "What I created was a special patronus. It combines the patronus charm, to repel dementors, plus the blanket charms used…on hundred and forty-five years ago approximately. From my estimation. It's an old charm but effective." She beamed at them all, the others just staring back. Finally, Harry found his voice.

"Okay, we came here to find Sirius." Looking around wildly, he saw a large set of dark wood doors to their left, through a twisting maze of smoke soaked graves. Harry took a deep breath and moved out towards it.

The graves were strange. They were cracked and aged, some with the dirt turned. They dated back so long, Harry was sure they were deteriating before his very eyes. The fog shifted at his feet and Ginny gasped. Whirling around, he saw her face was white and she looked terrified. "Harry," She whispered, "Look down."

Doing as she said, he felt his knees grow weak. The path was made of human bones. Trying to master himself, he turned and started up the path again but Ron stopped him.

"Hey, guys! Look at this." He was off the path, in the middle of a set of angel statues. Moving forward through the oddly crunching landscape, they came to the grave where he was pointing. The marker read, "Barty Crouch jr."

"This is where Crouch's wife is buried." Ron said. Harry stared at the stone and then turned to the castle. "Sirius watched them bury her from his window." He whispered. There was one window, directly ahead of them. Running forward, he leapt over a low, crumbling wall and stood on his tiptoes to look inside. The cell was empty.

"So, your Sirius spent a long time here?" James asked. Harry nodded, his eyes still on the cell inside. "That really sucks. Hell, kept him away from my mom though."

Harry bristled angrily. "Yeah, seeing as she's dead." He snapped back. James sighed, shrugged and looked away. "Okay, let's go."

They set off again towards the door. The Azkaban castle was dark and cold, the chill permeating their bones and sending chills running through their bones. Hermionie grabbed his shirt as he began moving down the hall and into a large entrance hall. There were stairs branching off in every direction, some going up, some down, some at angles. Harry's heart raced.

"Which way do we go?" Ginny whispered. James snorted.

"It's obvious, isn't it, baby?" Harry could imagine what Ginny thought of being called baby. "Sirius was on the bottom floor. I remember."

"Mr. Fantastic." Ginny simpered sarcastically. James looked smug and smiled at her.

"Oh, you don't know how fantastic I can be." He said. Harry grabbed his arm and squeezed.

"Lay off her, Harry." He hissed. James smiled and pulled away.

"Just because you never went after her." Harry ignored him.

"Okay. Let's go this way." Harry pointed down the corridor to their right. They began to move slowly, cautiously. After what seemed like forever, moving in the dark, Harry held out his hands and stopped them. Looking around another corner, his heart stopped. There it was, Sirius' hallway. He remembered it.

"I'll go first." Harry whispered. Moving forward, he glanced into the cells as he went, hoping he'd find Sirius soon. He had the feeling they were being watched.

"Well, well, well." Said a cold voice, making them spin around. There was Voldemort…

TBC

TO MY REVIEWERS:

Elessar-Lover Sorry it took so long. Thanks so much.

Marguerida You'll see if he'll ever see James, Lily and Sirius again. He may stay in his world again, we'll see…lol. Thanks.

whitewingedstallion Thanks a lot. I know what you mean, but I'm over it. LOL, oh well. Thanks for the compliments. I hope you like it.

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Air Pirate 96I updated.

Ilana Starr: They're going, they're going!

Sile: Thanks for that! That sucks, I'll bet. LOL.

Horus: That would have been hilarious if Tom Riddle was the Headmaster, LOL, totally awesome, wish I had thought of that. Maybe I'll make him something else though, we'll have to see. LOL, I've never watched Star Trek. It sounds complicated, then again, I'm writing this story so…

AND TO ANYONE I MAY HAVE MISSED, OR ISN'T REVIEWING, THANK YOU ALL!