Disclaimer: I do not own any part, nor character, of the Harry Potter universe. Talk to J.K. Rowling and her publishers. They are the ones making the big big bucks (or pounds) as the case may be, on this amazing franchise.

The first chapter got great feedback and it really encouraged me to write this new chapter as quickly as possible. I hope that all of you are encouraged to REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW! I LOVE REVIEWS! They really do encourage me to write faster and the more reviews I get the better.

As usual all reader reviews will be addressed at the end of the chapter. Now that I have said that I'll let you guys get on with reading the newest chapter of 'Jack Fell down'

Harry sighed in relief as the dementors finally withdrew from the wing of Azkaban that he, Draco, and Severus shared. Each time they came around the mental link that existed between the three of them shut down. Harry got a feeling that Severus had something to do with that. The man had the most mental control of all of them and it was too dangerous to leave the link open if it could be closed.

None of them wanted to relive their own memories, let alone each other's memories. Each of them had things that they were afraid of and each of them had events that haunted their pasts. Harry thought that he had the worst life but he wouldn't have put it by Severus to have been worse off then he was. The man had seen a lot more then Harry ever wanted to and the older wizard attempted to shield Harry and Draco from his thoughts whenever possible. They already knew what the other man had gone through but each of them tried to respect the memories of the others.

Both he and Draco were appreciated the effortof course. Neither of them really wanted to know what had gone on in Voldemort's ranks year after year. Draco knew to some extent but he had only been a death eater for a few months so his personal experiencewas limited. Harry had only seen what had happened during his visions and onthe night his friends were killed and he would be happy to never see another meeting for as long as he lived.

During his stay in Azkaban his link to the dark lord had been miracously silent. He figured that Voldemort did not want to see want to see what his greatest nemesis saw each time a dementor came near. That was fine with Harry though, he didn't particularily want Voldemort seeing anymore of his thoughts than he already had. Since the monster had kept quiet Harry saw no reason to tempt fate by trying to sneak a peek at the dark lord's mind. He didn't really even care about the war anymore. He had been betrayed by both sides so the outcome of the war would be lost to him.

Not that he saw the war ending anytime soon. He was the one who was supposed to end it after all and there was no way that such a thing was going to happen while he was locked up in Azkaban. Even after he was released he wasn't going to help them. Dumbledore had dug his own grave and there was no way that Harry was going to help him out of it. It just wasn't something one did after suffering for five years.

If the wizarding world had realized its mistake after a couple of months then Harry might have been more inclined to help them but as things stood now he had no intention of ever going back. Harry allowed his thoughts to drift to thoughts of what his life would be like when the wizarding world finally opened their eyes. Until that happened though his dreams were just that, dreams, and they would remain dreams. It was a sobering thought. The idea that he and his two friends might never be free.

With an angry sigh Harry pushed such thoughts away. He would not think such things because if he did then Severus and Draco would pick up on the thoughts if they had not done so already. He did not want to dishearten the two wizards. They were his only link to anything other than dementor induced insanity and he hoped that they would continue to link him to the 'real' world for as long as it took for them to be freed.

Harry felt a gentle probing at the edges of his mind which he recognized as Severus. The man had been the foundation that he and Draco stood on in this when their world descended into chaos. Harry remembered the day that they had been sentenced to their terms in Azkaban. He had remembed the numbness that had overcome him when Fudge had announced the verdict. He remembered Ginny screaming that they were wrong as she was had been removed from the courtroom. Above all he would never forget Severus as the elder wizard used the mental link between them to encourage them. The older wizard had told he and Draco to hold their heads high and not let the minister see that he had defeated them.

It was advise that Harry had taken to heart. He would not look defeated. Despite receiving a life sentence in Azkaban he was still the proud young wizard who had had a life-time of hardship to prepare him for the ultimate trial that lay ahead of him. Azkaban was just one more thing that would make him stronger. He got the impression from their mental link that Draco felt the same way.

He felt Severus nudge his mind again and relaxed as he allowed the older man entrance. As he did so he felt warmth flow through him. It wasn't so much real warmth as it was the knowledge that someone actually cared enough about him to check on him in his worst moments. He made his thoughts available to Severus and felt a wave of sympathy from his link with the older man and a small smilegraced his face. Satisfied that nothing more than the usual was amiss Severus withdrew from Harry's mind and Harry returned to his thoughts.

Of the two of them Harry felt Draco's emotions the most. The other boy was the strong silent type but he had lived a cushioned life that neither Severus nor Harry had experienced. It was very different to go fromspoiled child who had had the world as his oyster to being dumped in an Azkaban prison cell with nothing but the clothes on your back and a ratty old blanket. Draco had lost a lot when he was recognized as a spy. The boy was still the technically the head of the Malfoy family. His father had been killed in a death eater raid a few months before Draco and Severus had been revealed. During those months Draco had worked hard to establish himself as clear head of the family. His mother Narcissa was and never would be a death eater and she was taking care of her son's affairs while he rotted in Azkaban.

Life had been cruel to all of them but it had made them stronger. There was no doubting that. It had also brought them closer. The three of them as a group were much stronger than the three of them as individuals and they all brought their own strengths to the table. Draco was the politcian and the talker. He had the money and resources, when he wasn't locked up that was, to move mountains. If they were ever freed that power would grown tenfold because he had suffered wrongly.

Severus was, to put it bluntly, brilliant. Severus had been head boy in his seventh despite the fact that most of the school disliked him. He was also a potions master. That set of skills made him a valuable asset in itself. The gift was rare among pureblood families and it was customary for the best in a certain craft to receive a certain amount of recognition for their skills. Severus had had that recognition. When he had still been a professor he had used his spare time to fill orders that he received from clients all over the world.

Harry was the fighter. He had spent all of his sixth and seventh years, as well as the year following his graduation, preparing himself for a fight that now would probably not take place. His connection to Severus' mind had opened up a wealth of spells that he would have never discoverd on his own and his own research had expanded that growing library to an even greater extent. He had made a point to study both light and dark magic. He had known that Voldemort would not refrain from using dark magic against him and he had to be prepared.

Those days were gone though. He had no intention of seeking Voldemort out and fighting him unless the dark lord started something himself. The only way he would react was if Voldemort provoked him by attacking someone that Harry cared about or attacked Harry himself. Harry didn't think that Voldemort would do something so stupid but one never knew what dark lords would do if they became desperate or felt threatened. Harry would probably never find out either because he figured that he would rot in Azkaban for the rest of his life.

> > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > >

Albus Dumbledore paced back and forth across the length of his office. The past few years had not been kind to him and the war was slowly spiralling out of control. The order had gotten word from a low level death eater that they had captured that there was to be a raid tonight and he had decided to be prepared rather than not. His forces had been almost completely crippled when Harry, Draco, and Severus had been revealed as loyal death eaters. It was something that still shocked him even today. He had placed so much trust in the three of them but to find them in the circle of the dead had been too much evidence to ignore.

The three of them had chosen their victims with an expert eye as to what would hurt the order the most. Ron and Hermione had to go because they were Harry's closest friends and would prove his loyalty to Voldemort. Percy was a close aid to the minister and hadmost likely beentortured for information before he was finally killed. Tonks was an outstanding Auror and member of the Order. She had been in the process of training the newest batch of Aurors before her death. Hagrid's death had shocked Dumbledore the most. The half-giant had been an important link between Dumbledore and the true giants but he had also been Harry's first friend within the wizarding world.

The deaths of those five order members had had a devastating effect on the rest of the order. The death of two of Molly's children had effectively driven the poor woman insane. He remembered how Molly had blindly attempted to attack Harry as the young man was brought into the court room for his trial. Her husband had been forced to remove her before the hearing could proceed because she would not stop screaming. The subsequent disappearance of Ginny after the end of the trial had further driven the woman into madness. Molly believed that her daughter had been another victim of Harry's rage and had only begun to recover over the last year.

Remus had been torn between a his belief in Harry's innocence and the obvious signs that pointed to his guilt. The man had lost all his friends in his life and the idea that his godson was guilty had been emotionally crippling. The fact that one of the victims was Tonks had also hurt him. He had cared for the young witch and Dumbledore knew that she had cared for Remus. From the beginning Remus had held on to the belief that Harry was innocent but in recent years his hope was slowly dwindling and the man who had lost so much had taken on a hardened edge that only lose could foster.

Albus stopped in front of his desk chair and wearily collapsed into the worn leather seat. There was nothing he could do to change the past. Harry was loyal to Voldemort and he should have seen that Severus and Draco were only pretending to be loyal to him. It had truly shocked him when he had found out about Severus. He had been so sure that the young man was loyal to him for so many years. He should have none that Severus was not when the quality of information he brought back during the second war had been worse then the quality he brought back during the first war.

Severus had said that this was because Voldemort didn't trust him as he did before but he should have been able to see past Severus' lies. The realization that he had allowed Severus to stay so close to the center of information while the man was actually a spy had made the headmaster of Hogwarts ill. He had not believed that his trust had been so badly misplaced.

With a sigh Albus pushed his thoughts away and leaned towards his desk to pull a pile of paperwork closer to him. The school term had just ended three days ago and now he had ministry paper work and grade reports to sign off on. He had only finished a couple papers when the door to his office burst open and Remus, Mad-Eye Moody, and Arthur Weasley dragged a bound Bellatrix LeStrange into his office. Albus was immedialy on his feet with his wand raised at the defenseless woman.

Seeing that she did not appear to be going anywhere he looked to the three wizards who had brought him in. He was excited about having caught such a high ranking death eater. Bellatrix may have been more than a little insane but she was since Lucius Malfoy had been killed and Snape thrown into Azkaban she had become one of Voldemort's right hands and loosing her would certainly hurt Voldemort's forces.

"What happened? How did the raid go?" He knew that he sounded more eager than he should have but catching such a high ranking death eater was the break that the order had been waiting for. They had needed this for such a long time and they finally had the chance to get some real information. It was the perfect opportunity and he would not waste it but in order to not waste it he had to know what had happened. Remus was the first to speak.

"There were twenty-five of them. Our advance scouts caught them as they apparated just within the trees outside the village and we were able to get in position and killten of them before they knew what happened. Two more of them apparated away before we could do anything more. We assume they were the ones designated to report our ambush to the dark lord. The twelve that remained put up quite a fight." He stopped and Albus looked them over with a grim look on his face.

"Continue!" He needed to know all the details. Moody picked up where Remus had left off.

"We lost two of our own. Williamson and Savage from the Auror department. They got separated from the group and were killed. Shacklebolt was severly wounded and he is being treated for multiple crucios at St. Mungos. They expect he will recover but it will take time. Other than that our forces suffered some mild injuries but nothing that we shouldn't bounce back from." Albus nodded and rubbed his eyes wearily.

"Have the families of the dead Aurors been notified yet?"Arthur spoke.

"Not yet, we just got back here and we figured that you might like to contact their families personally." Dumbledore nodded.

"I will do so as soon as possible. But first I would like to deal with Bellatrix first." He turned his eyes to the bound woman who was glaring at him with a look of hatred and contempt.

"Moody give her the veritaserum." The elder Auror pulled a carefully labebled vial from his robes and removed the dropper from the stopper. Bellatrix had shifted her gaze from Dumbledore to Moody and was scowling at him. There was an angry gleam in her eye and Dumbledore had no doubt that if she could free herself then she would give the four wizards a run for their money.

While Moody was busy with the vial Remus gripped Bellatrix by the hair and Arthur forced the woman's mouth opened. She tried to bite him but Moody moved quickly and dripped the liquid into her mouth while he had his chance. The four of them watched as the bound woman's eyes glassed over and she fell limp in her captors arms. When Dumbledore was convinced that the drug had worked its way into her system hereturned to his seat andbegan to question her.

"What is your name?"

"Bellatrix LeStrange."

"Are you a loyal supporter of the dark lord?" A haunting smile graced the woman's lips and her glassy eyes lit up.

"It is an honor to serve my lord. I would die for him."

"Have you ever been forced, through use of the imperius curse or through any other method, to serve the dark lord?"

"Never, I serve willingly." The woman's empty eyed smile widened and she rocked back and forth slightly.

"Does the dark lord discuss strategy with you?"

"Of course he does. I am honored that my lord has chosen to trust me. He has always known that I would die for him. I am his chief advisor and I proudly serve him."

"When did you become his chief advisor?" The woman threw her head back as much as her bounds would allow and chuckled. Dumbledore turned his gaze away from her. The image of her dead glassy eyes staring at the ceiling as she laughed burned into his mind. It was an image that he never wanted to see again and he realized just how insane the woman had to be. Bellatrix's laughter finally slowed and she spoke.

"I became my lord's most trusted the day my lord realized that the fool Snape had been betraying him and that he had bewitched the Malfoy brat to follow him." Dumbledore found himself on his feet before he even realized that he had moved. His mind was spinning and he felt panic gripping him. Bellatrix was laughing again and Dumbledore felt sick as he watched her.

Did she even realized what she had said? Had he actually heard what he thought he heard? A quick glance at Moody, Remus, and Arthur confirmed his worst fears. They had heard it as well and the implications of what she had said were becoming clear to them. He tried to keep the emotion out of his voice as he spoke again.

"You said Snape and the younger Malfoy betrayed Voldemort in what way did they do so?" Bellatrix froze and her glazed eyes widened as she realized what she had done. She tried desperately to fight the veritaserum. She quickly lost the battle and she spoke slowly.

"He... they.. pasesed... passed.. information to...the order.. of phoenix... THE TRAITORS SHOULD DIE. ROTTING IN AZKABAN IS TOO GOOD FOR THOSE WHO BETRAY MY LORD!" She slow started ended in an ear piercing shriek and Albus found himself falling back into his chair.

"What about Harry Potter?" His voice was a whisper and Bellatrix's laughter once again filled his ears.

"Betrayed by those he considered friends. He put up quite a fight though, especially when he found out that the Weasley brat wasserving my lord." The woman had given up all efforts to control what she said and was clearly gloating about what she saw as her lord's greatest achievement.

"Percy? Percy was working for he who must not be named?" Dumbledore could hear the clear edge of disbelief, panic, and anger in Arthur's voice as he spoke.

"Not the minister's brat, it was Ickle Ronnikins. The brat hated being in Potter's shadow so he brought the golden boy to my lord's feet." Arthur stumbled back as if blinded and collapsed into a chair as Bellatrix burst into laughter yet again. He could not believe this was happening, if the woman had not been under veritaserum he wouldn't believe it but he knew deep down that it was the truth. They had actually sentenced three innocent men to Azkaban. It was almost too much to conceive.

"Stupefy!" Arthur looked up long enough to realize that Remus had used the stunner to silence the laughing and clearly insane woman. She was now slumped over and silent.

Dumbledore was holding his head in his hands and his shoulders were shaking slightly. The wizard looked like he had aged a hundred years in a matter of seconds and Arthur realized that the man must be going through much more than he let on. The man had placed his trust in Severus and he had cared for Draco and Harry like they were his sons. the fact that he had been instrumental in getting them sent to Azkaban must be slowly destroying him.

The four of them sat there in silence and the truth hung between them. Remus was the first to speak.

"We have to go the ministry. Fudge has to order releases for Harry, Draco and Severus when he sees our recollections of this event. He can't avoid his role in this." Dumbledore nodded and looked to Moody and Arthur.

"Will you be joining us or will we be going alone?" Both men stood quickly and the four of them made their way out of the castle and towards the Hogwarts apparation barrier. They reappeared outside the phone booth leading to the ministry and made their way inside. They found themselves outside of Fudge's office within minutes and they didn't even wait for the man's secretary to anounce their arrival before they stormed into the man's office.

> > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > >

Ginny walked into her kitchen and stretched. It was early in the morning and the sun had just crested the horizon. She could see the drops of dew on the petals of the flowers in her garden as she stood at the kitchen sink and drank a glass of juice as she waited for her tea to finish. The window above the sink was open and the cool morning air caused her long red hair to flutter.

The young woman's life had changed over the last five years. She had grown up and wasn't the naive child that she had been during her Hogwarts years. She had learned how cruel the world could and that cruelty was especially apparant within wizarding society. Any society that threw innocent men into Azkaban without considering all the evidence could wither and die in her opinion.

She still practiced magic but she rarely went out in public and she had avoided her family for the last five years. She knew the effect that the death of her brothers had had on her mother and she did not want to be there. She knew that it was selfish but she had other concerns in her life and she did not want to add caring for her mother to that long list. Especially in the early years of her mother's suffering. It had just been too much, especially when she was the only one in her family who believed that Harry, Draco and Severus were innocent.

She heard a noise near the doorway of the kitchen and turned to investigate. As she did so a genuine smile graced her face. Standing in the doorway was the only person who could truly make her smile since everything had gone so wrong in her life. The little four year old boy who was peeking into the kitchen was her pride and joy and she went great lenghts to make sure that he had everything she could give him. She knelt down and the little boy grinned widely at her and ran into her arms.

She scooped her son into her arms and spun him around. The child shrieked in delight as his mother settled him on her hip and tickled him with her free hand. She loved Jonathan more than anything in her world but the boy reminded her of his father. The child had his father's eyes and everytime their gaze met she was reminded of the gleam of despair that she had seen in her husband's eyes as his sentence had been announced.

It had almost destroyed her when her husband had been found guilty. No one had known that she had married immediatly upon finishing her seventh year at Hogwarts and no one knew that she had been pregnant when her husband went to Azkaban. Suddenly she realized that Jonathan was pointing at something outside and she turned just in time to see an owl flying toward the open window. She stepped back and allowed the owl to fly inside. She could tell immediatly that it was a Daily Prophet owl and that it was clearly in a bad mood.

Ginny put Jonathan down and went to tend to the owl. She removed the paper from its leg and paid the bird. She then reached over to a small tin and removed a couple owl treats and walked to the sink to prepare a bowl of water. The owl noticed and hooted in appreciation as he accepted what she offered him. About that time her tea kettle whistled and she prepared a cup of tea and some cereal for Jonathan before sitting down to read the paper.

As she unfolded the paper and read the headline the paper fell from her hands.

"POTTER, MALFOY, AND SNAPE FOUND INNOCENT OF ALL CHARGES! MINISTRY OFFICIALS PREPARING FOR THEIR RELEASE!" Ginny quickly got over her surprise and picked the paper back up with shaking hands. She couldn't believe that it was actually true. It was almosttoo good to be true. She scooped Jonathan up from his chair and began dancing around the room. The boy didn't know what was going on but he saw that his mother was happy about something and that made him happy. He giggled uncontrollably as his mother smiled and realized that whatever had happened it was something important.

As you guys can see I left you a bit of a teaser there at the end. Review and let me know who you think the father of Ginny's baby is as well as what you thought of the chapter in general. It could be one of two people. Sorry to all the Sev/Ginny shippers out there but the father is definitly not Sev. This leaves you guys two choices. Draco or Harry. I'm evil I know. Please review though, I appreciate it.

On to reader reviews:

Reinnos FireClaw Nemaste: I'm glad you were impressed. I hope you liked this chapter as well. I agree the lack of dialogue does work best for thoughts. I actually prefer first person for individual thoughts but first person is difficult to write in long stories. Please keep reviewing.

anti-thule: Glad you liked the first chapter. Please keep reading and reviewing.

Drakeluvr: Thanks glad you liked it.

slashslut: I love Azkaban stories but I wanted to make mine different. I'm glad you liked it and I hope you liked the newest chapter as well.

Yavanna: Thanks I try to write well but I don't always think that I succeed. I'm glad to see someone say that I do. Please keep reviewing. I appreciate each one.

TEC: Thanks for the review.

Mary: Thanks the nursery rhyme was my favorite part as well. It was my inspiration to be truthful. Thanks for the review.

lildevil425: Yes, in canon, the dementors did go to Voldemort. In my story they didn't. I'm kinda ignoring HBP but not totally, I haven't really thought about it too much. I think I addressed your question about their release in this chapter. I hope you liked it. Please review again.

RavenRose: Thanks, Draco and Sev are my two favorite characters and having them alongside Harry in Azkaban intrigued me.

Erin: No slash sorry, I just don't write romance well. I hope you liked the direction I took the new chapter.

websurffer: Here is your update. I hope you enjoyed.

Yasona Black: No slash. Please keep reviewing.

Thunderstone: I hope you enjoyed it.

Julia: Detailed responses are ALWAYS welcome. Be as detailed or undetailed as you like but please review in some fashion. I just love hearing feedback.