To Walk Through Fire
Disclaimer: Once again, I do not own Harry Potter and the characters associated with him. They belong to J.K. Rowling. I am not making money off of this story. So please don't sue.
Chapter VI: The Calm Before the Storm
He was not a morning person. It was not that he did not like the mornings, he just did not like leaving his bed so early. And 5:30 am was definitely early in the morning. Despite that he would have left even earlier had the offices been open. They were not unlocked, however, until 5:30 in the morning.
Alexander quickly pulled on clean robes and stumbled over to his desk where his shoes lay carelessly thrown on the floor. He did not have any time to waste, but if he arrived in the buildings disheveled too many people would believe that something was wrong. Collecting a piece of paper from his desk, he ran down the stairs at a breakneck pace. He did not bother to stop in the kitchen to take anything to eat, he did not have the time. Besides, he did not think he could stomach food at the moment anyhow. Not after seeing Harry lying there on the wooden bed half dead . . .
The man shook his head, but the image would not leave. He knew that unless he helped the boy, that image would haunt him for an eternity. Last night had been torture for him. After he had left Azkaban he had rushed home to write the letter, so that he could just take it with him, borrow the Ministry's seal for a second, then return to the fortress before anyone became suspicious. It had taken longer than expected to write the letter, as he could hardly remember the exact words that had been used on the last note the Ministry had sent. By the time he had perfected the note to his standards, the main Ministry building had closed, leaving him to wait till 5:30 the next morning.
That had left him time to perfect his plan. He needed to steal Harry away before anyone noticed where the boy had gone. That much he had figured out before last night. It was the rest of the plan that had kept him pacing for most of the night. Alexander had worn out the old carpet as he walked back and forth, thinking of who would take Harry in once he was removed from the prison. He was sure that his wife would take the boy in with open arms, but he did not want his family involved, in any way, with this plot. No. It would be better if they did not know of it. And it would be better for Harry to be taken care of by someone he knew, someone who loved him. Alexander had racked his brains all night for someone who would take Harry in. The Weasleys' house had been too obvious, he knew that Molly Weasley would care for the boy, love him like her own, but the Ministry would look at 'The Burrow', as it was known, first. Who else liked Harry, would take care of him? Albus Dumbledore. No. Hogwarts would be the second place the Ministry looked in. And besides, the man had left Harry with the Dursleys. No, that would not do. Alexander had spent till three in the morning wondering who would Harry trust enough to take care of him. It had finally come to him when he had looked at the graduation photo that now lay on his desk. Remus Lupin. It was perfect. Remus had never committed a crime in his life, and the Ministry, despite their hate of werewolves, would not suspect Remus. And the man had been Harry's teacher. As well as his parents' best friend.
Alexander had absently wondered if Remus knew the truth of Harry's birth, of whom Harry's real father was.
It was perfect. He even thought so now as he ran out the door, shutting it with a bang behind him. He had written a letter to the man last night, the werewolf should receive it sometime that morning. Everything would be set up before noon today. Harry Potter should be out of Azkaban before the moon had risen once again. No, he amended silently, would, Harry would be out of prison before the moon had risen once again.
There was a small pop as Alexander disapparated from his front porch to the entrance of the Ministry building. It was an older building, actually it was ancient. It had stood since before the time of Godric Gryffindor and Salazar Slytherin.
He had never really liked it.
Actually he liked it less than waking up early. It radiated a falseness, one that he had always picked up on. Now he realized it was from the corruptness of politics. As much as he hated to admit it, he was starting to believe that Minister Fudge was corrupt. A gut feeling inside him said that Minister Fudge had known that Harry was innocent, that he had never committed those crimes. He pushed the thought away. A thought like that could end him in trouble.
Alexander pushed the glass door open, and stepped inside. Ministry seals were held in different offices all over the building, but the place he wanted was on the third floor. Only authorized personnel were allowed on the third floor. Not for the first time was Alexander glad that he was an Auror. That gave him the authorization to traverse to the third floor. Especially now since Minister Fudge was now giving the Aurors more authority.
The foyer was large, with white-washed walls, which was unusual. It looked more like a muggle building than a wizard building. However it was an ingenious idea, since it allowed the janitors to keep the building so much cleaner. The only way to the third floor was through a set of stairs on the right. He took a deep breath. This was it, he was finally breaking the law, he was going too far in his job to see that justice was done. But this was more than for his job. This was for a boy who reminded Alexander of himself when he was small . . .Of the lost boy he had been . . . He was doing it because he owed it to the boy. He was the one who had put Harry in prison, even though evidence had pointed out that Harry was innocent, now he was the one who had to right the wrong done to the child.
Without further hesitation, Alexander started to climbing the stairs up to the third floor, praying that the employees working in this sector of the Ministry had decided to take today off, or at least arrive in the office late.
The stairs seemed much shorter than the actually were, Alexander had heard once that they were spelled to shorten the distance. He was pretty sure that this rumor was true.
Alexander looked around cautiously before he entered into the third floor hallway, prepared to jump back down the stairs. A half smile flitted over his lips. Now he was starting to act like mad-eye Moody. He probably looked more suspicious sneaking around like this, than if he were to stroll through the halls. He mentally kicked himself. One mistake and he would lose his chance to save Harry. Alexander straightened, and under the pretence of deciding which direction to go in, he studied the hall.
It was much like the foyer in the front of the building. The whitewashed walls gleamed dully in the flickering light. There were no large windows here, due to the fact that it was in the middle of the building. He shivered. He really did not like it here.
Turning left he strolled down the hall slowly as if searching for a certain room. He already knew where he wanted to go. To one young Percy Weasley. The boy had been promoted since Barty Crouch's death. Now he was signing important documents for Minister Fudge. He was almost the Minister's secretary, or so Alexander had heard. That would be the best place to start. The boy was still young and did not know the boundaries of an Auror's power, or at least Alexander hoped he did not. And besides, Percy Weasley had known Harry Potter. If worse came to worse, Alexander could explain the situation and convince the boy that he needed the seal. Unfortunately he would not be able to use a memory charm on the boy, there were dozens of spells in this building that prevented that for obvious reasons.
Percy's office was at the end of the hall, right next to the Minister's private offices. Alexander strolled in there hoping that the boy had decided to sleep in late today. One look at the office dashed his hopes quickly. On the desk stood a still steaming cup of coffee. The red-haired boy was nowhere to be seen. Alexander sighed in relief, Percy must have stepped out of his office for a few moments. That left him very little time to do his mission. Quickly Alexander moved towards the desk. It was a simple wooden one that was standard in the ministry. As he approached closer, he could see the seal sitting right beside a stack of papers. Alexander absently pulled the letter from his pocket. He placed the letter next to the seal and pulled the small stamp up and pressed it down on the paper. Magically the Ministry's symbol appeared on the piece of paper. He quickly shoved the letter in his pocket. It was then he heard the noise . . .
Alexander looked up. There in the doorway was young Percy Weasley himself. He had run past his time limit.
Percy looked at him suspiciously, as if he was a thief – well technically he was, but he would never admit it – that had stole something valuable from his desk. Alexander did not bother making excuses for his being there, he had learned after years of being an Auror, it was just better not to give any excuses as to why one was doing something that was obviously wrong.
"Excuse me sir," the young boy said stiffly, "What are you doing?"
Alexander thought of some plausible plan as to why he was in the young man's office this early in the morning snooping around his desk. He could not think of anything. Nothing at all. He was about to break down and tell the boy the truth. He opened his mouth to speak.
Then it came to him.
"I was searching for a document that the Honorable Minister Fudge has signed for the Aurors. I was told that I could find the document in this office. Due to the fact that this mission was the utmost importance, I did not wait for you. I have found it however and I shall leave now." he started to walk towards the door. He hoped the young man would buy his story. It was credible, it had happened once before, but if the young man verified it, that would reveal the lie.
"Wait sir, may I see ID." The young read-head held out his hand to Alexander. He pulled it out of his pocket slowly so as not to disrupt the letter that lay beside it. It was simple card with a picture of him, his name, occupation, date of birth and the Ministry's seal.
Percy nodded in acceptance. "I shall ask your supervisor later if he received the document." He said in a very business-like manner.
That was not good. When the chief found that he had used the Auror's privileges for personal gain, he would be in trouble. He had as good as signed his resignation papers. He knew that the chief would not send him to prison for this, but he would lose his job. At least he had been thinking of resigning after this was all finished. It would actually be easier this way to leave, then none of the others could beg him to stay.
He looked up at Percy.
"Good-bye, sir." He said politely as he left the office.
As soon he was out of sight of the office, he quickened his pace down the halls. Now all he had to do was go to Azkaban. But first he wanted to stop and find some clothes that would fit Harry, so that the boy could at least leave the filthy rags he wore behind. Anyway his plan would not work until later. Till the prison guards were tired and no longer alert. He would have to wait until evening had almost fallen, then they would not research any further into the reason why he was taking Harry out of the prison.
As soon as he was out of that horrible building, he apparated to his house. He hoped that Robby had kept some clothes that were small on him, ones that would almost fit Harry.
***************
It was hopeless. Whatever object it was that they were looking for was long gone. Albus had been wrong. It was not in this . . .disaster. They had spent the last two days searching for something that was not there. And now he was could no longer stand it. While they had been idly searching for an object that might not exist, his son had been in Azkaban. For Four days. Harry had been in Azkaban for four days!
Sirius kicked aside some more debris. The object crumbled even as his foot connected with it, breaking down into a pile of black charcoal. He kicked it again, out of his way. And kicked it again. If nothing better, than he could take revenge on the Dursleys for their terrible treatment of Harry over the years, for the way they had ignored him and locked him in his room.
The chair, if that is what it had been before it had been burnt, had been completely pulverized underneath Sirius' foot. He glared down at it. He was about to stomp on it when something caught his eye.
Something white poked out of the black soot. Bending down, Sirius pulled the object from beneath the debris.
He gasped as he felt it.
Magic.
No.
Not just magic
Dark magic.
Yes, dark magic. Black magic. He could feel its residue radiating from the piece of paper. He had found his evidence. A Death Eater must have cursed the piece of paper. He picked it up again and ignored the residue of dark magic, it could not affect anyone now. Sirius looked at the page, despite the soot covering the paper, he could read the words written on it clearly enough.
You are Invited to Join Us for a Party!!!!
Join the Malfoys in celebrating the return of their ceann*
If you wish to attend register at the fortress at 12:00 pm today
We hope to see you there
Why the little . . . Malfoy. He was the one responsible for all this. And when Harry was safe, Sirius would take his revenge. Malfoy took Wormtail's place on the top of his revenge list. What Malfoy had down was unacceptable. He looked at the message again. He wondered what on earth ceann meant. Not that it mattered really, he had his evidence.
"Moony!" He called out softly, so as not to catch the neighbours' attention. "Moony! I found it Moony!"
Remus appeared quickly from around the wall, if that is what it could be called. "What is it Padfoot?" He asked softly, sounding almost hopeful.
Sirius held the piece of paper up. "I found it." He whispered excitedly. "We can save Harry now. We have to take it to Dumbledore immediately."
He was about to apparate when Remus reached out to take the paper from his hands. "Are you sure that it's what we are looking for Padfoot? It isn't a trick or anything?" Sirius almost jumped his friend. How could Moony doubt him at a time like this? His son's life was on the line, of course he was sure that it was what he had been looking for. Instead of wasting precious time speaking, he shoved the paper into his friend's outstretched hand. The man's eyes widened in surprise. Padfoot watched as his friend nodded. There was no reason to speak, they both understood perfectly what needed to be done.
Sirius left the paper in Remus' hands, he would not be able to carry it into Albus' office as a dog, that would look really suspicious.
They both apparated to the edge of the wards at Hogwarts, where Sirius instantly became the black 'grim' that had terrorized Hogwarts almost two years ago. He ran ahead of Remus, wishing that the man could move faster. They had the evidence needed, the quicker it was in Albus' hands, the faster that Harry was out of Azkaban. Padfoot sat at the door and waited impatiently to catch up. It seemed to take an eternity for Moony to reach him. He did not wait for the man to open the door completely, but raced in with the door partway open.
Sirius ran down the halls, followed by Remus, who was having trouble keeping up with the large black dog. Harry. He had to save Harry. Those words repeated in Padfoot's head over and over again in a mantra as he ran down the halls panting. Harry. His son. He stopped suddenly in front of the Gargoyle that marked the headmaster's office. He could hear Remus skid to a stop behind him.
"Lemon drops." His friend muttered urgently at the Gargoyle. It didn't move. Sirius stared hard at the door willing it to move. Nothing moved. "Acid pops." Remus tried again, with the same results. This was not good. Albus had changed the password on them. "Fizzing Whizzbees. Chocolate frogs." Remus was starting to sound worried. Sirius whined. This was not good. Harry was rotting away in prison while they had to guess the password Albus had used. It was a waste of time. Sirius whined. Hurry up Remus. Hurry up.
"Remus Lupin. What are you doing here? And with a dog too?" A voice called out causing both men to jump.
Sirius whirled around to see his old transfiguration professor standing in the corridor. The woman had not changed one bit. Sirius could almost imagine that he was back in school with James and Lily and that he was now in trouble for another prank. Almost. Not quite, but almost.
"I have to speak with Albus, Professor." Remus said evenly, quickly regaining composure. That had always been Moony's forte, especially when they were in trouble, he would remain calm and talk them all out of trouble. "Immediately."
"I am sorry but the headmaster is not here. He has left on urgent business and will not be back till tomorrow." She said formally.
Tomorrow? No. How could that be? What was more urgent than removing Harry from Azkaban? Sirius almost felt his heart stop. They needed Albus' help to free Harry. If he was gone, then their plan was shattered. It had fallen to pieces right before his eyes.
"Is there any possible way w-I could reach him." Remus asked politely, his voice sounding strained. "This is an emergency."
"I'm sorry Remus, but there is no possible way for any of us to reach him, he has not told me where he was going. He actually left before I arrived late last night. Perhaps you would like to ask Severus where he is, the man may know."
No. Severus would not know. The man did not know anything outside of his precious potions. He did not even know how to wash his hair properly. But if it was their only hope then . . .
"No, I don't think that would help Minerva, if it was urgent as you say, he probably did not tell Severus where he was going. Do you have any clue what this urgent business is?"
Minerva shook her head. Sirius felt his heart sink. "No, but if he returns I will inform him that you were here."
"Thank you Minerva." Remus nodded in gratitude and left down the hall. Sirius followed after him. He knew that Remus would not give up that easily. No, he had an idea. Sirius just knew it.
Remus turned down another hallway and out the doors of the castle. "We are going to do a little research Padfoot. We can find everything about it that can possibly be found and all Albus has to do is show it to his contacts and prove what we have found. We'll go to my place to start, I have some books on the Dark Arts that can help us."
Sirius looked up at his friend. He briefly wondered how Remus had managed to collect those books. Not that it mattered really if it would help Harry. He would do anything to save his son from that place, anything.
As soon as they reached the end of the anti-apparation shield, both men apparated to Remus' small cabin in the 'Middle of Nowhere', the name Sirius had dubbed it when he had first laid eyes on the building. He transformed back into a man. All the concern and worry that had been briefly muted by his transformation came back full force.
He stopped behind Remus and closed his eyes taking in deep breaths. This would help Harry. They would have his son out of that place in no time. Remus had the perfect idea to research it before Albus showed it to his friends, yes that would work. He opened his eyes again to find Moony staring worriedly at him.
"It's alright Padfoot, we'll get him out of Azkaban. He won't die. He's strong Sirius, just like James was." Remus tried to sound convincing, even though Sirius had a feeling that the man was trying to convince himself more than Sirius. It was true that Harry was strong, like James, but Remus had never been to Azkaban, he did not know the torment the dementors created. The bleakness of it all. How the coldness seemed to eat away slowly at one's soul. Yes Harry was strong, but was he strong enough to withstand Azkaban? Please let him be, it he was not then Sirius did not know if it was worth the effort to keep living, to keep going on . . .
"Here Padfoot." The piece of paper changed hands once again as Remus shoved it into Sirius' hands. "See what you can derive from it by just using the common search methods. I'll go retrieve the books from upstairs." Sirius just nodded. "And Sirius, don't do anything foolish." Remus added as he quickly climbed the stairs.
Foolish. How could he do anything foolish with a piece of paper? He knew the common search methods well enough, he had been an Auror before Wormtail's betrayal. He must have looked at more than one hundred objects when he was an Auror. Sirius just shook his head and went to work looking at the piece of paper. It seemed normal enough, probably just an ordinary piece of paper that the muggles used on a daily basis. The magic that radiated from it though was strong, even after several days the residue was still strong. Almost strong enough to make him ashamed that he had not seen it earlier. He should have found it earlier. He should have. If he had then Harry would not have had to wait another day in Azkaban. His son would not have to stay near the dementors. Harry would have been safe . . .
He almost banged his head on the table. This would not help his son in any way.
No.
He needed to concentrate. He closed his eyes and concentrated on the residue of magic. For it to last this long the spell would have cost a very large amount of energy. And talent. The residue seemed almost twisted, as if many spells had been used instead of just one. But what spells would create that kind of chaos. Sirius ran through the list of spells and curses he knew that would create an explosion. As he ran down the list, the spells became more and more simple, until he reached the simplest charm he could think of that would create an explosion. It was so simple that even a first year could have cast it. He looked at the object once again. Would the Death Eaters have used that simple charm? It was plausible. He studied the object harder. He would bet everything he had that they had used that simple charm and enlarged it several times over.
That still didn't explain the black magic that radiated from the object.
Sirius thought back to the scene of the crime, to what his son had been wrongfully accused of. The house had exploded, killing two of the Dursleys and putting one in critical condition. That was not very helpful. No it was something else. It had been written in the Daily Prophet. Sirius racked his brain for an answer, Harry's life depended on it.
The Dark Mark . . . It had lasted for nearly twelve hours before disappearing. That would definitely explain the black magic radiating from the object, as well as the spell that had allowed the Aurors to trace the spells back to Harry. He did not know the spell, he did not think it mattered, whatever it was, no one beginning their fifth year of school could cast a curse like that.
Sirius looked up as he heard the sound of feet coming down the stairs. Remus must have found his books, but what good would it do? They already knew two of the spells hidden within the piece of paper, why bother finding out the third? Especially when they already knew what the third one did. It was a waste of precious time. They should go to the Ministry building and start convincing officials who could overthrow Fudge's decision. The piece of paper with Malfoy's name on it was enough to convince them. Or at least it should be.
"Moony," he asked as the werewolf dropped the books on the table. "Why bother with the books? I found out which spells are on this paper."
"And they are?" Moony prompted him.
"Well there is that charm we used in first year to blow up Snape's cauldron, with an charm that would magnify it several times. Then there is the spell for the Dark Mark. And another one, I have never seen it before, but it must be the spell that links everything to Harry." Sirius told him standing up, preparing to apparate to the Ministry buildings.
"Hold on Padfoot. We need to convince them that Harry could not cast those spells. That spell you have never heard about is the one that needs to be researched and explained. If we can explain it to them, in detail, with the rest of the proof we have, they will believe us. Now come on, help me."
"This is pointless Moony. We are going through a bunch of books while Harry is sitting in Azkaban. We need to do something more active, searching through a bunch of old, dusty books is not going to help Harry. It could take years for us to find the spell. We need to show them the proof we have now. We're out of time Moony." Sirius pleaded with his friend. He would not be able to go into the Ministry to convince them, he needed Moony's help. He did not like relying on someone for something this important. It was his job to protect his son, not Moony's. And now he had to rely on his friend.
"Padfoot, if we are able to explain every spell in detail, especially the one that they have never heard of then-"
"They will think that you dabble in the Dark Arts sending you to Azkaban right along Harry." Sirius added. Remus fell silent; they both knew that what he said was true. No one would tolerate a werewolf who knew a lot about the Dark Arts.
Before Remus could think of a something to say to his friend, an owl flew through the open kitchen window. Sirius looked at Remus. Neither of them were expecting any mail today. Sirius watched as Remus untied the small parchment from the owl. Maybe it was from Dumbledore telling them where he was so that they could contact. Sirius felt a small bubble of hope rise in his chest.
"That's strange." He could hear Remus mutter under his breath. "Here Padfoot," he handed the note to Sirius, "read this."
Sirius took the note tentatively, wondering if it was a small ray of hope, or a bomb.
Remus,
Meet me at Godric's Hollow tomorrow at 5:00am. This is of utmost importance. Please come by yourself and tell no one. I know Harry's innocent.
Alexander Brown.
Sirius read it over again. Alexander Brown. That was the Hufflepuff they had befriended during their years at Hogwarts. He had become an Auror with James and Sirius. How on earth did Alexander know about Harry? And how had he known that Remus thought Harry was innocent too? Would the man truly help them? He was an Auror. That would give the evidence more strength. But what if Alexander was leading them straight into a trap? The man had followed Fudge and Crouch loyally . . .
"What do you think Moony?" He asked softly still looking down at the note. No, Alexander would never do that to Moony, the man would never betray any of his friends. Once you were his friend, unless you did something unspeakable, then he would protect you with his life. He would never lead Moony into a trap like that. So why would he help them? Out of respect for James?
"I think," Remus said slowly as Sirius looked up at him. "That I should meet him at Godric's Hollow tomorrow. Alexander has not contacted me for almost twelve years, whatever he knows must be important."
"Shouldn't I be with you? To protect you incase he really did set up a trap?" Sirius asked cautiously. He knew that Remus no longer liked to think that any of his friends could be traitors, especially after . . .
"No Padfoot, you need to go to Albus tomorrow with anything we find today. Harry won't last much longer in Azkaban. If Albus is not there, go to Severus and have him convince Minerva." Sirius opened his mouth to protest against talking to Snape. "Severus is the only one who knows you are innocent, and he will help Harry, even if he has to deal with you. Minerva does not know that you are innocent Sirius, she would have you locked away before you could even say a word. She has credibility within the wizarding world. If Snape convinces her, the Ministry officials will listen."
Sirius just nodded. He knew what Remus said was true, but he did not like trusting Severus Snape with his son's life. But if it was the only hope for Harry he would do it.
"Let's start looking through the books." He said putting the note down and grabbing a thick text.
Remus just nodded and sat beside his friend.
Even as he flipped the first page of the book over, he knew that they were running out of time . . .Harry would not be able to last much longer in Azkaban. And Voldemort could attack at anytime.
Please, let them save Harry on time.
***************
Hermione waved good-bye to her parents as she stepped into the fireplace. The Weasleys had put her on the floo network for the morning, so that she could travel to The Burrow that way. She had spent hours begging her parents to allow her to go to the Burrow. They had not wanted her to leave them for a month, especially since she had spent a week in Bulgaria. They hardly had anytime to see her at all. But when she had blurted out the entire story, her parents had stopped arguing. After a long discussion on the matter, her parents had finally agreed. It had taken almost three days to convince her parents to let her go. She hoped that she was not too late, that Harry had not lost himself within the walls of Azkaban . . .
She arrived at the Burrow in the Weasleys' living room. She had never liked floo travel, actually she did not think that anyone liked it. She quickly brushed the soot off her clothes before entering the room. None of the Weasleys were currently in the living room at the moment, though she could hear a few noises coming from the kitchen. She turned around just in time to see Mr. Weasley arrive holding her trunk.
"Thank you." She smiled at him helping him remove the heavy box from the fireplace.
"Your welcome, I'll have the boys help you bring it upstairs." Mr. Weasley said walking into the kitchen. A few seconds later three red-heads came out, all with identical frowns on their faces.
One of them smiled slightly as he caught sight of her, but the other two kept frowning.
"Hello," she smiled at them.
"Hello." The three muttered hardly looking up at her.
"Here Hermione, we'll take your trunk upstairs, you go into the kitchen to see mom, she'll be happy to see you." One of the twins said taking the trunk from her. She smiled in gratitude.
"Careful," She told the two boys, "It is really heavy."
"We noticed." The other twin muttered dryly as Ron led Hermione away to the kitchen.
She was surprised, to say the least when she entered the kitchen. The room had always smelled of baking and happiness. Now the smell of fresh baked bread was almost non-existent and the joy and happiness that usually radiated from the house seemed to have dulled. It felt as if a cold bucket of water had been splashed on her. The reality of Harry's imprisonment, which had seemed so unreal in her bedroom, suddenly hit her.
"Mrs. Weasley," she said in greeting to the older woman, whose hair for once was left down.
"Hermione." Mrs. Weasley said tearfully giving the brown-haired girl a hug. "I'm so glad that you could come."
"So am I." Hermione said warmly.
"Would you like something to eat dear?" The woman asked almost mechanically.
"No thank you." She answered politely.
"Come on Hermione," Ron muttered into her ear. She nodded. It still amazed her how silent, how ghost-like the Burrow seemed now.
As soon as they reached Ron's room, he shut the door and pulled out a stack of papers from the top of his trunk.
"Here, this is all the information I've managed to find out since your letter. I don't know how it will help, but I thought you might have an idea." He pushed the stack of papers into her hands. "Dad said that he would help us find more if it was not enough."
Hermione shook her head. The stack of papers was more than she ever dreamed of finding. She had never thought that so much information could be found out about Harry's case. She started to flip through the pages slowly, scanning them all. The information on every sheet was very general and not specific, but she could work with that.
"Ron," she told the red head boy watching her impatiently. "Get out a parchment and a quill. We'll analyze this information and see what we can find out."
***************
He heard footsteps outside of his office. Percy looked up, wondering who was coming into his office. He held his wand tightly, ready to curse the intruder outside. He did not have time for anymore silly questions or comments from the others in the building. It bothered him that they kept asking him useless questions. Then there was that strange man this morning . . .Alexander Brown . . .
A familiar red-head appeared in the office.
"Afternoon, dad." Percy stated politely, not really wanting to be bothered by his father. There were at least one hundred more documents he had to check over and sign today, and that did not include the number of little errands that Minister Fudge had wanted him to perform. "What brings you here?"
"Afternoon Percy." Arthur Weasley replied politely, taking a seat in one of the leather chairs that stood before Percy's desk. "I have come here son to talk to you."
There was a pause.
"About?" Percy asked irritatedly. He knew exactly what his father wanted to talk about, Arthur had talked about it non-stop since it happened. It was not such a big deal, the boy was a traitor and now he was where he deserved to be.
"Where your loyalties lie, Percy. I know that you have always dreamed of working for the Ministry, that you are proud to follow Minister Fudge. Normally I would not ask you to choose son, however recent events have shown that Fudge is pushing beyond boundaries that should not be crossed. Now I have to ask you, when the time comes, where will you stand? Will you stand with us, your family, your friends? Or will you stand with the Ministry? I know what I am asking of you is hard, but you are a man now Percy and you must choose. If you stand with us, we need your help more than ever. If not then I shall leave you in peace to do your work for the Ministry."
Percy stared at his father in amazement. Never had his father ever asked him to do something like this. To answer a question like that. He let the words his father said sink into him. Would he leave his family to follow Minister Fudge? Or would he stand by his family even though they were standing against Fudge? He had worked hard to gain his current position in the Ministry, extremely hard. Could he give it up for his family?
"What are you talking about dad?" He asked softly not wanting to let his thoughts continue their current path.
"I am talking about your beliefs Percy. I always thought you believed that justice should be served where justice is due. That you believed in protecting your family and helping your friends. That you would help them in their time of need. Harry is a part of our family Percy. Are you going to leave him to suffer in Azkaban? You know what the dementors do to him. He will die if he is left there. You have a strong influence in the Ministry, Percy, you can convince someone to let Harry out." Arthur told his son firmly.
Percy sighed. His father had been at him with this for days. Ever since Harry had been imprisoned in Azkaban. This was just another way to convince him to help Harry. He truly believed that the boy had killed his relatives. How else would that have happened? He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named had not come back from the dead, it was not possible, so the only plausible explain was that Harry had gone mad and murdered the Dursleys, his family. If they were to free Harry, and his parents were to take the boy in, then he would be letting his family into danger. His father did not seem to understand that.
"He killed his family father. If we were to let him out of Azkaban he would kill us too. I am protecting my family. And what I believe in. Harry is not innocent, he really did commit those crimes. How else would everything have happened?"
"I do not know Percy, but I know that Harry did not kill the Dursleys." Arthur met Percy's eyes. "Percy what do you remember of Harry?"
Percy opened his mouth about to answer the question.
"No. I want you to really think about it. I will leave you with this now. Think about it this afternoon and tell me tonight whether you think that a boy like Harry is capable of doing something like that. And think hard about it Percy." With that Arthur stood up before Percy could say another word and left the office.
That was odd. His father had never done anything like that before. Not that it mattered, he would be forced to answer the question tonight, he knew it, he had seen it in his father's eyes. Either answer the question, or lose his family's faith.
What did he remember of Harry? The boy had always been small, too small for his age. He had eerie, bright green eyes that seemed to be capable of taking in every detail. Harry was an excellent Quidditch player, he was sure that the boy could have joined a professional Quidditch team with no problems. He had potential to do very well at school, except he did not have the aspiration to do so. His best friends were Hermione Granger and his brother Ron. Hermione was a highly intelligent girl who was easily one of the smartest witches who had gone through Hogwarts.
That was all very well, but that was not what he was looking for, and he knew it.
He sighed. What did he remember of Harry? What did he know of the boy's character? Harry had been quite shy and did not like attention. Alright he knew that, actually anyone with half a brain who had ever talked to the boy would realize he did not care for his fame. Harry was mystified by magic and really did not use it all that much. He had seen his brothers use more magic in a minute, than he had seen Harry use in a week . . .
So if the boy truly had cast those spells would he not have needed to practice them, or at least practice magic more?
Percy stored that away for further reference to later, after he had analyzed the rest of the information.
What else? Harry always had a knack for finding trouble. No, that was not right. Trouble always seemed to find him. Sirius Black certainly had not been trouble caused by Harry, nor had the Chamber of Secrets been Harry's fault. And from what he had heard, Harry had never put his name in the Goblet of Fire for the Tri-wizard tournament. He was not ready to decide the truth of that statement yet. No, he would decide that after he had decided whether Harry was innocent or not. Harry always seemed to be involved in others business, something that he should not know of, such as he had been with the sorcerer's stone.
The boy had courage and a heart of gold. Percy had heard how, during the Second Task in the Tournament last year, Harry had waited till everyone had been rescued from the merpeople's grasp before taking Ron and another hostage to the surface. The boy had risked his life. He had heard that if Harry had waited any longer, he would have drowned. Would someone like that kill his relatives?
Harry had never talked about his relatives. Well he had said that they were not the nicest people, and they had locked him in his room before his second year. His relatives could have pushed him to far. That could explain the explosion. But it still did not explain the Dark Mark that had decorated the sky above the house. Could his relatives have pushed him to become a follower of a dead man?
Percy knew that answer to that. No. He could not believe that Harry had truly turned. That Harry had become a Death Eater. Nor could he believe that Harry had lost his mind. No. He did not believe that either. In his heart, he knew that Harry Potter could no . . .
A knock at his door interrupted his thoughts.
"Mr. Weasley, may I come in?" Minister Fudge asked politely.
"Of course sir," Percy said quickly standing up. "Please have a seat."
"Thank you." The Minister said slipping into the chair his father had occupied only half an hour ago. The man looked exhausted, as if he had not slept for several nights. Percy felt sympathetic to the man. To have to deal with all those people against his policies. It would be very difficult.
Percy waited till the Minister was comfortable before taking a seat in his high backed chair. He did not say a word, waiting for the Minister to speak first.
"Mr. Weasley, as I am sure you are aware of Harry Potter has been sent to Azkaban. Before I continue this conversation I must ask you a question. Answer truthfully, you will not be incriminated with any answer, I just want your opinion on the matter. Do you think Harry Potter is guilty of the crimes he was imprisoned for?"
Percy stared at the man, his mouth hung open in surprise. Out of all the questions he would ever think the man would ask, he had never suspected something like this. Never, not in a million years. But how could he answer the man's question? He already knew the answer, but if he told Minister Fudge that then what happen to his job? His career? His life? Was he willing to sacrifice it yet? No.
Besides he did not truly have enough time to decide his answer, did he? He had not looked at the evidence that would incriminate Harry. He had not seen both sides of the picture. No he needed to think more before truthfully answering.
For now, he would answer what he always had, what he had told his father again and again over the past few days.
"Minister, I really do not have enough evidence to prove whether Harry truly is guilty or not. However with the evidence I have, I believe that Harry Potter is guilty."
As the words were spoken, Minister Fudge started to smile slightly. "So you believe that I have done the right thing?" Fudge asked almost cautiously.
"Yes." Percy answered immediately, almost mechanically. Something inside him refused to go against the Minister, some instinct that had been inbred in him since he was small.
"Good." The man said. "I am glad that one person at least you agree with me." He smiled at Percy, relief seemed to be written on his face. "I have had so many letters that I was starting to doubt my decision. However, I value your opinion very highly Mr. Weasley, you have helped me to decide."
Percy felt his world start to fall around him. He managed to keep his face neutral. He hoped, pleaded to any god that would listen, that he had not truly helped this man make his decision, that he had just sentence Harry to Azkaban for life with no chance of escape.
Minister Fudge was just testing him. Yes, that was what had happened. The man was testing his loyalty, he had not been truly asking his opinion, but had been asking the same thing his father had. Who he was truly following. What he believed.
"I would like to ask you a favor Mr. Weasley. Do not answer me now, you can give me your answer tomorrow. Would you be so kind as to help me answer those letters? I believe that you have a skill with words that would help calm some people down. I would appreciate greatly if you would help. Please come to my office tomorrow with your answer."
"Yes, sir." Percy answered quickly. He knew he was running out of time to decide whom he would follow . . .
"Since I value your work greatly, Mr. Weasley, there is another matter that I would like to discuss with you. Your father has been talking with other employees about matters that do not concern him. Normally I would not care, however he is telling those employees lies about several others and myself. He has created a void between several employees and fights have ensued. I have already spoken with him, however he refuses to listen to me. He might listen to his son better. I would suggest that you warn your father to stop talking about Harry Potter and his case, or he will lose his job." The Minister stared at him for a few seconds, letting the information settle in. "I expect to see you in my office tomorrow Mr. Weasley. Have a good day."
"Sir." Percy said standing up as the Minister did. He watched as the man left his office. As soon as the lime coloured pants could no longer be seen, Percy collapsed heavily in his chair. He had had no idea things were so bad. No wonder why his father was asking his help.
Minister Fudge had convinced everyone that Harry Potter was guilty. And now he had told Percy to keep his father quiet about the whole affair. He was not allowing Arthur to speak out about what he believed in. The Minister was taking away their rights, and he was lying to the people. But it was to stop fights, wasn't it? That was justified. Percy began to have doubts. For once in his life, he doubted the capability of the Ministry. For once in his life, Percy knew that he could not follow the Minister anymore, that their beliefs clashed.
He knew what he had to do.
Percy did not even give a second glance to the pile of papers that lay on his desk as he left the room, locking the door behind him.
***************
Alexander looked at his watch. 8:00 pm. Two more hours. He would have to wait. The guards changed in three hours time, so in two hours, the current guards on duty would be exhausted from the long day. Then he would be able to get past them no problem. He only hoped that Harry could survive two more hours. The healing potion that he had given the boy should have held over until late this afternoon. He just hoped it would be enough. He was about to check everything for the hundredth time when an owl came flying through his window. Alexander grabbed the bird and untied a torn piece of parchment.
Alexander,
Quick, go to Azkaban, the fortress is under attack.
It was unsigned. But that did not matter. Alexander knew that it was true. He had been waiting for something like this to happen.
Quickly, he stood up and ran out the door, leaving everything he had prepared behind. He would not need it now.
Only one thought floated through his mind as he pushed the door open. He had to save Harry. And without calling for backup, he apparated to the docks of Azkaban.
He gasped in horror at what he saw . . .
***************
End chapter six.
* ceann means head in Gaelic. I do not know if I am using it in the proper context, but what I meant to say is that the Malfoy's were celebrating the return of Lord Voldemort, their leader. It's just a sick joke Malfoy put on the note. He did not expect it to be found.
A/N: Alright I know I am cruel for leaving a cliff hanger, but I just couldn't help it, this was the perfect place to leave one. However, since I am not that mean, I will make a bargain. If I receive forty reviews then I will post the next chapter as soon as I see that I have forty – since the next chapter is completed. However if I do not receive forty reviews then everyone will have to wait until Friday to see what happens next. So it is up to everyone as to when I post next.
A/N: Was this chapter OK? I tried to stop it from being so choppy like the last chapter. I hope it worked.
A/N: Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed, you guys are great, really you are.
usa32: Thank you. I'm glad that you liked the last two chapters. I hope that this one is OK. Hermione and Ron will come back with a longer part in chapter eight.
Mrs. Moony: Thank you so much for your review. I am not telling you whether or not Voldemort is Sirius' father, although I am sure that if you read between the lines that you will figure it out. And whether Dumbledore knows about Harry's parentage will be found out soon, probably in chapter nine. Thank you again for your review.
Butterfly Queen: Thank you for reviewing again, I'm sorry I haven't reviewed yours, I have not had time to read it yet, the teachers were giving me tests all last week. I'm glad that you think the chapter is not that bad. Is it still snowing over there? I wish it would snow here. My sister says hi.
Silent Angel: I'm glad that you like my story so far. Well the next chapter is where the Death Eaters finally attack Azkaban. That chapter will decide if Harry leaves Azkaban or not. I hope that this chapter was alright. Thank you so much for reviewing all those chapters, I am glad that you did.
Death Eater: Thank you for reviewing. I am glad that you did like the last chapter and did not think it was that bad. I hope that this chapter is alright, I am using your suggestion about Percy here. Do you think I should keep writing his point of view every so often, and give him a bigger role in the plot? I don't know if I will or not. Thank you for reviewing.
snowwy54: Thank you so much for your review (and I did hit one hundred !Yeah! J ) I hope that you liked this chapter, especially the part with Sirius. After the next part he will have a lot more parts in the story.
mnemosyne: The last chapter was a cliffy? It was not meant to be. This chapter was meant to be one though. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. You will find out what happens to Harry in the next chapter. Thank you so much for reviewing.
Nicky: Thank you so much for reviewing.
GiggleGurl15: Thank you so much for reviewing, I hope that you liked this chapter.
vmr: Thank you for reviewing. J
Lady Foxfire: You'll see who rescues Harry first. The Death Eaters are coming, but Alexander is on his way to rescue Harry and so is Snape, but poor Harry is very weak, so he could die . . . No, I don't think I could kill Harry off, he's one of the main characters and without him I would not be able to write the story. Also I am not that mean. I hope that you enjoyed this chapter.
darkphoenix: Thank you so much for reviewing. I am so happy that you like my story. How was Sirius in this chapter? Was his character portrayed alright? I hope he was. Don't worry, Harry and Sirius will meet again in the future.
phoenix353: I am glad that you liked the twist. Thank you so much for reviewing.
Moonlight: Thank you so much. Thank you for adding me to your favorites list. Thank you it means a lot to me. Don't worry, Harry will survive I don't think I could be that mean and kill him off.
FairyTale: So you agree that the last chapter was a little disjointed? I hope that this chapter was not as disjointed, I tried not to jump around too much, I hope it's OK. The revelation will probably (depending if I follow what I have planned) happen in chapter nine or ten (I think). I haven't written it, but I have a pretty good idea what is going to happen. It is a ways away, but the things that happen between now and then are going to force Sirius to confess. I hope that this chapter was alright and that you enjoyed Sirius' part.
Lily Marie Potter: Thank you so much for reviewing.
RozeBunny: Thank you for reviewing. I am glad that you like my story.
Blizzard: Thank you so much for your review. Don't worry by the end of the story Fudge should get the punishment he deserves. Any good ideas on how to go about that? I have some, but any suggestions would be very welcome.
Janai: Thank you so much for reviewing. I am glad that you like my story. And thanks for the tip about spelling the Chudley Cannons I wasn't sure if it was spelt with one d or two.
CokeFreak: Thank you so much for reviewing.
Sara Minks: Which fic is it where everyone is dying, I don't think I've read one like that before. And I thought my story was dark. Thank you so much for reviewing. I hope that this chapter was alright.
A/N: Thank you again for reviewing, it is so encouraging.
A/N: Please review, any comments and suggestions are welcome. Also does anyone have any ideas for a summary of this story? I read through it and I realized how horrible it was. If you have any ideas please do tell me. Thank you. And remember if I receive 40 reviews I will post the next chapter immediately thereafter, or as soon as I see it.