Phoenix Flame

Child of the new Dawn

Disclaimer: don't own don't sue

A/N thanks to those who reviewed!!

Lady Arwen of Rivendell and madscientistsuz congrats on breaking the record! Can you tell me about how long it took you? I've got another reader who wants to know so she can break it! Thanks for such wonderful reviews I really appreciate them!!


The Price of Freedom

'Just one more day.' Remus thought warily, running a hand though his graying hair as he leaned over the dinning room table, and looked over the map of Azkaban Kingsley had managed to get from the ministry.

"Worried Remus?" Ashon asked as he walked toward him. He had regained full use of his arm and all the bandages had been removed the other morning. He leaned back against the table and watched Remus with an unreadable expression on his face.

"Of course I'm worried about him, look what Azkaban had done to Sirius! He's only-"

"Potter isn't an only anything," Ashon interrupted him, "He certainly isn't a child anymore. He's got his mind shields and animagus forms to give him relief. It's the little ones that worry me. Children's imagination can be more deadly than actual events. Dementors feed on children's nightmares and fears, not only their experiences. Fear of losing their parent's, loneliness, fear of the dark, noises in the night, getting the children out of there should be one of our first priorities."

Remus nodded, it was what Harry would want anyway. He really cared about the terrible twins.

"Just one more day, Remus. Then the werewolves will be at their strongest and will be able to put up a struggle when we break them out. Potter will survive."


That Night

Harry didn't think he could survive Azkaban if he didn't eat eventually. Though the brown and gray sludge with stale rock hard bread could hardly be considered food, not eating for four days wasn't the best plan if he ever wanted to escape. He couldn't help but see why Sirius had gotten so thin when he was imprisoned here.

He glanced at the cell to the left, where Kassidy and her family were, and to where most of his untouched food went to. Each cell was only given a plate of this sludge and bread, regardless of how many were occupying it. Worried about Marrok's wounds and the children's health, Harry ended up giving his food to them, preferring not to eat until he was near starvation. He had steadfastly ignored the cramps in his stomach up till now.

Reluctantly Harry broke off, with some difficultly, a bit of the bread and put it in his mouth. It felt and tasted like he was trying to eat a brick, but he managed to get it down along with the rest of the rock hard bread.

With a quick movement, Harry dumped the remaing contents of his plate onto the Kassidy's, which was placed in the very corner of her cell, closest to Harry. With a sigh, Harry let the plate fall with a soft clatter onto the floor and got to his feet. He walked leisurely toward the cot and sat down on the edge. Leaning back against the wall, he could see a small portion of the cloudy sky moving swiftly across his window.

He caught a glimpse of the moon before it was hidden once again. It would be the full moon tomorrow. He sighed again and looked out into the darkened hall where the dementors lurked. He hoped the werewolves would be all right in their weakened condition.

He jumped as a dementor approached his cell and got up onto his feet. The dementor waved a rotting hand in front of the door and it slowly screeched to the side, allowing a masked deatheater to enter. Judging by the deatheater's bulky appearance, Harry guessed it was McNair. He grabbed Harry by the front of his robes and shoved him out into the hallway.

Bellatrix was there, watching gleefully as McNair grabbed Harry's arms behind him and forced a black band around both his wrists, that both blocked his magic and tied his hands together behind his back. Harry gave a silent thanks to Kali for her training, knowing that he could use a little wandless magic if he had to, gave him a little comfort. And as McNair pushed him forward, he could use all he could get.

A few werewolves watched as Harry was taken, but most had pushed themselves into a corner, where their eyes glittered in the flickering torch light due to their gold and yellow shades. Harry thought he might have heard Kassidy say his name, but he couldn't look back to see and he really didn't want to.

At the end of the hallway of cells, there was a large wooden door that looked fairly recently put in, as its hinges were free of rust unlike the others. McNair grabbed Harry's wrists to stop him, while Bellatrix went in front of them holding her wand out. She quickly made a pattern in the air, which Harry knew he would never remember, about an inch in front of the door. Like with headquarters, a loud series of clicks followed, and then the door swung open soundlessly.

The walked through hallway after hallway, the only sound Harry heard were the sounds of their footsteps on the hard stone floor. Like in the Hall of cells, torches were spread sparsely and only seemed to make the darkness more pronounced and the shadows flicker as if alive.

Harry was determinedly trying to clear his mind and prepare for Voldemort. He focused on the sounds around him, the pain of the bound around his wrist, and the sound of his own heartbeat. Then he focused onto the stone of the surrounding walls, making one of his own in his mind, that would stop Voldemort from finding out anything that could endanger his friends or the order.

It was an odd detached feeling when he finally finished. As if he was watching the scene though another person. That someone else was being led down a dark hall with their hands bound behind their back and he was just watching...

He nearly jumped when he realized they were in a completely different part of Azkaban. The halls were lighted with evenly spaced torches and a few moth eaten decaying tapestries were hung on the wall. And behind a stone archway stood a large open room with just one thing inside it. A single chair that was being occupied by a man with a flat snakelike face and gleaming red eyes that narrowed at the sight of Harry, Lord Voldemort.

Voldemort gave a thin-lipped smile and dismissed McNair with a wave of his long-fingered hand. Bellatrix prodded Harry in the back with her wand and forced him to walk toward the chair.

"Harry Potter. I do hope you are enjoying your stay here. Bella made sure you had all the comforts, Azkaban prison had to offer."

Harry remained silent and tried not to look directly into Voldemort's eyes while still watching him.

"What's this? No heroic statement? No threats? My, my, I do hope Azkaban hasn't broken your spirit already; it would ruin all the fun. Even your dear godfather lasted longer than you. What will Dumbledore say when he finds his golden boy Potter already broken after not but a week? And still you have nothing to say." Voldemort continued softy, watching Harry closely.

Harry felt fury rise up inside him and he had to fight to keep himself calm.

"Crucio."

The curse hit Harry completely off-guard and he fell to his knees, biting his lip and digging his nails into the flesh of his hand. He closed his eyes and lowered his head refusing to let the dark lord know he was in any pain. He was left gasping as the curse was finally lifted and looked up at the dark lord before spitting the blood out of his mouth from biting his lip.

"Now perhaps his tongue has been loosened." Voldemort said watching Harry intently smiling.

Harry muttered a curse and rose shakily to his knees, trying to ignore the shocks of pain that came from falling to the stone floor.

"Manners Harry," Voldemort said and raised his wand to cast the curse again. Harry had barely risen from the floor when he let himself drop again to avoid the curse. He felt it just miss his head, making his hair ripple as a loud 'Crack!' echoed in the empty room.

"Now that I have your attention, Potter." Voldemort said calmly resuming his seat and interlacing his fingers, his red eyes looking over them and boring into Harry's emerald ones, "We can have a little chat... tell me now, where does Dumbledore hide his little Order? And don't try saying you have no idea what I'm talking about because Wormtail, incompetent as he is, has indeed conformed you are part of Dumbledore's ragged bunch of miscreants."

"I'll never tell you anything." Harry spat at him, ignoring his previous plan and glaring fully into Voldemort's blood red eyes.

The dark lord smirked and leaned forward slightly, "Yes, Tiernan and Marrok said the same thing.... that is, until they discovered my methods of persuasion are quiet affective."

"Liar! They would never tell you anything!" Harry yelled, getting to his feet. He started to gather energy within himself, forming it into a ball and readying himself. What he wasn't expecting was the hit from behind by Bellatrix that made him see stars as he fell painfully to the stone floor.

"Always watch your back Potter, hasn't Moody taught you anything?" Voldemort laughed.

Harry bit his lip from crying out as scar sheared with pain at the sound of Voldemort's laughter.

"Speaking of lessons, My Lord, I believe Potter was in need of one in the art of torture while at the Department of Mysteries in the Ministry. I believe he is long over due." Bellatrix said from behind Harry.

Harry rested his forehead against the cool stone for a moment before Bellatrix dragged him painfully up onto his feet by his wrists.

"Then by all means, Bella, give our young hero a lesson." Voldemort said leaning back into the chair as Bellatrix pulled out her wand.

Harry concentraited as Bellatrix raised her wand and the minute she drew breath to speak, he lashed out with a whip of pure magic smacking the wand away and forcing the curse to ricochet off the walls disintegrating a tapestry.

"If that's your lesson," Harry said with a smirk, "Than it's a good thing I chose to skip it."

"I thought I told you to bind the boy's magic." Voldemort snarled at Bellatirx, red eyes flashing.

"Master, master his magic is bound, I don't know how he- Forgive me master." She quickly retrieved her wand and shoved it into Harry's back.

"So... he can use magic even if they are bound, interesting. You certainly have a bag of tricks up your sleeve don't you Potter, and a mult-animagus as well.... Remove his bind Bella."

"B-but Master-" Bellatrix sputtered.

"Now, Bella." Voldemort commanded his eyes narrowing.

Bellatrix released Harry from the black band. Harry stretched then rubbed his wrists gently, keeping an eye on Voldemort. 'What could he be planning?'

Voldemort waved his hand and a black shape approached Harry slowly. "This is a Ubel. It's merely a Nighghast that has yet to mature. The Ubel are mindless creatures that kill anything that comes in their path until they have shed enough blood to morph into a adult. This particular Ubel, needs only one more death to become a full demon. However, as the adults are always more difficult to control, I've put a curse on the Ubel that prevents it from transforming. Of course that simply forces the creature to spill more blood in hope of transforming itself, so your death will be a rather painful slow one, it will make sure not to waste a single drop of your blood."

Harry stood grounded to the spot staring at the black figure in horror. It let out an unearthly shriek and at Voldemort's raised hand started forward. It stepped out into the light and Harry gasped at the giant creature without a face. He barely had enough time to jump back as a long tail shot out and dagger-like tip cut through the fabric of his shirt.

"Going to have to do better than that if you want to live." Voldemort commented sounding amused.

Harry glared at him, but regretted it as the Ubel hit him with a clawed fist, sending him flying toward the far wall and landing painfully on the hard stone floor and sliding to a stop.

Harry spat out the blood in his mouth and gently felt his lip, wincing where he found it split. He stood slowly as the creature started toward him again. With a slight push of his mind, he transformed into Kenani's wolf form and sprinted toward the Ubel. Dodging the creature's tail, Kenani attacked with his claws and teeth before being smacked away by long-fingered claw.

Harry shifted back breathing hard, looking up to see what damage he had caused. There were long deep slashes over its chest and one across its head. He grinned; one more transformation into his wolf form and it would be finished. The thought had just crossed his mind when Voldemort's high-pitched laugh began to echo off the walls. Harry didn't have to wonder why for long, as the cuts he had inflicted began to close.

The Ubel was healing itself.

It started toward him again and Harry had to throw himself to one side to avoid it, but once again, he couldn't avoid the tail as it came down on him like a spear giving him a deep gash in the shoulder as he rolled away.

Desperate, Harry transformed into his nuncamy form and attacked the Umbel's throat, twisting it until he heard a loud 'Crack!'.

He quickly dropped it and fell to the ground transforming back into his human form.

"I'm impressed Potter. But I'm afraid this is a victory short-lived. I took the liberty to smear poison on the Umbel's claws, tail, and skin. Now you'll die a slow painful death, all alone and friendless, huddled in your dead godfather's cell with only the shadows for company."

"YOU-" Harry gasped.

Then the world shifted and Harry found himself back in his cell on his back, left with only the white-hot pain spreading slowly throughout his body and strange visions of shadows coming out of the veil.

BOOM!

Was that the last beating of his heart?

CRASH!

What was going on?

Yells of pain, curses, and the voices of the caged werewolves all blurred together.

"Harry!"

Moony?

"Harry open your eyes."

Some one was shaking him. With a groan Harry opened his eyes and squinted up at the person grabbing his shoulders. The hall was full of flickering light and people were running around yelling.

"Harry!"

He focused up on the person and slowly... light brown hair with bits of gray scattered and concerned amber eyes boring into his own... they had come... the order was here... Moony was here...

"Moony...." Harry choked out.

"Can you stand?" He asked pulling Harry upright carefully supporting him.

Harry just nodded slightly as the world shifted once again.

"Come on, we've got to get you out and to a Healer." Remus seemed to be muttering to himself more than Harry, so he remained silent and concentrated on walking.

"Harry!"

Kassidy's voice broke through Harry's fog-like state. He turned to face the cell and quickly pulled open the slightly ajar door to her cell. Both Keane and Marrok were unconscious and Kassidy was sitting helpless between them.

Harry bent down and picked up Keane in his good arm, leaving Remus to place Marrok on a floating stretcher. They hurried toward the big wooden door that led outside, Kassidy griping onto Harry's sleeve the entire time.

Suddenly screams erupted from outside and a huge black figure blocked the doorway. Kassidy gasped and pushed closer to Harry as the Nightghast approached them, folding its wings to fit inside.

"This way," Remus said and hurried back down the corridor to where Harry had been taken to see Voldemort. The pelted passed burning tapestries and entered the empty room. They were almost out of the building when the figure of yet another Nightghast appeared out of the smoke.

Harry pressed Keane into Remus arms and lifted Kassidy onto the stretcher, and hurried toward the Nightghast before Remus could react and gave another mental push and transforming into his nuncamy form. He leapt onto the Nightghast, leaving the door open for Remus to get the others through

Harry cried out in pain as he was thrown off the nuncamy by his tail and slammed into the wall forced back into his human form. He looked up as the Nightghast approached him, claws raised, before the combination of smoke and poison made him pass out.

Hours later

Remus stared at the source of his best friends nightmares now being consumed by a wild flame, but felt no joy. The place Harry had been tortured was now little more but bricks and ash. Yet there was no smile on his face.

Harry had fought to let them escape and Remus had returned to help him, only to find the dead body of the Nightghast and a few pieces of cloth from Harry's torn shirt. Harry was nowhere to be found.

Remus' fingers clutched the fragments of cloth like a lifeline. He felt a presence behind him and turned to see Ashon and Tiernan standing behind him watching the flame grow.

He looked back down at his hand then looked up at the flaming building before saying, "I'll you find you Harry. I promise."

TBC......

A/n hehehehe I've been looking forward to this part for a while (evil grin) lots of reviews means faster updates!!!