Disclaimer: Same old thing. J.K Rowling owns most of the characters. I have a hold on the few and insignificant
Azkaban prison was dark and cold. Each cell was thrown into deeper darkness than that in a mine; only darker shadows, moving only occasionally, signalling that there were inhabitants with the stone walls and metal bars. Suddenly, the cells and stretching corridor were thrown into flickering light as the candles placed along the corridor between the two rows of cells lit themselves – signalling that the sun had risen outside – several of the prisoners within the cells groaned as the light woke them, though the large majority gave the new light little attention; they had already been awake, pacing their cells and muttering, or sitting silent and still on the floor or thinly-padded benches that served as beds, gazing unseeingly forwards.
It was second group that Sirius Black seemed to currently fall into.
He sat at the back of his cell, huddled in the dark corner as if his life depended on it. He had only been there for a month, and already he was showing the affect the fortress had on all its imprisoned occupants
He held little resemblance to the young, handsome man he had previously been. Though he was only twenty-one, his drawn in posture and thinning face showed him to be older, and his grey eyes were sunken and haunted, showing all of the pain he had suffered over the past year.
However, if one cared to look deeper into the man's eyes, they would see the flicker at the back of his eyes, the sure flame of sanity that refused to be extinguished, no matter how long they kept him holed up in this suffocating pit. Sirius Black knew of his innocence.
And it was that knowledge that would keep him sane for the next twelve years.
He was so caught up in his mind, that he did not realise that some of Dementors - the guards of the prison - had appeared outside his door, flanking a single, robed man, they opened the door, admitting the man inside, and closed it again, retreating from the cell when the man gave a dismissive wave of his hand.
Albus Dumbledore stood silent for a moment, watching the cowering man closely before sighing and walking over, sitting on the edge of the bed closest to Sirius and steeping his fingers, peering down over his half-moon spectacles.
"Sirius." He said calmly, the man didn't respond, so Dumbledore tried again, and was rewarded by a small jump from the younger man, and scared eyes turned to look at him.
"Dumbledore." Sirius croaked hoarsely, he still cowered slightly, like a dog expecting a kick from its master. Dumbledore, however, smiled gently. He knew Sirius had had no part in the deaths of the Potter's, he also knew he'd have a hard time proving Sirius' innocence, but he would prove it.
"Sirius, how are you?" he asked, the younger man fixed Dumbledore with a slight glare, and he allowed himself a small chuckle before he turning grave
"Sirius, I'm afraid I have some bad news..." He started
"Sierra?" Sirius asked, Dumbledore shook his head, even though Sirius' twin had disappeared over a year ago, and they all knew against every possibility that she was dead, Sirius hung onto the smallest chance that the young woman was alive, or that they would at least find her body
"I'm afraid we haven't found anything of Sierra yet." Dumbledore said sadly, he had liked the female Black as much as he had the Marauders, the five had always been getting into trouble during their time at Hogwarts, to think of any of them as dead was hard, yet only two of the five remained alive. "It's about Jake." Sirius' head snapped up at the mention of his sister's husband
"What about him?" Sirius asked, after Sierra's death, the older blond man had moved in with Sirius, and had stayed at the house after Sirius himself became Secret Keeper for the Potter's, and had had to move out to hide.
"He's dead, Sirius." Dumbledore said sadly "He was attacked by four Death Eaters whilst he was returning from the shop. He killed two of them, but the others killed him." Sirius bowed his head, angrily blinking back the rage he felt
"Who killed him?" he asked quietly, afraid that if he made his voice any louder it would betray his hatred towards Voldemort's followers
"I do not know the names of the two Jake killed." Dumbledore said steadily "But they caught the others, Bellatrix and Algernon." Sirius nodded, angry with his cousin for what she had done
"Lynette?" Sirius voice wavered as he question after his niece, and Dumbledore's face once again broke into a smile
"She is well." He said, "I've asked Andromeda to look after her." Sirius smiled, and nodded, his cousin would look after the girl and would not let her forget about her parents, that he was sure. He shivered then, his eyes widening slightly and his head dropping back to the floor. Dumbledore turned his head slightly, the Dementors had returned, and stood silently in front of the cell, waiting for Dumbledore.
The man sighed, turning back to Sirius and resting a hand on the younger man's shoulder as he stood. Sirius trembled slightly under the grip, but seemed grateful for the friendly reassurance, for he raised his head again and gave Dumbledore a look full of determination.
"Goodbye Dumbledore." He said quietly, and stared at the Dementors unhappily. Dumbledore nodded, and walked to the cell door, Sirius' voice halted him there
"How's Harry?" he asked, his voice barely more than a cracked whisper. Dumbledore smiled
"He's well, and safe." He replied, and left the cell.
X
Sirius' eyes snapped open, and he lay still for a minute, trying to regulate his breathing. He remembered the day Dumbledore had come to tell him of his brother-in-laws death perfectly, it had been one more thing that had kept him sane during his time in Azkaban, though now he was repeatedly haunted by nightmares of his stay. Once he had calmed down enough, he remembered about Lynette, and knew that Sierra should be told the where-abouts of her child.
He lay still for several more minutes, before finally pulling himself up and out of the bed. A glance through the tiny gap in the curtains showed him that it was still night – everyone else in the house would probably be asleep – silently, he dressed and left his room, padding on light feet down the dimly lit hall.
He paused outside of one door, and then gently grasped the doorknob and twisted it. Light from the hall spilled into the room, and Sirius grinned to see that the bed within the room was empty of both a person and blankets. Turning his head slightly, his gaze landed on the glowing fire, and his grin widened to see the blankets from the bed had been laid before it, and a wolf slept within the folds of the covers.
He silently chuckled, and closed the door again silently, continuing down the hall and then downstairs, laying a glare on the curtains that hid his mothers portrait and then another at the house elf that passed him on the stairs – muttering to itself in the dark.
He entered the kitchen, pulling open the fridge and pulling out a bottle of butterbeer and turning to go and sit at the kitchen table.
He was already sitting there.
He managed to swallow back the yelp, but still jumped backwards with surprise. When he'd finally gotten over his shock – and his heartbeat had returned to its usual pattern – he scowled at the figure in the chair, which was crying with laughter.
"I swear Tonks," he growled "One of these days I'm going to blast you with my wand when you do that."
"It's only a bit of fun…" she drawled back, her appearance changing to her current favourite of a pretty woman with violet eyes and dark red hair "You are such a bore."
Sirius grinned, tousling her long hair as he sat in a chair beside her, smirking at her scowl, he popped the cap from his butterbeer and took a drink.
"Lynette," he said, peering over the bottle's rim at her.
"Those years at Azkaban were not kind to you," Tonks replied with a frown "I'm Tonks. Say it with me, Sirius. To-nkssss…"
"I know who you are, Nymphadora," he retorted, smirking at her dignified look "I was just thinking about Lynette."
"She's fine," Tonks replied with a smile, realising that Sirius wanted to know about his niece "You should see her Sirius, she's a really pretty girl. Looks a lot like Sierra."
"I haven't told Sierra where Lynette's staying yet." He murmured, "I take it she's in Hogwarts?"
"Year above Harry," Tonks replied with a nod, a smile crept across her face "She's in Gryffindor."
"Oh dear," Sirius sighed dramatically "Another member of the Black family to shame my mother by not being in the Slytherin house." He smirked as Tonks giggled, and then brought his gaze up to meet hers "She's in the same house above Harry… that means she knows the Weasley twins?" Tonks nodded, her expression thoughtful
"Now that's an interesting thought," she mused "A Black dating a Weasley…"
"I fear for any children that will come from that pairing," Sirius drawled. He stood, leaving his butter beer half full, and glanced at Tonks "You won't tell Sierra where Lynette is, will you?" he asked, she smiled and shook her head
"I'm leaving that to the dear older brother," she smiled "Tell her soon though, Sirius." She said. The man nodded,
"I will," he promised as he set off across the room. He pulled the door open, paused, and looked back at Tonks, who was still sitting at the table
"By the way, Tonks," he said, "Next time you impersonate me, try wearing different clothes." Tonks looked down at her pyjamas, and grinned
"But you'd look so good in teddy pyjamas Sirius!" she called after him as he closed the door.