Harry and Merope to the Rescue - Chapter 12

Disclaimer:

I don't own the HP universe, unfortunately.

Harry should have expected that reaction, he really should have, but for some reason he thought Sirius would have reacted a little better. It's not like he had spent 12 years here yet, he was barely into his second month.

Harry shook his head and checked the wards he had placed around the cell to prevent the guards from detecting anything amiss, then he sent a wandless ennerverate at Sirius and waited.

Sirius sat back up so fast it made his head spin and he felt a tad dizzy, so he sat still and cradled his head until it cleared up again. Looking around as if trying to recall what caused him to faint, his eyes landed on Harry again. Harry said, "Go ahead and scream if you need to, Padfoot, I've warded the cell so the guards won't be bothering us for a while." Sirius opened and closed his mouth, trying to speak but no words would come out. "What's the matter, Padfoot, kneazle got your tongue?" Harry asked.

"You're — you're," Sirius tried to say, but he just couldn't.

Harry finally took pity on him and said, "I'm not James. I'm not a figment of your imagination. I'm afraid if I tried to tell you the full story right now, you would only think yourself hallucinating even more. Look at my eyes, Padfoot." And when Sirius did, he gasped in surprise. "Yes, that's right." Harry said. "I'm Harry."

Sirius cried, "Has it really been so many years? I knew I had lost track of the days, but Merlin? Did I really lose so much time that you had grown up and I was never given a trial?" Tears were pouring down his face as he reached out his hands towards Harry, as if to feel he was really there.

"Padfoot," Harry gave him a gentle smile and said softly, "You haven't been here quite two months."

"Then why are you so old?!" Sirius exclaimed. "You're one of the guards who came to taunt me in a new way, aren't you?"

Harry shook his head and said, "The short version is that I'm a time traveler. My wife and I arrived here just in time to save Little Harry, your one-and-a-half-year-old godson, from Death Eaters who had found the location Dumbledore stashed him in with magic-hating muggles. Petunia and Vernon Dursley. They had already killed the muggles when they got there. I took care of the DEs, they won't be able to hurt anyone again. My wife and I adopted Little Harry. We have found Remus. We are working on getting you a trial."

To say that Sirius was shocked was an understatement. He had opened and closed his mouth so many times that he resembled a fish. Finally, he said, "That is an awful lot to expect me to process." He decided he would be better off ranting about the Dursleys later.

Harry said, "Yes, I know. I brought you something though." Reaching into his pocket, Harry brought out the gold bracelet. "Here," he said, "let me see your hand." Sirius lifted his hand out to him and Harry took it. "I've enchanted this so the guards will be unable to detect it," Harry said as he closed the clasp around Sirius' wrist.

"What does it do?" Sirius asked, looking at it with a frown of concentration.

Harry said, "It will give you extra protection from the dementors and dim their effects." At Sirius' questioning look, Harry explained further, "I've imbibed it with love. When the dementors are near, you will not feel as affected. Think of it like you're hearing a light drizzle instead of a thunderstorm. It will muffle their auras."

Sirius looked at Harry in amazement. "Where did you learn to do that?"

"Well," Harry said, "it's a very long story that I don't have time to tell you about right now. I need to get back to my wife and Moony. We plan to move to the tropical island that I was not aware of in my own time. After we have both you and Remus together, then we'll tell you our story. I do hope to have you out of here by Christmas."

Sirius said, "Well, as easily as you got in here, I can imagine you can get me out with you."

"Yes, I could," Harry said, "but then you would be a wanted fugitive, whether you've never had a trial and been convicted or not. I can help you get a new identity and change your face through a muggle procedure called plastic surgery, but I don't want to have do all that unless the Ministry continues to be stupid. I hope to make them less stupid when I sic your mother on them."

"Yeah, right." Sirius laughed. "I'm sure she's glad I'm here, her blood-traitor disappointment of a son." Then Sirius shook his head in disbelief when Harry didn't show any sign of it being a joke. "How could you even begin to think she'd help me? She hates me and wishes she would have drowned me at birth."

Then Harry explained what he heard the previous morning in the drawing room of Grimmauld Place, briefly explaining about the horcruxes and Regulus and Kreacher's role in finding one. Sirius was crying by the end of the explanation and said, "I can hardly believe it. Do you really think she would fight for me to get a trial?"

Harry said, "What I think is that she would do whatever it takes to try to make amends with you and try to help the survival of the House of Black." Harry thought for a moment and said, "We were having some difficulty in figuring out how to approach her to get her involved, but if you wrote her a letter and act as if you're reaching out to her as your last hope, but you don't expect much because of how you know she feels about you. Pointing out that surely she wouldn't want the Heir of House Black to die in Azkaban without issue to inherit, not only that, but that you, the heir of an ancient and noble house, is languishing here in Azkaban, still having not had a trial before the Wizengamot."

At Sirius' wide-eyed expression, Harry continued, "That will not only have her wanting to prove to you her desire for reconciliation, but it will also anger her that the Ministry has the audacity to place a son of Black in Azkaban without the benefit of a trial. I believe she would raze the Ministry if they don't comply with her demands."

"If you think it would really work," Sirius said, "I'm willing to write her a letter, but I have no parchment and quill. Also, how are you expecting to get it to her? I'm not allowed to send letters, the guards refuse me every time I ask."

Harry said "Well, I carry those kinds of supplies with me all the time," which he was able to hand over to Sirius. Upon seeing that Sirius had no idea how he was supposed to write, Harry conjured a desk for him to use, which Sirius thanked him for. While Sirius wrote, Harry continued with his answer, "Also, I intend to call Kreacher to me after I've arrived at the island tomorrow, and then I'll give him the letter to deliver to your mother, and then we'll have to wait and see."

Sirius paused in his writing at that. "What makes you think Kreacher will come to you when you call?" Sirius asked.

Harry said, "Well, you made me your heir and in my time, I was Head of the House of Black and he was my house elf. It is my belief that it will carry over to this time period, as far as my ability to call him and give him orders. However, should that not be the case, then I'll just send your letter to your mother by owl post or hand deliver it to her."

Satisfied with that answer, Sirius resumed writing his letter, handing it to Harry after it had been dried and folded. Harry remained there visiting with Sirius for a while longer, warding off one of the corners, keying only Sirius to it so the guards will be unable to detect it, and conjuring a shelf to store the food that Harry provided to him. Not knowing if Sirius knew how to use a muggle can opener, he opened all the cans and transferred them to conjured Tupperware containers, under preservation charms, designed to self-vanish after the food had been eaten.

Sirius was most grateful for the food and was tempted to ask for a scourgify, but thought it would make the guards suspicious. He settled for asking Harry to place a freshening charm on him, so he could at least feel a little clean.

After promising to come back to visit and give updates, Harry returned back to the hotel, leaving Sirius to go to sleep with a full belly for the first time in nearly a month and a half. Things were starting to look up, and now Sirius had hope to get out of here one way or the other very soon.