Title: A Different Sort of Betrayal
Author: HeirtotheMarauders93
Story Summary: Harry Potter, wrongly imprisoned for murdering Bill Weasley and Rubeus Hagrid, is thrown into Azkaban to rot after his sham of a trial. Nearly five years later, evidence from a certain captured rat releases Harry from Azkaban. Will he forgive those that betrayed him, or will he turn to the man he once sworn to defeat.
Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the Harry Potter series.
Chapter 2:
Harry Potter was far from catatonic in his five years in Azkaban. In fact, he almost embraced his time there. For once in his life he did not have the weight of the world upon his shoulders. For once, he did not have to make appearances in crowds, people who only looked to him as their only hope. Almost. The first three years of Azkaban had been hell on earth for the young wizard. Deprived of the normal standard of food that Hogwarts and Mrs. Weasley had supplied him, he became a little more than a bag of bones. The Dementors, it seemed, had now joined Voldemort, as he was now openly showing himself in public since Harry had been put in Azkaban. Perhaps Voldemort had hoped that many of his supporters would become sane again to revolt in the abhorrence of a castle. If that was the case, then Voldemort had been surely wrong. For weeks after the Dementors took their leave, the Ministry had the Illusion Curse placed upon the prison to mimic the effects of the Dementors; it work magnificently.
For years, Harry had struggled to throw the effects of the Illusion Curse, but every time it was activated, it could not be thrown. For three years straight, Harry had to endure every second of the bone-chilling agony and visions of his mother and father's death the Illusion Curse brought upon him. He sat in his security-enhanced cell rocking himself back and forth as Ministry guards walked by with smirks on their faces, taunting him. Then, one day, just as plain as the one he sat in now, mulling over his thoughts, they simply ceased to affect him. No more worries, no more pain, and the best thing of all, a clear conscious. He could finally think rationally, but in his mind, he still felt the lingering effects of the Illusion Curse, taunting him with its ever-present presence. Once Harry's mind was finally clear, he began to work out. Everyday between meals he would work out. Then, taking thirty minutes out of his harsh routine, he would think about all the magic he had learned in his five years duration in the Wizarding World. Harry had to admit, he was now as fit as he ever was; though he was dirty and in need of a dire bath.
Harry often sat for long periods of time wondering when they were going to find Pettigrew. Every time he thought about that little filth he got angry. Not only angry with Pettigrew, but also angry with himself for not being able to throw off the Imperius Curse. Angry for not being prepared, knowing that there were possibly a multitude wizards and creatures that wanted him dead or put out of the action. He would almost touch the subject of his former friends, but every time he thought of them, whatever defense mechanism his brain had created to ward the effects of the Illusion Curse would shatter, taking several hours to repair and leaving Harry in torment and agony.
BOOM. Harry turned his head so fast that his neck cricked toward the source of the noise. He immediately started rocking back and forth, as he normally would do when he heard someone approaching his cell. He would not put it past the Ministry guards to hurt him more if they thought he were sane enough to put up a good fight. The deep, reverberating footsteps stopped in front of Harry's cell and a drawling voice that Harry knew only so well called out to him,
"Quit your sniveling and get up Potter. I'm here to take you to the Order of the Phoenix Headquarters." The drawling voice made Harry freeze, and he looked up unbelievingly at his nemesis, Draco Malfoy. Damnit. Of all the people they send me, it had to be the one who hated me the most. Bloody bastards.
"Malfoy?" Harry croaked; his voice was rusty for not using it for five years. Draco smirked at Harry and said,
"Not as insane as many would believe, eh, Potter?" Harry continued to look incredulously at Draco before spitting,
"I'm not going anywhere with you. What are you doing here anyway? And what do you mean you're taking me to the Order of the Phoenix?" Draco slightly puffed out his chest, a little light glinting off his shiny Auror's badge. Next to it was silver and gold pin of a phoenix, its minuscule wings open wide and its Flame covering half of its body. Harry mentally cursed.
"Voldemort must have already taken over then, if they're making people like you Aurors and Order members. Then again, it wouldn't surprise me if they did hire filth like you, Malfoy." Draco looked slightly taken aback before leaning toward Harry and saying in a quiet, dangerous voice,
"Since you so clearly do not know the truth, Potter, I am here to retrieve you from Azkaban. They have found a certain rat that should have been dead a long time ago. Unless you would rather stay here." Draco said, nodding around the filthy room that Harry had called home for five years. Harry had again frozen, his mind blank.
"W-what did you say?"
"You heard me Potter," Draco said, straightening back up and brushing nonexistent wrinkles from the silky fabric of the Auror's robes, "They have captured Pettigrew and have gained substantial evidence leading to your release from Azkaban and his imprisonment. Anything else you have to say to waste my time?" Harry was bursting with a million questions, but the one question kept popping up in his mind first,
"H-how?" Draco sneered and said,
"Are you that incoherent that you cannot finish your own question. How what?" Harry's temper nearly flared but he reined it in and asked,
"How did they catch Pettigrew?"
"I don't think that's my story to tell Potter. Perhaps you should ask Severus. I should also mention that your godfather, Black, has been exonerated as well." Draco said, watching Harry's reaction closely. Harry, who had just stood and brushed his dirty robes off, froze, a cold fury in his eyes. Harry looked up at Draco, who had unknowingly took a step back from Harry, and said in a whisper that whispered death and bad omens,
"I couldn't care less about my precious godfather. That bastard is nothing to me. None of them are." Draco quickly blanked his face and threw up his Occlumency shields just to be safe. You could not be more careful around Potter.
***
Draco and Harry had taken the long journey from the innards of Azkaban to the top of the fortress. The large fortress was made like a maze. At every corner there was a guard who had his own security booth and checkout point. At each of these, Draco had to flash his pin, which was scanned with a touch of the guard's wand before allowed clearance to move on to the next checkpoint. During this time, Harry silently fumed and did not talk during the walk. Draco, who would not willingly admit it, expected Harry to be more excited to see his 'friends' than he was. Though Draco could not blame him, friends did not turn on each other's backs and stab them multiple times. Even though Draco was a Slytherin, even he knew the value of trust and dependence one could put on a good friend.
Once they crossed the stormy sea that separated Azkaban from land, Harry felt a subtle change. Just a little, but it was enough. His magic. They had just crossed the Magic Suppression Wards that were set up around Azkaban. It really felt the same as it did five years ago except something was different. Harry could not pinpoint the exact problem, but his magic seemed to flare inside him, almost as if it wished to burst out of him. Draco looked over at Harry, who looked a little green and said,
"Sorry, should've warned about the bloody wards. Forget every time." Draco muttered to himself. Harry looked at Draco oddly, but did not comment. Draco grabbed Harry's arm and said,
"Prepare yourself." Harry felt Draco's arm twist away from him and he felt as he was being pulled through a noodle, whose sides were collapsing on him as he journeyed through to the end of it. Just as he felt as if he could not take it any more, Harry found himself outside Number 12 Grimmauld Place. And standing in front of the stairs was a silently weeping Sirius.
"Harry…"
***
Author's Note: Sorry for the smaller length chapter and the cliffhanger, but I promise I'll make it up to you in the next chapter. I tried to describe Azkaban's innards a little for the reader's to try to understand how hard it was for Sirius to escape as I'm sure that he would be on the very bottom of the fortress. Try to understand that it was a lot for Sirius back then since the Dementor's were still under Ministry control and there was no need for guards every corner of the fortress.
After this story, I will be posting five one-shots, one for each of Harry's years in Azkaban. They will most likely be about 1500+ words long and will describe his feelings and thoughts in a little more detail than in this story.
Be sure to Review. Thank you.