Title: A Long Road Ahead

Author: Danii x2

Backstory… Seventh year summer story…Dumbledore is dead but Sirius is still alive (im still in denial years later)…they're at Grimmald Place because of imminent threats and attacks with the death eaters…Pre HBP

Chapter 3- Death Eaters, dementors, and curses, O my

Harry awoke with a painful headache. His entire body ached as if he had a terrible case of the flu. He moved slightly and let out a small cry when his leg muscles contorted in pain. He was dirty and smelly. His hair was so greasy it could have rivaled Snape's own head of hair. He wanted more than anything to go home to the Burrow or Hogwarts and take a long peaceful shower. But no, he was stuck in this cell…alone. He still didn't know where he was.

The walls were made of hard, cold, slimy stone and so was the floor. Harry was lying on a pallet of some sort in the corner. The floor was covered in a sticky substance. When Harry realized what it was he nearly vomited. It was his blood. He guessed it must have been from the cutting curse that Malfoy Sr. had used on him at Hogsmeade. He felt his abdomen where the curse hit and was unsurprised to find his robes in tatters and his stomach split open. There was a fine crust of blood on the outer edge, which when touched made Harry nauseous. He tore himself away from the site and sat up against the disgusting wall.

There was only one window in the small room. Even though it was barred and covered in filth the window was perfect for viewing the night outside. The night sky was a dark navy blue with twinkling lights every few meters. A sliver of the moon was high in the sky and glowing brightly illuminating different sections of the cell.

As his vision became more accustomed to the darkness, he noticed drawings on the wall and stubs of white chalk in the corner. The pictures were crudely done in chalk and dusty from the lack of cleaning. Several were pictures of a dog, a stag, and a large wolf. Another was of a beautiful flower, a lily maybe, a large stag and a small baby stag.

Harry thought for a moment. He remembered seeing pictures like that before. On winter break last year, Sirius had shown him an old stack of parchment that held old prank plans. There were similar pictures that Sirius had drawn all over the cover of it. All over it were pictures of a stag, a dog, a tiny rat and an enormous wolf.

Could he really be in Sirius' cell? No, that couldn't be true. He shivered as a wave of fresh coldness engulfed him.

No not Harry, please not Harry.

Take me instead.

Kill me, not Harry

He grimaced. More dementors were outside his door. They had been outside the door all night. Even though he was unconscious the horrible images of people dying kept appearing never letting him has a moment of peace.

As if it wasn't enough to listen to his mother but occasionally his father would appear and then as if the party weren't big enough Albus Dumbledore would pop in and complain about him maybe threaten him.

You could have tried harder Harry.

You could have worked harder.

And there was Sirius again. He was complaining once again about the third year dementor adventure. He had been back at least four times in the last twenty minutes.

The people in his head just never seemed to give up.

Unexpectedly, he felt a buzzing in his pocket. His head shot up in wonder, his head cocked to the side as he thought about what . Then he remembered, the mirror. Two weeks a go, Sirius had given him the repaired mirror and he had gladly taken it. Harry had wanted to be able to talk with both Sirius and Remus whenever he wanted. Now he was extremely thankful that he had it. This was the only way he could tell them that he was safe.

"Sirius?" he asked. He was shocked at how weak he sounded. The dementors must have taken more of a bite out of him than he thought.

"Yes, it's me kiddo. Are you alright?"

"No, it's so cold…it's dementors…cruciatus too" he whispered. The dementors were coming closer, his hands were shaking and he could barely hold the mirror upright.

"Harry stay with me. Where are you?" Sirius asked patiently. Harry could tell he was trying hard to keep the worry out of his voice. He might have been trying but he was failing horribly.

"not sure…cell, maybe you—" Suddenly, Harry dropped the mirror at some person's feet and fell back onto the pallet crying out because of the pain racing through his body. It was the cruciatus curse again. The person who had entered the cell cursed loudly and intensified the pain of the curse. The person was shouting at Harry and ushering the dementors to come around him.

Then a man spoke and the pain stopped, Harry could not make out the words but the voice was familiar. A stray thought swiveled around in his brain trying to remember. Then it clicked. It was someone who Harry thought he would never be glad to see. It was Severus Snape.

I know, I know. That was an incredibly short chapter but I wrote it very quickly between shifts because I have to go to work (the sick need help, what can I say?).

I hope you guys can forgive me and give me thousands of reviews, I know you have it in you!!!! Plus, you can have virtual hugs and cookies as a present.