Chapter 6.
The vet screamed.
Sirius jumped up from his perch on the table, one arm held protectively close to his chest and placed his other hand firmly over her mouth. Her eyes were jumping between his face and the table he'd been lying on as Padfoot moments before.
"No more screaming," Sirius warned her gruffly, removing his hand.
"You're…" she took a deep breath. "You're Sirius Black." It seemed an enormous effort for her to remain even that calm.
Sirius grunted. So she was screaming because he was an escaped convict, not because he'd just changed from a dog to a human. She must have seen him on the muggle picture box.
"What did you do to the dog?"
"The dog's gone," he said shortly.
"You killed the dog?" her eyes were wide and terrified.
"No," Sirius looked at her like she was crazy.
"But…" her gaze shifted to the arm he was cradling against himself. "You…"
"Yes, I was the dog!" Sirius was starting to get exasperated with her now. Couldn't she tell he was in pain and in a hurry? "Is there something you can do about this?" he gestured at his arm.
The vet looked from him to the door and back again, before swallowing hard.
Fine. If she thought he was a crazed homicidal maniac then he would prove her right.
He growled deep in his throat. With his uninjured arm he reached out and grabbed her wrist, pulling her closer. "I want you to fix my arm. Now," he said, using his most dangerous voice.
Her gulp was almost audible. "I-I'm a vet. I deal with animals, not humans."
"I. Don't. Care." Sirius spoke slowly, enunciating every word. "Bind it up and quickly. Do whatever it takes. Just do it quickly." He released her and watched her stumble backwards. "Don't even think about making a run for it," he warned her.
She nodded frantically and opened a cupboard door, pulling out gauze and bandages. Sirius kept his expression cold the whole time and as she began to splint his arm he contemplated how appropriate it would be to laugh maniacally. Eventually he decided against it.
He moved the arm carefully. While still very painful it now afforded him much more mobility and he sighed in relief. The splint would transform with him and he should be able to run three legged for a while until he managed to get his hands on a wand.
"Right," he said to the vet. "I'm going to turn back into a dog and you are going to walk me right out the front door, understand? No stopping, no hand signals or anything that will give me away. Then I'm gone and no one got hurt. After that you can call the poleese men if you like and don't forget to mention how I can change into a dog, I'm sure they'll love that part."
She nodded fearfully and he transformed back into Padfoot. He raised his front paw and loped after her as she headed for the door. In this form he could smell the fear rolling off her and felt a brief pang of regret that it had happened this way.
"Where are you taking Mr Tiddles?" a voice asked.
Sirius glanced up into the wrinkled face of the old woman who'd brought him here. Mr Tiddles? That was a name for some pampered, pansy of a poodle, not a horrifying, hulking hound like him.
The vet continued to the main exit, saying as calmly as she could, "I'll explain in just a moment Ms Cromwell… Mr Tiddles?"
'See,' thought Sirius. 'Even as scared as she is she recognises that I'm far too masculine for a name like that.'
"Oh, yes," Ms Cromwell nodded heartily. "You see, if he doesn't make it I want to be able to call him something at his funeral and Mr Tiddles just fits him so well.
'No it doesn't' Sirius screamed mentally. 'Senile old crone.'
By now the vet had composed herself and had opened the door. Sirius didn't waste a moment and ran straight through as quickly as he could on three legs. He must have ran at least a mile before he stopped, Ms Cromwell's calls for Mr Tiddles to come back spurring him to greater speeds than he had ever achieved before.
Muggles, he decided, were completely insane.
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Molly Weasley placed the last dish in the sink and waved her wand to start the water running. There were a lot of them today, considering it was only her and Arthur living here. She'd spent the last two days baking as much as she could, it calmed her and right now she needed to stay calm.
She'd been so worried, every moment since she heard the news that Sirius Black had escaped Azkaban. Arthur had told her the Ministry suspected he was going to go after Harry and she'd been terrified for him. Then on Halloween Black had mutilated the portrait of the Fat Lady and not that long ago had stood over Ron's bed with a knife. Her worry had only escalated and then she'd heard Harry had been taken.
Yesterday morning she'd gone straight to Hogwarts to see Ron and Hermione to make sure they were holding up alright. Hermione was clearly distraught, constantly sniffling into a handkerchief, while Ron was blaming himself as if he could have done something to prevent it.
What worried her most was what poor Harry could be going through. Black was insane – everyone knew that – he might do anything. That had been brought home to her rather severely with Professor Snape's comments at the meeting she had attended with Arthur.
After the meeting Albus had requested she visit Harry's family and tell them the sad news. She'd been curious to meet them, having heard so little from Harry. She'd seen them at the train station and thought they appeared to be unpleasant people, but she knew that couldn't be the case. Just look at the way Harry turned out. Of course, she'd remembered Ron telling her that they'd locked Harry away without food after his first year, but she'd always attributed that to Ron exaggerating the truth to get himself out of trouble for stealing the car. Harry had certainly never complained about it and she'd shrugged the comment off, assuming he had been merely grounded for staying up too late, or not doing his homework.
So she had gone to visit Vernon and Petunia Dursley woefully unprepared for the reality of the situation. They were truly awful people. She'd expected to comfort them, commiserate a little, perhaps Petunia would need a shoulder to cry on. Instead she hadn't even been invited in and had been forced to tell them the news from the front step. Petunia had sniffed disdainfully and turned away with no apparent interest. Molly had been prepared to chalk this up to shock until she'd seen Vernon's face. He had looked positively gleeful at the news. Then he'd slammed the door in her face.
She'd stood there for a while, not at all sure what to do. Eventually she'd knocked again. This time no one came to the door, but she heard a boy laughing happily inside. Losing her temper a little she'd almost forced her way in, but then it had all come back to her. Ron's comments, the way Harry flinched when she hugged him and never really looked her in the eyes, his underfed appearance every time she saw him at the beginning of the school year.
Thinking back on it she resisted the urge to return and hex them for it all. Harry was such a sweet boy, so well behaved and polite. He was always genuinely grateful for every little thing she did for him, probably because it surprised him that anyone would bother.
She gritted her teeth in fury and started a line of dishes hopping to the dishcloth to be wiped clean. Well she'd had enough. This year Harry would come straight to the Burrow and she would take care of him herself. That is, once they found him.
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Albus Dumbledore rapped on the door with dread. He'd put this off as long as he'd been able but now was the time to face up to his responsibility.
He didn't have a long wait. The door was opened by a very skinny woman with a long neck. "Yes," she said, looking him up and down.
"Hello, Mrs Dursley," Albus said politely. "I'm Albus Dumbledore, may I come in? It's about Harry."
"You've found him, I suppose," Petunia Dursley said with an air of disinterest. In fact Albus thought he detected a hint of disappointment. She stepped back to allow him to pass, but did not invite him over the threshold, nor did she offer him a seat once they were in the sitting room. Deciding her lack of manners was likely caused by grief Albus suited himself and took a seat.
"Alas, no," Albus said sadly. "I came to offer my condolences to your family and to assure you that everything that can be done will be." He began to probe her mind using legilimency.
Mrs Dursley sniffed. "How very… kind of you."
Albus almost recoiled. As she'd spoke he had received a strong impression that she felt they were wasting their time and she'd just as soon tell them not to bother. She was also resisting the impulse to tell him to leave. Prevalent about her thoughts was the notion that she didn't care one way or another what happened to Harry.
Albus wiped the shock from his face with practised ease. "Is Mr Dursley at home?"
"He's at work," Petunia replied. "And Dudley's away at school. He goes to Smeltings, you know, a very prestigious private school. He's such an intelligent boy, his teachers just don't understand him…"
"I see," Albus interrupted. "I was wondering if you and your husband would be amenable to giving an interview to a reporter. It may be helpful to appeal to the kidnapper, he was once a friend of Harry's father, James. If he saw how deeply Harry's absence has affected you he may reconsider. It is only a slim chance I grant you."
"We shall do no such thing," Petunia exclaimed. "Do you think we want our names printed in some rag of yours next to his? After he blew up my dear sister-in-law?"
Albus sighed. He was receiving a great deal of hostility, directed at not only himself, but Harry as well. The woman was almost consumed with hatred for the magical community. There was no fear, no grief for her nephew.
"I believe this was a mistake," he said after along moment. "I take my leave of you, Mrs Dursley."
Petunia nodded and walked with him to the door. "You're the Headmaster of his school, aren't you?" she said as he opened the door.
"I am," Albus agreed.
"Vernon and I were wondering – we suggested it to the boy, but I expect he forgot to mention it – should he be found, is it possible for him to stay at school over the summer, too?"
Albus stared at her. Never before had he met someone like her, with so little regard for the well-being of family. "Trust me, Mrs Dursley, you will never hear from Harry again." He swept away from her and the horrible, gleeful smile her face now wore.
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Harry stumbled slightly as he stepped onto the train. He felt weak and feverish and was sure the trembling of his hands was noticeable to everyone.
Wormtail kept a tight grip on his elbow, serving the joint purpose of stopping him from attempting to escape and keeping him upright. Harry was steered into an empty compartment and dropped unceremoniously onto a seat.
Wormtail had used the same curse he'd used on the hotel clerk to gain them entry onto this train. Harry had prayed that someone would notice all this magic going on and come save him. He'd given up on escaping on his own the night before, after Wormtail had woken him for the fourth time to torment him some more. It was like a dam had burst within Wormtail's mind and now he couldn't stop himself from causing Harry pain.
It hadn't all been that Crucio curse either. When he'd tired of the curse, or perhaps felt that Harry had taken all he could he had resorted to physically beating Harry. Not anywhere it showed, of course, but the result was at least one broken rib and bruising over much of his body that was hidden under his oversized clothes.
A man's voice echoed throughout the compartment, telling them that departure would be in just a few moments. Harry tried to shift into a more comfortable position so that his ribs weren't under pressure, but found it difficult to do. He couldn't even sit without trembling and every tiny movement made him gasp for breath.
The compartment door slid open and a girl walked in. She appeared to be in her late teens and carried a backpack over one shoulder and what Harry took to be a briefcase. She was fairly nondescript, with brown eyes and dirty blond hair. She sat down opposite Harry without waiting for an invitation, seemingly oblivious to Wormtail's glares and pulled a laptop from her case. Within moments she had it set up and began typing something. Harry guessed she was a student of some kind.
The student seemed to take Wormtail's expression for one of curiosity and spoke in a gentle voice with a heavy French accent. "I am working on my dissertation," she explained eagerly. "I don't suppose you know anything about economics do you?"
Wormtail shook his head almost imperceptibly and Harry whispered, "no," not wanting to jar himself any further by moving his head. A light flashed somewhere in the corridor outside, probably something to do with train signals, Harry thought absently.
The student shrugged. "Oh well." She didn't seem all that disappointed and continued to type. After a moment she looked up. "Is this your first trip to France?" she asked Harry kindly. From the corner of his eye Harry saw the light flash once more.
"Yeah," Harry said quietly after a quick glance at Wormtail.
"I'm going to visit my family," she told him. "This is my first time on the Channel Train, but it's so much more convenient than ferry or plane. My family are meeting me at the other side."
As she spoke they began to slowly move forward. "What about you?" she asked cheerily as the train picked up speed.
"Er." Again Harry looked to Wormtail who was watching this conversation warily. His hand was buried in the pocket of a pair of Harry's jeans, presumably clenched around Harry's wand.
"This is a business trip," Wormtail said after a lengthy pause. "My son is here for a bit of a holiday."
"Looks like he needs it," the student replied, giving Harry an appraising look. "Have you been ill, sweetheart?"
"Yes," Wormtail answered quickly before Harry could open his mouth. "Very ill."
"Oh. I hope you get better soon."
"Thanks," Harry said, very aware of the tight grip Wormtail still had on his wand.
The student gazed at him for a moment more before turning back to her laptop. Though her fingers continued to tap the keys Harry got the distinct impression she wasn't really paying attention to what she was writing.
The compartment remained silent for the rest of the journey. Harry found himself longing for a window, but knew that even if there was one there wouldn't be all that much to see. Wormtail continued to grasp the wand like a lifeline, his eyes darting between the student and Harry as if he weren't sure which one was likely to be more difficult. The student seemed restless and more interested in Harry and Wormtail than her work.
Harry guessed it was about twenty minutes later that the man's voice from earlier echoed through the compartment once more, informing them that they were about to reach their destination.
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Sirius' loping gait paused outside the Leaky Cauldron. He'd had to run here on three legs from the veterinary clinic what felt like several miles away. Now he was here he could barely get a whiff of Peter and Harry, too many people had been walking about on the street and even in and out the pub door. Sirius was sure that if he were in his human form right now he would be overtaken by his anger, as it was he couldn't suppress the growl that ripped from his throat.
What was he going to do now? Peter could have taken Harry anywhere from here and he had no way of following. He suspected Peter would try and get over to France first of all then from there to Voldemort, but he couldn't be sure.
A flash of light from a nearby alley caught his eye and he stiffened. It had looked a little too unnatural, maybe spell-fire. Cautiously he edged forward, holding his injured leg high and peered around the corner, his canine nose trying to take in as much information as it possibly could. His senses immediately screamed that magic was nearby. He got a distinct impression of fire before he was overwhelmed by the most beautiful sound he had ever heard.
"Fawkes?" Sirius tried to say but it came out a startled yip. Heading back as far as he could so he was out of sight of any passers by Sirius transformed and looked about for Dumbledore's phoenix. "Fawkes," he called quietly, in English this time.
The firebird dropped into view singing his song. Sirius felt immense relief even though he had no idea what Fawkes could do to help him. Phoenixes had amazing intuition, he recalled, Fawkes would know he was innocent, but how did that help?
"Why are you here, Fawkes?" Sirius asked wearily. Fawkes, unable to answer in any way Sirius could understand just looked at him.
What were the other qualities of a phoenix? Healing tears, obviously, not much help unless you had an open wound, completely ineffective against broken bones. Capable of carrying heavy loads, Sirius didn't have any heavy loads with him. Fire travel, would be handy if Sirius knew where he wanted to go… Wait!
"How did you find me?" Sirius asked the bird, not expecting an answer. "Can you find Harry the same way?"
Fawkes leaped into the air trilling happily and offered his tail feathers to Sirius. Sirius hardly paused to think before transforming back into his dog form and grasping the feathers gently between his teeth.
They reappeared instantly and it took Sirius a moment to adjust to the dimness of the corridor he appeared to be in after the brightness of the London streets.
Sirius sniffed gently, filling his nostrils with nearby scents. Oil, many people, eklektrik and… Harry? Easing forward and staying in the shadows as much as possible he followed the scent to a nearby door. A feminine voice spoke on the other side. "Is this your first trip to France?" So Harry and Peter weren't alone in there then.
A flash of light alerted him that Fawkes had left. Sirius wondered at his strange behaviour. He could have stayed and helped at least.
Sirius looked about for clues as to where they were. The corridor was poorly lit with squares of light hitting the floor from rooms lining one side. It was like a train, Sirius realised. A train to where though?
Three people were in that compartment, Sirius decided, sniffing once more, Harry, Peter and the woman. There was something about her scent that caught at his memory, but he couldn't place it.
The floor started to shake beneath his paws and Sirius knew he was right, they were on a train. The people in the compartment talked intermittently and Sirius managed to pick up most of it. He growled slightly when Peter told the woman Harry had been ill. What had Peter been doing to the poor kid?
Sirius, worried that someone would pass and see him, began looking for hiding places. Unfortunately it seemed he would have to trust to the dim lighting to hide him.
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Peter felt his eye twitch as the student across from them once again glanced at him. He didn't know if it was his own nervousness, but he had a feeling she wasn't just curious. At least her inane comments had ceased.
As the train stopped completely he stood, desperate to get away from the prying girl. Harry quickly scrambled to his feet, needing no prompting after last night and yesterday.
"No luggage?" the student asked, placing her laptop back in its case.
"No," Peter snapped. Really, why did she need to be so inquisitive? It was grating on his last nerve.
Harry was frowning. "Your accent changed," he said in bewilderment.
Peter gaped for a moment as the girl changed from innocent student to well trained Auror. Her wand was out and pointed at him before he could react. "Harry, come to me," she said, her eyes not leaving Peter's face. The boy was right, she now spoke with a distinctive cockney accent.
Harry hesitated. "Who are you?" Clearly the boy was unsure whether he could trust her or not.
"I'm Tonks, an Auror," she said, her gaze unwavering. "Please, come here."
The boy's face cleared and he stepped towards her. Her eyes flickered slightly in relief, but before Harry could take a second step Peter lunged and grabbed him, using him as a shield against the Auror.
"Let him go," she ordered, her voice not half as calm as it had been.
"I'll kill him," Peter said desperately. "I swear I will."
"Just stay calm," Tonks said slowly. "If you let him go now I'll put in a good word for you at your trial."
The wand dug into Harry's cheek sharply.
"Where's Black?" Tonks asked gently. "Are you working with him? Or did he force you?"
She was giving him a way out, Peter thought harshly. She was saying he could tell her Sirius forced him into this and he might even get away with it. Of course that would only last until Harry was safe and then the questions would start, ones he couldn't answer.
"Drop your wand," Peter hissed, "Or I'll kill him."
Tonks stared.
"Do it," Peter yelled.
Tonks' wand clattered to the floor.
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Sirius listened to the altercation with dread. He desperately wanted to run in there, but Peter was too close to Harry. Not only that but the Auror clearly thought he and Peter were working together and he would have to transform in order to open the door. He might get arrested and then no one would be able to save Harry.
She'd said her name was Tonks. Andromeda had married a man named Tonks hadn't she? And they'd had a daughter – Nymphadora. She was seven when Sirius had been sent to Azkaban, she'd be about nineteen now, maybe twenty. She must have gone straight from Hogwarts to Auror training. Wow, she must be really good if she was already on assignments like this.
He listened fearfully as Peter cast some spells, a stunner and a binding spell. Moments later the door opened and Harry was pushed out, with Peter following closely. Sirius backed as far into the corner as he could get, Peter would be on high alert until he got far away from here. He watched them as they walked down the corridor.
Once they had passed out of sight Sirius stood and began to follow. He paused outside the compartment door. It would do him no good to revive the girl, even if she was family. Let the Auror's retrieve her. Without sparing her another thought he loped down the corridor, promising himself that tonight was the night he saved Harry.
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A/N: Before you start yelling at me, I know there isn't that sort of passenger train running through the channel tunnel. Call it an artistic license. Truthfully I just couldn't get the scene to work any other way. I also know that the Tunnel wasn't opened until May 1994 and this story takes place earlier that same year so really they shouldn't have been able to travel that way anyway, but I wanted them to. So there.
Merry Christmas everybody and a happy new year!
Nat.