Chapter 13; The Great Escape
Harry tried to unobtrusively listen to their conversation, but lost interest when it became obvious that the subject was a rather dainty, lace handkerchief. Despite being an immensely powerful and well-respected figure, Harry couldn't help but think the old man was harmless, even if a bit dotty. But, when he saw the man pull a wand from his robes, his impression quickly changed. Intellectually, Harry knew that Remus was not likely to be attacked in the middle of the Ministry of Magic, but something about those twinkling eyes had Harry's nerves on edge. His first thought was to rush the man. He figured he could at least distract him long enough for Remus to make a getaway. But, then his thoughts returned to the visitor's pass in his hand. He knew that pass was a ticket to freedom for his Godfather. Remus had entrusted it to Harry, and Harry was not about to let him down. While the two men were engrossed over the napkin, Harry edged himself closer to the exit.
Harry hid himself from view by walking along with a group of elderly wizards who did not so much as blink at his presence among them. For all Harry knew they did not even know he was there. He guessed that his youth and small stature had finally come in handy after all. The old wizards covered his retreat, right up to the exit. Before abandoning Remus, he took a quick look back the way he came. Just in time, Harry watched as Remus disappeared in a flash of light. Harry didn't know what spell was used, but he was shocked with the suddenness of it. Knowing he was too late to help Remus, Harry quickly darted out the door.
As soon as he was outside, Harry ran pell mell for the Leaky Cauldron. As he huffed and puffed down the street, he felt terrible for abandoning his friend. Though his feelings for Remus were still mixed, he had to admit to himself that the man had done nothing but his best for him. Harry was pretty sure that he hadn't been hurt by the Headmaster. He figured that he was probably given a portkey or some similar device. That thought did little to assuage his guilty conscience.
Arriving at the pub, Harry leaned against the wall, trying to catch his breath. He was at a loss for what to do. He couldn't apparate and the Manor wasn't connected to the floo system. As far as that went, Harry had no real idea where Godric's Hollow was located. He knew that it was near the Welsh border, but that was all. The sum total of his travel experience was a few apparations with Remus and Tippy.
Utterly alone and quite despondent, Harry took stock of his situation. He had a few galleons that Remus had given him for emergencies. This surely qualified as that. He knew he could ask for directions from some of the pub's patrons, but one look at the clientele rather quickly disabused him of that notion. Plus, he knew that being an unchaperoned child would likely lead to questions he couldn't answer. Looking down at the pass in his hand, he noticed that it was only good for two days. Harry quickly made a decision. As far as he knew, they might never get a chance like this again. Remus was likely in Dumbledore's custody. It would only be a matter of time before their plan was discovered. Harry would be damned before he let Sirius rot in jail, all do to some cock-up.
To say that Harry knew nothing of wizarding travel was not completely accurate. He did know ONE floo address. The Witches Brew in the City of Sunderland; The gateway to Azkaban prison. Harry had the polyjuice potion in his pocket. He also had Remus' cloak. Harry quickly searched the pockets and was quite relieved to feel a lump of string, a tube of what Harry guessed was glue and some small, lead boxes within. Remus, it seemed, had come prepared.
Harry walked cautiously toward the crowded common room. Along the wall, he noticed a coat rack, filled with assorted robes. Harry grabbed the finest and most feminine one out of the lot, and rolled it up in Remus' robes. Shifting the large bundle under his arm, Harry made his way over to the floo.
Luckily for Harry, another young witch was also about to depart. He carefully watched her as she grabbed the floo powder from a little jar by the mantle and threw a handful into the flames. As soon as the flames turned green, she stepped confidently inside and called out her address, somewhere in Surrey. Before anyone could look askance at him, Harry copied her actions. He could not reach the mantle, but there was an unoccupied chair nearby that fit the bill. As he dragged the chair near the fire, the barkeep, a wizened and rotten toothed man in an apron, called out to him from across the pub.
"You there! Young man! What do you think you are doing?"
"Borrowing your floo. Hope you don't mind." Harry called back as he grabbed a hold of the floo powder. He glanced over his shoulder and saw the barkeep walking out from behind the bar.
"Now see here!" The man yelled. "Aren't you a little young to be using the floo by yourself?"
"Why, yes. Yes I am." Harry replied, jumping down from the chair. Glistening powder dripped from his hands as he stepped toward the fire. Before the man could raise further objections, Harry threw in the powder and called out his destination.
"The Witches Brew, Sunderland!" He yelled. In a flash of green fire, he was gone.
Harry tumbled out of the fire like a whirling dervish of flying arms and legs. "Bloody great bollocks!" He exclaimed as he dragged himself to his feet. Taking stock that he still had all his appendages right where he had left them, Harry risked a look around.
The Witches Brew made the previous pub look like a palace. The paint was peeling and slightly moldy and the place stank of stale spirits and tobacco smoke. Harry rubbed his teary eyes on the sleeve of his robe. Luckily for him, the place appeared deserted. Even the proprietor was curiously absent. Harry was not about to question his luck. As stealthily as he could, Harry hurried out the door.
The sight that greeted him, quite took his breath away. The Pub sat right on the outskirts of a fair sized city. Harry had spent some little time wandering the streets of the Hollow. He had been to Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley. None of that prepared him for the profusion of people and automobiles that wandered the streets nearby. Harry was tempted to take advantage of his brief taste of freedom and have a look around, but remembering his task, decided it could wait for another day. Recalling Remus' directions, Harry soon found the river and immediately turned to follow it downstream.
The wind, Harry soon discovered, was rather stronger and colder than he was accustomed to. Luckily for him, he had two extra robes under his arm. Not wanting to dirty the ladies garment, Harry quickly donned Remus' robe and was immediately thankful for the added protection.
Harry followed a well worn trail as it ran along the river's banks. After perhaps half an hour, he came at last to a stumbling stop at the river's mouth. He could only stare dumbfounded at the scene before him. Spread as far as the eye could see there was a giant expanse of water. It was dotted with white-capped waves that beat resoundingly against the shore. White seabirds were in profusion, swooping and diving in a great, dizzying dance. For long moments, Harry just stared at the spectacle, sweeping his eyes along the rocky coast. Eventually he noticed a slender pier and a rather stolid boathouse a few hundred yards along the beach. Realizing he had reached his destination, Harry reluctantly pulled his eyes away from the majestic scenery and concentrated on the task at hand.
Harry pulled the vial of polyjuice potion from his pocket and quickly downed it. He soon found that the transformation was not painful, but dreadfully uncomfortable. He was pleased, however, to note that he had grown several feet. He was less enthusiastic about the uncomfortable fact that his clothes were now painfully tight. His swelled chest strained against the buttons of his shirt and his pants felt like they were trying to split him in two. Harry was so constricted that he could barely move. He realized, with dread, that he had no choice but to remove them.
Squatting behind a scraggly bush, Harry removed his robes and clothes. The bitter wind immediately had him shivering. He was so cold that he could hardly be bothered to explore the interesting and naked nubile body that he had borrowed. He did, however, find the energy to grab his newfound breasts and shake them enthusiastically.
"J…J…Jiggly." He stuttered, his teeth chattering in the cold air.
With as much haste as he could manage, Harry donned the ladies' robe. He was mostly starkers underneath, but kept his snug fitting boxers as a pretense at modesty. He was very pleased to realize that his shoes were a close match for his dainty feet. His toes were a wee bit cramped and they were hopelessly unmatched to the femine garb, but they were serviceable. Harry wasn't any judge of women's fashions, but figured they would get less noticed than the fact that he was almost completely starkers beneath his robe. Luckily, the wool garment buttoned all the way up the front, ending in a stiff brocade collar. They were a little short, but not so much to notice.
Fully outfitted (or as near as he could manage), Harry stashed his clothes behind the bush and pocketed the supplies from Remus' robes. Then he remembered that he would likely be searched, he hoped not too thoroughly, and stashed the whole lot into his knickers. With careful steps, he made his way down the beach and up to the boathouse.
As he neared, one of the guards noticed his approach and hastened quickly outside.
"My lord, woman! Hurry inside. You'll catch your death out here!" The man exclaimed, rushing to take his arm.
Harry did his best to put on an aristocratic air, borrowing heavily from the adventurous stories that Charlus had told him. "Not at all, my good sir. Not at all. I do thank you for your kindness. The weather is a bit more….brisk than I'm accustomed to."
"I dare say it is, my lady." The man gushed, his eyes drinking in Harry's appearance. Harry was most revolted at the lingering stare, but thought it best to ignore it.
"So what brings you out to these humble parts?" The man asked.
"An unfortunate bit of family business, I'm afraid." Harry answered, handing the man the pass.
The man swept his gaze over the document, but kept a closer eye on Harry's backside as he pretended to read. "Well, it seems everything's in order. Would you care for a spot of tea. I've just put a pot on the boil."
Harry fought down the urge to roll his eyes. Plucking the pass from the guard's hand, Harry answered in his most dignified voice. "I'm afraid I must decline. My business is rather urgent and the day is wasting away. Another time, perhaps?"
The man affected a rather piteous look as Harry demurred, but his entire countenance lit up as Harry finished his sentence. "Of course. I wouldn't dream of delaying a fine lady, such as yourself. Just let's step over to the boat and we'll be on our way."
Harry had to agree that being a pretty woman certainly had its perks. He very much doubted the guard would be so accommodating if he wore his true form.
As impressed as Harry was with the North Sea, he was far less impressed with the journey across it. The choppy water was pretty at a distance, but left Harry feeling slightly queasy as it tossed around the small boat. The constant fawning and inane commentary from the lovesick guard was even more nauseating, if that was possible. After an interminable period, the boat finally touched down on the barren rock of the island.
Remus' description, while accurate, didn't capture the pure awfulness of the place. It was dark and dismal and left a tainted and depressing malaise on Harry's spirit. Even at a distance, Harry could feel the oppressive weight of despair bearing down on him. His first glimpse of the prison was almost enough to cause him to turn back. Only thoughts of his Godfather wasting away in that awful place, kept him to his course.
Harry left the boatman with promises to call upon him again on the return trip. Luckily for Harry, the guards at the gate were no more thorough than their counterparts. Harry was on pins and needles as they read over his document, convinced that they would see through his disguise or demand to search his person. One of them, a tall, wiry fellow with a great mess of windblown hair, seemed to want to do just that, but a sharp glance from his fellow cut him short.
"After all," the man told him with a wink, "Lady Malfoy is hardly going to stage a breakout."
Harry wasn't about to correct the man.
Harry proceeded into the prison proper and was immediately overwhelmed with feelings of despair and hopelessness. After a considerable struggle, Harry managed to feed all those negative thoughts into the flame, until he calmed down. Weary and panting from his ordeal, Harry made his way under the unforgiving stone edifice, until he came at last to the visitor's office.
The receptionist at the desk, for some reason, seemed much less taken with Harry. She peppered him with questions and sniffed disdainfully at his carefully worded answers. After what felt like days to Harry, she grudgingly handed him a visitor's badge and called over a red robed auror to serve as escort. The auror, too, seemed less than friendly, but thankfully kept his opinions to himself. He immediately conjured a brightly glowing Patroni, which took the form of a crocodile, of all things. Whatever its form, Harry almost immediately felt better in its presence and was immensely grateful for the stern auror.
The winding halls were also a trial for young Harry. The prisoners on the lower level were even more bawdy than Remus described. At nearly every cell they passed, the inmates called out suggestive and lurid propositions that tested even Harry's knowledge of the vulgar arts. Harry made note of some of the more descriptive terms, anxious to try them out on his uncle's portrait.
Finally, they arrived at the stairs that lead down to the lower levels. The glowing Patroni lead the way down the darkened stairs, with Harry and the auror close behind. Arriving at the maximum security ward, Harry took stock of his surroundings. A chair stood just outside the stairwell, presumably so the auror could wait in comfort during the infrequent visits to the residents. The cell doors were made of solid metal and there were tiny, barred windows set near the top of each door. All in all, Harry could scarcely imagine a more forbidding sight.
The guard, after unlocking Sirius' cell, drew his wand and appeared very ready to do violence in his defense. He looked almost mutinous when Harry asked him for privacy.
"Mrs. Malfoy," the guard stated incredulously. Harry raised an eyebrow in surprise, not realizing that the guard recognized his appearance. "I don't think that's wise. Most of the inmates here are not what you would call….civilized. Most of them are barely sane. All of them would kill you, right quick, if given a chance."
"He's family." Harry replied.
The guard looked at him with skepticism. "Family or not, you shouldn't be left alone with him. Sirius Black is a cold-blooded murderer."
Harry bore it all with a look of outright contempt on his haughty face. "I assure you, auror, I am quite safe. We are cousins, after all. Sirius is a Black. He couldn't possibly harm me. I realize that you are trying to look out for me, but I really must insist on privacy. Such family matters are not meant for other's ears."
"Very well." The man relented. "On your head it be. But know this; At the first sign of trouble, I'll be in there in a flash and I assure you that your cousin will not enjoy the experience. Do I make myself clear?"
"Perfectly." Harry replied.
When the auror had moved back down the hall, Harry braced himself and pulled on the heavy door. With surprising ease, it yanked open, spilling light into the dismal cell. At the sudden noise, the man laying on the small cot looked up, squinting into the light. As he recognized Harry's appearance, his eyes furrowed and a confused frown showed itself on his face.
"Cissy? Is that you?" He asked.
"Hello, Sirius." Harry answered, studying the unkempt man before him. He had expected it from Remus' description, but was still shocked at his gaunt frame and sunken cheeks. Giving lie to his feeble appearance, the man jumped up from the cot and closed the distance to Harry. He grabbed Harry's shoulders in a surprisingly firm grip.
"What the devil are you doing here, Cissy? You're the last person I expected to come calling."
Harry glanced over his shoulder. When he was convinced that the guard was not loitering nearby, he answered in a whisper. "Remus sent me."
The look of surprise and disbelief on Sirius' face was almost comical to Harry. Sirius looked like he could be knocked over with a feather. "Remus? Sent you?" Sirius abruptly sat down on the bed, cradling his head in his hands. Harry could hear him muttering quietly under his breath.
"Remus must really be off his nut…barmy old wolf…can't send Dumbledore…no that would be too easy….Hey! I know! Let's send Narcissa bloody Malfoy to the rescue…nothing at all wrong with that…great bloody git!"
Harry guffawed at the rant, pleased that Sirius still seemed to retain his wits. "Are you quite finished?" he asked.
Sirius looked up at him. "There might be a few more in there. Let me see." He replied with a smirk, scratching his scraggly beard and making a great show of being deep in thought. "Nope. I think I got them all."
Harry snickered. "Good. What say we get you out of here?"
"You've secured my release?" Sirius asked with a hopeful look on his face.
"Er…not exactly." Harry answered. "Arranged your escape, is closer to the truth."
"Really?" Sirius perked up. "What's the plan? Who have we got inside?"
Harry motioned him to keep quiet. "Remus was supposed to be here himself, but got…detained…by that Dumbledore bloke. So, to answer your question, it's just you and me."
"Dumbledore? What on earth was he doing?" Sirius asked with a hopelessly confused look on his face. "Never mind. I'm sure I'm better off not knowing. I'm probably hallucinating this whole thing. Much better to just go along."
"Probably right." Harry answered him. "So moving right along, why don't you move your arse off that cot and give me a hand."
Sirius immediately hastened to comply. Together, he and Harry managed to drag the cot into the middle of the room. Harry winced at the noise they were making, expecting at any minute that the guard would burst into the room. When the guard failed to appear, Harry reached under his robes and drew the ball of string from his knickers. Sirius raised an eyebrow at him, whether at his choice of hiding spot or the fact that Narcissa Malfoy was wearing boy's briefs, Harry had no idea.
Harry started to untangle the string, careful not to dislodge any of the glued joints. The process seemed to take forever, but Harry eventually managed to get it laid out on the cot. Sirius watched it all with curiosity. Harry then jumped up on the cot. In his new guise, he was just able to reach the low, stone ceiling. Harry pulled out the tube of glue and applied a drop of it to the stone. He then reached down and grabbed the marked string that indicated a point of the pentacle and held it to the glue. Just as he had feared, it wouldn't adhere the damp, dirty surface. Harry bit back the urge to cuss. He and Remus had expected as much, after their trials at the well house. Instead, Harry bid Sirius join him on the cot, which Sirius did after giving Harry a skeptical look.
"What the hell are we doing, anyway? How is this meant to help me escape." He asked.
"It would take too long to explain." Harry answered him. "Just know that we need to get this pentacle glued to the ceiling. It's not wanting to stick. I need you to hold this string at the marked point and pull it tight. Whatever you do, make sure you hold it in that position. This has to be precisely done or it won't work."
"Right. Don't question the insanely difficult and unlikely plot. I got it." Sirius muttered.
Despite his skepticism, Sirius did as Harry asked. Harry managed to apply another bead of glue at the proper spot. That completed, Harry figured that enough time had passed that the first spot he had glued would be dry enough to complete the join. Harry grabbed Sirius' end and applied another drop of glue, just over the previous spot. To Harry's surprise, the string did finally adhere to the surface and Harry moved over to repeat the process on the second point.
Harry was inordinately pleased with his success. Everything was going to plan, more or less. Just as he was about to complete the third point, disaster struck. A thousand years of dampness and grime, it seemed, was not about to be overcome with a tiny bit of glue. As Harry was stretching the string to attach the third point, the first spot he had glued came undone. Shortly thereafter, the entire thing started to come down. Sirius, in an unfortunate attempt to save their efforts, lunged forward to catch the falling contraption. In his weakened state, he misjudged his footing, and his shifting weight overturned the cot, Harry and all, sending them all in a clattering mess, to the floor.
"Diseased, dying dragon drippings!" Harry swore under his breath. He knew they would be extremely lucky if the guard had not been alerted by the sudden racket. Sure enough, not a second later, the guard burst into the cell, his wand drawn.
With a quick glance, the auror took in the unlikely tableau. Harry and Sirius were on the floor, lying in a tangle of limbs and string; the cot overturned in the center of the room. The auror was doubtless confused at the scene, but his training was up to the task. Harry noticed his narrowing eyes and his raised wand and knew that the auror was about to cast a spell. From the direction the wand was pointed, Harry knew that Sirius was the target.
Throwing the string off him, Harry lurched to place himself in front of Sirius, just as the auror's spell flew. Harry watched it coming, seemingly in slow motion, and braced himself for the impact. The spell, a bludgeoning curse, struck him square in the chest, and Harry was immediately flung against the wall, his head making painful contact with the unforgiving stone. The auror was undeterred by Harry's actions. He immediately cast another spell at Sirius that Harry was in no position to intercept. The cutting curse struck Sirius a glancing blow on the arm, but still drew a bright line of red across his dirty prison uniform. Sirius' pained scream bounced painfully around the small room and immediately roused the other prisoners from their stupor. They immediately began to call out from their cells, screaming obscenities and calls for the auror's blood.
Harry, still groggy from the blow he sustained, looked over at where Sirius lay crumpled on the floor. The sight of his bloodied arm, caused a red haze to cover Harry's vision. As sudden as a summer rainstorm, he was filled with rage and violent intent. With a snarl, Harry leaped at the auror. The auror's face showed a brief look of surprise at Harry's sudden attack, but quickly recovered. A bright, crimson light shot out of his wand, only to bounce harmlessly off Harry's chest. Harry hardly felt the impact. Before the auror could recover, Harry was on him.
Harry grabbed the much larger man and lifted him from his feet like he weighed scarcely a stone. With uncanny strength, Harry tossed the man across the cell. The auror crashed into the wall with enough force to cause some of the mortar to fall from the ceiling. He didn't move. The fact that he might have killed an auror, didn't bother Harry in the slightest. So consumed was he by the torrent of emotions filling his head, that he immediately moved to finish the job. The only thing that saved the helpless man from a horrible and bloody end, was Sirius. As Harry stalked his prey, Sirius grabbed him from behind and locked him in a firm grip. Harry tried to shake him off, but his clawing fingers could find little purchase.
"That's enough, Cissy! I think he's done. Merlin! I hope you didn't kill him. The guards won't react well to losing one of their own."
Sirius' words somehow penetrated Harry's fevered brain. By slow degrees, the rage faded, until he finally gained a semblance of calm. When he stopped struggling, Sirius released him from his hold and immediately moved to check on the fallen auror.
"He's alive." Sirius sighed gratefully. "Merlin, Cissy! What did you do? I've never seen anything like that."
Harry knew precisely what had happened. He knew that he had felt the werewolf's influence. With a calmer mind, he felt bad for the innocent auror who was just doing his job, after all. But Harry also knew that he couldn't afford to dwell on it. Their attack was sure to be discovered soon and the caterwauling of the other inmates was certainly not helping any.
"Shite, shite, SHITE!" Harry swore, darting quickly to the door to see if any one had been alerted by the noise. Hearing nothing but the screams of the other prisoners, he poked his head out the door. As near as he could tell, the coast was clear, but he didn't expect it to be that way for long. Turning back around he noticed that Sirius had liberated the guard's wand and had wasted no time in stunning and binding him. When he caught Harry's eye, he gave him a goofy grin.
"Well, that was fun!" Sirius said, rubbing his hands together.
Harry rolled his eyes. "We aim to please. Any thoughts on how to get out of this mess?" he asked.
"Me?" Sirius said with a surprised look on his face. "This is your brilliant plan, I believe. What was the idea with all that string, anyway?"
"It creates a null field that allows apparition through the wards. We had hoped to get out undetected. That's all bollixed up, now." Harry said, trying to catch his breath. He felt quite out of his element. His heart was still racing from the fight and he was feeling a little light headed from the sudden adrenaline rush. Looking down, he noticed that his hands still glowed from his emotional, magical outburst.
"We could apparate through the wards?" Sirius asked hopefully. Harry nodded. "Well let's get it set up then!" Sirius exclaimed.
"We can't. Not in here, at least. Too dirty and damp for the glue to stick. You saw what happened." Harry replied.
"What about a sticking charm?" Sirius asked.
"I don't have a wand!" Harry yelled. "Not that it would do any good if I did." He added under his breath.
Oh no?" Sirius asked. Harry looked up at Sirius, intent on giving him a piece of his mind when he noticed the wand he was waving in the air. He had completely forgotten about the auror's wand.
"Oh, right. Forgot about that." He said in embarrassment. "I'll hold the string and you cast the charm. Allright?"
"Let's do it!" Sirius said, hopping on his feet in excitement.
Quickly, Harry and Sirius righted the cot and Harry grabbed the string from where it landed. Luckily, the skirmish with the auror hadn't damaged it any, otherwise, Harry was unsure if he could repair it. Just as he was climbing onto the cot, they heard a loud bang from the hallway. Harry nearly fell off the cot again, in his surprise. The prisoners shouts quieted a bit following the noise, allowing Harry to hear the unmistakable voice of authority that rang in the confined space.
"What's all this, then?" The voice demanded.
Sirius and Harry exchanged a nervous look. Sirius moved to the door of the cell and peeked out from his narrow window. He looked back at Harry. Harry saw him mouth the word "auror." Harry was immediately on full alert, his blood hammering in his veins like the pounding of a drum.
"Can you seal the door?" He asked Sirius in a whisper.
"Yeah. Can't do anything for the window, though. It wouldn't keep them out for long. We'd be sitting ducks in here." He answered.
Harry racked his brain for any way out of the situation. "Is there anywhere on the ward that would be more secure?" He asked.
Sirius thought about it for a moment, before nodding. "Aye. There's a storeroom at the end of the hall. The guards use it as a fortification in case of a breakout. The door's heavily warded, though. I don't think there's any way we could get in." He answered.
Harry thought about it briefly. He was no ward-breaker, even if he had his magic. He had no idea how to get through a warded door….unless….he didn't use the door.
"That's it! Sirius, seal the door! Don't let anyone in. I'll need a moment." He yelled.
Sirius wasted no time in complying. Meanwhile, Harry grabbed the worn-out blanket and easily tore a large section from it. Looking around, he realized with horror that he didn't have anything to draw with. Swearing vehemently, he kicked the cot and was immediately sorry for his actions. The frame of the bed was made of rather flimsy metal, and had broken during the tussle with the guard. A section of one of the legs had broken and the ragged metal had not felt pleasant against Harry's foot.
"Just great!" Harry muttered. "S' not enough to be stuck in prison and injuring a guard, now I've got a bloody broken foot, too!"
Before the words had hardly left his mouth, Harry had an epiphany. Crouching down, he ran his feminine hand over the serrated edge of the broken bed frame. It was not sharp, but certainly jagged enough for his purposes. He immediately jabbed his index finger against the sharpest point and hissed in pain as the metal pierced his uncalloused finger. Inspecting it, Harry was pleased with the bright, flowing blood that gathered at it's tip. It would work!
Without further thought, Harry began applying himself to the task. He spread the torn cloth out on the cot and began to hastily draw a rune in his own blood. In the hallway outside, he could still hear the auror, who appeared to be questioning someone in one of the nearby cells. The prisoner he was questioning didn't seem to be cooperating, however, a fact for which Harry was extremely grateful. Focusing on the task at hand, Harry drew the first rune. It wasn't easy. Such runes were fairly intricate and really required more precision than a bloody finger allowed. It forced him to draw them bigger than he normally did. He also had to stop several times and squeeze his fingertip, urging the blood to flow more freely.
Just as he finished the first rune, Harry heard the guard begin to question another prisoner. Whoever it was, he was no fan of the guard, if his loud comments about his parentage were any indication. The guard must have realized he would get nowhere with his current tactic, because he let off another loud bang with his wand.
"Alright, you lot!" He yelled. "The next person who refuses to tell me what the devil is going on around here is going to spend the next month of their life making very close friends with the dementors!" He was answered only by silence. The threat of dementors was not one to take lightly, even for hardened criminals.
The silence drew out for several long moments and Harry almost sagged with relief. His relief was short-lived, however, when he heard the next words out of the auror's mouth.
"You! Black! You're next. Care to share what all the ruckus is about?"
Harry sucked in his breath and reapplied himself to his task. His breath was labored, but his hands were steady as he drew the next rune. He was very thankful for his many hours of practice. The runes were imbedded firmly in his memory and practically flew from his bleeding hand. So great was his concentration that he didn't notice the increasing glow from his hands or the subtle, but noticeable glow that emanated from the bloody runes.
Sirius, though scared, was having the time of his life, or recent life, anyway. Adopting an almost nonchalant air, he addressed the guard. "It's nothing, really. LeStrange over there was saying as how the Chudley Canons were going to win the Cup this year. Which is pure nonsense, of course. Everyone knows those wankers couldn't win, even if they were the only ones to show up at the match."
"Quidditch? You lot got all worked up over quidditch? I don't believe it. Pull the other one!" The guard answered.
"Well, you don't hear me shouting. Only a great lump like Rabastan would get so worked up over the Canons."
"Oy! Shut your gob, Black! It was you that…" Lestrange responded, only to be interrupted by Sirius' loud retort.
"You know it's true!" Sirius shouted. "Always going on about the Canons, you are! It's enough to make a man's ears bleed the way you carry on. Just last week you were carrying on about how they were so underrated. If you weren't a man, I'd swear you fancied that chaser of theirs. Drumhall, isn't it. Course if what I hear about you is true, you probably do fancy him. Isn't that right, Lestrange?" Sirius said with a smirk.
"What?! Why, you little….if I wasn't…." he stuttered, indignantly.
"That's enough!" The auror interjected. "You had best keep it quiet from here on out, or I'll be back. Next time I'll bring a dementor with me. You lot won't be so gregarious with a few of them lingering about."
At the sounds of his retreating footfalls, Sirius let out the breath that he had been holding and sagged against the metal door. He knew that they'd had a lucky break but knew luck was a fickle bitch, at best. Sure enough, another loud voice interrupted his merry thoughts. It wasn't much of a voice, more of a cackle really. It belonged to the inhabitant in the neighboring cell; his demented cousin, Bellatrix Lestrange.
"Ahhahahaaa." She bayed. "What a gullible ponce you are. Is the poor little auror so feeble minded as to believe such tripe? Check the visitor's log. Maybe you'll find one of your ickle, little friends, Johannson was it? Yes, yes. Johannson. So hard to tell the filthy mudbloods apart. Maybe you'll find he's visited the ward recently. Hmmm. Maybe you'll find that he's missing, too. Hee hee hee. I wonder who he was escorting to the ward. Yes, I do. A visitor for Sirius Black, I shouldn't be surprised."
Sirius could only stare wide-eyed as Bellatrix began her mad, rambling diatribe. He could only pray that the guard paid it little mind. Everyone knew Bellatrix was as mad as a hag. Unfortunately for them, however, the auror corps were a suspicious lot.
"BlACK! Put your hands through the window. Let me see 'em!" The guard demanded.
Sirius drew back a step from the door. "Oh, come on! She's just trying to get my goat for picking on her brother-in-law." Sirius proclaimed with as much indignance as he could muster.
"Last warning, Black. Put your hands out the window where I can see them. You've got till the count of three and then I'm blasting my way in."
"Okay, Okay. Cripes, I can't believe you let her goad you like this!" Sirius said. He was thinking furiously, trying to come up with a way to get out of this mess. He knew time was short, but couldn't think or any way that the situation wouldn't result in spellfire. Whatever he did, he knew he had to immobilize the guard before he could sound the alarm. Looking over his shoulder, he saw his erstwhile rescuer, busily drawing some runes on his former bedclothes. Sirius shook his head. He knew it was only his rotten luck that his sole chance at escape was relying on dirty cloth and bits of string.
"One!" The guard yelled. Sirius walked up to the door and thrust one of his hands through the window, readying the wand to cast through the opening at the first opportunity.
"Both hands, Black! Two!"
"For Merlin's sake, man. I can't lift the other one. I think I laid on it wrong. Damn thing is asleep or something!" Sirius said, wiggling the fingers of his non-wand hand. He readied himself to react quickly to whatever the guard was going to do.
"Haahaa haa." Bellatrix cackled madly. "I wonder what the other hand is doing? Playing with your little auror friend, I'll bet."
"I'm telling the truth, I swear! If you don't believe me, look for yourself. You honestly think I would stick around in my locked cell if I had a guard in here? Or his wand?" Sirius asked.
"Black, I swear if you try anything, you'll never live to regret it. You understand me?" The guard said. From the footfalls, Sirius could tell that the guard was approaching his cell. The stealthy steps eerily loud in the suddenly quiet ward. Sirius let the man approach. He would need to get him as close as possible for there to be any chance at success.
When the auror finally came into view, Sirius was sure not to make any sudden moves. The man was big and burly, with a shock of jet black hair and narrow, beady eyes. He certainly didn't look like a man to trifle with. Sirius adopted his most jovial expression; one that had gotten him out of hot water many times in his youth.
"You see? She was just having you on. Stupid witch was always like that, you know? Knows just what buttons to push."
Sirius' lighthearted tone did not appear to relax the guard if his fierce scowl was any indication.
"No sudden moves!" The guard warned as he reached out his wand toward Sirius' outstretched hand.
Sirius watched the man's wand carefully. Just as he was about to cast a binding curse on his hand, Sirius thrust his own wand through the narrow bars on the window.
"Stupefy!" He yelled.
For all his size, the auror moved quickly. Without missing a beat, he twisted nimbly from the stunner and threw himself into a crouch, casting a blasting curse at Sirius as he moved.
"Oops!" Sirius cried, ducking down behind the cell door. Just as he ducked, the blasting curse impacted the bars, sending one of them violently across the room where it struck the farthest wall with a terrific crash. Next door, Bellatrix resumed her cackling. Sirius spared a quick glance at Harry who seemed to have finished drawing the runes on one side of the cloth and was busy copying his efforts on the other.
"That wasn't very nice!" Sirius taunted the guard. "That's destruction of Ministry property, I'll have you know! What would your superior's think?"
The only answer he got was another violent bang! as another blasting curse impacted the door. It carried enough force to rattle Sirius' teeth. The auror was no slouch, that was sure. Sirius hated to think what that would have done to his frail body if he'd been caught with it. Swearing softly to himself, Sirius readied his wand and conjured a flock of sparrows that he guided through the window and set to attack his opponent. Sirius was always a fair hand at conjuring, especially nuisance spells. The birds were no threat to the auror, but definitely were providing a distraction if the muffled curses and shouts from the other side of the door were any indication.
Immediately after the birds had left his wand, Sirius dropped to the floor and peered out the crack at the bottom of the door. Through the feeble light, he could tell that the auror had moved further down the hallway, probably to give himself room to vanish the conjured birds. Sirius had small experience with dueling, certainly nothing to match an auror's repertoire. But he was master at the pranking arts and had devised several useful charms in his school days. One such charm was an invisible enlarging charm that had proved very useful on the Slytherins. It could be affixed to any material surface and would affect anything that came in contact with it. It could also be used in binary combination with another charm, to limit the effect to the intended target. James, Remus and he had used it to great effect when they had applied it to the Slytherin bench in the Great Hall. There it would sit, completely inert, until some hapless victim whose pants had been charmed with the binary spell, happened to take their seat. That was when the true fun began. It was always amusing watching the stuck-up and snotty purebloods stumble around in pants that were ten times too big. Sirius had spent many long hours practicing it until he could cast it silently. He made good use of it now. He cast it all around the outside of the doorway, careful not to let his wand show through the crack.
By the time he had finished, it was obvious that the guard had dealt with the sparrows because the door continued to vibrate under a violent onslaught. In a brief lull in the spellfire, Sirius looked up at the battered door. I was definitely suffering. It had buckled in several places and the hinges showed clear signs that they were threatening to separate from the wall. Sirius renewed the seal on the door and did his best to shore up the damaged hinges. He couldn't risk further tampering. Sirius seriously doubted his conjuring skills could produce anything even remotely as durable. When he was as satisfied that he had done everything he could, he dropped back down to the floor. In a hurried crawl, he scuttled over to Harry.
"Cissy, how's it coming with….whatever that is?" Sirius asked.
Harry looked up at Sirius and then glanced back down at his construction. It was crudely drawn, but was as accurately drawn as he could make it. Of course, Harry knew that it was entirely possible that it wouldn't work, but he couldn't think of anything else.
"It's done, I think. Won't know till we try it. The auror?" Harry asked.
"None too happy with us at the moment." Sirius said."
"Do you think you can get him?" Harry asked.
"Get him?" Sirius asked with a raised eyebrow.
"You know….stun him…or whatever?"
"I don't know. He's a stubborn one. Got a few aces up my sleeve, though?" Sirius said.
"What the devil are aces?" Harry asked.
"They're a kind of playing card…" Sirius said. At Harry's confused look, he said, "Never mind. It's a muggle thing. Anyway I've got a few tricks left to play."
"Okay. As soon as he's out, we'll be ready to move."
"Right you are. Won't be but a moment." Sirius said, grabbing the unused portion of blanket from off the bed and ripping it into dozens of pieces. Standing up, he made to walk over the door, only to throw himself to the ground as a vibrant blue-white bolt of light shot through the window and into the opposite wall. Sirius looked up at the wall and was quite impressed to see a meter long spear of ice, neatly imbedded in the stone wall.
"Merlin! This blokes not playing around. Nearly took my head off!"
"Well, it might be good idea to keep your head down." Harry smirked.
Whatever Sirius was about to reply was cut off from an interjection from the guard outside.
"Give it up, Black. I've warded the door from this side. There's no way out. Throw your wand out and you won't get hurt!"
"How do I know you won't blast me the moment you have my wand in your hand. How stupid do you think I am?" Sirius yelled back.
"You have my oath. No harm will come to you if you give up now. I've already sent for reinforcements. They'll be here any minute."
"I have your oath?" Sirius asked. Even as he was talking, he took a ragged piece of cloth and transfigured it into a close representation of his wand. It wouldn't fool the auror for long, but a moment was all he needed.
"You do." The auror replied.
"Okay, I'm gonna throw it out. Don't do anything!" Sirius said.
Sirius took his real wand and quickly transfigured the remaining scraps of cloth into small, hairy spiders. The spiders tried to dart away, but a wave of Sirius' wand had them all standing smartly at attention. Sirius grabbed the fake wand and scooted around on the floor until he crouched at an angle to the cell door. Taking careful aim, he threw the fake wand through the window, making sure to clear the area where he had previously cast the enlargement charm.
"Good. Now stand back. I'm coming in. I want you to get down on the floor and place your hands behind your head. Anything in there that's not lying on the ground is gonna catch a bludgeoner in the head. You got that." The auror said.
"Yeah, I got it. Give me a second to get back." Sirius replied while directing the spiders to move towards the crack under the door. A second layer he knew the auror had discovered his little trap.
"What the devil?" the guard exclaimed. Sirius repressed a chuckle. He knew that right then the guard was wearing shoes that were about a million times too big. He also knew that big shoes would soon be the least of the guards worries. With a wave of his wand, he directed the spider to march under the door. He was not surprised in the least, when the guard let out a terrified shriek. A half ton of giant spiders would have that effect on anyone, grizzled auror, or no.
"AAargh! Get 'em off me! Aack!" Sirius heard him scream. Sirius leaped to his feet and darted toward the window. What he saw would have been terrifying if it weren't so funny. A dozen spiders, each at least three foot high, were crowded into the narrow hallway. The auror was struggling to free his wand so he could blast the things, but in the jungle of feet , he was having little luck. Sirius had to admire the man's courage. Sirius had seen people soil themselves for far less. Sirius might have, himself, if he didn't know that they posed no real threat to the auror. Not wasting another moment, Sirius aimed carefully for the auror's leg that was protruding from the pile.
"Stupefy!" Sirius cast. A brilliant beam of bright, red light shot from the wand tip and impacted squarely on the auror's leg. The auror lay suddenly still, caught by the well cast stunner. Another wave of his wand sent the spiders scuttling back toward the staircase. He knew the auror's would make short work of them, but figured that every second he bought was a second closer he was to freedom.
"Immobulus. Incarcerous" Sirius incanted binding the auror's legs and arms in charms and corded rope. Satisfied, he grasped the door and yanked. It wouldn't budge. Sirius aimed his wand at it. "Finite Incantatum!" He said, before tugging on the door again. Still it wouldn't budge.
"Damn! I hoped he was bluffing about that ward. I guess you're up, Cissy." He said, turning back toward Harry.
Since the cell door was warded, Harry decided the best chance for success was to place the portal on the wall that separated them from the neighboring cell. According to Sirius, the locked guard room lay just on the other side. That being the case, they could pass directly through the adjoining cell, without having to enter the corridor, which was certain to be soon populated with angry aurors. Harry carried the portal to the wall and placed it about halfway up from the floor. In theory, the cloth would adhere to the surface as its magic became active. Of course, that raised the question of how Harry was going to activate the runes without magic. As Harry pondered the problem, Sirius peered at the cloth over his shoulder.
"Is that it? Is it working?" Sirius asked.
"No. We need to activate the runes first. After that, the magic should be self-sustaining, I think. I've never tried this before, so I'm not really sure." Harry replied. "Can you activate the runes?"
"What? Me? Why don't you do it?" Sirius asked.
Harry sighed. "I can't."
"What do you mean, you can't. You were a daft hand at runes at Hogwarts, if I recall. If it's just a matter of the wand, you can use mine. Here…" Sirius said, thrusting the wand at Harry.
Harry looked down at the wand and then up at Sirius' expectant face. "You don't understand. My magic….I just can't. You'll have to do it."
"Your magic? What's wrong with your magic?" Sirius asked as Harry turned his face away in shame. "Cissy?"
"I can't get my magic to work, alright! I've tried everything I can think of and it hasn't helped! You'll have to do it!" Harry exclaimed in irritation and embarrassment.
"You can't be serious. Those are blood runes, Cissy! I couldn't activate them if I had to! No one could. You know that! What the bloody hell is wrong with you?"
Harry didn't answer, he just huffed and stalked away, leaving a very perplexed Sirius gaping at his back. Sirius opened his mouth to question his cousin further, but was interrupted by an unmistakable feeling of cold and dread. "No…." he paled. The dementors were on the ward.
Harry couldn't believe that he had come this far, only to fail. Never in his life had he felt so frustrated and alone. Because of him and his incompetence, Sirius was going to spend the rest of his life in prison and Harry would be lucky if he got a cell next to him. Just when he thought he couldn't feel any worse, he was suddenly gripped with such a feeling of desolation that for a moment, he could scarcely draw a breath. Like a flash, images started to float through his mind. He saw again, Tippy's broken and bloody body and then an image of a black tarp and the disturbed ground that marked her shallow grave. "Tippy, no!" He head his voice cry out, full of grief and pain.
Soon after, another vision intruded upon his mind. This time, he could see a woman, who loomed over him looking impossibly tall. She had her back to him and all he could make out of her features was the long, red hair that cascaded down her back in gently curls. He heard a high, menacing voice call out to her. It's sinister timbre awoke a primeval terror in Harry. Somehow it communicated unspeakable evil and immense power.
"Stand aside, silly girl!" The voice demanded.
"Spare my baby!" The woman begged. "Take me, instead!"
Harry didn't know who the woman was, nor who the voice belonged to, but Harry was suddenly, violently afraid for her. Even in his present state, Harry was filled with an unconscious desire to protect the beautiful woman. He ached to defend her against the sinister voice; to leap to her defense. Before he could act, however, there was a flash of green and the woman crumpled to the floor. In an instant, Harry's fear was replaced, or rather overcome, by such a white-hot feeling of righteous anger, that it took his breath away. The vision of the woman and her attacker disappeared as suddenly as it came, but Harry's anger did not. Harry blinked his tear-streaked eyes and the small, dingy cell came back into focus. Harry could feel the blood pounding in his veins and the only thing he knew was that someone had to pay. To pay for whatever was done to the beautiful woman in his vision and for the fear and doubt that had so filled his thoughts. Fear had no place in his heart. It was a foreign thing, a thing for lesser creatures. Whatever sought to attack in such a cowardly and foul manner, deserved to feel his wrath and judgment.
Looking around the cell, Harry noticed Sirius curled up in a fetal ball on the floor, moaning piteously. Here too, was a victim that needed his protection. He cast his eyes at the door of the cell, seeing nothing but a murky blackness through the barred window. As he took a step toward the door, he heard a sharp click as the lock was sprung. Whatever was on the other side, be it aurors or something else, must have lifted the ward that was blocking the door, because it slowly started to open. Before Harry could take another step, three tall, dark cloaked figures entered the cell. What he could see of their faces and hands, revealed grey, flaking skin and wide, puckered mouths. Harry had never seen a dementor before, either in person or in his books, but knew that these were them. On some level of his mind, he knew that they were deadly and dangerous creatures that fed on human misery and consumed the souls of their victims. The danger mattered not one whit to Harry. To his eyes, they were less than nothing; a dark blot that needed to be stamped out.
One of the creatures moved over toward Sirius, while the other two moved on Harry. Unknowingly, Harry's eyes had taken on a glowing, silvery cast and his hands glowed with a similar light. Moving faster than could be believed, Harry lunged at the nearest dementor and seized it by the arms. The creature hissed in pain and tried to pull away, but Harry would not relent. With strength much beyond his size, Harry swung the creature around and fairly tossed it at the one standing over Sirius. The two went down in a heap, but immediately rose up in a fluid, almost graceful motion. Harry moved to intercept the pair, when he was seized from behind by the third creature. It's grip was impossibly strong and Harry found that he could barely move. The dementor turned him around and crushed him to its chest. Harry could smell its putrid and decaying flesh and looked with disgust at its eyeless face, as it lowered it's face to his. Harry was so incensed that the creature dared to lay hands on him that he managed to push it away, before seizing it like he did the other. The strength behind his arms, swung the creature about with such violence, that Harry was able to nearly toss it across the cell, where it fell heavily to the floor. Unlike its brothers, this one took some time before it could rise to its feet.
Now, all three dementors stood and studied Harry from beneath the lowered hoods of their cloaks, unsure what to make of him. Harry, through the torrent of his emotions, was desperately trying to remember the lessons that Remus had given him on dementors. He knew that they could be defended against. The Patronus charm could drive them away. In the back of his mind, Harry understood he wouldn't last forever against the beasts. He was outnumbered and his physical attacks caused them little discernable damage. He needed a way to drive them off that didn't rely on brute strength. Remembering his lessons, Harry focused on his happiest memories. He envisioned the warm summer playing with Tippy in the woods and he recalled the great love she showed for him, even unto death. For some reason, he also thought of the red headed woman standing over him in his vision. She too, had exhibited that same kind of love and willing sacrifice. As those two, seemingly unrelated acts coalesced in his mind, Harry realized who the woman was. His mother. Sacrificing herself in order to save Harry's life. The idea of her love filled Harry's heart and with it, he could feel his inexplicable power increase to new heights. Figuring it was now or never, Harry yelled out with all his might.
"Expecto Patronum!" He screamed with his hands outstretched. Despite his newfound confidence, Harry was quite surprised when he saw the bright flash of silvery light explode from his body. Harry looked down at himself in disbelief. The silvery mist formed a kind of shield around him that started a few inches from his skin and encased him from head to foot. The dementors reacted instantly to it, screeching and clawing at each other to get away from the hurtful shield. Harry almost laughed at their antics. He felt so overwhelmingly good that he very well might have succumbed to laughter if he hadn't heard the sobering cough and rattling breath come from a reawakened Sirius Black.
Slowly, Sirius sat up and looked around. Harry rushed to his side and offered him a hand up. Sirius gratefully took his offered hand until he noticed the silvery glow. Hastily, he dropped the hand and almost dropped himself back to the floor, in his surprise.
"Cissy?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.
"You were expecting?" Harry answered with a smirk.
"But…what….how?" Sirius spluttered.
"No time." Harry answered brusquely. "What say we get out of here while we can. It won't be long before the aurors arrive. What do you say?"
"Err…sure." Sirius replied, once more giving Harry a strange look. "Through the door then?"
"No, I don't think so. If we were caught out in the open we'd be sitting ducks. Better to seal it again and do as we planned."
Sirius opened his mouth to object, but was stalled when he noticed Harry confidently stride over to the Finn's portal and place his glowing hand over the center rune. Immediately, the runes activated one after the other. They flashed briefly and then completely disappeared. In their place was a large round hole in the wall that was encircled by a runic border. For several long seconds, Harry and Sirius stood staring at the hole, amazed at their sudden success. They were aroused from their stupor by a hew and cry from outside the cell.
"This is the aurors! Cease all resistance and surrender your prisoners! Failure to comply will be met with deadly force!" Came the strident call.
Harry quickly beckoned Sirius to seal the door and waved him through the portal. Sirius wasted no time. In a trice, he did as Harry beckoned, laying numerous wards and charms on the door and then took a quick breath and leaped, headfirst, through the hole. Harry quickly followed. When they reached the next cell over, they were greeted by a wide-eyed and wild haired Bellatrix Lestrange staring open-mouthed at their sudden arrival. When she noticed who had entered her cell, if anything, her shock grew.
"Cissy? Sirius?" She asked in disbelief.
Harry didn't bother to answer. He reached toward the portal and grasped at the border. With perfect ease, he peeled it from the wall. Sirius was more verbose. Adopting a carefree and jovial air, he wiggled his fingers at Bellatrix.
"Trixie!" he called. "Delightful to see you. Don't mind us, we're just passing through."
Harry immediately walked to the opposing wall and placed the portal on it. Just like before, a large hole formed in the wall. At his insistent wave, Sirius hurried over to the portal and immediately stepped through. As Harry made to follow, he was grabbed from behind.
"Cissy, you have to take me with you! Don't leave me here! Please, I beg…" She said, clawing at Harry's robes with claw-like fingers. Harry did his best to pry the fingers off, but she held on with determined strength. Just when he had decided to strike back at the deranged woman, Sirius poked his head through the portal.
"Problems, Cissy?" He asked.
"Get this diseased bitch off me!" Harry yelled.
"Right-O!" Sirius said gaily. "One crazy bitch, coming right off."
Sirius brandished his wand and sent a bright red light, point blank at Bellatrix' face, causing her to fall to the ground. Harry gasped in relief and stepped through the hole. Turning to look at Bellatrix, Harry couldn't help but feel sorry for her. He had no idea who she was or what she had done to get sentenced to this awful place, but didn't feel right about leaving her there, defenseless.
"What should we do about her? Should we take her with us?" Harry asked.
Sirius shrugged. "It's your party. I know you two were always close. I'd just as soon dump her down a well, but beggars do as beggars must." He said, before adopting a thoughtful expression. "Then again, maybe we should take her with us. That would certainly confuse things for the auror's, at any rate."
"Okay." Harry said, relieved. "She okay like that?"
"Sure. It should last for hours yet. Of course, we don't want to have to lug her around like that. Let me see…" Sirius said.
Sirius waved his wand and hovered her through the hole and onto the floor. With another wave and a muttered incantation, Bellatrix was transfigured into a mouse. Sirius then stunned her again, for good measure, before adopting a pleased look on his face.
"That should do for her, I expect." He said with an arrogant smirk.
Harry smirked back. "I expect so."
With that bit of untidy business finished, Harry turned to inspect the room they found themselves in. To his relief, it was much more modernly decorated. Instead of unfinished stone, the walls were bright plaster. There were cabinets along the wall, which Sirius wasted no time going through. Sirius let out a quiet exclamation when he found a hole stash of wands, all carefully labeled and still in their boxes. They also found several curious objects that were clearly magical in nature. One of them was what Sirius called a foe-glass and another was some sort of scrying device that resembled a hand mirror. Harry longed to study the artifacts, but new that time was of the essence.
Harry dragged a table to the center of the room and took out his bundle of string. When he finally got it untangled, he laid it out on the table and began the arduous task of attaching it to the ceiling. While Harry was doing that, Sirius had rounded up all the objects that had caught his eye and stuffed them all into a bottomless pouch he had found. Afterward, he applied some additional security on the door. Then, he joined Harry in attaching the string to the ceiling. This time, the process went much smoother than before, owing to the much cleaner surface of the ceiling and the porous nature of the plaster. In short order, they had it fully erected, though Sirius was still at a loss as to what it all meant. Rather than answer his repeated questions, Harry dug into his pocket and located the lead box. Pulling it out, Harry quickly removed one of the diamonds and glued it to the appropriate string. No sooner had he removed it from the box, the enchanted lighting in the room dimmed noticeably.
Harry hastened to finish the process before the auror's noticed the draw on the wards and pinpointed their location. Already, Harry could hear muffled shouts from down the hall. He was sure that Sirius and Bellatrix's absence had been discovered. Judging by their swift progress, Harry was convinced they would soon make good their escape. His hope was soon diminished however, because just as he was applying the final diamond, he felt an uncomfortable twinge in his gut. He recognized the feeling almost instantly. The polyjuice potion was finally wearing out.
For almost a minute, Harry stood transfixed as his skin rippled under the effect of the transformation. Suddenly, his robes were much too big and it was all he could do not to trip over them. His muttered oath drew Sirius' attention and the older man's slack jawed astonishment was soon changed to a fierce scowl and a pointed wand.
"Just who the bloody hell are you?" Sirius growled menacingly.
Harry took one look at his Godfather and adopted a sheepish look. "Surprise!" He said.
Sirius looked him over from head to foot. The longer he looked, the more confused he became. "Merlin's bloody balls! You're just a kid! Who are you?"
"Err…well, it's not easy to explain. No! Don't point the wand your wand at me, you cur. I'll explain everything later, okay?"
"No. It damn well isn't alright. I only agreed to this ridiculous enterprise because I thought you had some chance for success and frankly, I didn't have anything to lose. But, in case you hadn't noticed, we've got a whole herd of angry auror's out there, just spoiling for our blood. Now, I find out that the only thing between me and a gruesome death, is some kid still dragging at his mother's tit. I have half a mind to take you over my knee!"
For all his youth, Harry didn't take the man's words to heart. He had, after all, grown up hearing much worse from Uncle Charlus. But, that's not to say that he was just going to stand there and take it, either. "The hell you will. It'll be a cold day in Hades before I let a mangy mutt like you take me over your knee. I don't know what you prisoners get up to around here, but take care not to include me in your sick fantasies!"
Sirius just stood and stared at him, unable to form words. To Harry, he looked torn between outrage and shock. Harry had seen that look before. Inciting such looks on Uncle Charlus had been a major source of fun for him and the only way, truly, to shut the painting up. Sirius' stupefied look lasted for several long seconds more, until Harry was sure he had broken something inside his Godfather. He was about to say something else, maybe an apology, when Sirius guffawed in barely contained laughter.
"Jesus, kid! You really had me going for a second. You're a right cheeky bastard, you know that? Fantasies, hah! Good one, kid." He said.
"So glad you approve. Now, if you wouldn't mind, I'd like to get out of here now. Those auror's seem to be getting closer and I think we're running out of time." Harry smirked.
Sirius glanced around at the door and sure enough, the auror's voices had gotten louder and he could tell that they would soon be at the door. "Right!" He exclaimed, joining Harry on the table. Only when they were in position, did another critical point make its way to Harry's conscious mind. "Umm. Sirius?"
"Yes. What is it?" Sirius asked.
"You do know how to apparate, right?" Harry asked.
Sirius gave him a level stare. "It's been a while, but yes, I know how to apparate."
"Oh good. For a second there, I thought we were in real trouble." Harry replied.
Just then, the door of the room opened and Harry and Sirius faced a large group of very surprised auror's. The two groups stared at each other for several seconds, neither group saying a word. Finally, one of the aurors, a tall and rather striking black man, with a shaved head and a powerful build, remembered himself. "Hold it right there, Black! Don't move?" He said, pointing his wand at Sirius.
"Kid?" Sirius said.
"Yeah, Sirius?" Harry replied with nonchalance.
"Where are we going?" He whispered back.
"Anywhere that's not here." Harry replied.
"Right. No problem. Just hold on tight." Sirius said, grabbing Harry by the arms.
The aurors, seeing Sirius Black grab a child, responded immediately. At once, a half dozen curses flew from the wands, flying straight for Sirius. Sirius watched them come, certain that his time was at an end. He stood mesmerized as the spells winked out, one by one, as they approached the string contraption that Harry had built. Harry took it all in stride.
"Any time now, Sirius."
"Sure thing, kid." As soon as the words left his mouth, Sirius and Harry swirled on their feet and with a loud crack, disappeared from Azkaban Prison.
