A/N: I really recommend reading parts of the previous chapter, just to jog your memories, if you've forgotten what happened in the last chapter; how the Order planned to break into Azkaban, how James couldn't stop the werewolf in time, who had spotted Sirius, and also about Dumbledore being with Grindelwald.

Check out my new story Few Beautiful Friendships, which is a story set in Hogwarts during the Marauder era, where it shows what would have happened in Sirius switched to Slytherin in sixth year to help bring Voldemort down by acting as a spy.

I'm so sorry for the late update, I've just had so many things to do and I was suffering with a bit of writers' block for this chapter. Please enjoy!

It felt like James was being sucked into a black hole, the Time Turner's black hole.

xoxo

8. The Fortress

He slammed down to the ground; disorientated, shaking and twitching. James had never travelled before using a Time Turner; it was incredibly unsettling. James barely had a moment to tuck the golden instrument into his trouser pocket before his head snapped up and he heard people coming noisily through the trees and bushes.

Had the trio really been so loud? He hadn't noticed at the time...

Ducking behind one, James held his wand tightly in his hand. Emanuelle was brilliant; James couldn't even tell that Sirius was actually Sirius. He looked like a different person; piercings and all. It really was brilliant.

'Come on...—' Emanuelle was saying, 'time for you two to lead the way...'

James snuck another look and sighed in relief when he saw his past-self disappearing into the opening of the Training Camp. All was going well then, right?

It was barely audible; the sound of breathing, maybe fifteen minutes later. Then he saw them, the group of werewolves. They were quiet and obviously very well trained.

James was slow; his reactions having lessened in the fifteen minutes of inactivity.

He bit his lip and watched the scene carefully unravel. They started arguing. 'Should we go in straight away Kendrick?' asked one of the younger werewolves, looking pointedly at the elder man who seemed to be the head of the whole mission.

'No ... let's catch them off guard. Wait ten more minutes. I knew they'd come back. I told Mr Greyback, what did I tell him?'

'He'll reward you, that's for sure!' grinned the strawberry blond one.

James bit his lip. He had to come up with a plan quick, that was for sure. If he stunned one of them, the others would still know where they were there. Death Eaters would be summoned, maybe even Voldemort, and then where would they be? They couldn't apparate without being tracked down. So the Ministry would know where they were regardless, right?

It'd be like catching snitches in a broom cupboard. Easy. No, they needed to erase the memories of them first and stop any of the werewolves from summoning the Death Eaters. If they could just get out of the country in the next few days then all would be perfect. But if they were still in the same county or city and Voldemort knew about them?

They were dead...

Most importantly, they could not know about Sirius, never.

'I think we should go in now...' Kendrick said, and before James knew it, they were running in. The fight took longer than he anticipated it would take to start. He could hear the grunts and screams; the spells colliding and furniture being tossed mindlessly around the room. He winced when he heard his own shout of pain.

'Shit! No! No!' travelled from near the mouth of the entrance, in James's own voice, and he cringed; it was time now. One chance to not bollocks things up.

Good luck Prongs! he thought bitterly. James was on the opposite side from his slightly younger self and the werewolf. It was perfect. If he shot a spell now, they wouldn't be able to see him. Before he knew it, he heard a spell being called, 'STUPEFY!' but the spell missed and crashed into the bushes behind him.

James, the future version that is, licked his lips and whispered in a quiet voice, 'Confundus!' and with the true aim of a chaser; it hit the werewolf in the back. It looked as though the werewolf pressed the mark, but he didn't. He missed by a few centimetres thanks to the Confundus Charm.

The past-James didn't know that though; to him, it looked as if the werewolf had pressed his mark. With a sharp and panicked Stunning Spell, the werewolf fell to the floor.

The same scene as before acted itself out; the past version of James Potter turned the Time Turner and disappeared with a sucking noise after looking around worriedly.

Emerging from the cover of the trees, and looking down at the immobile body of the Death Eater, James ran a hand over his face. He hoped it was enough.

'Did you get him?' a soft voice asked from the mouth of the entrance. It was Emanuelle, Sirius behind her and holding her hand tight.

'I think so.'

'We've erased all of their memories,' Padfoot explained, 'they won't remember a thing when they wake up. Do the same to this guy.'

'Obliviate.' A sift of gold left the man's temple, evaporating into the air. 'Done.' James said.

Sirius sighed in relief, but then seemed to remember something. 'We need to get the fuck out of here, we've got the dagger. But I don't think we should stay in Wales—'

'Where could we go then?' Emanuelle asked irritably.

Sirius grinned. 'Well, I'm missing my son and girlfriend really quite a bit...'

'For fuck's sake Sirius.'

'First though,' Sirius said softly, we have some stuff to do, like setting up false trails. We should spend two or three days on that. When these werewolves wake up, they're gonna be ravenous for our blood. Let's make it challenging for them.'

xo

~five days later~

Like tides, they swam furiously; the air groaning around them, water crashing, and the fish determinedly racing ahead. There were twenty five of them; the strong, willing attack team. Another fifteen would soon come to help transport the prisoners to a place to stay; the Potter manor, disused, large and just waiting for them.

It was perfect.

Already, some of the others were waiting patiently for the return of the imprisoned. But if need be, they would fight their way over and help out their friends. But only if need be.

Just like Remus had predicted, no one noticed the few dozen fish, being led by Frank, Benjy and the Prewetts, swimming across the lake. Remus was bringing up the rear, making sure everyone was safe.

The ones who couldn't swim (Fabian made it seem as though he didn't want to come, but Gideon had already told everyone his twin couldn't swim) were waiting at the dock, under Disillusionment Charms and waiting, poised, for either an attack or an onslaught of sick, injured prisoners needing help.

There were twenty of them, or thereabouts. They were ready; strong, prepared and so very ready. Nothing was going to surprise them.

The fish flocked (can fish even flock?) to the coast of the tyrannical harsh building. It was black all over, but if one looked at the topmost tower of Azkaban, they would see lights and might even be able to hear over the screaming prisoners, the laughter of the Death Eaters.

This was their home now. And you know how they say homes reflect the people within ... Azkaban reflected the Death Eaters very clearly. Darkness, shadows, evil lurking at every corner...

Finally, the first wave of fish flopped to the coast of the miniature island. It was wandless magic, showing just how advanced and skilled each witch and wizard was; within seconds they had transformed into people. The last to transform was Remus, and he immediately set out to look for Lily, throwing an arm protectively around his sister in almost every way and flicking his eyes up to the tallest tower where the Death Eaters lived. There were some on guard of course, it'd be foolish of them not to be.

But the Order was positioned so perfectly that no one could see them. Directly under the tallest turret, concealed in the vast shadowed darkness.

'Don't worry Moony,' Lily said softly, 'we're ready for them.'

Each member of the Order had a wand out, poised and ready to strike. Moody was the commander. Surprisingly, he could swim, perhaps better than each of them.

Though he had an injured leg, his arms were in top notch, ploughing through the tides.

'Okay,' the aged Auror said, his voice the softest it had ever been, 'you know the plan. We know Azkaban inside out, thanks to the blueprints and maps. The only thing we do not know is where the Death Eaters are stationed, if they are in fact even expecting there to ever be a break in.'

'Probably not,' murmured Gideon, elbowing Frank and grinning with him.

Moody's walking stick was out and hitting the gingery blond twin quicker than any of them could comprehend. Gideon gritted his teeth, barely managing to contain the whine he wanted to release. Moody smirked at him. 'None of that hotheadedness, you arse.' He shook his head and turned back to face everyone, greyish hair matted to his forehead due to the water he hadn't managed to shake off.

'We'll go in there, concealed as planned. Kill only if necessary, but try your hardest to just focus on the prisoners. The innocent people. Get them out, as quick and safely as you can.'

There was one way out, and even then it wasn't really a way out. A cat could fit inside the hole in the wall.

It was astonishingly easy, Remus pondered carefully. He thought it'd be a lot harder, but so far everything had gone to plan. Then again, had they been human on the dock opposite Azkaban where they had transformed into fish, they definitely would have been spotted and executed. And of course, there were enchantments on the water to expel humans.

But the humans hadn't been human.

Quite the opposite.

They decided Hestia Jones would be transfigured into a cat. She had stealth even Voldemort would envy. Hestia was tiny, at five foot exactly; she was often the target of much bullying in the Order, as good natured as it was.

Within seconds, she was inside and back into her human self. Hestia winked at them, whispered a spell, breathed another and the "Burial Doors" opened. Burial Doors ... the Dementors used them to carry the dead and bury them.

It was all very handy; as if Azkaban, in that moment, so desperately wanted them to break in. They went in pairs of two, Lily and Remus instinctively seeking one another out again. Remus would be damned if he let anything happen to Lily, and feared the consequences, just as Lily feared the consequences of ever letting danger come Remus's way. She loved him too much.

'The younger ones are kept on the higher floor, as well as the most dangerous. Be careful.' Moody breathed before he disappeared. They didn't know what his job was, but it certainly seemed frightening.

'Expecto Patronum's echoed all around Lily, like a canon, one after the other. Rather belatedly, she non-verbally thought the spell, and a positively gorgeous doe burst out of the tip of her wand. It galloped, paused to sniff, and then stampeded off. Instantaneously, the shadows lessened in density and darkness thanks to the dozen patronuses.

Lily was grateful of her group: her, Remus, Gideon, Frank, Hestia and Benjy. They were, of the attack team, the youngest. But that didn't mean for a second that they were weak or easily beaten. It just meant that they contained the youthful spirit many of the elders were lacking.

Oh, but the spirit would leave them soon. If the war did not end, the spirit flickering and fighting inside them would soon leave. And then where would they be? Hateful and filled with vengeance at watching so many of their friends die; that's where.

'We're going to break everyone on the second floor out, okay?' murmured Remus, holding up his illuminated wand and flicking his eyes every few seconds from corner to corner. Each noise, whether a particularly wheezy inhale or even just a footstep too loud had the group poised, curses dancing on their tongues.

It was two minutes later when they finally heard them. Yes, heard the prisoners. They were quite young, at least twenty years old, if not younger.

The prisoners were dirty; dressed in ragged, ripped clothing. With shreds of material to keep them warm in the worryingly cold prison, they shivered even in their slumber.

The Dementors were absent, not a single one in sight. It was worrying. They should be there. They should be everywhere...

Remus shook his head. He shouldn't care, he should just focus on the fact that they were safe and in and doing their task. He hadn't even noticed Lily and the others opening cells as quietly as they could, beckoning and even physically dragging prisoners out of their cells. Lily carried with her a young stumbling woman, brown hair and rosy cheeks (Remus was surprised she had any colour in her left).

When about half of the prisoners were freed from their cells; lining up in uncoordinated, fumbling lines, that's when the breeze came. Like winter had arrived; chilling to the bones, air turning white, bodies trembling from the freezing wind blowing in. They could hardly even breathe.

'Dementors,' gasped Benjy, and without a word, he threw up his eagle patronus and cried the incantation again, the eagle growing larger and brighter than before; flying fiercely at the approaching mass of black. In the distance, Remus could hear crying; someone was screaming loudly, shouting after a man named Fenrir...

Remus knew immediately that there was a Dementor behind him, from the memory of The Bite racing through his head: his Mother's shrieks, his Father's sprinting footsteps from the scene after the werewolf, screaming profanities and heartbroken moans. It was one of the saddest, if not the saddest day of Remus's life, and a tell-tale sign of when Dementors were near.

Because the memories only ever came when the darkness was near.

xo

There was a knock on the door; demanding and quick. Kreacher grumbled, threw down his dishcloth (he'd just been cleaning the stove for the eleventh time that week) and hurried to answer the door. Mistress Black didn't like it when the door was left unanswered for longer than a minute or two.

Kreacher swung open the door and jumped back from shock. He was confronted with three beaming faces; one of his old master, another of a blood traitor and the last of a dirty half-blood; undeniably beautiful but with unclean blood. And having unclean blood automatically made you hideous, right?

'M-Master Si-Sirius,' stuttered Kreacher, more out of shock than anything else. He bit his lip, shaking his head in disbelief. 'W-what are is Master Sirius d-doing here?' he asked worriedly.

Sirius didn't even answer the house-elf, pushing past him and all but running through the corridors. It was much messier, with socks discarded and a little bit of crayon on the walls, but it felt like a little more like a home for perhaps the first time ever.

Sirius could hear the shocked exhale his Mother uttered when she saw his face, but he didn't care. He ignored her. She didn't matter. Instead, he looked at Rose, broke into a wide smile and threw himself at her, wrapping his bare arms tightly around her curvy body and moulding her against him. He kissed her hair and her cheeks and lips, all the while murmuring, 'I love you, Rose.'

The others entered the room whilst Sirius and his girlfriend were snogging rather aggressively, hands pinching and groping body parts, moans vibrating in the air around them. But then Sirius broke away with a low groan when he felt something holding onto his leg. He looked down and to his great delight saw that SJ had crawled all the way over by himself! Better yet, he was grinning widely at his daddy.

'Oh baby,' Sirius said whilst James and Rose acquainted themselves warmly. He grabbed his son almost roughly from the floor, kissed his lips, threw him in the air and caught him in a tight hug. SJ squealed happily, drooling over himself and pulling at his Father's hair.

'SJ,' Sirius murmured, 'I missed you so much baby,' he said before looking up when he heard a shocked sigh. Emanuelle was standing there, an expression of utter happiness on her face as she hugged her friend tightly. Sirius jerked his head towards her and said, 'This gorgeous bird is Emanuelle, your mum's best friend and your godmother.'

As if he understood, the young boy looked at her, broke into a smile and beckoned her over. Sirius handed his son to his friend and watched with a fond smile as Emanuelle checked him over, admiring every inch of his skin and crooning the whole time under her breath, 'You striking little boy.'

James came back into the room, having left before and gone by unnoticed, but he looked very worried. 'Where's Harry? He's not in the kitchen or the cupboard under the-'

'Prog!' cried a voice, and James whizzed around, barely bracing himself for the boy cannonballing towards him. He grabbed his son, made an embarrassing noise in the back of his throat and squeezed Harry as tight as possible.

Watching the scene fondly, Sirius bit his lip. It had taken a few days (four or five) to get to Grimmauld Place, but many things were done along the way. Emanuelle decided it was too risky to get home; James and Sirius had explained to her that once the werewolves woke up, they would go to the Death Eaters, saying that they had no recollections of the last few hours, that they were injured and hurt and they didn't know how or why. Death Eaters, as cruel and cold as they were, would surely link it to the Order.

So no, Emanuelle was definitely safer with them. Besides, she wanted to come. She enjoyed danger. Most importantly, she was dying to see her best friend and her godson.

'You could at least greet me,' a disdainful and almost angry voice snapped from the other side of the room. They all looked up to see Mrs Walburga Black, standing there, all stoic and cold, waiting impatiently for some sort of recognition.

Sirius eyed her carefully and walked over to Rose, wrapping his arms around her but not for one moment lifting his eyes away from his Mother. He opened his mouth and began to talk, very slowly and very carefully. 'What do you want me to say, Mother?'

'Good morning? Thank you for protecting my girlfriend, son and godson from Bellatrix and Narcissa, thank-'

'What?' Sirius whispered, turning to face Rose. 'What happened?'

Her expression changed almost instantly. She wasn't smiling. Rose eagerly accepted her son from her best friend and looked down at him, pecking his cheek. 'They came … looking for us...'

'W-wh … h-how did...'

'Your Mother hid us in your daddy's playroom.' She heard James stifle a laugh and glared at him; this was no laughing matter. Despite this, Rose grinned a little. 'I went through the drawers whilst I was there. The stuff your daddy used to play with...'

'Please stop calling him daddy or else I think I might vomit everywhere.' The other man said, pretending to gag. 'He's awful, he is. I never knew he had … hmm, guess you didn't like that much did you Mother? That he was fucking someone else.'

She chose to ignore what he said, and instead answered with, 'I don't care much. I think it's the who he was doing rather than what he was doing that matters most. Druella's the whore he was sleeping with.'

Sirius's hand flew to cover his mouth, but the word, 'Fuck,' echoed around the room anyway. 'You're lying? Her? But she's foul!'

'Exactly what I was saying to Kreacher a few days ago when I found out. Don't worry. I played my role well. They didn't suspect a thing. But I wouldn't put it past them to be a little weary at most.'

It was on the verge of Sirius's tongue to at least thank his Mother, but he despised her. The way he despised pepper flavoured beans and the way he loathed how he could feel what Voldemort felt sometimes.

He simply looked at her, then down at his son, and then at his girlfriend. Sirius didn't much like the term girlfriend because it seemed far too inadequate a word to call the woman he'd knocked up and had a kid with. The woman he's been with for a quarter of his life; on and off, guaranteed, but there in each other's hearts.

'Let's go upstairs,' Sirius murmured in her ear, kissing the side of her face and pecking her ear lobe. 'Without SJ...'

Rose grinned widely at him. She tucked her short hair behind her ear and nodded. Wordlessly, SJ was placed into the arms of his Uncle "Prog" as the couple joined hands and walked out of the room.

Exchanging menacing smirks, James and Emanuelle started laughing. 'Someone's getting some loving soon...'

'And thank god for that,' the bespectacled Marauder mutters under his breath, so only the pretty Italian could hear, 'I'm sick of waking up to the sound of Sirius wanking.'

xo

'Incurable...'

'- no point of him still living...'

'...quit now whilst you're still young...'

Remus let out an anguished cry and thrust his wand into the air, bellowing the spell and watching as a crystal clear patronus, vibrant and bright, burst from the tip and roared its canine roar, as it charged at the mass of black; the Dementors.

'-there's too many of them!' Gideon was crying out, slashing his wand through the air. 'We need to get them out!'

' LILY! LILY, YOU NEED TO GO! TAKE THE PRISONERS AND GO!' bellowed the half Italian, eyes bulging as he thrust his wand and controlled his wolf patronus, throwing it at Dementor after Dementor.

Lily was shaking her head though, directing the prisoners to the other direction and pleading with them to walk faster. 'WE NEED BACK UP MOONY!' she cried loudly, but then her voice dropped a few decibels and whispered in a frightened voice, 'we need to get them out, but we can't, the Dementors are everywhere.'

A patronus, sent from the tip of Hestia's wand, charged and ran out of the room, scattering the Dementors and sending a plea for help to the others.

The Dementors were coming in great numbers; maybe because they sensed the most danger there, or maybe because they were sent.

Yes, sent there. Because walking up to Remus and the others was a group of Death Eaters; three, standing strong and tall. It was Crouch, Rabastan Lestrange and his sister-in-law, Bellatrix.

She didn't even say something witty or rude like she so usually did; her face instead contorted into one of loathing and anger as she threw spell after spell at the others. It was like Lily was dancing; jumping from side to side in hopes that she would deflect all the spells going towards the innocent Azkaban prisoners.

She did deflect them; but clumsily, and only just by chance. 'WE NEED TO GET OUT!' Lily cried at the top of her lungs. Before she knew it, Gideon was crying, 'MAXIMUM BOMBARDA!' and the walls burst open, revealing a stairway they knew existed thanks to the maps Moody had provided for them.

'GO! GO NOW! I'LL HOLD THEM OFF! LILY, GO!' Remus shouted, his wand jerking left and right, bright charged spells bursting from the tip.

Even though every fibre of her being wanted to stay and fight with her friends, she knew that she needed to go now, and save the others. They were already running out of the gap, a patronus leading them and battling through the Dementors, coming out victorious.

'COME ON!' Lily shrieked, forcibly helping to push the prisoners through the hole in the wall to the stairs. Her red hair, like blood, swung from her shoulders as she dashed from side to side, eager to get everyone out.

Hestia Jones led them, as sturdy as ever, through the broken wall and down the stairs to the shore, Lily following after her. They had already arrived; the back-up wizards and witches were people like Peter, Fabian and Jade, a half-blood and half Chinese new Order member, and the current girlfriend of Fabian.

It stood tall, the boat that is. Like a strong, unmoveable animal; controlling and frightful. Other recruits from the boat were shooting spells at the Death Eaters spilling out of the Azkaban walls, and the Dementors sweeping towards them.

'EXPECTO PATRONUM's were echoing through the air, 'PROTEGO's rippled like waves and 'CRUCIO's were bellowed from the utmost tower.

Back at the top, Remus, alongside Moody and Frank and the others, was fighting his way admirably through the waves of monsters, Dementors and Death Eaters alike, coming his way. They still had about thirty prisoners to evacuate, and had lost two of their friends already. But they were friends prepared to die to free dozens, save dozens.

Hestia Jones came sprinting back and defended the other set of now fifteen prisoners ready to be put on the ship. 'COME ON!' she roared to the sick, stumbling people.

'Hestia! Hestia! Hurry!' Remus cried to her. He couldn't hold off the other Death Eaters for much longer, he was too tired and had little energy left.

Fifteen prisoners left to evacuate.

Lily arrived, waiting and ready to get the last few. The ship was ready, the Dementors were banished from the shore, due to the radiant corporeal patronuses protecting it.

'LET'S GO FRANK, MOODY, REMUS! THEY'RE ALL GONE! WE HAVE TO LEAVE NOW!' Benjy roared, before he turned, and without another word, fled from the scene, faster than any of them had even anticipated.

It was going to work! It was going to work! They did it! They saved them!

Remus practically dropped on all fours at the threshold of the boat and watched with amazement as Fabian dragged him on board as the ship simultaneously delved into movement; vanishing from Azkaban faster than any of them could comprehend.

They had done it! They had saved them!

xo

Sirius's head rested on her stomach, and he traced the small collection of tattoos there; his name, written in tiny font under her belly button, the new addition of their son's name, or rather, his initials, and a little star sealing the names of her family.

He kissed the small crevasse in her skin and inhaled her scent; purely and only her. A scent of young babies, fragrance and baby powder. It was beautiful.

Rose was running her fingers through his hair, barely shorter than hers, and kissed the tips of his long locks, murmuring sweet nothings under her breath, like 'I love you,' and 'You're so beautiful,'.

When Sirius's pants subsided, he crawled back up so their faces were even, and he leaned forward to kiss her passionately; as if they'd been apart for years, and not days. So much had passed between them; so much hatred and dishonesty. But they were soul mates if there was even such a thing. It was written in the stars, in nature, for them to be together. And maybe Sirius was thinking a little too romantically, a little too hopelessly, but he could feel it. Feel something with Rose Taten that he could never feel with anyone else.

'That was fun,' she murmured under her breath. 'Ready for another go?'

'Ready and willing, but I want to see my son. Chat to him for a bit, or rather … talk to him and watch him stare blankly back.'

Rose laughed. 'Okay.' Within fifteen minutes, they were changed, less dishevelled and a little less out of breath. Walburga wasn't in the drawing room anymore, but somewhere else, maybe even out the house. Sirius didn't care at all though. He hated his Mother.

Hate wasn't even a strong enough word to cut it.

James was in the lounge with his son, talking quietly to him and holding him tight. Emanuelle sat on the opposite sofa, bouncing her godson on her lap and conversing in soft tones to him. Everyone looked up when the pair of star-crossed lovers entered the room.

James made some rude hand gestures that Harry eagerly repeated, Emanuelle smiled knowingly at them and SJ opened his arms, beckoning them forward and crying nonsense words at them.

'Hello baby,' Sirius whispered softly to his son, lifting him from Emanuelle's lap and kissing him square on the forehead. 'Did you miss me?'

The little boy couldn't do more than gargle; Harry however clapped and said eagerly, 'Unc' Baddy!'

'I take that as a yes,' the handsome Black said, smirking at his godson and blowing him a kiss with his free hand.

'I missed you,' Rose called out softly, but then she leaned over to kick James when he himself replied, 'I think it was your package Padfoot, that she missed more than anything else really-'

Sirius thanked the Lord when he handed over his son seconds before he collapsed to the ground. He hadn't collapsed in months … it wasn't returning, was it? His sight inside the Dark Lord, it couldn't return! It just couldn't! Right?

xo

'Avada Kedavra!' the Dark Lord cried, and the Death Eater, the one who was on main patrol, dropped dead to the ground. It was an abomination, that unprepared and against a huge number of Death Eaters, the Order of the Phoenix still managed to break out the WHOLE DAMN POPULATION OF PRISONERS! Of Mudbloods and half-bloods and blood traitors!

'My L-Lord, i-it was a-an ac-accident-'

'AVADA KEDAVRA!' cried Voldemort. His scarlet eyes, redder than blood, glistened with fury and anger. He wasn't having any of it today. Just because Sirius Black was dead, just because they were gaining more and power, did not mean things couldn't get bad. If anything, it meant things would get harder and harsher.

Which was why they needed to be careful, cautious, cunning…

'How did this happen?' his voice was softer than a breeze, barely even audible. The Death Eaters concentrated harder than ever before to not miss a single word he was saying. 'How?'

Bellatrix was eager to please. She quite literally threw herself on the floor, forehead brushing the tips of her master's robes. She looked up, tears brimming in her eyes.

'My L-Lord,' she stuttered, 'they s-swum, transfigured as fish. We didn't s-see them. The w-wards don't d-detect animals. Once t-they were inside, th-the only thing s-stopping them were the Dementors. B-but strong patronuses were cast, and they were d-defeated. W-when we came, t-they were already escaping.'

'Crucio,' breathed Voldemort. His spell connected with Bellatrix, and her screams rung through the air. When Voldemort lifted the spell, without even missing a beat, she sobbed as she kissed the tips of his robes.

'S-s-sorry m-my L-Lord,' she stuttered, her voice quaking with determination to hold back the tears threatening to well over.

'You're forgiven,' he replied after a long moment of hesitation. 'Line up for your punishment,' he said to the others.

And they all did. They all really did line up, waiting for their cruel punishment.

xo

Romeo Kelley.

Brave, strong and courageous. He lay, worse than the others, on the bed. It was pure chance that he had been deposited in his cell back in Azkaban, the first time he had been back in the main body of the prison since Bellatrix collected him to be used in experimentation. He was shaking whilst Lily Evans mended and healed him using Dittany and spells. He cried out when she came to his battered, bruised and still-bleeding forearm.

'Pl-pl...' he was delirious; hardly able to breathe, let alone talk.

'Shhh, it's alright, I'm here to help you, please, stop moving...' she was replying, trying ever so gently to calm him, but failing miserably.

He cleared his throat and started to speak in a very slow, deliberate but careful voice. 'Are they all out?'

Lily nodded eagerly, 'All the ones we could find.'

'Good. I d-don't want a-any more ...' he shook his head passionately, 'no one else to go t-through what I w-went through.'

Lily froze and stopped doing what she was doing. 'W-what did you go through Romeo?'

Another girl had told her the handsome man's name. Romeo Kelley; a graduate from Hogwarts and a ruddy good student and wizard, by the looks of it. He was a muggleborn, and therefore, by Voldemort's standards, a disease to the Wizarding World.

He shivered, and his kind eyes were dark, scarred and showed the shadows within; the shadows he had faced in Azkaban. 'H-he … the D-Dark Lord … he's e-experimenting on us...'

'Why?' Lily breathed back.

'He wants t-to take all of o-our p-power out of us … transfer it i-into himself...'

Lily dropped the bottle of Dittany. It was like it happened in slow motion; she watched it gain momentum, watched the bottle speed up as it crashed through the air, defied everything but gravity and soon smashed to pieces on the hard wood flooring of the boat.

Her breath left her and she reeled, unable to breathe. Eyes wide like saucers, Lily turned to face the handsome older man. 'He's what?'

'Power,' Kelley panted, the pain racing towards him now, and seizing him. His last words before unconsciousness regained him were, 'he wants all of it.'

A/N: This chapter is riddled with hundreds of mistakes, I'm so sorry about that! But I'm not lying when I say almost all of this chapter was written in a notebook because Microsoft Office has a virus on my laptop. Anyway, what's coming up next chapter:

We find out why Romeo is still alive; what Voldemort is going to do and most importantly, what Sirius has got planned.