A/N: Heya! I'm back!!! From where I don't know…homework land…but I'm definitely back. Like I said, I'm really, really sorry about the wait and I want to thank all of you for your patience. All the reviews that you sent me were really motivating and helpful, including whether or not you want longer or shorter chapters. Thanks to everyone who gave their opinion but I actually have a tie. So I've decided to write medium chapters (what a compromise)!!!! They're all going to be pretty much the same length as this one.
Also another massive thanks to everyone who's reviewed this story. I've finally got a hundred reviews, which was my target when I started writing. Thanks, I owe it all to you. I've also been doing some planning and I have another 10 chapters to write until the end of the story. That's unless anyone has any extra ideas and I'll add them in.
Chapter 12
" Due to the vote of the Wizengamot, I regret to say" Fudge sneered, " that you must be sentenced to Azkaban for anytime between 30 years and life. From here onwards you will have no contact what so ever with the outside world. Dementors take Harry Potter away."
Harry gasped but had no time to protest as two dementors took their places on either side of him and started dragging him backwards- still in his chair. "No!" breathed the teenager, he could barely hear his own voice. The place where the dementors were touching his bare skin turned the blood in his veins to ice, slowly spreading down his entire body. The room suddenly seemed to turn darker and darker and darker. Harry could hear a woman screaming in his ears- his mother. Cedric lay sprawled out across the ground. Voldemort's blood red eyes poked out from the slits in his hood!
Harry could barely make out the smiling faces of Cornelius Fudge and many others on the podium above him. It didn't matter anymore. He was still in a state of shock, 'you've been pronounced guilty…guilty… guilty.' But he wasn't. He hadn't done anything. Sirius said they couldn't do anything because he was innocent. Sirius promised. Sirius lied! Harry looked up just as the dementors led him out of the courtroom. His eyes met those of the grey ones of his godfather, and in that moment a surge of emotions passed between the two of them; panic, hurt, fear- and hope.
---
"What the hell you think you're playing at, god damn it," burst Sirius the moment Harry left the courtroom, anger literally erupting from inside the head auror. The world was moving too fast for him to get a proper grip. 'His godson was gone. Harry was gone.' Three words he hoped- prayed- that he'd never hear, but right now they meant nothing to his numb body. Sirius was frozen in the limbo of time; the new information just wouldn't digest itself. And yet he felt sick- sick with fear and anger.
"Harry's bloody innocent, damn it!!! And just because you stinking people are too bloody thick to see it doesn't mean you have to send him to flippin' prison!!"
"Mr Black," the sharp voice of the Minister of Magic cut across the head auror's rant. "Either you calm yourself this instant, or could you escort yourself out of this courtroom."
Fudges' high and mighty, sugar coated words did nothing to calm Sirius' rage. On the other hand it only made him want to strangle the good-for-nothing minister there and then. He was it…he was the reason…he was the reason his godson was gone.
"I will not bloody calm down. You just sent my godson- my innocent godson- to Azkaban, and you expect me to clam down. Are you bloody out of your mind, or are you really just as stupid as you look?" At the back of his mind Sirius could vaguely hear his own voice splinter and crack, but he didn't care. His heart was broken.
"Mr Black, this is an order. Leave the courtroom now." Fudge was having about as much trouble as Sirius in keeping the anger out of his voice.
Swearing loudly the head auror launched himself off the chair he was sitting on, sending the wooden structure crashing to the ground. Silently he stalked across the circular room, kicking the polished floor as he went. "You'll pay for this," whispered the animagus, spinning on his heels just short of the door to face the minister. "I'LL MAKE SURE YOU BLOODY WELL PAY!" Shaking visibly, he fled the room, slamming the door behind him as loud as her physically could.
Alone in the corridor Sirius wearily lent his head against the wall and release a long, trembling breath.
---
Remus Lupin slowly unrolled the 'Daily Prophet' from its tight scroll and laid it down on the dining table besides his usual mug of coffee. Sitting down he ran a hand through thinning sandy-brown hair. Though his eyes flickered from one end to another, his heart wasn't really init. As Sirius once said, "Remus would read the newspaper even if the whole world was destroyed by an atomic bomb and he was the last man on Earth."
No, the werewolf simply had too much other stuff on his mind. The full moon was coming up, the whole relationship thing with Tonks (though he would rather eat Buboterbur Puss than admit it to Sirius or Harry, he had to admit he was next to the whole romance business- it was good- but it was new,) and Dumbledore. Yesterday the old headmaster had asked him to go back to teaching Defence against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts. Remus loved teaching and he could definitely do with the money; I mean his job at Flourish and Blots didn't pay too well and he was practically living off his best friend- something which the werewolf couldn't stand the thought of. But at the same time he didn't know whether he could leave Sirius, Tonks and most importantly Harry. The final battle was fast approaching- everyone knew it at the back of their minds- and the boy would need his guardians more than ever before.
Then of course there was the whole trial- first and foremost in Remus' mind. They should have come to a verdict by now; at least he thought so. Werewolf's weren't allowed to be in the courtroom. He dreaded to think what it would be. The werewolf had had his own fair share of 'experiences' with the ministry, and only hope d that Harry would come out in a better position than he did. Remus couldn't imagine what it would be like to loose the boy.
Suddenly a loud pop from the living room alerted the werewolf to the presence of another in the house. 1 pop? 2 pops? Sirius- but was Harry with him? Remus practically sprinted to the room next door, his heart pounding at twice its normal rate. The moment of truth.
But even as Remus pushed open the door, he knew something wasn't right. Wild fear engulfed him at the sight of Sirius sprawled across the sofa, his head in his hands. There was no sign of Harry.
"Padfoot?" said Remus tentatively, slowly approaching his best friend. As the werewolf perched on the sofa and laid a hand on his friend's shoulder only then did Sirius look up- his face stricken with tears.
"He's gone Remus," the head auror managed to choke out between sobs. Even though he'd been expecting the news from the moment he first saw Sirius, reality spoken out loud still seemed to ice his body over.
" Oh Padfoot," whispered the sandy-haired wizard, his large blue eyes staring strait in front of him. "Sirius," he leaned forward and pulled his friend into a one are hug. "Look Sirius, I'm sure it'll turn out fine. We'll think of something." But Remus knew he wasn't convincing the animagus; he was barely even convincing himself. "It's going to be okay."
"IT'S NOT GOING TO BE OKAY DAMN IT" yelled Sirius suddenly, wrenching himself out of his friend's grip and slamming both his fists down on to the coffee table.
"Where's the alright in my godson being sent to bloody Azkaban? It's not a summer camp damn it Moony." The head auror strode across the room and pulled a bottle of firewhisky out of the cupboard. Without even bothering to fetch a glass, he drained a long, swig strait from the bottle.
"Yeah, why don't you let James' son starve to death and insanity, whilst you make us some tea and crumpets. That'll make it all better won't it? Don't you even care about Harry?"
Remus could only stare dumbly as the animagus paced up and down the living room. "Enough," his voice was barely more than a whisper, but there was a certain sense of authority to it that stopped even Sirius' hysterics. "Sirius you have every right to be upset and angry, but don't you ever, ever make the mistake of thinking that I don't I don't love Harry as much as you do." A single tear slid down the worn werewolf's face.
Heaving a huge sigh, Sirius sat back down on the sofa; all the fight had suddenly left him. "I'm sorry Rem. You're right. If it was anyone's fault then I should blame myself. I've killed… all the Potters have died because of me. James and Lily…" Sirius' voice cracked but he continued talking none the less, "wouldn't have died if I hadn't forced them to change secret keeper. Harry wouldn't be in Azkaban if I hadn't sacked him. I'm a failure, as a friend and as a godfather…"
"Stop right there. Sirius you're no failure, neither are you to blame for Lily, James or Harry. If anyone is to blame then it's Severus. He was the one who refused to tell the court that Harry didn't really try to kill him"
At the mention of Snape's name, the head auror sprang back up on to his feet and growled, " Snape. I'm going to kill him."
"You will do no such thing," said Remus matter-of-factly, pushing his back down. "If you kill him who's going to prove Harry's innocent, huh? No, if anything I'll go speak to Snivell…Severus. I might as well go now actually. Is that okay with you?"
When Sirius nodded, the werewolf muttered, " Spinners End" and disappeared from the spot.
---
Harry was slumped on the cold stonewall of his cell, both hands tied rather painfully behind his back. "My new home," he though wryly to himself, glancing around the cell once more. Not that there was much to see; black walls, black bars, no windows, no light, no nothing. The teenager half closed his eyes and sighed. He was beginning to understand why people go insane in this place; there was literally nothing to live for. And he'd only been here a few hours;
Shivering the boy-who-lived allowed his mind to wonder, not that he was in any control even if he didn't want to. He thought of Sirius, Remus, home- how he'd never get to see them again. Ron and Hermione were going to get married soon, and he wouldn't even get to see his two best friends' wedding. And how would he ever know if they had children. Little bushy redheads with freckles, eating with their nose in a book.
Then suddenly a new panic flooded into Harry's mind as an image of another beautiful redhead floated in front of him. Ginny- they were engaged now! What if whilst he was locked up she found someone else, who carried less danger in his name? Or worse still, what if she chose only to be with him and remained a spinster her whole life? Either way he would be the cause of her hurting, something, which he promised himself, he would never be.
'Stop' the teenager tried to command himself, 'Stop being so negative. The dementors aren't even besides you yet and you're already starting to drive yourself crazy'. Harry chuckled humourlessly at the irony of his thoughts, before violent trembling took him again. Even when it wasn't the dementors' turn to 'feed on him' their presence could still always be felt. It was oddly cold and deathly; like someone else was using his mind as a library, picking only the books with pain, blood and death to read. Like all good had been completely been filtered out of the place.
"Mr Potter your sandwich." The fat, balding man threw a soggy mesh of bread through the gaps between the cell doors, before quickly scurrying off- understandable- eager to get out of the place.
The boy-who-lived looked at the piece of food littering the floor, undoubtedly his only meal of the day. He knew he should really eat it but just couldn't bring himself to bring the sandwich up to his lips. The icy chills were getting worse now, crawling right the way up his spine. The sound of a woman screaming now accompanied the feeling. Everyone was dying all around him; mum, dad, Sirius, Remus, Ron, Hermione, Ginny. Walls of red built up behind his eyelids and the teenager gratefully loosened his grip on consciousness, allowing himself to slip into a world of darkness.
---
Remus wrapped his arms around his ribs, sorely wishing he'd thought of bringing his travelling cloak with him before apparating away in a hurry. 'Why am I here again?' thought the werewolf after tripping over yet another piece of rubbish stone across the riverbank. 'For Sirius and Harry. Sirius and Harry. Sirius and Harry.' The tree words carried him all the way down the street of boarded and derelict houses, right down to the very last one.
Taking a deep breath that filled his lungs with rotten air, the sandy-haired wizard raised a fist and knocked on the door. After a few seconds, movement could be heard behind the door and it opened a crack. A silver of an all too familiar man could be seen looking out ('unfortunately' Remus thought in a voice that sounded remarkably like James Potter); a man with a long nose, shallow face and incredibly greasy hair.
"Lupin, " he snarled in his silky voice, "I though you knew that…dark creatures… aren't welcome in my home." Snape shut the tiny crack in the door.
" Severus, don't be a fool." Said Lupin, hammering on the door once more. His mouth slurred on the word 'Severus' almost calling the former potions master 'snivellus' out of pure habit, which certainly wouldn't help persuade the man to let him in. "We need to talk, and I'm sure you know about what."
Rolling his eyes, Severus Snape, reluctantly opened the door just wide enough to let the werewolf into his remarkably dungeon like home. Shutting the door behind him, Snape made no further attempt to welcome his former classmate and the pair lingered in the dim, narrow corridor.
" You know why I'm here," said Remus briskly. The quicker he got to the point, the quicker he could leave this foul company.
"No I'm afraid I don't," replied Snape, feigning innocence.
"Then maybe you really are as stupid as your hair is greasy." Remus gasped. He hadn't meant to say that at all, it just sort of slipped out. A gift which comes free with spending too much time with Sirius.
Snape's face tautened visibly. "At least you'll find, Lupin," he relied dangerously quietly, his top lip curling, " That unlike Potter, I'm not the one currently locked up in Azkaban."
"Oh Severus, how smart of you. You practically figured out why I'm here." The werewolf spoke in a voice of forced calm, determined to make up for his previous mistake, though his right hand slipped subconsciously down to his jean pocket where his wand was stored.
"In case you didn't know," he continued, a sarcastic touch to his voice, "Harry's in Azkaban for attempting to murder a certain Severus Snape, something you and me both know isn't true. So if you would care to tell the wizengamot that then Harry can go free."
Snape sneered, his face showing nothing but gleeful delight. "I'm afraid Lupin that's where you are mistaken. Have you forgotten what Potter and Potter Senior have done to me in the past, not to mention the boy's good-for-nothing mutt godfather. Anyways it'll be far more…entertaining… to watch Potter use his crude means to worm his way out of this one."
"Snape," Remus could no longer keep the anger and contempt out of his voice. Abandoning all precedence, he whipped out his wand and pointed it strait towards the potions master, an action which the latter swiftly copied. If a muggle were to walk in at that moment they would find two fully grown men, standing in the middle of the corridor pointing sticks at each other, rivalling venom in their eyes.
"Snape, this isn't some competition between you and James. Despite his looks Harry isn't James, or even Sirius for that matter. And all this isn't some game of revenge; this is somebody's life in Azkaban. Hell why would I even be in your home otherwise? So forget the stupid school boy grudge, and do something decent in your life for once."
Snape showed all the signs of interrupting, so Remus pressed on even louder.
"Now listen here Snivellus, I could quite easily just go to Dumbledore and you'll have no choice but to confess. It's your call."
There was a deathly silence in the room- or corridor- as both men glared at each other over the top of their wands.
Finally Snape replied in icy tones, " As you wish. I'll go to the minister tomorrow and inform him of Mr. Potter's innocence."
Remus sighed. He knew there would be no use in his trying to persuade the potions master to visit the ministry any earlier. It wasn't going to happen. The poor kid would have to spend the night in Azkaban, and Sirius is going to flip. 'It's a wonder I still have any hair on my head,' thought the werewolf bitterly.
"Right," he said, "I'll see myself out."
But even as Remus pulled the door open, a sudden impulse flooded through his body. The sandy haired wizard whipped around and punched an unexpecting Severus Snape square on the face- hard. Then without waiting for a reaction (our werewolf may be turning feisty but he's still as smart as ever) he calmly stepped outside and shut the front door behind him.
By the way in case you're wondering, no I di not review myself for this chapter (even I'm not that desparate). No one of my friends was round at my house (sorry not you autumnlover) and she reviewed this whilst I was still logged in. Silly, but that's how I felt when I had a review signed by myself. I feel much better no that's cleared up, so maybe I'll start writing the next chapter.!
