Tides of Time

By Michael Weyer

Breakout to a New Day

Apologies for the delay, got tied up in other things. Know this is a bit short but hope still good as it leads to more fun.

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Azkaban Prison wasn't quite as Siruis Black remembered it. Whether that was good or bad was still to be determined.

On the one hand, it was a relief to no longer have to worry about those damn Dementors going around, sucking away all happiness and driving him to the brink of insanity day after day. On the other hand, having a group of Daleks be their jailkeepers wasn't much better. And of course, this time Sirius couldn't cling to the idea of someday proving his innocence as a way to maintain his spirits.

How the Valeyard had known exactly what cell Sirius had been imprisoned in was beyond him but somehow, Sirius was back in his old room. He recognized it thanks to the marks he'd made years ago as a way to alleviate boredom and keep his mind sharp. At least he was clad in more comfortable clothes, albeit ones needing a wash after a week behind bars.

He rose up to head to the small window in his cell and looked around the dark hallway. He saw the form of Peter Pettigrew in a ball in the cell across the hall and once more cursed the Valeyard's twisted sense of humor about putting them close together. Sirius' eyes trailed to where he knew Remus was staying and hoped they'd figure a way out of here before the next full moon. He didn't want to think about what Azkaban could do to a werewolf.

He drummed his fingers on the doorway and once more tried to go over some sort of escape plan. Again, he had a bit of an advantage at having gotten out before. But he was positive the Daleks would be ready for such a strategy, not to mention Azkaban appeared to have undergone a few renovations since his escape. Maybe with help, he could figure out a way but talking to fellow prisoners was expressly forbidden by severe means.

He moved back to his cot and sat down, picking up the small tray of food and scraping at it. He wrinkled his nose, dismayed that the food hadn't changed. In fact, Sirius could swear this was exactly the same meal he'd been eating before his escape. He nevertheless chewed on it as he tried to go over what few options were available at the moment.

He had tried to shift into his wolf form with limited success. He suspected the Valeyard must have set of some sort of spell to counter or subdue magics of the prisoners. It didn't affect the Daleks, of course, leaving them ready to use their killing rays on anyone who fought back. For now, the prisoners were willing to play along, at least until some other option presented itself.

Needless to say, having Aurors, Deatheaters and those in between sharing the same space made for some tension. So far, everyone was too busy with their imprisonment to worry about such differences but it was still there. Sirius certainly felt it every time he looked across the hall to his former friend and reflected on the pain he'd gone through because of the rat.

As bad as it was for the adults, the children must have had it even worse. Black had no idea how the hell Tarsan or the Valeyard or whatever he was managed to keep it so quiet that most of the students of Hogwarts had been transferred to Azkaban, kept in the lower levels. It appeared to be most of the older students although Black had managed to see Herimone, Neville and the Weasleys among the students hustled in when they were brought to Azkaban. Whatever this monster had in mind, Sirius knew it wasn't good.

Sirius sighed as he finished his meal and put the plate aside. He lay back and tried to recall the old exercises he'd used in the past to keep his mind sharp. He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath and tried to settle himself…

The sound of a loud booming jarred both his thoughts and his bed. He landed on his hands and knees (an unexpected recurring effect of his shifting to a wolf often) and scurried up, his eyes wide. He looked out to see a blast of energy of some sort flying down a hallway and an electronic cry. His vision was suddenly filled by an attractive young woman with black hair, dressed in jeans and a leather jacket. "Stand back."

Sirius did so as the woman aimed some sort of device at the door. There was a clicking and the lock sparked and then opened. The woman entered, hefting what looked like a large cannon and held out a hand. "Come with me if you want to live."

"Huh?" Sirius gaped.

The woman chuckled. "Sorry, I've always wanted to say that. I'm Gwen, come on."

"What? Where?"

"You want to talk or get out of here, Mr. Black?"

Sirius shrugged and decided to follow her. As he exited the hallway, he saw another woman, this one Chinese, opening up several of the cells around them. Sirius stifled the automatic urge to throttle Pettigrew as the small man came into the hallway, as jarred at all this as everyone else. "How's the lower level?" Gwen called.

"Already clear," the other woman answered. "Ianto and Harry got the children away, we just need to hear from Jack."

"Harry?" Sirius said with sudden joy. "Harry's alive?"

Gwen nodded. "Yep and downstairs helping."

Sirius could hear other blasts from what sounded like above as he looked around. He saw Tonks moving to give a hug to Remus and couldn't resist a smile. "Told you she was interested, Moony," he whispered.

A smashing sound caught everyone's attention and they all looked up as a section of the ceiling above them seemed to rumble. Another of the strange blasts rang out and then a huge hole erupted, a pair of Daleks smashing through it and landing on the ground. They rolled like giant pepper pots, one apparently still functioning as its head twirled. A bolt of blue energy from above struck it, creating a plum of smoke and a hideous electronic screech as it lay still.

A handsome man in a long coat over his strange suit leaped down from the hole and landed next to a startled Lupin and Tonks. He nodded to them. "Hi there, Captain Jack Harkness." He looked them both over and smiled. "Huh, a couple, I see. Maybe later on, when this is over, the three of us can…"

"Jack," Gwen cut in. "I thought we were busy."

"True," he said with regret. He moved to the end of the hallway and knelt to touch what looked like a small button. There was a blast of air and a large doorway opened up before them all. Jack turned to the former captives. "Ladies and gents, consider this a unique kind of portkey," he called out. "If you will please enter single file, no pushing, no panic, just head on in…"

A blasting rang out and everyone turned to see a man in a dark suit running toward them. He was closely followed by a familiar figure in dark pants and shirt, his glasses hung awkwardly on his nose and a wand clutched in his hand. "Harry!" Sirius cried out.

His godson took a moment to hug him quickly before turning to Jack. "They're coming," he said in a breathless voice.

"Okay," Jack said, his voice still light in tone. "Forget the single file, just get the hell out of here!"

Not surprisingly, the Deatheaters were the ones shoving their way to the front as the upcoming portal was filled with panicked wizards. Sirius stole a glance to see a pair of Daleks coming down the hallway, watching as Jack and his friends fired their cannons to drive them back. He was relieved to see Harry following as he leapt into the portal.

The effect was like a portkey, a whoosh of air and a shifting all around before he came to his new surroundings. It appeared to be a huge chamber of some sort, torches giving enough light as several dozen figures milled about. Automatically, the Deatheaters split into their own while the Aurors and other light ones hung together.

"Mum!" Ron, Ginny, Fred and George broke from the crowd of young students to embrace their tearful parents. A few other reunions took place as people felt hope for the first time.

Sirius quickly looked to see Harry nearby, the young man wiping his sweaty forehead. He moved to pull his godson into a long embrace. "So good to see you alive," he whispered.

"You too," Harry whispered as he hugged back, letting the tension of the last few days melt.

The feeling didn't last long as Harry felt a hand on his shoulder yank him back. He turned to see the malovent features of Lucius Malfoy glaring at him. "I have no idea how you kept alive, Potter and I don't care. But I'm not letting an opportunity to get in the Dark Lord's good graces again slip by me."

Sirius was about to lunge toward the man when a blast of green energy struck Malfoy. He howled as he flopped back on the floor, shaking from the curse. Everyone looked up toward a platform near the back of the chamber and a dark chill went up at the sight of Lord Voldemort standing with a wand in hand.

"The next one of you who threatens the boy gets worse," he hissed.

Harry stepped forward to glare at him. "I thought we'd agreed…"

"You agreed, Potter," the dark wizard snapped. "No one dictates to me what I can and cannot do, especially when it comes to chastising my own."

"This is torture, not chastising."

Voldemort smirked. "You should consider giving it a try, Potter. Pain is a wonderful motivator, particularly for the more inept."

"Harry," Ron said. "What the bloody hell is going on."

Harry ignored him to glare at Voldemort. "You try it on any of my friends…"

"Don't attempt to order me around, Potter," Voldemort said. "We may be allies for now but…"

"Allies?!" Herimone screeched out, her eyes wide with the shock that went through both sides of the assembly.

"Harry," Ron whispered. "Tell me you're not…I mean…you and him?"

Harry looked down and took a deep breath. "It's like the old muggle saying goes, Ron." He looked to his friend with a sad expression. "When the world goes to Hell…"

He turned to face the figure smiling down upon them. "That's when you have to deal with the Devil."

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A short chapter, I know but sets up more. So next one will show how this unusual pairing came about while setting up more of the saga. All comments welcomed.