Author's Note: Hiya! I'm baaaack! Miss me? Thank yous to all the reviewers; I hold a place inside my heart for each and every one of you. Special thanks to Slytherin66 and Dragonladysally for answering my questions. You guys rock. Now for the next installment of HPATDOA! (haha, I love doing that.)
Disclaimer: Seriously? Do I even need to put this up here? Everybody knows I don't own Harry Potter, so stop mocking me with the fact!
Chapter Five
~Still Sirius POV~
I think there may have been an audible thud as my jaw hit the ground. There are many things I never expected to see in my lifetime, such as Snivellus on a date, Moony in a bikini, or Voldemort belly dancing, but watching dementors play poker has never been one of them.
Ignoring the disturbing sight for a few seconds, I turned to look at Harry, who was also playing and had seemingly yet to notice us. I searched his face hungrily, taking in everything I could. He had grown several inches and had gained a thin layer of wry muscle, leaving him looking lean and strong rather than thin and starving, as I thought he would have. That was strange but welcome.
He was also remarkably clean despite his disgusting residence, and his hair was rather long and shaggy, but in a styled way. Even though he wasn't looking at us, his green gaze was as piercing, if not more than before. And yet, there was a hard glint in his eyes that hadn't been there before.
Looking over at Moony, Dumbledore, and the auror, whose name I had been told but can't remember, I knew that at least Moony and Dumbledore took this all in as well. I turned my eyes back to Harry and the three dementors. They were sitting around a large wooden table, holding cards in their hands. Harry looked completely comfortable sitting there with the dementors, as if he did this every day. He had been staring at his cards for several minutes, his gaze returning several times to the pile of junk in the center of the round table.
Harry was sitting alarmingly close to one of the dementors. Said dementor's hood was turning surreptitiously towards the cards in Harry's hands. Harry scooted away and glared at the dementor, who I swear was trying to look innocent.
"Some of us can win without cheating," Harry quipped, sticking his tongue out at the dementor. I gasped, his voice had gotten deeper and was not rough or scratchy from disuse. Who on earth had he been talking to all this time? The dementors? Not likely.
The auror next to me gave a little cough. Harry either still didn't notice us, or he was doing his very best to ignore us at all costs. How could he bare to be so close to the dementors? Even all the way across the room, I could feel them sucking away my happiness. Or trying to. I was so ecstatic to see Harry alive and relatively sane looking, it wasn't working too well. I watched as a smile slowly worked its way across Harry's face; it made me grin in response.
I sighed in relief. He could smile. Looking over again, I saw the auror staring in disbelief, Remy with a small smile of his own, and Dumbledore with his eye-twinkle on full blast.
Harry looked at the dementor across from him and said with triumph, "Cindy, I'll see your two pieces of lint and raise you one slice of moldy bread."
The dementor, Cindy apparently, slapped its cards down and raised its hands in a universal "I fold" signal as Harry pulled out a slice of moldy bread from who knows where on his person and slapped it down on the pile. Harry looked up then, and my breath caught in my throat, but to my dismay, he looked past everyone to the nameless auror. It was like Moony, Dumbledore, and I weren't even there.
"Hey, Mr. Auror," Harry said, flashing a white grin at the stunned man. Where did he get toothpaste, I wonder. It was a very white smile. "Did you know that dementors play poker?" he asked.
The auror shook his head numbly. Harry's grin got wider. 'Yep, but they suck at it." He pointed his thumb at the dementor had had been trying to cheat. "I just took Juan here for twenty maggots." He said this last part proudly. The auror just stood there, mouth gaping like a fish, a glazed look in his eye.
Harry got out of his chair and brushed past me to examine the auror. Two of the dementors followed him. I reveled in Harry's nearness. I wanted to say something, touch him, do anything! But my traitorous body refused to obey my commands.
"I think I broke him," Harry stated, casting a worried glance back t the dementor he called Juan. One dementor (Cindy, I think) came closer, and the auror then seemed to come out of a trance. The dementor slid back beside the other one, who hadn't moved.
"We, er, c-came with o-orders for y-your release." The auror stammered shakily under Harry's harsh scrutiny. "Y-you've been f-found innocent by r-recent evidence and h-have been granted a-a full p-pardon." Man, they aren't making aurors like they used to.
Harry leaned back with another grin. "Well, paint me purple and call me Barney," he wolf-whistled. (A/N: I was half asleep when I wrote this.) "It's about time." He looked at the auror impatiently.
"B-but how are y-you out of your c-ce-?"
"Doesn't matter,' Harry interrupted rudely. "Can we just get out of here"
"Follow m-me," the auror stammered.
Harry turned to follow, but I finally found my strength. I grabbed his shoulder to find myself looking into his bright, anger-filled, emerald eyes.
~Harry POV~
As soon as they entered the room, it took all my focus not to look at Sirius. I could feel their gazes latch onto me as soon as the door opened, but I resisted the urge to look at their fishbowl faces. There were four of them; I could feel it without looking: some auror, whose name I do not know, Dumbledore, Lupin, and Black. I nearly let out a sigh of relief, before schooling my features into a blank expression. I could just talk to the auror. I had been worried only people I knew would come. Then, I would be forced to break my pledge to ignore them before the time to fulfill it even began.
I moved my gaze from the cards in my hand to the middle of the table. As part one of my rather indefinite plan for revenge, I had convinced Uncle Morty, Juan, and Cindy to play poker with me. Speaking of poker, I felt Juan shift next to me, and my eyes widened in surprise. I should have known he would try to cheat.
I scooted over and glared at him, trying not to let a wry smile compromise my face. "Some of us can win without cheating." I said, sticking my tongue out obnoxiously at Juan. Sirius gasped. I nearly rolled my eyes. Yeah, I can speak. Still (mostly) sane, you idiot!
I heard the auror cough, and I knew I couldn't ignore them much longer. I let a smile grow across my face. I looked over at Cindy in glee. "Cindy, I'll see your two pieces of lint and raise you one slice of moldy bread." I put the bread down on the table.
Cindy slapped her cards down and raised her hands. "I fold," she said resignedly. I looked up, past the traitors to the auror. "Hey, Mr. Auror." I said with a grin.
"He probably has a name," Cindy chided from across from me.
"If his parents cared enough to give him one," Juan shot back at her.
"Juan," she frowned, turning on him. Uncle Morty just chuckled in the background.
Gritting my teeth, I ignored the peanut gallery and went on. "Did you know dementors play poker?" The poor auror jus shook his head. I think I scare him. I grinned wider-this was fun. "Yep, but they suck at it."
I heard Juan give an indignant "Hey!" next to me that quickly turned into an "Ow!" as Cindy stomped on his foot.
Stifling a snort, I pointed my thumb at Juan. "I just took Juan here for twenty maggots." (At this point, I would like to point out that we have never played poker before, and that this whole maggot, moldy bread thing was just Uncle Morty's idea to freak them out even more. I think it was working.)
"Hey, I resent that, and you cheated!" Juan yelled.
"No, he didn't." Uncle Morty and Cindy both said at the same time.
Juan looked at the two, openly aghast, before clutching his chest dramatically and moaning. "Wounded! And by my own family too!" He mock glared at me. "You'll pay for this, Potter, you'll pay." He threatened.
"No, he won't" Uncle Morty and Cindy said simultaneously.
"Again?" Juan cried dramatically, throwing his arms up t the heavens. "Why do you taunt me?" His cries fell on deaf ears as Uncle Morty and Cindy inspected our visitors from afar. I'm actually quite surprised no one noticed Juan's antics, but then again, they all seemed completely focused on me, especially Black. It was rather of creepy.
The auror just stood there, mouth wide open. I barely resisted an urge to tell him he was going t catch flies. I got up and had to brush past Black to inspect to auror. I barely suppressed a shudder. I was way too close to Black for my comfort, but the auror looked like his head was going to explode or something, so it was a necessary evil. Juan and Cindy followed me, but stopped a few feet away from the auror.
"I think I broke him." I remarked to Juan.
Cindy instantly swooped closer to him worriedly. "Is he alright?"
Juan just gave a disinterested shrug said "who cares?" and stayed where he was.
At Cindy's closeness, the auror woke out of his chance with a start. "Oh, good," Cindy breathed, going back towards Juan. Uncle Morty still hadn't moved from the table. Looking back, I saw him just sitting there. I don't' think he cared too much about what was happening.
"We, er, c-came with o-orders for y-your release."
Juan winced in sympathy. "I'd stutter too if I woke up with Harry staring into my face. His face is just that ug-oww!"
Cindy slapped him. "Stop insulting Harry!" she said, as protective as a mother hen. She reminded me distantly of Mrs. Weasley. I stared worriedly at the visibly shaken auror. He must be new…or the auror department was seriously losing its touch.
"Y-you've been f-found innocent by r-recent evidence and h-have been granted a-a full p-pardon."
I leaned back against the nearest wall and gave the auror as kind a smile I could manage. "Well paint me purple and call me Barney." I whistled. (And nearly burst out laughing at the confused looks on their faces. So living with the Dursleys had been good for something. I'm surprised even Lupin and Dumbledore didn't get that.) I still couldn't believe the dementors had managed to clear my name. And, I'll admit, I was kind of (Ok, extremely) suspicious that they wouldn't tell me how they had proved my innocence. It was worrying. "It's about time," I continued.
"B-but how are y-you out of your c-ce-?"
"Doesn't matter,' I interupted the auror. "Can we just get out of here" Please, before one of the idiots over there comes out of his shock and starts hounding me with questions.
"Follow m-me," the auror stammered, walking towards the door. I turned to follow him, when Black grabbed my shoulder.
I glared at him, putting as much animosity as possible into my gaze. Shaking off his hand, I turned away and followed the auror, leaving a crestfallen Black, a broken-up Lupin, and a depressed Dumbledore behind.
'Good,' I thought, in a more vindictive mood than usual. This whole thing was stirring up bad memories and getting on my nerves. 'they deserve to suffer.'
A/N: More times than not, apathy hurts more than outright anger. Just something to remember. Anyway, just so you all know, while Sirius is probably (in my opinion) gay, in this he is not gay with Harry. He just really missed Harry and feels super guilty, and I needed an excuse to describe Harry. Personally, I've always liked him, but for my story, he has to be a major idiot. I'll give a metaphorical cookie to anyone who reviews, please. (Hint, hint)