Shattered Surrender
by sick-atxxheart
Chapter Seven
A/N: Okay, so this is important. This is a major piece of AU here- there is a later character that is not normally a Death Eater in canon, but he is in here. The timing is also slightly messed up, but just go along with it. Thanks for all your suggestions in the poll! Enjoy!
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The headline of The Daily Prophet was glaring that day, with the huge news that both frightened and excited the world. Albus Dumbledore, sitting in his office, read the article with a calculating eye.
HE-WHO-MUST-NOT-BE-NAMED INVADES AZKABAN PRISON – CRIMINALS TAKEN
He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named invaded Azkaban Prison late last night under the cover the darkness. Azkaban, believed to be the safest holding place in the world, has been considered inpenetratable for decades by all who hold safety and morale in high regard; however, once again we have been proven wrong.
The attack came at about 11:30 p.m., according to a stunned guard, one of the sole staff survivors of the rampage. It seems that suddenly, one of the walls of the prison was simply blown open; the attack seemed carefully coordinated, as the wall blown open was one located on the opposite side of the prisoners. Two hooded figures entered the prison and began killing guards immediately with rapid Killing Curses (which, the public is of course warned, are Unforgivables).
Once much of the personnel was taken care of, our frightened guard hid silently under a desk. The Dementors at this time were not in the prison itself, but held in the outdoor chambers; there was no time to call them in order to help scare away the invaders.
Immediately, the two hooded figures descended into the lower levels of the prison. There were a few more explosions heard from below, and a few minutes later they reappeared. This time, the figures were accompanied by roughly ten others, many of which our guard recognized as extremely dangerous Death Eaters. It was obvious to him that the Dark Lord had come to re-claim his followers.
The most interesting fact, however, is that a young child was carried in the tallest figure's arms. There is only one child in Azkaban prison, and that child is Harry Potter.
As of now, there are no more breaking alerts on whether or not the prisoners have been recovered. The Daily Prophet warns you to constantly be on your guard, never go anywhere alone, and take the necessary precautions to ensure safety and happiness for both you and your family. All of the escaped criminals are dangerous and most likely mentally unstable, and any encounters with them will surely end in either harm or fatality.
Keep reading for more news.
Dumbledore took a long sip of his brandy as he read through the article again, his half-moon spectacles perched on his nose. These news were most certainly not good- the world had known that Voldemort was back for what seemed to be ages, however the fact that his most loyal followers had been in prison had been a comfort. But now- with exactly eleven of the prisoners in the lower level of Azkaban taken- the world seemingly had fallen to shambles. It was a mess.
Even more pressing was the fact that both Harry Potter and Sirius Black had been taken by Voldemort himself. As much as Dumbledore didn't believe that Harry had even a touch of Dark Magic in him, he had still chosen to send the boy to Azkaban; and he had fully intended for the child to never know he had a godfather. It seemed, now, that his plan wouldn't work out the way he hoped.
Silently, Dumbledore cursed the day that Harry Potter had been born. He had changed the world, but the boy's magic was far too strong for his own good.
Dumbledore began making plans, not even knowing that it was worse than even he could imagine.
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As soon as his Lord told him the news of what Harry was, and what had to be done in order to bring the boy to his full inheritance, Severus Snape was astounded. From what it sounded like, the boy was meant to have an even bigger role in the development of the Wizarding world than he already had- something the Potions Master secretly hadn't thought was possible. Nevertheless, the gleam in Voldemort's eye told him that the Dark Lord was going to use this new development to his complete advantage
He shouldn't have expected anything else, really.
In the back of his mind, behind his heavy Occlumency shields, Severus' mind was reeling. There was no doubt by now that the news of the break-in was all over the world; and Severus also had no doubt that Dumbledore would be anxiously waiting his report. He would want news on the child, news on the prisoners, and information on how to get that back.
As much as he hated to admit it to himself, Severus wasn't really interested in giving the man that coveted information. For once in his life, he felt compassion- and for Harry Potter, no less. Severus couldn't believe he was even thinking this, but he almost believed that Harry would get better care with the Dark Lord than with Dumbledore.
I haven't seen the child. I haven't seen the prisoners. The Dark Lord tells me nothing.
The mantra had already begun in his mind, and Severus smiled a bit to himself as he realized the double deception that he was beginning now. Not only was he only pretending to be loyal to Dumbledore, the old meddling fool, but now he was lying to him directly.
It was a good thing Severus was such an accomplished actor.
However, the dark-haired man was pulled out of his thoughts when he realized the Dark Lord was speaking.
"I'm not the greatest wizard in the world for nothing, Severus," he was saying, a manic gleam in his eye as his long hand quickly scratched out words on a piece of paper. "This ritual- it's much, much too old for my tastes. I figure it could use a little… editing."
Severus couldn't help but shiver.
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The thin, exhausted man had just begun what was to be his first real sleep in years when he was dragged out of bed yet again, this time by Severus Snape himself. He had just barely begun to work up enough energy to throw out a half-hearted insult, when the taller man stooped down to the bed's level to speak to him.
"Allright, Black," the Potions Master whispered. "I know we've never been on what would be considered… companionable terms, but it seems that now we have no choice."
It took Sirius Black a minute to register what he was saying- it had been a long time, after all- but when he did he nodded slowly, waiting for the man to continue.
"Did you know your godson, Harry Potter, was also in Azkaban- for something he didn't do?" Severus' words were surprisingly soft, and Sirius answered immediately in a cracked, throaty voice.
"I did, those damn-"
"That's all I need to know," Severus cut him off quickly, but not cruelly. "He's here, now. He came with us when we rescued you. And it seems that he is a Protector-"
Sirius' face was incredulous. "A Protector?" he said slowly. "No way, but there h-hasn't been one of t-those since-"
"Salazar Slytherin, yes," Severus said, nodding; he was rather surprised that Black knew his history so well. He was, of course, from a Pureblood family, but you couldn't always be sure.
Severus continued. "He's at the ritual point, where he will die if the magic is not placed correctly on him. In essence, you are supposed to choose one mentor for the child; however, the Dark Lord himself has taken the liberty of editing the spell."
"And?" Sirius whispered, not quite sure why the man was telling him all of this.
"He has changed the spell so there are two mentors, rather than one. Despite it all, Black, he has chosen you for the second, next to himself."
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The healing room was very cold on purpose, in order to keep Harry's underfed and shuddering body warm. The cold was, however, almost unbearable to Sirius as Severus led him in. His wrists were still covered in heavy sores from his shackles, but thankfully he had been given new clothing. For the first time in years, he felt some essence of cleanliness.
Sirius almost broke down when he saw his godson convulsing on the bed. He had been an active Death Eater at the time of Lily and James' death, but it hadn't been him who gave them up. He hadn't even known about it.
That was why, when he saw the desperation in front of him, his mind turned against Dumbledore even more.
Sirius Black was a spirited but broken man, his heart and soul crushed and his dreams and memories taken away from him. But despite everything, he remembered Harry, and he would do anything to make that little boy whole again.
Anything.
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Please review! I had 29/30 ish reviews for the last chapter, and I'd love to get even more for this one! What did you think of the Sirius twist?