A Snake in the Nest, Chapter Eight
A.N. Votes are as follows:
Fred/ George: 2
Scabbers (NOT Peter): 1
Luna Lovegood: 3
Sirius Black: 3*
Remus Lupin: 2*
James Potter: 1*
Peter Pettigrew: 1*
Peeves: 1
* This person voted The Marauders. So they managed to get four votes.
Also, just to clarify, the POV's of Sirius and Harry aren't on the same timeline. They'll even out at the end of the chapter.
Sirius tore a piece of the package off, and bit his thumb, drawing blood. He wrote quickly, repeating the message four times, then ripped it into four. Then, using loose thread from his uniform, tied the rest of the package, with the chocolate and photo inside, around his neck. Then he became Padfoot.
He looked all around the hallway for the third time, before dashing through the bars of the cell. Dropping one of the pieces inside one of the cells, while its occupant slept, he then slipped out again and continued to run. He had only a few seconds before the next dementor went past.
It was touch and go, passing a few cells at a time, stopping, starting again, until he was at the stairs, which, thankfully, weren't guarded. He bounded down, as fast as possible without falling. He wouldn't have the strength to get up, if he did.
The first floor. There were no humans, thankfully. Nobody stayed overnight, nobody but the prisoners. There were large doors that were closed and locked, but they weren't his goal. No, it was the large barred window on the other side that he was aiming for. Glancing around a few times, he saw no threat, and ran, practically diving through the gap. Good thing he was so skinny…
The water was cold. Abnormally so, though that was probably due to the chill that dementor naturally gave off. He shuddered, but continued swimming. He'd seen the boats going this way, so land must be this way, right? He hoped so, because if it was an Apparation point, he would have to swim even further.
The sun was just rising when he got his answer. It wasn't an island; it was some peninsula on the coast of northern Scotland, and he landed near some dense woods that he bolted into immediately.
Once he was deep in, he looked around for a shelter, as far away from humans as possible. He was in luck; there were a few fallen logs that formed almost a lean-to, in a clearing that hadn't seen man in at least a decade. He slipped in, and transformed back, hands scrabbling at his neck. He got the package, and breathed a sigh of relief that it wasn't too wet; on the contrary, it was only a bit damp near the bottom. He opened it, checked the photo (it was empty), ate a piece of chocolate, then packed it up again.
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Harry groaned when he woke up; not a common reaction for most on their birthday. But they didn't have to deal with a stupid dinner party and uncaring relatives on theirs, so he felt it was justified.
Eventually, he got up, going downstairs where his aunt and uncle sat, crooning at Dudley for his 'excellent' behavior and planning how to impress the Masons. Harry ate as quickly as he could, hoping to avoid them entirely, but luck wasn't on his side.
"And you. You will stay in your room. No noise, no funny business. Be grateful I let you go a week at that Lupin's place…" Vernon turned back to his food, leaving Harry wondering if he'd ever mentioned his name.
He went to the local park, staying there as long as he could. He didn't want to deal with the Dursley's right now, not when he was feeling so bad. He knew that his extended family wouldn't bother doing anything for his birthday, but he'd hoped that his friends would remember. Were there still problems with the mail…?
Eventually, he had to go back, and was immediately given enough chores to last him until seven. Then, he was given some bread and cheese and sent upstairs. He could hear the guests arriving as he walked.
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Sirius was panting, hiding behind a large rubbish bin in an alley near Blackpool. It was by a Wizarding pub, and as he watched, a man tossed an old Daily Prophet into the bin. He practically dove into it as the man walked away, finding the paper and retreating to the abandoned apartment building he was hiding in. He planned on leaving the country soon, but he wanted some news and a wand first.
Sirius Black Escapes! Famed Mass Murderer and known Death Eater at Large!
Below was a photo of him. He had to admit, even he was scared of himself. He'd been half mad at the time, from grief and anger.
He read through it, and sighed in disappointment when he saw that they had searched Remus' home for him. He'd hoped that Remus would be left alone, but that didn't seem to be the case. If the article was anything to go by, they hadn't found anything incriminating there.
He threw it away again, and turned into Padfoot once again, leaving the dilapidated place once again.
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Harry was used to strange things. He'd seen the man who killed his parents growing out of his professor's head, after all. But the pile of packages and letters on his bed had made him stare.
He hadn't gotten a chance to look at them, though, for at that moment, his uncle stormed through the door, yelling that the dinner was ruined. It took several minutes for Harry to understand what had happened.
Apparently, just as Aunt Petunia was cutting her cake, it had exploded, covering them all in frosting and sugared violets. The Masons had run out, claiming them to be insane. Harry groaned. Not for the first time, he was being blamed for something that was quite obviously not his fault.
When he awoke to his uncle putting bars on his window, telling him he'd never go back to Hogwarts again, he wasn't surprised. Bleakly, he wondered if anyone would notice his absence.
Then he remembered the pile, which now sat under his bed. Pulling the objects out, he found letters, a lot of them, from everyone, beginning at the beginning of summer up until his stay at the Lupin household. The packages were birthday gifts. On top of all this was a single letter, written in red ink and on a piece of parchment that seemed to be torn away from a larger piece, and rather dirty.
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Sirius smiled, rather happily. He was staying in Hawaii until he got news that it was safe. Luckily, the wand he'd stolen was working perfectly, and he'd had no problems Apparating here immediately. Nobody recognized him, due to a glamour, and he felt far more secure in the warm islands than he would ever in the UK.
He pulled out the photo, where Remus was waiting for him. He laughed at his expression; apparently, photo Sirius hadn't bothered telling him where he was.
"Hawaii? Really, Sirius?" Remus laughed, then sighed a bit.
"Talk hasn't died yet. They're keeping the house under surveillance, though I've been informed, off the record, that it'll only be for another few weeks. Though, we could adopt a dog, if you'd prefer…" He saw Sirius shaking his head and smiled good-naturedly.
"Thought not. You prefer the warmth, I'd bet." Sirius nodded this time.
"Are you planning on opening your mouth at all, Pads?"
"My teeth look horrible. Until they're fixed, I refuse to speak more than I have to." Remus shook his head at his vanity.
"It's Harry's birthday today. We sent gifts, of course, but there's been a strange issue with his mail not getting there, and I'm worried that he won't receive it." Sirius frowned.
"Why would there be a problem? There's no reason for the mail not to go through…"
"I believe someone, or something, is intercepting his post. I plan on looking into it as soon as I can, but the full moon was more draining than usual, and I need to rest. I believe the news of your escape riled up the wolf."
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Harry Potter,
There is grave danger in you going to Hogwarts this year. If you promise out loud not to go, Dobby will remove the memory of the cake from your family, and let you out. But you must promise!
Harry stared. He couldn't do that, Hogwarts was- is his home!
"No. I won't make that promise, Dobby. Whoever you are." A slight sound, almost like a sob, was heard, but then there was silence.
A week passed, and he tried to sleep despite his aching stomach. Hedwig wasn't helping, hooting as she was. And there was that rattling…
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Sirius huddled in his hut, far away from anybody that might be nearby. He was still in the islands, but deep in the jungles. A storm raged outside, and the dark and cold was quickly reminding him of Azkaban. He pulled further into himself as a loud crash rang out from a few feet outside.
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Harry couldn't believe his luck. Ron and the twins, upon finding out he was trapped in his room, had come out in the middle of the night and helped him escape. How they'd known, they would not say.
"We'll tell you later. Right now, we need to get out." They had managed to get away without waking a soul, and as they left, Harry thought he heard a voice murmuring goodbye as they flew away in the Ford Angela.
Now he sat at their breakfast table, eating more food than he usually did in a week, and talking to the other Weasley's as though this was normal.
The lecture they'd received from Mrs. Weasley hadn't been pleasant, though.
"What on Earth were you thinking, going out like that without protection! There's a murderer on the loose, and you three go cavorting about in a flying car! You could have died, you could have been seen, oh wait until your father hears…"
Harry thought the last wasn't really a threat, once he met Mr. Weasley. He'd seemed more pleased that the car worked than mad.
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Sirius listened as his photo self read the article on his search party to him. It sounded frightfully boring, but he needed to know where they were looking.
"They think I'm in Russia? Are they crazy? It's way too cold there; I'm staying here until my skin chars off and I look tan again." They both laughed.
"Oh, Remus wanted me to tell you; you're going to have a visitor in a few hours. He can't leave, the house is still being watched." Sirius nodded, and the photo was vacated.
Now, who else knows about where I am? The kids staying with Remus, but he doubted it was them. Even though the oldest, Senri, was legally able to take the Apparation test, from what he'd heard, it wasn't likely that he was able.
He got his answer when a loud crack sounded outside. Diving to where he could see outside, he found Albus Dumbledore standing there, smiling benignly and watching him.
"Hello Sirius. I'd ask to come in, but I believe it's more comfortable outside."
Sirius laughed; Dumbledore was still Dumbledore.
"Yes, I suppose." He walked out, stretching a bit and standing tall.
"Well, I suppose congratulations are in order. You are officially the first person to break out of Azkaban." He held out his hand, which Sirius shook. Then, conjuring up two chintz armchairs, he sat down, gesturing for Sirius to do the same.
"Now, apologies are in order. I am heartily sorry for not looking further into your case; I'm afraid I didn't think much about it at the time." Sirius shook his head.
"It's not your fault, Dumbledore. We should have told you. The war… it ruined everything. We couldn't trust our own shadows." Dumbledore sighed, nodding. There was silence for a long time, before he looked up.
"Well. I didn't come here just for that. Preparations must be made, of course, but I wish to hear how you managed to escape. I trust it is due, in part, to your Animagaus ability?" Sirius let out a barking laugh.
"Remus told you? Yes, that's how I did it. Dementors are blind, you know, so they thought I was finally going mad. I ran like hell through the place, slipped out the bars on the window, and swan to shore."
"Just how did you stay sane? I've never met a person who managed it." Sirius grinned, though it was a bit grim.
"I knew I was innocent. Since that didn't make me happy, the dementors couldn't take it away. The fact that Remus and Harry were safe crossed my mind a few times as well, in my more lucid moments. I was half mad, though, Dumbledore, don't get me wrong. Just not as bad as most."
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Harry rooted through his trunk for a long time, until he found what he was looking for.
"Hey, Ron! I found it!" Ron hurtled into the room, grinning ear to ear.
"Really? Let me look!" It was of some kind of organization, with all their parents, Remus, Sirius, Ron's uncles, Dumbledore, and plenty he didn't recognize. As they watched, Arthur pulled Molly into a kiss, which she returned happily. A few other pairs smiled or laughed, though Harry could see his father dragging his mother into a similar position in the corner.
"We should show your parents. Maybe they know who the others are." They went downstairs, where both the Weasley's sat, enjoying afternoon tea.
"Mr. and Mrs. Weasley? We found this old photo, and were wondering if you could tell who some of them are."
Arthur looked at it in surprise, smiling as he watched himself and Molly kiss.
"I thought this photo was destroyed… there was a fire at the Prewett house." Harry smiled a bit awkwardly.
"We found it in a box at Mr. Lupin's house. He had a bunch of old things from the war… In fact, he said to tell you to drop by and look through. There were some things of Gideon and Fabien's, I think." Molly smiled as she watched her brothers tease her in the photo, remembering the tales of their pranks from school. The twins reminded her of them.
Arthur began to point out who everyone was as she let two tears, one for each of them, drip down her cheeks.
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Sirius watched Dumbledore leave, before turning to his hut with a sigh. He raised his wand and began to work. Wards were placed around, followed by Muggle-repelling spells and un-Plottable charms. Then he fixed the place itself, adding a bed and other things until it became almost a cottage. He didn't add to much in way of décor or furniture; he'd leave as soon as it was safe.
Dumbledore wanted him to lay low for a while. Meanwhile, he would be looking for Pettigrew himself, occasionally with Remus' help. He had told Sirius, however, he had little faith they'd find him.
"A rat is far too common a creature for easy finding. He is missing a finger, which could help, and I'll bet he hasn't left the Wizarding world entirely, but there is much ground to cover. I fear we may never find him."
Sirius had nodded, wanting to hunt him down himself but trusting that Dumbledore would do all that he could to do so himself. If Peter had any sense, he would be as far away from England as possible.
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'Scabbers' wondered if he had any sense, staying so close to Dumbledore. But he couldn't leave, not yet; until it was certain Voldemort was dead, he'd stay, gaining as much information as he could about the Boy Who Lived as possible.
Ha! Managed to get it up before midnight!