Disclaimer : I do not own Harry Potter or anything to do with the books. I am only borrowing the characters, places, spells, and some plot devices for my own entertainment purposes. They will be returned, cleaned and polished, to their original owner, JK Rowling, as soon as I am finished with them.

The Brotherhood

A/N - This chapter was last modified on 27 September, 2011.

Chapter One - Meeting

Deep in Azkaban, a large black dog, otherwise known as Padfoot, sat sunning himself in the small amount of sunlight that was coming through his window. He was quite enjoying himself. Up until last year, he had not had a window in his cell, but he had been moved and now he did. This was the first day with the window, however, that the sun was actually out, and Padfoot was determined to take in every ray of it he could reach.

He would have rather sat in the sun in his human form, though he knew he would burn easily, but with Dementors around, he avoided his human form. The occasional roaming Aurors, however, expected to see a man in his cell, not a dog, when they passed, so he had to keep a strict vigil.

Listening intently, he could easily hear the screams of the other prisoners, as the Dementors roamed the prison. There were none, thankfully, around him. That wouldn't last long, however. Among the screams, Padfoot could hear the sound of waves crashing up against the rocks of Azkaban Island.

He had once loved the sound of waves on a beach. Now, they tormented him. They were his freedom that he couldn't have.

Shaking away the slight distraction, Padfoot focused on the other sounds of the prison. Rats could be heard, scurrying around in the walls. Then, Padfoot's ears perked up. Yes, there was the noise of an Auror patrolling. Whoever it was, they were roaming the floor below. Still listening, Padfoot realised that the footsteps he heard belonged to more than one person. In fact, it sounded more like three people. Even worse, they were coming in his direction.

Cursing his bad luck, Padfoot drew upon the little magic that hadn't been drained from his exhausted soul and concentrated on his human form. It only took a second, and then there was a ragged human sitting exactly where Padfoot had been.

Sirius lifted his face to the sun and felt the warmth on it for the few minutes he had. As soon as he could hear the Aurors' footsteps with his human ears, he climbed to his feet and peered out of the bars of his cell. Around him, the other prisoners did the same. This was not just another Auror patrol, that much he could tell.

After a few moments of waiting, the trio came into sight. Between two Aurors, a boy, clearly a new prisoner, was being led along. The boy's head was bowed and Sirius could not clearly see his face, though he could tell that he was young.

Sirius moved backwards as they came level to his cell and stopped. He watched silently as the Aurors opened the cell across from his and thrust the boy in.

Scowling, Sirius settled back down in his patch of sunlight. He had quite liked having an empty cell across from his own. It made keeping his secret much easier. Not to mention there wasn't someone constantly watching his every movement. He would miss the privacy.

The Aurors left, locking the cell behind them, and strode down the aisle, leering unpleasantly at the prisoners who were now gawking at the previously empty cell, trying to get a glimpse of their newest inmate.

The boy turned around and rubbed at his wrists, which had been handcuffed. He settled back on his bunk with a glum look and Sirius took the time to study him. Raven coloured hair framed his face, which was already pale. His face also revealed that he was indeed young, probably not even out of school yet, though it didn't matter for him any more. He had a slight build and was very underweight.

Frowning as he felt a pull on his faded memories, Sirius thought he recognised the boy, though he knew it was impossible. In all likelihood, the boy had been just an infant when he had been thrown unceremoniously into prison. Perhaps he knew a parent?

Digging into his memories, Sirius searched his mind for who the boy resembled. All at once, it came to him, and Sirius gasped at the revelation.

"James!"

The boy glanced up, looking wary as he did so.

"That must mean you're..." Sirius trailed off as their eyes met and his suspicions were confirmed. The boy had Lily's emerald green eyes.

"Harry?

Harry Potter, a boy he had never expected to see again, stared at him in bewilderment, but then nodded.

"Harry! It is you," Sirius breathed, moving forward so he could get a better look at his godson. Harry shrank back, wary.

"I'm Sirius, your godfather," Sirius introduced.

"My what?" Harry asked, confusion coming over his face.

"Your godfather, of course," Sirius repeated, then frowned. "You haven't heard of me, then?"

Harry shook his head.

"I was your father's best friend. Well, along with Moony," Sirius explained.

Harry stared at him. "I don't..." he started, but then shook his head, looking as if he were mentally rebuking himself. He backed up further into his cell, and shadows covered him, hiding his face from Sirius.

Sirius sighed, then realised just who he was talking to. "Wait a minute. What are you doing in here?" he demanded.

There was a moment of silence, and Sirius thought that Harry wouldn't reply, but then, "What right do you have to ask me when you're here yourself?"

Sirius fell silent, not knowing how to reply to that. It was the truth. He had no right, really. Not to mention that he didn't really want to inform Harry of his supposed crimes just yet. "Oh yes, Harry, I was accused of betraying your parents and killing a dozen or so people," That would go over well.

Still immensely curious, but able to control his impatience due to years of being forced to do nothing but wait, Sirius didn't reply. Instead, he moved back into his now almost completely faded patch of sun to wait. Harry would open up to him eventually. He was sure of it. And when he did, Sirius would tell his godson about his own story. With any luck, Harry would believe him, when that time came.

Harry settled back onto his bunk now, probably guessing that he wasn't going to get an answer, and Sirius closed his eyes. He felt a Dementor drawing close, but he didn't yet want to reveal his secret to Harry. Padfoot would have to stay hidden within him for now. He had dealt with Dementors in his human form before. He could do it now.

As the last of the sunlight left his cell, and the cell became very dark, the Dementor appeared on the other side of the bars and coldness swept over Sirius. He shrank back, though he knew it wouldn't help.

Opening his eyes, Sirius watched silently. The Dementor was focused more on Harry. Fresher memories meant a better meal for the Dementor. If Sirius thought he could stop the Dementor feeding off of Harry's memories, he might have felt guilt, but as it was, he couldn't, so he didn't bother with allowing that emotion to come to the surface. Pushing back several of his worst memories that were always drawn to the forefront of his mind when a Dementor was around, Sirius was just relieved that the Dementor was not focused entirely on him.

However, as he watched, these thoughts changed. Harry had a very strong reaction to Dementors, Sirius noted. The boy seized up and cried out in anguish. His eyes were shut tight as he relived his worst memories. Then, all at once, Harry fainted, falling onto the floor. His glasses fell off and cracked as they hit the stone floor.

The Dementor, having finished its meal, moved on, leaving Sirius to hurry to the front of his cell. He stared helplessly at his godson, whose face was coated in a light sheen of sweat, despite the chill that the Dementor had left behind. Despite being unconscious, Harry's face was screwed up in a pained expression, and his breathing came out in gasps.

Sirius moodily moved back to his bunk and sat on it, still watching Harry intently. He wondered what Harry's life had been like, without Lily and James raising him, to produce that sort of reaction to Dementors. He also wondered what Harry had done to land himself a cell in Azkaban. Most of all, however, he wondered how he was going to get Harry out of there. Azkaban was no place for a kid.

It had been three days. Three days of torture whenever a Dementor glided by. Three days of being cold all the time. Three days of endlessly reliving the worst memories of his life. Three days since he had seen the light of day. Yet, Harry was rejoicing. For the first time, Harry had managed to stay conscious in the presence of a Dementor. He knew he had to celebrate the little things, or he wouldn't survive Azkaban. Thus, he allowed a small smile to come across his face.

Feeling better than he had since he had first entered Azkaban, Harry glanced across the aisle at the adjacent cell. Settled underneath the bunk, a large black dog was sleeping. Or at least, Harry thought it was sleeping.

Harry had been quite confused when he first woke up from his unconscious state and discovered that the man in the cell across from him was gone and a dog was there instead. However, it didn't take him long before he realised that they were one and the same. The man had explained briefly, as he saw Harry staring at him after changing back into his human form, that it made things simpler. The Dementors' effects were lessened, the food didn't taste as gross, and he was able to get comfortable on the hard stone floor.

That was the only thing the man had said to him since that first day. After that, he had kept silent, and stayed in his dog form, unless an Aurors happened to be roaming around their cells. Harry hadn't yet attempted to bring up the topic that he had been pondering the entire time.

This man had claimed to be his godfather. He had claimed to be Harry's father's best friend. He had even known his name and his father's name.

Staring at the dog, Harry considered bringing up the topic now, but thought better of it almost immediately. What if it was all just an act? Enough people surely knew his name just by seeing his face. He was, or had been, famous, after all. But why would the man say he was his godfather, unless it was true?

The dog suddenly got up and stretched, yawning widely. Their eyes met for a short moment before Harry turned away, blushing lightly at being caught staring.

The sound of the dog lapping up some water made Harry glance over at him again. Harry moved down off of his bunk to sit next to the bars. The dog looked over at him, tilting his head in obvious curiosity.

"How do I know you're really my godfather?" Harry asked softly, knowing the dog would be able to hear him clearly.

The dog paused and in a matter of moments, he had shifted to his human form. Sirius settled in a sitting position next to the bars of his own cell. "I could tell you something about James and Lily," Sirius suggested.

Harry nodded once and Sirius frowned, looking thoughtful. "James pined after Lily for a very long time before she ever started dating him. In fact, they only started dating in seventh year, when they were head boy and head girl," Sirius stated.

Harry looked at Sirius through his fringe. "I didn't know that,"

"Nobody ever told you?" Sirius asked.

"You're the first person I've met that actually knew them, besides some of the professors at Hogwarts, but they seem to think it's unprofessional to talk to me about them," Harry informed him.

Sirius fell silent, brooding.

Harry considered him for a long moment before saying, "You wanted to know why I was imprisoned?"

Sirius looked up, but didn't reply.

"It probably sounds stupid, but I'm actually innocent. I was framed. They killed my best friend. I didn't even get a trial," Harry murmured.

There was silence for a long time and Harry instantly regretted revealing this. The man probably thought he was mental.

Then, finally, Sirius replied, "That's quite the coincidence. Or maybe it's not. I never committed the crime I'm in here for either. He was my best friend too. Like you, I was sentenced without a trial," Sirius' tone was sombre.

Harry met Sirius' eyes squarely and knew that the man was not lying. He could see the same desperate emotion in Sirius' eyes as he felt himself. He just wanted someone to believe his story.

"Quite a pair we make," Sirius commented idly, picking at his fingernails.

Harry nodded silently. He studied the man before him, then decided something. "Why did my mum not date my dad until their last year?" he whispered, lowering his eyes shyly.

Sirius glanced up at him and smiled lightly.

"She hated him. I believe her favourite term for him was 'arrogant toe rag'. Her wording exactly, of course," Sirius told him candidly.

Harry looked up, disbelief coursing through him. Sirius simply winked at him, then started in on another story about his parents.

Harry leaned forward, against the bars, and just listened, enjoying being able to finally get to know his parents.

A/N - Catch something wrong with this fanfic, including typos, misspelled words, or a plot line that just doesn't make sense? Let me know, please.

I write fanfictions to better myself in my original story/novel writing. I strive for the best, but I admit to occasionally missing things. If you see anything that needs to be fixed, or you just have any advice or comments, let me know, in a review or PM. Also, I won't respond to every review, though I'll try with PMs. I just don't have the time. However, if you ask a question, I will try to respond with an answer. Thanks.