Hello everyone! Err… sorry for not updating on either Tuesday or Wednesday… I have no excuse, other than the chapter wasn't ready. I do have important news at the end of this chapter in regards to further updates of this fic so please read the notice at the bottom! (don't worry, this fic IS continuing).

Twisting Time

Chapter 30

Sunday 5th April 1992 – the early hours

The fuzzy feeling in his head cleared and Harry found he could open his eyes. He blinked slowly. He felt like he had been asleep for a very long time. Glancing around, he realised he was in the Hogwarts Hospital Wing. Why was he here? His brain struggled to clear the fog surrounding the last few days. The last thing he truly remembered was going to his room and having an argument about Tom… his friend… No… wait… Not his friend.

He'd been tricked, led to believe a lie.

Shame spread through his body like fire and guilt trapped in Harry's stomach. How could he have been so stupid? Hadn't his parents taught him to not trust anything that could think for itself? They had and he'd blindly ignored it. Tom had been so nice…

"Harry?" a soft voice spoke to him.

Tears glistening in his eyes, Harry turned to the right and saw the blurry image of his mother sitting beside his bed. He reached out for his glasses which were duly placed inside his hands and he put them on. His mother's face came into view. "Mum?"

Before she could reply, everything tumbled out of Harry's mouth.

"I'm sorry! I didn't know Tom was bad! He was so nice to me… Then when I ran away and got to Hogwarts he told me to open the diary. And… and…" Sniffling, Harry wiped his nose. "He came out of the diary and thanked me for helping him live again… And… and… I was gonna die! He said I had helped him aid Vold… Vol…." Harry's voice continued to shake. He had never been afraid to say the name but now he couldn't get it out. "Him! And Sirius was going to die too. He's okay, isn't he, mum?"

"Harry… Sirius isn't dead." The expression on his mother's face wasn't quite right.

"I can see him, right?" asked Harry. He had to know his godfather was alright. He hadn't wanted to hurt either of them but because he had listened to Tom instead of his elders, he had shut them away and now faced with the prospect that he had hurt them… He rubbed his eyes again as a few tears trickled down his cheeks.

His mother bit her bottom lip and Harry knew that something was very wrong. "Mum?"

"I'm sorry Harry," she sighed quietly. "But Sirius is not here. He… he was tricked. He is still alive but we know he is in the hands of Voldemort."

Harry's face drained of any colour it had regained upon waking. His lips wobbled. This was his fault. He had done this. He had aided and abetted in this… His godfather was gone. "I did this…"

"No, Harry, you didn't. It wasn't your fault."

"How can it not be?" Harry cried. "I tried to protect Tom! He told me if I ever needed a safe place to hide I should go to the girl's bathroom on the second floor! I did it this time because I didn't want anyone to hurt him… I thought he meant well…If I hadn't been so stupid, Sirius would still be here!"

His mother grabbed his hands, pulling him close to her. "Harry. We will get him back. I promise you."

His lips wobbled and a few more tears trickled down his face. "How?"

Hours had passed since Sirius had arrived at the Graveyard. Hours had gone by since Voldemort had been resurrected. He felt so sure it was the early hours of the morning now though it was still dark. His whole body ached and his throat was sore from screaming. Voldemort's torture had been nasty but the Dark Lord had now given the order for Sirius to have some rest, which he considered to be strange. Sirius could only assume Voldemort didn't want to kill him until he had got all the information he wanted from him.

Sirius had not complied, instead choosing to scream and bear the pain he was being subjected to. He could not put a time limit on how long he had been tortured for but he knew the pain had been nonstop. He is not getting into my head. I will not let him learn anything about where I come from. Because if he did, Harry would be in danger. Sirius had no delusions that Harry's life was in danger since he had come into contact with one of Voldemort's Horcruxes but he had faith in Lily, James and Remus to bring him back and destroy the Horcrux.

He still lay by the grave of Voldemort's father, his body remaining tightly bound. They were not giving him any chances. Voldemort didn't want him to escape. He knew very little of what was going on around him. Voldemort was nowhere to be seen, having departed with Lucius Malfoy, leaving Sirius with Quirrell who had been charged with the very important mission of not letting the prisoner escape. The wand being pointed at his chest from a short distance away showed Quirrell was taking his duty very seriously.

At the moment Sirius didn't really care. He was trying to rebuild his strength for the next bout of torture. He didn't know when Voldemort would be back but he expected he wouldn't be left to gather his strength for long.

He was working on an escape plan but he wasn't sure it would work. Years ago he had followed Harry through the bond after the boy had been kidnapped, finding him immediately. He had not explored the bond that much since that incident but had noticed it growing stronger the more time they spent with one another though he was certain Harry was unaware it existed. Sirius dug deep inside himself, locating his core of magic and found the link binding him to Harry.

They boy was pulsing strongly and he knew his godson was alive. The bond felt slightly tainted by dark magic but it was rapidly fading suggesting Harry had pulled away from the influence of the Horcrux. Keeping his eyes closed, Sirius traced the bond, following along the path. He felt something building in his chest. A warm feeling – the exact same feeling he had felt before he had Apparated to Harry's location.

But –

Damn.

The bond suddenly went fuzzy. Harry was in a place of great protection. He couldn't use it to get back to Harry as he was completely shielded by extensive magic.

He's still at Hogwarts, thought Sirius. The amount of protection on the castle interfered with their bond and Sirius couldn't use it to trace Harry. Nor could he use their bond to Apparate out of the Graveyard. Damn. His one shot at an escape route had been blown by Harry's location. He couldn't Apparate out of the Graveyard due to the extensive wards around him. And no one could Apparate in or out.

When Voldemort had left he had followed Lucius Malfoy to the edge of what Sirius perceived had been the barrier, disappearing as he slipped through. Sirius now knew that only people with the Dark Mark could get through the magical barriers. Anyone else couldn't. Voldemort had told him during his torture of him, gloating over the lack of people trying to rescue him, though the dark wizard had been certain all his friends would be dead by now.

Damn, damn, damn…

He couldn't escape. They had effectively trapped him.

Something appeared to the left of him.

Voldemort had stepped back inside the heavily constructed wards and he was looking directly at Sirius.

Shit.

Lily sighed, wishing James was here to help her inform their son how special he was. But he was with Jack in one room away from the Hospital Wing, making sure their other child slept well. They took it in turns to stay with Harry. It had been fortunate she had been here for him when he had woken. They had agreed to give Harry the choice to help them. Dumbledore had explained this may be their only chance to rescue Sirius and neither James nor Lily wanted to leave him behind in Voldemort's hands.

The problem was ensuring Harry's safety. James' idea to use the invisibility cloak was an ingenious one. It was possible Harry could wear it and stay close to them. The only other problem they had was getting out of the area, especially if Voldemort had called his other followers to him and there were more Death Eaters than they believed.

It was the one point of their plan that they could not find a solution to and until they could, they would be unable to leave Hogwarts.

Harry's question remained unanswered and Lily braced herself to explain.

"Harry… there is a way that we believe could help us bring Sirius back to us…" She hesitated. It was either make or break this. If she did so she would be committing her son to danger. She knew Harry far too well for him to turn down the opportunity to help. She had what she had to do. She was just afraid of what the consequences would be.

"Mum?" Harry asked quietly, his green eyes beseeching hers.

"We believe you could help us." There, it was out there now.

Harry blinked. "What? How can… I… help?"

"Do you sometimes feel you have a stronger link to Sirius than to us?" asked Lily carefully.

Harry nodded. "Yeah. I don't understand why."

"We don't know why either," said Lily, "but it is there for a reason. Remember when you were little and you were kidnapped and Sirius rescued you straight away?"

Harry nodded. Lily knew he hated to think of that. It had scarred him but it was now something he had recovered from and barely gave any thought to.

"Yeah. I felt a warm feeling in my chest before he arrived," said Harry.

"You and Sirius share a deep bond. It is a very magical and powerful bond. It is also mentally linked, giving you a unique bond with your godfather. Sirius used that bond to follow you to your exact location. Harry… The bond works both ways. Your father and I have seen it in action. You saved Sirius' life when you were really little," smiled Lily. They had never told Harry this either but to get him to understand how remarkable his bond was, they had to explain the night of Voldemort's defeat.

Harry blinked, surprise crossing his tear-stained face. "I… I did?"

Lily nodded. "You did." Though Dumbledore had never told them any of this, once they had learned of Sirius' true identity, he had come clean about his survival that night and how the Headmaster had theorised his survival through Harry's distress at Sirius hurting. Both she and James had been surprised to learn Harry had magically created a shield to protect Sirius but having seen how close the two were as Harry had grown up, and after Harry's kidnapping, had realised this bond between them was incredibly unique. They shouldn't be surprised at the magical barriers the two were making. "The night Voldemort was defeated. You were a great help to Sirius. You saved his life."

"But… but…" Harry stammered. "But… I… was…only a… baby!"

Lily smiled gently, brushing a bit of red hair out of her face. "You were."

"Then what did I do?" Harry asked softly.

"We're not exactly sure, Harry, but the night Sirius defeated Voldemort, you started to cry and when the house exploded that Sirius was in, you stopped crying and looked at us and said 'Pafoo hurt'. Dumbledore visited afterwards and with our permission had a look into your mind. Both your father and I know he didn't give us the full story but Sirius did a few years later. Dumbledore had told him you had spent a large amount of magic. You were magically exhausted, a condition that usually affects adult wizards when they use too much magic in a short space of time. You slept for the whole day before waking up again. And we did worry. Sirius was the closest to the point of the explosion that night but somehow you knew what to do. You sensed him in danger and somehow managed to project a shield around him, protecting him from being killed in the explosion though he still suffered injuries. If you hadn't have done that, Sirius would have died. That's how Sirius survived that night. Not through luck as the papers say but through you, Harry."

Harry's face was stark white. "But… but…" He was flabbergasted, surprised by it.

"Sirius said he used the bond to trace you when you were kidnapped. He followed the link and that took him straight to you. We believe it may be possible for you to do the same thing. Follow your link to Sirius' location and help us get inside."

"Me? But I can't Apparate. I'm not old enough…" Harry lowered his chin to his chest, his dark hair flopping over his face.

"We believe the link is strong enough for you to use without knowing how to Apparate," continued Lily. "If you can find your link yourself and use it to reach out to him, you could automatically go to him. If you can, you can take us with you as we cannot get through the defences Voldemort has put up. I don't like this idea Harry, but Professor Dumbledore and Remus have both tried to break down the defences surrounding Sirius' location and they are unable to succeed. We didn't have to tell you that you could help but both your father and I know that we cannot just let Sirius die. We worry how we could protect you in that type of situation."

Harry was watching her carefully, his face was still tear-stained but he wasn't get upset anymore.

"We do have an idea." Lily sighed. She didn't want to put her son in danger but this was the only way they could think of to get Sirius back. If it works. "But it would mean you would have to obey everything we told you to do. Because we are not losing you, Harry, not after all these years we've spent protecting you."

"You'd let me help even though I'm not of age?" asked Harry quietly.

Lily nodded. "It was a hard decision to make but the bond between you and Sirius is there for a reason. If we don't use it…"

"He might die…"

Lily grimaced. "Yes. And we need him."

"Mum…" Harry looked up at her, resolution in his eyes. "I want to help."

Sirius watched wearily as Voldemort approached him, his long fingers handling the wand he had used to torture him with hours earlier. It slowly came to point directly at his face.

"Are you willing to be more talkative now? Or will I have to continue to torture you?" Voldemort asked casually.

Sirius shuddered. He hated that voice. But he was resolved to be resolute in his beliefs. He would not break. He would not betray. He would fight to protect those that mattered. "Torture me all you want."

Voldemort shook his head. "Sirius… Sirius… Sirius… why choose that path when you could become greater than you already are by joining me?"

Sirius snorted, already knowing the answer. "You wouldn't let me join. You'd kill me first chance you'd got. But I know you won't kill me. You're after what's in my head." He smirked. "You're not getting in there. Ever."

Voldemort's eyes glinted dangerously. "Oh I think I will. I am far more powerful than you. If you will not talk then I will take what I require from you."

The wand raised and Sirius braced himself. He knew what was coming. No matter what happens, keep the shields up!

"Legilimens!"

James glanced up when his wife walked into the classroom that had been converted into a small bedroom for him to share with his youngest son. They wanted to keep Jack safe so keeping him out of the hospital wing was important. As of yet, Jack didn't really know what was going on, only that his older brother had hurt himself and needed treatment at Hogwarts. Watching his wife, he saw Lily motion with her head for him to step outside the room.

Glancing back at Jack and making sure he was completely asleep, James stepped outside the room and gently put the door to, turning to face his wife as he did so. "And?"

"Harry wants to help. I've explained as much as I can to him… He's only eleven, James…" Lily's voice dropped, her expression softening.

"I know he is," said James, swallowing the lump in his throat that had formed when his wife had told him their child wanted to help. "What other choice do we have?"

"We are his parents," stated Lily. "We could say no."

"He'll hate us for doing so," answered James. "He's too much like you, Lil. If we refuse despite giving him the choice, we'll be the bad guy and… we could be…" He couldn't say the last words but he saw in Lily's eyes that she knew what he was referring to. If they didn't allow Harry to help, Sirius would die. They didn't have any other way they could think of to get inside the wards Voldemort had erected. Professor Dumbledore was powerful but even the most powerful wizard could be stopped from getting somewhere with brilliantly constructed wards.

"I know." Lily stepped into James' arms.

He wrapped his arms around her small frame, hugging her close, running a hand through her long red locks. He rested his chin on the top of her head. "Harry's smart, Lily. He knows when it is important to do as he's told. I think we should put aside our fears for our son and let him help."

"How can you be so calm about this?" asked Lily.

"I'm not," answered James. "I'm terrified about Harry. And I know we haven't really spoken to Harry yet about what happened down in the Chamber but he knows that this happened because of him. Harry helping us will help him advance on the path of healing. Our son will have learned a valuable lesson here…One that will make him grow as a man."

Lily sniffed into his chest. Her voice came out muffled but James could still discern the words. "He's not a child anymore, is he?"

Sadly, James shook his head.

Sirius gritted his teeth as mental pressure built in his mind, pressing against the barriers he had erected around his memories. He was curled up, body still bound and his eyes squeezed shut. He distinctly heard the mutter of a spell. He briefly wondered what it was before crippling pain hit him, torturing his limbs and causing him to go into spasms.

He knew what Voldemort was attempting to do. Sirius could only defend himself only so much. A scream ripped from his throat. He buckled, fighting to prevent his barriers from dropping. He couldn't let his concentration slip…

Fight! Fight! Fight!

And then something bashed into his head, twisting his head to the side. A crack echoed in his skull. The resulting injury to his head caused him, just momentarily, to lose focus on his defences. Something wriggled past…

A memory flashed up into his mind of a fifteen year old Harry Potter yelling his name as he fell backwards towards the Veil… Sirius saw himself pass through it…

NO!

He slammed the barriers back up, ejecting Voldemort from raping his mind further. But the pain had stopped and Sirius knew why.

Voldemort had briefly got into his head. He had seen what Sirius had.

As Sirius' vision cleared, he focused upon the red glowing eyes of Lord Voldemort. He stood there, in long, billowing black robes, and continued to point his wand at Sirius.

"You're not just a time traveller, are you?" Voldemort cocked his head to the side, curiosity setting in slightly into his expression.

Sirius swallowed.

"Your body died but your spirit did not… That lived and came back, did it not?" asked Voldemort.

Sirius glared and then turned his head away, indicating that he would not be co-operative at all.

A cold chuckle echoed in his ear. "This would be so much easier if you just answered my questions. You're not going to escape from me. You are here to stay until you give me the answers I want."

"You're in for a long wait, Tom Riddle," spat Sirius, choosing to taunt Voldemort with the Muggle name he had abandoned years ago.

Voldemort's red eyes glinted dangerously. "We'll see."

They were startled out of their hug by Harry's sudden scream from the Hospital Wing. Lily reached the door first, yanked it open and rushed inside. Sweeping her eyes around, she saw Harry sitting up in bed, tears flowing down his cheeks. His whole body was shaking uncontrollably.

"Harry?" Lily approached her son, reaching out with her left hand.

Her son's bright green eyes turned towards her. His face was terrified.

"I felt this horrible pain and…and… my head was bursting… My chest hurt too…"

Lily glanced at James. They had already guessed what Harry was feeling. He was sensing Sirius' pain and torment.

Harry began to shake again. Tears leaked from his eyes. "Mum…"

Lily pulled his close, attempting to stop his body from shaking erratically.

"Mum… It hurts…" Harry muttered between sobs. "I want it to stop… Please make it stop…"

But there was nothing Lily could do to stop what he was feeling. She tightened her grip on Harry. "I'm sorry, Harry… I can't…"

James reached for his son from the other side of the bad, climbing up onto the side of the bed. "There is something we can do…" He swallowed.

Harry didn't reply. He was still shaking and flinching, his body buckling in their arms.

James caught Lily's eyes. She knew what he was going to say.

"You know what this means, don't you, Lil? We have to get to the Graveyard. Now!"

To be continued…

Please let me know what you think!

This chapter was going to be longer but I felt this was a good ending point. Sirius and Harry are both in torment and this is Harry's first proper encounter with how strong and different his bond with Sirius is. I think James and Lily would find it difficult to allow Harry to help them, especially since he is only eleven but they both realise that they have no choice and have to allow him the chance to make his own decision.

And yes, Voldemort really did, very briefly, break into Sirius' mind. Voldemort is incredibly powerful and he knows how to break down a person's shields. I didn't want Sirius to just keep on repelling him. There have to be consequences and now some of them are beginning to show. But, how much will Voldemort learn?

NOTE ABOUT FUTURE UPDATING: PLEASE READ

Ok, so I have mentioned recently about the possibility of taking a break from posting. I am afraid I will have to go through with this as I am finding it a struggle to write good quality chapters and on time. Often I have found myself on Monday night, trying to get the next chapter done. I do not feel this is good enough and I want to take the pressure off myself. So, for now, I will be updating when the chapter is ready and not before. I will keep updates to the weekdays so I will not update on a weekend.

I am sorry I have to take this route but we have come to a pivotal point in this story and I do not want to rush out chapters just to have a regular schedule. I think people know me by now that I will update regularly. I aim to update between 7 and 14 days so I will not go over two weeks before another update is posted. I need to take longer between chapters because it is getting stressful to finish it on time and to produce quality writing. I also want to take more time because this story is now at a critical point. I need to think more and more about where I want this story to go. Therefore it is imperative I take more time between chapters.

I hope people continue to stick with this story despite the longer wait between chapters. And, as always, I will always respond to reviews when the next chapter is posted.

Thank you for all the encouragement, comments and feedback I have received for this story so far.

Until next time,

the-writer1988