Prisoner of Azkaban

Chapter Three

Sirius Black

Azkaban Prison

Sirius had agreed to allow Remus to handle matters. He had gotten assurances from the other man that Remus would not seek out Harry. Sirius hadn't heard from Remus at all in a couple of months, which was worrisome. Remus couldn't visit in person, further attempts had been denied. However, "Moony" had been writing him regularly for years now, then all of a sudden there had been nothing.

Sirius had borrowed the newspaper from visitors whenever he could, which honestly wasn't nearly as often as he would prefer, but at least he was somewhat informed. Last month, after reading the paper, he had written Moony then ripped apart his cell because the headline proudly announced the return of Harry Potter. Apparently, the boy had been enrolled in Hogwarts. How had this happened? He demanded in his letter that Remus hunt down the child's family.

He had made Remus promise before not to find them because he was worried somehow, they would use Remus to track down Harry. Clearly, they had tracked him down anyway. Now it was up to Remus to track these people down and make sure they understood they needed to keep the child safely hidden away because Sirius was still stuck in here!

He had also been sure to warn Remus away from having Snape help him. For some reason Remus seemed to think Snape was an ally but that was ridiculous the man was a death eater. He had been friends with all the death eaters in their year and the years around them, how could Remus believe he had changed? He hated James!

Remus had finally written him back this morning, but it was just as upsetting. He assured Sirius Remus knew what was happening and had the situation well in hand. So, either Remus was being tricked or Sirius had been wrong to trust him when he said he was not one of the ones who betrayed their friends.

This afternoon Barty Crouch came by to talk to him. He barely paid attention to anything the man was saying, only the usual banter anyway. However, as the man left, he asked for the man's paper and Crouch handed it over. Sirius waited until he was alone again, then finally opening the paper eager for news on the outside world.

There, on the third page, was the biggest problem he had seen since he was informed Harry had been brought out of hiding, because there was Pettigrew! He was just sitting there proudly on the shoulder of some child who had been given some sort of award at Hogwarts. A Gryffindor. Which was Harry's dorm, Sirius was certain of it because there was no way James and Lily's child would end up in any other house.

Sirius wrote Dumbledore for the first time in years, asking the man to keep Harry away from the other boy and his pet. He admitted the pet was the problem, that it was dangerous, without admitting what the rat was or rather who, because he did not think Dumbledore would believe him. The owl returned to his cell with the letter unopened and Sirius screamed in rage. He tore apart his cell, throwing the furniture everywhere and shredding not only the letter but the papers he had gathered over the years.

As the Dementors floated into his cell to silence him he finally came back to himself long enough to transform and hide huddled in the corner. There was no one he could trust, no one who was going to help keep Harry safe. James' son was in danger and the world was ignoring it. Sirius had to do something; he needed a plan. Then once he was free, he would hunt down Pettigrew, Lupin, and Snape. They would all pay for betraying those Sirius loved. He would find Harry and take him far away from all of the threats, and finally make sure he was truly safe.

Xerxes

Remus Lupin still received the newspapers, though usually the day after they were printed. Every morning, over his tea and toast, before he began his duties, Remus would read through all of the papers. He subscribed to five altogether, including the Amestris Post, Xing Daily, Drachma's Times, The Dailey Prophet, and The Dailey Mail. He felt it was important to keep up on his home country even if he had no intention of returning anytime soon.

This morning as usual, he began with The Dailey Mail with the intent to make his way through them all until he got to the Dailey Prophet. He never mentioned his reading habits to anyone, as when he was younger, many of the wizards and witches he knew didn't understand why he would read muggle news and it had become habit to hide it. He nearly ruined his paper this morning when he saw the headline, which was a notice of an escaped convict Sirius Black.

Quickly, he shuffled through his pile of papers until he came to the Prophet which also headlined Sirius' escape, only unlike the Mail it listed his crimes and that he had somehow managed to escape the supposedly unescapable prison. Worse, they were speculating that he must have had outside help to escape. They hadn't suggested any names in the paper, but Remus was very concerned now that either he or Severus would be on their suspect list since they had both expressed interest in visiting with Sirius. Remus had even been allowed visits twice!

He was safe, even if they wanted to question him, they couldn't get inside the boundaries without invitation, Severus however, as far as he knew was still at Hogwarts. Severus was meant to return after the school years was over, though Remus hadn't heard from him yet and the year had only officially ended a few days earlier.

Remus then grabbed up his papers. It didn't matter if he would be questioned and ridiculed for reading both papers anymore, because this was a serious situation. Severus may be in trouble and Sirius had escaped…there had to be a reason for his escape. Remus knew Sirius had been concerned for Yuery's safety once the Prophet had announced the child's return to the wizarding world, but Remus had convinced him (or so he thought) that they had the situation under control.

Remus rushed to the Headmaster's cottage, pounding on the door before he thought better of it when he heard voices on the other side suggesting that he had accidentally woken Alphonse's son, Sovann. He shifted restlessly, ready to apologize and explain once they came to the door. As soon as Alphonse opened the door however, he blurted out "Sirius broke out of Azkaban. I think they think Severus helped him."

"What?" Alphonse asked as Remus shoved both papers at him. Al took them quickly scanning the articles, before he sighed heavily and ushered Remus inside. "Have a seat Remus. Take a few breaths before we start again, alright?"

"It says in the papers they think he had outside help. Who else could they believe helped him? Severus has been asking after him a lot and I managed to visit twice. While I'm safe here, Severus is still out there they could arrest him on suspicion." Remus said as he paced the room.

"Do they not believe him to be one of the followers of Voldemort? Is it not possible that they believe his followers broke him out?" Princess Mei asked as she entered the room with her son in her arms.

"They think Severus is a follower! They still suspect I am as well, because I am a werewolf, but Severus has the Dark Mark." Remus said. "We have to find out what's really happening… I do not want to think this, but we need to worry about Sirius ourselves. He hasn't been very rational the last few letters he sent. He is worried for Yuery's safety thanks to the papers announcing his enrollment at Hogwarts and found I didn't seem worried enough."

"I'm calling Edward." Alphonse said as he refolded the paper and stood. "Remus have a seat. Mei, would you mind making him some tea?"

"Of course." Mei smiled as she walked toward the kitchen and Alphonse went toward his office. Remus sighed as he finally sank into one of the chairs. At least with Edward involved they were truly taking this seriously, even if they seemed to feel he was overreacting.

"Edward and Roy will be here in a few minutes; Severus will arrive after he finishes breakfast." Alphonse said as he came back a few minutes later with two cups of tea. "Severus arrived back in Amestris last night and intended to come around today. He said to tell you that you have nothing to worry about, neither you nor he are suspected of helping Sirius escape. You haven't been in country, and he hadn't left the grounds of Hogwarts until yesterday. The only way they can believe it was either of you was if they suspected Dumbledore as well."

"That isn't as reassuring as he thinks it is considering we have spent the last few years convincing several Aurors that Dumbledore is coming unhinged." Remus blew on his cup before taking a sip. "Though as far as I know they still do not believe me on the matter."

"What is this about Black escaping and them thinking you helped him?" Edward demanded as he walked into the house without knocking.

"Good morning, Brother, do come in." Al said with a small smile.

"Don't smirk at me like you've never walked into my house without knocking Al." Ed rolled his eyes. "What's happening anyway? Severus came by late last night to tell me Sirius escaped even though no one has ever escaped, and this morning Al is saying you think they think you and Severus helped him?"

"You knew Sirius escaped?" Remus asked.

"Severus was coming by this morning to talk to you about it. He found out yesterday afternoon and he said it was a bad time to come around last night." Ed shrugged.

"I already told him that they cannot believe he or Severus were involved, they both have alibi." Al calmly interjected before the conversation could go off course.

"Now you are using logic Al. Remus, you and Severus are just going to have to stay here until this is all cleared up because I can give you immunity however logic is not a strong point among your Ministry." Ed frowned. "I'll get Ling in on it if we need to, now why would Black suddenly decide to break out now?"

"He was worried about Yuery's safety the last few letters. The Ministry announced Yuery had been enrolled in Hogwarts and he wanted me to do something to keep him safe. I assured him the matter was under control, but he seemed not to trust me word on it." Remus said rubbing the headache forming behind his eyes. "It is possible he decided to take matters into his own hands. I do not understand how he managed to escape though, even with his abilities."

"Well, I'm sure you can ask him when and if he is found." Ed frowned himself. "Is it possible that he was taken? It would explain why they believe someone helped him escape. What could he know that would be useful to the Death Eaters."

"Nothing that would be useful, but they may believe that he knows something. After all, he has been visited by both me and several members of the Ministry." Remus frowned. "I don't think he was taken though, it said in the paper he had been reported to have been agitated in the hours before his escape. He even destroyed everything in his cell apparently."

"Which could also lead to the theory that someone took him and there was a struggle that was ignored." Al said softly. "We will be on alert either way, though no one of ill intent cane enter the boundary."