A/N: Harry Potter is the property of J.K. Rowling and her associates. Please support the official release.

Hogwarts Dungeons

Letting out a murmur of disappointment, Dumbledore used one hand to carefully stroke through the length of his beard. He had been watching over the unannounced guest for what had to be close to 30 minutes now, and so far, she had made no attempts at making contact with the young Harry Potter. She seemed content merely watching over him, as if monitoring his movements with great interest. Albus could only guess as to what her true intentions were, but for now, it seemed Harry had nothing to fear.

Why come all the way out here on unofficial orders just to watch over him, though? What is Amelia's endgame here?

As he was pondering this question, a sudden tug at his magic alerted him to yet ANOTHER visitor entering the range of the Hogwarts wards. His eyes darting back to the list of names, Albus quickly scanned through it to see who this new stranger was. His heart practically skipped a beat as he read out the name displayed in front of him.

Sirius Black!? … So, he has finally decided to make his move.

Despite his reaction, Albus had been expecting this to happen for quite some time now. After hearing the news of Sirius's escape from Azkaban, he had quickly surmised that the now wanted fugitive would want to get in contact with his Godson, Harry. It was only natural, after all. Watching over Harry HAD been Lily's and James final request of him. Of course Sirius would seek to carry out this mission.

I'm sorry, old friend, but I cannot allow you to meet with him. He has to believe that you're the reason his parents died. Otherwise, all of my plans will come crumbling down. And I've worked too hard to let you come along and ruin it all.

"Fawkes!" Albus cried out, his trustworthy phoenix materializing in the air next to him within second. "I need you to carry this message to Professor McGonagall."

Letting out a soft trill, the bird fixed him with a suspicious stare before landing on his outstretched arm. Lately, the bond between Albus and Fawkes had become surprisingly strained. For some reason, it seemed the bird had come to harbor a deep sense of disappointment in him, seemingly coming about due to his recent choices. This confused Albus, as in his eyes, he had done no wrong. But for now, the bird still came to him whenever he called for it, so Albus figured it was probably just a phase that would ultimately pass given time.

"The message is this…" he said, leaning in and whispering what he wanted conveyed into the bird's ears. Once he was finished, Fawkes let out yet another trill, before taking off again and vanishing within the blink of an eye.

Alright, with that taken care of… All that remains to be done is wait.

Turning his attention back to the keystone floating in the air in front of him, Albus felt the beginnings of a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. These two hopeful ruffians thought they could come into HIS domain, HIS school, and try to make contact with the Potter boy without his explicit consent?

Good try, Sirius. Good try, Nymphadora. But this is my school. My territory. And I'm not going to let you get away this time.

Ravenclaw Common Room

Meanwhile, in the Ravenclaw common room, Harry was currently busy flipping through page after page in his Transfiguration textbook, looking for the chapter on Water Manipulation. Him and Hermione was working on next months' homework together, and had gotten a little stuck trying to change the contents of a vial of water into oil.

"Hey, I think I might have found it…" Hermione suddenly piped up, dragging his attention away from the textbook and back to her deeply focused brown eyes.

"Oh? So what's the solution?"

"Well, it says here that in order to successfully transfigure and change the properties of liquids, you have to channel your magic in a different way than when you transfigure regular, solid material," she started, slipping into "teacher" mode without even noticing it. "You must firmly envision each individual droplet of liquid in your mind, and then gradually change their base qualities to your liking as you're casting the spell. You can't just think "oh, I want this body of water to change into oil", you have to think "I want each individual drop of this water to change into a thick, oily substance"."

Despite its heavy-handed nature, Harry quickly picked up on the idea behind it, and nodded to Hermione before turning his attention back to the vials of water they had been supplied with by Professor McGonagall. Change each individual droplet, huh? He reckoned he could do that.

Before he even got the chance to start his incantation, though, Hermione broke his concentration once more by asking a truly bizarre question.

"Uhh, Harry, have you given any more thought to what you are going to do this summer?"

His mind momentarily blanking out, Harry fixed her with a dumbstruck stare before seemingly regaining his composure.

"Oh, eh… I don't know yet, actually. I mean, I COULD always go back to the Dursleys, but believe it or not, I don't actually enjoy being verbally abused. I doubt they'd be able to physically hurt me anymore, considering how afraid they seem to be of my magic, but I still don't feel entirely comfortable going back there."

Her body shuddering ever so slightly, Hermione shook her head in agreement. She didn't have anything positive to say about Harry's aunt and uncle either, considering the way they had treated Harry ever since he arrived on their doorstep. What type of wretched people would abuse a fellow family member the way they had? Punish and maim such a young, innocent boy, who had just lost his parents in a horrible accident? It was simply inhuman.

"Chances are I'm probably just going to find a nice hotel somewhere in London and settle down there until the end of the vacation. That way, I don't have to deal with… them… what so ever, and I'll get to catch up on some studies. Plus, it's not like I don't have the money to afford it."

"Hmm…"

Looking oddly conflicted, Hermione's face slowly started taking on a faint shade of crimson. The telltale traces of a blush were beginning to creep its way across her face, and before long, she had turned her eyes downwards to avoid eye contact entirely.

"Uhh… Hermione?" Harry asked, not really understanding her reaction. Was it something he had said?

"Then… then how about coming to live with me this summer? I'll ask my parents for permission, and, knowing your story, I highly doubt they'll say no. Plus, we have a guest room that's hardly ever used, so you could probably use that…"

Letting her sentence trail off, a deafening silence filled the space between them. The rest of the room was far from silent, though, with several students spread out across the space, engaged in all manner of activities. But the table Harry and Hermione occupied was completely mute, not a single sound escaping from either one of them. With every second that passed, the blush on Hermione's face seemed to deepen, and it didn't take long before she started fidgeting as well.

Finally, Harry opened his mouth and broke the silence between them.

"Ehh… Wow, I… I really don't know what to say… But I guess that sounds… nice?" he started, not quite sure how to formulate himself. Spending the summer with Hermione certainly did beat staying alone at a hotel, but was it really okay for them to live so… closely together?

"Hey, before you get any ideas, it's not like we're going to be sharing a room or anything like that! I'll sleep in my room, and you in yours!" Hermione exclaimed in response, crossing her arms in front of her chest in a show of childish defiance. "A-and I'll be s-sure to let my parents know that we're just friends! Yeah, that's right! Friends!"

Feeling incredibly embarrassed, Harry shifted his point of view away from Hermione to stare at the wall instead. Uttering a quick "yeah, totally" in agreement, he nodded his head before coughing in an attempt at clearing up his now semi-blocked throat. Godric, why was his heart beating so rapidly all of a sudden?

The awkward atmosphere continued on for a few more minutes before Hermione finally shook her head and let out a sigh.

"Just… please try to act normal around my parents, okay? I don't want you freaking them out with your chilly attitude and borderline sociopathic personality."

"Uhm… Ouch? But okay, I'll try my best to be… well, not as much ME as usual then, I guess," Harry shrugged, looking back down at the open book in front of him. He supposed he did have a tendency of being rather cold towards others, so Hermione's claims weren't entirely uncalled for.

"That's all I ask. Now then, with that settled, let's get back to work…" she started, only to be interrupted yet again, this time by the door to the common room swinging open.

To their great surprise, Professor Flitwick came waltzing in, dressed in nothing but his nightgown. The small half-goblin stopped in the middle of the room, before clearing his throat and speaking up to get everyone's attention.

"Attention, everyone! I have just been informed by Professor McGonagall that all students are to remain in their dormitories for the rest of the evening. An incident involving a Dementor has apparently taken place on school grounds, and as such, the Headmaster wants all students to refrain from wandering around the hallways until the cause of the accident has been made clear!"

Speaking in a formal tone of voice, the tiny Professor took a small break to make sure everyone was still paying attention, before continuing:

"So, from this moment on, leaving the common room is strictly forbidden, and any attempts at doing so will be met with harsh punishment. We hope you will respect this, seeing as it is for your own safety. That is all."

Immediately after the Professor had left the common room, a sea of murmurs and whispers exploded amongst the students. Everyone was wondering what had happened, and how serious it must have been for the entire school to be put under lockdown.

"Huh. That's weird… Another Dementor incident? Do you reckon it might be something similar to when you were attacked, Harry?" Hermione mused, her eyebrows furrowing in thought.

"Hmm… maybe. The Dementor that attacked me certainly didn't hesitate. It came straight for me, as if it had already made up its mind way before we met in the hallway."

"But… if that's truly what happened now as well… then this whole situation is just ridiculous! If the Ministry can't even control the Dementors, why would the Headmaster allow them to keep them here on school grounds?! It makes no sense!" Hermione exclaimed, her eyes widening in anger. "The Dementors are supposed to protect the students, not attack them!"

"Hey, I'm with you on this one. But something about this whole thing just seems kind of… off… to me. When I was attacked, they certainly didn't put the school on lockdown. Heck, I don't think they even told anyone about it!"

"… Now that you mention it… Yeah, they didn't actually do anything back then. The last thing we were told was that Madam Pomfrey was going to "inform the Headmaster" about the incident, and since then, we haven't heard a thing…" Hermione muttered in response, her mouth drawn into a strict line.

"…"

A moment of silence passed then, before Harry finally spoke up again.

"You already know that I have to investigate this, Hermione."

Letting out a sigh, she nodded her head, her brown curls swaying lightly as she did so.

"Yes, I do… Usually, I'd be against this, but… This time, I think you should go. You still have your Cloak of Invisibility, I hope?"

"Yeah, it's upstairs. Thank you, by the way… for being so understanding," Harry smiled, making Hermione's heart soar just a bit.

"Oh go on, I'm only agreeing to this ONCE. It's not going to happen again, so enjoy it while you can!" she snickered in reply, ignoring the slight drumming sensation in her chest.

Watching him disappear up the stairs, Hermione sat in silence and waited for Harry to return. Two minutes passed. Five minutes passed. Once ten minutes had passed, just as Hermione was starting to wonder if something had perhaps gone wrong, she felt a slight tug at her robes. Looking down, she saw a part of it floating ominously in the air, and for a second almost forgot that it was Harry lifting it up. Nodding to where she presumed he would be standing, she got up from the table and slowly started moving towards the door leading out of the common room.

Taking a quick look around her, she made sure no one was paying close attention to her before silently swinging open the door, praying to Merlin that no one would be standing on the other side. To her great relief, however, the coast was clear, and she felt a slight rush of wind next to her as Harry brushed past her and left the room.

Silently wishing him good luck, she closed the door after him, let out a short sigh and started heading towards the girls' dormitory.

Hogwarts Hallways

The hallways were eerily silent as Harry made his way through the castle, his footsteps echoing loudly in the absence of other sound. It wasn't unusual for it to be this silent past curfew, seeing as all the students would be in their dormitories at that time, but now, it felt… different, somehow. As if the very castle itself was holding its breath, waiting for something to happen.

Still though, that didn't deter Harry from continuing his little venture, seeing as this wasn't exactly his first time sneaking around with the Cloak of Invisibility. He had actually lost count of all the times he had snuck out to spend some time in the Hogwarts Library's restricted section after dark, his curious nature naturally drawn to those old, dusty tomes that he normally could not access. The pursuit of knowledge was one of Harry's absolute favorite pastimes, after all, his brain turning giddy with excitement at the prospect of learning more and more about the world around him.

This time though, it wasn't books he was looking for. No, tonight, he was out to check whether or not Professor Flitwick had actually been told the truth, or if the Headmaster was just full of shit.

But what reason would the Headmaster have for lying about something like this? What does he stand to gain from having all of the students stay in their dorms a little earlier than usual?

Contemplating this question, he continued on his way, not noticing the tiny fly that had just landed on the top of his head and crawled down underneath his hood to hide in his hair.

After walking for a couple of minutes, Harry suddenly sensed the presence of someone else coming from up ahead, and pushed himself towards the wall in an effort to remain hidden. Holding his breath, he waited for the person to come around the corner.

To his surprise, though, what came wandering down the hallway wasn't a person at all. No, it was a flea-ridden black dog, its tongue sticking out of its mouth as it went along.

Feeling slightly conflicted on what to do, Harry ultimately decided to approach the dog, seeing as it didn't seem hostile.

"Hey there, buddy…" he called out, pulling back his hood to reveal himself and stepping out of the shadows.

What happened next was wholly unexpected, as the dog seemed to freeze completely upon seeing him. It stood stock-still, rooted in place with an unreadable expression on its face. Its black eyes regarded him with a mixture of shock, disbelief and happiness, and Harry found himself wondering whether or not he had somehow done something bad to this dog in the past for it to react to him this way.

But then, the animal suddenly sprang to life, bolting towards him with newfound intensity. Harry, feeling incredibly confused by all this, simply remained where he was, waiting for the dog to inevitably tackle him to the ground or something along those lines.

Once it finally reached him, however, the dog proceeded to bark happily and wag its tail, before standing up on its hind legs to lean against his body. Letting out a soft sigh, Harry bent down to scratch the animal behind its ears, at which point the dog started enthusiastically licking him in the face.

"Oh, ah, ey, come on, buddy," Harry grunted, trying to reposition his face so the dog would have a harder time licking him. "That tickles!"

Fixing him with an overjoyed stare, the dog finally stopped planting wet kisses on his face, choosing to pant heavily instead.

"I've never seen you around here before… Maybe you're someone's pet?" Harry murmured to himself, inspecting the animal to see if it had a collar or a name tag, but coming up short. "I know for a fact that Hermione's little monste... I mean cat, Crookshanks, likes to run off every now and then. Maybe you're the same?"

The dog, unsurprisingly enough, offered him no answer, instead choosing to bump its head playfully against his shoulder before jumping back down on all fours. Once it was back to standing on four legs, though, it quickly barked twice before shooting off down the hallway.

"Ah, hey… where are you going?!" Harry asked, standing back up again to follow after it. The dog had now stopped a little ways up ahead, waiting patiently for him to catch up before starting to run again. It was obvious that it wanted Harry to follow it, and, seeing as he didn't really have any other clue as to where he should go, he decided to go along with it.

Running down hallway after hallway, the couple gradually made their way deeper and deeper into Hogwarts.

After following the black dog for some time, Harry finally started to realize where the animal was most likely taking him. Judging by its current route, the dog was most likely heading for the seventh floor of Hogwarts, also known as the home of the Room of Requirement. Pondering the significance of this particular detail as they went along, Harry absentmindedly noted that they had yet to run into anyone else on their little stroll through the castle, a fact that might have disturbed him more if he wasn't so absorbed in following this strange animal.

Then finally, after running up the staircase leading up to the seventh floor, they arrived at what appeared to be their destination. A completely ordinary hallway, not unlike any of the other hallways they had rushed through on their way here. To an unsuspecting student, this would perhaps be where the mystery came to an unexplainable end. But Harry instinctively knew where the dog wanted to take him.

So it was the Room of Requirement after all… But why? How could a dog possibly know about the location of the Room?

Looking down at his furry companion, he was surprised to see it staring intently at the wall, as if attempting to will the room into existence on its own. Just as he was about to open his mouth to talk to it, something absolutely ludicrous happened.

The great iron door leading in to the Room of Requirement suddenly materialized on the wall, as if responding to the dog's wishes.

Harry could do nothing but stare on in utter bewilderment and shock as the dog waltzed over to the door, and pushed it open with its head.

"Wait, no, that's not how… this is supposed to work…" he muttered, scratching his chin in confusion.

"Woof!" the dog barked in response, as if it had understood what he had just said.

"You want me… to follow you? In there?"

"Woof, woof!"

"… A-alright then. Lead the way."

Turning around with an unreadable expression on its face, the dog marched into the darkness of the room.

What in the world have I gotten myself into? Harry thought to himself as he followed after it.

Room of Requirement

As if the dogs' summoning of the Room hadn't been shocking enough, it had seemingly also decided on what form it wanted the room to take. As Harry walked inside and closed the door behind him, an exact replica of the Gryffindor common room stretched out in front of him, complete with a warm fire sparkling in the fireplace.

"Oh wow…" he started, looking down at the dog once more. He was now 99 percent sure that this animal was not just some everyday pet. After all, Harry had a hard time imagining Crookshanks being able to summon the Room, much less any other pet. No, there was something inherently different about this one, something foreign that he couldn't quite put his finger on.

Before he got the chance to mull this over any further, though, the dog started… shifting, right in front of his eyes. It was as if its entire body started boiling, causing waves to ripple through what should otherwise have been solid flesh. Its muscles and bones started changing, growing longer and more pronounced, and its tail shrank back into its body, disappearing beneath the surge of rolling flesh. Before long, the dogs' appearance had shifted to resemble that of a man in his thirties, dressed in simple brown robes.

The man, standing with his back turned towards Harry, was breathing heavily, as if he had just went for a long run and was trying to recover his breath.

Pulling out his wand, Harry immediately took a couple of steps away from the stranger, keeping his eyes locked on him at all times. A strange sense of foreboding washed over him at the sight of the man's black, curly hair, and he had to fight to maintain his composure.

"You're… Sirius Black, aren't you?" Harry asked, making sure to keep his voice perfectly even, betraying none of his true emotions.

"…"

The man chose to remain silent, before slowly turning around to face Harry. Once the light illuminated his entire face, Harry's heart immediately jerked in his chest, as if responding to some foreign stimuli that it had not experienced in years.

The man that Harry instantly recognized as Sirius Black had a gaunt, sunken face, with two rows of yellow teeth lining the inside of his mouth. His skin looked pale and unhealthy, and his long, black hair was faded and fringed in several areas, looking more like an unruly birds' nest than anything else. His eyes were wild and unhinged, carrying with them a hint of madness. To Harry, he looked as close to a living corpse as one could possibly come.

"H… Harry…" Sirius breathed, his jaw trembling under the weight of his name. "It's… been so long, I…"

"And it will be longer still, if I decide that you're a threat. You make as much as ONE sudden movement, and I'll stun you before you even manage to draw your next breath," Harry replied, his eyes cold and uncaring as he lifted his wand even higher than before.

"W-why… would you… Do you think I'm a threat? Do you think… I'm dangerous? Don't you know? I could never hurt you," Sirius muttered, his lips quivering as he spoke. "You're their son. Their one and only son. I'd die before I let anything happen to you."

"That's odd, considering this is our first time meeting. Why do you care so much about me?" Harry asked, a hint of confusion entering his voice. "I know that you're supposed to be my Godfather, but I can't remember meeting you before. To me, you're nothing but a stranger, and a dangerous stranger at that."

Harry could see that his words were hurting Sirius, but he didn't particularly care. He didn't owe his Godfather anything, and would not hesitate to put him down if the situation demanded it.

"So, you know then… You know that I am your Godfather, yet you still treat me this way? Surely you understand that I mean you no harm?!" Sirius exclaimed, his voice growing louder with each word he spoke.

"I KNOW NOTHING OF THE SORT!" Harry shouted back, letting the anger get the better of him, his eyes shining a deep shade of emerald. "I know that you're a criminal, and that you are wanted for the murder of twelve innocent people!"

"I HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH THAT! PETER WAS THE ONE WHO KILLED THOSE MUGGLES!"

"THEN PROVE IT! Prove it to me right here and now, and I may consider lowering this wand!"

With a shaky arm, Sirius reached for his own wand before stopping, suddenly remembering the fact that Harry didn't trust him what so ever. Looking up and into his eyes, Sirius gave him a hard look, gesturing towards his wand with his other hand, waiting for Harry to give him the go ahead before grabbing it.

Breathing heavily, Harry ever so slowly nodded his head, getting ready to fire off a Stupify at the slightest hint of trouble.

Having received the signal that it was okay for him to use it, Sirius wrapped his slender fingers around his wands' wooden handle, before deliberately bringing it up in front of his chest. Closing his eyes for just a moment, he imagined the face of his unrequited lover staring back at him, full of warmth and love. The kind of love she would only ever show to his friend, James Potter.

Feeling the magic surging through his, he unleashed his strongest Expecto Patronum in years, the spell coming from his wand taking on the form of a doe. Her doe.

Standing majestically at the center of the room, the incorporeal creature lifted its head high, before letting out a soft coo of happiness. All traces of sadness and loneliness were wiped from existence then, replaced by an unexplainable warmth emanating from deep within both Sirius's and Harry's heart. It was a beautiful sight to behold, a sight so pure and wonderful that it caused tears to well up in Sirius's eyes. In his mind, he could hear her voice speaking to him. Her soft, dazzling voice, asking him to take care of her only son. Shuddering in response, it was all he could do not to break down crying on the spot.

The moment did not last, though. After a couple of seconds, the magnificent doe gradually started fading from existence, before disappearing completely. The coldness of reality slowly crept its way back into the room, replacing the warm feeling they had both been experiencing with the profound sensation of longing and regret.

Turning back around to face his Godson, Sirius was surprised to see Harry's hands shaking ever so slightly at his sides, the wand now firmly lowered.

A moment of silence passed before either one of them said anything. Then Harry opened his mouth to speak.

"… I… believe you… For now…"

Feeling his heart soar in his chest, Sirius exhaled strongly before proceeding to wipe the tears from his eyes. The Patronus he had summoned earlier had been the product of all of his love and respect for Lily Potter, Harry's mother. He supposed his unadulterated declaration of love had touched something deep within the boy, thus causing him to lower his wand.

"But just so we are clear… I do not trust you. I believe that you are not the mass murderer the Ministry of Magic is making you out to be, but that does not mean I care about you, or even respect you. All it means is that I'm willing to hear you out," Harry continued, letting out a shaky breath of his own before regaining that hard look in his eye.

"I suppose… it would be foolish of me to expect more…" Sirius responded, running a jittery hand through his long hair. "All I ask is that you listen… to my side of the story… before you draw your conclusion. Please… I've waited so long…"

Nodding ever so slightly, Harry gestured towards the couch with one hand whilst pocketing his wand with the other. He was willing to listen to Sirius Black's story, at least for now. He wanted to compare it to the Ministry's and Dumbledore's version, to see if he could get a clearer picture of the situation. It was the rational thing to do, after all.

Godric, Hermione's totally going to kill me for this…

A/N: I apologize if the length of this chapter isn't as long as it perhaps should be, considering the length of my absence leading up to this point. I had originally planned to make this chapter way longer, but decided to split it in two halfway through the writing process, as finishing the second half was looking to take way more time than I was comfortable with waiting. And as such, I decided to give you this half now, so you at least have something to read whilst I finish the second part. It shouldn't take me way too long, but as you are undoubtedly aware of by now, my upload schedule is beyond atrocious, so please don't hold me to that promise.

I hope you enjoyed this initial meeting between Harry and Sirius, though. It's something I've been building up to for quite some time now, and will continue to explore in the next chapter. The two of them have a lot of catching up to do, after all, but with an anxious Dumbledore hanging over their shoulders, the future is looking uncertain for the both of them. I hope you'll join me next time to see how it all pans out.

But for now, I must bid you adieu. As always, if you enjoyed the read, please leave a review, as they really do make my day, and I will see you guys in the next chapter.

-Twisted