It goes on again. Chapter 10 is already here and I can reveal that I am already working on the third part of the five-part saga.

On my TikTok channel there are also always little pieces, videos of the characters and, brand new, a little video about the first printed version of this FF. Yes, you read that right. I had the first part "3 Generations" printed as a book. Feel free to have a look.

Escape Plan

After the students had gone to bed, the marauders sat together at the table.

»These kids are amazing.« Sirius was impressed.

»But also reckless,« pointed out Remus.

»And we weren't, were we?« said his friend, grinning.

Tonks cleared her throat. »We should use the things they've given us.« With that, she took the potions she had brewed.

»Tonks is right. We know we need that portkey to get into Azkaban,« James summarised.

»It must be right on the North Sea coast. We just need to find this house.« Remus stood up and pulled maps from the shelf behind them.

»And we should figure out how to get back. Any burglary is only as good as the escape,« Lily objected.

»What do you know about burglaries?«, asked James his wife with a smirk.

»Must be your bad influence,« she returned with a grin.

»Azkaban is big. We won't have forever. We need to know what floor he's on. Even better would be the cell, of course,« considered Sirius. »I might know how we can find out.«

»Then the tasks are given,« James murmured and looked at the plans of Azkaban together with Remus.

After breakfast, Tonks and Remus apparated to the coast of the North Sea.

»So how do we find this famous house with the portkey?« asked Tonks more to herself than to her husband.

»We will start in the abandoned village you told me about last night.«

»That was information from over ten years ago. I hardly think they are still there. That was when the Order was still active and Voldemort was on the rise.«

»Well, we can try, can't we? Come on,« encouraged Remus her and they both walked to the abandoned village.

Remus was right. Nothing had changed in ten years. The small village was still abandoned, the houses neglected and not a person for miles.

»Let's search the houses that are still standing. Maybe we'll find something,« suggested Tonks. Remus nodded and they both split up. Using search spells, they combed the individual houses. But they found nothing.

After an hour, they met again at the entrance to the village. Before they could discuss what to do next, a wanderer approached them.

»A muggle? Here?« whispered Tonks.

»The area is not veiled and the coast is a popular path,« tried to explain Remus.

»Hello you two, finally meeting someone on this route,« greeted the older man the couple.

Tonks just grinned at him. She had rarely had contact with Muggles and didn't quite know what to say in this situation.

Her husband, on the other hand, took the opportunity. »Me and my wife are looking for an abandoned house. It's a bit too crowded for us here in the village, though.«

»Too crowded?« The wanderer looked towards the ruined houses in confusion.

Remus cleared his throat. »Well, we're only looking for one house, not a whole village. We're ghost hunters.«

»Ghost hunters?« whispered Tonks to him, but was silenced by a quick shh from her husband.

»Ghost hunters. Wow, I love your work. Wanted to try my hand at being one myself, but I'm too scared.« The strange man seemed to consider. »There's a lonely house back there, about two kilometres in that direction. I'm sure that's the kind of place they're looking for. It was so cold and dreary there. I get goose bumps just thinking about it.«

»Sounds like a house much to our liking.« Remus turned to the wanderer. »Thank you very much. And have a good day.«

»I wish you the same. And good luck with the ghost hunt.«

Tonks and Remus immediately set off in the direction of the house. The walker continued in the other direction.

»Cold and dreary? Sounds like Dementors to me,« speculated Remus as they walked.

»Absolutely, but I thought the children told us that there were no more Dementors as guards.«

»Maybe they've been reinstated. I wouldn't put anything past this government.« Remus stopped. »There it is.« He pointed to a lone house built on the cliffs.

Tonks and he walked straight towards it.

Sirius, on the other hand, did not set off until late afternoon. He had given his informant a meeting place in the morning and now that he was sitting in the Old Cow Pub, he hoped that they would also come. The pub the Marauder had chosen was ideal. It was in a dangerous area of London. Hardly any wizards dared to come here. The pub was overrun with drunken Muggles who had already filled their quota of alcohol at this time of day. Sirius had ordered himself a pint and chosen a table facing the front door. Tapping a beer mat on the table, he kept glancing at the clock hanging over the counter.

»Where the hell is he?« wondered Sirius.

And just at that moment the door opened and an old man came in. His coat was open and the torn hem caught in the door. With a jerk, and to the chagrin of the garment, the man tore himself free and patted the dust off himself. Then he looked around, pushing his hat off his face as he did so. In a few seconds he caught sight of Sirius and approached him.

»Hello old friend,« greeted the Marauder the arrival.

»I'm the only one who is old. You're young and dashing as ever. Thought you reborns were at least old and wrinkled like us,« complained he, sitting down at the table with Sirius.

»I'm afraid I can't help with that. How have you been? Would you like something to drink? My treat.« Without waiting for a reply, Sirius went to the counter and ordered another pint for his guest.

Back at the table, the two old acquaintances clinked glasses and told each other how they had been.

After much recounting of old times, Sirius got to the point. »I need to know where Theodore Lupin is.«

»Figured you wouldn't just want to talk. He's in Azkaban. So is every criminal.«

»You think the only son of Remus Lupin, our esteemed schoolmate, is a criminal?«

The man shrugged. »That's what they say, anyway. They don't book everyone, do they? Must be a reason.«

»You can't believe that. Remus Lupin had helped you with your homework. He took the blame for you when you made a big mistake in Potions. Do you remember that?« Sirius looked sharply at his friend, who looked guiltily at the floor. »And the son is like his father. He fights for law and order. He's an Auror and has always stood up for the weak. He doesn't betray anyone. But you know who does? People like Greg Broin and McManus.«

»You better not say that too loud. You don't know how powerful they are.« The man looked around as if someone was watching them.

»So you've noticed it too. Then help me rectify at least one act of theirs,« convinced Sirius him.

»And you think that once Remus' son is saved, we can all live peacefully again?« asked the old man him mockingly.

Sirius shook his head. »No, but it would be a start.«

While their friends outside tried to go about their tasks, James and Lily stayed in the Room of Requirement, looking for a way out of Azkaban.

»The children have risked far too much. Suspicion is immediately cast on them. What were they thinking?« James was still upset with the students.

»James, they want to help us and from all I've heard and read, our son was no different. And without that persistence and initiative, living peacefully would never have been possible.« Lily understood the Rebels, even if she didn't always approve of their actions.

»Yes, but we never asked that of Harry and if we had been alive we would never have allowed that to happen.«

»I know that darling. But that's a Potter's fate.«

He couldn't argue with that anymore.

»As it is, the only way we can get out is with a portkey,« Lily concluded after they had studied the books for hours.

»But that also means that the Aurors who transfer the prisoners also need a portkey. That's our way out of this.« James looked at the site plans. »They must have it well hidden somewhere.«

»There are quite a few places. The hundred underground dungeons alone provide hiding places for it. We don't have time to search them all.«

Before either could discuss a new starting point, they were interrupted by Sirius' appearance.

»Well?« James looked questioningly at his best friend.

»Cell 165 in the south block on the fourth floor.« Sirius took off his coat and joined the couple.

»And you know this how?« asked Lily sceptically.

»Lily, you know I have my sources,« he said with a grin. However, he immediately became serious again when he saw her pinched expression. »I know an old schoolmate. He works for the Ministry and assigns Aurors to the Watch in Azkaban. So of course he knows the cells of the inmates.«

»And he just told you Ted's cell?« Lily didn't let up.

»He's a good guy. He just needed to be reminded. And he still owed Remus,« explained Sirius.

»You reminded him of that thing back in Potions?« speculated James, thinking back to the old days with a smirk. Sirius nodded.

»So we have the cell then, as well as the portkey.« Remus and Tonks joined them, catching the last part of Sirius' narrative.

»You were successful too?«, Lily turned to her friends.

Remus nodded and Tonks briefly reported that they had found the house as well as the portkey. A spoon lying in on the kitchen table took the Aurors to Azkaban.

»Well we know how to get there and where to go in Azkaban. But we don't have a way back yet.« Lily heaved a sigh.

»I might have an idea about that.« Tonks looked at her, beaming.

In the evening Tonks and Lily apparated to Manchester. To the chagrin of their husbands. They had discussed it for a long time. Remus wanted to go alone, but was convinced by his wife that her source would only trust her. James, of course, was against Lily exposing herself to such danger. In the end, Sirius convinced both friends that some matters could only be handled by women.

»And where are we meeting him?« asked Lily as she and Tonks walked through the deserted streets of Manchester.

»At his house. He never leaves it.« Tonks looked around and, when she was sure no one was watching them, pulled Lily into a dark alley.

After two turns, Lily having long since lost her bearings, Tonks knocked on a brick wall and a door appeared. Tonks walked through and Lily followed after fumbling for her wand.

»And he can help us?« asked Lily, breaking the terrifying silence.

Tonks just nodded. Lily shook it. Heart pounding, she followed her friend deeper into the house.

»To what do I owe the honour?« Someone spoke in the darkness. Lily was startled and immediately turned around. As she did so, something brushed against her and it fell to the floor with a clang. »Careful, young lady.«

»Hello, Igor. We need your services.« Tonks stood protectively in front of her friend. She was outwardly calm.

Igor came out of the shadows and joined the two women. »So the Order needs my services again.«

Tonks shook her head. »No, not the Order. It's my family. I need a portkey.«

Lily, meanwhile, eyed the man. He was about sixty years old. His wrinkled skin around the eyes made him appear wise. He had thick calluses on his hands and a long scar on his neck. His clothes were riddled with moth holes and hung on his thin body like a sack.

»Portkeys have become expensive these days my dear. But for the right price, I'll gladly make you one. I can't refuse anything to such lovely ladies.« His accent told Lily she was facing a Russian or Bulgarian wizard. That and the strong smell of vodka.

»Azkaban.« Tonks kept her answers short.

Igor drew in a sharp breath. »No, thank you. Please leave again. This is impossible.« He made a hand gesture towards the door.

Lily stepped up beside Tonks. »We don't need a key to Azkaban. But rather away from there. Is that possible?« At that, she tried to make her voice sound saccharine.

»Away from there. Let me think.« Igor turned his back on them and looked around. »That can be done. Wait here.« With that, he disappeared into one of the back rooms.

After they had waited an hour, Lily was about to suggest that they go and check on him. But then Igor rejoined them and handed Tonks a toy horse carved out of wood. »Here, it should work with this.«

»And how? And most importantly, where do we go from there?« Tonks looked at the small object sceptically.

»That's for you to decide, break the head off at the neck and place it where you want to get out. Once you are in Azkaban, you have fifteen minutes. Then the portkey will take you to where the head is.«

Tonks closed her hand and squeezed the wooden horse tightly. She would see her son again soon.

I hope you enjoyed it. Feel free to write your thoughts and impressions in the comments, I would be very happy.