My second chapter in one month! Am I good or what? I loved how this chapter started.

Enjoy!

Chapter 2

Catching Up

Shiro looked up at the fortress he was about to enter. Just looking at the place from a distance was enough for him to feel every positive emotion in him leave his body.

"Not a very cheery place, is it?" a younger Cornelius Fudge asked Shiro in a futile attempt at humor.

"I think this is where chronic depression comes from," Shiro replied. "Can you just take me to him before I have to start taking antidepressants? This place is giving me the creeps."

Fudge carefully led Shiro through the hallways of Azkaban prison. The prisoners' cries of despair echoed through the dark, damp corridors. One hand shot out from one cell door causing Shiro to jump out of its way.

"Foul Muggle! I don't need a wand to kill you! The Dark Lord will return!" a stark raving mad woman shrieked. She was tall with long, thick curly black hair. Her face had a strong jaw, a thin mouth, and a crazy look in heavily lidded eyes.

Shiro responded by grabbing her outstretched arm and pulling it so she slammed hard against the bars of her cell door. "Look at that. You got your ass handed to you by a Muggle, bitch." he said blankly and then he smirked. "Just like how your beloved Dark Lord got his ass handed to him by a fifteen-month old baby boy."

The woman shrieked in response to Shiro's comment, stretching out both her arms in a vain attempt to attack him, "How dare you, Muggle! Say that again!"

Fudge put his hand on Shiro's shoulder. "Please don't antagonize the inmates, Shiro. It'll only provoke them more," he pleaded.

The moment of amusement died within Shiro. The depressing atmosphere had returned. They continued walking down the corridor. "It's the least I can do after what that bitch did to Frank and Alice. I didn't know them as well as the other Aurors but after watching them apprehend Oscar Redstone, I can't help but respect them," he explained. "They caught him. I just took him into custody."

They finally arrived at their desired cell. Inside was a man who looked like his handsome appearance was slowly starting to wither away. One look at the man's face and Shiro could tell he was barely hanging on to what was left of his sanity.

"Leave us," Shiro told Fudge.

Fudge shook his head. "You know I cannot do that."

"Then at least wait outside the cell," he suggested. "Give us some form of privacy."

Fudge sighed. "Very well. Your time is limited, however. When I say time is up, time is up."

Shiro rolled his eyes. "Fine."

Fudge unlocked the cell door and Shiro walked inside. He snapped his fingers repeatedly in front of the man's face.

"Earth to Sirius! Hellooooo?"

The man, Sirius, blinked several times before his eyes focused on the Muggle priest. "Sh-Shiro? Shiro Fujimoto?"

"No, it's the British Prime Minister. Who do you think it is?" Shiro retorted.

Sirius attempted to chuckle but it sounded more like a small huff. "It's you alright," he said. "Your sarcastic sense of humor was very distinguished in the Order. Is Alastor still mad at you for putting a… what kind of cushion did you put in his chair?"

The memory made Shiro smile weakly. "A whoopie cushion. I still remember James asking you why you guys didn't think of something like that when you were in school," he recalled. "At least I think that's what he said. It was hard to understand since you were both laughing so hard. And yes, last time I checked, I think Crazy-Eye is still pissed at me."

Both men shared a small laugh for the atmosphere and the prison guards prevented them from laughing harder.

"So what are you here for?" asked Sirius. "Come to reminisce about the good ol' days before I became a mass murderer?"

"Bullshit," said Shiro. "You didn't kill anyone and you know it."

Sirius released a bitter chuckle. "Tell that to Fudge out there or anyone at the Ministry of Magic. Even Dumbledore thinks I'm guilty," he said forlornly.

"That's something he and I agree to disagree on," said Shiro. "It's to my understanding that Fudgehead out there showed up at the crime scene, saw you standing in the middle of it and slapped you in iron shackles and that was the end of it. No trial or anything."

"I was told that all evidence pointed to me and it was obvious I was guilty," said Sirius. "No point in a trial."

"That's not justice, not even close," Shiro countered. "That's jumping to conclusions. If that Lastrange bitch and her crew could have a trial, why not you?"
 Sirius shrugged. "It's not how our criminal justice system works."

"You guys need to take a leaf out of the Muggles' book and change a few of your laws."

The convict sighed. "Let's change subjects, please. It's obvious this conversation has reached a stalemate.

"Was Hagrid successful in bringing Harry to his relatives?"

Shiro nodded. "Yeah. Dumbledore confirmed it to me the other day."

Sirius straightened up. "How is Harry? Is he safe?"

"He's fine from what I'm told. Some sort of protection was placed on his relatives' house or something like that, according to Dumbledore," Shiro explained.

Sirius leaned back against the wall. "I still don't understand why I didn't get custody of him."

"Yeah, Albus explained that to me as well," Shiro added as he scratched the back of his head. "Apparently Lily's sister is the kid's only living blood relative alive and that's why the blood protection thing was put on the sister's house. Dumbledore explains it better than me."

Sirius nodded in understanding then frowned. "Why were you talking to Dumbledore anyway?" he asked.

Shiro smirked mischievously. "Can't tell you with Fudgehead listening in. Rest assured, it'll help Harry in the long run."

Fudge banged on the cell door. "Wrap it up, Shiro!"

The priest rolled his eyes again. He pulled out a little book and handed it to Sirius. "Here, a little light reading."

"The Acts of the Apostles?"

"I recommend reading Chapter Twelve. It'll give you something to… hope for in the future," Shiro suggested. "I'm sure the Azkaban library is severely understocked." He stood up and shook Sirius's hand. "Until next time."

Sirius looked at the book before looking up at Shiro. "Thank you, Shiro."

~0~0~0~

Shiro stared at Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge from across the room with a withering glare. Fudge fidgeted in his seat.

"I'm assuming you're here to discuss Black's escape," said Fudge.

"Among other things," Shiro carefully answered.

"Your theory about Black is flawed," Fudge argued.

"What motive did Black have for betraying James and Lily?" Shiro argued back.

"How should I know?"

"Exactly! You didn't look more deeply into this. You didn't collect evidence, you didn't interrogate Black, you didn't give him a trial at all!" Shiro shouted.

"There was no need!" Fudge insisted.

"Even the Vatican holds trials for members who step out of line," Shiro grumbled.

Fudge sighed and ran his hand through his hair. He decided to give up on this argument. Not even Dumbledore could change the priest's mind about Sirius Black.

"Are you going to tell Harry Potter about his connection to Black?" Fudge asked Shiro.

Shiro sighed. "No," he answered. "The kid has an adamant nature. He won't believe you unless you have irrefutable proof. Knowing you, you probably already filled his head with everything the wizarding community already believes about Black."

Fudge sputtered. "Wha-? No, I-!"

STOMP, STOMP, STOMP!

Shiro stood up. "Now if you excuse me, it seems Harry and my sons need help with their textbooks." He turned and left the room without even shaking Fudge's hand. He smirked. If he couldn't tell the boy the truth, he'd at least provide him with a clue.

~0~0~0~

Harry followed the sounds of destruction until he reached the room it was coming from. He knocked on the door and waited to answer it. The door opened a crack and a teal eye with two moles underneath it peered out.

"Oh, hey Harry," Yukio Okumura's voice said. "As much as I'd love to catch up with you, could you please help us with something first?"

"Of course," said Harry. "What do you need help with?"

"It's best if you slip in here and see for yourself."

Harry managed to squeeze himself through the door and found himself in what he could only describe as a battlefield. Shredded paper littered the floor, a shredded sock sat near the bed, and an easy chair was knocked over. Yukio's fraternal twin brother, Rin, was standing on the window seat armed with an umbrella.

"Rin?" Harry said with uncertainty. "What are you doing?"

The boy looked in Harry's direction. "Hey Harry. Watch your step," he warned.

"What are you talking about?"

"Get onto Yukio's trunk! It's underneath the wardrobe."

As Harry ran across the room, the source of the twins' fear shot out from under the wardrobe and chased after Harry. It wasn't until he was standing on top of Yukio's trunk that he started asking questions.

"What the bloody hell is that?!" he asked incredulously.

"That is The Monster Book of Monsters," Yukio answered from the bench in front of the desk. "One of our new textbooks for this year."

Harry sweatdropped as he hadn't looked at his list for new school supplies yet. Knowing that something like this was one of his new textbooks filled Harry with dread.

Rin gestured to Yukio's trunk Harry was standing on. "Yukio's copy is underneath his trunk. I was keeping mine in Kuro's carrier when it burst out and attacked us," he explained.

Rin's homicidal textbook sat in the center of the room and spun in place, trying to assess its opponents.

"Do you have anything that can stop it?" asked Harry.

"I think there's a book strap in my trunk," Rin answered. "I would have used it sooner but I was too scared to go near the book."

"How did you get it into Kuro's carrier?"

"I used a sock as bait." Harry looked at the ruined sock on the floor but Rin continued. "I used my other sock for Yukio's copy."

"Harry, you're closest to Rin's trunk," said Yukio. "Can you reach in there and get the book strap?"

Harry reached over as best he could towards said trunk and pulled it towards him. He opened it and managed to find the book strap amongst the textbooks, clothes, cat toys, and manga.

"Got it!" he announced, holding it up for the twins to see. "Now how are we gonna wrap it around the book?"

The three boys were silent for a minute. They stared at the rabid book and then exchanged looks with one another and nodded. They then simultaneously jumped on top of the book. Rin used his unnatural strength to keep it closed while Yukio and Harry worked together to wrap the book strap around it.

The door opened and Shiro found all three boys in the middle of a bigger mess of a room.

"So this is what that stomping was about," Shiro said. The book lurched towards the priest but Yukio tugged on the book strap like it was a dog's leash. "You sure that thing won't break out of that?"

"Pretty sure," Yukio answered. Rin took it and put it under his trunk like his brother's textbook.

"Thanks for your help, Harry," said Rin.

Harry stood up and brushed the torn pieces of paper off his person. "No problem," he replied. He looked at the twins and Shiro. "I'd like to catch up, but I think I'm going to go to my room and sleep for a while."

Rin frowned. "Aw, you sure?"

"Leave him alone, Rin," Shiro scolded. "He's obviously been through a lot these past few hours. Let him rest." He smiled at Harry. "When you wake up, we'll go out to eat. We'll go to the Muggle world and find a Japanese restaurant." When Harry tried to argue, Shiro held his hand up to silence him. "You'll be with us. As long as you don't wander off again, as you tend to do, I don't see the harm in taking you out to a Muggle restaurant just this once."

"But what about Sirius Black?" asked Harry. "He's still out there."

Shiro gripped his chin in thought. "I'll go out and buy you a baseball cap or something. We gotta cover your forehead. That scar of yours is like a lightning bolt-shaped target. If Black is looking for you as everyone says, the first thing he's gonna look for is the scar."

Harry just yawned and nodded. He left the room and went into his.

"Yukio, come with me so I can get back into this place. Rin, stay here and work on your summer homework. Make sure Harry stays here and doesn't leave Diagon Alley," Shiro instructed.

Yukio nodded and put on his shoes. Rin just frowned.

"I'll do my summer homework later," he said dismissively.

Shiro glared at him. "You'll do it or you're staying here tonight instead of the restaurant. I'm sure Harry's still got some unfinished work he has to do. You can work on it with him."

Rin just pouted and went to his trunk to start his homework.

As long as Harry's with a responsible adult, I don't see why he can't at least go out to eat. I'm gonna try (keyword: TRY!) to include another flashback of Shiro with James and Lily. It'll be tough for him not to mention Sirius Black's connection to them. He wants to tell him, but he also knows that Harry needs evidence to believe him. All Shiro has is his word.

Trivia: The chocolate heart Lockhart gave Shura for Valentine's Day was laced with Love Potion. Luckily Shura hated him, so she never took a bite.

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